Heading out to the villages
- Jun 6, 2020
- 3 min read
Corona UPDATE
Things are slowly starting to reopen in the D.R.
Which means Spanish classes and our MK preschool program is coming to an end, as we begin new avenues of ministry. When I first heard I would be helping with the "littles" (the preschool program) I was willing, but not super excited (to be honest). Although I enjoy working with kids, I feel most comfortable with those in upper elementary. At first it was a little stretching, but I have grown to love this time. It has been a blessing to work with other missionaries in this area, to get to know our younger MK's better, and to invest in their education. And man have they learned a lot, in fact I have learned a bit too!
Our construction workers returned this past week, and oh man am I glad they did. I had the opportunity to help on the construction site (on our new missionary apartment building) one day and although it was an adventure it was HARD WORK! I have a new appreciation for all of those that work construction daily!
Our lead teachers return today! They will be preparing lessons and packets as we plan to go out to the bateys (villiages) this Monday to bring school to our kids. Our kids aren't allowed to return to school quite yet, but we have been given permission to go to them. Remember many of our kids do not have access to phones, a computer, or the internet, so we have not been able to do "online school" during quarantine. A team of our missionaries and Dominican lead teachers will divide into groups, head out to all the different bateys (villages) to teach and help bridge the gap of what they have missed. I will be working with the first through third graders in one of our villages, my kids are pictured below. I am excited for this opportunity, but also somewhat nervous. (One of the main reasons for this, is I will be teaching in Spanish)
Even though we are allowed to go out we still have to follow the protocols of social distancing. We will make sure our kids are spread out, we are all required to wear masks. One of the specific guidelines of social distancing we have been given is no high fives, hand shakes, or hugs. This will be difficult as we haven't seen our kids in over two months.
We will return from the villages (bateys) around lunch time, after lunch I have the opportunity to work with our MK's (missionary kids) in 1st through 6th grade. We are beginning a summer (fun) program for them. In this program I will be leading crafts, and going through our VBS (vacation bible school) curriculum with them. We hope to have our MK's familiar with the VBS curriculum, and want to give them the opportunity to create dramas, songs, and potential crafts to go along with the program. This will provide the opportunity of being more intentionally involved in that aspect of ministry when it begins again. We are hoping to start VBS in our bateys in a month, we aren't sure if at that point we will have missionary teams from the states with us or not. Our border remains closed at this time, but it has been announced that they will reopen on July 1st.
In our current phase of re-opening we are allowed to be at 50% capacity of our staff, restaurants remain pick up only, curfew is extended to 7:30pm, and masks remain a requirement.
Prayer Requests - Please pray for the
Opportunity to return to the bateys (villages) and tutor kids.
Opportunity to lead 13 our our missionary kids (1st - 6th grade) in special summer program.
Continued wisdom & direction in planning for our next camp season, which begins in September Lord willing
Continued growth in language
Missionaries - We are excited to welcome new missionary families to the field once our border reopens. Please also continue to keep the missionary team on site in your prayers.
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