I realize it’s been a while since I have written a blog post and the reality is… life around here has been craaaazy and I’ve been doing my best to soak in every moment here since I know this semester is going to fly by at an absurd speed. Me and the students are living at the ministry base for the week in the mountains of Jarabacoa (which is located in a small town about an hour and a half drive from our Santiago base) as the students experience what life would be like if they should decide to come back next year and complete the second phase of Global Bridge. Students who return to the DR are sent to SI’s Jarabacoa base to live and are chosen for working at different ministry sites while they work towards completing their associate degree. Essentially, the program is a replica of the program we do in Santiago, but the students have more freedom and leaders take on a more “hands-off” approach since students are now more familiar with the country, the culture and the language. I am looking forward to seeing which of the students decide to come back and which ones will continue their studies in the states. This week I have been working with Jarabacoa’s medical team. Their medical team works as a mobile medical clinic, doing home visits and hosting clinics in different communities at different times. I’ve had a blast working alongside their doctor and two nurses. Much of what this team does is gynecology care which means lots of pregnant moms and babies. My arms have been filled with lots of little babes this week and I’m here for it! It has been such a pleasure to better know the staff from this base and to observe both similarities and differences serving with another base. I have felt poured into and am refreshed by the staff members who have willingly shared their lives with me and invited me into their homes this past week. Jarabacoa is a hopping little mountain village which has become quite the tourist town, so I have enjoyed taking the students out in the evenings for fresh fruit juice, churros, an ice-cream or just to walk around the streets. Santiago is not always a safe place for us to just adventure around, so we have enjoyed the little bit of extra freedom and fun that we’ve been able to have during our stay here. The temperatures here in the mountains are also much cooler then back at our home base. The mornings are often so chilly that rolling out of my warm bed sometimes requires a silent battle of the internal sorts. 🙂

And that’s a wrap! It’s been a full and busy week that has filled my grateful heart up to the brim. The students leave for homestays on Monday which means… Spanish classes begin once again! I’m already seeing small progress in my language abilities since our last round of classes and I’m anxious to get back into the swing of learning but am anticipating the overwhelming mental fatigue that comes with language learning. Prayers are appreciated for us as we prepare our hearts and minds for learning and that we’ll strive to put our language to practice every chance we get!