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Arrival to the Dominican Republic



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.  Laminating and cutting out.  Drawing and tracing graft charts and the continent of Africa.  It was a lot of work and I was glad to be able to help Ann as well as get to know her more.

Vic sharing how to eat cheaply in the DR
I spent Saturday morning with Karen (our child sponsorship director for the DR) and Mary (a summer intern) to interview some of the house parents about the children in their home.  Child sponsors receive an annually progress report on their child.  I teamed up with Mary and we asked the questions needed for the reports and any other information the house parent wanted to say about the child.  We ate lunch at one of the homes which was great in getting to know some of the house parents and the kids.

Sunday after church I got to meet the team who is here for the week to work at the Ark Children's Home and ANIJA the school.  Most of the group are high school kids with their leaders.  The Ark's dentist also arrived for her yearly visit to check the dental health of the kids in the home.

The food and items from scavenger hunt

Monday evening I went with Vic and Mary to the airport to pick up the summer interns.  As we were waiting for everyone to arrive it was nice to be able to talk with the interns who arrived on the earlier flight.  We piled them and their luggage into the bus and headed for the camp where they will be staying for a few nights for orientation.  We had pizza for them and made some introductions and some instructions such as not flushing the toilet paper down the toilet.

Interns at orientation
Tuesday was an all day orientation with the summer interns.  We met at ANIJA the school.  Leslie and Vic had us introduce ourselves before we were divided up and given a list of things to find/buy and questions to ask.  This allowed the group to get to know the town of Jarabacoa as well as practice their Spanish.  I went with one of the groups so I could learn more about the town of Jarabacoa.  It was a lot of fun and I believe it also built team work and practicing to speak Spanish even if they don't know much Spanish.  We all met back at ANIJA.  I went over our child protection policy with the group.  Vic went over the standards for being an intern.  Leslie had us play two more games for getting to know one another.  We ate lunch at a Columbian restaurant which the food was amazing--reminded me of food from Peru.  Then our afternoon session we went over finances, how to wash fruits and veggies, the cost of foods that they bought on their scavenger hunt as well as trying some of what they bought.  Leslie and Vic went over cross-cultural things and an overview of KAI Dominican Republic.  It was a fun day!

In case you do not know.  I am currently staying in the guest house on the Van Der Molen's property.  When I come back from my training in North Carolina I will be staying in the main house.  I will be house sitting for the Van Der Molen Family while they will be in the states for a year long furlough.  Jeff, Ann, Lucas, and Natalie have taken me in and made me part of their family this week.  It's been great getting to know them better.
Interns at orientation


Very common animal--lizard


Comments

  1. kairos ichabod timesJune 22, 2016 at 4:22 AM

    So glad to hear from you. I continue praying. Love you. We are busy with our grandchildren having each one for their own week in the summer. Lots of fun. Alice Jean

    ReplyDelete
  2. kairos ichabod timesJune 22, 2016 at 4:22 AM

    So glad to hear from you. I continue praying. Love you. We are busy with our grandchildren having each one for their own week in the summer. Lots of fun. Alice Jean

    ReplyDelete

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