Whew! What a full summer. Here’s a combination of July and August 2025 from the Mitchener point of view.
Ministry
We had several teams join us this summer. They helped immensely in VBS. Here, one of our seniors, Alfredo, is translating a testimony from English to Spanish.The senior class started a new tradition! The new upcoming seniors will get to paint a hallway at Freedom.The finished productBittersweet moment – Basilio and Memena moved out of Lima. Memena is the lady who helped us get established there in the village at the beginning of our ministry.Jhoan will graduate from Freedom this May! He’s so very shy, but he’s an amazing young man!Leslie and Angela prepping some preschool bagsTwo of the ladies that keep Freedom on its feet!Proud ‘lita over here! Look at how this girl can write her name! So very big.Little bro is growing up too fast.A few of our new teachers who just joined the Freedom teamKrista and I joined the team for a couple of virtual mtgs to start off the school year. Yuleisy is sharing some info with us from her department.School staff praying over the new yearThere they are: the Freedom team members for the 2025-2026 school yearI miss my friend, but she is doing awesome things up there on the third floor of Freedom’s school building. ❤Our beautiful front office ladies!The Bible Department!Claire is our sole intern this year (so far)! (Anyone want to join her?)A good portion of our MK’s – everyone is growing up so fast!
Family
This is not a sight that I see too terribly often, so when I do, I’m documenting it!The kids and I broke out an old favorite: Sleeping Queens!We visited a small, local zooThe kids’ very first 4th of July experience!Oops. I may have run out of gas for the first time in my life. Scott came to rescue me!It’s weird being on “this side” of furlough – all of our Freedom friends come to us now!We decided to jump on the bandwagon and try the viral JoyrideThis cat may be one of our favorites. He has the best personality EVER!I’ve exchanged sugar cane fields for cornfields!Happy birthday to Memaw!I’m still enjoying jogging around our neighborhoodOne of my favorite spots is on the porch swing on the back patio!Scott and I are volunteering with our church’s youth group. The middle school girls took a putt-putt and ice cream trip!Cal and a friend at a recent school picnicSilly kitty shenanigansParent meeting before the start of schoolFirst day of school!Waiting for the brothers to get done with soccer practiceCal made some homemade slime – this girl is obsessed with this stuffSpeaking of obsessions, Caleigh’s favorite food in the whole wide world is potato soup. She begs for it often and never cares what season it is – she loves to help make it!This may have been my favorite grill session yet: steak bites, shrimp, and zucchini!
I forgot how much I loved summer in the States. Enjoy 30 June pictures from our perspective!
Ministry
How many of these visiting teams photos have I posted over the years? It may just seem like random faces, but each person is an answered prayer.Our Dominican staff decorated for summer camp!Getting a head start on learning how to line up for the upcoming school year 🙂We have returning visitors who connect so well with many of our students – that means the world to us!This young lady has attended Freedom her entire life (along with her two sisters). She’s had so many life experiences already. We’re praying that she always chooses to put the Lord first in her life.If you’re wanting to hire some professional organizers/cleaners, look no further!Cuties!Where will this little lady be in 5 years? 10 years? Hopefully growing up and learning lots about Jesus at Freedom!At the end of each week, one of our interns got a pie to the face. Our high schoolers were not unhappy about this. 🙂VBS!Parents signing important docs before school begins. Betsaida (in the black shirt) has been a huge godsend to this ministryThe school my kids attend in Indiana had the opportunity to visit my old stomping grounds! I hope they were able to fall in love a bit with this little slice of the Caribbean.
Family
We went camping with the fam one weekend! Check out that pile o’ chicken.We took a beautiful hike through the woodsLeyton and his siblings enjoyed the hike, but they were all glad to make it back to the car at the end. 🙂My parents have been experiencing visits from some unwanted visitors. We watched these guys steal the cat food from the front porch on multiple occasions.Baking some brownies from scratch – this girl is obsessed with all things kitchen.Our sweet friends’ daughter (who has been a Freedom intern) got married. I was seated by my high school science teacher at the reception! It was awesome to catch up with him.We took a mini-vacay with some friends to the mountains. They treated us to these amazing made-from-scratch donuts!!Better than Starbucks!Another wedding (this time in IN)!Summer calls for the making of many fruit smoothiesHappy 39 to Scott!Someone started piano lessons this summer!I had a lot of fun helping out with our church’s VBS this year! I’m still getting to know kids and their families, but they were all so precious!We have some Chipotle haters in our family, so Leyton and I took a special lunch trip to one of our favorite placesNoah after we finished a card game one afternoon: “Mom, don’t you need to take a picture of it? You always do that when we’re playing something…” Heh.We enjoyed several weekend trips to a local park to go wade in the creek.This pup has had some recent health issuesFolding laundry and getting some Roo cuddles
Thanks for following along on our picture journey!
Our Juniors are already beginning to think about life after graduationThey recently took their first college visit – a monumental moment!Our annual Freedom Talent Show hosted by Rony and AlfredoThree of our sophomores getting ready for their performanceRyan and others are getting help preparing the ground for some new crops. We’re doing what we can to add some variety to the students’ meals by planting fruits and veggies.Mr. Keven helped with our Math Olympics this yearThe fresh coats of paint look SO good on our old apartment building!SURPRISE! Santeli, party of FIVE! Jhoan and Yuleisy are adding another little girl to their family.YAHOO! Taylor finally made it to the DR! We’re so excited to get her all to ourselves now.Mother’s Day is a HUGE deal in the Dominican, and we always invite our moms to join us for special programming. The preschool team even coordinated their outfits!One of our students with her momThe ladies in this row all have students in our school, and they are all so special.A cutie in village LimaGroupwork with phonicsAs the school year winds down, we recognized each of the departments that help keep the school running – this is the grounds/transportation crew!
Family
Caleigh had one final choir concert to end the school year here in IN!We made a weekend trip to visit some friends who lived in the DR with usMy absolute favorite Sunday afternoon activityAwards Day – we are proud of Cal finishing year 1 of school in the USUntil next year!Enjoying a walk at the park with Gracie the gooberCaleigh got to spend a fun afternoon with a couple of friendsCaleigh has claimed this fuzzy little kitten as her own when we make the trek to OhioWalking in the woods is the perfect balm for my heartBaseball Noah!Bored Cal at a baseball gameSome sweet friends gifted us tickets to a comedy show – I laughed SO much!We may have been treated to Culver’s and gotten some free ice cream!I am STILL working on this fall cross stitch sampler. Will it ever end? Doesn’t matter. It’s one of my favorite forms of stress relief.We loved seeing the McCalls while they were back in the States!
The Mitcheners 