1st week at Genesis

   This week was our first week at Genesis with the kids there and it went well by our standards at least. It is a bit difficult to know for sure how many kids are actually enrolled at the school but we know for sure that we had 13-15 kids each day this week. A couple were out sick, a couple more have decided to not come back for the summer for whatever reason. There are 5 teachers and one helper, as well as an extra teacher that floats around from class to class and then Maribel is co-directing with us. So 8 full time staff plus Karen and me.  

We also have the privilege of having two summer interns with us until August: Tyler Perez from CA and Ellie Troyer from OK. They are great. Very mature and willing to do anything that is ask. They are both self-motivated to find what needs to be done and great with the kids. The interns come to us with an interest of moving here permanently and working at a site. So part of our job is to show them every aspect of the site and what it takes to keep it going. They have come to Jarabacoa with a real Servant’s Heart and we are so blessed to have them at the Genesis site.
      We also have with us for the next two weeks, two young ladies- Kim Bunker from NJ and Jill Hueni from Granger IN. They have been a big help also with working with the kids one on one and just loving on them. These two ladies are part of the first two week outreach program that will be followed by 5 more ending in the first week in August.

   Karen’s duties for the first week included beginning to screen the kids to see what learning level they are at currently and what kind of potential they may have that has not been reached yet. This is done with each student as soon as they arrive for the first day then it is done again every 2-3 years from then on. Many, if not most of the students are very bright kids that just have a hard time getting out in words what they want to say. Sissy Entrekins worked with Karen this last week as she had filled in for us some before we were able to get here. She is a great blessing to have on hand as we were/are still trying to figure everything out. Thanks Sissy.
    My duties for the first week included getting the septic tank emptied only to find out that the drain to the leach bed is completely plugged and has been for a few years now. (Sorry, no photos for that project) We also needed to run a new water line from the street since the well went bad and there was no new water coming in from anywhere. We were running low on water before the street water got hooked up so I called the fire department to have them come fill our 6000 gallon in ground cistern. Their 1500 gal tanker didn’t quite fill it up, but it was enough to get us by for a few days until the street water was read to go. I also took over the landscaping and mowing of the yard. It is not that big of a yard but full of trees and flower beds. You will all have a chance to see that first hand when you come down to visit us. .
    God just continues bless us in ways that we don’t understand why. Great teachers, great interns, great team helpers, a fantastic staff from Students International that is so helpful getting us started here.
    Lastly, we had a visit from our daughter Abby and her husband Jeff Mishler. They are living in Edmond OK with their new dog (our old dog) Emma.  What a great time that was to have them here for a few days. It was Jeff’s first visit to another country as such and what better way to break him in than to put him on my moto and send him downtown for supplies. Great job Jeff. The visit seemed short to us but they were here for 6 days and we enjoyed them so much. We did a lot in such a short time with them here.

     Marcy and Janae have about 2 weeks of school left before the summer break. We are still trying to see what that will be like as they spend some time with us at Genesis, some time at our house and some time with other missionary kids in their homes.  
   We would appreciate your prayers as we continue to learn about the teachers and students, as we  mentor, work with and learn from the interns, and as we host teams at the site this summer. We want to really get to know them, who they are and why they have come to Jarabacoa for two weeks. Thanks to all of you, we love you and feel blessed and humbled that you have helped us get here.