The month of May has been a refreshing one.  The first two weeks of the month we did not have teams.  The first week, we spent catching up and preparing for our first set of summer teams.  The second week was spent in Las Terrenas with the rest of the North American staff.  We participated in group sessions with Brad Burkholder, a pastor from Heston, Kansas.  Our discussions were focused around 1 Timothy 6: how God has given grace to each of us and we should give grace to those around us.  We shared many meals and laughs together.  Brad gave us each a new devotional called New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp.  Each day focuses on grace.  He also taught us a new game called Codenames.  For those of you who know me well, I do not like games.  However, this game has got me hooked!  Along with all of this time together, we enjoyed being in one of our favorite places in the world!  The beauty is unreal, and I love disconnecting from reality for a bit.

If you follow SRI on social media you will have seen that the month of May has been focused on staff appreciation.  We have enjoyed having extra to pour into them.

We spent a day in Barahona at the beach swimming, playing dominoes, and eating fish.

We spent an afternoon at the paintball pits participating in some friendly competition.

We had a pizza party at the guesthouse and Brad encouraged the staff on the impact they have within the community they live and the teams we host.

We are now in our second team of our summer set.  We have four teams following this and then we will head back to the states for a few weeks.  To conclude this post, enjoy a photo of my two favorite people in the world:)