Shannon's Corner

Wow!  What an amazing two-three weeks we have had with our summer program in all of our sites.  The summer program has been teaching on the continent of Africa--math, English, geography, and Bible all reflect Africa.  I have been a part of our medical intern team helping with vaccines, and screenings for vision, height and weight, along with vital signs.  Plus in the afternoon they got the chance to teach some health classes to the kids.  Last weekend we had all 17 of our summer interns back in Jarabacoa for the weekend to celebrate Independence Day, reconnect with everyone, and to have fun together.  I picked up some of our interns from the bus station, Vic and Leslie picked up some other interns and one of the Dominican drivers brought in other interns for us to be altogether for the weekend. Friday evening we had supper together and heard some awesome stories of things have been going as the interns were sharing what has been going on the last two week...

Ann teaching the summer school directors the summer school curriculum  I made it through the packing and saying good-byes.  God showed me favor in getting both of my suitcases through without them being overweight.  I made it through security without being hand searched or going through my belongings or even forgetting something in one of the bins (I've done that many times before).  I made it to my gates with plenty of time to relax before boarding.  Both flights went well and at the end, Ann was there to greet me and take me to my new home for this next year (the Van Der Molen house). My first week has gone by so fast.  I jumped in with helping Ann get things ready for the Summer School training with the Summer School Directors.  This year's curriculum is on Africa so English, Math, and Bible all reflects Africa.  I did some coloring to put examples together.  Counting out different objects for all the math curriculum.  Laminat...

I am excited to be leaving for the Dominican Republic (DR) very soon!  But yet with this comes the other side of the coin...good-byes and packing.  In life you have the ebb and flow and good-byes are a part of that cycle.  You would think that I would be a pro at saying good-byes since I have been doing it since I was two years old.  I'm not.  I know that saying good-byes is a very important part of life as it brings closure for that season in your life.  It's important to say my good-byes well in order for me to say 'hello' well as I meet new people and invite them into my life. Saying good-byes to people, places, foods, and things may seem funny to some.  Let me share with you how it affected my life.  My family was moving one summer from one town to another and the week that they moved I was at Bible camp.  I was just so excited to be at Bible camp.  When camp was over, my parents picked me up and drove me to our new home.  At...