tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31410628560461123862024-03-13T15:57:12.577-07:00Living a Life of LoveAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10330625032128353416noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3141062856046112386.post-8970284753037647002014-07-11T09:02:00.002-07:002014-07-11T09:02:36.659-07:00Life in The Dominican Republic!
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, I know I haven’t updated my blog in a long time!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have been sharing Alicen’s blog as a link
on Facebook, but I know that not everyone can see that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t particularly love writing and she has
been doing a much better job at posting updates. Her blog is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">daysofjubilee.wordpress.com</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also have a page on Facebook called The
Dominican Experience where we put pictures and post updates. I am only going to
write about a few things on here that she didn’t mention in her post.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Therefore if you would like to know all that
we have done you should look at her blog! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Schedule <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Monday: prepare activities for the coming week of the summer
program<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Alicen has some English lessons with members of
the community<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Susie is working on an undergraduate research
project associated with our summer program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She is interviewing households to see what foods they eat and where they
get these foods. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When the girls are busy doing these things, I
usually play baseball or just simply hang out with the kids. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Program Days: Tuesday-Thursday</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvHPStDHCXpgZ-4dNMIIlHozIUsCcNFWImsoq6sZEO07g6wYBUJ0oZoy6UFG2ha7K0PATjw_E7whq38CgRN8Aobl4GsGgnHvwzPNyG0SiG-Byl-YZ8iTTf7C-5H9EmTef-m_rEXboL/s1600/edit1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvHPStDHCXpgZ-4dNMIIlHozIUsCcNFWImsoq6sZEO07g6wYBUJ0oZoy6UFG2ha7K0PATjw_E7whq38CgRN8Aobl4GsGgnHvwzPNyG0SiG-Byl-YZ8iTTf7C-5H9EmTef-m_rEXboL/s1600/edit1.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The kids with the sign we made!</td></tr>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We have our program at three different schools
in our area from 8:00-11:00 in the morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This program is focused on nutrition, gardening, and recycling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The theme of our program is Sunflowers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have a theme that most of the kids have
memorized and translated into English it is something like this: “We are
sunflowers; we have to turn ourselves towards manners of living that sustain
our bodies, family, community, and the world.” It makes a little more sense in
Spanish because the name for sunflowers is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">girasoles</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The verb for turn in Spanish is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">girar</i> and the word for sun is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sol.</i> The fact that sunflowers turn to
face the sun throughout the day is in the name, making the connection easier. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So far we have planted sunflowers in
containers made from toilet paper rolls, explained parts of plants and their
responsibilities, talked about photosynthesis, explained the purpose and
importance of recycling by differentiating between things that decompose and
things that do not, and we have talked about organs and their role in the body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alicen’s blog has pictures and descriptions
of most of the activities that we have done so far and she will continue to
post more as we continue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tuesday: El Callejon <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Wednesday: Empujador<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thursday: La Capilla<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Friday, Saturday, and Sunday:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Relax, clean, do laundry, beach trips, run
errands in Nagua or Cabrera (neighboring cities) and just hanging out with the
community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Random Other Things<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Kittens<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Alicen’s cat, Hunter, had kittens! So now we have four
precious babies living in our house with us. They just opened their eyes today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thankfully, they really haven’t been keeping
us up at night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They only squeal and
make noise when their mom sits on them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She is not even a year old and probably wasn’t ready to be a mom, so it
is funny seeing her have to be responsible. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit1WzTNGbglVWHDKUTbblbZo7HDQspaPTzMwfbJPZHyaEfiw9tY0OCgB3W9edVExAor8AsZWUCFH8BhzDN6TS9sMc7EII-qGDDd_4Oyczxk6O-MQgyrOt7vsSzXT0j4o4xub2-ZmWN/s1600/edit2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit1WzTNGbglVWHDKUTbblbZo7HDQspaPTzMwfbJPZHyaEfiw9tY0OCgB3W9edVExAor8AsZWUCFH8BhzDN6TS9sMc7EII-qGDDd_4Oyczxk6O-MQgyrOt7vsSzXT0j4o4xub2-ZmWN/s1600/edit2.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The kitties!</td></tr>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Visiting Lauren<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of my roommates and best friends, Lauren, is doing an
internship with a ministry called Manna Global in The Dominican Republic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is crazy that we are both here in this
country doing separate things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, we
are only about two hours apart! We were talking about how we would have to find
a way to visit each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is hard
because we are both very busy and transportation isn’t the easiest to find. She
had a few days free this past weekend and told me she would be in Rio San Juan
for the weekend, which is about 45 minutes from us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We decided to head there early Saturday
morning to find her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Access to phones
and internet is somewhat rare here, so we essentially went to Rio San Juan
knowing that she would be in that city somewhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We arrived pretty early in the morning and
went searching for an internet center to be able to send her a message to say
we were there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At 8:30 in the morning on
a Saturday, none were opened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even
though we knew it wouldn’t work, we were just walking the streets of Rio San Juan
yelling, “Lauren!” to see if we could find her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We eventually went to a restaurant that had Wi-Fi and I was able to get
in touch with her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She told me that her
and her group were heading to the beach and would be there around 12:00.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we took public transportation to Playa Grande
and waited for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They eventually
showed up and Lauren and I were beyond excited to be reunited! We spent the
afternoon hanging out with her and her group catching up and getting to know them
and what all they had done! </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRH_uuzrUB1KIr3qn9Ls-_78D7MaE02Tk42WUypT661kcZkHhj93TWtFbiZfXg13cmyv8DAC7z7BgKxUUvmmVtnklaGeAiU4KwPLx2Ukz2T3b7tlaMMN-0WFzyvkK_C1liEaXWPzR7/s1600/edit3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRH_uuzrUB1KIr3qn9Ls-_78D7MaE02Tk42WUypT661kcZkHhj93TWtFbiZfXg13cmyv8DAC7z7BgKxUUvmmVtnklaGeAiU4KwPLx2Ukz2T3b7tlaMMN-0WFzyvkK_C1liEaXWPzR7/s1600/edit3.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lauren and I at Playa Grande!</td></tr>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Piglets<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A few nights ago, I spent about an hour watching a pig give birth.
I have never seen an animal give birth and I really enjoyed seeing one of the
women in the community help deliver the piglets. It was dark so I don’t have
any pictures from it, but hopefully I’ll go take a picture of them soon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m sure some of the community was wondering
why I was so interested in something that is such a normal part of their life,
but I absolutely enjoy seeing and learning so much from the people in this
community on a daily basis by living alongside them and allowing them to share
so much of their knowledge with me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Once again, be sure to check out Alicen’s blog and the page
on Facebook for more updates!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers; we are having
a wonderful time here! Cannot believe how fast it is going by! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10330625032128353416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3141062856046112386.post-73157586846935485892014-06-12T08:59:00.004-07:002014-06-12T08:59:51.051-07:00Continued Adventures in NicaraguaI made it to The Dominican Republic! I am so excited to be reunited with all of my friends. I arrived in the airport late on Monday night and drove to my community yesterday. I wrote the following blog while in the airport but didn't get to finish and post it: <br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, I am currently sitting in the Miami airport while I am
writing this post. Today has been quite a whirlwind of emotions. I woke up this
morning at 5:00AM to get to the airport to prepare to leave Nicaragua at
7:15AM. After saying an emotional goodbye to Walter, we (Kasey, Chris, and I)
were on our way to Miami.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just a few
minutes ago Kasey and Chris headed on a plane that will arrive in DFW this
evening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I am sitting alone in this
airport, I am trying to just soak it all in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Soak in all the memories, culture, love and joy, friendships, and
life-changing lessons The Lord taught me in Nicaragua.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also I am trying to soak in the fact that I
will be leaving The United States again in just a few short hours to arrive in
The Dominican Republic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I planned
my summer, I didn’t think about this particular day and how hard it would
be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Leaving Nicaragua, Kasey and Chris
going their separate way back to Texas, and arriving in The Dominican Republic
all in one day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am very fortunate to
have such a long layover to be able to digest and let all that I saw and experienced
in Nicaragua have an influence on me, but I could do this for many days opposed
to a few hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just please be praying
that The Lord continues to prick my heart with the lessons he taught me while
in Nicaragua. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pray that everything that
I was exposed to continues to make an impact amidst the quick transition to
another exciting and emotional experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Don’t get me wrong, I am super excited to return to The Dominican
Republic to be reunited with family and friends, but I want to ensure that I do
not get distracted and lose sight of the lessons learned and the impact made in
Nicaragua over the last few weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That
little country in Central America and the people in it have once again stolen
my heart. I am planning to write a summary post about the impact this trip had
on my life, but right now I would like to focus on the other half of this
incredible trip!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The internet is pretty slow here in The Dominican Republic and it takes forever to upload photos to my blog, so I may just have to add them later! I will still try to put some though!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This past week we spent much the same as the week before
with families, schools, and exploring the country. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yaris’ Story<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is Yaris. She is full of joy, always, amidst being deaf,
partially mute, and other physical disabilities. With One Hope provides formula
for her which has helped immensely with her mobility in her arms in order to do
sign language while also helping her develop more mentally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We did not spend a great deal of time with
Yaris, but I was smiling and laughing the entire time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her joy is contagious and overflowing. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnAKzJNjWfNV7ZBVd2CyjLjZhaBJZwcYgr1GxsOfAWGy680QzlY1ys5Ys81bJzm2VIClaJ0VKso7AqijuqVCfw3KmD8Rch_6Puja7vW7qWdOf8Pc7yM5J7bG6GdQMfJYRNRWoq2plX/s1600/Yaris1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnAKzJNjWfNV7ZBVd2CyjLjZhaBJZwcYgr1GxsOfAWGy680QzlY1ys5Ys81bJzm2VIClaJ0VKso7AqijuqVCfw3KmD8Rch_6Puja7vW7qWdOf8Pc7yM5J7bG6GdQMfJYRNRWoq2plX/s1600/Yaris1.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This picture doesn't capture her contagious joy but this is Yaris</td></tr>
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<o:p></o:p></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yaz School<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of the accomplishments of With One Hope has been
building preschools.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were fortunate
to get to spend time with yet another school that this organization
started.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chris was feeling under the
whether this particular day so Walter, Kasey, and I journeyed to the
school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was an experience in itself
not having Chris there as a translator, but we managed to do just fine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the way to the school, Kasey and I were
practicing reading the story of Noah in Spanish to Walter to make sure that the
kids would be able to understand us when we read it to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He suggested that we be sure to make some
motions and actions to help the children understand even more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After reading the story, we made bracelets
with the kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This particular bracelet
has beads that all signify something about God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Green is hope, white is purity, yellow is light, black is our sin, red is
love, and blue is heaven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all enjoyed
spending time with these children sharing the love of The Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Guiselle and Lupita’s House<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We spent an afternoon at Guiselle and Lupita’s house hearing
their mom’s story as well as jokes and riddles from the girls. It is always fun
to spend time with these precious children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is so awesome to see how much they have grown and developed over the
last two years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are just such a joy
to be around. We had a rock, paper, scissors tournament, braided each other’s
hair and got excited about our trip to the beach that would be coming up! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fernanda and Emily<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One afternoon we headed to Managua to spend some time with
Fernanda and Emily and what made it even more exciting is that Johana was able
to come too! We had lunch at Tiptop, the KFC of Nicaragua.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We just all shared a big bucket of fried
chicken, French fries, and rolls. Later we headed to the mall to walk off all
the fried food and to have more time together with the girls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was great to be able to catch up with them
and see how they had changed since I had last spent time with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We enjoyed heading into a department store
and basically playing the price is right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We would pick out a particular item, like a piece of furniture, and then
all guess the price.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After walking
around for a while we decided to stop and get some ice cream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was such a refreshing treat! It was such a
fun afternoon talking, laughing, and making memories with such sweet
girls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7xsJidWJ7fg5578sCkrpvwiUkl3T57utrcA1bH0FubnsE3pjYqwGHy5eoyoa0Ko78P9ehf2qsPUp20XYemMoDy0grTeWA0aHzB6m4Q9DuKtEXX6skJ7O9VJax_A5o2wHRwaWZboVE/s1600/DSC_0485.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7xsJidWJ7fg5578sCkrpvwiUkl3T57utrcA1bH0FubnsE3pjYqwGHy5eoyoa0Ko78P9ehf2qsPUp20XYemMoDy0grTeWA0aHzB6m4Q9DuKtEXX6skJ7O9VJax_A5o2wHRwaWZboVE/s1600/DSC_0485.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, Emily, Fernanda, and Kasey<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tipitapa<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This past Thursday we headed to Tipitapa to hear a few
stories from the community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tipitapa is
one of the poorest communities in Nicaragua.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After being hit by a flood in 2010, this community was left
devastated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over 1,000 people were
shoved into living in a factory with only 5 bathrooms while the government
built them new places to live.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, this
community has become little poorly built houses that were just basically
plopped down on some land.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They recently
have been provided with running water, electricity, and a new school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Previously the children were going to school
in a stable type thing with a huge cattle trough in the middle, a home for many
animals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although Tipitapa is starting
to develop more, it is still a very isolated and impoverished community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Maria’s Story<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We first headed to Maria’s house to hear her story in
Tipitapa She has 15 children and a husband who recently left her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although only 6 of the children currently
live with her, she has been through a great deal during her lifetime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She does not have an education because she
was forced to work to support her family as a young child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her husband would continue to tell her that
her only worth was found in having kids and raising them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When With One Hope first got into contact
with Maria she said she did not know how to do anything except raise a
family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Walter and Chris decided she
would be a perfect addition to the With One Hope family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>About a year and a half ago, Walter provided
her with many seeds to plant in her backyard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She continues to try different plants out to see how they will grow in
the area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She then is able to use the
fruits of the plants to provide for her family or sell in the market.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She enjoyed taking us through her yard
showing us what different plants she is growing and the work required to
maintain them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their yard resembles a
jungle. It is insane.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Lord has truly
reached his hand into her soil to make it more fertile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, she is beginning to see that she is
smart and has value which is incredible to get to experience firsthand. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilWp_7b_ygSeAjHoVdpa4lJGdJPCRnH-zJMzgubncxprFVX9-kDOsBH8qGKFGW8REobxSc_6m8JgsWJhN14L4cqbOu4RCp1kCCxQAQ9SxVfkHHk-jVNYi7O2fD1Kx_E8epBrHcyqy3/s1600/Maria1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilWp_7b_ygSeAjHoVdpa4lJGdJPCRnH-zJMzgubncxprFVX9-kDOsBH8qGKFGW8REobxSc_6m8JgsWJhN14L4cqbOu4RCp1kCCxQAQ9SxVfkHHk-jVNYi7O2fD1Kx_E8epBrHcyqy3/s1600/Maria1.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maria sharing her story</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPKxvGYQDJK6mxlgWLns2BcHMGGGP27zMA48c-Ovy_DsMx1G851b9qUw0gmINxNzWxycokvDceZ0ZnTzag6vtkpQSRj1JWg2Dv0QJGiOxr_5nL1CMfHskJkWrf6u0cnmpddJDRaXgk/s1600/Reina's+family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPKxvGYQDJK6mxlgWLns2BcHMGGGP27zMA48c-Ovy_DsMx1G851b9qUw0gmINxNzWxycokvDceZ0ZnTzag6vtkpQSRj1JWg2Dv0QJGiOxr_5nL1CMfHskJkWrf6u0cnmpddJDRaXgk/s1600/Reina's+family.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maria and her youngest boys in her jungle (garden)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Community Leaders<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the afternoon we headed back to Tipitapa to hear the
stories of two more women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These two
women have become community leaders for Tipitapa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the times living in the factory, these
women united together to work for the good of their community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are very strong women who love The Lord
with all of their heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While Walter
and Chris were listening to their stories, Kasey and I decided to distract the
kids so they were not interfering with the serious conversations their mothers
were trying to have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We started by just
asking them simple questions like, what is your name? how old are you? What is
your favorite color? And more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later,
Isaac came out of the house with a game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He or someone else had made a checkers board out of a piece of cardboard
using bottle caps as the game pieces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
do not have much experience with checkers, but do not believe we were playing
exactly right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes Isaac would
make moves for us or just go wherever he pleased.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At some point he would just announce a
winner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two other kids, Stephany and Ris
were just running around being our entertainment during the game. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is awesome to see how comfortable these
kids are opening themselves up to people who can only attempt but not
necessarily excel at speaking their language and that they just met.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTu2GCeyJjZGuZ35xxMKQ6gxCOz17_izNLK6ChvVdYP9MWLlQ2fFlXj_rySqLmhMrQpI68K9NCOyOfZh7aWhXjH4vxdZNU7h70_Fcw8cPFFvm_FuGm9gottDcQbrtDcsO9Ei3_tGNv/s1600/Amada+and+baby2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTu2GCeyJjZGuZ35xxMKQ6gxCOz17_izNLK6ChvVdYP9MWLlQ2fFlXj_rySqLmhMrQpI68K9NCOyOfZh7aWhXjH4vxdZNU7h70_Fcw8cPFFvm_FuGm9gottDcQbrtDcsO9Ei3_tGNv/s1600/Amada+and+baby2.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the community leaders, Amada, and her precious big baby boy!<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmFBZq4NnId-QO33qIaJWLDo6Ck0atsGUx30tIty3SyJyLcwyO0UWD_pzdaEIyZ_VkRj2Pv1r0mzYDaBWTXhHXN7XT8pPiuQo_48dVkZxydMkzkawHAWxUEHXm83mGePtOG_mrZ2zu/s1600/Amada+and+Jenny2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmFBZq4NnId-QO33qIaJWLDo6Ck0atsGUx30tIty3SyJyLcwyO0UWD_pzdaEIyZ_VkRj2Pv1r0mzYDaBWTXhHXN7XT8pPiuQo_48dVkZxydMkzkawHAWxUEHXm83mGePtOG_mrZ2zu/s1600/Amada+and+Jenny2.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amada and the other community leader, Jenny, sharing their story<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga26Sney4ZVfC2HM0Y9qDZCRSPfSdW95Rk-jBu4xPOwiZ6eP6Drts1HW5TZ4TI2S2oMRF5Eg-yhjKcFwITrw0Y4PzQo7iTkcypOiybG7DFfs3ECmdUND0KUBPMFMv8-icCJZqZJgcX/s1600/Isaac+and+Me1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga26Sney4ZVfC2HM0Y9qDZCRSPfSdW95Rk-jBu4xPOwiZ6eP6Drts1HW5TZ4TI2S2oMRF5Eg-yhjKcFwITrw0Y4PzQo7iTkcypOiybG7DFfs3ECmdUND0KUBPMFMv8-icCJZqZJgcX/s1600/Isaac+and+Me1.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amada's son Isaac and I<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ5vPROK5p9kgIqlbTjpe_Yunt4N41f42R6Ru-t_blDJJmfpXbsy9aceosHAGSPmh4MdrrWDTfNGLnu5xVUGYtgZhLQmnI731bsU7JRVzc5rPDKFNoqXXlagevsYmIJ8raOYn3ouN0/s1600/playing+checkers1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ5vPROK5p9kgIqlbTjpe_Yunt4N41f42R6Ru-t_blDJJmfpXbsy9aceosHAGSPmh4MdrrWDTfNGLnu5xVUGYtgZhLQmnI731bsU7JRVzc5rPDKFNoqXXlagevsYmIJ8raOYn3ouN0/s1600/playing+checkers1.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing checkers with the kids</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">The School</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">After visiting with these two families, we headed to the school in Tipitapa to spend some time with one of the preschool classes. We introduced ourselves and Walter shared the story of David and Goliath. These kids were so full of joy, it was great to spend some time loving on them! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKPDb1FQ6DnDky1RFJ5M2gqX77ky4p7qtMaImqWytPTpVJueUy-DI_ftaiw5aislFRhbeQPWKwnRMWcfLxf0HvnIRYd6RViwz76r-Zhwbnvfvkda-ov_EUGgzOrGFWpnWdN8GIv2pi/s1600/teaching+in+Tipitapa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKPDb1FQ6DnDky1RFJ5M2gqX77ky4p7qtMaImqWytPTpVJueUy-DI_ftaiw5aislFRhbeQPWKwnRMWcfLxf0HvnIRYd6RViwz76r-Zhwbnvfvkda-ov_EUGgzOrGFWpnWdN8GIv2pi/s1600/teaching+in+Tipitapa.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me attempting to teach kids letters and numbers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Nutrition <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It has been a very awesome experience for Kasey and I to be
able to utilize our degrees we are pursuing here in Nicaragua.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have worked hard assessing the food
packages developing ideas and recommendations to increase the nutritional value
that With One Hope is giving to the families each month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, Walter presented us with the challenge
of creating a menu for a pilot preschool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was neat to use our knowledge of nutrition and the culture of
Nicaragua to create a school menu we feel is best for preschool children in
Nicaragua.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have loved gaining some
real world experience in Nutrition! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">San Juan del Sur<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This past Saturday we headed to the beach with Guiselle and
Lupita! First we were able to enjoy a nearly two hour car ride joking, playing,
and continuing to build relationships with the two girls until we arrived in San
Juan del Sur at the beach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both girls
were a little hesitant to come play in the water with us, but after a little
coaxing by Chris and Walter they started to feel more comfortable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We enjoyed jumping over waves, swimming,
splashing, and lots of laughing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After
playing in the water a bit we decided to head up to a restaurant on the beach
to have lunch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was good to just relax
and gain some more energy to continue to enjoy the beach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After lunch, we decided we had had enough of
the water and that we just wanted to walk along the shore to search for some
shells.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our final destination was a
bridge over a small river that feeds into the ocean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We spent some time crossing the bridge, taking
pictures, and watching some crabs, birds, and fish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sun was really beating down hard and
leading to very exhausted little girls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On
our way back to Jinotepe, both girls were laying all over Kasey and I trying to
fall asleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is just another
example of how comfortable the children feel with people after only spending a
short amount of time and especially limited conversation together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I absolutely love that With One Hope takes
the time to bond and build relationships with the families they support in
order to make an even greater impact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Chris and Walter are both outstanding examples of Godly men to these
young girls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They truly treasure them so
much and you can see it in the girls’ faces and actions how much they know that
they are loved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is incredible to see
these girls recognizing their value at such a young age, especially considering
Latin American culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am so thankful
for Walter and Chris for encouraging these two girls as well as many others of
their worth. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3wO5E0UnwjOMgo6cO95QDKOMYcMnoF85fMCFgMgXjpwlb6i_5KQZhy8U6cEEBTa5OKHUjuZcx0C4GAOgAW3EQOJDB9pAQaPVrV9BPri2aY-xhPnq8ipJoC0FByYYuaTOJyliEFvUg/s1600/Chris+and+girls+at+beach1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3wO5E0UnwjOMgo6cO95QDKOMYcMnoF85fMCFgMgXjpwlb6i_5KQZhy8U6cEEBTa5OKHUjuZcx0C4GAOgAW3EQOJDB9pAQaPVrV9BPri2aY-xhPnq8ipJoC0FByYYuaTOJyliEFvUg/s1600/Chris+and+girls+at+beach1.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris walking along the beach with Guiselle and Lupita<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfwu1EkDPwMu6KQlIIhGgl-olYupqObYnKQG55n1C87gY-xxGtGvVz5GIlICygSWokhPM_WnR5EVkQ1rsoLkJFc9zLHmRJxrGl-lJcu0Nc7wPBsZhUXELlOil21H59Y5Xs3CNk8dwS/s1600/Walter+and+Chris+holding+hands+with+girls1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfwu1EkDPwMu6KQlIIhGgl-olYupqObYnKQG55n1C87gY-xxGtGvVz5GIlICygSWokhPM_WnR5EVkQ1rsoLkJFc9zLHmRJxrGl-lJcu0Nc7wPBsZhUXELlOil21H59Y5Xs3CNk8dwS/s1600/Walter+and+Chris+holding+hands+with+girls1.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Absolutely love this picture of Walter and Chris holding hands with Guiselle and Lupita!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh63w9rRKRysVicA-ijeiKFTZ-6vLTpQdzPVPzyjNXaDiJKsEa8winB_RTsGeeogRNcXPIKz8W9wE96yzw-fztvEnJmAB5Lh8OgpBz3kG2eKIj8WC9_0X7Lf9kqQ6xFIdJmXj2ijZoV/s1600/Walter+at+beach1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh63w9rRKRysVicA-ijeiKFTZ-6vLTpQdzPVPzyjNXaDiJKsEa8winB_RTsGeeogRNcXPIKz8W9wE96yzw-fztvEnJmAB5Lh8OgpBz3kG2eKIj8WC9_0X7Lf9kqQ6xFIdJmXj2ijZoV/s1600/Walter+at+beach1.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walter and I at the bridge at the beach</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh84MLg7NhbIx6g_WhnX4CCOgLlwDP0N3QGuR-PpMXhii7NSgeJpqTDmxfelLpCgJCw_8lmjXwONAR_kum3g6HmylfqVlBFnd7_rzM9Ki_-ceEhPIRFw6HubXQm_2qp4m3rv3taXVg0/s1600/girls+with+sad+faces1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh84MLg7NhbIx6g_WhnX4CCOgLlwDP0N3QGuR-PpMXhii7NSgeJpqTDmxfelLpCgJCw_8lmjXwONAR_kum3g6HmylfqVlBFnd7_rzM9Ki_-ceEhPIRFw6HubXQm_2qp4m3rv3taXVg0/s1600/girls+with+sad+faces1.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This picture cracks me up, don't the girls look like they are absolutely having a blast?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgScIOjs8NR-0NI-iYO9YxzBbh8ZkgoY2PgUusPF0GgeyJPWasJZ6A5YAJ4EUIBThrw4WKuh-YCL8vLa4Y5vI-d409hLrgDwQzDkfVYE8EajdUQ6KYNmlWfuf9exAlBtSioBUPf934d/s1600/girls+at+beach1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgScIOjs8NR-0NI-iYO9YxzBbh8ZkgoY2PgUusPF0GgeyJPWasJZ6A5YAJ4EUIBThrw4WKuh-YCL8vLa4Y5vI-d409hLrgDwQzDkfVYE8EajdUQ6KYNmlWfuf9exAlBtSioBUPf934d/s1600/girls+at+beach1.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The girls actually smiling!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiPOY1Yy2atp8Jde1vvxaiB8W5DnDpA3oPkNq4LD8Li0PVN9S2Oj7kQyu7r_JapiZkgzJ87rUfMEn1-ek7L4bvCW3Di_qb4P1dXR8reU4s_x2gyH7-jMyqgv1zCvM2SPfwVGchypn6/s1600/Amada+and+baby1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guiselle falling asleep on the way back from the beach</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Preparing to Leave<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sunday was a day full of cleaning, packing, and getting
ready to leave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After church we spent
the afternoon washing clothes, finishing some nutrition work, and just enjoying
our last evening in Jinotepe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yesterday
we had a debriefing time with Christ to talk about the trip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, we headed to the church for one last
lunch with Johana.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After an emotional
goodbye, we headed on our journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
stopped in Catarina at an overlook to take in more of the beauty of
Nicaragua.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We then were able to spend
some time in a market to get some souvenirs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After that, we headed to Managua to go to the hotel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We decided to allow Walter the evening with
his family and had to tell him goodbye.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Many tears were shed and hugs were given.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Little did Kasey and I know that he would be
meeting us in the airport to see us off in the morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After dinner, Kasey and I finished the
details of our nutrition project and then headed to bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This morning we woke up early to board our
plane to Miami!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And now I am preparing
to get on my flight to the Dominican Republic!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I am looking forward to writing my post about the summary and the impact
this trip had on me, be expecting it soon. Thanks again for all of the prayers!
