SHANNON’S CORNER
November 2016
Happy
Thanksgiving!
This month has been a
mixture of various experiences. We
celebrated six of our girls’ 15th birthday (La Quincenera) from our
two children’s homes in Jarabacoa and Constanza. This is a very formal celebration for girls
as it signifies a passage from girlhood to womanhood. I learned some of traditions that the DR does
which is different from some of the Peruvian traditions. One tradition is for the girls to wear flats
when they first arrive to the party then the mom will present her daughter with
a pair of high heels as a passage into womanhood. Another tradition is for the girl to carry a baby
doll when she arrives to the party and during the party she will give the doll
to a younger sister or a younger girl as it signifies she is passing into
womanhood. I had the privilege to not
only attend the celebration but to help in decorating the multipurpose building
for the celebration. This gave me a
chance to get to know our house parents at the Ark in Jarabacoa.
I
have had the opportunity to sit down and get to know a handful of our ministry site
directors. One day, I travelled with
Karen and Luis to Santo Domingo to Miacerg School to help them with sponsorship
projects. I got to know Juan and
Margaret our directors and their three kids during lunch in their home as well
as working with them on sponsorship.
They originally started this school in their own home for the younger
kids in their neighborhood because of the danger of little kids crossing main
highways to get to the public school.
The school as grown leaps and bounds since they first started.
One
day, Vic and I travelled to Caraballo to meet with Alberto and Lydia the
directors there and Susanna our missionary nurse. Over lunch, I got to know more about Alberto
and Lydia and their passion for serving God, some of the struggles they have
with working in an area of Haitians and Dominicans, some ideas where I may be
able to help them as directors, and about their three week trip in the US
sharing about KAI Caraballo. This time
was very insightful to not only know them but also more about their work here
in Caraballo. Caraballo is a village of
both Haitians and Dominicans that use to work in sugarcane field which has been
closed down and had been the main income for these families. There is a lot of hatred still between the
two countries. In Caraballo there is
extreme poverty and spiritual oppression.
I
had a meeting with our Ark directors in Jarabacoa, Vijo and Chinina. I have heard bits and pieces about their
testimonies as they have served with KAI for a very long time starting as house
parents. They have a wealth of
information about working with kids at risk, which is beneficial for our
missionaries as well as our Dominican staff.
They help in training our new house parents at the three different
orphanages as well as our home directors.
It was great to get to know them and how I can serve them as well as
serving the new missionary family that will be living at the home next year and
Christina who is living there as well.
I
also had the pleasure of meeting with Debra who is the director at the Eva
Russell School in Monte Plata. What an
amazing lady! We did not have much time
to really sit and talk as she was busy but the time we did spend together she
shared with me a wealth of information.
Monte Plata is a small town and so most everyone knows everyone. The town of Monte Plata has a standard of how
and what Christians should act and do.
Because of this the Christian culture in Monte Plata has been very difficult
on the missionaries who have lived here in the past. Another factor is because it is a small town
that there is not much to do and you have to travel to Santo Domingo in order
to go to the mall, movies, restaurants, etc.
There are not really any English-speaking people who live in Monte
Plata. All this information is very
valuable to me as we think about placing our missionaries at the various ministry
sites. For example, if we place a
missionary in Monte Plata it should possibly be someone who grew up in the
country or a very small town, their level of Spanish needs to be higher than
most, and that they have a good understanding of the Christian culture in order
to reach the people of the community for Jesus.
This information and make-up will be very helpful in order for the
missionary to thrive living in Monte Plata and not just survive it.
God gave me lots of
opportunities to meet with some of our missionaries as well. I got to spend time with Jan the director at
Palo Blanco. Kami is the director at the
care center in Santo Domingo. Emily a
teacher and does sponsorship at the care center in Caraballo. Susanna is the nurse in Caraballo. Rebekah does sponsorship, the P.E. assistant,
and after school program at the school in Constanza. Kaela is a teacher and serves on
administration in our school in Constanza.
Derrick gave me and three other ladies a tour of the eco system we have
in our school at Palo Blanco.
Three
women from Ontario, Canada who have been coming to the DR for the last six
years to do teacher-training workshops arrived for a two-week training
trip. I hosted these women where I am
staying. Served as their translator and
driver during their stay. This year was
the third year of a three-year teacher certificate program that these women
along with Ann Van Der Molen designed to help our teachers with classroom
management, discipline, and specific areas of math and science. The DR’s education is at the very bottom of
the western hemisphere level of education.
Knowing that piece of information, the university level of education is
also not good so this certificate program that KAI has come up with is to help
improve the teacher’s capacity and knowledge in being a good and effective
teacher. As I translated the information
across to our teachers, I was also learning new things along with them. As the teachers did hands on activities and
games to put into practice the theory that was just taught, it was delightful
to see a light bulb turn on in their understanding and grasping the
knowledge. It was a time of
encouragement for me through these women as I got to know them. What an incredible opportunity to meet all of
our KAI teachers in our various schools (5 schools & 2 care centers). God stretched me in this role as a translator.
Happy Thanksgiving
PRAYER REQUESTS
Praise the Lord for the time I have had with several of our
missionaries!
Praise
the Lord the amazing two weeks of teacher training workshops!
Pray for our people in Caraballo for all the
flooding and mudslides that are happening.
For the rain to stop. For
protection from any diseases that may come from the result of the flooding.
Pray for God’s leading as I build relationships
with my fellow KAI missionaries.
Pray for our missionaries, as some will be
traveling back to the states in December to spend Christmas with family and
friends.
Pray for protection over and spiritual covering
over our missionaries, our staff, and the kids we serve.
Pray
for wisdom and discernment
in buying a vehicle.
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