(Un)Married with Children

Ah, life with kids. It's fun. I love those poopers, but also sometimes I want to shout, "Why, why are you doing that?!" They're 3. They have no idea why they're doing most things. It's definitely a learning experience.

In other news, Kendall and I are starting to feel somewhat of an affinity toward our spider friends. (Note: Only spiders that do not move and are in public places, such as the living room, are acceptable companions). They keep the mosquitoes away (supposedly).

This week, Isaak has been a snotty kid. He is really cute about it though, because he actually lets you wipe his nose, and tells you when he needs a tissue. Sometimes, he even wipes his nose himself. What a genius. Also, we planned a beach day yesterday. True, yesterday was Friday. BUT, it was DOMINICAN INDEPENDENCE DAY! Apparently, the Dominicans gained Independence from Haiti in 1844 on el 27 de febrero. Fortunately it didn't take them 2 days longer, or else they would only be able to celebrate every four years...

Good news about Feb 27: holiday! Bad news: Our water pump broke. Juan Carlos can't work on holiday weekend! My last shower was Wednesday I think. Kendall and I should probably enter into a greasy hair contest. We have gotten a little bit of water with the fancy "hold a bucket with a rake and dip it into the cistern" trick that Anne taught us. Needless to say, we have working porta potties here in the house.

Yesterday, we planned a Cabarete beach day! Ashley, Kendall, and I took the kids on the 45-minute guagua ride to the beach. Picture a 12-seater van (guagua). I believe the seats are designed for 3 grown adults to sit in the last row. Normally, Dominicans put 4. Yesterday, there were 4 adults and 5 children in that last row. Fun ride, I tell ya! The concept of personal space is very different here. We get there, and everything is fine, except that Isaak is feeling warm... Really warm. To add to that, he started just laying on a beach chair staring into space instead of being the wild man he usually is. Around nap time, I went and got some baby Tylenol for him. I gave him some around lunchtime, and again when we got home that evening. I found the thermometer, and the poor kid was at 102. He laid around on a cool pack for a while while I frantically updated his mama. I also caught him sucking on that cool pack. The kid loves ice. What a goon. Anyway, the scare is over. By bedtime, his fever was down to 99, but that was my first sickie kid experience (besides this whole snot week). Blessedly, we have yet to have any pukers at home. We are probably going to hit up the doctor, too. Sick kids are so pitiful...

So, today, we are just hanging out and listening for the "Aguacate!" lady to come around. Our weekends are jam-packed. Before I go, I will tell you about a random awesome thing that happened ten minutes ago. Kendall and I both pressed play for the same song on Itunes at the exact same time. When it started playing on my computer, she was confused, because she had just started the same one! Weird. Beyonce's "Halo." Look it up. It's a jam.

I hope everyone is doing great, keep the kiddos' health in your prayers. We want healthy tweems! Also, please keep in mind that we are so aware that our random water problems are nothing compared to most of the families we work with. Our preschoolers live in villages where running water doesn't exist. We are greatly blessed at the Makarios house.

Hebrews 10

Christ's Sacrifice Once for All

¹The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. ²If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. ³But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, ⁴because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

⁵Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:
"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
⁶with burnt offerings and sin offerings
you were not pleased.
⁷Then I said, 'Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—
I have come to do your will, O God.' " ⁸First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made). ⁹Then he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second. ¹⁰And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

¹¹Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹²But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. ¹³Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, ¹⁴because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

¹⁵The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:
¹⁶"This is the covenant I will make with them
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds." ¹⁷Then he adds:
"Their sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more." ¹⁸And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. ¹⁹Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, ²¹and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²²let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. ²³Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. ²⁵Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Wow... I have no better words than these.

A mezcla, if you will.

Junkyard dogs. These are the littlest pups that hang around the escuela. That nasty, mangey one is NOT part of the normal group. Not pictured are: Eh-Scooby Du and some other black nameless dog. Here in the middle is Eh-shadow and on the right is the tiny, frail pup I like to call Cricket. (Cricket may survive-- the other dogs let her eat a good portion of our random leftover food).

This is just a lovely shot of one of our rainy days. I just like this picture because you can see the random lady on her roof with an umbrella doing... who knows what.

Just a little Valentine I made during Ashley's art class :)

This is Isabela, the mountain we hiked today. I agreed to go, because I wanted to see it so badly, but I was really fearful of dragging everyone down. My roommates and Anne are in much better shape than I am, but I decided to give it a go. Needless to say, I wanted to quit-- badly. I even told the others I was just going to walk back down, so they should keep going (approximately 15 minutes from the top). They forced me to finish, for which I am very grateful. We took a little gondola ride down. For more info on that, see Kendall's blog. She actually took pictures. I was just trying to survive.