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet Johana and I<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZVsenMtZoDjttOpMXYiVcc2twurcJo54y7mFzk7p7JqVhWMas2WX4sjiEXho02jCyeNdMkW4kZyBIJEDayCOP_68VaU4_2VMp7Z6l0ACgUFdy24kFaul14IhUzuWeoeSAQMy4QcQp/s1600/Kasey+and+I+at+overlook1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZVsenMtZoDjttOpMXYiVcc2twurcJo54y7mFzk7p7JqVhWMas2WX4sjiEXho02jCyeNdMkW4kZyBIJEDayCOP_68VaU4_2VMp7Z6l0ACgUFdy24kFaul14IhUzuWeoeSAQMy4QcQp/s1600/Kasey+and+I+at+overlook1.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kasey and I at the Catarina overlook</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGyEhryDFhWKIUPG2ZIiG7-G8A-mRn9PVxULMjc9v51zGP7LUqL-M2cXFpZtqEy76IWXqPcoAxuPGM8GBjtqJ07yjb_nvBqvxi3-aedVwGdskSNvpPIx0cUYx5iypdzid-x50XGQjc/s1600/Walter+at+overlook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGyEhryDFhWKIUPG2ZIiG7-G8A-mRn9PVxULMjc9v51zGP7LUqL-M2cXFpZtqEy76IWXqPcoAxuPGM8GBjtqJ07yjb_nvBqvxi3-aedVwGdskSNvpPIx0cUYx5iypdzid-x50XGQjc/s1600/Walter+at+overlook.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walter and I at the beautiful overlook<br />
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Hopefully I will update soon about how The Dominican is going!</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10330625032128353416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3141062856046112386.post-90126257631873120902014-06-02T06:38:00.000-07:002014-06-03T09:27:40.061-07:00Nicaragua Adventures <span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hola de Nicaragua!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We are having a wonderful time in Nicaragua so far! Sorry it has taken a little bit to write my first blog. We have pretty limited access to internet here. Currently I am typing this up on a Word document and when I find a time to connect my computer to wifi I will post it! It is crazy that we have already been here for almost two weeks and we only have one more! Although we have accomplished so much in such a short amount of time it is getting sad that we are through a lot of our time in Nicaragua. Anyway, in the next few paragraphs I will explain what all we have been able to do during our time in the country thus far. First, I am going to describe a little bit more about the organization, With One Hope, which I am working with here. I know I mentioned some in a previous blog, but I think it will help you to better understand this blog if I explain more about the organization again. Also, if you would like to learn more you can go to withonehope.org to read more about the organization.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The Organization</h3>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">With One Hope is an organization that was started by Chris Cunningham, an A&M graduate of 2006 and member of Aggies for Christ. I heard about this organization by going on a mission trip through AFC my spring semester of my freshman year. Chris has taken many trips down to work with his organization over the years and I am so glad The Lord influenced me to go! Anyway, With One Hope is an organization that strives to alleviate poverty by encouraging sustainability. Although it was started by an American, With One Hope is becoming completely Nicaraguan run with monetary support coming from The United States. This organization provides monthly food packages to families as a supplement to their nutritional needs. Currently, With One Hope supports seven families each month with the full food package. Secondly, they provide three families that have children with disabilities with a formula such as Ensure to make sure that these children are receiving the proper vitamins and minerals they need. Thirdly, the organization gives one family monetary support for the work the mother does growing and maintaining a garden in her yard to try out many different fruits and vegetables and how well they grow. With One Hope has also started many preschools in different cities all over Nicaragua to increase the amount of children attending school. With One Hope sees the benefit in quality over quantity and the importance behind building relationships. There are two individuals, Walter and Johana, who work full time with With One Hope here in Nicaragua. Walter is responsible for all the paperwork and documents that they need to send to the government as well as delivering the food packages to all of the families. Johana is in charge of purchasing all of the items for the food packages as well as cooking meals for any groups that come down. She also lives at the church and is responsible for cleaning and maintaining it. Walter and Johana work together to visit the families during the month to continue to develop relationships with the children and their parents. There are two words to describe who Walter and Johana are to everyone they encounter and these words are love and joy. They speak so much truth into the lives of these children who have come from incredibly horrible pasts and who are still dealing with so many trials today. They are wonderful examples of what it looks like to live a life loving The Lord. This is very important in a culture where this is rarely seen. Walter and Johana work hard to show these children that they are loved not only by them but by their Holy Father. These two also strive to show them how important, intelligent, beautiful, funny, and creative each one of them are. It has been amazing to see the transformation that these children have had since I was last here in 2012. Along with the materially support that this organization provides they also ensure that all of the children are attending and making good grades at school, ensuring that the parents are no longer involved in the crippling parts of their past by providing new avenues to earn money, and using encouragement to lift up the families and teach them about Jesus. The majority of the families that With One Hope supports are single-mother households and it is very important for the young girls especially to see Walter as an example of a husband who loves his life with the love of The Lord and truly cares for his little daughter with all that he has. He instills in the young girls the knowledge that they are very valuable and lovable and should never have to give themselves up for a man. There are many other examples of how Walter and Johana embody who Jesus was by sharing his love and his amazing grace to these families. Although this little paragraph cannot capture the huge impact that With One Hope has made in Nicaragua, hopefully it helped provide some knowledge for you to understand a little bit more about the tasks of the organization. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Our Trip</h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibl_xwq1bAPWLXe9Va6KboPpnxlVAIZoBCsWBHObf3BQIGufjMBdiKAM98a5IrsDkKoQOOUAYGxHVIrFUKoRQ9StaLgWQxFcLvVN0KakvhZ1vOdLk_qErR9tx2K4s8Tq-_Ql6cGwZO/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibl_xwq1bAPWLXe9Va6KboPpnxlVAIZoBCsWBHObf3BQIGufjMBdiKAM98a5IrsDkKoQOOUAYGxHVIrFUKoRQ9StaLgWQxFcLvVN0KakvhZ1vOdLk_qErR9tx2K4s8Tq-_Ql6cGwZO/s1600/005.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Kasey and I''s precious house that we are absolutely enjoying to be able to call ours! It has two bedrooms, a bathroom, living room, and kitchen area. It is so nice!<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieeiOi07yhY7nI6VtlSCPXHZIp0eFuLRiuaqSaWjXBFThPIFvXGtvz5wH8qFgORaSlLmZoRDzF_eidPVvenwAEA3sm6PKJU-e08hOcYFHP7t_vF3B13UNXJvzz2hICZXOWA5WNHTy6/s1600/015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieeiOi07yhY7nI6VtlSCPXHZIp0eFuLRiuaqSaWjXBFThPIFvXGtvz5wH8qFgORaSlLmZoRDzF_eidPVvenwAEA3sm6PKJU-e08hOcYFHP7t_vF3B13UNXJvzz2hICZXOWA5WNHTy6/s1600/015.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">This is a view of a little walking trail that is in the compound that we live in. It is beautiful and all the trees make the temperature feel wonderful!<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik2pvYBjx0eMzebycrvZnrUcpFz1H2Rs5sG97-lu0PoTfGhDTuof0tkosrhw3EQ1c4lzx7HLyG6FqYIJpOWONGGDsH6zPzQLyh5-eoy9wQQBnvRf9v-N0xWmbTAbDe4jt7CbrksZUT/s1600/030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik2pvYBjx0eMzebycrvZnrUcpFz1H2Rs5sG97-lu0PoTfGhDTuof0tkosrhw3EQ1c4lzx7HLyG6FqYIJpOWONGGDsH6zPzQLyh5-eoy9wQQBnvRf9v-N0xWmbTAbDe4jt7CbrksZUT/s1600/030.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">This is Chris and Walter's house, known as The Watermelon House. However, they believe it is purple.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now I will move on to what we have been able to accomplish on this trip so far! I will be posting random pictures amidst all my words as well. First I will introduce you to the team a little bit so you will know who I am referring to when I mention people’s names. It will be pretty easy because there are only really four of us doing a lot of the work together. The first person is Chris Cunningham who started With One Hope. He spent a little over a year living here and appointing people from here to work for his organization. He still comes down to Nicaragua somewhat frequently to see how things are going and to continue to form relationships with the families. The next person is Kasey McLenna, she is also a nutrition major at A&M who is Aggies for Christ with me. She developed an interest in using her nutrition knowledge overseas and after hearing what I was doing this summer she decided to join! The fourth member of our team is Walter who I already mentioned above. The four of us have been working together along with a few others like Johana. </span><br />
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Food Packages</h3>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We have spent time putting together the food packages and delivering them to the families, talking with Johana and the families to see how the utilize each ingredient in the package, checking the status of a new school being built, exploring the beautiful country of Nicaragua while learning the culture, and beginning a documentary to share each family’s story. The two biggest purposes of this trip are to create the documentary and make any modifications to the food packages to create a healthier and more substantial package. We have a nutrition survey that we have created that we are going to ask each family to see what they eat in a normal day and how they prepare each item that we provide in the package. The packet contains rice, beans, sugar, oil, spaghetti, sardines, coffee, Ramen noodles, chicken soup mix, soy meat, and drink mixes made of barley, oats, and corn. The diet of Nicaragua revolves around these four main items: rice, beans, sugar, and oil. It was very interesting to discover the reasoning behind this. While talking to Walter one day, he explained to us why these four ingredients are essential in the diet here in Nicaragua. During the 1980s, there was a revolution in Nicaragua. I do not exactly remember who it involved but that is not too important for this right now. Anyway, the conditions were very rough for the population of Nicaragua and food was very scarce. The main access to food was from the government that consisted of food packages containing rice, beans, sugar, and a little bit of oil. During this time, the country had to learn how to use these four ingredients to survive. Even after the war, the country still chose to utilize those few ingredients more than others. Walter said this was a huge shift in the culture and has remained roughly the same for over 30 years. The biggest concern from a nutritional stand point is the amount of sugar these families consume daily. After talking to Johann, she said a family of average size, maybe five to six people, would use a pound of sugar each day. A big challenge for us is to figure out ways to make small incremental changes in the sugar content without changing the culture. Although there is much more that can be said about our ideas for the food package, I will save it until later after we have discussed more with the families. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Although it is hard to see, this is an example of the food package that With One Hope gives to the families each month.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWRsnHO8oVFFNiQXh2430tbZxZzOOy6LYUc6xE3BFzXaUioSaL33kplrR3odoUE2Ib9i59b6NCZiF884pMrW4-JAw8cGSSJts-glULjiyO57WCSz49ui5C4BZoHU1ezRxtFBhm2BwJ/s1600/edit1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWRsnHO8oVFFNiQXh2430tbZxZzOOy6LYUc6xE3BFzXaUioSaL33kplrR3odoUE2Ib9i59b6NCZiF884pMrW4-JAw8cGSSJts-glULjiyO57WCSz49ui5C4BZoHU1ezRxtFBhm2BwJ/s1600/edit1.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">This is an example of the milk/formula With One Hope provides to some of the families. This is the type given to Ruth</td></tr>
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<h3>
Going to Leon</h3>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> The weekends are a time of rest for us so the first weekend we went to a city called Leon and stayed with Walter and his parents. We were able to tour the city and spend the majority of the afternoon and evening relaxing at the beach. Also while we were in Leon we were able to check the status of a school that With One Hope began building in December. We did a few activities with the children in their old school while workers were finishing a few touches like doors and windows on the new one. It was awesome to see the huge difference in where they are having school now and where they will be able to have school soon. It was good to be able to see another aspect of With One Hope that we are not really focused on with this particular trip. </span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQygSKado-5BfpodbPG9tF3BPdGRjiEC8wmbCGChG1uGe7X-4tRrA7GltSO0m0S5YsDZ7UgBsP0HkB6XJN21XfJViembgOMPTFsopKahiQunzc7k8bRWzNlrmBgdQ0SZlXVEunL5VA/s1600/edit2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQygSKado-5BfpodbPG9tF3BPdGRjiEC8wmbCGChG1uGe7X-4tRrA7GltSO0m0S5YsDZ7UgBsP0HkB6XJN21XfJViembgOMPTFsopKahiQunzc7k8bRWzNlrmBgdQ0SZlXVEunL5VA/s1600/edit2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">This is Kasey and I hanging out one of the many times in the car. We spend a lot of time driving all of the country of Nicaragua to visit schools, families, churches and beaches.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6hnnUgMI9IWzKq-GJn39dRFS-BlJ6pKdSLH7Qh5Y69V2i_iaOPuYfexbrqigWnHZaqDQx-etAsAVtzU5N75MSErxRhPXassTyQrEB0V3eBOs9lgdPBmQn9XF83iWFtz2VaSJYeW_O/s1600/edit3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6hnnUgMI9IWzKq-GJn39dRFS-BlJ6pKdSLH7Qh5Y69V2i_iaOPuYfexbrqigWnHZaqDQx-etAsAVtzU5N75MSErxRhPXassTyQrEB0V3eBOs9lgdPBmQn9XF83iWFtz2VaSJYeW_O/s1600/edit3.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">This is us working with the children at their old school in Leon.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA68Jdx3V8NHjyqrLgdaA7d3cpEQd2oD4tfaEjXbzliTgXv547uBfO6u_LYEnXBdt7-IygW_YW9oAAmO7hBllww1cTIkusDtTF6JjFigkxgw30mCL6-15rVwj_dKPoPh-G6tySMVxf/s1600/edit4%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA68Jdx3V8NHjyqrLgdaA7d3cpEQd2oD4tfaEjXbzliTgXv547uBfO6u_LYEnXBdt7-IygW_YW9oAAmO7hBllww1cTIkusDtTF6JjFigkxgw30mCL6-15rVwj_dKPoPh-G6tySMVxf/s1600/edit4%5D.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">This is part of downtown Leon<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9MDMZkYXzyLlUxNz44dxCGdnMiAA_xR7xeV4Q-LT3zjfrmjSYczHy8ne347151Z7M2lqrekDK8b46DyumZtp3JzXHX3ZTHi5wwEiq8nSTAQsa0ORqze41yNi2zSWcMEA4hS8baWlW/s1600/edit5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9MDMZkYXzyLlUxNz44dxCGdnMiAA_xR7xeV4Q-LT3zjfrmjSYczHy8ne347151Z7M2lqrekDK8b46DyumZtp3JzXHX3ZTHi5wwEiq8nSTAQsa0ORqze41yNi2zSWcMEA4hS8baWlW/s1600/edit5.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">One of the many lions outside of one of the churches in Leon, which means lion in Spanish<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYQWldfsO6wEsm0ST301OhhnbsfJ_KCaG1tmM2VA1zpv-x0sxxBX2U3dIlXKq6u6eeA-4X5ENMSvMtoJ7Yq8NLirq4-iXwZRUCKmx6TOlPMoZukNTrnXapCK-y_C9jtxwUwpZNkel1/s1600/edit6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYQWldfsO6wEsm0ST301OhhnbsfJ_KCaG1tmM2VA1zpv-x0sxxBX2U3dIlXKq6u6eeA-4X5ENMSvMtoJ7Yq8NLirq4-iXwZRUCKmx6TOlPMoZukNTrnXapCK-y_C9jtxwUwpZNkel1/s1600/edit6.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The beach we spent the majority of the afternoon at in Leon. It was so relaxing and beautiful.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDxYwTykrt5xZwqiUsv3WmAX8m3yLLC61ctcU99Q1qtIXakWTFzhos63afiHr0RDx5K1zxZ-_Y33PoDDTpnTgdmQakmw6Z_qigBsJwQl7-YVqhW6L25qqax7h0VqCYwmN2dcn-VqQK/s1600/edit7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDxYwTykrt5xZwqiUsv3WmAX8m3yLLC61ctcU99Q1qtIXakWTFzhos63afiHr0RDx5K1zxZ-_Y33PoDDTpnTgdmQakmw6Z_qigBsJwQl7-YVqhW6L25qqax7h0VqCYwmN2dcn-VqQK/s1600/edit7.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">This is the new school that is almost finished for the children in Leon. We were able to watch workers install the windows and doors.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoij58DELcqWCZkxcVM0eqrfsW9TNzxlpBbsYbtV9NIEH4Uc1SY88bvQMuX8aDzpJzTxwNKGFXtR2texEPc-SGSzRCzXTsoobxGhLe6sZoKY6mQiVJXT4gbI-_1-gzM3_E7NzX7sEG/s1600/edit9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoij58DELcqWCZkxcVM0eqrfsW9TNzxlpBbsYbtV9NIEH4Uc1SY88bvQMuX8aDzpJzTxwNKGFXtR2texEPc-SGSzRCzXTsoobxGhLe6sZoKY6mQiVJXT4gbI-_1-gzM3_E7NzX7sEG/s1600/edit9.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">This is the inside of their new school.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKjJuPZUAY_mh-1HGCYXveePFOGoKELNrKcOP5vww3ra2x1imdoTRiyTMwAaSklgQ9U0VUZWg3kg4H-4P_z1Uw3eGH2xNjz9FB9N4zkaUL6BDECMkdQ3QgRi0ZoJoDrT654swvtYpC/s1600/edit8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKjJuPZUAY_mh-1HGCYXveePFOGoKELNrKcOP5vww3ra2x1imdoTRiyTMwAaSklgQ9U0VUZWg3kg4H-4P_z1Uw3eGH2xNjz9FB9N4zkaUL6BDECMkdQ3QgRi0ZoJoDrT654swvtYpC/s1600/edit8.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">This is what farmers do in Nicaragua to ensure that their pigs do not escape their property. Also, behind the pig to the right is where the children in Leon are going to school while their new school is being built.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Sunday was also a pretty relaxing day. We went to church in the morning and then Kasey and I washed our clothes the old school way during the afternoon. It was really fun to experience the culture here in a new way. It is so nice to distance yourself from technology every now and then. </span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr3hNvmE-bpUEi5RmGodhdVtfDuOrsJqLifZonITVXgIl7Y5UL7g6Eix4MWbR-cih-tJA8insE5FQGLCrUS_feM0J4B_TTa0E9jn-0oHYkGlGZI_6Ot7f0a8pcZ0mwKU4zZGsO9pd0/s1600/edit10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr3hNvmE-bpUEi5RmGodhdVtfDuOrsJqLifZonITVXgIl7Y5UL7g6Eix4MWbR-cih-tJA8insE5FQGLCrUS_feM0J4B_TTa0E9jn-0oHYkGlGZI_6Ot7f0a8pcZ0mwKU4zZGsO9pd0/s1600/edit10.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">This is Kasey washing clothes the old fashioned way.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigQKWszb6tv7vNMWwTK9zzn99LHUtsGGUpcJTnoV8Kv-LIx23Tx0PBQErCclsbOOBnfSlMSQDWCTC4VKMwwvJS7izMIXTJ4YmIhMW-g7y068Mh9PfqBPc9aBjZg8c9h2WHTtkNO-sA/s1600/edit11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigQKWszb6tv7vNMWwTK9zzn99LHUtsGGUpcJTnoV8Kv-LIx23Tx0PBQErCclsbOOBnfSlMSQDWCTC4VKMwwvJS7izMIXTJ4YmIhMW-g7y068Mh9PfqBPc9aBjZg8c9h2WHTtkNO-sA/s1600/edit11.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The result of Kasey and I's hard work washing our clothes!</td></tr>
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<h3>
Life in Nicaragua</h3>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; text-indent: 0.5in;"> Ok, so what does a normal day in Nicaragua look like? The first few days were a little different but then we somewhat created a consistent schedule. We spent the majority of the first few days putting together the food packages and delivering them to the families. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; text-indent: 0.5in;">Usually during the week, we leave our houses around 8:30 to start our work for the day. We do some sort of work in the morning, eat lunch at the church made by Johana, do more work in the afternoon, hang out at our houses for about an hour, head to the church for dinner, and then relax at home preparing ourselves for the next day. One day this past week we spent the morning going to the market with Johana. It was neat to experience the way Nicaraguans shop and the craziness of the market! We spent the afternoon asking Johana questions from our nutrition survey to grasp initially a usual diet in Nicaragua. Later, we began filming her while she told her story. Walter and Chris asked her a few questions, but it was mainly her taking the time to share where she had come from and how The Lord had strengthened her into the woman she is today. Although, I could not understand every word she spoke in Spanish, it was incredible to see the emotions and the tears she shed while sharing her story. We were a little bit nervous about asking people to share their stories figuring they may be camera shy or just think that no one would care to know where they have come from but it is wonderful to see how empowering it is for someone to share so much about their life. I am so thankful that The Lord encouraged Chris to make this documentary. I am so excited for the finished product and for many people to be able to see and hear how The Lord is working in Nicaragua. I will probably not go into great detail about each individual family’s story in order to allow you the opportunity to see it the first time when you watch the documentary. Johana is an amazing cook and we are so fortunate to have her cook our lunch and dinner everyday. She even spent one morning teaching us how to make some of her specialties. </span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKobdl9breEA1MeMrRn1RfpiYoRWcykQant3e1xwIM1rJxt45a9sjV0JNwKlrkwH6IlQvQER7JGPXIkEW4G_MRYPdTgYKHJqYJ0Rkj8vFYwXLDTRoU8QRQMyIs88uA2F7woEz7P6KW/s1600/edit12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKobdl9breEA1MeMrRn1RfpiYoRWcykQant3e1xwIM1rJxt45a9sjV0JNwKlrkwH6IlQvQER7JGPXIkEW4G_MRYPdTgYKHJqYJ0Rkj8vFYwXLDTRoU8QRQMyIs88uA2F7woEz7P6KW/s1600/edit12.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">This is one of the many examples of how crafty Johana is. She made this card by hand and has many more things like this that she made to decorate the church.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZIpZ8Q280YucN-JOyuPaaZqO0h8AqGkq6rAn-dwMeBj20e4uCdsV4QgB19vFSoyOl9Ediy2edsT00VU2u-gaj85LS0DcJe3tkHRZTi0s9hivHR3CEayRkic-a8IWzV8p-t2CCVP6I/s1600/edit13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZIpZ8Q280YucN-JOyuPaaZqO0h8AqGkq6rAn-dwMeBj20e4uCdsV4QgB19vFSoyOl9Ediy2edsT00VU2u-gaj85LS0DcJe3tkHRZTi0s9hivHR3CEayRkic-a8IWzV8p-t2CCVP6I/s1600/edit13.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Here is Chris working on the documentary with Johana.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2vLVfID1gFpw3ay6Fd3pk9g_Dk3U3vunUNVo8uDB-7jpCFbOS9tWoEqZmaIHvD354uQkjuAgQzYO3HlhrZ6Vopjacq7Y7Fd2z_gDel4cFC6Vp9ggsBgvkCaDMHPCXT59Cda4NqNnb/s1600/edit15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2vLVfID1gFpw3ay6Fd3pk9g_Dk3U3vunUNVo8uDB-7jpCFbOS9tWoEqZmaIHvD354uQkjuAgQzYO3HlhrZ6Vopjacq7Y7Fd2z_gDel4cFC6Vp9ggsBgvkCaDMHPCXT59Cda4NqNnb/s1600/edit15.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Johana showing us how she makes scarves.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4JWhbxv4YuSoIouOZP5hhxF0tynNgy4KYLX2GuD23dLioxZJHoM3vAN8GfvXbiUutpuFNQe9kLgQd9xVGn_I3XNCqbPm5ECDbx8pKE0AJz5dxAAsZXz-TZUNlASD5UpuPJjgS28CO/s1600/edit14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4JWhbxv4YuSoIouOZP5hhxF0tynNgy4KYLX2GuD23dLioxZJHoM3vAN8GfvXbiUutpuFNQe9kLgQd9xVGn_I3XNCqbPm5ECDbx8pKE0AJz5dxAAsZXz-TZUNlASD5UpuPJjgS28CO/s1600/edit14.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Walter holding all of Johana's scarves she made.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmI_izqN7xT0zbpBy6IGzdKMwRh-mBi4bvpKllU6ksTmDcCDsfjIc5RUXzjKOg7n7GZdmZWcOaVJd-188T1ZZOQWnV-70qqoSV1I1umnQKJJhjEW5m0sZC1Ithm8pB-sFj2U0Y5WGe/s1600/edit16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmI_izqN7xT0zbpBy6IGzdKMwRh-mBi4bvpKllU6ksTmDcCDsfjIc5RUXzjKOg7n7GZdmZWcOaVJd-188T1ZZOQWnV-70qqoSV1I1umnQKJJhjEW5m0sZC1Ithm8pB-sFj2U0Y5WGe/s1600/edit16.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Johana teaching us how to make maduros, which are fried mature plantains.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglcmBOr14hCKo0Xgb9JAmg1To7Xi9l4r0NaYTIQfrir_kGO-N__UnIlQX4dnarAmm9bugB1cM1MCoYEujIS0lbc0irEP1i71oJL4RxCe2tQ4rNDPEFBNR2QMHm-sskR3o3aeeYLoKo/s1600/edit17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglcmBOr14hCKo0Xgb9JAmg1To7Xi9l4r0NaYTIQfrir_kGO-N__UnIlQX4dnarAmm9bugB1cM1MCoYEujIS0lbc0irEP1i71oJL4RxCe2tQ4rNDPEFBNR2QMHm-sskR3o3aeeYLoKo/s1600/edit17.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Maduros are Chris' favorite Nicaraguan food hence the huge smile on his face.</td></tr>
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<h4>
