Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns."

Well, I think that I've managed to get at least a few pictures up for now. They are kind of a scattering of where I'm staying (notice the mosquito nets :) haha!) and some of the kids at the camps and orphanage, some from Santo Domingo, and some with other volunteers (both American and Dominican ones). Anyways, they are up in a group on MSN, the webaddress is http://www.msnusers.com/DRSummer08. Hopefully you can find them and check them out and see some of the fun I've been having!

Wow! It's true, I'm half-way done with my time here in the Dominican Republic... unbelievable.

This week was really crazy but still a lot of fun. We had three church groups here for the week, from Georgia, Michigan, and Florida, plus a few individuals. We did four different camps for over 750 kids total. It was insane. Two camps happened at the Orphanage with about 250 kids there each from Monte Cristi and then one camp was done out at La Recta and the other was at Copey, two smaller communities. I spent my mornings here at the orphanage and then went out to Copey in the afternoon. The mornings were definitely trying and tiring. I was a guide with another adult volunteer and a younger girl volunteer in middle school, and together we had 60+ kids who were ages 6 and under. Even with some help from Dominican volunteers, we were run ragged. Overall though, I still really enjoyed the camp at the orphanage and the high energy level.

I absolutely loved the afternoon though. The camp was much smaller with about 150 kids who were all incredibly well behaved and who loved to sing "Yo Tengo Gozo" (I've Got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy...). There my group consisted of 6 and 7 year olds but I also had a few older girls help me because their age group was very large. That was a really neat experience. I got to talk with them a bit actually and show them pictures of my family, friends, Jake, and me. A couple of them even gave me their pictures! I really enjoyed getting to know them and was also encouraged, and humbled to see that God was already working in the community without my help, as these girls knew a lot of the Bible stories already and told me that they did have Jesus in their hearts. We serve an amazing God and I feel so blessed to be here fulfilling his work in the world.

Yesterday was sad but fun in two different ways. About half of the interns that I had gotten to know well left for home because they only stayed for four weeks, which was definitely sad to see them leave. The exciting part was that we got to go to Santo Domingo, the capital, for the day! It was so cool to see some of the historic parts and see the more commercialized side of the Dominican Republic. We also got to eat Pizza Hut for lunch and McDonald's for dinner... it was quite the treat!

That's about all for now, I'm running out of internet time! We have a group coming in soon this afternoon from Central so I'm excited to see them and this week we are doing two camps out in the community at La Capilla and La Madre. Some prayer requests would be for the communities that God opens their hearts to us and his word and also that we as interns can maintain a high energy level and some of us have been here for a while and are starting to wear out a bit.

Hopefully I'll be able to get some pictures up soon of my trip and where I'm staying and some of the people here. Thanks again for reading this and praying for me. I've seen God work in so many ways in both my life and the lives of the other volunteers and even the kids. Praise God!

Wow, it's hard to believe that 3 weeks have already gone by!! During the first week I was realizing how long 8 weeks can be and that definitely made me really nervous, yet here I am already with 3 weeks under my belt and only 5 left.

This past week was my favorite so far. I've gotten to know the other interns quite well by now which makes the evenings fun as we get to just hang out and play cards or sit and talk. We've been able to do a lot of informal worship and prayer together too which is something I realized that I'll really miss when I come back to the states. We had a smaller group this week with the interns and just one family group and so we did two camps, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. In the morning we stayed here at the orphanage and did a VBS for the orphanage kids (there are about 35 of them ranging in age from 2-13ish). That went okay but was definitely a challenge as we had to find activities, crafts, etc... that were more engaging because the kids here are already used to seeing us every day. We felt like the camp went really well though and it was a fun opportunity to see the kids more.

