The second week of school brought new joys and challenges, as I began to get to know the students a little bit better. For the most part, the students seem to enjoy the class, and I have had some good opportunities this week to spend some time with individual students. God is evidently working in the lives of many of the students here, and I pray that God will give me the right words to say in the limited time that I have in each class and wisdom as I speak with the students one-on-one. I am praising God that my Spanish continues to improve, and that I was actually able to understand AND answer questions for which I had not specifically prepared. In my "hora libre," or, free time, my computer, Spanish hymnal, and Bible meet together to prepare for the next couple of classes.

Pictured above is a combined class of 11th and 12th graders, who, until the schedule was organized, had their music class together. Many of the high school students have a strong desire to learn, and one 9th grader told her family that the only problem with my class was that the schedule does not allow us to meet often enough. Many of the students in the grade school (below) also look forward to the class, and some of the other teachers have expressed a desire to have music classes for "los maestros" during the high school recess.


Little things are often a huge encouragement. A few days ago, a gray tree frog found it's way into my UPSTAIRS bedroom, where it proceeded to try and camouflage itself on the RED cello case. Realizing that it wasn't quite invisible, it hopped over to the flowered skirt hanging behind the cello, where it tried to grow petals and pretend it was a flower. Since the petals didn't grow, it thought it would make a quick get-away, but I was able to capture and transport it outside (but not without creating a scene among the Dominicans downstairs first... oh well, now they know I'm a country girl).

Another thing that came to my attention is that there is a orange tree on the farm, from which I will be allowed to take whatever I want when they ripen.


We had a rather heavy rain system pass through, and below is the result. The "Juan Tomás River" pictured is actually the road that leads from the main road to the farm, church, and school. In the Dominican Republic, SUVs become rather important sometimes if you want to get anywhere.


Thank you for your prayers! Many of the "problem" students were unusually respectful and quiet this week. Please continue to pray as I continue to learn about each student, their family, and their spiritual needs.