Ashley took Kendall and me to visit Luis Fernando's house. He lives with a lady and I think 5 other kids in this place. His mom is out of the picture, because she left, so this is his new family. This is one of two rooms in the house. (I will put a few more pictures up on a web album when I get the chance). The other kids: Islan, Yulena, and Agle were quick to offer us the only 3 chairs in the house, and so we sat. We hung out while they watched tv, showed us their homework, and drew pictures. Islan and Yulena played with my hair. Luis showed us some marbles he stored in the freezer... Yea, I'm pretty sure the freezer didn't work. Anyway, it's really humbling to see families who have next to nothing, and are quick to offer you their hospitality. God has really been using the people here to show me how I need to get over my sinful pride and learn how to really love people.

Valentines Day.
I had a fabulous Valentine's Day. It only could have been better had my Valentine been in this country. Ashley and the other staff attended the wedding of a dear friend, so Kendall and I planned a day at the beach. Garrett and Anne were wonderful enough to offer us a ride to the the beach in Sosua that they recommended to us. The beach was great! It was small and had a beautiful view, and our chairs were maybe 6 feet away from the water. Note to visitors: it costs 10 pesos to use the bathroom... We also hit up the Mexican restaurant in Sosua, where we had some really good chicken fajitas. Continuing in this theme, we returned home to whip up some guacamole and queso! Ashley, Garrett, and Anne came by after the wedding to meet us. Ashley whipped up some lovely beverages. I forgot to tell the guacamole miracle. There were no aguacates at the grocery store on Friday, so we were left to pray and hope for the "Aguacate aguacate!" lady to come through the neighborhood with the big bowl on her head. On Saturday morning, I heard her coming down the street to our house! It was meant to me. Also, I forgot to mention that this was my first time ever to make queso without a microwave. It worked out. Cleaning the pan was a bit nasty, but everyone survived.

I have no idea if this entry was even coherent, but it's all I've got right now! I love you all. Now you keep loving other people. I mean, try and love people unconditionally. Also, please pray me through that, and I will try and do the same for you.

Fracaso.

Today, I had a fun little experience learning the Spanish language. I would say that I am doing... meh, alright, with communication. A little moment in class today proved that I should not be getting too complacent about any possible Spanish skillz.

Mira this little scenario:

On Fridays, we have our bible classes with older students. They come to school, eat a snack, learn a bible lesson, and do some fun activity. Today, while the kids were their boiled eggs (with bread and a vitamin), I found myself alone in the classroom of kids. No problema, until one of the kids looked at me and said something I didn't understand plus "sal." I told her "No entiendo," which caused other kids to try and help me understand by just looking at me and saying "Sal. Sal. Sal."(in increasing volume).

"Sal" is the command form of the verb salir, which means: to go/get out. I thought the kids were being really rude and asking me to leave! Those poopers! Little did I know, the chilluns were just asking for "sal" as in salt. Of course they wanted salt with their eggs. Dang that listening in context!

I'm pretty glad Ashley came and rescued me from further confusion.

So, I let them put on their own underwear...

Hot. (Isaak left, Jakob right).

PRAISE, Beaches, Potties, and Snot!

BIG NEWS.
I have officially been given enough support for my full 6-month stay here in the Dominican Republic! I will be sending out an email very soon to my supporters, but right now, I just want to express my deepest thanks to everyone who helped me get here. I appreciate everyone's generosity more than I can say. God has been so faithful to me, and I hope all of you are able to see the fruits of your giving.

Beaches!
Sharla brought Kendall and me along for a little weekend getaway to the beach, tweem-style. These are just a couple of pics from this weekend. The one on the right shows the little poopers in their speedo-type swimmy diapers. Poop holders, if you will. Little do they know, these pictures are now saved to multiple computers to bring back into their lives in their awkward teenage years.

Potties:
Officialy potty training starts tomorrow. I call it the quick and dirty method. Mom has consulted other moms and decided the way to go is to talk to the kids, put them in their new fancy underwear, have them drink a lot, and set off a timer to ring every 20 minutes to tell us when to sit on the potty. We will also begin to use the fancy potty charts that Ashley and I crafted out of construction paper. Who wants a sticker?!?!?!? You have to pee first. Poop lets you use one of the sparkly horsie stickers. This will definitely get their attention, since they have somewhat of an obsession with horses of any kind.

Snot.
No big story here. I got my first sinus infection in Latin America. Luckily, due to circumstances in Spain, I know how to ask for Zithromax in Spanish. Also, a round of antibiotics requires no perscription here, and costs about the equivalent of $10 USD. I bought two rounds, and even though they were relatively cheap to Americans, I thought: "I'm blowing 660 pesos in one sitting!" Gah!

A few more updates: http://picasaweb.google.com/katymkemp/EneroDR?feat