In a nutshell...

Yes, I'm still alive! It appears I'm not very good at updating a blog - I'm sorry about that! These last few months have been insanely busy - filled with holidays, christmas programs, family visits, friend visits, beach trips, and getting back into the swing of things at school and life.  I don't even know where to begin! I'll just give some highlights...

- for Thanksgiving break, my friend Carissa (one of my housemates and best friends from college) came out to visit me for a week.  She came to Jarabacoa to see where I live and then we stayed at an all-inclusive resort for the weekend with my friend Melissa as well.  It was SO nice to have a familiar face from the past to be here and see what my life is like in the DR. We had a blast together :)

- We had our annual Christmas program at JCS, where my kids performed the Little Drummer Boy by MercyMe with their homemade drums.  They did awesome! I also ended up singing two duets as well. One was with my friend Amanda and Joann, who played the guitar. We sang "Winter Wonderland" by Jason Mraz - it was great! I also sang a duet (or more like a trio) with my roommates Natalia and Elissa. We sang Oh Holy Night in english and spanish, which Elissa signed the whole song. It turned out so well, and everyone seemed to love it!

- For Christmas break I went to West Palm Beach, FL for 4 days to visit my relatives that live there, and to meet up with my mom, dad, and brother who flew down to visit.  After basically spending those days shopping for the next 6 months of my life and getting extremely overwhelmed with being back in the US, my family and I flew back to the DR and I showed them around where I live.  We traveled to Santo Domingo and Boca Chica as well.  We had a ton of crazy adventures, and it was so much fun to show them around and how I live.  Good times!

- After my family left, I had a week to myself with one of my roommates, before the rest of my friends got back to the DR.  When my friend Melissa got back to the DR, we ended up spending a weekend at the beach randomly, which was a nice time to relax before school started again.

- School started January 11, and it turns out one of my students is not coming back because he is going to live in New York with his dad.  So, now I'm down to 11 students. The last two weeks have been devoted to turning in grades and starting 3rd quarter.  I'm really excited about this next semester!

So, in a nutshell, that is what has been happening for the last two months.  I will admit, although I love being here and I love my job, these last few months have been kind of like an emotional rollercoaster.  Being away from people in Hawaii (and other places) has proved to be more than difficult - especially because of not going home for Christmas. I guess it's about that time of year right? Please send some prayers my way - for a positive well-being and stronger walk with God. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers.  Please know I am thinking and praying for all of you as well :)

Verse on my mind:
"In love, he presdestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will..." Ephesians 1:5
"En amor, nos predestino para ser adoptados como hijos suyos por medio de Jesucristo, segun el buen proposito de su voluntad..." Efesios 1:5