February 2018 in Pictures

On March 4, 2018April 1, 2018 By MitchenersIn Angela, Photos of the Month2 Comments

Check out our February in photos! Click the pictures for descriptions of last month’s happenings.

Freedom Campus and School

Working hard on more classrooms

Two apartment buildings!

A few broken blocks

Loving their singing time in chapel

Rachel with her old students

Abby leading chapel

Noah singing with his classmates

Kindergarten

Fourth grader, Nika

Smiles from Katherine

Beautiful Francielis

Working on a Bible worksheet

Sad and happy.

Misael getting ready to cut out his “-ad” crown

Independence Day March- February 27th

LOVE this kid! Wilfred!

Fourth grader Yefry was one of the flag-bearers

They may not be Dominican, but they seemed to enjoy marching nonetheless!

Sonia led all 240 of our crew through each of our Central Romana bateys that we pull kids from

Leyton waiting to load up for the next village

Ms. Becky with her little babes on the safari truck

We’re gonna miss beautiful Elle! She headed to the States to start college this fall!

Gabriela

Elizabeth

Dhariely and Danairy Ester

Beautiful little one

Heading to the next village

Mery and her three “Padres de la Patria”

Fam

Big girl

Marble fun

Orange tongue!

Lunch popsicle

Noah enjoyed celebrating Leyton’s birthday

6-year-old in the house!

Three little towheads

Darla gave me a sweet little Valentine!

Estaylin

On February 19, 2018February 28, 2018 By MitchenersIn Angela2 Comments

We recently mailed out January sponsor letters! Whew! While it’s always a lot of work to print the papers, pull kids from class, double check student work, stamp and stuff envelopes, and send 240ish letters off, I love looking through the cute messages and drawings that our students create for their sponsors. Lots of “I love you’s” and “Thank you’s” and “Please come visit me’s”. Relationships are growing!

A couple weeks ago, I pulled out our 3rd grader Estaylin so that he could finish up his sponsor letter. We sat in the hallway together and chatted while he worked. After he wrote his little note, I told him to turn over his paper so he could add some details to the drawing of his house and family.

Last year, Estaylin’s dad passed away in a tractor accident in the villages. Estaylin now lives with his mom and his little brother. As I looked down at his picture, I saw that he had drawn 4 little people.

I asked Estaylin who those stick figures represented. He started with the second one. “There’s my mom. And that’s me. And Eliangel.” My heart hurt as I realized the significance of that first little figure. It had to be his father – his older siblings don’t live in the house with them.

“That’s cool, Estaylin. And what about that one? Is that your dad?”

He quickly gave me a gruff response. “My dad died.”

“I know, buddy. I’m sure you miss him a lot. But I think it’s cool that you drew him here. It’s always good to remember him and the good times you had with him.”

He gave a brief nod. And with that, the exchange was over. I gave him a hug and sent him back to class.

While I don’t get to be with Estaylin every day, our teachers and staff do. I’m thankful that people who love the Lord are able to pour into his little life all week long. And in the midst of the pain that he’s probably still experiencing even months after his dad’s death, I’m praying that he sees the love of Jesus in the faces and the hugs and the words of those he interacts with.

A Special Birthday

On October 10, 2017May 15, 2024 By MitchenersIn Dominican RepublicLeave a comment

For lots of kids, birthdays feel different than all the other days of the year. They’re special. Noah’s 7th birthday was no exception. On August 24th, he woke up early, excited for the day and the upcoming celebrations. We sent him off to school like normal with hugs and promises of cake and presents that evening.

When Noah rushed through the door after school, his face was beaming. He had two balloons in hand and a backpack full of goodies. Surprised, I asked him who had brought him all the fun treats. He excitedly pulled the gifts out of his bookbag and explained in great detail each item that his friends had given him.

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“Mom! Check this out! Weison gave me this colorful hacky sack! And he brought me those two balloons! One is green and one is orange! And look! Seba gave me a new coloring book. It has all these pictures I can color. Oh, and Berwee brought me all these things, see? I got a plastic baby car rattle, a turtle compass, and a whole army set!”

“Wow, buddy! That is so neat! I hope you told them how thankful you were for those sweet gestures. They probably worked hard to get those things for you. What good friends you have!”

Later, I was talking with Noah’s teacher, Emma. She said that his friends used their good behavior “points” they earn to “buy” those presents from the school store. As sweet as that was, she was especially touched by Weison’s gift of the two balloons. He had bought them at his village colmado the day before, specifically with Noah in mind. Weison had to put some thought into the gift – what a neat thing to see one of our students planning ahead to put someone else first!

DSC_4771crop — Weison, Noah, Sebastian, Berwee

I am thankful for the unique influence that Noah has in the lives of his classmates. He already communicates with them in a way I certainly can’t. Oh, how I pray these four young men grow up to love the Lord with all they have. Such special boys!

Angel’s Week

On August 21, 2017August 21, 2017 By MitchenersIn AngelaLeave a comment

The Lord is so good. He continues to provide individuals to keep things moving forward here.

Some people volunteer their time from the States.
Others have joined our ground team for the long haul.
Some sacrifice by giving financially.
And others spend a short time with us here – usually just a week.

We’ve been asked before, “What good could someone possibly do in a week?”

“No offense,” they say, “but isn’t it a ‘waste’ of money, time, and resources?”

In July, a group from Illinois came to stay with us for seven days. A lady named Angel joined her church for their first trek to the Dominican. Angel admitted that the whole time leading up to the trip, she questioned why she was coming and what she had to offer. Even as she sat on the airplane, she was unsure of why she was on her way. But the Lord had been impressing on her to just “show up”. So she did.

