Home Safe and Sound!

Despite the winter weather and ice storms I arrived home safely from the DR late on December 19th . The storms left many people in Fort Wayne powerless. Our house never lost power, but I would have been well prepared for it after expierencing this often in the DR (except for the cold!).

Since my arrival on the 19th I've been keeping busy and adjusting to life in the States. I had the opportunity to go to my friends baby shower, have dinner with all my college roomates, make Christmas treats with my sister, attend church at Sonrise, and spend Christmas with my family.

Our family decided to do something different this year for Christmas. After a long night of Christmas Eve services, we packed up our bags and Christmas morning we flew to Miami, Fl. We spent a few days in Miami and drove to the Florida Keys where we are staying for the week. It is BEAUTIFUL!

The adjustment to the states is different, but good. I've been blessed by my Aunt and Uncle who are letting me borrow their car until I find a car to purchase. It's nice to be able to drive again and in organized traffic conditions!

When I first arrived in the States it took a lot of thought for me not to automatically speak and respond to people in Spanish out of habit. I've also noticed our culture feels a bit cold to me . This is because in the DR everyone greets one another with a kiss. I have recieved many hugs though!

It's been great to be blessed by the luxaries of the States (even the cold weather) it also has been fun spending time with loved ones, but I do miss the people of the DR.

I've been in touch with many of my students and friends from the DR through e-mail.

My time living in the DR has been one of the best expierences of my life. I've learned a lot about myself, I've been challenged, I've grown in my relatioship with Christ, and I've developed lifelong relationships. I have truly learned to appreciate how blessed I am and I am thankful for the opportunity to minister to needy people in another country. The DR also was a great place to start my teaching career.

I will have unforgettable memories and life lessons that I will carry with me forever. I'm so thankful for this expierence and for everyone's support along the way.

I'm keeping the faith!

I'll Be Home for Christmas..AND the New Year Too

As I reflect on my last 5 months in the DR they have been incredible. I have loved this expierence and through it I have grown and learned a great deal. We all expierence different seasons of life and I have had a great season here. As some of you are already aware my season will be ending here when I leave this Friday, December 19th. Due to a variety of reasons, when I come back to the U.S. for Christmas I'm going to be staying.

It's a bittersweet thing, I'm excited to see everyone again and for the opportunites ahead, but it will be sad to leave the great people and places I've become aquainted with here. These will be unforgettable moments in my life and memories I will hold with me forever.

Transition is never easy, nor is change so please pray for me as I make another transition back to the U.S. pray for me as I say some difficult goodbyes in the next few days and am filled with the mixed emotions of excitement of returning and sorrows the of leaving.

I cannot wait to see my friends, family and many of you in the coming days! It's going to be shocking yet exciting to be back in a culture that was once so familiar. I'm excited to be able to speak English to everyone, to be clean, and have many of the luxaries I've learned to live without. I'm also nervous to have all of this again, nervous of what it will be like to have everything again when I have lived without it and survived just fine.

We are blessed in so many ways and as I sit here in a plastic chair with flies buzzing around me locked behind an iron gate door listening to dog fights and motorcyles buzz I am reminded of how blessed i am.

Can't wait to see you all! Thanks for all your support, love, and prayers in this "Leap of Faith" please keep them coming as I leap into a different direction.

Much Love,

Ashley

Christmas Program

This week was filled with lots of activity...but I survived!

Wednesday night I had to make dinner for all the Young Life leaders and staff. That's quite the job, especially when nothing turns out the way you anticipate here! Luckily my roommates helped me keep my sanity after a shattered dish in the oven, getting caught in a downpour walking home from the store, and my ride forgetting to come and get me.

Our Young Life club was a Christmas Party. We sang Christmas carols, played Christmas games, and had a White Elephant gift exchange. Can you believe they don’t sell wrapping paper on rolls here in the DR…crazy!

Thursday night was our Christmas Program at school. It was a packed night but the students did AWESOME!! I was so proud of the 6th grade students. They practiced hard for this performance and their hard work paid off. WE ROCKED THE SHOW!

Friday night my roommate and I took a night out on town to decompress from the busy week. We found a new restaurant called Kaffa and had a delicious dinner. After dinner we went back to our apartment and fell asleep.

Saturday my roommate and I ventured out to the market downtown to shop. It is pure chaos there, mass amounts of people and mass amount of things. We came away with a few items, but most of all a great experience.

I’ve become much more successful and confident in taking Taxi's around here and it has greatly improved my Spanish (especially when you get lost).

Saturday night we had our school staff Christmas party/dinner. Everyone dressed formally and we had a "nice" meal at a hotel nearby. Let’s just say I can't wait for a "nice" American meal!! It was great for fellowship.

After it was over I went over to one of my student’s houses because his parents were having a Christmas party. It was a blast. They rented strobe lights and a fog machine and we danced the night away (pretty sure dancing is against the rules!) I enjoyed hanging out with all the parents and seeing some of my students there. I got home a little after 1 in the morning and headed right for bed!

One more week of school left then “I’ll be Home for Christmas!”

The Dominican Ballet

As much as I tried to get them to stay, mom and dad have left the DR. I finally have some time to BLOG again! It was so much fun having them here and difficult to see them leave.

The last few days at the beach we went kayaking in the ocean and watched a Latino dance. We rode the public bus all the back to Santiago, the city I live in. Then my parents came to school with me on Monday and met all the staff and students at the school. I enjoyed being able to show them where I work and what my daily routine is like. My class enjoyed meeting my parents and I was happy to be able to introduce them!

In the evenings we got to go out to dinner and go around the town. One night we tried to get in a taxi to find my favorite restaurant, but were unsuccessful, so the taxi driver took us to a “Dominican Steak House” it was an interesting adventure!
Wednesday afternoo

n mom and dad left to fly back to the states. It was difficult to see them leave, but I’m excited to know that in two weeks, December 19th, they will be picking me up at the airport when I get to the states!!

Yesterday our school went to visit the Dominican Ballet. It was cute, we had many students involved and it was an interpretation of “The Little Mermaid”. It was neat to see this and educational for me to hear “The Little Mermaid” in Spanish.

It was so great having mom and dad here and hard to see them leave. Pray for me as I continue these last two weeks before Christmas break. It’s close yet sometimes it seems so far away especially when the students get out of control and the exciting anticipation of home, friends, and family are so close!


I posted some pictures of my classroom and my desk!