Summer in the D.R. Top Ten List

Well,we just passed our 1 year anniversary here in the Dominican. The time has gone by so fast, with all of us experiencing and learning so many new things. Many people have asked us "what do you do there over the summer?" Most of the things we have done since school let out in June, hasn't been so different than other summers. Lots of playdays and family time together mixed in with some Dominican living. Here is our top 10 List for the summer of 2011in order from earliest to most recent: #10: Jayson and I were able to get away in June to celebrate our 12th year anniversary. We headed out to Punta Cana on the southern part of the island where we stayed for 2 nights. #9: Noah was able to spend some of his summer days helping out at our Special Education school, tutoring some students, having water fights, and observing new murals being painted.

#8 Amanda spent some time practicing her spanish while reading stories to one of our pre-school classes.
#7 Visitor from the states! Shelley Johnson came back in July for a wonderful week of encouragement, hugs, smiles, and tears! We were able to pick her up in Santo Domingo and show her the coast!
#6 Vacation Bible School! A church from the states came down and put together a week long Vacation Bible School for all the kids from our church and nearby communities. My kids had a blast and we were so blessed to have some English speaking teachers come and love on them for a week! We also had lots of fun cramming as many kids as possible into our vehicles for drop off and pick up!
#5 New friends joining the ministry! Another blessing of being a missionary family is when other missionary families come and join you on the field! One such family is the Miller family, who brought new friends for Jacob!

#4 Baking! Teaching! With all of our outreaches this summer, came the responsibilty of Jayson speaking into the lives of teenagers and young college students. At the end of each outreach, SI celebrates their time of service here with a banquet, in which I attempt to bake something yummy for each of them to enjoy. One such night was baking 140+ cream filled cupcakes!

#3 We can see! Jayson and Amanda had a wonderful daddy/daughter time at the eye doctors! Amanda needed a new prescription, and for the first time, Jayson needed glasses! He went thru quite a time of adjusting to this new phase of "getting older!"

#2 Jacob turned 6 and lost his teeth! My baby is getting older and was so proud of himself for pulling his front teeth out all by himself!

#1 Lots of new finds at the beach! We spent a couple of days at the beach this summer finding sanddollars, conch shells, sea urchins and more! Thank you so much for all of your prayers and your continued support and encouragement as we continue our new lives here in the D.R. We thank the Lord for keeping each one of us safe throughout the summer months here and we praise Him for the opportunity to serve here as a family!