Then in the afternoon we went to a small desert community called Jaiqui (hi-key). This was different than any camp before because over half of the participants were adults. That was a little weird at first, telling them what to do, but they enjoyed having us there so it was cool to interact with them and share God's love with them in that way. The group there was so eager to do whatever and just sit and talk with us and I love interacting with everyone. Another cool thing was that we were able to bring a generator along on the last day of camp and show part of the "Jesus film". They were able to see from the Last Supper to the Resurrection all in spanish. That was definitely an answer to prayer after the generator stopped working but it was cool to see God answer us :) We also got to hand out bags with sheets, a t-shirt, and a toothbrush and toothpaste, along with a baseball or jump rope for the kids. I enjoyed this aspect because so often in the states we give to charities but don't actually see it put into the hands of people who need it.

Friday once again was beach day. We went to a new beach that was farther away but definitley worth the drive. The ocean was warm as usual and absolutely gorgeous! A few of us also did some exploring and saw some really cool fish although I managed to get stung by a sea anemone in the process! Thankfully it wasn't a huge deal and now I just have a little burn mark on my leg that's in a pretty cool shape! haha.

Today we hung out a lot and got ready for this week - we have 70ish new volunteers in which makes for 90 of us total. It should be a really cool week with 4 camps going on! I'm excited to see what God has in store and am more convinced each day of the reasons that God brought me here!

Thanks again for all your prayers and support. It was great to read some of your comments. I might try to get some pictures up next week but I'm not sure yet how to do that so we'll see!

Miss you all! Enjoy your week! God Bless,

Alissa

this week went far better than i could have ever imagined! we did two camps, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Both camps were smaller than last week and we also had a smaller group of volunteers. The camp in the morning was at a nearby school and the kids were absolutely adorable and the camp in the afternoon was at a different plantation that was a little smaller. Our camp focused on Jesus' life and love for us and it was great to share that not only with the kids but with all the parents and older teens who would watch as well. It is so cool to see how everyone here looks out for one another, whether or not you are related. A small group also got a chance to witness to an older lady who was in a lot of pain and didn't seem to have any family members. They got to pray for her and visit her which not only affected her but also touched the volunteers hearts.

This past week I also took a lot of time by myself to spend in prayer and worship with God. That has been really nice and I'm starting to figure out why God brought me here and what he hopes to accomplish. If you could pray that God would use me and the other volunteers to act as vessels of his love this week that would much appreciated! God has already been working and I can't wait to see where he shows up next :)

I've gotten to know a lot of volunteers here too and have had fun bonding with them and just hanging out in our spare time. It is such a cool feeling to be surrounded by people who share the same passion for missions and God. I couldn't have asked for a better experience this summer and I still have 6 weeks left!

The weather has continued to be fairly nice. It has been pretty warm in the mornings/afternoons but generally cools down in the evenings which is nice. The bugs are out in full force though which occasionally drives us all nuts!! :)

Miss you all, I'll post again in a week! thanks for your prayers!

So, I've finished my first week here in the DR. It's weird looking back on it because at the time the week seemed to be going slow yet the week is already done! We did a lot of camps this week with kids from around the area. I went to a batey (a banana plantation) about 45 minutes away called La Isabella. About 100 kids or so would show up every afternoon for a mini-VBS. It was so fun to get to know them and see how excited they were to have us there. I got to play a lot of jump rope and sing quite a few songs. I've also been using what little spanish I know quite a bit!
The weather has been fairly nice albeit a lot of uncommon rain. The rain has helped to keep the temperature down although has brought out a lot of bugs and mosquitos! Friday was our fun day and we went to Dajabon which is a town on the border of the DR and Haiti. It's a huge trading town that's open 2 days a week for trade and is incredibly chaotic and crazy but it was cool to see that part of Dominican culture. We also got to spend some time at El Morro which is a nearby beach and is very beautiful. The ocean is incredibly warm and it was a really fun afternoon.

Other than that I've enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of the orphanage and the DR. I've been sleeping and eating well and have managed to avoid getting majorly sunburned!

Thanks for your continued prayers and support, I missed home quite a bit this week but am still having a great time and am slowly adjusting more to being here. Miss you all, Have a great week!