Saying #goodbye to rainbows and blue skies

If heaven and earth meet anywhere, it just might be right here where I’ve lived for the last decade. I am convinced that Dominican skies are the most beautiful to exist. Maybe it’s because we’re away from the smoggy city. Or perhaps it’s because it rains so often. It could be due to the fact that there aren’t buildings to block my view. Whatever the reason, I’m all about the beautiful blue ocean I see when I look up.

The sheer quantity of rainbows we experience is incredible. The colors are so pronounced that people can’t help but pause to appreciate them. God has certainly used nature to show me how much He cares for me.

I don’t care how good of an iPhone you own, there’s no way to perfectly capture the majesty of these seas of blue and pink.

And don’t get me started on the sunrises and sunsets. I know those yellows and oranges aren’t created simply for my benefit, but sometimes I pretend that they’re secret messages just for me.

There are so many beautiful things in my home country, and I am excited to marvel again at the mountains and the forests and the rolling plains. But for now, I’m reveling in the beauty of these stunning Dominican skies.

No, I’m not saying goodbye to a person today. But God has very clearly shown me his handiwork – and his love – through the paintings he creates on the fresh canvas of each day. And for that I am forever grateful.

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
Psalm 19:1-3

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Sunday marked twelve years of marriage for Scott and I! Wow. My cliche saying of choice is “time flies,” and I use it pretty much every day. I decided to get out the family photos this year, and I thought I’d share a few here!

The following pictures may show smiling faces, sundry memories, and varying lengths of hair on Scott’s part, but there have been hard times, too. Both the good and the difficult have drawn us closer to each other and to the Lord. Looking forward to the next 12 years!

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

November and December 2016 in Pictures

Another end to another year! How I pray that the Lord was glorified. I hope that our family looks to Him for strength and joy as 2017 begins.

14958977_10100942657653872_1849830470_ocrop
Our students visited the zoo this year for their field trip!
14975682_10100942658297582_158219258_ocrop
Checking out the flamingos
img_6332
Our team enjoyed another Thanksgiving together as a group
img_6413
Thanksgiving getaway! A great time of fellowship for the weekend.
dsc_0991
We’ve been trying to battle a serious mold problem! Gross!
dsc_0988
We finally took our new desks and cabinets apart and painted all the areas where the pressed wood was exposed. Yeah, it’s humid here.
dsc_0642crop
Miss Rachel and Miss Emma planned a 100th Day of School party for their kindergarten cuties
dsc_0673crop
Silly Jesús with his 100 Days crown
dsc_0767crop
We had fun putting our tree up a little earlier than usual this year!
dsc_0605crop
Caleigh tested out our new LED lights for us
img_6075
Scott confirmed that he was NOT pregnant. He battled some scary abdominal pain for a few days!
img_6096
We thought for a moment that we may have had a case of appendicitis! Caleigh helped take care of Dad while he was on the mend.
img_6079
God is so good. Katie brought us dinner one evening while Scott was sick!
img_8331
Parent-teacher conferences in the villages!
img_8434
One of our families in  Cabeza de Toro made a Christmas tree out of green pop bottles!
img_7977crop
Our two-night Christmas program was a success!
dsc_1224crop
Noah helped his teacher Miss Mery pass out papers to the parents one evening at the program
dsc_1505crop
Our Freedom team! So thankful for these people!
dsc_1526crop
Staff Christmas party fun!
img_6786
A church back home sweetly sent our family an entire suitcase of goodies for Christmas!
img_6841
So blessed!
dsc_1827crop
We loved spending some time with Memaw and Pepaw over Christmas!
img_6700
Piñones cuties!

July and August 2016 in Pictures

Tick-tock! Time marches on – our babies are growing, our ministry is changing, our students are maturing. There’s nothing we can do but take advantage of each moment. Here are some pictures of life in the DR from the last two months!

IMG_3158crop
Digging out the footers for new schoolrooms

IMG_3159crop
Such hard work!

 

DSC_5229cropcrop
Heather talking with Estaylin after a trip to the office. He recently chose to accept Christ! This little boy’s life is changing!

DSC_6418cropcrop
Smiles from Meroli as she enjoys spending time with short-term team members

DSC_6023crop
Some of our littles took some time to get accustomed to school. Cuddles with Elle!

