“At 8 o’clock every weekday morning the dozens of vivacious TEARS students rush into the third floor cafeteria to fill their bellies before starting a new day of school. The children are very fortunate to be able to receive this much-needed nutrition daily, but this meal does not come to be without lots of hard, faithful work every day. (more…)
As a fundraiser for the T.E.A.R.S Schools in Maria Auxiladora, Dominican Republic, the Batillion Park School is hosting a craft sale and donating all the funds. To show their appreciation and to help out , Joy, the director of the T.E.A.R.S School organized a way for their students to become involved. (more…)
“February 27th is the Dominican Republic’s independence day and to commemorate the occasion schools from all over La Vega march in an impressive parade which lasts all morning. Schools practice routines daily in the weeks (for some, even the months) leading up to the national holiday and their time and effort is apparent as the children proudly make their way down the street flaunting flashy outfits, uniform procession and an abundance of Dominican flags. (more…)
Over the years we have had many groups adopt our students and then shop for them for Christmas. This year it seemed that no one was able to make that commitment and the teachers and I were worried that the students and families were going to be really disappointed!
But like ALWAYS, it turned out better than we could have imagined and the kids helped us remember what we were celebrating. (more…)
Hello friends and family,
An update is long overdue and we apologize. We have had a great year in terms of family and work and as our circle of friends in the Dominican Republic grows we feel more and more at home here. This is the first Holiday newsletter in more than ten years that as I sit down to write I don’t feel flooded by memories of drama and significant change.We have had a quiet year of growth, maintainingand nurturing things already planted. (more…)
We were so excited to be able to take a few of our girls to the young life camp in Jarabacoa this weekend. We had a small group of ten girls for a “grow”camp, a time to grow and reflect on their relationship with God. (more…)
When I heard that we had a sick student from TEARS School that was in desperate need of O+ blood, I volunteered immediately to give her some of mine. It wasn’t until we were on our way there that I began to remember that I hate needles with a passion! I’ve never donated blood before, so this was a unique experience all around. The lady at the blood bank was fabulous, (more…)
We are so excited to open up the school year 2009-2010. After spending the summer in preparations for new curriculum integration we are starting to pick up speed and are running with all the great tools we’ve been given. Partnering with Battalion Park Elementary in Calgary Canada we will study parallel units and share our learning with one another. The friendships that can be built across cultures, land and sea are extraordinary. (more…)
That’s right, the 2009/ 2010 school year has already began! Here are a few pictures of a lot of happy kids eating their first breakfast of the year, getting used to their new classrooms and new teachers, and having their first bible study of the year. (more…)
I used to think part of being a good host of teams that came to help us work was having everything in place so all they had to do was pick up the tools and get to work, but I noticed that it robbed them of the true accomplishment of not only getting a project completed, but completing it in the Dominican Republic. (more…)
