drained.

You ever have those days where there is absolutely NO motivation to do anything, it's just hard to wake up in the morning to go to work, and you feel completely emotionally/ spiritually/ physically drained of LIFE???? 

I would love to say right now that things are great with my job. As far as I recall, I believe I wrote a blog last year around this time about last school year being incredibly difficult for several different reasons, but I felt God leading me to teach there again.  Well, I can't say anything has changed..

...for the better. 

Things right now are so----eh.  Sometimes the only thing that gets me through a day of work is a cute note on the chalkboard from a student. That little bit of hope to finish the day.  That gentle push to a happier place when daily frustrations arise.  Gosh it's so nice when that happens. 

I just found out I'm allergic to 167 types of food, which is what had been causing my daily headaches and stomach aches for many years.  

I'm tired. I'm grumpy. I'm stressed. I'm negative. I'm done (my favorite phrase lately). 

And what blows my mind everytime,

what brings me to my knees,

something I don't think about enough,

(uummm....reality check?)

Who am I to be feeling this way? 

Who am I to think I can do this on my own?

Who am I to think I can change this world by myself? 

Who am I to be motivated to do well only by what others encourage me to do?

I am alive today.

My heart continues to beat.

I got the chance to wake up this morning.

I have no right to take on God's tasks [in which I know I will fail].  This is impossible.. to be God, I mean. I've started living by the phrase,"if you want something done right , you have to do it yourself." NO! The reality of it is that if you want something done right, give it to God. Like, for real give it to God. He'll handle it. 

Isaiah 41:10 says, "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

But why is this so hard to believe sometimes?

I need prayer. Continuous prayer.  There are several unknowns about the summer and next school year for me. Please pray for the future for not only me, but my husband Brian as well.  Who knows what's in store for us, but please pray that our journey is all on God's timing, along with His encouragement, and that we take our lives and throw it up to God to bounce us around wherever He wants. 

don't wash your passport...

Well, we're married. Legally.  

First time on a plane together!

As many of you know, Brian and I decided to have our wedding here in the Dominican Republic on March 23.  Unfortunately, to make our marriage legal in the United States that would proceed to be a lot of paper work to deal with, so we decided to fly to Miami to get legally married instead.  

On January 18, 2013 we flew to Miami on standby (thanks to my wonderful new flight attendant mother-in-law!), went to the court house in South Beach, and got married.  The whole process took about 2 hours, and went surprisingly very smoothly! 

Waiting in the ghetto courthouse room

Married! (I left my cardigan on...balls.) 

Loving our new "fake" wedding bands! (The real gold ones will come at our wedding) 

Besos!

My new mother-in-law :) 

We then spent the rest of the weekend in Miami, soaking up the sun, going to the mall, and loving AMERICA! 

First married dinner

On Miami Beach :)

A HUGE GRANDE thank you to Brian's mom, Karen!! This couldn't have happened without you!!!! :):):):)


...Oh wait I'm not finished...

To finish the story we have to go back a few months, where Brian accidentally washed his passport by leaving it in a pants pocket.  I had a feeling that would come back to haunt us later, but coming back into the US wasn't a problem when we flew into Miami.  The guys at immigration actually laughed about it.  So, Tuesday finally rolls around after our long weekend was over.  We were due to be headed back to the Dominican later that afternoon.  

It all started at check-in. 

The first person we went to to check us in for our flight at the airport took one look at Brian's passport and said, "uummmm, no. I can't accept this."
The second person said, "well, you can try to get through security, but once you get to the country you could be detained and sent back to the US." 
The third person wouldnt even let us go through security.  

Panic started to hit, but with the help of a nice airline agent she told us it would only take a day to get a new copy of a passport since he was an American citizen.  
alright, that's fine then. 

Since I had to go to work the next day, I left Brian behind to fly back to the Dominican.  Little did I know it would be a little more than a day that I would see him next.  

Soon after I got home, Brian figured out he needed an appointment to get his passport copy.  The only problem was that the next appointment was for a week later.  So, even though he called every 20 minutes to see if an appointment was canceled, nothing worked.  Meanwhile, I was stuck by myself, a newly married woman, separated from my new husband for a week and on the verge of a mental breakdown every day (which also included me taking care of our HUGE crazy dog by myself....enough said.) 

Fortunately, by the grace of God, everything went smoothly when he DID receive his new passport, and flew back safely - exactly a week later.  The whole situation could have definitely been worse, and I'm so grateful he came back okay, safe and sound :) 



Thanks for all your prayers during all of this! They were so very much appreciated!

'Tis the Season!