<span style="font-family: Calibri; text-indent: 0.5in;">Harby's Story</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: Calibri; text-indent: 0.5in;"> We spent some more time this past week visiting families in the program and capturing their stories. Each family has a unique story that just shows the creativity of our God. One family that With One Hope supports right now is really hurting and has been hurting for the last several years. Silvia has an 18-year old son named Harby who has been battling with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma for about four years. He currently has two big tumors in his lymph nodes by his groin which causes him a great deal of pain when he walks. We were able to visit him in the hospital and pray over him and his mom. He had been in the hospital for a few weeks receiving morphine for his pain. About a week ago, he was kicked out of the hospital. The health system is essentially free in Nicaragua which makes it not always the best. The doctors basically told Harby and his mom that he is not going to get better. They explained to him that they could not waste any more morphine on a kid who is just going to die. The reality is they said these exact words to him and his mother. They said it would be best if he just went home to die. Isn’t that just awful? Our prayer is for either a miracle or for God to take Harby home. The suffering he is going through is unbearable. Please take a few minutes to pray for Harby and his family. Ask that God be big and perform a miracle or that He take Harby into his comforting arms of rest. We were able to go visit Harby and Silvia at their house a few days ago. Silvia said that Harby was actually eating and seemed like he was doing better. Harby even called on his mom to go help him out of bed to walk out into the living to greet us and thanks us for coming to visit. It is amazing to see the joy that this family has amidst the trial they are going through right now. They have such a strong faith in what The Lord has planned for their lives. </span><br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ruth's Story</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: Calibri; text-indent: 0.5in;"> This week we also spent a great deal of time this with Ruth’s family. Ruth is the mother of five children. Four of these children currently live their house with her and her husband. Ruth has a daughter who is also named Ruth that has special needs. Taking care of Ruth while also raising her other children is very demanding job. Like I mentioned earlier, I won’t go into huge details of their story because I want the documentary to have a big impact on you. This is a family that With One Hope supports with formula that has helped Ruth a great deal in her development. It was an incredible opportunity to hear Ruth share the many trials she has encountered and overcome while raising a child with special needs. We also got the opportunity to spend time with the young boys while they shared with us what they do to help out with the family. They love to help out with the animals. They have pigs, chickens, roosters, ducks, bunnies, and dogs. What is also incredible is the piglets, chicks, ducklings, and puppies that also come with those animals. The boys absolutely loved showing us all of the animals and telling us their names. We were sure to capture that on video as well. We also were able to here Ruth’s daughter Virginia tell her story. She is 18 years old and is studying English. She is one of three girls from her class of twenty four girls that started school. All twenty one other girls have become pregnant or are mothers and will not return to finish school. She has incredible dreams and desires and it is awesome to see how confident with who she is and how valuable she is as well. It was absolutely wonderful to spend so much time with Ruth getting to know her story while loving on her children. </span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVblOInke2c0PPDKKOM6j1bJawOeUVDmFdErnj7tLfTxjhrok8w2B79xKw4-GrcgPn03trZqd-n-50Nre4X9TTDHkcFdqGHeAcTnfwhNYuTy-nLIM5m-i_JLWCZOYxdPU652_FBWu/s1600/edit18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVblOInke2c0PPDKKOM6j1bJawOeUVDmFdErnj7tLfTxjhrok8w2B79xKw4-GrcgPn03trZqd-n-50Nre4X9TTDHkcFdqGHeAcTnfwhNYuTy-nLIM5m-i_JLWCZOYxdPU652_FBWu/s1600/edit18.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">This is Ruth's son, Brian, showing us a little chick, one of the many animals they have in their back yard.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4vfyb-F_6vdfeZSMkGIlp8OCmdMroKLw2VK76X1AflQROeCjfcvJiqdPThg4Y3GiKBLjmkS1dn9pEY7m9aEM7g-XYM7iZ9X0PC2CBd4001yIxzL3rZ7PyKCWSUIDpQDwP36r6ujBy/s1600/edit19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4vfyb-F_6vdfeZSMkGIlp8OCmdMroKLw2VK76X1AflQROeCjfcvJiqdPThg4Y3GiKBLjmkS1dn9pEY7m9aEM7g-XYM7iZ9X0PC2CBd4001yIxzL3rZ7PyKCWSUIDpQDwP36r6ujBy/s1600/edit19.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Here is their mama pig and all of her piglets.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKbBEGeI2beYEP7VmAF1U5dVV8qGOE3sZ0dhoNswG4U10o-VpGczb_mUkUeg1QjFiaojemgjtHdoRSP_Doj6xjKDbnuYfBkCrijYXV2hINyOp7_iSZnseLZhV_qwsvz8g_vC52e5lz/s1600/edit20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKbBEGeI2beYEP7VmAF1U5dVV8qGOE3sZ0dhoNswG4U10o-VpGczb_mUkUeg1QjFiaojemgjtHdoRSP_Doj6xjKDbnuYfBkCrijYXV2hINyOp7_iSZnseLZhV_qwsvz8g_vC52e5lz/s1600/edit20.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">This is the backside view of Ruth's house from the backyard.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; text-indent: 0.5in;">We have also spent some time in the evenings with these two young girls in one of the families named Guiselle and Lupita. We played Uno, solved riddles, and even took them to the circus! This past Friday was Mother’s Day here in Nicaragua so we took Walter to Managua to spend the day with his wife on their first Mother’s Day as a family. Kasey, Chris, and I then spent the afternoon in Managua eating lunch and even going to see a movie! The movie theatre was so nice; each person had a full recliner to relax in while watching the movie. Sunday morning we went to Managua to go to church with Walter, his wife Rene, and their new baby Walkiria. Although the whole service was in Spanish and I could only understand bits and pieces, it was wonderful to worship alongside many brothers and sisters who love The Lord so much. It was so great to spend the afternoon eating lunch with Walter and his family. I was able to meet Rene last time I was here so it was good to get to talk with her again and of course I love any opportunity to practice my Spanish with someone who is patient! They are such a wonderful and encouraging couple and their baby is absolutely adorable. </span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OZ5wMxmqd7Vz0XdQSgiu95i_qUGRuWNa-sIdY5nrJClAFnXCo865VK0AbsmqR4LxvkQMKeRKlSeIjN4FrGmtOpeZSmNa6AnudXfodHI2nQKb66ygR7amuOsQwX73nf3ew89FXbKr/s1600/walkiria+and+rene.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8OZ5wMxmqd7Vz0XdQSgiu95i_qUGRuWNa-sIdY5nrJClAFnXCo865VK0AbsmqR4LxvkQMKeRKlSeIjN4FrGmtOpeZSmNa6AnudXfodHI2nQKb66ygR7amuOsQwX73nf3ew89FXbKr/s1600/walkiria+and+rene.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">This is Kasey, Me, Rene, and Walkiria after church on Sunday.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri; text-indent: 0.5in;"> It is very great to take some time to recuperate on the weekends in order to rejuvenate ourselves for the next week full of Spanish conversations, nutrition surveys, and documenting stories. This next week will be much the same but only with different families that have different stories. This morning we were able to go to one of the preschools that With One Hope help start in Jinotepe. Kasey and I were able to read the children the story of Noah, we made crafts, and sang songs. It was so much fun! </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; text-indent: 0.5in;">I think this is all I have for now. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; text-indent: 0.5in;">Also, Kasey and Chris are more of the photographers and not me so hopefully I will be able to borrow some of their pictures so I can show you more! I cannot thank you enough for all of the thoughts and prayers. More updates to come soon! </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10330625032128353416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3141062856046112386.post-49463062106730460082014-04-13T16:30:00.000-07:002014-04-14T16:10:22.945-07:00And the Journey Continues<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hi!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So I am very thrilled to share that God is calling me to serve another summer abroad! I am beyond excited to have another opportunity to spend my summer loving on His people and learning so much from each and every one of them. In all honesty, I knew the second I came home from The DR last summer that I would be embarking on yet another adventure this next summer. The Lord has been very evident in the fact that He has great plans for me this summer. It is so awesome when you can feel The Lord's presence pulling you toward something and there is no doubt in your mind that is where you need to be. So I am sure you are wondering, where is He taking me? Well, excitingly enough He is taking me to two separate places. Of course, they are both in Latin/Central America/The Caribbean because my heart is there. First, I will be going back to Nicaragua, and if you know anything about my last trip there you know that this is very very exciting! I went on a mission trip with Aggies for Christ to Nicaragua Spring Break my freshman year and it is where my passion for foreign missions became so evident. I worked alongside fellow Aggies as well as individuals in Nicaragua with an organization called With One Hope. This organization was created by Chris Cunningham, a 2006 A&M graduate and member of AFC. With One Hope is a wonderful organization that serves many families in various cities all over Nicaragua. They support these families, usually single mother households, with a food package each month. With One Hope also provides resources to help the families begin to make an income and to eventually become self-sustaining. With One Hope has also partnered with other organizations to build many elementary schools in different cities in Nicaragua. This has helped foster a much better learning environment for many children. More information about this organization can be found at withonehope.org. I will go into the detail of the specific trip in the next paragraph. After leaving Nicaragua, I will head back to The Dominican Republic! I am just overflowing with excitement to be able to return to all my family and friends in La Esquina! I cannot thank The Lord enough for placing another incredible opportunity like this in my life. I absolutely love the passion He has placed in my life for foreign missions and am beyond ready to let Him use me in amazing ways this summer!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The tentative plan:</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A. Nicarauga</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I will be leaving for Nicaragua on Wednesday, May 21st! Some may think I am crazy because my brother gets married only 3 days before. I will be in the country for the wedding, isn't that what's important? Anyway, my trip to Nicaragua will be different than last time. I will only be going with a group of three instead of a group of about twelve people. Although we will be working with many in Nicaragua, Chris, the founder of With One Hope, Kasey, and I will be the only ones coming from the United States. Kasey is a fellow member of Aggies for Christ as well as a Nutrition major at A&M like me. I am very excited to have the opportunity to work alongside a non-profit organization with a smaller group. Kasey and I will basically be Chris' assistants and will get to actually see the ups and downs as well as many other things involved behind the scenes of a non-profit. I am excited to gain experience in this area because I could see myself eventually being a part of this kind of organization. The biggest project we have for the summer is to create a documentary of the families that With One Hope supports. This will be a great way for the individuals that support these families from the states to see and hear the amazing stories that they have helped create. Kasey and I will also use this one-on-one time with the families to ask them about any nutrition concerns they may have. We also want to evaluate the food packages they receive and see what items they utilize and in what ways. Chris is excited about this component of the summer because With One Hope has never had anyone with a nutrition background assist them in any way. We are willing to make changes to the package and offer families healthier alternative to some of the methods that they may be using to prepare certain items. Creating this documentary will occupy a great deal of our time, but when we are not involved in it we will be spending time loving on the wonderful kiddos that With One Hope supports. There is also potential for the opportunity for gardening. If you know anything about my adventure last summer then you know that this is right up my alley! Please begin to start praying for the people of Nicaragua as well as Chris, Kasey, and I. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here are some pictures from 2012:</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">B. The Dominican Republic</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I will fly from Nicaragua to The DR on June 10th and I will be headed back to the United States at the beginning of August. I am planning on working with my friend Alicen Bessire while I am there. Alicen graduated from Texas A&M last May and has been living in our community, La Esquina, since then. We spent last summer implementing gardening curriculum in a school and building relationships with all of the people there. Alicen has been able to accomplish a great deal of things while being over there since August by herself! I am so very excited to be able to join her in all of her efforts. If you would like to know more information about what we are doing and what we have done please check out Alicen's blog at daysofjubilee.wordpress.com or The Dominican Experience page on Facebook! This summer we plan on continuing with our gardening projects as well as teaching English lessons to many kids in our community. We also would love to begin some small group bible studies or vacation bible school lessons with the kids. It has been very cool because a few months ago the capital sent a youth minister to a church in the area. Before this time, there was not any type of program in our community that introduced church or a relationship with God at all for youth and young adults. Ever since I left La Esquina in August I have been praying for The Lord to work in their lives to show them who He is. It is so awesome to see that He is answering that prayer. I cannot wait to be a vessel for God to use this summer. Please pray that the individuals in La Esquina will be open to hearing about the graciousness and love of our Lord and Savior. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here are some pictures from last summer:</span></h4>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 14px; text-align: start;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation." </span></i></span></div>
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<i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mark 16:15</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How you can help: </span></h3>
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<h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. Pray, pray pray! </span></h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I cannot explain to you how much it means for people to constantly be in prayer for me and my ministry. It is incredibly encouraging and provides me with great strength. Begin praying now for the people of Nicaragua and The Dominican Republic.Pray that they will see God amidst any trials and tribulations that they are experience. Continue praying throughout the summer for Kasey, Chris, Alicen, and I. Pray intentional prayers that The Lord will use us in incredible ways. Pray that God will continually fill us up with love and it will have nowhere to go but to just pour out of us and into the lives of others. Thanks again in advance for the many thoughts and prayers. </span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"<span class="text Eph-3-20" id="en-NIV-29272" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">Now to him who is able<span class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29272A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)"></span> to do immeasurably more than all we ask<span class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29272B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)"></span> or imagine, according to his power<span class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29272C" title="See cross-reference C">C</a>)"></span> that is at work within us,</span><span class="text Eph-3-21" id="en-NIV-29273" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><span class="versenum" style="font-size: 0.75em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;"> </span>to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." </span></span></i></div>
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<span class="text Eph-3-21" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
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<span class="text Eph-3-21" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ephesians 3:20-21</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. Support me for a day!</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have calculated out all my expenses and come to the conclusion that it will be about $10/day for cost of living for me while in Nicaragua and The Dominican Republic. If you are interested in supporting me for a day please let me know! Feel free to call or text me to learn more information. Alpine Church of Christ has been gracious enough to handle my funds for me. The address is 610 E. Loop 281 Longview, TX 75605. If you are mailing a check, please put attention Jerry Brumbaugh. Also, Alpine has asked that you not put my name on the memo line but that you put on a separate sheet of paper that the funds are for my trip. Thank you again for your willingness to share in this experience with me! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span class="text Phil-2-12" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">"...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,<span class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29404A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)"></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="text Phil-2-13" id="en-NIV-29405" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">for it is God who works in you<span class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-29405B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)"></span> to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose</span></i></span><span class="text Phil-2-13" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><i>Philippians 2:12-13</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I will be using this blog to post updates while I am in both Nicaragua and The Dominican Republic. Be sure to check in from time to time to see how The Lord is working in and through all of us!</span><br />
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<span class="text Eph-3-21" style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
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<span class="text Eph-3-21" style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love." </i></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="text Eph-3-21" style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="text Eph-3-21" style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>1 Corinthians 10:1-3</i></span></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10330625032128353416noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3141062856046112386.post-47280447489246107382013-08-08T16:19:00.000-07:002013-08-08T16:19:56.978-07:00Rio San Juan and Last Week!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hi!</span><div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Us girls were fortunate to hitch a ride with the study abroad students and Christine to visit the beautiful city of Rio San Juan! Although we squished 13 people in a 7 passenger van for an hour trip, it was totally worth it! It was such a relaxing day, and we had a wonderful time making memories with the study abroad students!</span><div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQXkecb9vB-5f-XsM34oEg1ah1aYbduCGLuTjAwAZyIPkFNxvN0BJMAOF-PGaGUOXPkCNdoyQEd8kaQXe5Zl1fTxgWIdTH7hlnrJUGUQF22OI-EPOY-MRn4npddR-sobSjlNAtppW0/s1600/Laguna+Gri+Gri,+Rio+San+Juan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQXkecb9vB-5f-XsM34oEg1ah1aYbduCGLuTjAwAZyIPkFNxvN0BJMAOF-PGaGUOXPkCNdoyQEd8kaQXe5Zl1fTxgWIdTH7hlnrJUGUQF22OI-EPOY-MRn4npddR-sobSjlNAtppW0/s1600/Laguna+Gri+Gri,+Rio+San+Juan.jpg" height="301" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We were able to take a little small motorized boat through this beautiful little area filled with trees and egrets. It was amazing to see all the trees crazy roots, hear the birds, and see little fish!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0JBUzfWo4dLTGV7x0TdcMzQgCtcp0vUBelzoEHdt7fOZR0166ze9Tl2rS-zLkYkUylcbhZd2ZEAvh2QCzrcpxf2hH0sILPiTgJriLos6zno4k4v1f0YJTTU4qEb-jM0JySW_Bx336/s1600/743.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0JBUzfWo4dLTGV7x0TdcMzQgCtcp0vUBelzoEHdt7fOZR0166ze9Tl2rS-zLkYkUylcbhZd2ZEAvh2QCzrcpxf2hH0sILPiTgJriLos6zno4k4v1f0YJTTU4qEb-jM0JySW_Bx336/s1600/743.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We then took the boat on the open ocean, it was beautiful! We even drove into a cave!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ7N8PyD_6StpJM5anOzkD4WWmlf_HuyfgLk6q0PECJHW1hNXxXHVrye1Mchn-jm-P66gNJZ8lWg1ZIS4xATqtCGlwDGPu1nGG3FOZMjMVi308NDx4jYPxCqqD3VBuoPkaK3NEaHhX/s1600/747.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ7N8PyD_6StpJM5anOzkD4WWmlf_HuyfgLk6q0PECJHW1hNXxXHVrye1Mchn-jm-P66gNJZ8lWg1ZIS4xATqtCGlwDGPu1nGG3FOZMjMVi308NDx4jYPxCqqD3VBuoPkaK3NEaHhX/s1600/747.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The rock that resembled a type of skull. Possibly a buffalo or monkey!<br /></span></td></tr>
