While planning for camp I get to help at the school.
When we have groups here I help in the English tutoring room. Our 1st through 8th graders get to work one on one with our volunteers from the states. Practicing their letters, reading, being read to, having conversation, learning new words, and playing games - all in English.
I also work with our MK's (missionary kids) for a portion of the day. They currently have a reading challenge going on. Every chapter book they read they get to add a leaf or apple to the tree. They started three weeks ago and our tree is already getting pretty full!
When I am not in the tutoring room I am planning and prepping for the next camp season, which is a little over a month away. This coming season of camp will be week long and hopefully overnight for our 5th - 8th graders. Our 3rd & 4th graders will have a mini camp.
We are continuing the theme of the Incredible Race.
I am in the midst of learning our theme verse, in Spanish of course. ;)
School continues day in and day out...
Meet some of our Teachers
Construction continues day in and day out...
Struggles, Hardships, & Prayer Requests
To be honest, I feel like our team has been stretched and challenged in a number a ways lately.
STAFFING - Understaffing has been a common struggle. We have recently lost a few of our Dominican teachers, and if anyone is out for the day it makes quite the puzzle making sure all the necessary things are still covered.
This struggle continues in the camp realm. I technically only have one other Missionary that is "camp" full time when the camp season starts. Every other missionary I pull, is getting taken from other jobs. This leaves a limited number of people that can help. I pull our Dominican Teachers as I am able, but most have responsibilities at the school which does not allow me to have them 24/7. One of the missionaries who has helped with past camps, and been one I can lean on will not be around this camp season, as their furlough falls early this year.
I trust God will provide, but it is hard to know how to plan. Working with the minimum or sometime below minimum staff makes normal task challenging. Setting up things and having anything run smoothly seems and sometimes is almost impossible. I am so very thankful we are forming new relationships with some churches and another camp a few hours away. My prayer and hope is we are able to add a few new people to the rotation for camp!
Please pray with me. We can do a lot of things with minimum staff, but some things require a complete change of schedule. The current plan is to do overnight camp, but at this point in time I am not sure we are able to, as we currently don't have the staff we need to do so.
Again I know our God is bigger then this. I know God knows. I also know if intentional, camp can be planned differently to allow it to work. For example, if we don't have the staff to do the cleaning, well then, the campers help us clean. Don't have the staff to set up the game... The kids help us set up the game. God works even when the schedule doesn't go quite as planned or smoothly as first envisioned.
Its not just our Dominican staff that we are short on. Many of our missionaries have been out dealing with family or health issues. Here are just a few..
One of our MK's (Missionary's Kids) broke their arm/wrist. It was a complicated break, so they needed to go to the States for the repair. They are doing well now and head back soon, but we have felt the loss of being down a team member while they were away. (Mom and Dad rotated being in the states, while the other stayed with their other kids here in the D.R.)
Another of our missionaries recently lost their Dad in the fight against cancer. She was away to be with her family during that time. We are glad to have her back now, but will you keep her and her family in your prayers?
Another of our missionaries has been struggling with back issues, so He and his whole family is in the states for a few months.
Another missionary has a parent in the states that is not doing well and went back to the states to spend time with them and be a help to other family members caring for them.
Another family had a child in the hospital for a few days here and then went back to the states and was diagnosed with Diabetes. Another child in that family was diagnosed with strep and then had a bad reaction to the medicine that was given to her. Will you be in prayer for this family as they continue to go to doctors appointments to find answers and get use to a new normal? They hope to join us again in a few weeks.
It seems our team keeps getting hit. That is 5 families of our team that are dealing with hard things. The truth is when others on our team are hurting we hurt too, and we feel the loss when they are not here with us.
God is good, still at work, but with so many of our team hurting, being stretched, or trying to fill in and carry the load, I know many are tired and discouraged.
It can be easy to see the holes and difficulties, but our God is so good and is working in so many ways.
Prayer for encouragement, strength, peace, and eyes to see all the things God IS doing and the ways He IS providing would be so greatly appreciated!
Here is one of those WOW, God moments ...
Take a look at this video ... taken about 3 years ago .... (February 15, 2019)
AND Now ... Those cabins.. that meeting area is a reality. Now we are planning and about to have our 2nd camp season. Even in the difficult our God is good!
Sometimes being in the place of,.... "God how is this going to work?" is a gift, because when it does. It is so OBVIOUS it is/was God.
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