After school ended for Christmas break things slowed down... 



waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay 



d
            o
                          w
                                        n. 



I spent my mornings sleeping in, waiting for Brian to get off work, and making life simple again.  I wasn't going to leave for Hawaii until December 28th, so I spent Christmas day with, first, Brian and the guys house at CMA in the morning.  Then, in the afternoon I went to Melissa's house for a cookout with her, her parents, and fiance Carlos.  We had EXCELLENT chuleta (pork chops) on the gril. OH. MY. GOODNESS they were so good! Melissa and I got engaged around the same time, so we of course had to take a picture of our fabulous rings :) 

The next day, the 26th, was the reason I stayed in the DR till the 28th...Melissa's wedding! We got our hair and makeup done - dOmInIcAn style - que chulo! 
We were basically dominican barbies...

Her and Carlos looked so great, and we had a great time! Definitely had a great time at her big, fat, dominican wedding (as she calls it) ;)

The 28th of December I flew on three planes, and 18 hours later landed in Honolulu.  It was super weird to be home at this time of year, let alone for only about 12 days.  But who knows when i'll be in Hawaii again? 
In one word, here's what I did while I home...

SHOP.


Every single day, except new years. For what? Pretty much all wedding stuff. At least now I can say I'm prepared for my big day! 

New Years Eve was uneventful. I fell asleep at 7pm, woke up at 11:59, said "happy new year," and went to bed. stupid jet lag.... or maybe i'm just old? 

In between shopping, I was in desperate need for the beach. The stupid rain kept me from my tanning crave, so I just went anyway.  Luckily, there were some patches of sun up there somewhere. 


The Saturday before I left, my mom threw me a bridal shower.  It was so great to see some old friends, make some new ones, and just celebrate getting married with people that have known me for a very long time! I'm really not used to having all the attention centered on me, but it wasn't all that bad after a while ;) 

Then I had to say goodbye :( Not as many tears at the airport like normal, but it was still hard to say goodbye.  At least I'll see my family again in two months!!! :):):):)

teeny tiny update

First of all, my sincerest apologies. Not even a small update since September? I am so sorry about my neglect of updating my blog.  So much has happened this school year so far - definitely a year of change! Here it is in a nutshell ---

I house sat for a family for the month of September, and took care of their dog.  It was a great, relaxing time...after school, at least.  This month as well, I was one of the administrators of JCS, as well as third grade teacher.  It was completely overwhelming and very stressful!  Thank goodness God did not see me fit for this role, and soon brought my best friend Melissa back to JCS to teach and fill in for my administration role.  

In October, I not only (gladly) stepped down from my administration part of my job at JCS, but I got the opportunity to move out of my house onto the Caribbean Mountain Academy campus, where Brian works/lives.  I moved into the house that we would eventually live in together.  It's very cute! Soon afterwards, Brian and I got a dog together - a purebred German shepherd named Luna.  She's super cute! Although she doesn't live with me yet, I still see her a lot :) 

November and December seem like a blur..everything just seems to blend together.  Brian and I went to the beach for Thanksgiving, we had our Christmas program at JCS, things were crazy CraZy, CRAZy!!!!! 

Things are now settling down, kind of, and wedding planning is now at FULL FORCE! 

Updates on Hawaii and Miami shortly :) 

Meet Ms. Ensing's Third Class of Third Graders :)

School officially started Thursday, August 23 (but no school August 24 because of Hurricane Isaac). 

Started the year with 12 students.

Now grew to 14. 

Let's meet them, shall we?! 

Amy

Cristal

Melany

Carlos

Lisandro

Tate

Alejandra

Herly

Matthew

Evelin

Ismael

Daniel

Camile

Marcy

They are already amazing kids! High energy, fun-loving, normal 7/8/9 year olds.  Although it'll be challenging (and what year isn't challenging when you're a teacher?!), i can't wait to see their progress at the end of the year. I keep forgetting how much they really do improve since the beginning of the year. It's so crazy!

And now, for a tour of our classroom :)

180 of the classroom, view taken from the front of room

Spelling Words board

Chalkboard

Awesome new Job Chart. Thank you Rick Morris
(and Pinterest)!

Probably the best thing ever.  My Grandma Ensing made these chair pockets that go over the chair that is attached to the student's desk.  Solution to clutter everywhere and pencils don't get lost every day! Thanks Grandma! 

Well, that's that.  Things have been going well so far.  Definitely some obstacles have come and gone, and I just have to keep remembering myself that God doesn't put things in our lives that we can't handle! 

Here's to a great school year!