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After driving through some caves and spending time at a little beach, we headed to a bigger beach where we spent the rest of our day. We bought drinks that were served in pineapples and coconuts and just hung out on the beach. I had many great conversations with the study abroad students and loved having that time to learn more about their life! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That night, we had a surprise birthday party for Taylor because she was leaving the following day along with Susie and her birthday was July 31st. She was so surprised and it was precious because her sweet parents planned it all by themselves! We had a little dance party in their house and loved the dessert that Luisa made for all of us! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next day was very difficult. We had to say goodbye to Susie and Taylor as they started their journey back to The States.We decided to get up early and see the sun rise at the vista that overlooks the beach that we made many memories at! </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiJ6a1ktQCIhfqlv7f-G8os1PL4zksrvlpZZFQU06icMKKVnD1Ulm7iOPAqFSe4TT_yGX1mIQiPsZNBJv7tw1sJDA8Dg8p2JntKQGXRQ6NwlVcjIpw-yKbHTLEQ5-f6W3sB012_IjZ/s1600/751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiJ6a1ktQCIhfqlv7f-G8os1PL4zksrvlpZZFQU06icMKKVnD1Ulm7iOPAqFSe4TT_yGX1mIQiPsZNBJv7tw1sJDA8Dg8p2JntKQGXRQ6NwlVcjIpw-yKbHTLEQ5-f6W3sB012_IjZ/s1600/751.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is a view from the vista</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjcJTvk93FFJ6duia2eLM8sRfm-kq0UqYhXBjJnSxs4cvPrFdPHmaA_v_092E12uP2MFYHX7Grgt2uvf2YnnNBNXA5DC3EgymmZXQJ7cIYSe8QIgr-Jzsu3oq0i6FJqZETSSp-DzMl/s1600/759.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjcJTvk93FFJ6duia2eLM8sRfm-kq0UqYhXBjJnSxs4cvPrFdPHmaA_v_092E12uP2MFYHX7Grgt2uvf2YnnNBNXA5DC3EgymmZXQJ7cIYSe8QIgr-Jzsu3oq0i6FJqZETSSp-DzMl/s1600/759.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The sun eventually peaked through behind the clouds!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alicen, Taylor, and I along with one of the study abroad students, Ryan, were the ones who ventured up to this place at 5:45AM. We had quite an interesting experience. We kind of thought the sun wasn't ever going to come out which was going to be frustrating since we all got up so early! The sun did come out but only for a few minutes. Then, we could see rain headed toward us. We eventually could even hear it before it had reached us. We were seriously getting chased by rain. We started heading down, but the rain caught us. We got soaked, but that makes the memory even better! Watching Taylor and Susie say their goodbyes was emotional because I knew that in just a week that would be me. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After they left, Alicen and I spent a good bit of the day just spending time with the community, especially their host families, and comforting them during this sad time! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay, now on to my last week! I am just going to put some of the highlights and lots of pictures!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I spent a lot of time at Gonzale and Luisa's(Taylor's host parents) house after she left. They were missing her greatly and I enjoyed spending time with them! They have this absolutely precious litter of puppies in their backyard and I wanted to play with them one day. So I headed back there and the mom dog is freaking out! She is barking and trying to get me to do something. She kind of successfully brings me to this one spot of the yard where I hear puppies whimpering. I lift up this little piece of wood and there are two puppies in a whole probably like a foot deep and 6 inches filled with water and mud. The mom would try to put her head in the whole to grab the puppies out, but she couldn't. After reaching my hand and pulling the dogs out I felt like such a hero! It was weird, I have never felt like I communicated with a dog more than that day! </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMzb0mwaphjan4jy3SPKfciTTz6W1U907eudHjpNIcK_RfnFhhR_DPK6KoNb5tE1qN0kyBZyS-E5I1ENlF1MTfhypddjNXQ4BipIow0SUbvuWQNrN0B9InAgwTRzH89dCG04YKeXdZ/s1600/766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMzb0mwaphjan4jy3SPKfciTTz6W1U907eudHjpNIcK_RfnFhhR_DPK6KoNb5tE1qN0kyBZyS-E5I1ENlF1MTfhypddjNXQ4BipIow0SUbvuWQNrN0B9InAgwTRzH89dCG04YKeXdZ/s1600/766.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is one of the pups even after I had rinsed them off in a bucket! So miserable!</span> </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic9nvsvicPFh02FV5AVgYTSgluc98MaB55-h9Z43oaj0z97uyrpsaLzijefQkPO757ww6LT9WBUtGsF9cHRt0nkXXXXhswWrLmUd4yDMrJOpoMT5eaqcXfV-2esgonITeGz82Wdh-u/s1600/769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic9nvsvicPFh02FV5AVgYTSgluc98MaB55-h9Z43oaj0z97uyrpsaLzijefQkPO757ww6LT9WBUtGsF9cHRt0nkXXXXhswWrLmUd4yDMrJOpoMT5eaqcXfV-2esgonITeGz82Wdh-u/s1600/769.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But sweet mom and siblings were trying to clean the wet ones up!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRIsPwIMNnmeaXGQI62QZ6djl4NOVS6eGNzWZMc9f1TvWRwefsMFCWsb6WcQsf0hwmXAWtWCTBuGuWxHZlfIZTTWoa1ppeVK_yV9zE5fBa1qja8xZKOfkxenhNb0NIfu5tBixGayS5/s1600/779.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRIsPwIMNnmeaXGQI62QZ6djl4NOVS6eGNzWZMc9f1TvWRwefsMFCWsb6WcQsf0hwmXAWtWCTBuGuWxHZlfIZTTWoa1ppeVK_yV9zE5fBa1qja8xZKOfkxenhNb0NIfu5tBixGayS5/s1600/779.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">SO adorable and clean!<br /></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0zVLG_AElyIV6HECbfqFmyHZfnNgmPvVjtGfiehXYriKKP4dGyGkQ5GV3ThUdkbfCwKk_A8c2PvLMZf0oxwxi9D7EEBWR7VPtJG3XdS0ea5F0LYLt-bGSEdoEbow_ySLsMqC1g6JA/s1600/781.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0zVLG_AElyIV6HECbfqFmyHZfnNgmPvVjtGfiehXYriKKP4dGyGkQ5GV3ThUdkbfCwKk_A8c2PvLMZf0oxwxi9D7EEBWR7VPtJG3XdS0ea5F0LYLt-bGSEdoEbow_ySLsMqC1g6JA/s1600/781.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the little cuties another day when it wasn't all wet!<br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of my other favorite memories from my last week was going to the beach for a girl in the community's birthday. Maite turned 10 and so much of the community came to the beach to celebrate with her. We literally stayed all day and I loved every minute of it. Usually when I went to the beach it was just about 6-7 of us, but this day there ended up being at least like 30 or more! Some of us traveled there in the back of a pick-up. I think there was about 13 of us, plus tables, chairs, and food. It was so great! I spent so much time with some of the younger boys playing keep away and volleyball in the river that feeds into the ocean. The keep away ended up kind of being lets just tackle whoever has the ball. Although there were like 10 guys playing and I was the only girl, I hung in there and tackled my fair share of boys! We also jumped off the bridge and just made so many great memories! Well, the memory making continued when it started to pour rain when we needed to be leaving! So needless to say, we had a crowded, wet, cold and pretty uncomfortable journey back to La Esquina! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another thing that I loved to watch is the boys found some boxing gloves and just started having these little boxing matches. They definitely weren't serious at all, but it was so funny! <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjIY0tJ-_9RiRAajenP5Uw7hlBnBq5ooPIrXGvWeWJZF5G1_P8sdE5Vwjt4IbSHyOj89m7VQn9sAU50_41XAMQywnQYzPS5PUUQdIIKPL0NwSVaxXr41VsEQM-Sw1-ktOjNLWbphzd/s1600/783.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjIY0tJ-_9RiRAajenP5Uw7hlBnBq5ooPIrXGvWeWJZF5G1_P8sdE5Vwjt4IbSHyOj89m7VQn9sAU50_41XAMQywnQYzPS5PUUQdIIKPL0NwSVaxXr41VsEQM-Sw1-ktOjNLWbphzd/s1600/783.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some friendly boxing with all the other boys cheering them on!<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkh4p1McKsqDrGoTLlh-MpzTQt2WAEc9O_1IS-ti6E8bzdV-myFEaDtdnMppLwOaUOuQKnAape35lqCNecPfjZ_wNgi673KgwaagUh9E8SUr-cGTsUN-fu13mBnPLSVgKuwbjOPTn3/s1600/794.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkh4p1McKsqDrGoTLlh-MpzTQt2WAEc9O_1IS-ti6E8bzdV-myFEaDtdnMppLwOaUOuQKnAape35lqCNecPfjZ_wNgi673KgwaagUh9E8SUr-cGTsUN-fu13mBnPLSVgKuwbjOPTn3/s1600/794.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This time they had the head gear!<br /></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk4STMh-3G-q870OpmoE7w-60t_EsliS8fl2XO8bUQWHV-A3Z-CpXrkDY5H9YYPhq_gC2qW0E13_x6DxejkIUKIyo0iWUjiP3fFFJgTA62TtAPEzE-0tazFISjPDvs04ZQxNDYZxQe/s1600/IMG_2642.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk4STMh-3G-q870OpmoE7w-60t_EsliS8fl2XO8bUQWHV-A3Z-CpXrkDY5H9YYPhq_gC2qW0E13_x6DxejkIUKIyo0iWUjiP3fFFJgTA62TtAPEzE-0tazFISjPDvs04ZQxNDYZxQe/s1600/IMG_2642.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These boys are probably both like 7, they were pretty adorable. This picture seems much more serious that it actually was!</span></td></tr>
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<br /><span style="font-size: small;">One of my favorite things that happened was this:</span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDFSvP9xYlDj9gNfHP2hKRE0jdN4iTls9YR81Cu1bCn6Ys8AfGjgQ9y2NUUFSF7fNuAakNV72nF8djAS5sfagucbtATV78lOjJWiBRRu1YS2IYNJNUOOnxNn0SXOkf5D3VkrpprA-o/s1600/IMG_2647.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDFSvP9xYlDj9gNfHP2hKRE0jdN4iTls9YR81Cu1bCn6Ys8AfGjgQ9y2NUUFSF7fNuAakNV72nF8djAS5sfagucbtATV78lOjJWiBRRu1YS2IYNJNUOOnxNn0SXOkf5D3VkrpprA-o/s1600/IMG_2647.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The sweet man that I am hugging is Papa Miguel and he is seriously the most adorable man ever. . He wore a Cardinal's hat everyday and always talked about how they were his favorite team. Every time I wore my T-shirt he would give me a big hug and we'd talk about The Cardinal's for a bit! He is hugging me in this picture because I gave him the T-shirt that I had brought as a gift for him to have!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeealKo3vaLAbB00QM-6jd-LcsdkM9kFPN66GnUhyphenhyphenT_0O7mNDuwmtbYoZUyWLQtx6ClMWUnO6Si4IJfpepPooRZsHifa6ANHLi7mpI0KGmPenPr8zzDC1M-jr2OLf7hzYipJ3TcW6s/s1600/IMG_2651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeealKo3vaLAbB00QM-6jd-LcsdkM9kFPN66GnUhyphenhyphenT_0O7mNDuwmtbYoZUyWLQtx6ClMWUnO6Si4IJfpepPooRZsHifa6ANHLi7mpI0KGmPenPr8zzDC1M-jr2OLf7hzYipJ3TcW6s/s1600/IMG_2651.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is him in the shirt I just gave him and me in the hat he wore around everyday! I absolutely love this picture and this moment!</span></td></tr>
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<br /><span style="font-size: small;">Another wonderful memory was the day before I left: ONE LAST MANGO HUNT!<br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGs-b2aTdqnjp8L5WPydbGJQKwGn9cjvMyr0kPLmag94lM2oUaP7NH_FoMs7OWws2RBhv11_cJnlaHe8N37WrDcRqZRspMB8vshEPTL9NI6zG3dc5xl0JK_-dFxHKFwjnTWK1HYw4J/s1600/789.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGs-b2aTdqnjp8L5WPydbGJQKwGn9cjvMyr0kPLmag94lM2oUaP7NH_FoMs7OWws2RBhv11_cJnlaHe8N37WrDcRqZRspMB8vshEPTL9NI6zG3dc5xl0JK_-dFxHKFwjnTWK1HYw4J/s1600/789.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is Jeremia climbing in the tree getting mangoes for us!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiiBSIGSo77X6MDroXHJPBw5IbCagp3kT-biIyDuB-Ko63G45U-vhNp8WbQIWTTvWa8WAg5SpJg7D03_3YJXSHjKlYl1ra_zktXWnRrOJq1-x5wWhjI4skYOcJX1HnYtuc8iO_SM6k/s1600/791.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiiBSIGSo77X6MDroXHJPBw5IbCagp3kT-biIyDuB-Ko63G45U-vhNp8WbQIWTTvWa8WAg5SpJg7D03_3YJXSHjKlYl1ra_zktXWnRrOJq1-x5wWhjI4skYOcJX1HnYtuc8iO_SM6k/s1600/791.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Alicen and I decided to actually be adventurous and climb up in the mango tree with the boys! We seriously spent over and hour hanging out in the tree eating mangoes and talking. For sure one of my favorite memories!<br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: 13px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYS0c4XSHIMJBdh3fC4b7oc5_bNIXeIAN6knotJcv_c06SfTjRnGQ6PAEUONETob6CmDTPUny0XmdPqKJBC5nqqw2RaBHh9ePUB5Nozudv6QJsbGIsV4dTB6s9idV3Z3r8Mx9_Ebxh/s1600/792.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYS0c4XSHIMJBdh3fC4b7oc5_bNIXeIAN6knotJcv_c06SfTjRnGQ6PAEUONETob6CmDTPUny0XmdPqKJBC5nqqw2RaBHh9ePUB5Nozudv6QJsbGIsV4dTB6s9idV3Z3r8Mx9_Ebxh/s1600/792.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then the boys had to show off their log rolling skills. We'll just say I didn't get the timing down quite right when taking the picture...<br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">MORE:</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVCo95LeC4oRhcYG5PghCHFhbCLKIM7Pkz4JSBXV7oVw0tIbQ47KeZB67dLaTkCbT0s1xp8YvvT0bWrb8FQUEN6K8yzPKlI6TkZJUDYIhODawqE-4EWuHP5RkKqlhqTvtllOa-k_3G/s1600/IMG_2639.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVCo95LeC4oRhcYG5PghCHFhbCLKIM7Pkz4JSBXV7oVw0tIbQ47KeZB67dLaTkCbT0s1xp8YvvT0bWrb8FQUEN6K8yzPKlI6TkZJUDYIhODawqE-4EWuHP5RkKqlhqTvtllOa-k_3G/s1600/IMG_2639.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another litter of puppies!! They had just opened their eyes when I left and were about 2-3 weeks old!<br /></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_oby5vZrpZ2rBiTUNLdqwsGhNiaSeFXSiEBFT7n4LcVnjtXOJ2iq30maaH1EfvLH_YqiBFtjYZKR8Ggxr67I7bCIFdcBNKXUvp7ySLAQk-smNOOZxaIr8lvXDi_8QAwabfJJ1e2dr/s1600/IMG_2635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_oby5vZrpZ2rBiTUNLdqwsGhNiaSeFXSiEBFT7n4LcVnjtXOJ2iq30maaH1EfvLH_YqiBFtjYZKR8Ggxr67I7bCIFdcBNKXUvp7ySLAQk-smNOOZxaIr8lvXDi_8QAwabfJJ1e2dr/s1600/IMG_2635.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could've seriously held those sweet babies all day!<br /></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEuqUQv1k60rcfZyOFi3PaEynp_8Wu50tbpCdr3xWULP236DWrSRbARqkOpONON36RMQe8RDl-fwSuDv1fEsksekeycCPXRt7nqZ4sk3D_QzbDXT__pTz91Oq7y-LcwUghBSjA1w3y/s1600/IMG_2643.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEuqUQv1k60rcfZyOFi3PaEynp_8Wu50tbpCdr3xWULP236DWrSRbARqkOpONON36RMQe8RDl-fwSuDv1fEsksekeycCPXRt7nqZ4sk3D_QzbDXT__pTz91Oq7y-LcwUghBSjA1w3y/s1600/IMG_2643.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maite "sledding" down the hill on a huge plantain leaf, so inventive!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_rlzLyEh1cZDYkO8Ij-7dQ07E0Osvo9fQXbwQLpj3xYEb_B4fClSy0CTmiruiL8jwoCjNo06zBXKIuU26V24uN1remy8t3dvyl5auGXIqqgKF-nYF12KnCnUcd2KSD6M0ggWqnbMq/s1600/IMG_2644.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_rlzLyEh1cZDYkO8Ij-7dQ07E0Osvo9fQXbwQLpj3xYEb_B4fClSy0CTmiruiL8jwoCjNo06zBXKIuU26V24uN1remy8t3dvyl5auGXIqqgKF-nYF12KnCnUcd2KSD6M0ggWqnbMq/s1600/IMG_2644.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bobby joined in too!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz7yrCQzzO231Utu1GqPuN-IEHQyszm6-iykshI1Y1I-G0W2CxRktG7AkvGX9zHXyuYVa3Ixmgx_HK3lGH9EajsMvLVQCgIoig16KqkSjWH6OVsWbNLrLyzGIfzcQpwRLDAyE-3-11/s1600/IMG_2707.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz7yrCQzzO231Utu1GqPuN-IEHQyszm6-iykshI1Y1I-G0W2CxRktG7AkvGX9zHXyuYVa3Ixmgx_HK3lGH9EajsMvLVQCgIoig16KqkSjWH6OVsWbNLrLyzGIfzcQpwRLDAyE-3-11/s1600/IMG_2707.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Papa Lion teaching me how to shoot his pellet gun. He really got a kick out of it, and I think he thought it was my first time to shoot a gun!<br /></span></td></tr>
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<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My Last Day:</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, we sort of made getting up to watch the sun rise a thing to do when someone was heading back to the U.S. This particular time the group that went was Alicen, Ryan, and I. But, we also had some special guests as well. Three of the kids that I got the closest too decided to get up early for me so that I could get to share this memory with them on my last day. Jeremia had asked me if I would go to his house to wake him up so I left my house at 5:30AM. While I was headed toward Jere's house, I saw someone walking toward me and after being scared of who it was for a second I realized it was Jere. He was so proud of himself for waking up to his alarm and not having to make me wake him up! He and I then headed up to the twins house to wake them up. After a bit, they were up. Next, Alicen. This was difficult, we went old school and threw rocks at her window and whispered her name. It was so funny, but we had to try not to laugh too loud to wake everyone up or make the dogs go crazy. After picking up Ryan, we headed up to the vista! After a bit, we were curious if the sun was going to rise through the clouds, but it eventually did! </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju_CKXaj9Q6JW3C4RDg9lFD3r9zF9n1ymVmJIiecQ83zeOpph7MRLA4N2ylX-lWLcWfh1o6rB-Qk2Sjsr44Z0rcZGQSuSlmfr6GnTuymWKWc3A6E9uSayVLOn6I56OEh45d8x_nfCE/s1600/IMG_2657.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju_CKXaj9Q6JW3C4RDg9lFD3r9zF9n1ymVmJIiecQ83zeOpph7MRLA4N2ylX-lWLcWfh1o6rB-Qk2Sjsr44Z0rcZGQSuSlmfr6GnTuymWKWc3A6E9uSayVLOn6I56OEh45d8x_nfCE/s1600/IMG_2657.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Such a wonderful place!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG_ldj4QNukBmzPdpuoUGo0CTZW2ycIeZ65lNsZTuFOGxENuMnP231_VjqaoV_Yx1Rm3SfoD-20t2BwGw-g6xDqNZAVl3yhz2oIy_5Ausv4HUKweIJQrAyMVb_6cayzxzU0o_ekSOk/s1600/IMG_2659.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG_ldj4QNukBmzPdpuoUGo0CTZW2ycIeZ65lNsZTuFOGxENuMnP231_VjqaoV_Yx1Rm3SfoD-20t2BwGw-g6xDqNZAVl3yhz2oIy_5Ausv4HUKweIJQrAyMVb_6cayzxzU0o_ekSOk/s1600/IMG_2659.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The Three Amigos: Oniel, Jeremia, and Aniel</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS-oX8vUlBQwv9VvSV-WLK836wjUlrBnQlG-TmDka7m52JlEdteIQhduSr3fZhB099mT5FNeA3aUGkG1CBUvp_YiaFRuhuO3OJnjOnMevrD03vwFlvelZYtt2W8Uc28EUyhXVFftVj/s1600/IMG_2675.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS-oX8vUlBQwv9VvSV-WLK836wjUlrBnQlG-TmDka7m52JlEdteIQhduSr3fZhB099mT5FNeA3aUGkG1CBUvp_YiaFRuhuO3OJnjOnMevrD03vwFlvelZYtt2W8Uc28EUyhXVFftVj/s1600/IMG_2675.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz6AxVN2dxOOOJc-6_sfychVUdOHFeq8ZQdVyD595iLZJlReybuvVwoHGmbLca8NrOjH1mz11NZDuyIrQS1Jjvk0OJQycYHX4_y0eyVwiEDUsxeZVDnfajfmgThZsSCmVByrJxp8-n/s1600/IMG_2685.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz6AxVN2dxOOOJc-6_sfychVUdOHFeq8ZQdVyD595iLZJlReybuvVwoHGmbLca8NrOjH1mz11NZDuyIrQS1Jjvk0OJQycYHX4_y0eyVwiEDUsxeZVDnfajfmgThZsSCmVByrJxp8-n/s1600/IMG_2685.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">God is good!</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPN5HDDCc1bB6qJ8pmmj7EL9WAqAb9o_5jF660wNvaNEhoLFIFp-zN7Jo9o7m8QcEgVULNsLPuqFhgyRzJ7zOmTuBzpvsO0a9QC-E4dItBboz95DjZOHWKHWC8jeZMLQcuX3CYNr0B/s1600/IMG_2679.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPN5HDDCc1bB6qJ8pmmj7EL9WAqAb9o_5jF660wNvaNEhoLFIFp-zN7Jo9o7m8QcEgVULNsLPuqFhgyRzJ7zOmTuBzpvsO0a9QC-E4dItBboz95DjZOHWKHWC8jeZMLQcuX3CYNr0B/s1600/IMG_2679.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Love these boys so much. We truly became the best of friends!</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisxrUt1YXnyQcsFSqtGtVpNwtfzF0e8fFnX5PjKWmXCBzlHC_RmprvFpM64nm0Lq66jJJrdCC1HP2WVMJ3RyDRHbQUlu6B90uU0e5sWCy3nUjFvVLG-Gf1D5tE3i-_x_imqEhqaRBM/s1600/IMG_2688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisxrUt1YXnyQcsFSqtGtVpNwtfzF0e8fFnX5PjKWmXCBzlHC_RmprvFpM64nm0Lq66jJJrdCC1HP2WVMJ3RyDRHbQUlu6B90uU0e5sWCy3nUjFvVLG-Gf1D5tE3i-_x_imqEhqaRBM/s1600/IMG_2688.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Alicen and I with our boys!</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTcZUokcWj7qNTd_PiPTDDc_U0wi47udyKCo_hdZcket2H3QOKmqyKJEten6LMeF4lIFn3TyoGeJWixBVe0061uLxQ0wFtU25p2LQZivoqmDrnrooO3Muxj5TJneorgVyygkxfy6qj/s1600/IMG_2714.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTcZUokcWj7qNTd_PiPTDDc_U0wi47udyKCo_hdZcket2H3QOKmqyKJEten6LMeF4lIFn3TyoGeJWixBVe0061uLxQ0wFtU25p2LQZivoqmDrnrooO3Muxj5TJneorgVyygkxfy6qj/s1600/IMG_2714.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The little parade some of the kids threw me before I left!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This summer was such a wonderful experience, and I cannot thank The Lord enough for placing this opportunity in front of me! I am planning on sharing and expanding on the lessons he taught me and the impact this community had on my life in a later blog. I am missing this place so much right now, but I have full confidence in The Lord and His plan. Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers throughout this summer. Please continue praying for this wonderful community and for me!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10330625032128353416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3141062856046112386.post-13741399106720443402013-08-08T13:25:00.001-07:002013-08-08T13:25:27.198-07:00Birthdays, Gardening, Baseball and Much More!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hola! I am incredibly sorry that it has been nearly a month since I have updated my blog. I am planning on just highlighting certain events that took place over my last few weeks in the country. I decided it might be a little lengthy, so I am going to split it up into two blogs. So, right now I am back in the United States and have been since this past Thursday night, August 1st. The adjustment has been difficult, but I am starting to get used to being back in the good ol' USA. After I am finished with this blog, I plan to write an overview of the summer and share how this experience affected me and the way The Lord used it to mold and shape me. But for this particular blog I am just going to share how I spent my last few weeks. I mentioned in a blog earlier how for July 4th we had wanted to teach the community how to dance the 2-Step but it didn't work out. Well, we finally had a night where we were able to teach them how to! It was fun to have country music blaring and see all the guys struggle but eventually catch on. It was good for them to get a chance to feel how we felt when being taught how to dance meringue or bachata. They were real patient when learning and could tell that us girls really enjoyed sharing a taste of our culture with them! On the afternoon of July 13th, Christine and her study abroad students arrived in our community after spending three weeks in Jarabacoa. We spent most of the day showing them around and getting them accustomed to their new home for the next few weeks. It was great getting to know them and sharing experiences that we had so far in the community. There were six of them, five girls and one boy. Four of them were from the University of Michigan, one from the University of Chicago, and one from Xavier. We were able to really welcome them into the community with a huge birthday party on that Sunday night for a man in the community named Chepe. Birthday parties are a pretty big deal here and a lot of the community comes out to celebrate. A lot of planning goes into it and it lasts FOREVER. They serve soup at the party, but not until about 11:00PM. The soup they serve is The Dominican Republic's national dish called sancocho. It is basically a stew of tubers such as yucca, potatoes, carrots and others as well as pieces of meat usually pork or chicken. Then the stew is poured over a bed of rice and is absolutely delicious! I figured people wouldn't really eat a lot since it was so late but nearly everyone takes and finishes the huge bowl they are served. And then of course there is cake that is needed to be served, too. They don't want to serve the cake too early because they know that most everyone will leave after the cake is served. So, they don't serve it until about 12:30-1:00AM. Crazy, I know! </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGHAehXesrlAEC-IUAjRC7XubG8P7un7tCDg3W-igFxmCOFMcObZy4PVMOJdQdfIk9AWRSrzzb9Z7i2DSwY8ZKUoapFMX3hSNnNBL0pfkokYlGmd5ZzJl8ePxJx_EqcLVCQJhh99s2/s1600/cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGHAehXesrlAEC-IUAjRC7XubG8P7un7tCDg3W-igFxmCOFMcObZy4PVMOJdQdfIk9AWRSrzzb9Z7i2DSwY8ZKUoapFMX3hSNnNBL0pfkokYlGmd5ZzJl8ePxJx_EqcLVCQJhh99s2/s1600/cake.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is Chepe's cake. Yes, it was 6 feet long!</td></tr>
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The birthday parties make for a crazy and late night, but it is fun to see a big part of the community together dancing and having a wonderful time. The day of this birthday party happened to be the same day as Mama Purita's birthday, but her and Papa Lion aren't exactly the dancing or partying type so they didn't make it to the party. But I really enjoyed spending the day with her and hanging out with the family that came in to celebrate her birthday. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRHCgb2veFmeLxtk_PhZby56mFnwv7UbrlQ5vOUZq3eqmoBuN-6l1pF4yX-qmja6sFjvoOG2JN_pEXGCGA9cvJC2kklDQ0_-2vWasV6sRXlefczVc1N_17sVW9AXQwubJyc6Kyf5w9/s1600/Purita%2527s+birthday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRHCgb2veFmeLxtk_PhZby56mFnwv7UbrlQ5vOUZq3eqmoBuN-6l1pF4yX-qmja6sFjvoOG2JN_pEXGCGA9cvJC2kklDQ0_-2vWasV6sRXlefczVc1N_17sVW9AXQwubJyc6Kyf5w9/s1600/Purita%2527s+birthday.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">This is Mama Purita and I before I headed to
the birthday party. The precious thing is that she wasn't dressed up to go
anywhere. She just wanted to look and feel nice on her birthday. She even had
heels on, I loved it!</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
next week was very productive! We headed to a hardware store to buy the small
amount of supplies that we needed and actually started constructing our first
keyhole garden. We needed to buy chicken wire and rebar and we were thrilled
