Monte Plata

hello once again, from the land of eternal summer!
hard to believe another week has gone by, and that we're already in the month of october. last tuesday was my 1-month anniversary of being here! and it has been an amazing month.......a month of growing, learning, being greatly blessed by all of your prayers.........i don't think it gets much better than this.

of course, while the calendar tells me it's october, the weather and my body clock keep telling me it feels like june or something. i won't lie, i miss that first refreshing cool of autumn, the feeling, the smell, the leaves changing, being in a different environment is harder than i thought. the past few weeks have actually a bit difficult, as i was dealing with quite a bit of homesickness. but then, in the midst of wondering how i would make it through till christmas - much less the end of the year - God gave me His own refreshment, His encouragement, and most of all, His joy. there wasn't really any huge movement, just a few encouraging emails, and some good alone times with God. His peace that passes understanding is so real, so true. God is truly showing me what it means to have nothing but Himself, and what i realized was, i would rather have only Him, than to have everything i want and just a so-so relationship. i know that God will give me the people and relationships i need, but right now, for the first time in my life, He's asking me to trust Him, hasn't given me anyone else to lean on.......and what a blessing! God is everything to me, and I couldn't be happier with that. not that i won't continue to have struggles, but now i know that He's enough and always will be; i've been given the ability to go through anything that life may hand out. so thank you all for letting God use you in this continual process in my heart; your prayers are certainly being heard and answered! : )

ok, i thought i would put in some pictures of the monte plata site, where i was visited a little while ago. what another totally amazing work God is doing down there.......i got to meet the director of all the kids alive international sites, and it was so cool to see through him what God is doing all over the world!! sometimes it's hard to believe i've been blessed enough to be a part of that. : ) oh, and, for the very first time, i'm posting a video for you!! just a little clip of us hanging out at the school 'campsite' in monte plata, but it gives you a kind of cool cultural feeling for the place. enjoy!!



Here's the Monte Plata school -->










here's some of the girls i met there. the blonde ones are from england, and the other two live in monte plata, and work at the school. the girl in black, carys, is probably the best friend i've made here yet, she's at monte plata until christmas, and we're enjoying keeping in touch via email.




this is alba, works at the school, and so fun to talk with. behind us is juan pablo......definitely another hilarious friendship! : )
(he's the one you see drumming in the video)








swimming in the nearby river.....so beautiful, it's amazing to think people pay tons of money to go on vacations here, and something like this is so normal for the people who live here!








driving home........a beautiful ending to a great day.