I'm Back!

Wow! What a great trip! I'm so thankful to all of you who encouraged me and prayed for me! Jairo and I had a great week in the Dominican and had a wonderful time with his family.

We arrived at 11:15 pm in Santo Domingo (the capital), 15 minutes after our car rental place closed. We had to catch a cab to our hotel which ended up costing us 35 bucks and when we got to the hotel it was horrible. we booked it on hotel.com and were all excited because it was supposed to be this all inclusive resort. instead it was almost deserted, dirty, and just plain icky. we were going to stay there and chill all day on sunday for our anniversary but we couldn't handle being there that long so we left around 8:30 sunday and paid another 35 bucks back to the airport to pick up our rental. Things got better from there.

Sunday we drove out to Jarabocoa and met up with Jairo's family. They were all so happy to see us and it was great just hanging out and showing them our wedding pics. The language barrier was kinda tough but his 5 neices have been learning english this last year so they helped translate a lot.

Monday through wednesday we hung out with family and met up with some old friends in the area. it was great seeing everyone again and i got a lot of nice pictures. if i figure out how to post them on here, i'll show you some!

Wednesday afternoon Jairo and I drove up to the north coast to a little town called Cabarette aka the windsurfing capital of the world. we checked into an all-inclusive (very nice) for the night and enjoyed our time of relaxing, swimming, eating, and watching movies. we fell asleep by 9:45!

Thursday afternoon we drove back to Jarabacoa and went over to the house of our Canadian friends Bob and Victoria Lawlor-McLain and their 5 kids. Bob had been a teacher at Escuela Caribe, the school where i was for a year, for about 3 years and had just recently left to open his own counseling center in town. That night Bob told me about the many dramas that were unfolding at the school, some were very concerning. Apparently, a former student named Julia Scheeres has come out with a book called "jesus land" and has documented her entire experience at Escuela Caribe as abusive and damaging. This book is on the New York times best seller list and has been praised by the Washington Post and the like. I don't doubt that everything she says in this book is true. There were some horrible things happening when I was there, but I know some very good people who also work at the school and I'm concerned for them. There are major changes that need to be made at Escuela Caribe, it may even need to shut its doors, but I pray that there is no permanent damage to the well intentioned, committed, and loving staff. Personally though, some of the staff, particulary, the administration, is not so well intentioned, committed, or loving and they need the boot.

Anyways, Friday, Jairo and I took hist 5 neices to the pool for the entire afternoon. It rained all day and it was kind of chilly but they seemed to have fun. Friday night Jairo and I along with some friends of Jairo's drove in to Santiago (DR's 2nd largest city) and say a movie. Lots of fun!

Saturday we said good bye and now here I am back at work! What a week!

To the Dominican I go!

I am way excited and nervous at the same time! Jairo and I are leaving for a week in the Dominican Republic tomorrow! Our anniversary is on Sunday and it will have been exactly one year since he saw his parents so we're going down to see them and the rest of the fam. Its been almost two years since I've been there and I definitley have mixed emotions about it.

As most of you know, my time in the DR was not the best experience. It was a time when the Lord taught me to look to him for self worth and acceptance because He knew I wasn't getting that from anyone else in my life (save Jairo). I dealt with people there that were belittling, demeaning, and cruel all in the name of Jesus. These same people will be there when we get there. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I'm over it, I'm done, but at the same time I don't want to conjure up any hurt or bitter feelings by revisiting it all. Please pray that I can be free from those hurtful memories.

I'm also a little nervous about spending a week with the in-laws. The obvious language barrier is really just that, a barrier. How do I endear myself to these people when I can't really talk with them? All they know is what I look like (an american) and what Jairo tells them. And because we come from such different backgrounds, even if we could talk, I wouldn't know what to say. I'm also anticipating major brain fry after a week of trying to figure out what they are all saying!

Its not all stress and nervousness though! Its our anniversary! Jairo and I have gotten through that pivitol first year! I can honestly say we're doing better than ever and are looking foward to the second year with anticipation and excitement. Hes been such a great husband and treats me so well!

I miss all you guys! Jaime and Molly, write me! I love you!