that it wasn't very expensive! </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5DcBeNbLzEctGI9RFfW7PwfwZbY9g5W6pls06zBhYz5Qn8kfIP3i1rVBuzX0jaiu77LpQPLJpk5u1Nr9d0VvNaM-bvx4FwrnP8MndCURVnYgzydZ6-f8tXd9l77Rs3u1Eu7xLTN-k/s1600/Alicen+cutting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5DcBeNbLzEctGI9RFfW7PwfwZbY9g5W6pls06zBhYz5Qn8kfIP3i1rVBuzX0jaiu77LpQPLJpk5u1Nr9d0VvNaM-bvx4FwrnP8MndCURVnYgzydZ6-f8tXd9l77Rs3u1Eu7xLTN-k/s1600/Alicen+cutting.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The chicken wire we bought was 5 feet tall so this is Alicen cutting it in half so that the height of our garden would only be 2.5 feet.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQWp_nDfY4a2tJ0mOpL2hIVdWfysxtfHQHbBez9iN_A0C8THtNGi-Rg4rFB2q2LZcLTzM7ArxJxN5SYgCxAA7bq8G2ISrkDj4t2S-mEfT-wX-ffEhk9tRY0ULpOnCGZwDBIaKVWjvM/s1600/putting+up+wire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQWp_nDfY4a2tJ0mOpL2hIVdWfysxtfHQHbBez9iN_A0C8THtNGi-Rg4rFB2q2LZcLTzM7ArxJxN5SYgCxAA7bq8G2ISrkDj4t2S-mEfT-wX-ffEhk9tRY0ULpOnCGZwDBIaKVWjvM/s1600/putting+up+wire.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alicen and I wrapping the chicken wire around the rebar for our framework of the garden.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbnFXXTdOJnMCq89u2ganI-nn2Qx0iBg7R1mwijKz8nXMXPUQU4lpmOILftRTQlW4OP1mHE7ThYc1ioCCeWQT-muMX0uKPIjp_Px4985jrJV4OoIK_kV6uaA3QcVEiHAdIM2g0a6DI/s1600/putting+up+wire2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbnFXXTdOJnMCq89u2ganI-nn2Qx0iBg7R1mwijKz8nXMXPUQU4lpmOILftRTQlW4OP1mHE7ThYc1ioCCeWQT-muMX0uKPIjp_Px4985jrJV4OoIK_kV6uaA3QcVEiHAdIM2g0a6DI/s1600/putting+up+wire2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taylor and Susie working hard as well!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZsJE-P8ZxkNaQSdkq0nwtOfhaBdVqtHjn3RNAqYUiFYKYJR3iT1ABN_1npv3XLOdh9mf3dZCGEFxMNqR7o9RKlLYzxo0eXa6ukE6Rqz5ocMCCkL16W2ZKlqY0Uhh45GsuHeLcl1C-/s1600/collecting+rocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZsJE-P8ZxkNaQSdkq0nwtOfhaBdVqtHjn3RNAqYUiFYKYJR3iT1ABN_1npv3XLOdh9mf3dZCGEFxMNqR7o9RKlLYzxo0eXa6ukE6Rqz5ocMCCkL16W2ZKlqY0Uhh45GsuHeLcl1C-/s1600/collecting+rocks.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Me collecting rocks to be placed on the bottom of the barrier for added support.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnKC5pBwUQJy1ww8iJ4O29nfxCftldeXtiZ3fIr4XOxZkVUmwgDPub7rZK2jTK0DpXl8nQsNfKrqRnZA1RWoBYVTnwdq1WJvDZPVeq4MbsBI4P_fMJK7ABlpsfOO4nfX6KrqaPPd2D/s1600/bottles+placed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnKC5pBwUQJy1ww8iJ4O29nfxCftldeXtiZ3fIr4XOxZkVUmwgDPub7rZK2jTK0DpXl8nQsNfKrqRnZA1RWoBYVTnwdq1WJvDZPVeq4MbsBI4P_fMJK7ABlpsfOO4nfX6KrqaPPd2D/s1600/bottles+placed.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We placed plastic bottles that we had collected all over the community in between two layers of chicken wire to serve as a barrier for our keyhole garden. We liked the idea of using plastic bottles and chicken wire because it was less expensive than cement or bricks and also is a better learning tool. Now, the children will learn that plastic serves as a good barrier because it won't decompose like the other things we are putting in the middle of the garden. We are hoping they will learn to not throw their bottles on the side of the road anymore because they will remain there for forever!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI-kDj7aYZRkn0JjLKCVVl0wvhD9EX3AA65Uoff95okLf2E1cidjE5LNZrE-vfO7Gl3uE6lI89rRDNPpRkvvpNfA08-smEk0-MBwQ5PMQ6AJ2A5Xk-mqIU21mVn_mDk_MCIfTrD8v3/s1600/border+finished.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI-kDj7aYZRkn0JjLKCVVl0wvhD9EX3AA65Uoff95okLf2E1cidjE5LNZrE-vfO7Gl3uE6lI89rRDNPpRkvvpNfA08-smEk0-MBwQ5PMQ6AJ2A5Xk-mqIU21mVn_mDk_MCIfTrD8v3/s1600/border+finished.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is a photo which depicts the whole garden much better. We were only able to fill the barrier halfway full of plastic bottles and didn't put the other materials in yet. The circle in the middles serves as a "trashcan" wear the kids can continue to put compostable items such as paper and food scraps in once the garden is completed.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLePeiE5SS15ooTKLK2h-BBhTgRA82fxGAbBQ31yziO-2Z_G78YvmbyNLuVnw_ZGJ668IitaOjs2_abO03ypkFghmEhhQ_MePdRGEWG1kX7-lMms-rC7rhTYue38gDLgbuywrEYUV1/s1600/ags+and+garden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLePeiE5SS15ooTKLK2h-BBhTgRA82fxGAbBQ31yziO-2Z_G78YvmbyNLuVnw_ZGJ668IitaOjs2_abO03ypkFghmEhhQ_MePdRGEWG1kX7-lMms-rC7rhTYue38gDLgbuywrEYUV1/s1600/ags+and+garden.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is what we accomplished on that day: Four girl aggies creating the framework for a keyhole garden. Gig 'em!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also this week Susie and I headed to a field that they are starting to make into an actual baseball field to play baseball. We weren't aware that it was going to be such a big deal, but probably about 25-30 teenage boys and young men came to join in on the fun! Other times that I have mentioned playing baseball it was on a much smaller scale. First of all, it was usually with boys that were from 12-15 whereas this time the youngest were 15 and the oldest were probably in their mid 30's-40's. Also, I usually played in the street or driveway with at most 8 or 9 kiddos. Again, we used a tennis ball or some sort of homemade ball created with many pairs of socks. This time, we used actual softballs. Needless to say, Susie and I functioned as designated hitters because they didn't want us to get hurt trying to play in the field. It was so much fun to experience such a large scale pick-up game of baseball!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcJrfR0eQ532TQPgIiQZaxmUPw83GlpHE0NutH6h76IboGCjnwreMGz_H-XC45BJEZkP8i3kuSEyApY2YRmb7dK8V9Yk2IVmgkLjg2-sXP0mOqsXPauX4iT48v56igfjB95rBw6E9Y/s1600/baseball+at+field.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcJrfR0eQ532TQPgIiQZaxmUPw83GlpHE0NutH6h76IboGCjnwreMGz_H-XC45BJEZkP8i3kuSEyApY2YRmb7dK8V9Yk2IVmgkLjg2-sXP0mOqsXPauX4iT48v56igfjB95rBw6E9Y/s1600/baseball+at+field.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yeury batting while others are waiting to bat. Also, notice how that one guy even hardcore dressed up in full uniform for the occasion!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimQ4pQzguZTKGGNOmmvmeNeQKE6RkTT8m3UyqNsmS79MeWaBDRsg4nQGpeApx46MNQ_8tOALZ0ukvu3-H1wBY0PCiBWcf_Rvim68z0_3NCEFRhR78Tspu5fMUUdW9dU7156EQefawa/s1600/baseball+at+field2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimQ4pQzguZTKGGNOmmvmeNeQKE6RkTT8m3UyqNsmS79MeWaBDRsg4nQGpeApx46MNQ_8tOALZ0ukvu3-H1wBY0PCiBWcf_Rvim68z0_3NCEFRhR78Tspu5fMUUdW9dU7156EQefawa/s1600/baseball+at+field2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, Susie and I kind of dropped the ball on pictures of this game. But here is a little bit of a view of the game!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy7XwNJtDowz-iHD7cbH1s-InmOJ-gFqb9uQEy9s3Yxer9esPAd3MZJZqZMzonQdq_4q28jdZYEcFzJ5pp2-zZQv0aA2-qGOeocEU96wtr02wg7u_e_ErT5r44g5yBX7WaubYCTRhN/s1600/protected+by+rain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy7XwNJtDowz-iHD7cbH1s-InmOJ-gFqb9uQEy9s3Yxer9esPAd3MZJZqZMzonQdq_4q28jdZYEcFzJ5pp2-zZQv0aA2-qGOeocEU96wtr02wg7u_e_ErT5r44g5yBX7WaubYCTRhN/s1600/protected+by+rain.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It kept raining off and on so here is the shelter we'd all run to when it started to rain! </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was so much fun to see a lot of guys in the community actually be able to play the game in its full effect. I also enjoyed getting on base and even scoring a run! After this game of baseball, I ended up going to a pasture to play with some of the younger boys who were left out during this game for the older guys and even men. It was raining for a lot of the time we were playing and it was funny for the guys to realize that didn't bother me. I don't think girls here in the DR ever play sports and if they did, they definitely wouldn't play in the rain. I just kept telling them, you guys are out here and are playing so therefore I can too! When we play in the pasture, the kids usually put giant leaves down as the bases. So, there was one time that I was running super fast to try to get to first and it was going to be a close play. I wish I could say that I meant to slide into first, but I didn't and all the kids knew that. They sure got a kick out of me taking a fall and becoming all muddy! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Later on in the week, my mom and I made peanut butter. They grow peanuts in our community, and I absolutely love eating the ones my mom roasted! But this one particular day, I asked my mom if we could try to make peanut butter. She of course agreed although neither of us knew what we were doing. We probably should have discussed a game plan before we both just started doing what we figured you are supposed to do when making peanut butter because we had much different plans of action. I wanted to take my mom's mortar and pestle and just smash the peanuts until they became smooth. If they needed a little moisture I was just going to add a little oil. Well, my mom on the other hand thought that we were going to cook the mixture. So after peeling the papery shell off, I took some and placed them in the mortar and started smashing. She decided to take peanuts and water and mix them in the blender. After, she placed them on the stove and brought it to a boil. Needless to say, our peanut butter didn't exactly turn out like I was expecting it to but it was a fun time spent with my mom! The peanut butter had good flavor, but it just retained too much water. I still ate it, but decided to put a layer of regular peanut butter on my crackers first and then top it with our creation! I think this is long enough for now and I will add the last week on my next blog!</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10330625032128353416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3141062856046112386.post-24925417733443399722013-07-11T07:59:00.000-07:002013-07-12T06:30:07.412-07:00Surviving Chantal/Weekend Adventure to Jarabacoa!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, as the title of this blog says, we survived the tropical storm, Chantal! The storm was predicted to head straight toward The Dominican Republic, but because our God is gracious and all-powerful, it passed on by! We did get a lot of rain but nothing out of the ordinary. I just wanted to update everyone who was worried and also show my gratitude to all who prayed for our safety. GOD IS GOOD!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, I mentioned in my last blog about our journey to Jarabacoa and now I am going to elaborate! Jarabacoa is a city in the mountains in the middle of the DR(about 4 hours from our community) where Christine, our professor, is living with study abroad students right now. Christine enjoys putting a lot on her plate so this study abroad program is one of the many things she has going on this summer. She did her undergrad at Indiana University and now runs a study abroad program for Big 10 schools each summer in the DR. The program is research based and the students spend 3 weeks in the city life of Jarabacoa and then move to the rural life of our community for another 3 weeks. The students are coming into our community this Saturday, and we are all real excited! Okay, now on to explaining what we did in Jarabacoa! I first need to start with how we got there, though. Hold on one second, I need to provide a quick background story. So, the reason Christine is connected with this community is because she did her dissertation research for anthropology here and then ended up living here for another 10 years. While she was here, she "adopted" three kids who are now in there late teens and 20's. Anyway, her adopted son, Richard, came to Jarabacoa with us to help us navigate! To get there, we had to take public transportation which involves many short trips to cities in 15-passenger vans. They don't really seem to follow the 15-passenger rule too well though. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7MYGM0UEQQkzFHdgignHgDwPsOEmQS9nzhNIwnyJSeQcLlT3ECAL4P0SJF8ZoBdzJhzkH6KWxrfxONvhZpbakXINEJpNK3O6qu5pMA3sQ3cRXgSndhV0wTSJLDbrd_-17cgbwZcLG/s1600/crammed+guagua.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7MYGM0UEQQkzFHdgignHgDwPsOEmQS9nzhNIwnyJSeQcLlT3ECAL4P0SJF8ZoBdzJhzkH6KWxrfxONvhZpbakXINEJpNK3O6qu5pMA3sQ3cRXgSndhV0wTSJLDbrd_-17cgbwZcLG/s1600/crammed+guagua.jpg" height="145" width="320" /></a>]</td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is an example of 24 people crammed into one "guagua," which is the term they use here for any type of car!</td></tr>
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So, we needed to take four different guaguas to get to Jarabacoa and on these guaguas, they just randomly shout out an amount of money that you then proceed to pass up to the driver! On the second leg, we decided to just hitch a ride with a random guy in a truck who was happening to go to the next city where we would need to hop on the next guagua. Yes, we fit 7 people in a small 4-door truck with all of our luggage for the weekend. Yes, the trip there was quite a squished adventure, but a great one! Christine is staying in an apartment in Jarabacoa so when we got there that is where we went. It was a great reunion because it had been awhile since we all had seen her! We were also very excited that in that apartment was a kitchen! As much as we have all enjoyed being waited on hand and foot, we wanted to do some cooking! We had thought of some meals that we missed and wanted to make! Before it was dinner time, the study abroad students came by so that we could meet them! I think I forgot to mention in my last post that this past week us 4 girls made the sweet potato dulce(sweet in Spanish) with Mama Purita! I also don't know if I have explained what that is yet either. So basically it is Thanksgiving in a bowl. It has sweet potatoes, coconut, milk, brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon that just eventually becomes a big ol' mash...SO GOOD! Anyway, my purpose of explaining that is that my mom sent me with a tupperware bowl of the dulce to enjoy while we were in Jarabacoa! So right before the study abroad students came by, we had started enjoying some! When the students came, we decided to give them a little taste of our community, they all loved it! It was great to meet all of them and we are ready for the six of them to come hang out with us here in La Esquina! After they left, we headed to the store to buy groceries for the meals we wanted to make! For dinner Friday night we had pancakes(with peanut butter and honey of course!) eggs, and sausage. We were planning on making homemade salsa right when we got there but then discovered that there would be a market that sold fresh vegetables in the morning so we decided to wait. But since we had really missed spicy foods, we decided to buy a little Tostino's while we were at the store anyway! Dinner was great and we just spent the rest of the evening hanging out with Christine! Speaking of Christine, she lives in a one bedroom apartment in Jarabacoa and we decided to all "sleep" on the rock-hard floor, which didn't really work at all. Oh well, it was okay! The next morning we headed to the market to buy all the veggies we needed to make salsa. We had brought a few mangoes with us to give the salsa a little "Dominican" twist! The sad part was they didn't have fresh jalapenos, so we had to use pickled but we were still able to choke it down. For lunch we went over to where Christine's godchildren live and spent time with them and their family! The girls are so precious, but a lot to handle! <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipktDZcKcUPn5KxZo-2QmFdw6BMMIaPevh2VSeQGgxSvFOSI9d5iOLtYtvdkqWhDA_YPHWL_-_J5xZKPdpW0MSmR7rq2zrouR_ARyMQpBPXRlsAoolzjkgLBow2gj2A4n8WE8HI5J6/s1600/Channel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipktDZcKcUPn5KxZo-2QmFdw6BMMIaPevh2VSeQGgxSvFOSI9d5iOLtYtvdkqWhDA_YPHWL_-_J5xZKPdpW0MSmR7rq2zrouR_ARyMQpBPXRlsAoolzjkgLBow2gj2A4n8WE8HI5J6/s1600/Channel.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is the older daughter, Channel, who is quite the model!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivzm4JI-bcXVx1H320hHoN7utH2mTPd36lFBs4n0nRGLOJkTmQh-wqPlrBUEX42JBSPBM9BdJ7oTgNGm2b9w16Wx-tbCBTq17u2Y3GHPGK0wYJjw50mo1YPMHvLhwWMaEvSBGu1k0Y/s1600/alicen+and+chanthal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivzm4JI-bcXVx1H320hHoN7utH2mTPd36lFBs4n0nRGLOJkTmQh-wqPlrBUEX42JBSPBM9BdJ7oTgNGm2b9w16Wx-tbCBTq17u2Y3GHPGK0wYJjw50mo1YPMHvLhwWMaEvSBGu1k0Y/s1600/alicen+and+chanthal.jpg" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is Chanthal making Alicen into a beautiful princess!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We spent the remainder of the afternoon just hanging out with them until we headed back to Christine's to make quesadillas to enjoy with our homemade salsa! After dinner, we went dancing!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWjum4plJrDozYnfjhO99dD8JPATelJL94mSeplTBUupLjUEk6jk8VNm2ZAqR5mPhyphenhyphenioBXZrDnKQxkJ4kpw6dczvMl8Gt4cTwrIbFyfXP30dAJb1AXkSodzthuBBSJznOzrpDGICK7/s1600/Jarabacoa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWjum4plJrDozYnfjhO99dD8JPATelJL94mSeplTBUupLjUEk6jk8VNm2ZAqR5mPhyphenhyphenioBXZrDnKQxkJ4kpw6dczvMl8Gt4cTwrIbFyfXP30dAJb1AXkSodzthuBBSJznOzrpDGICK7/s1600/Jarabacoa.jpg" height="166" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is us 4 before we headed out!<br />(Taylor, me, Susie, and Alicen)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuidVCzc1joERaqHzhNASqdv6MT6OlwfdbxZtAnGzAEpVcn2x-cMOv4C9cFZ3lbKUoUhu3hnR77alRw88SybHqOG2JO36tgaE87mkQhAb9LwTCb_v6TzJ2gVB-3Pzh3Pz2XsW3BUZU/s1600/jarabacoa+crazy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuidVCzc1joERaqHzhNASqdv6MT6OlwfdbxZtAnGzAEpVcn2x-cMOv4C9cFZ3lbKUoUhu3hnR77alRw88SybHqOG2JO36tgaE87mkQhAb9LwTCb_v6TzJ2gVB-3Pzh3Pz2XsW3BUZU/s1600/jarabacoa+crazy.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had to have a crazy picture of course! Love these girls!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We decided that after not sleeping too well at Christine's we should probably stay at the house with her compadres which actually had a bed. We did squish all four of us sideways in a full size bed, but we slept much better! Sunday morning we headed back to our community. We definitely had more squished adventures in guagua's and trucks along with rain on the way back! This time, we fit 8 people in a small 4-door truck. It was so great! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, when we were in Jarabacoa, Susie decided to buy some hair dye so the following pictures are us dying her hair! Apparently it's a thing she does to go red in late summer to fall. It was a fun experience!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsUNZ-1rbBd9mw_RClRtKvnR0vrKDqkI8EmjKac-1eTzGoHiKgXFhLdJY3r1nfVGSGaXxkjwVr1apRFvSxAjZAlDBdDDUqFP0_nPtyqMw_FxxEQ7n-jBU3BtmvYcrEEzmiZK9Euo3I/s1600/susie+before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsUNZ-1rbBd9mw_RClRtKvnR0vrKDqkI8EmjKac-1eTzGoHiKgXFhLdJY3r1nfVGSGaXxkjwVr1apRFvSxAjZAlDBdDDUqFP0_nPtyqMw_FxxEQ7n-jBU3BtmvYcrEEzmiZK9Euo3I/s1600/susie+before.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is Susie before!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJbfk8TUfEllGT-jP6b-8xLynb_qODOoatjQN0CdZq7jagJU0-H3aXJ-4Nnhri8fG2mFRUWBQhe8_rCjJZHt_RSQhyp4BpcTXazl0r0SViWClalDtTLOMAcNVEf6Yw3ZxlwTDMyYaM/s1600/conehead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJbfk8TUfEllGT-jP6b-8xLynb_qODOoatjQN0CdZq7jagJU0-H3aXJ-4Nnhri8fG2mFRUWBQhe8_rCjJZHt_RSQhyp4BpcTXazl0r0SViWClalDtTLOMAcNVEf6Yw3ZxlwTDMyYaM/s1600/conehead.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During: her hair could basically just stand up like that because of all of the dye!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi64Rbs_pDflJYmRAcfYbCYEW-VZGzM6RhRyXp691rf-mfY2XEekhDP6xiMJxvTG3YFqtqBOB6F3mf0S-rvVupBrl9sYqD_CQ3M4y_L2VeFRf1R-3uPlykp4dmkQbMV_T4TPK8vQIGc/s1600/jazz+hands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi64Rbs_pDflJYmRAcfYbCYEW-VZGzM6RhRyXp691rf-mfY2XEekhDP6xiMJxvTG3YFqtqBOB6F3mf0S-rvVupBrl9sYqD_CQ3M4y_L2VeFRf1R-3uPlykp4dmkQbMV_T4TPK8vQIGc/s1600/jazz+hands.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Us waiting to rinse it out!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDSphfMTkYficCO7jvlAQKnesmDrqil1jyHfliSuEYsq6a1mpootaXmjyAStGgoq86yctZf7i9ZvXzWVheW4PJpNWExgMjJEwAwX63ODAWkH_BKEmRo4xLGJK9ngfu-X0d6Zx9-ipi/s1600/we+bleed+maroon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDSphfMTkYficCO7jvlAQKnesmDrqil1jyHfliSuEYsq6a1mpootaXmjyAStGgoq86yctZf7i9ZvXzWVheW4PJpNWExgMjJEwAwX63ODAWkH_BKEmRo4xLGJK9ngfu-X0d6Zx9-ipi/s1600/we+bleed+maroon.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rinsing it out!<br />We bleed maroon...WHOOP!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikIdOR6fHKMH4kaGGQ84vF80Y1RP5e_iuNnS5X3MTSvdZ7g0ogt982dHHdzjzAO7ew9QFOtKXAAIYcUPNROJNhyphenhyphencIdLCvzbmHftj2Um5YyTKjW3bPoa8ZxQqmUJ8IDX0pfv7YRLl7T/s1600/susie+after.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikIdOR6fHKMH4kaGGQ84vF80Y1RP5e_iuNnS5X3MTSvdZ7g0ogt982dHHdzjzAO7ew9QFOtKXAAIYcUPNROJNhyphenhyphencIdLCvzbmHftj2Um5YyTKjW3bPoa8ZxQqmUJ8IDX0pfv7YRLl7T/s1600/susie+after.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The finished product!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />I mentioned in a previous blog about our Fourth of July Adventure in Cabrera with pizza and ice cream. Here is a picture of that night:<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir5OHFdwhzlqebPOWq5kkm9Nls302NHeRuvc8QjTDWjmPh5Sri4IQ5FdccF24ohLs-jqlG3gfnY-ZEFyaWbCstM_0MvkXTI41sMnSn1ohbOtxHUTC5nSctQIR9Dw5XYVYK7PiIsSiT/s1600/Fourth+of+July.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir5OHFdwhzlqebPOWq5kkm9Nls302NHeRuvc8QjTDWjmPh5Sri4IQ5FdccF24ohLs-jqlG3gfnY-ZEFyaWbCstM_0MvkXTI41sMnSn1ohbOtxHUTC5nSctQIR9Dw5XYVYK7PiIsSiT/s1600/Fourth+of+July.jpg" height="145" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is us four at the Pizzeria with Gabriel creepin' in the background!</td></tr>
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I also mentioned in my last post about us starting to collect items for our keyhole garden. It has been going great so far. We have been passing out plastic bags to houses, explaining the garden, so that they can start saving things that we can use! It has been successful and the community is loving it. I am kind of having technical issues when posting these pictures so sorry if they seem to be in odd places!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCDKTSUvE1i0UJfLNplxT_p6ooau0hqZ3CHhn126iqxhEKL4TrAqfmRYRfWWaobAkDZU310nrUXYN_0_PE6S32NxuPwFa2VhLDvStvRdZ8dRj3yY34s8yoVctDsiPtvMp0lL5zA6Py/s1600/huge+cardboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCDKTSUvE1i0UJfLNplxT_p6ooau0hqZ3CHhn126iqxhEKL4TrAqfmRYRfWWaobAkDZU310nrUXYN_0_PE6S32NxuPwFa2VhLDvStvRdZ8dRj3yY34s8yoVctDsiPtvMp0lL5zA6Py/s1600/huge+cardboard.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The huge cardboard box that the owner of the Colmado(convenience store) gave to us!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJN23H3F2BFu7h-JGDazfOqG8uKLfjI6Ims_Q88EJ1yU1QXiALjKFPMaY5MoWprhMrQBRk_ywJbcan2Aak9tw95BMUeCrVUhGUasAR3l7Lf4Nlhk_0pteZw-ClV7ZDVNSMtwXvPssB/s1600/collected+things.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJN23H3F2BFu7h-JGDazfOqG8uKLfjI6Ims_Q88EJ1yU1QXiALjKFPMaY5MoWprhMrQBRk_ywJbcan2Aak9tw95BMUeCrVUhGUasAR3l7Lf4Nlhk_0pteZw-ClV7ZDVNSMtwXvPssB/s1600/collected+things.jpg" /></a><br />
Alicen and Trini with things we have collected!<br />
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Here is the bags we have been handing out:<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoaMleq1OWYqS4vjb92GX3aKTeVCE-ZFKgGekFD0I5J9elaj3ZkaoacEay55kUQEM7SWWJN0AFbCcrztqe72KundqY9gV79XbJ0gHCmCf21T6rZYPhbsZg6X9Vj6SD33447bYu30eO/s1600/bags.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoaMleq1OWYqS4vjb92GX3aKTeVCE-ZFKgGekFD0I5J9elaj3ZkaoacEay55kUQEM7SWWJN0AFbCcrztqe72KundqY9gV79XbJ0gHCmCf21T6rZYPhbsZg6X9Vj6SD33447bYu30eO/s1600/bags.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
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</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7CbQjuGPrfCKoRHdyrVblXkgxFUAIQtU8G3Hh8IxE9WOuDbRJtEnlm-BNsbvlWkVpa8x4TFKlEgzVRjxxZEyLlAGt-9XC0aVsP9JHV6yKxpT64kh5yPU-VkxrH0P9o3yNYxehQWZM/s1600/Bobby+and+me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7CbQjuGPrfCKoRHdyrVblXkgxFUAIQtU8G3Hh8IxE9WOuDbRJtEnlm-BNsbvlWkVpa8x4TFKlEgzVRjxxZEyLlAGt-9XC0aVsP9JHV6yKxpT64kh5yPU-VkxrH0P9o3yNYxehQWZM/s1600/Bobby+and+me.jpg" /></a> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is my little friend Bobby and I watching the boys play baseball, gotta love the big cardboard box proudly displayed in the back!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These next two pictures are part of the buildings that make up La Esquina(The Corner) and where the community got its name from!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNsgbRPbYsJmS_IkYYgq1I4ZDh6rXtKeO_pJc9jYAJTZptrJhLcrYHvIycbqhC4NtorizeM58ndYTXmPviYgDY71RU451xHbhnhlNqIXNq0KC5EBGRN9C9txg2N43MR7-jOhPH71mL/s1600/colmado.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNsgbRPbYsJmS_IkYYgq1I4ZDh6rXtKeO_pJc9jYAJTZptrJhLcrYHvIycbqhC4NtorizeM58ndYTXmPviYgDY71RU451xHbhnhlNqIXNq0KC5EBGRN9C9txg2N43MR7-jOhPH71mL/s1600/colmado.jpg" height="202" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alicen and I in front of the Colmado.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxniglSzp8ec-JDI0j_uOqCQquhuXjGw89W-PqmSvmgXCES-0qMlNqUsT8wWvyfW8P7JI-ATHJk-_oSon4-W4VhhGtK2fly17hvDV9bRVBZ4wHrkFkxNOzHF7iOyvDU6NEeze9LGpt/s1600/motorcycle+shop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxniglSzp8ec-JDI0j_uOqCQquhuXjGw89W-PqmSvmgXCES-0qMlNqUsT8wWvyfW8P7JI-ATHJk-_oSon4-W4VhhGtK2fly17hvDV9bRVBZ4wHrkFkxNOzHF7iOyvDU6NEeze9LGpt/s1600/motorcycle+shop.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These are other buildings that make up the corner. We are really excited about the building on the left because some of our friends just bought it to have a new place for their motorcycle shop and feed store. We love the new location!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGrbFxIyKeGkM3Kcwt8HMNSEVAHcVKmhc8rjVWR2I5wCkvX67XHO_BAbnulLMaOXGpc5PHWmg1zLDuDWGJSvZ6pIS-dgQKbUp0fpDmff5lrOzkhezU8GFQk71FkxRa5UQhFOyAEI-f/s1600/Ericson+and+I.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGrbFxIyKeGkM3Kcwt8HMNSEVAHcVKmhc8rjVWR2I5wCkvX67XHO_BAbnulLMaOXGpc5PHWmg1zLDuDWGJSvZ6pIS-dgQKbUp0fpDmff5lrOzkhezU8GFQk71FkxRa5UQhFOyAEI-f/s1600/Ericson+and+I.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is my novio(boyfriend) Ericson. Yes, his grandparents actually refer to me as his girlfriend. He is Taylor's Dominican nephew and I absolutely love him! Once again, please notice the plastic bag for collecting items in the back!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know this blog has been really random and hasn't flowed that well so sorry! There was a lot that I wanted to share and I didn't really know the best order to put it in! Alicen, Taylor, and I have been spending a lot of time translating curriculum for the garden and creating a blueprint for how the garden will be set up. We are hoping that the beginning of this next week we will actually be able to head up to the school and start preparing the area for the garden and then once we have enough collected items we will start planting! We cannot describe our excitement for all that God has in store these next few weeks. Thanks again for all the prayers!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10330625032128353416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3141062856046112386.post-74724017543962222182013-07-08T08:06:00.000-07:002013-07-08T08:06:21.966-07:00God is Good!<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, I have not been sick for over a week now and am feeling great! My rash and bruising that lingered on my legs after my fever finally went away as well a few days ago! I loved how concerned the community was about my health and all the home remedies that everyone wanted to try on me to make me better! My friends treated me to a beach excursion once I was feeling better which was wonderful! We weren't really aware that we were going at the time though so we didn't have our swimsuits but it did feel great to just be outside and put my legs in the water. The picture below is at the part of the beach that we usually go to but on this particular day there were much more people than usual! Sunday's in the DR are beach days. The whole family goes and they cannot forget the big pot of spaghetti! Yes, spaghetti, that is one of the wonderful traditions in this country! Anyway, on this particular day we weren't with the whole family and were just with a few friends so we didn't have spaghetti with us, but I am hoping I do get to experience spaghetti on the beach at some point!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNuGtFG55m9lGuXtDj4_emUAGTIHRgrD3yuz9pnE0fgT-85UfBXO7EEU6obJm7pX-_IL5MSaogNzMmpt2Gg6s1-WFQ9zh5KGlLlyNlbPe0-Ew_pj9lhXRURK_m6cSOe2XoNnNOL58Q/s1600/me+on+beach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNuGtFG55m9lGuXtDj4_emUAGTIHRgrD3yuz9pnE0fgT-85UfBXO7EEU6obJm7pX-_IL5MSaogNzMmpt2Gg6s1-WFQ9zh5KGlLlyNlbPe0-Ew_pj9lhXRURK_m6cSOe2XoNnNOL58Q/s1600/me+on+beach.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me on the beach!</td></tr>
