¡Feliz Cumpleaños!

I am very blessed. My Dominican family celebrated my birthday with me and it was great! They bought me a cake and sang "Happy Birthday" in Spanish. I am so grateful for my sweet family here!

Taking a Bath - Dominican Style

Everyday I fall more and more in love with this country and the people. I'm making a lot of friends and I'm really enjoying getting to learn a new language.

I had the opportunity to observe three surgeries so far and it is quite the experience! I made good friends with Sandy, who is one of the doctors here and helps with the surgeries. Sandy is also one of the youth leaders and is just an all around amazing man.

The other day my friends Monchy, Nicole, and I were caught in the rain while ridding back to the guest house to play dominoes. It was really fun and an excellent opportunity to take a bath! Monchy and I dropped Nicole off at the guest house then took the scooter and splashed our way to a canal. At the canal we washed up and cleaned our clothes. At this point it's still pouring so we take the scooter to the river and took a bath there as well. I had a blast and now I officially feel Dominican.

My Spanish is improving tremendously! I can understand much more and I'm able to talk better as well. The best part of this is that I can joke around with people. :-)

Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers! Missing you!

Another picture of my cute little class

Smiling Faces

The Dominican is a beautiful country with wonderful people. I am learning a lot about the land and the culture. They grow all kinds of different fruits and vegetables and the wildlife near the mountains is just incredible! The people that I have met are super kind and loving! I was told by one of my friends that Dominicans always have a smile on their face and are always up for a good joke. I'm finding this to be very true, and I enjoy every minute of joining them in laughter.

 

Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers! 

 

Romans 15:13 - May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

 

 

Pickled Pizza

It's the end of week three at the school and everything is going very well! Yesterday we celebrated the birthday of the teacher I help with. Her name is Cesarina and we took her out for pizza. I am really enjoying being a part of everything here and being treated like one of the family. I'm making new friends at the church and trying new things. Yesterday I had Dominican style pizza complete with corn, pickles, and ground chicken! It was yummy.

God is continuing to teach me to trust in Him with everything and to let Him take control. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers! They are very appreciated.

Cesarina - She's awesome!