Home for the Summer!

Hello,
Wow! What a year we have had! I would like to take this time to re cap our year!

Teaching Fifth grade this year has been an adventure! My major project this year was building the stage. My students designed, budgeted, and built it with two different work teams. My students used math skills, Language Arts, Science, and Art to accomplish this feat! They are truly amazing kids!

Our final project as a Fifth grade class was to build an immigration museum. The kids each had their own"rooms" (seperated by sheets) and talked about the lives, hopes, and dreams of immigrants to America in the late 1800's, early 1900's. My goal in teaching them about immigration was to encourage them to understand the similarities between Dominican immigration to the U.S. and Haitian immigration to the Dominican Republic. Both immigrants seek a better life. I hope my students have stepped away from this experience and finally understood what prejudices and harsh circumstances Haitians face and decide to change not only their own attitudes, but also those of their family, friends, and community.

I am especially proud of one accomplishment this year! At the beginning of this year I would ask my students, "How do you go to Heaven?" I recieved the general gamut of answers ranging from "I don't know." to "By dying, of course!" Mostly, my students would say by being good, by doing good things. I spent much of this year trying to teach them about Jesus, about what he did on the cross for us. At the end of the year, I asked my students to write me a letter about what they had learned. I was suprised and brought to tears by their response. Many wrote things like I learned to do fractions or how to write a paragraph well. However, many wrote "I learned that Jesus loves me, and he died on the cross for me. He is the way to Heaven."

Sometimes, between adjusting to Dominican culture, worrying about grades, expeditions, projects, my students' home lives, and completing the curriculum, I get lost. I forget why I am in the Dominican Republic. I am their to impact people for Christ. If I taught my kids nothing else this year, I hope they know how much their Savior loved/loves them.

Thank you for your prayers and loving support,
Mo&C

Back to the Drawing Board!

These are pictures of my kids working on the stage they designed!

(On the picture to the left starting on the left is Massiel, Marines, and Arlette. On the picture to the right is Adriando showing his muscles!)

I finally made it home on Monday. After having to deal with mechanical failure and the dread that the U.S. thought that I was already in the D.R. when I was still in Texas. I was so glad to get home, but I was very excited to see many of you!!!!

It has been a nice week. The sun is shining, work teams are coming, my kids are crazy! Please pray for our upcoming work teams safety. Also, we, my fifth grade, have a lot of things left to cover this year! Please pray that we can successfully accomplish all of it!!!

Hello...

Hi,
I must apologize for not updating our blog! Many exciting things are happening in our lives. This week is semana santa, so we have no school. I am home for my sister's wedding. Yeah! I am enjoying my time here very much!
This last semester my kids finished designing and building the stage we worked very hard on!! We are about to begin our new expedition over immgiration.
Mark's schedule has been rearranged a little, and now he helps me out during the day, which I love. He is also helping do some maintance around the school.
God is so good, and He never fails to show us His love. Mark's labtop screen broke, and we were only able to use it hooked up to a monitor at the school. Well, needless to say, I was struggling to get my online coursework done. "Randomly," a man who is moving back to the U.S. asked if we needed a monitor. He said it was old, but what a blessing to be able to do my schoolwork, both Doulos, and my final college courses, at home! God is so good!!!!!!!
Please pray for Lindsay, our first grade teacher, as she still struggles with her health.
Please pray for these students because they are really struggling; Erys, Anthony, Santiago, and Arlette.
Thank you for your prayers and support,
Ciara

I'll Be Home For Christmas!

Hello,

Mark and I have been home for over week and half. We are preparing to return to the DR. We had a blast hanging out with family and friends. We spent part of our time with Mark's family in Tyler, and partially with my family in Oklahoma. We are glad to be back, but we are missing Jarabacoa, and Doulos. Please pray for safe travel as all the Doulos' staff travels during this season. Thanks!

Hello friends

Sorry for not updating, it's been pretty crazy here. The first grade teacher, Lindsay Warrens, got Dangay. I don't know if I spelled that right, but it'll do. It's a type of flue I think. You get a really bad fever, and it's hard to break that fever. Anyways, she went home, and your's truly, Mr. Mark, has been the new first grade teacher for the last three weeks. It's been pretty awesome. I realize a little bit better how hard it is to be a full time teacher. On another note, Christmas is fast approaching, and we are very excited to coming home. We leave December 22nd and come back the 5th of January. We look forward to seeing some of you over this break. Until next time,

Much love from the DR,
Mark and Ciara

It's raining, It's pouring.

Well, we saved some money, and thanks to some of you readers, we finally have transportation. One beautiful, X-1000, motorcycle. I thought it would be hard to learn how to balance, switch gears, and not kill myself or any other poor soul. My friend, Daniel Ayra, said that I'm a natural.

The fifth graders have started planning on how to build the stage which they are all excited about. It has rained for about a week now. Therefore, classes have been canceled, and today is our first day back since last Friday. The river here has flooded some areas of Jarabacoa. So, please pray for those people who have lost their homes, and possessions.

MUCH LOVE FROM THE DR.,

MARK AND CIARA





P.S.- PIC'S OF OUR NEW RIDE WILL BE UP SOON.

Here is a picture of my babies with Brenda and to the left my babies just hanging out!
Hi,
Life seems to be settling in here. Brenda and Frank came for a visit last week, that was terrific. It did not rain the entire time they were here, but the weather has ended its sabbatical and has started to pour down rain! Here are pictures of my babies. We had earned five smiley faces in one week, so we had a party and watched Surf's Up. Lola, Mark and I's cat, has joined us in the DR. Please pray for two things this week. First, a little boy in my class has Dengue, a pretty serious illness contracted from mosquitoes. Second, next week 4-6th grade are heading out to Manabao for outdoor education week. Teachers and students will teach/live/breath the outdoors. We will even build the structures that each group (one teacher and seven students) will stay under, and will be responsible for cooking meals. Pray for no rain, and that we impress upon our students how important it is to take care of God's creations! Nos Vamos! (Bye!)