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We have also made some other types of art such as bracelets, earrings, and wind chimes have probably been our favorite! We have made all different types with beads, shells, bottle caps, or just about anything we can find! We have loved making crafts where we just use things we find instead of having to buy stuff!<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzsiwTNebEzjF3Q6D0f6i07euqTqo5NgaboMyq9DSXsF5MqnBkrOgLb3MpHxnUiU9A4MtZHQJT7Xg43WwAn30tc4-wYNFXSmF9Aw2ypI08MyVP1vQwAU2Ef2ErWv1OI3_KaeR571BV/s1600/beach+cove.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzsiwTNebEzjF3Q6D0f6i07euqTqo5NgaboMyq9DSXsF5MqnBkrOgLb3MpHxnUiU9A4MtZHQJT7Xg43WwAn30tc4-wYNFXSmF9Aw2ypI08MyVP1vQwAU2Ef2ErWv1OI3_KaeR571BV/s1600/beach+cove.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is another part of the beach that we spent more time at collecting shells and just hanging out! We were the only ones in this little cove and we spent a good part of the day enjoying the sun and making memories with one another!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimFao3n9uO4a6lBWq-fQ8G2EqMY7anthOrKGwYHVDML4tXqJ3nxomdhK6YUP45On1U7RvvGIidZuH7p482XBFL-aNTjoZgveHQSyqbe88xa7g-99tcR1OeTXqNAJFb5pCqMAqO-e4t/s1600/JR+with+almonds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimFao3n9uO4a6lBWq-fQ8G2EqMY7anthOrKGwYHVDML4tXqJ3nxomdhK6YUP45On1U7RvvGIidZuH7p482XBFL-aNTjoZgveHQSyqbe88xa7g-99tcR1OeTXqNAJFb5pCqMAqO-e4t/s1600/JR+with+almonds.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Jhondrayli(John Riley). I have no clue why he has such a normal American sounding name with such an odd spelling! Anyway, this is him cracking open almonds from the trees surrounding our little cove that we were at! He now has a new nickname, "mono," which is monkey in Spanish because of this particular behavior pictured above! The raw almonds were so tasty and he was pretty good at opening them up for us!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't have a picture of what we had for lunch, but it was pizza and it was great! The guys ran into town and ordered Canadian bacon pizza and brought Coke to drink for us. I can not explain how much I have missed pizza and just simply eating it on the beach was wonderful! Later, they brought back another pizza but this time Canadian bacon with corn. It was interesting, but pretty good! After we were done in that little cove we went to two other beaches and finally actually got in the water with our clothes on! It felt so good and was such a great day hanging out with wonderful friends! I will hopefully post more pictures later! Anyway, I took the rest of last week pretty slow because I didn't want to wear myself out after being sick for a week! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are some pictures of things I spent my time doing!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib0YwpCYcLJSihagOGes4cHzerZOSBQ3_IxXHaMUuEjEHxenQdzFJlTa8UfhA48DE6Wgy1QsrAAUj5-NhINm-xEbEle6gUnMsvViW4YRQsB-R3LES24Tj6MVE2dgCAXGMAu1A4WYYD/s1600/peanut+brittle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib0YwpCYcLJSihagOGes4cHzerZOSBQ3_IxXHaMUuEjEHxenQdzFJlTa8UfhA48DE6Wgy1QsrAAUj5-NhINm-xEbEle6gUnMsvViW4YRQsB-R3LES24Tj6MVE2dgCAXGMAu1A4WYYD/s1600/peanut+brittle.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mama Luisa, Taylor's mom, showed us how to make peanut brittle and it was so good! We have decided this is something that we are going to try to make when we get back to the U.S.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> We still haven't started planting the garden at the school yet, but we have actually realized that we were not ready to start anyways. We thought we were prepared, but have started to understand the purpose of the stumbling blocks God has placed along our way. He needed more time to prepare us for something greater! We have started doing some of the activities in the curriculum with some of the kiddos that hang out with us to start teaching them about gardening! Below are some pictures of one particular activity!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGDq_hCWayMTFUdpfJR7u5PccdwviyKcw0mNxVfedhc1MnpDfXwQXfTXJytiOIJqKJkAAMr8gx8CJDKJwYSzFAMkerCjvbxQCGO4Ap6EyJWAO51phNz74FxyW14-K-497EGl3AnDJM/s1600/cutting+botttles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGDq_hCWayMTFUdpfJR7u5PccdwviyKcw0mNxVfedhc1MnpDfXwQXfTXJytiOIJqKJkAAMr8gx8CJDKJwYSzFAMkerCjvbxQCGO4Ap6EyJWAO51phNz74FxyW14-K-497EGl3AnDJM/s1600/cutting+botttles.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We started by collecting plastic bottles that we found in the backyard and proceeded to cut them in half. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1sTHA4g7YZiBl6dK_BqpR8RJ5k9TRpPFcDWZ4EpY7EAtEkGwTT-mG2xpsise5PeV6u8LwsypCAlgzaCQqPc6ZhEXjU3WerFrQwtFiBCk6ZiA-c3ww962QbNkzxkTkgZzY6LUSK_rt/s1600/johanny+and+trini+digging.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1sTHA4g7YZiBl6dK_BqpR8RJ5k9TRpPFcDWZ4EpY7EAtEkGwTT-mG2xpsise5PeV6u8LwsypCAlgzaCQqPc6ZhEXjU3WerFrQwtFiBCk6ZiA-c3ww962QbNkzxkTkgZzY6LUSK_rt/s1600/johanny+and+trini+digging.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Johanny and Trini digging for soil to place in our "mini gardens"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoX9JAuV311oPrkqYwNQYnxmXHmkBS0ilDJqkdb9oinor1h5yxe3be8XX7ovZjFaH7dmEvCV-_RCG5v7ZFMw-CmXU62dVw7XMkrnUYh_r0ip5F12bOPUJmOhnJlyImrBadmGOTwC1N/s1600/plant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoX9JAuV311oPrkqYwNQYnxmXHmkBS0ilDJqkdb9oinor1h5yxe3be8XX7ovZjFaH7dmEvCV-_RCG5v7ZFMw-CmXU62dVw7XMkrnUYh_r0ip5F12bOPUJmOhnJlyImrBadmGOTwC1N/s1600/plant.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After cutting the bottles, we inverted them and placed the soil and a seed in the top. Then, we put water in the bottom half of the bottle. After, we unscrewed the top of the bottle just enough so that water can be draw into the soil, but the soil doesn't fall into the water!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuKso3G5y8bLy8cycCqgU1YpZ7_4okl1_T55bgEzxqXDhqfAb4cZTzOYp-UAku7vIEPsicsdvIww1Ina9z85OXOtJTJgc3-82QfCq_N4FsYluz-bXbJmHveOnwAhlQf-BS3Rs3riSt/s1600/Me+and+trini.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuKso3G5y8bLy8cycCqgU1YpZ7_4okl1_T55bgEzxqXDhqfAb4cZTzOYp-UAku7vIEPsicsdvIww1Ina9z85OXOtJTJgc3-82QfCq_N4FsYluz-bXbJmHveOnwAhlQf-BS3Rs3riSt/s1600/Me+and+trini.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Trini and I. She is such a sweetheart and loves to learn how to make and do new things! I have loved getting to know her and spend lots of time with her!<br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2X7c5UTJnqNUw8etDxHHqnxeaFASOgpBBJiQf9JV8xXVPisVJTCZ0hTc3fK6mmLu4p835sTisROiuOVLoR2AVQb4S9XnQK8TivFMvP6pQ-vfpVoqwP9bQsosUMbJLcBjjFxfN1U1d/s1600/wind+chime.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2X7c5UTJnqNUw8etDxHHqnxeaFASOgpBBJiQf9JV8xXVPisVJTCZ0hTc3fK6mmLu4p835sTisROiuOVLoR2AVQb4S9XnQK8TivFMvP6pQ-vfpVoqwP9bQsosUMbJLcBjjFxfN1U1d/s1600/wind+chime.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is an example of one of our wind chimes with the flag of The Dominican Republic painted on it!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, something else that I have been doing this week is researching stuff about keyhole gardening because we have decided that type of garden would work wonderfully in this community. I will give a short explanation of how keyhole gardens work because I am not sure if anyone is familiar with how they function!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu9-maeyT4rB-VTw4kH_bR8Do13PwZ5uEUZ703eB5TciFcyVbeeeK1dWm3p5zrmSjWuEcTkoMw3KtVOcDPLWdTTw0VwzBi_2aTMiH2UjjJQDjvAeYOK4wywkQDEXghcTYZsOrmCFIO/s1600/keyhole+garden2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu9-maeyT4rB-VTw4kH_bR8Do13PwZ5uEUZ703eB5TciFcyVbeeeK1dWm3p5zrmSjWuEcTkoMw3KtVOcDPLWdTTw0VwzBi_2aTMiH2UjjJQDjvAeYOK4wywkQDEXghcTYZsOrmCFIO/s1600/keyhole+garden2.jpg" height="152" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a diagram of the way keyhole gardens look.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi18Qin0wG883qDihCf16jlTnWJ3s3lTjN3pJ4s21kiGM2Ac8sWKrVmRXFu4fhDMF0hWQaRyDbQYt3S4huMrFZtNwxZPL2zeKImvWwYo-Zl53nE5NSCR5mCDxfyicIaClevhzEJfqx5/s1600/keyhole+garden3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi18Qin0wG883qDihCf16jlTnWJ3s3lTjN3pJ4s21kiGM2Ac8sWKrVmRXFu4fhDMF0hWQaRyDbQYt3S4huMrFZtNwxZPL2zeKImvWwYo-Zl53nE5NSCR5mCDxfyicIaClevhzEJfqx5/s1600/keyhole+garden3.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This an example of a finished product!<br /><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, keyhole gardens... They are made entirely of items that can be composted. A barrier is needed such as rocks or bricks for the outside. Then, a 3:1 ratio of brown to green items is needed to create the surface to plant on. Brown items consist of cardboard boxes, paper, newspaper, magazines, feed sacks, clothes, and anything else that can break down. Green items consist of soil, manure, branches, leaves and other such things. To build, you place cardboard boxes all on the bottom and outside of the structure putting water on top to attract the bugs. You also place a sort of trashcan in the middle right behind the path to use later. You continue to do this alternating between brown and green items until the area is full. Then, you place real rich soil on the top and plant! The "trashcan" in the middle serves as a place to continue to place items that will compost and create more nutrients for the soil! I hope this was an accurate explanation and that you understand now. I have spent some of this last week maximizing my vocabulary in Spanish so that I can explain this same thing but to people here. I have successfully explained the garden to around 10 people and have asked them to start collecting any of these items that they have! It has been great because they have told me what they have started to collect and let me know that they have started telling others to do the same! It is really becoming a community effort which is what we wanted all along. Now I am beginning to understand the reasons why we haven't been able to start planting the garden yet. The Lord wanted us to inspire the whole community to become involved and we needed time to gain knowledge for explanation! The Lord works in marvelous ways and I love when he reveals the purpose of his plans. I also enjoy thinking back to the times when I was frustrated that we hadn't started yet and realizing that there was much more God needed to still prepare. So, I have been spending time having conversations with people in the community explaining keyhole gardens and showing them how they can help! It has been very rewarding and I am loving every minute of it! When I ask people if they understand, their response is usually "mas o menos," meaning more or less, so I still have work to do but hopefully people are getting it! Anyway, there was a special holiday this last week in the U.S. that of course we still celebrated here in the DR. Our initial plans didn't happen, but nonetheless, The Fourth of July happened. We had wanted to build a bonfire and roast marshmallows and make S'mores but we had a hard time explaining marshmallows or finding them! So then we decided we could get hot dogs and roast them instead. Well, that didn't happen either because someone mentioned pizza and we decided that was American enough! So, we went to a nearby town called Cabrera with about 12 of us and had pizza and ice cream! It was wonderful! The food here has a lot of flavor, but definitely isn't very spicy so my friend Alicen and I spotted the Tabasco sauce on the table and made sure to douse our pizza in it! We got very strange looks, but it tasted SO good! I think we have a few pictures from that night which I will post later! I am sad because we also wanted to teach the community how to "Two-Step," on Independence Day but like the rest of our ideas, that didn't happen. But, we are definitely still going to do that at some point! Another thing we wanted was sparklers, but hey, the pizza and ice cream was a success! Anyway, this weekend we went on a trip to a town called Jarabacoa where our professor, Christine, is staying right now with a group of study abroad students. It was a great weekend, but I think I am going to wait to explain about it because this is already long and I want to post some pictures too! Thanks again for your love and support for me this summer! It is going by so fast but I am enjoying it SO much!</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10330625032128353416noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3141062856046112386.post-63480471683201260732013-07-01T07:44:00.001-07:002013-07-01T08:20:17.428-07:00Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God."So, this post will actually be short! I am sad because as of today, I officially have exactly a month until I am leaving this wonderful country. I will definitely be looking forward to going home, but also not wanting to leave! Anyway, this past week has been very interesting and yet not interesting at all. Starting on Friday night I wasn't feeling that great and discovered that I had a fever. I rarely ever get sick in the states and I am really not the best a being sick. Even though my body needs the rest, I really struggle to just lay on the couch all day while my body heals. So Saturday, I took it pretty easy and actually just hung out on the couch. Christine, our professor, did come visit us on Saturday night and so I did hang out with her and the other girls some that night. Well, Saturday night the fever got a little out of hand. It got up to nearly 104. I figured that was probably significant enough to need to go to the hospital. So Sunday morning, Christine, Taylor, and I went to the hospital in a nearby city. "Hospital" here is a little different story. It was basically a room with a few beds and a doctor. She talked to me and tried to figure out what was going on. I had to go to a clinic to get blood work done to ensure that I didn't have Dengue, which is the disease caused by mosquitoes that Christine just got over. Thankfully, the blood work showed that I didn't have Dengue! We went to a pharmacy and I got me a good supply of Tylenol. Then we went home and I just slept all day. Well then proceeded to do that everyday until Friday morning when my fever finally broke! So, I am feeling so much better now, finally regaining strength. My diagnosis was some sort of virus that has been just making its way around our community. It pretty much is just a fever. But there is also a little rash and bruising that has decided to linger on my feet and legs. I think it just is a result from poor circulation during my fever. It is getting better and I am so thankful. The Lord definitely works in crazy ways. I love how He needed to make me physically weak so that in Him I could be strong. The Lord knows exactly what you need always and this week I needed to be still and know that He is God. Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10330625032128353416noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3141062856046112386.post-65759809713854626062013-06-21T09:09:00.000-07:002013-06-21T09:09:17.902-07:00<h2>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mangoes, Baseball, and So Much More!</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, I just want to apologize for the fact that I haven't written a blog in two weeks. I knew my last one had been on a Friday and I was really hoping that it was this past Friday, but it wasn't. Oops! I have been waiting to write my next blog until I had some word about our gardening progress, but this last week has been crazy. We officially met the principal of the school this past Friday and scheduled a meeting with her the following Monday to discuss our plans and her plans and figure out what was next. We went up to the school on Monday to talk with her and she informed us that she had an emergency in another city and wouldn't be able to talk with us then. We were able to discuss a few things and actually see the plot of land where the garden will be planted. We then scheduled another meeting for Wednesday. On our way to the school, we were informed that Agostina, the principal, was still in Nagua with her emergency and wouldn't be able to meet but she had scheduled another time for us to meet. The school is roughly a 30 minute walk from our houses, so we were planning on leaving about 3:30 yesterday afternoon because we were meeting at 4:00. A few minutes before 3:30 it started to rain. It rains here basically every afternoon at least a little bit because of the humidity retaining the water and then releasing it to cool things down. Some afternoons are worse than others, and yesterday was one of those days.It really wasn't raining too bad so we just all started on the journey up the hills to the school. The closer we got to the school, the harder the rain fell and the more we began to believe that Agostina was probably not going to venture out on her motorcycle in that weather. We kept hoping that she would pass us on her motorcycle up to the school so we would know that our walk was for a purpose. The whole way up to the school people were looking at us like we were crazy for just deciding to take a little stroll during the rain. I don't think they were aware that we actually had a meeting to go to. Well we eventually made it to the school without ever seeing Agostina pass by. We arrived at the school, but she had made the right choice to not get soaked. We waited around for about 15 minutes and then decided to leave her a note. The note had all of our names, parent's names, and phone numbers so that she could either come to our houses or call us and let us know when we can meet next. The rain continued the whole way back down the hill, and we still got the same odd stares on the way back. With all of that being said, I was planning on writing my next blog after having information about gardening which would've been Monday! This culture is definitely a little more relaxed than ours so we have all learned how to become patient and content with whatever happens. This summer has not been all that I thought it would be so far, but that is just The Lord showing me who is in control. I read these two scripture from 2 Corinthians 6 this morning and I think they're perfect: "But in every way we show we are servants of God; in accepting many hard things, in troubles, in difficulties, and in great problems." Then this is next: "We show we are servants of God by our pure lives, our understanding, patience, by the Holy Spirit, by true love, by speaking truth, and by God's power." I am learning to truly have joy and patience throughout all circumstances. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Okay, now I am moving on to give a quick summary of all the things that have occurred in these last few weeks. I write in my journal every day so that I can look back on what I have done so I decided I will just jot down some bullet points from each day. There will also be random pictures!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOhvF9FKi5PRmGU56DztbMJyag5ZA3b81whyphenhyphendmNM61IkfrYoyaO2NCOtT2iQODNmSBv7mKD18oWrtJ2On_C-OAnRYwe_WDRwdkkWL5SGDlUWt0O3FnnL39wV0Pank0u16IIYZWFO91/s1600/painting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOhvF9FKi5PRmGU56DztbMJyag5ZA3b81whyphenhyphendmNM61IkfrYoyaO2NCOtT2iQODNmSBv7mKD18oWrtJ2On_C-OAnRYwe_WDRwdkkWL5SGDlUWt0O3FnnL39wV0Pank0u16IIYZWFO91/s1600/painting.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here is the family whose houses we painted that I mentioned in my last post.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilcL96qb8tuBRhCgAw_yavXbVpCJXUWVq4bwj4LwSxKEJIjN83OZDgx7re2pGNk10eXulHBss52xusnXhZLmSoq8FkocYA-KKFBjsiUii8tA-jEKaUN6ZAoZ2syGyVgfx_kRT6pdlu/s1600/houses+before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilcL96qb8tuBRhCgAw_yavXbVpCJXUWVq4bwj4LwSxKEJIjN83OZDgx7re2pGNk10eXulHBss52xusnXhZLmSoq8FkocYA-KKFBjsiUii8tA-jEKaUN6ZAoZ2syGyVgfx_kRT6pdlu/s1600/houses+before.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Before</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWR0GBrjMPbJPDEXwiANQGYH_9G1bmV0Aqyl7JoCnJiKAJDX3N9NPkVyhEd3O7UgMaTO7eISNUr_f8OMsuJfvfFLwPEIwvK3gzl9esJ9C_lZu733sgpiYpUQpp8Yjg0dRn2FkfPSuk/s1600/houses+after.jpg" height="240" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Saturday, June 8th</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Taylor and I have been singing together while she plays guitar on her front porch. Sometimes people come by and listen and today our two friends Johanny and Lleni stopped by and attempted to "sing" even though all of our songs were in English. It was really precious!</span></li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtEkvq1OcFyWDGJnUMX3Zdqpj3yOF_NkKvdU0-ue094qq9ROwIqGFN7ev65gpaT9dCN-Cmd5Vo2IrtO4Yp6MctUL-8p7BlsB4KV5AI2dAYLLAIIzeET6rFFvVqFY5S6oPukvVSZZ-p/s1600/blue+lake2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtEkvq1OcFyWDGJnUMX3Zdqpj3yOF_NkKvdU0-ue094qq9ROwIqGFN7ev65gpaT9dCN-Cmd5Vo2IrtO4Yp6MctUL-8p7BlsB4KV5AI2dAYLLAIIzeET6rFFvVqFY5S6oPukvVSZZ-p/s1600/blue+lake2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">About to get in the lake!</span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /><br />
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This afternoon we were able to go to this place called the Blue Lake. It was my first time to ride on a motorcycle and it went well! </span></li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHgyls1Xi1zSFTnaxOh-FShrQJmoXL6T0VY4mUdUFGHTLJhAMdDfTXIhyaJLx8Gjo3ApV7tjjuK5H6q2-4sLcPZVZBj5GB6isF5I3FslIIbALU4gIvfpkypmT_LOWi_aZbcyB8TIJa/s1600/blue+lake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHgyls1Xi1zSFTnaxOh-FShrQJmoXL6T0VY4mUdUFGHTLJhAMdDfTXIhyaJLx8Gjo3ApV7tjjuK5H6q2-4sLcPZVZBj5GB6isF5I3FslIIbALU4gIvfpkypmT_LOWi_aZbcyB8TIJa/s1600/blue+lake.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Another view of the lake!<br /></span></td></tr>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We were later able to play sand volleyball which was so much fun!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After, we even went to the beach!</span></li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGgShG6V2s-Fi1V4EYa0Bs3UC1d5OLR5NlfWtYy0C_FnxAAZ2xAPnNrgvTCvr-_xVS2IApWDocZmR83PUU9DoaviXZZD-Rq9srNWH_9tqPbFgokhT6l1ccKvsBa7e_rQxaqqNznBwH/s1600/motorcycles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGgShG6V2s-Fi1V4EYa0Bs3UC1d5OLR5NlfWtYy0C_FnxAAZ2xAPnNrgvTCvr-_xVS2IApWDocZmR83PUU9DoaviXZZD-Rq9srNWH_9tqPbFgokhT6l1ccKvsBa7e_rQxaqqNznBwH/s1600/motorcycles.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Us riding on our motorcycles!</span></td></tr>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiURHFELy-EOPcKedlXmmovZaCWNyhrc8ICTMmowvJFUEFDdKV2xNtBRrdwxmoCJXUfvryIqCBIkjI7TfqoJ-21SeKe3WowXVF_jAic8BOJoxVbrPB2yogDnHnHqwyPSkDEO6Qv25IZ/s1600/rose,+alicen,+tay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiURHFELy-EOPcKedlXmmovZaCWNyhrc8ICTMmowvJFUEFDdKV2xNtBRrdwxmoCJXUfvryIqCBIkjI7TfqoJ-21SeKe3WowXVF_jAic8BOJoxVbrPB2yogDnHnHqwyPSkDEO6Qv25IZ/s1600/rose,+alicen,+tay.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At another part of Blue Lake</span></td></tr>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was a great day of spending time in the outdoors getting to know each other more and more!</span></li>
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<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sunday, June 9th:</span></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Went to church in the morning with my family.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Made bracelets with some girls in the community.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Watched some people play dominoes while trying to understand how to play.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My nephew came over and I was able to hang out with him most of the afternoon. He was about 18 months old and absolutely adorable!</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Monday, June 10th</span></div>
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<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Skyped my Dad!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Had watermelon, which is so great!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I seriously played dominoes all day. I think I played for like 5 hours and still didn't know how to play. At one point I got demoted to score keeper because I was doing really bad. It was a little annoying because I knew they were all talking about me but I couldn't understand what they were saying. I did hear at one point someone say, "all she did was lose, lose lose." That was encouraging. Later they decided to let me play again.The people I was playing with eventually told others that I knew what I was doing because they thought I did, but I totally didn't. I mean I understood the gist, but never really the game as a whole. I definitely don't understand how I could play for that long and still never know if I won or lost. I would just wait to see if my partner would give me the "look" or give me a hi-five. Yeah, it was pretty interesting! </span></li>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCyEA6qTtsokEchMtN56P6IyGZPKnZHE3dhRNKsZ0bJm0om5gMWFeGwAzCXpAXl28uDQJ-UlNNemshxlfD3v0NcNMyZvQ1Pixv07QDn-ZZWpBPDigb3kCUa65aHVxRnByoBO7DeWOx/s1600/playing+dominoes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCyEA6qTtsokEchMtN56P6IyGZPKnZHE3dhRNKsZ0bJm0om5gMWFeGwAzCXpAXl28uDQJ-UlNNemshxlfD3v0NcNMyZvQ1Pixv07QDn-ZZWpBPDigb3kCUa65aHVxRnByoBO7DeWOx/s1600/playing+dominoes.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"Playing" dominoes</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tuesday, June 11th</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Taylor and I decided to attempt to learn some of our English praise and worship songs in Spanish. It is really hard to pronounce all the words in Spanish so fast. But, we were able to learn "Our God," by Chris Tomlin, with the help of Taylor's Dominican brother, Eric! It was so much fun to be able to sing along together giving worship to our Savior!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My brother Juan and his wife came over so I was able to meet them!</span></li>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTq_Uuo5DePDWtrolMvQsRm8kIXes_3xnh-IbS3gmxwZHh9LaCt2w0xP2T2m9XsCtRBgXvmQCwEq3-8ztgQT4nN8ZsfW90WyKbadfLla_VseKIyM8UOrXzJqOF0FqA1fzqFdIZf5Xv/s1600/baseball2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTq_Uuo5DePDWtrolMvQsRm8kIXes_3xnh-IbS3gmxwZHh9LaCt2w0xP2T2m9XsCtRBgXvmQCwEq3-8ztgQT4nN8ZsfW90WyKbadfLla_VseKIyM8UOrXzJqOF0FqA1fzqFdIZf5Xv/s1600/baseball2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Baseball! Oniel, one of the twins is batting while Heramia is catching!<br /><br />