She didn’t have to wait long for God to reveal Himself to her.

Monday morning, Angel and the rest of her team stood in the breezeway and listened as our principal, Toni, called out the names of the 3-year-olds they’d be working with that day. Suddenly, Toni paused.

“Guys,” she said, “I’ve got one little man here who needs some extra love and one-on-one attention.”

Without skipping a beat, Angel said, “I’ll take him!” As she looked down at the slip of paper that Toni had handed to her, she read the name of the little guy she’d be interacting with for four hours.

Angel.

His name was hers. And she knew that he was her “why.”

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Later, Angel poignantly shared with us that each moment in the classroom with Angel was such a blessing for her. She was able to interact with him in a special way. And he seemed to respond to her as well. When she was willing to let go and just show up, God provided a unique opportunity for her to see Him in a bigger way.

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Angel plans on being involved in little Angel’s life in the years to come. I like to think that their relationship will deepen as time goes by. I pray that as Angel grows up, he’ll come to know the love of His Savior. He doesn’t yet understand the impact of that week on his life. He doesn’t recognize how the Lord miraculously orchestrated circumstances so that the two of them would meet. But what an incredible way for Angel to start his first year at Freedom!

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So when people ask me if I think it’s worth it to come for a week, I say, “Absolutely.”

In our context, at least, a week can be worth eternity.

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March and April 2017 in Pictures

On April 30, 2017May 19, 2024 By MitchenersIn Dominican Republic, Photos of the Month2 Comments

Click the images below to check out some of the happenings of the last two months!

November and December 2016 in Pictures

On December 31, 2016May 19, 2024 By MitchenersIn Dominican Republic, Photos of the MonthLeave a comment

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

Our team enjoyed another Thanksgiving together as a group

Thanksgiving getaway! A great time of fellowship for the weekend.

We’ve been trying to battle a serious mold problem! Gross!

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

Scott confirmed that he was NOT pregnant. He battled some scary abdominal pain for a few days!

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.

God is so good. Katie brought us dinner one evening while Scott was sick!

Parent-teacher conferences in the villages!

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!

A church back home sweetly sent our family an entire suitcase of goodies for Christmas!

dsc_1827crop — We loved spending some time with Memaw and Pepaw over Christmas!

October 2016 in Pictures

On November 13, 2016May 19, 2024 By MitchenersIn Dominican Republic, Photos of the Month6 Comments

Another full month in the DR! Highlights: Day camp for 2nd/3rd grade and more construction progress!

dsc_9213crop — Third grade circling up for an afternoon of fun at their first-ever day camp!

dsc_9215crop — The kids enjoyed a group game where they introduced themselves with animal noises/silly actions.

dsc_9291crop — Guys and girls competed to see who could carry their volunteers the fastest across the human bridge!

dsc_9054crop — Enmanuel playing a game with his small group

dsc_9070crop — Marcia posing for the camera

dsc_9585crop — Fabiola coloring a picture after listening to the lesson

dsc_9620crop — We love these two! Thankful Rachel is back in the DR as a full-time missionary, and thankful that Katherine has been doing much better behaviorally in school recently!

dsc_0043cropcrop — Caleigh continues to keep us on our toes! We had a little milk mishap one afternoon.

We got in the Christmas spirit a little early when Dad found a couple of Christmas cookie box sets on super sale at the store!

The Pyle girls joined us for the making of some melty snowmen!

Rachel has been settling back in to Kindergarten! The kiddos have been learning lots!

Patricia showing off her writing notebook

dsc_0069crop — Just answering some emails with Dad

September 2016 in Pictures

On September 30, 2016May 19, 2024 By MitchenersIn Dominican Republic, Photos of the Month2 Comments

Three more months, and 2016 will be history. It’s funny how days seem long, yet the months and years just fly. At the close of each day, I fall into bed so very exhausted. But, the Lord! He’s so faithful and constant and near. As difficult and full as each day is, I’m thankful for His presence and strength. You can pray that our family would keep our eyes solely on our Jesus as we make our way through each day.

Enjoy some pictures of this past month in the DR!

This section of the school building has reached 3 stories! Scaffolding gone – looks pretty impressive!

dsc_8565crop — More footers and subwalls for new classrooms. God’s provision!

scottmusicclass — Scott continues with music class!

dsc_7990crop — Noah loves that his dad gets to spend a little part of the day with him. Enjoying class with Sebastian.

dsc_8468crop — Leyton and Cristofer are buddies!

dsc_8473crop — Our Accelerate! program continues – Desiree helping her students read through Spanish syllables.

shipment — Two shipping containers arrived with more tools and supplies to continue the ministry!

bateydrive — Airport run! We decided to take the back route through the bateyes. When we were unsure of where to turn, we just asked people along the way if we were headed in the right direction! Who needs maps?!

caleigh — This little one-year-old is developing quite the personality.

img_5139crop — During our down week, we were able to work on some house projects. Thanks to Gabe for helping make loft beds for the boys!

img_4911crop — Leyton continues growing. Trying to take advantage of Tuesday and Thursday mornings with this big man.

dsc_8606crop — Someone forgot to close the bathroom door one afternoon. We heard splashing and found Caleigh enjoying a new place to play! Bathtime ensued (immediately after the picture). Always an adventure…

July and August 2016 in Pictures

On August 31, 2016May 19, 2024 By MitchenersIn Dominican Republic, Photos of the Month4 Comments

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!