Picture of Isaiah, as you can see we get along well
with the video games! I took this right before
updating so I could have at least 1 Rowley
picture on here for this update!
Craig came down to pick me up from Jarabacoa monday afternoon. Their oldest son Carter is attending school in Jarabacoa during the week and comes home on the weekends, this means tons of travel time for Craig in order to help him get there and back. Travel is a little difficult with Constanza because of its location in the mountains, but it is very worth it.
Monday night I enjoyed meeting Libby, Gabe, and Isaiah and having my first meal with them. I have been placed in such a great position with them already established here to help me. I have really enjoyed my time and conversations so far with them. Craig has been especially helpful with finding my apartment and my moto, I am very appreciative of all the time and effort they have invested into my transition so far (especially while I live with them for the first couple weeks!)
Tuesday I spent pretty much the entire day with Craig, which included running some errands he needed to do for Kids Alive, going to the 2 available options for my future apartment, looking at prices for motorcycles in Constanza, and going to the care center.
Tuesday I also got to meet both Alfredo and Arsenio who I will be working extensively with. Arsenio is the director of the Ark and is a strong Christian man who I have loved getting to know this week and definitely look forward to getting to know better over these next few years.
The majority of my work here is going to be at the Care Center, and Alfredo is the director of the care center so he will be my boss. I couldn't have asked for a better person to work under, he loves God, loves kids and loves sports! He invited me to play on their fun and competitive fast-pitch softball team, and our first game is Sunday so I am very excited about that.
I was able to come to an agreement on an apartment also which is a huge answer to prayer! It is within a couple hundred feet of the Rowleys, and a very short moto ride from the Ark/Care Center. Couldn't ask for a better location, also it is on the 2nd story of a "colmado" where I will be able to get water and other food/drink items very conveniently. The owner/land lord of this apartment is the same person who owns the Rowley's house and he gave me a great deal and situation due to his great relationship with the Rowley's.
On Wednesday, Craig and me ventured down to Jarabacoa to look at prices for Moto's. He also had some work to do with overseeing a construction project at Jarabacoa so it worked out well. We met up with the Kids Alive bus driver and good friend from past visits Eladio. He was great to spend time with and a big help in finding a moto. I have very fond memories of getting to know him on past trips and I was glad to have this time. We bought a great bike and got a pretty good ( i think?) deal on it, so it was a successful trip in that regard. After a long, construction filled trip back up the mountain I was back.
Me and Eladio loading up the Moto (his idea for
the picture not mine!)
Thursday was my first glimpse into how they run "OANSAS" (awanas in the us) at the Kids Alive project. It was a blast, the younger kids are there in the morning and the older kids in the afternoon. The first 30-40 minutes are spent with the kids in 4 teams and playing various games and competitions with the winners getting points added to their team. After this the groups split up into small groups of about 8-10 where they show the leaders what scriptures they have memorized from the OANSA book. This was interesting for me because I was thrown right into being a leader for this section so my spanish was put to the test! This is a big part of what I will be doing and it was really fun to get to know some of the kids a little better.
Friday's are generally a day where I don't have too much responsibility at the care center. There are no classes and all there is is just a few hours of planning for the teachers. I don't know exactly what I will be doing on fridays, but I am assuming it will involve some work over at the Ark and spending time with the kids.
It has been a crazy, but amazing week and I can't express how excited I am to finally be here, and to be able to finally call Constanza home! Hopefully I can get better at taking pictures and put more on here...Please keep me in your prayers that the transition will continue to go as smooth as it has this first week! Thank you all for your support.
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