Un Chin de Sabiduria

*La sadiduria que viene de Dios*

(The wisdom that comes from God)

"But if any of you lack wisdom, you should pray to God, who will give it to you; because God gives GENEROUSLY and GRACIOUSLY to all. But when you pray, you must believe and NOT DOUBT AT ALL. Whoever doubts is like a wave in the sea that is driven and blown about by the wind. If you are like that, unable to make up your mind and undecided in all you do, you must not think you will receive anything from the Lord."

 Santiago (James) 1:2-8

Right now, I'm asking for a generous outpouring of the Lord's wisdom and not doubting that He's going to graciously give it to me.

Jumbled Thoughts, Willing Heart

 Human Trafficking. Prostitutes. Redeeming Love. DR Ranks 4th for Sex-Trafficking. Puerto Plata. Cabarete. Non-Profit Organizations. Spanish. Freedom. Other Ways to Make a Living. Education. Real Life. Captivating. Flat-Out Broke. Connections. May 29th. Teaching. Jewelry. Renting a House. 

All of these things are a big jumbled mess in my head right now.

Solo Dios sabe...

American Traditions Through the Eyes of a Dominican Child

This is Nicole. Last night, she came up to me and said, "Christine, is it true that, in the United States, when a kid loses a tooth, he puts it under his pillow, and in the morning when he wakes up, there's money?" I responded, "Yeah, it's true." To that, she replied, "Well, why doesn't that happen here? Indiana (another one of the kids) tried it, and it didn't work. She put her tooth under the pillow and in the morning, it was still a tooth."

I didn't know what to say, so I told her the truth. 

I love these kids more and more each day.

Translating

Last night at our Wednesday night worship service, Culto, I was sitting up at the front because I was going to translate. One of my little best friends, Luz Maria, sat on my lap as we praised the Lord. At one point, she said, "Just a second ago, you were sitting over there with Jennifer. Why are you sitting here now?" I responded, "Because I'm going to translate. Unless you want to. Do you want to translate?" (Keep in mind she's four years old.) She thought for a second and said, "Yo se como decir 'nariz' in Ingles (I know how to say 'nose' in English.)" I said, "Oh yeah? How?" So sweetly, she responded, "Nose." 

Poco a poco (Little by little.) That's how things happen here. One day, she just might translate.

Jaibon

My usual location is the orphanage in Monte Cristi, but I've been at our other one in Jaibon for the past week. We had 265 volunteers at this location, and 400+ with the program overall. Next week we're expecting about the same numbers. It's good stuff. 

Las Flores

Here are some pics I took this week:

 

 

 

Chi Chi

Here, they call the little kids 'Chi Chi.' These are some pictures of the little ones from the school Rosa Smester. They're so beautiful.

 

  

  

 

 

Concordia

My original thoughts in coming down here were that I would fall in love with Dominicans. While that is the case, I've also grown to love another nationality as well...CANADIANS! The following are some pictures of last week's group from Montreal:

They did a wonderful job jumping in and assuming their roles as the English teachers at Francisco Javier and were also quick to lend a hand come time to do multiple work projects in order to get ready for the big weeks. Also, not only did they faithfully cheer for me after every time I gave announcements, but they took the time to write us a song which in turn put them over the top and made them blog-worthy. The following lyrics are from the song they wrote. It should be sung to the tune of "We Will Rock You!" accompanied by the infamous 'slap slap clap.'

We Would Like to Thank You

Coming from Concordia 

Los Americanos

7:45 is the wake-up call

You got breakfast at 8

Pancakes on your plate

Morning announcements

Don't be late

Chorus:

We would like to thank you

On our way to school

With lessons in mind

Got numbers and colors

Body parts to find

Teaching was a blast

Went by so fast

Recess is over

Wish it could last

*Chrous

Back for lunch

Gotta shovel a bunch

Counting the sheets

In the blistering heat

Playing with the kids

Till 3:15

We hear yelling

As soon as we're seen

*Chorus

(Everyone)

Walk around town

Eating ice cream

Grocery shopping

Sunrise hiking

Karie, Jody, Julie,

Alexandra, Mike,

Janet, Elizabeth,

Amy and Christine

*Chorus x2