School, Beach and Parties...

I almost don't even know where to start in this latest update...

School continues to take up the majority of our time, so at times it feels like that is all that we do. We usually arrive at school around 7:30 and leave anywhere from 4:00-5:00 depending on what sort of after-school duties we have in that given day. Laura and I will be coaching a 4th-6th grade soccer team on Wednesdays, and I am also coaching a 1st-3rd grade soccer team on Fridays. We have really enjoyed our time at JCS so far, but we also really look forward to the weekends so that we can spend time with each other and enjoy the beautiful area that we are living in.

Two weeks ago several teachers, including Laura and myself, were able to travel to the north coast of the D.R. to the beach. We drove 3 hours to a quiet little beach that honestly looked like something out of a travel magazine, it was absolutely breath-taking. We were able to swim and relax for most of the day and we even had an opportunity to snorkel, which is one of my favorite activities at the beach. We truly live in one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been to in my life.

Last Friday we were able to host the 7th grade class at our house for a party. I can't even tell you how much I enjoyed having them over to our house. We bought a bunch of pizzas (yes, we have pizza places here!) and played some random games with the kids. The kids introduced us to merengue and bachata music which are the most popular forms of music on the island. It was fun to listen to the music and have 15 kids all dancing to some of their favorite songs. We will be hosting 16 of the 6th graders this coming Friday, and I am already looking forward to that. I think that I had forgot how much I enjoy hanging out with youth last Friday, which brings me to another possible prayer request...

Since serving as Bible teacher I have fielded some pretty difficult questions regarding Protestants and Catholics, and what a Christian is. When you use the word "Christian" in the D.R. it almost means "Conservative Reformed Baptist" (not that it is wrong to be these things, but they have tended to hold an incredibly judgmental attitude toward Catholics here). Most of the kids who are Catholic tend to be culturally Catholic, meaning that their families go to church once or twice a year (we called them "Chreasters") and have done so for several generations, often out of tradition more than for fostering a relationship with God. A perfect example of this was a student who recently confided in me that he was going to start attending a Protestant Church in the area and wanted to be a "Christian." He told me that his dad would be very angry with him because his father is Catholic, but that it didn't matter to this student, and I saw him at church a few days later. The Protestants and Catholics here, even the students, tend to hurl misunderstandings back and forth at one another, continuing to fuel harsh feelings. Because of generations of misunderstanding you will rarely see a Protestant step foot in a Catholic church and vice versa. In light of this situation I have been considering starting a youth group with some of the students at the school, and I am hoping that since it will not be in a church building, Protestant or Catholic, that I will be able to reach both groups for Christ. I have talked with a few other people about this idea and it seems like I would have ample leaders if we decided to go ahead of start the group. I am just spending time listening to God on if this is a good idea, thinking of the implications of starting a youth group while we are down here. Please pray that God would continue to give Laura and I wisdom in deciding if we should go through with starting this group.