Helping Evelin

This is Evelin Ortiz.  She is 8 years old and has been going to Jarabacoa Christian School since Kindergarten.  Evelin has an amazing personality, very vibrant and loves to go to school.  Evelin's mother, Claritza, is one of the cleaning ladies at JCS, who is also an incredible woman.  About three years ago, Claritza's husband died in a motorcycle accident - leaving Clartiza with five daughters to raise all by herself, Evelin being the youngest.  

Because of this huge financial burden, good affordable education was difficult to find. Jarabacoa Christian School gave Evelin the opportunity to receive this great education, with the help of a sponsor from the States.  However, JCS is now going through financial strain and most of the students on scholarships had to be dropped, Evelin being one of them.  

Ever since I met Evelin, we clicked.  She is shy at first, but once she warms up to you she will never leave your side.  When we first met she was going into first grade.  I was looking forward to having Evelin in my third grade class this year, but when I asked her mother if she was coming back to JCS, she burst into tears and said they couldn't find anyone to sponsor her this year.  

As I previously wrote in my last blog entry, I am raising support this year for my personal financial stability.  After hearing today about Evelin not being able to attend JCS because they can't find a sponsor, it is on my heart to help Claritza and Evelin - but what I have raised so far is not enough for the whole year. 

To sponsor Evelin monthly it would only cost $65/month (she gets a discount because her mother is an employee of the school), plus a one time inscription fee of around $250 for books and uniforms. 

How can you help?
First, pray.  Pray that God would financially stabilize this family and open doors for Evelin, her mother, and older sisters.  

If you feel led to help Evelin with her education at JCS, please send me an email at jessicaensing@gmail.com,

or send a check to:
Jessica Ensing
731 Amana St. #301
Honolulu, HI 96814
Memo: For Evelin

(If there is a better way send money I will update this blog)

Thank you so much for reading this. If you want to know more about this family and maybe feel led to help, please let me know! 

How GREAT is our GOD!

Back in the Dominican. 

Ready for this? 

Yes. 

I got here about two weeks ago, flying mostly first class back to Santiago (which is AMAZING, btw.  Who would have thought first class would be the cheapest flight? God definitely knew I needed that I think.) 

Here's a nutshell of my feelings during my flight.... 

worry.

anxious.

nervous.

negativity.

[insert any other emotion similar to the above]

...all about coming back to teach at JCS.

Plane lands, Brian's waiting outside.  70lb suitcases don't arrive. "We don't know when your bags will get here." GREAT. After 20 hours of traveling, we make it up the mountain to Jarabacoa, walk into my house with two new roommates.  

First day of new staff training.  I walk into my classroom to find

NO FURNITURE. NONE OF MY BOXES. 

everything is in the hall or other classrooms. 

i scramble to get the desks/furniture/boxes I need to put my school life back in order again.  

Power keeps going out.

Some boxes are missing. 

Internet doesn't work. School or at home. 

aaaahhhhhh when is this going to end?!

Everyone told me I was crazy going back to teach at JCS for another year.  All of my previous coworkers constantly asking, "are you SURE?!" and "you know what you're doing, right?" 

...Last school year was a [good word choice] challenging year for all of us.  This is basically why only four teachers are returning this year, only me going into her third year (which is the longest any American teacher has been at the school since I've been here).  

And let me say this - getting on those planes to come back here was one of the hardest things I have ever done.  This was the first time I got on a plane and actually didn't want to go to where I was landing.  

I loved working at the preschool this summer.  

I loved seeing old friends.  

I loved making new friends.  

I loved the 'security' of...America. 

God called me back to the Dominican Republic. I'm sure of it. He has reassured me of this since I've been here as well.  My new coworkers are amazing.  I love seeing how God has worked in their lives for them to come here, to serve at JCS, and I cant wait to get to know them better. So many verses in the Bible have been popping up about pursuing calm Luke 12:25-26, full submission to God John 15:18-25, having the right attitude Mark 12:41-44, having complete joy John 15:11, and remaining in love through it all John 14:15. 

I have also received some financial support and donations from people I never dreamed would think/want to help me.  I can't even describe how humbling this has been.  With tears in my eyes right now, I am beyond touched.  

How GREAT is our GOD!

This is a HUGE year for me. I have a higher role at JCS and I'm getting married. WOW. It's a year of closing chapters and opening new ones.  

Now I'm sitting here on this Thursday morning, no school today because of the presidential inauguration, my classroom is finished and decorated, school starts next Thursday, and life is good.  GOD IS GOOD. DIOS ES BUENO.

Here's to another year!

Am I ready for this? 

YES! Prayers appreciated :)

**updates and pictures about school soon to follow!