Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see--how good God is

I read an article in Relevant Magazine the other day, that talked about how we often get sucked into, what the author referred to as, the first third of things. When everything is exciting, new, and just challenging enough. For most of us; however, when those feelings of anticipation wear away and we are served a big heaping plate of reality, we freak out. 

Confession: I'm totally one to fall for the first third of things. I can easily envision the big picture of some new decision or project, but once I realize the difficulty and work involved in something, I tend to grow anxious. I too-easily lose the joy and anticipation. My closet at home is full of half-begun projects (a t-shirt quilt, a scrapbook of junior year prom pictures, etc.), my bookshelves full of books I started to read, but couldn't get past the first few pages. Yes, silly things, but nonetheless, evidence of an unhealthy habit. 

I've been in the DR for a year and  half now, and I can safely say that I am out of the first third stage of my experience. I knew this would be the case coming back for a second year, and I was determined to not let new struggles make me bitter. But alas, after late nights of grading, long days of hyperactive 4th graders, big changes at school, and showdowns with lizards who cunningly find a way to invade my bedroom (I'm terrified of lizards, for those of you who don't know), I found myself at the end of last semester burnt out and lacking joy. 

After a wonderful break at home provided me with time to renew and relax, I returned to the DR, once again determined to not let my joy be deflated. And this time, I think God decided I really needed to understand this message. It seems like this whole semester, I have been bombarded with messages about the importance of 'joy'. 

Our school's virtue of the month for January was joy. I recently taught my student's about Job's joy in the midst of everything he went through. I heard devotions and sermons about finding joy in the Lord. 

I think I've been doing a lot of 'tasting and seeing' this past year and half. In fact, I'm starting to realize that perhaps this was one of God's original purposes in bringing me here. I think God knew I needed to be reminded of his love, provision, and control. 

God's been telling me to open my eyes and see what he has done for me, how he has directed my steps, protected me, and provided for me. These reminders help renew my joy when I am tempted to quit or have a bad attitude. From little things to big decisions, his faithful work in my life and in the lives of others has increased my joy.  

Some things that renew my joy:

1--Waking up to mountains outside my window.  I love mountains, and I get to be surrounded by them all the time. This country is so beautiful, and all I have to do is look out any window of my house to be reminded of how good God is. Even when it rains, it is beautiful. And it has been raining A LOT lately. Watching the rain clouds move in and envelope the mountains that  surround us until they completely disappear is just as beautiful as when the sun shines on the miles of mountains and green palm trees. I take this display of God's goodness for granted too often. 

2--Having a REAL beach (sorry Lake Michigan... you just don't cut it anymore) only 2-ish hours away doesn't hurt either. I had the privilege of visiting the beach about 3 weeks ago for Semana Santa (or Spring Break) with some awesome friends. I love everything about the beach, and it will surely be one of the things I miss most when the time comes to move back to Indiana. I think living closer to an ocean has helped me face my fear of it. A year ago, I would barely set foot in it, but over Spring Break I was totally embracing it: I even boogie boarded! It may not seem like a big deal, but it was. The particular beach we were at is close to a surf beach, and my friends all wanted to learn how to surf. They couldn't quite convince me yet to join them.  Mostly because I knew I would be absolutely terrible at it. I mean let's be honest: Mandy's coordination + a sport that involves a lot of balance= disaster waiting to happen. Baby steps. But I did get to sit and watch and soak up the warm sun and take lots of pictures of the pretty ocean. 

3--14 (now 13) loco, but beautiful fourth graders. As most of you know, teaching 4th grade was never really in MY plan (neither was teaching, in general, for that matter). I was asked to take up the position when I got here in August. Although, it has been extremely challenging and I have felt completely incompetent and unprepared at times, I am confident that teaching these kiddos has been a defining experience in my life. I have seven boys and seven girls in my class, and they are handful. 

Who knew 4th grade was so full of drama? It definitely is in the DR. However, I am convinced that God knew exactly what he was doing in placing me with these specific kids. As overwhelmed as I have been at times by them, I am also constantly overwhelmed by their need and desire to love and be loved. Each comes from a very different faith background, socioeconomic class, and life experience, but, as 9 and 10-year-olds, they still need and want to be loved, especially those that may lack it otherwise.  My hope is they get a little of that love from me, and that it shows them a glimpse of the love that God has for them. 


Some of you have been praying for my kids, specifically one or two of them. Thank you. I can actually see the fruit of your prayers this semester  in some of their lives. Continue to pray for them, that they see and understand who Jesus is. The DR is a hard place to grow up. Really, growing up is hard in general, but the culture of the DR is surrounding my 9 and 10-year-olds with stuff a child in the states would not encounter until adolescence. Although I teach 4th grade, I sometimes feel like I deal with middle school and high school issues. Kids grow up too fast here, and knowing how to teach and care for these 10 going on 15-year-olds is difficult. Pray for wisdom!! Although, they are a handful, they are also a hoot. They are probably the funniest group of kids I've ever encountered, as you may be able to tell by the picture above. Everyday, they make me laugh.


4--My own classroom. Last year, as a high school teacher, I was a floater. The students stayed in their class all day, and we would move around to them. So I would lug all of my papers and supplies with me to each class, and then retire to a tiny little closet of an office that I shared with 4 others. It was a good lesson in organization, but it was rough. However, it has made me extremely thankful for having my very own classroom this year. Probably one of my favorite parts of teaching has been organizing and decorating my classroom. I have a special day of the week set aside where I just work on stuff in my classroom (hanging poster boards, making a new homework system, organizing folders and papers, etc.). I absolutely love it, and I feel so much more organized and prepared when I'm not lugging everything I have in a canvas duffel bag. I was so frazzled by the end of last year, I know that God knew I needed the sort of stability that comes with having my own classroom, and he showed me, again, how he provides for even the littlest things. I won't post a picture of it, because I blogged a slide show of it a couple posts back.

5-- Growing relationships with high schoolers through Young Life. As I mentioned last year sometime, I've been able to get involved with Young Life Jarabacoa, a ministry focused on showing Jesus to the high school students of Jarabacoa, specifically at JCS and Doulos (the two English-immersion schools in the city). Not teaching high schoolers this year has helped strengthen my relationship with some of them. It's always hard to be both teacher and friend-figure. But I've been able to make deeper connections with certain high school girls this year, because I am not their teacher. 

In fact, I had the opportunity to take some of these students to YL camp two weekends ago. Camp is a jam-filled time of fun, games, music, quality time with high schoolers, and most importantly, a presentation of who Jesus is and what he did for each of us. It was an awesome way to spend more time with these kids, get to know them even better, and watch them open up about stuff they are dealing with. Camp weekend was exhausting, and I think I am now finally caught up on the sleep I didn't get during the weekend. 

6--Crazy, random adventures. One of my favorite parts of living here is all of the fun, outdoorsy, adventurous things available to do. We've got waterfalls, mountains to hike, motorcycles to ride, etc. This place is an adventurers dream. Previously, I would have never considered myself one of these 'adventurers', but living here is slowly turning me into one.  The past few weeks, Johanna and I and some of our Dominican friends have gotten in the habit of going on little mid-week adventures. Three Wednesdays ago, we went on a spur of the moment moto trip up to the mountain behind out house, and then last week, we went horse-back riding. Then, we did this:

In conclusion, God is good. enough said.

"I bless God every chance I get; my lungs expand with his praise. I live and breathe God... Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see--how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him." -Psalm 34 (The Message)

p.s. sorry if my formatting is less than awesome on this blog post. I'm trying to get the hang of putting pictures in my entries. 

p.p.s sorry if this is the longest blog entry you ever read.