It has been busy since we arrived back in the DR on January 2, and I’ve honestly been looking forward to this two week break since then.  We had a 6 week stretch of teams, with one week off, followed by another 4 week stretch of teams.  Last week’s team has been my all time favorite since we arrived in September 2013.  There were 44 people at the guesthouse, but 14 people of the team were from the Alhambra Elementary School District near Phoenix.  They are the DREAM team (Dominican Republic Education Awareness Mission).

Let me rewind a bit, I have an elementary education degree, and this has been my 3rd year outside of the classroom.  Last summer during one of our June VBS teams I met Theresa Killingsworth, an administrator from Arizona.  I shared with her a dream I’ve had for years to have US teachers come and invest in Dominican teachers.  We have construction workers, medical professionals and pastors come to use their skills, but SRI has never had a team of teachers come to invest in the schools.  SRI is focused on transforming the body, mind and soul of the people of the Dominican Republic, and I believe education is foundational in it all.

Joe informed me soon after Theresa got back to the states, that there would be an educator team coming in March during their spring break.  Laura and I started planning right away.  As the date got closer, we worked out the logistics of the schedule and transportation.  We discussed with our school administrators what they felt they could use as far as professional development.  I also thought that it was important for the US teachers to gain an understanding of what goes on during an average school day in the DR.  The team of 14 teachers was split into two groups of 7.  This allowed them to take in more experiences as a team.  On Monday one of the groups visited CCED in the morning followed by Elias Pina in the afternoon.  The other team visited Lucille Rupp in the morning, followed by construction out at the new land in the afternoon.  On Tuesday,  the team that hadn’t done construction headed out to the site for a morning of block laying and the other team spent the morning in El Cercado.  Their afternoon was spent coming together and debriefing/reflecting on all of the observations that they had during their school visits.

The team brought 13 suitcases of school supplies/manipulatives that were donated by their school district.  During their planning time they helped to organize the items by the needs of each of the schools.

On Wednesday the entire team spent the morning in El Cercado.  15 teachers were present to hear the information that the team had to share.  The teams shared information on classroom management and student engagement.  They also participated in brain breaks and shared some different cheers that could be utilized in the classroom.

Wednesday afternoon was focused on planning for Thursday’s workshop at CCED.  There were approximately 50 teachers present for Thursday’s time together.  We started together in the multipurpose room, and then split the teachers into 3 break out groups to participate in mini-lessons with the Arizona teachers.

As the sessions came to a close on Thursday, there was such a sense of accomplishment.  The Dominican teachers were buzzing with excitement and energy.  They closed with a question/answer time, and one of the questions was when the team would be returning to do more!  This was so encouraging.

 

I found myself in the evenings sitting in the cabana with the team and laughing so hard.  I was in my element, surrounded by fellow educators who are passionate about children and education.  A few other highlights of the week were coming alongside them as they chose students to sponsor and sitting around the fire talking and listening to Bethany sing and play guitar.

So much prayer and planning went into this team.  I made 14 new friends and saying goodbye was hard.  I am inspired by the potential of a stronger partnership with our sponsor schools and other educators in the Dominican Republic.

Ways you can be praying for us:

-Rest: We are currently in Las Terrenas on vacation and taking down time for ourselves as a family.  It’s nice to step away from ministry and not have an agenda.

-Future: We are still seeking God’s direction as to what is next for our family.

Thanks so much for your continued support!