<li>I could seriously watch them do this all day. I love it!</li>
</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpxBi5lPIvg-WE5TcfG6mrtFwZmf_DBs60l6xX8HgKfL5-Mo3_Xwou_FOPzHwUWyZN2A7GbDsU42igTtL7cIqDlcKqEFB1W4o5hb7K2UWuzyiQFr0DOI70ANQfxYm1gBoGs91zaJlg/s1600/baseball.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpxBi5lPIvg-WE5TcfG6mrtFwZmf_DBs60l6xX8HgKfL5-Mo3_Xwou_FOPzHwUWyZN2A7GbDsU42igTtL7cIqDlcKqEFB1W4o5hb7K2UWuzyiQFr0DOI70ANQfxYm1gBoGs91zaJlg/s1600/baseball.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Watching a little baseball at Confe's. Heramia is batting this time and Oniel is catching!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One of the main foods all of us have been missing is peanut butter. Well, there is this convenience store in the community called the Colmado and we all discovered this thing that tastes like peanut butter. It was a great find!</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wednesday, June 12th</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We figured out that Christine, our professor, has Dengue, which is a disease transmitted by mosquitoes that results in a fever and in severe joint pain. It lasted for a bit and she had to stay in the capital in a clinic for about a week. She wasn't able to come back here before having to go to another city for her study abroad program. We have missed her so much but are glad that she is feeling much better.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My Dominican dad, Lion, brought me roasted peanuts. I was so excited. He was trying to show we how to shell them and then he could tell that I had definitely had them before and love them!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was also so excited to see my mom shelling black beans. I love all types of beans, but especially black beans. Before this day, I had been only having pinto beans which are great too! I also just sat on the couch and helped my mom and dad shell the beans which I really enjoyed!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My mom also made Dulce, the stuff with sweet potatoes, coconut, and cinnamon. I sure ate well this day!</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thursday, June 13th</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mangoes have started to become ripe, so we get to enjoy them all the time now!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For lunch, I had rice, beans, and also pasta. It was interesting!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I actually played baseball in the street instead of the driveway, so we actually had bases and played in the field and stuff.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After, we played a little basketball. I love playing sports with the kids!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That night, we went dancing at Patria's place, which is just basically a patio that they play music at.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We played "Spin the Bottle," but dancing style. We had a bottle and whichever two people it landed on had to get up in the middle of the circle and dance together. It was pretty funny, because the bottle always landed on you and the person across from you. I don't think they really understood that it would always do that, because they would laugh every time it landed on two guys. I was thinking, seriously, that is always going to happen because two guys are sitting across from each other. It lasted way too long, but it was fun!</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Friday, June 14th</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We actually met the principal on this day. It was fun because we walked with some of the kids in the community so they could show us where she lived. We were just walking and they all started stopping, we were really confused, but the principal had just passed us on her motorcycle. We stopped her and were able to meet her. She was real sweet and definitely excited to talk about plans!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We went searching for mangoes! We do this quite often, now! We just climb through barbed wire fences and walk through pastures until we find a mango tree. This particular day, the mangoes were still a little under ripe, but it was a fun adventure!</span></li>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="240" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/1011898_447226392040981_734431943_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You know, just hanging out in the pasture with the cows finding mangoes!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I helped my mom make dinner tonight. I assisted in frying the plantains. It is an interesting process. First you cut the plantains into like two-inch slices then fry them. After, you place them in this little smasher and smash them, and then proceed to fry them one more time. They sure are tasty, but packed with oil! </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was also able to talk to Trey on the phone for the first time since I had been in the country, I missed him so much!</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Saturday, June 15th</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Happy Birthday, Mom!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Made bracelets with some girls.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Played baseball in the driveway</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Went to the beach, this time I road on a motorcycle with three people. It was built for three people, but it was still a little scary!</span></li>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiomxfgUZAoykHB8kn52XUVxUqnL-KDaJva8kx0BBd0sQN_VCZ794Nk7qHdIYs7vvefbFrDtzOwJRMhN7rrlIjGk5HcxmLHNQOn9euNqz4nblJT92Bct9Uo-cjhQqEdiFFB7u_sme6t/s1600/sea+urchins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiomxfgUZAoykHB8kn52XUVxUqnL-KDaJva8kx0BBd0sQN_VCZ794Nk7qHdIYs7vvefbFrDtzOwJRMhN7rrlIjGk5HcxmLHNQOn9euNqz4nblJT92Bct9Uo-cjhQqEdiFFB7u_sme6t/s1600/sea+urchins.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We found Sea Urchins!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We had fun playing in both the water and writing stuff in the sand together!</span></li>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHZZa83BDizhTh_NNajoZzXXr3fhXMteVcgoI0euGmOI5EO945BUbnB1qM-amHzgM5GxQRWkRk-JtF2sCBSCNWUPBtHY0iJSnj_wGXJ3ZbRwk12w-pzO1r6_9ydnbxx2FUrpN_olw/s1600/whole+group.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHZZa83BDizhTh_NNajoZzXXr3fhXMteVcgoI0euGmOI5EO945BUbnB1qM-amHzgM5GxQRWkRk-JtF2sCBSCNWUPBtHY0iJSnj_wGXJ3ZbRwk12w-pzO1r6_9ydnbxx2FUrpN_olw/s1600/whole+group.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">All of us girls!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was even able to talk to my best friend, Christin Watson, on the phone! It has been really difficult to communicate with her because her only day off at camp, they computer center is closed here. I am so glad we finally go to catch up, even if it was short!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Went dancing at Patria's!</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sunday, June 16th</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At church this morning, a dog just decided to walk in and park himself on the pulpit. It was quite funny because no one wanted him there, but no one wanted to make a lot of noise to get him to leave.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My brother Juan and his wife came over again and they brought there two kids. They were so precious. I was able to go on a mango search with all of them. It was fun to see my brother just climbing up in the tree shaking the branches while we collected all of the mangoes that fell. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Later I was playing with one of my nieces, Juanela, and she was wearing me out! I definitely fell asleep on the couch for a bit after that!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That evening, I played dominoes with some of the younger boys. I am actually starting to understand how to play. We also started playing "21" with dominoes which worked the same way it does with cards. They decided that whoever won had to dance to a song with me. I absolutely love hanging out with those sweet boys!</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Monday, June 17th</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is the day that we actually went to the school to "meet" with Agostina. It was great to be able to look at the school and see where we are going to plant the garden. </span></li>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuJwnXMwA2QTDvEV4aS7j4P-5moaYXHxLwuAKjjcIEHpR1DGK7pcyLrAoTm_M96Af_uYM5NIzLxjqFhyKEEjz8I_BrF1EwGlkabj1X_9ZNO42bBahCToI4WMhvst2KIvhA-NCfKXAm/s1600/mango+tree+climbing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuJwnXMwA2QTDvEV4aS7j4P-5moaYXHxLwuAKjjcIEHpR1DGK7pcyLrAoTm_M96Af_uYM5NIzLxjqFhyKEEjz8I_BrF1EwGlkabj1X_9ZNO42bBahCToI4WMhvst2KIvhA-NCfKXAm/s1600/mango+tree+climbing.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here are some kids hanging out in the mango tree!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="240" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/6967_447226708707616_1895836789_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We started doing headstands, wrestling, and just being silly out in the pasture!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Went on yet another mango search. We actually like played this sort of freeze tag game and just hung out in the pasture and in the trees for awhile. Love making memories with these kids!</span></li>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7DuK20BJrZ_waZoaeimFZbcC-cbUB4VwZJwh3DWxLaAtHLm3gO_4xZ4gk9KZ3KLRSwvHBOWFzs5qf4i9kQ95H-4FAlkyTwXdadg_QdpYXRxnCxaPW9CtdqAzX5_x2JaE1l7FzzmWI/s1600/wrestling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7DuK20BJrZ_waZoaeimFZbcC-cbUB4VwZJwh3DWxLaAtHLm3gO_4xZ4gk9KZ3KLRSwvHBOWFzs5qf4i9kQ95H-4FAlkyTwXdadg_QdpYXRxnCxaPW9CtdqAzX5_x2JaE1l7FzzmWI/s1600/wrestling.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The freeze tag kind of turned into wrestling!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Also, went dancing this evening. I have learned that we basically dance Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and maybe even more!</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tuesday, June 18th</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This day was sad, we had to say goodbye to two of our friends, Caitlin and Rose, who headed back to the U.S. today. We are going to miss them two so much!</span></li>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="240" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/988349_447226775374276_226461478_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here is a group picture of us and some of our favorite kiddos!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Just hung out with the kiddos and loved on them while they were sad that their friends had left. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was definitely an unusual day because Alicen was sick as well. So we spent some time keeping her company.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That night, I went to the house that Caitlin had lived in to hang out with her family to make sure they were doing alright!</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wednesday, June 19th</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Skyped with my good friend, Collin Soltis, from school today. It was great to catch up with him and see how The Lord was able to work through him and is team in their time in Thailand.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hung out with the boys, watching them play baseball. I seriously do this everyday.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Started walking to the school, then found out that Agostina was still gone.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Just hung out at "the corner" with Susie which is what our community, "La Esquina" is named after. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Eventually ended up playing baseball in the street. After a while, we lost the ball. This happens all the time, but we really lost it. After looking for it for a bit, we just gave up and took a mango break.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After, we played basketball. It's a little interesting, because the basketball is really flat, but we still kind of have to dribble. It is basically, double-dribble, travel, double-dribble, travel... I love it though! </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We have started playing this other "Spin the Bottle" game but instead of dancing, when the bottle head lands on you, you have to sing a song for 10 seconds. It is funny because they always want to play it but when it lands on them they get really embarrassed and don't want to sing. I know like two songs in Spanish, and they always get a kick out of me trying to sing those.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I had avocados for dinner! They were great!!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After dinner, I went to Taylor's and we just colored out of a coloring book. I colored a picture of Jasmine and her tiger for my family and now it is displayed proudly in my living room!</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thursday, June 20th</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The internet has been having a little trouble these last few days, so I have been trying to Skype my dad but it hasn't been working too well. The call is dropped every few minutes. But, I was able to Skype my mom!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Every day during lunch, if the electricity is on, my family and I always watch this show called "Caso Cerrado," which is "case closed" in English. I really don't understand much of it, but it is always super intense. I really enjoy attempting to understand it every day!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Of course, I went to Confe's house and watched the boys play baseball. Confe's house is where all the younger boys congregate during the day. The kids that I keep talking about are between 12-15 years old that I hang out with every day!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The dog that follows us around all the time decided to roll in dead animal the other day when we were on a mango hunt and has smelled really bad lately. While we were playing baseball, some kid through a lime at me. I decided it couldn't hurt to cut the lime in half and "pet" Patito with it. I don't actually know if it helped much, but he definitely enjoyed the attention!</span></li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJn0A0uNfLZkcKENNxYoGxuqahLDT7lnXuYxHzl8yaEvs6h4_RKa3jrCucp72idnbal4-GnSiGOd75mAaGVtrET5GnkagXfso61yWzklEbWfpgxPHLoIEAQYhkG8fPKxdp6YbqJhrT/s1600/Patito2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJn0A0uNfLZkcKENNxYoGxuqahLDT7lnXuYxHzl8yaEvs6h4_RKa3jrCucp72idnbal4-GnSiGOd75mAaGVtrET5GnkagXfso61yWzklEbWfpgxPHLoIEAQYhkG8fPKxdp6YbqJhrT/s1600/Patito2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Our sweet little friend, Patito!</span></td></tr>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After, we played the singing style of "Spin the Bottle."</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We also had the interesting journey in the rain to the school!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After, I played dominoes with my dad's cousin, Primo! He has become such a big brother to me, and I have loved spending time with him. He was real upset because I actually beat him in dominoes!!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For dinner I had avocados once again, and my mom made these patties that reminded me a whole lot of hush puppies! They were just little cornmeal patties with onions, so good!!</span></li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMQv8Y6WeltSeXAl6Cx2Bp4_e39gp5mRq9IYjsq1exCodTTlulfMNXMjqj4cmozeZarGZmx9qOpuJscbOEUm450sDxB5SO0-ER9kTsyWcTcc0Abs_1SKFTV2F2b1f-d_cWNR0ElZpa/s1600/mama+purita+y+papa+lion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMQv8Y6WeltSeXAl6Cx2Bp4_e39gp5mRq9IYjsq1exCodTTlulfMNXMjqj4cmozeZarGZmx9qOpuJscbOEUm450sDxB5SO0-ER9kTsyWcTcc0Abs_1SKFTV2F2b1f-d_cWNR0ElZpa/s1600/mama+purita+y+papa+lion.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One last picture, these are my wonderful Domincan parents Papa Lion and Mama Purita in front of our house. Love them so much!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So that is enough updating for now. It was kind of difficult to put some of the pictures where I wanted, so sorry if they look a little out of place. We are hoping to talk with Agostina this next week and get stuff started. I heard we are going to the beach today and I am really excited. Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Te quiero mucho!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">-Kinsey</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10330625032128353416noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3141062856046112386.post-90468765125335633232013-06-07T08:04:00.000-07:002013-06-07T08:20:43.067-07:00<h2>
Becoming Unified</h2>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23.09375px;">"2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit-just as you were called to one hope when you were called- 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." Ephesians 4:2-6</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hola!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sorry it has been so long since I have made a post! It has officially been a little over a week since I have been in my community. I have loved every minute of it! This week has been a little bit crazy because a group from my professor's church in College Station arrived here on Tuesday. We have been recruited some to participate in the activities that they are doing. For example, yesterday we were able to paint two people's houses that live right outside of our community. It was so great to see the joy that they had in seeing us paint and even painting with us. The mom that lives in one of the houses even said that us painting was only possible with God. I loved seeing her thank the one who was responsible for working through us. Okay, let me try to give a pretty quick recap of the week. My days will probably run together, but I will try to keep them separate. So on Monday, after class, I had lunch with my family. Lunch usually consists of various items, but usually rice and beans and some type of meat. I have loved basically all the things that Mama Purita has fixed for me! Monday afternoon I hung out with my new friends Lleni and Johanny, who I mentioned in my last post. Thankfully, my friends and I brought a great deal of string because all the girls ever want to do is make bracelets. So the majority of Monday afternoon I spent hanging out with my new friends making bracelets together. Lleni, pronounced Jenny, still talks really fast and I can never tell if she actually understands me. But Johanny on the other hand is extremely patient and loves to work with my Spanish. The two girls invited me over to their house and I got to meet the rest of their family. Their mom talks super fast and is SO hard to understand, but I am hoping if I can learn to understand her then I will be able to understand relatively anyone else! For dinner, my mom made soup! It was basically a sort of noodle soup with chicken broth noodles, and herbs. It was really good! I think it rained a lot Monday night, so I wasn't able to do much more in the evening but just hang out with my parents and watch TV, which I really do enjoy! On Tuesday after class, Christine, my professor, arrived with her church group. It was fun getting to know them and introducing them to the community. For lunch on Tuesday, I had the most amazing fish! It was blackened and SO good. I didn't realize how much I had missed fish. I have rarely eaten fish with all the bones intact so I was having to watch and see how my parents were eating their fish. Right after lunch, Oliver and Company was on TV so I was able to watch a movie that I know pretty well in English in Spanish which helps a ton! My mom as well as Taylor's mom are involved in a Women's Club that meets on Tuesday afternoons, so Taylor and I joined them! I think they really appreciated us being there and we enjoyed attempting to understand what they have been doing and their future plans. Later on in the afternoon I just hung out with Lleni and Johanny at their house. While there, I made a date with their mom to teach her how to make bracelets on Wednesday afternoon. I was really nervous about spending a lot of time with their mom because I knew the language barrier would be rough. For dinner, my mom made pan-fried plantains which I have really grown to love. Also, my other favorite thing she makes is just scrambled eggs with sauteed onions which we also had for dinner. She knows that I love onions and usually I get the more than once a day! Wednesday was a crazy, but awesome day!! After class, I went down to where some of my other friends as well as my professor lives. There are always a lot of kids hanging out down there, so it is fun to play with them. I was able to play baseball with a few of the boys and it was so fun. I love being able to do things that doesn't involve a whole lot of communication to give myself a break! At first, a young boy named Ronny and I were just throwing back and forth on their driveway. He was playing catcher and I was the pitcher. He loved how I actually lifted my leg up like pitchers do when they pitch! Later, he brought out Heramia and a bat! So I played catcher while Ronny pitched and Heremia bat. Then, it was my turn to bat. I didn't think I was that good at baseball, but the boys were getting a kick out of how well I could hit the ball. They kept inviting other boys out to watch me. It was slightly embarrassing, but fun. I credit most of my baseball knowledge to playing church softball in highschool. Just a quick shoutout to anyone who helped shape me into the great player I am! After lunch, it was time to go help Johanny and Lleni's mom learn to make bracelets and headbands. She just watched me and tried to learn by sight. I felt bad because not too much longer after I had been there, my friend Alicen told me that everyone was going to the beach. I knew that Lleni and Johanny and family were going to church shortly anyway so I told them that I would come by the next day to teach some more. I was so excited to go to the beach because I hadn't been able to go yet. I was walking toward my house to change my clothes and then realized that my parents had already gone to church. I was hoping that they hadn't locked the doors, but they had. So I wasn't able to put a swimsuit on. Oh well, I wasn't going to let that ruin my fun at the beach. I wasn't quite sure how we were going to get to the beach and I was nervous that I was going to have my first experience on the back of a motorcycle, which is the basic means of transportation around our community. I was excited to learn that we were all headed to the beach in the back of a pick-up. It was so fun and it definitely felt like home! As we were heading to the beach, the weather definitely started looking a tad bit rough, but we weren't going to let a little rain ruin our day. The beach is only about a ten minute drive, which is so great!! After arriving, we all headed to the water. I really wished that I had a swimsuit, but I went right on in with my T-shirt and shorts. It was beautiful and so much fun. Sadly after just a few minutes the dark clouds swarmed the beach and it started raining a bit. It started getting pretty cold so we decided to leave. The rain decided to pick up a lot on our way back to our community. Let's just say, the ride in the back of the pick-up was not as lovely on the way back. It was basically pouring and we were all getting soaked. The rain sort of felt like little knives stabbing into us and it was freezing, but we all enjoyed experiencing this crazy time together! The rain continued for most of the early evening so once again I spent time at my house with my parents. It wasn't just filled with watching TV like usual though. My mom and I sort of starting playing a "game." We were supposed to bring vocabulary words for school the next day, so I decided to ask my mom to tell me the words she thought I needed to know. This just turned into her pointing at things and me saying the word in Spanish. If I didn't know the word she would right it down for me. It was fun to just spend time with her learning new things. At 8:00, we went to the computer center where we have class to watch a movie. This time it was a treat for us because we were able to watch "The Mask" in English. It was fun and after it was over I headed to bed. Yesterday was also a pretty packed day! After class was over, Christine asked us if we wanted to go help her paint some houses. Of course we did so we headed up the road to begin! Like I mentioned earlier, it was a great experience to paint alongside them. We painted after class until lunch then headed back up after lunch to finish painting. When I got back to my house, there were some people playing dominoes in my front yard. I never had really paid any attention on how to play, but this time they were encouraging Taylor and I to learn. Taylor told me after watching that it was a game called, "Chicken Foot," which I had still never played but it was easy to catch on. I am hoping that I will be able to play soon! My mom decided to make Taylor and I a little afternoon snack. It was SO SO SO good. It was a mash of sweet potatoes, coconut, milk, sugar, and cinnamon. I think she realized that we like it and she will probably make it more often! For the next while, Taylor and I just spent some time together talking which we hadn't done in a while. It was great to catch up with her and talk about all the joys we had experienced. After dinner, I went over to Taylor's and hung out with her and her family. Her sweet nephew was over and so I enjoyed playing with Ericson. He is three years old and is precious! Not too much later, it was time to go to sleep! Write now I am at the computer center waiting for my mom, like my real mom Jaylynn, to get home so that we can Skype! I just heard my friend say that we are going to be dancing tomorrow night, so I will finally get to learn. I am nervous, but hopefully it will go well. I have posted just a few pictures below and will try to post more soon. We are going to try to take some pictures of our houses and with our families this weekend so that we can post them this next week. The following pictures are Taylor's and Alicen's, FYI. I just took them off of "The Dominican Experience" page on Facebook! </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My camera broke recently, so I didn't bring one with me. School is officially over today so we are hoping to start talking to the teachers this next week! Anyway, enjoy and I will post more soon!