Lisela

One word - firecracker. Two words - VERY smart. Three words - I love her.

Lisela and I have had quite the journey since the first day of school in September. Her many behavioral problems were disruptive and in all honesty drove me crazy. I found myself having to discipline her again and again - but much to my dismay, there was no change. One day, after witnessing the environment in which she lives, I realized the behavioral problems were occurring because I didn't truly KNOW where she came from. She acts out for attention but what she needs is love. Since that realization in October, I understand how important it is to hold her, to tell her how much I love her, how much God loves her and how beautiful she is. And because she is showered with positive attention, she doesn't need to act out negatively.

Needless to say, today she is an entirely different student in the classroom. Some would say we are BFFs. Now, I wouldn't say she is an angel...I mean, look at her face...

She is always up to something. But that's why I love her. She's mischievous, she never stops talking and that intelligent little brain of hers has picked up on my apparently over-used English phrase, "Oh my gosh"...and yes, she says it with a valley girl accent. Her impression was so hysterical that I taught her to say "Profe Kim is my homegirl" for my own amusement. But in reality, Lisela is my homegirl.

Mak in Jimani and Haiti

We continue to send supplies into Jimani. Just this past week, a small medical group from the States traveled with Mak staff to Jimani to work in the hospitals there - click here (gracias a los Uptons for sharing!) for photos from this trip.

We sent a truck of supplies headed to Port au Prince this morning - the destinations are two Haitian-run orphanages that haven't received any help since the earthquake. Please pray for direction as the truck navigates the roads that lead to the orphanages!

We can't thank you all enough for your prayers and support!

Jimani, Dominican Republic

A Makarios and friends team of five just left Santiago to drive to Jimani, Dominican Republic, a town on the Haitian border with a hospital receiving patients from the earthquake. Charlie and I are in Santiago for the weekend and helped load the two trucks headed to the border with medical supplies, water, granola bars, peanut butter, milk and other items that the hospital's director requested. Please pray for the hospital in Jimani as they receive more patients to treat; pray that the supplies would abundantly meet the hospital's needs; and for the safety and security of the two trucks as they travel to and from the border.

Thank you for all the donations and prayers that helped buy the supplies heading to Jimani! We are so encouraged by the support of our family and friends. Love to all!

Haiti Relief

Makarios has been raising money today to send supplies to Haiti - thank you to everyone for your e-mails, prayers and donations! A small team will be traveling to Port au Prince tomorrow to deliver medical supplies, food, water, blankets and clothing. Please pray for safety and that the supplies would meet those in need.

For more information on giving to Haiti, see Makarios International.

A meeting of missionaries is taking place in Santiago this afternoon to discuss how we can most efficiently and effectively serve the needs of those in Haiti. Please pray for guidance as we determine how best to help!

Praying for Haiti

I apologize that this is the first post of the new year but wanted to let everyone know that we are okay after the earthquake that hit Haiti today. We felt the aftershocks in our apartment here in the DR, but we are safe! We, of course, are praying for Haiti, specifically Port-au-Prince, and for all of the Haitian families that Makarios works with here in the Dominican Republic. And ask you all to join us in doing the same!

We will post updates on relief efforts and needs as we get more information.

"The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." - Psalm 34: 17-18

Meet La Clase de Profe Kim

I can't believe I haven't posted a class picture sooner! Where do I even begin? Friends and family, meet craziness. Craziness, meet our friends and family. In all seriousness, these children are my loves. Every morning we are greeted with unconditional love when they jump into our arms to smother us with hugs and hellos. Who wouldn't want to start their day like that?

As Christmas break approaches and we return to the States, I am realizing just how much I am going to miss each little booger! Come January, I'll be dying for Anidelis screaming "Profe Kim!!" in what we call an "outside voice" and will feel like something is wrong with my day if I'm not changing Elijio's clothes because he couldn't wait for the bathroom break...Well, I'll almost miss that...

Settled and Celebrating

As the weeks go by, we have been slowly acquiring furniture and knick knacks for our apartment. As you can see, we are still without a couch, but cushions on the ground have done the job just fine!

First stop for furniture - Dominican estate sale. I have never been to one in the States but obviously we randomly found one here in the Dominican classified ads. We were a tad nervous to start our journey into the mountains of Puerto Plata to retrieve our furniture – especially when the guy e-mailed us again to make sure we didn’t want to consider purchasing the pistol he had for sale. Ummm…but no worries, we made it up the mountain and back down again with a wooden breakfast table with four chairs as well as a bamboo coffee table and two matching side tables for what we Americans would call a DEAL.

Charlie has also become quite the craftsman here. He made us a wooden table to increase our kitchen space as well as two wooden side tables that we affectionately painted orange. The paint appeared to be light orange but settled into a burnt orange. That color follows us everywhere we go – but we’re not complaining.

In addition to celebrating our home, we celebrated Charlie’s birthday in the apartment…

And at our new favorite getaway spot a few weeks later…it’s the Velero Hotel in Cabarete (a beach town 45 minutes or so from where we live). We celebrated both of our birthdays there and basked in the air conditioning, television, pool and delicious food...ahhh.