DSC_5441crop
Summer teams built the walls of these two new classrooms

DSC_5704crop
Noah working at his technology center in 1st grade

DSC_5731crop
Noah says Jose Miguel is his best friend at school

IMG_3192crop
July was Caleigh’s 10 month

IMG_5714crop
One of the MK’s favorite pastimes is toad-hunting

DSC_7341
It’s neat to see Mery as she grows as a teacher. We co-taught our first years in kindergarten.

DSC_6548crop-2
This little girl loves getting into everything

DSC_6530crop-2
My little laundry helper

DSC_7485cropcrop
Our newest good behavior incentive – a book giveaway!

DSC_7478cropcrop
We’re loving Anna Luisa’s smile as she picks her book to take home

DSC_6664crop
Caleigh loves to play peek-a-boo

DSC_6665crop
Smiley girl!

IMG_3849crop
Noah leading his class in the Spanish alphabet

IMG_4373crop
Sebastian and Noah

IMG_4312crop
August was Caleigh’s 11th month

DSC_7861crop
First-third graders are beginning music class with Mr. Scott

DSC_7864crop
Carla is learning about musical instruments and their families – she made her own “maraca” out of paper plates and rice!

DSC_5253crop
Fernancia and her classmates continue learning and growing!

April 2016 in Pictures

12986567_10100777523703632_1333498745_ocrop
Our 1st and 2nd graders enjoyed their first-ever field trip to the National Aquarium

IMG_8646crop
Alfredo, Woobens, Achuchu

IMG_8703crop
The kids were in awe of everything – the bus ride, the fold-down seats in the theater, the exhibits, the playground…

13036573_10100266028664634_1695465050_ocrop
Noah is almost finished with Kindergarten!

IMG_9267
April was Caleigh’s seventh month

IMG_9342crop
Noah lost his first tooth!

IMG_9690
Leyton is all boy – he ran into our sideboard and got a fun little cut one afternoon.

IMG_9717
Scott and our intern Patrick had one last weekly meeting at our favorite pizza place before Patrick headed back to the States

IMG_9973crop
Ang worked on sponsorship letters at the end of the month

IMG_0043crop
1st grade students drawing pictures for their sponsors

13113118_10100269048991874_1127444009_ocrop
Our $12,500 matching gift was met! A new road and drainage system are being put in!

WP_20160425_12_33_00_Procrop
The pad in the middle of the school’s octagon was leveled out. A multi-use building will eventually be built here.

IMG_9947crop
Our family is the last to move out to our campus! We are packing everything up!

IMG_9761crop
Caleigh helping Daddy fix the laundry room walls before the big move.

One Year

We did it. We recently reached the one-year mark of living in a foreign country. On May 21, 2012, our family stepped off a plane in Santo Domingo and pulled suitcases, strollers, backpacks, and babies past a sea of Dominican faces to make this tiny island our new home.

How do we describe this last year?

Full.

A year full of new experiences and new relationships.
A year full of power outages, good Dominican food, and lots of Spanish.
A year full of family changes – Noah started to talk and Leyton learned to walk.
A year full of muggy weather, mosquito bites, and various car problems.
A year full of days where we couldn’t wait for our heads to hit the pillow.
A year full of death and new life.
A year full of feeling lonely, inadequate, and frustrated.
A year full of painful growth.
A year full of “a-ha” moments that helped us continue another day.
A year full of learning that faith in God requires more than just lip service.
A year full of God’s faithfulness and goodness.

You know, this past year has been the longest and hardest one we’ve endured as a family. And next year is certain to bring even more challenges. When we’re in the midst of the difficulties, it’s so easy to lose perspective. It’s so easy to focus on the pain. But in the middle of the trouble – that’s when trusting the faithful One is so important.

So here we are, one year later – still learning to live by faith and not by sight.

Our desire is to give all the glory and honor that is due our Savior. He is so worthy!

“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…”
Hebrews 12:2

year

 

March 2011 in Pictures

Earlier this month, we took a vacation to Gatlinburg, TN with Scott’s parents.  It was so relaxing to put aside the stresses of work and support-raising for a week and enjoy spending time with family!

Noah had fun looking at all the fish and penguins at Ripley’s Aquarium!

The Noah-man loves getting into everything now.  He just started sitting up and crawling a little, too.  Time to “babyproof” the apartment!

Noah with our newest supporter!  He must be happy because he’s one step closer to moving to the Dominican Republic.  🙂