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is almost our whole group. From left to right: Alicen, me, Rose, Caitlin, and Taylor. Susie didn't come with us the day we went to the caves so she isn't in this picture. Taylor, Alicen, and I are doing the gardening project while Caitlin, Rose, and Susie are helping Christine with research!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJl1e8RX75fR1rouaPZj06NsaV3MkkeNoN6NUnHZ-h9LpLp9kmCUw4rl1tE3jLVEdJKgAPabs4esCWBnXJudMBDnsTJ-DwIpU_H7Zcn_xT9eozYoziXDAMDOn21wdbu5Wy1i89VwH/s1600/Taylor,+Alicen,+and+Lleni.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJl1e8RX75fR1rouaPZj06NsaV3MkkeNoN6NUnHZ-h9LpLp9kmCUw4rl1tE3jLVEdJKgAPabs4esCWBnXJudMBDnsTJ-DwIpU_H7Zcn_xT9eozYoziXDAMDOn21wdbu5Wy1i89VwH/s1600/Taylor,+Alicen,+and+Lleni.jpg" height="256" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is Taylor, Alicen, and our new friend Lleni! They were showing the headbands and bracelets they had made!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnFAGDXTmJnWgNQHOB0eWdIVyBKsFnaG59CuOpvv-9JpPLGVZBl2jItpeZOm84oM3UEGhk4tmXh8Tu2e9RGrJUE5kK1O8VduLxUsxlWPPi1LjGDLxTRzKWMGo58j_IN9Rsdyb9Ft20/s1600/Sonya,+Yari,+and+Johanny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnFAGDXTmJnWgNQHOB0eWdIVyBKsFnaG59CuOpvv-9JpPLGVZBl2jItpeZOm84oM3UEGhk4tmXh8Tu2e9RGrJUE5kK1O8VduLxUsxlWPPi1LjGDLxTRzKWMGo58j_IN9Rsdyb9Ft20/s1600/Sonya,+Yari,+and+Johanny.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Left to right: Sonya, Me, Yari, and Johanny. We were just hanging out at Alicen's house. Yari is Alicen's Dominican littler sister. Sonya is one of Yari's friends from school and Johanny is my new adorable and patient friend!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBrkkLGokSNJ-357MBwsTXA70ezU1a2kmSfOHjZKbyV6AWiMMdE0hE4nZTEc4HmdJ2iySiDJdHSRteakAhIFOfGnxGPLIH6fx353j-UhD94Fl1zJE9QPR5GPkHdWrbXzaiEfpJ9VNz/s1600/ericson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBrkkLGokSNJ-357MBwsTXA70ezU1a2kmSfOHjZKbyV6AWiMMdE0hE4nZTEc4HmdJ2iySiDJdHSRteakAhIFOfGnxGPLIH6fx353j-UhD94Fl1zJE9QPR5GPkHdWrbXzaiEfpJ9VNz/s1600/ericson.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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This is Ericson. He is Taylor's Domincan nephew! Isn't he adorable?!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVXC9_U877CGyBNvkhVVBlo_oqhv0autAdazRiGI4DJJ5K3ZRcAqvHjG45ts2CJ91TghVU7xijJbr1_fy0R4pCvhBiTtJeL1tFioOGzLQx04a4WcuqSCq4yxbCwp85wKtz0QQzaQev/s1600/beach2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVXC9_U877CGyBNvkhVVBlo_oqhv0autAdazRiGI4DJJ5K3ZRcAqvHjG45ts2CJ91TghVU7xijJbr1_fy0R4pCvhBiTtJeL1tFioOGzLQx04a4WcuqSCq4yxbCwp85wKtz0QQzaQev/s1600/beach2.jpg" /></a></div>
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This is the beach that is only ten minutes away. Hopefully we will be able to go often!</div>
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This is also at the beach, where a river feeds into the ocean.</div>
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This is a stray dog that always follows us Americans, and only us. We have named him "Patito," which means little duckling, fitting him perfectly! The community has begun to care for this dog because they have seen how much we love him!</div>
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I know this blog was kind of long, but I hope you all enjoyed the update. I have loved becoming part of the family in this community! In just a short time we are becoming unified. I thank God for placing these new friends in my life, I love them all so much! The love that they show is incredible and of God. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers. Te quiero mucho!</div>
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-Kinsey</div>
</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10330625032128353416noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3141062856046112386.post-82841517270298740642013-06-03T08:55:00.001-07:002013-06-03T09:12:27.951-07:00<h2>
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Loving in a New Way</span></h2>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of my favorite verses in the bible is this: "<span class="versenum" style="font-size: 0.75em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">And love means living the way God commanded us to live. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is this: Live a life of love." It is from 2 John 6. Heck, I even named my blog after this verse. Over these last few days, The Lord has been preparing me to love in a new way. I have learned the importance of living a life of love through service. I am starting to realize that I may not be able to show my new friends or parents love through words, but I can love on them through my actions. The verse in 2nd John says "love means living the way God commanded us to live," and his command is for us to love in all aspects. These different ways of love consist of giving, affirmation, touch, service, time, and many other ways. The Lord didn't call us to just love in one of these ways, but to employ all of these qualities when we love because each person differs in the way they receive love. I have begun to understand the words, "live a life of love" more over these last few days than I ever have before. I thank God for using these powerful words to encourage me to live alongside others and love the way He loves me. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">So, my Spanish is improving! I know it will take a while, but I am starting to understand more! In Spanish class, we have started to just practice with vocabulary instead of learning how to conjugate verbs in different forms. I am excited because more vocabulary is really all we need right now. This morning, we wrote words in English and in Spanish on the board then had to create sentences using them. After that, we played a sort of "hot potato." We had a card that we were passing around in a circle, but in order to pass it to the next person, we had to say a vocabulary word in both English and Spanish. This game is very helpful because it makes you have to say a word on the spot, which is very practical. Later, we played the same game, but we had to say the word and then use it in a sentence. This was much harder, but it is going to help so much! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Now I am going to give a short update on what I have done since my last post. Every week day usually consists of roughly the same thing. I wake up in the morning around 7:00 and will usually run with my friend Taylor. After running I will take a shower and then eat breakfast. My mom, Pura, always has breakfast sitting on the table for me with bowls covered by plates and then all covered by a towel so that the bugs can't get to my food. She does this for every meal and not just breakfast. I love it because it creates a sense of surprise. Every time I sit down at the table, I take off the towel and then remove the first plate from on top of the bowl. It is fun, because I have no clue what is under there and it is always a surprise!! For breakfast, I usually have some bread with cheese or butter on it along with coffee or hot chocolate. But, this morning was different. I had scrambled eggs, yucca root and potatoes. All of the food my mom makes is very good, but there portion sizes are insane here! After breakfast, I go to school from about 8:30 to 10:30 and then stay til around 12:00 just using my computer. The computer center is just a few minutes down the road from my house, so I leave a little before noon. When I get back home, lunch is usually waiting for me on the table. After lunch, I usually go sit outside on the porch with my dad. He owns a animal feed business and just sits outside all day while customers come by, so I enjoy keeping him company. Depending on how the previous night's sleep was, I might take a little siesta. The afternoons are usually spent hanging out with kids in the community along with my friends from the states. Alicen, Taylor, and I enjoy singing on Taylor's front porch while she plays guitar. I usually eat dinner around 6:30 and then just hang out with my parents until I go to sleep either watching TV or just talking. I have learned that the electricity turns off at unexpected times so my family enjoys watching TV when it is available. I tend to go to sleep between 9:30-10:30 depending on if I get hooked on a specific movie or not. May is supposed to be the month of rain, and I have noticed the rain slowing over these past two days which has been so nice. I have actually slept during the night more than a few hours! I have noticed that the chickens and roosters have no since of time because they cluck and cock-a-doodle-do at all hours of the night. Last night, I knew it must be the morning because all the roosters were crowing but it was only 2:00AM. I guess this is something I will just have to get used to. I think the weekends will usually be spent just hanging out with the community. On Saturday, it was raining the bulk of the day so weren't able to do a whole lot. On Sunday morning, I went to church with my family. They have established a really small catholic church in the community. It was great to see how involved my family was in the service! My dad is the priest and my mom leads all the singing. Although I couldn't understand hardly anything that was going on during the service, it was great to see how passionate these individuals are for The Lord. After church, my family and I had breakfast and later Taylor, Alicen, and I had our own worship. My mom was telling me that she was going to be at church again from 11:00-12:00 and that she would leave lunch on the table for me. While at Taylor's house, her mom asked us if we would like to go up to the church again. I wasn't sure what we were going to do there, but we all went again. I think it was basically just a late service, although once again, I couldn't understand much. I think our families really appreciate us being there though! That afternoon, Taylor and I spent more time singing together. It was fun because some people came by and just sat and listened to us sing. We only know one song in Spanish, but everyone seems to get a kick out of us singing "Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord," in their language. Two young girls came by and listened to Taylor and I sing for a while. After we were finished, we started to talk with them some. The phrase that I used the most was "Yo no entiendo," which means, " I don't understand." I could tell that the girls were getting frustrated because I didn't know what they were saying by they would speak really slowly and use hand gestures so hopefully I could get the gist of what they were saying. They were so patient and it was also great practice for me! When I didn't understand something after multiple trials, we would just all sit and laugh together! Later, I took them over to my house and we made some bracelets together. It was fun to be able to do something that didn't not require words. I am very glad that I was able to meet these two girls and I know that our friendship will continue to strengthen! Anyway, it is almost time for lunch here so I better go! Thanks again for thinking about me and I am hoping to posts some pictures soon!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">-Kinsey</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10330625032128353416noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3141062856046112386.post-71347419576631878162013-05-31T08:46:00.002-07:002013-05-31T08:46:56.828-07:00<h2>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Silence is Golden</span></h2>
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Well, it would be quite the understatement to say that adjusting to this new life has been very hard. Don't get me wrong, I really do love my new home! Communication has been quite an issue though. I have learned a lot over these last few days, but my Spanish is still not where I would like it to be. I tend to sit and "listen" to others speak Spanish although I can't understand much. I wish I could say that "silence is golden," but not necessarily in this situation. It can be a bit boring and tiring to just sit and only understand every 10th word. I am odd in the fact that I can speak much better than I can understand. It is nice because I can talk to people and ask questions, but then I don't always know what they are trying to say back to me. I really like the house that I get to live in. It is really nice and I love my new family.My new parents are so sweet, and I have enjoyed talking with them. My dad's name is Lion and my mom's name is Pura. They have eight children, and seventeen grandchildren. None of their kids or grandchildren live in La Esquina but some live nearby and will come visit often. There are many times when I try to say something to my mom or dad but I can't figure out how to say it so I just stop, then we just smile and laugh and everything is okay. I do feel bad because my mom will try to explain something to me and I don't always understand so she has to get up and show me things all the time! I really have enjoyed all of the meals she has prepared for me although some of them are quite interesting! My friends and I have also been taking Spanish lessons with Alex who runs the computer center. They have been helpful, but we are all on different levels so it is kind of hard to accomplish much. He is a good teacher, but he cannot always explain in English so it can be pretty confusing. Class is at 8:30 and we get access to Wifi while we are in class and continue to use it until 12:00 without any charge. So I should be able to check Facebook and my email, as well as update my blog on a fairly regular basis. Yesterday, some boys in the community took us girls to some caves. It was quite an interesting trek, but we all survived and it was really fun! Last night, we watched Ice Age 2 in Spanish but it was very hard to understand it at all. I have enjoyed getting to know different people in the community, and cannot wait until I will be able to converse with them much better. Sleeping has been an issue because it storms like crazy in the night and my tin roof is extremely loud. Also, there are chickens everywhere and they like to make themselves known early in the morning. I am sure I will get used to this and will be able to sleep well soon. I do love how their culture takes part in siestas because it is a great way for me to catch up on my lack of sleep. I am excited to see what the weekend brings because it the time of many fiestas. I will have the opportunity to meet a lot of new people as well as learn to dance! I think we may also go to the beach, and I am excited to do something really relaxing. Thanks again for all the prayers! I will be updating everyone again soon!</div>
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-Kinsey</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10330625032128353416noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3141062856046112386.post-26410745220175457932013-05-29T07:42:00.003-07:002013-05-29T07:42:48.614-07:00<h2>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Patience is a Virtue"</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, after waking up at 5:00am yesterday morning, I finally arrived to Santo Domingo at 8:30pm(ET). Yesterday was quite a crazy day. The plan was to fly from Miami to Dallas at 7:40am and arrive at 11:30am(ET). Then, I was supposed to fly from Miami to Santo Domingo at 12:50pm and land at 3:00pm. Well, that didn't quite happen the way I had planned. The flight from Dallas to Miami went very smoothly and I did arrive at 11:30am. However, my flight from Miami to Santo Domingo was a different story. We started boarding the plane around 12:14, which was normal. Everyone had boarded and we were just waiting to take off. After the last safety check, I thought it was time but boy was I wrong. There was some kind of maintenance problem that needed to be cleared. We had already started our journey to the runway, and then the captain informed us that maintenance needed to take a look at our problem. By now, it was around 1:30 which really wasn't that much of a delay. Well, we ended up having to bring our plane back in to a different gate to allow maintenance to assess the problem. After about 15 minutes, the captain informed us that this particular plane had a history with this maintenance problem. He then continued to say that we would all need to get off this plane because the maintenance would take a few hours. The captain did explain to us that we shouldn't have to wait for the maintenance, we would just schedule a different plane. So after reading all these confusing signs and riding a skytrain, I arrived at the new gate. Originally the captain told us this new flight should leave around 3:30(remember I was supposed to arrive in the DR at 3:00). We ended up boarding this new plane a little before 4:00 and I figured we were ready to roll. But, I was wrong. Apparently the crew that was on this new plane we had acquired was not able to fly internationally because of legality issues so we had to get a new crew. Our captain informed us that as soon as the first officer of the new crew arrived we would be well on our way. I guess it was wrong of me to think that should just take a few minutes. To compensate for our delay, our seats were stalked with pillows and blankets this time. So I decided to nap. I woke up around 4:45 and knew I must have been so tired if I could have slept through our take off. But wait, we still hadn't left. At this time, the captain told us that the first officer had been located and he was on his way. At around 5:45 he arrived and we took off at 6:00. Just keep in mind that my friend Taylor and our professor Christine had been waiting for me at the airport since 3:00. After finally getting in the air, the 1:45 minute flight went by in a flash and I was able to reach the DR smoothly. Taylor and Christine greeted me with so much love as we all talked about the long days we had. We arrived in a wonderful hotel in Santo Domingo and had a great night's rest.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Although yesterday was a rough day, I learned the importance of patience. I know that this summer I will have to be more patient than I ever have before and The Lord knows this too. He used yesterday to prepare me for the trials I will have ahead and I thank Him for that. Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers for me yesterday, I am so blessed!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-Kinsey</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10330625032128353416noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3141062856046112386.post-58857627409291140892013-05-28T04:48:00.000-07:002013-05-28T04:48:25.729-07:00<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Spirit Lead Me”</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Good Morning!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is 6:30AM, and I am sitting in the DFW airport getting
ready to fly to Miami and then on to Santo Domino, Dominican Republic. I will arrive in the capital at 3:00PM
Eastern Time. I am nervous about this new desire to become a “blogger.” I have
never been the best writer so everyone will have to bear with me. I am hoping
that you all will be able to become informed about all that The Lord is doing
in me and the lives of others this summer.
All I can think about at this time is one of my new favorite songs by
Hillsong United called, “Oceans.” My favorite lyrics are as follows:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders<br />
Let me walk upon the waters<br />
Wherever You would call me<br />
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander<br />
And my faith will be made stronger<br />
In the presence of my Savior”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I love the powerful words of this song. The Lord worked in
crazy ways to present this opportunity to me for this summer, and I cannot
thank Him enough for allowing me to embark on this journey. These words show the importance of completely
devoting all my trust and my whole life to the Lord and allowing Him to use me
in ways I could never imagine. I am so excited to see what He has planned! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anyway, I am going to be boarding my plane soon so I need to
hurry up and explain a bit about my summer!
I will be living with a host family in a small community called La
Esquina(The Corner) in the northeastern part of The Dominican Republic. The community has somewhere between 200-300
people living there. You will not find it on the map, so don’t even try! It is
near a city called Nagua, if you are interested in seeing close to where me and
two of my friends will spend our time.
I, as well as Taylor Whittlesey and Alicen Bessire, will be teaching
teachers at a school in our community how to implement gardening curricula into
their school. This school is shared by
five other communities and around 500 children attend. The gardening curricula we are using is Junior
Master Gardener, and our particular curriculum that we are teaching is called
“Learn, Grow, Eat and Go!” This program
contains concepts, activities, and crafts focused on gardening and the
nutrition it provides. Our goal is to teach and explain to teachers the first
four concepts in the curriculum so that in the fall they will be able to
implement this program into their school.
The first week I am there will just be spent getting adjusted to the new
culture, practicing my Spanish as well as meeting the community. The following four weeks will be spent by
teaching a concept per week from our curriculum to the teachers. We decided slowing it down and allowing a
week for the teachers to completely understand the curriculum would be
best. Hopefully they can even practice
the activities and crafts on the children that decide to hang around the school
during the summer. After we have
completed the training on the curricula we will actually plant a garden! After
we have planted the garden, we will just spend time explaining to the teachers
how a garden works and how the concepts we have taught them apply to the
garden. I will have access to the
internet, but I am not certain how often.
I will try to post some updates every few days and I of course will
upload pictures. If you have a Facebook, be sure to like the page titled “The
Dominican Experience” and there you will find updates from Taylor, Alicen, and
me! Also, feel free to email me at <a href="mailto:kinseynicolejeffers@gmail.com">kinseynicolejeffers@gmail.com</a>.
I would love to hear from you! I cannot wait to see how the Lord works this
summer. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers over the next nine weeks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Te quiero mucho,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Kinsey</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10330625032128353416noreply@blogger.com1