A glimpse...

...Into our life in the near future.

 Patrick went to the Dominican Republic last week to check out the communities we will be living in, the schools, and to get to know the other volunteers a little.  Below are some of the pictures he brought back:

This is the beach that is closest to  our house in La Hoya, only about 20 minutes away. It is a little rocky, and the tides are strong, but I am sure it will provide a welcomed respite from the hot heat and hard work.  La Hoya is about 3 hours from the airport in Santo Domingo in the opposite direction from the tourist-y north coast. 

 These are some of the kids we will be working with.  This group is in the smaller, poorer town of Bombita.  Most of these kids are Haitian refugees, and as you will see in some other pictures below, these school uniforms are some of the only clothes these kids have to wear.

 These are some horses just wandering the streets of La Hoya...my kinda place!

 The welcoming views of La Hoya.

 The not so welcoming view of Bombita.  There are no paved roads, and only in the last couple of years did people receive cement floors.  So while we may think it is horrible to think of them eating off those cement floors, imagine what they were eating off of before.

 This is the little house we will be living in.  We did have the option for a bigger, somewhat nicer house, but it was right in the middle of the school yard, next to the clinic and another volunteer's house.  So we went the privacy of this little one.  The dogs will love being able to run free in the yard, and it will be perfect for me to grow my own vegetable garden and maintain some normalcy with my husband.  We will build a screened in porch and make it HOME!

 This is the library in Bombita.  It is so cute and clean and I cannot wait to see little brains working and learning here!

 These are the kids of Bombita outside of school.  Many do not wear clothes, and none have shoes to wear.  They take no shame in this and many wanted Patrick to take pictures of them despite their lack of clothing.  I don't know yet what we can do to help if anything, but start looking through your closets to find old clothes you no longer need to send down if you want to contribute.

 This is the main street of our town La Hoya, bustling eh?  At least we don't have to deal with traffic!

For an update, I had been having a hard time finding someone at ANY of the Dominican consulates that would help me figure out the visa application process, and who would let us do it by mail instead of coming in person.  There is not a consulate here in Atlanta, we would have to go to Miami to apply, and thenn they might turn us around and say we don't have the right materials even if we bring everyhting on the list.  So I finally talked to a very nice lady and she said we can send it all to her and she will process our applications, and that it will only take a week, instead of the anticipated month.  So that probably means two weeks Dominican time, and just to give it a little buffer, I am making plane reservations for three weeks from now!!!  I am hoping that Patrick and I will be able to go at the same time, but he may have some work stuff to tie up here, and we need to sell our cars so he may need to wait that out as well.  So we are setting up a garage sale for this weekend where we hope to sell just about everything we own, and then moving everything else to his parents' houses in Atlanta and Alabama.  It is a whirlwind but I am so excited to have a time line in mind, and the stories and pictures Patrick brought home from his trip have fueled that excitement to no end.  We have been able to spend some time with both families in the last few months, and will be spending a weekend soon with my family in Kentucky for Isaac's 6th birthday.  Everything is falling perfectly in to place. 

On the Road Again...

Yep yep, Patrick and I are moving, AGAIN!!! 
We have always had the dream to live and work outside the country together, so at any given time in the last few years one of us was casually looking for such and opportunity.  I will admit that I had not been as aggressive in my search as of late, but a few months ago an opportunity fell into my lap that I just could not resist. 
We are moving to the DOMINCAN REPUBLIC!!!   (for at least 2 years)
I was offered a job through the organization called COPA (google it).  They work with improving education and health in a few small rural villages in the southern part of the island, with a foundation in Christian values, showing the love of God through actions.  My specific job is called the Education Adviser.  I will be making sure that the level of education in the two main schools and several partner schools is high and always improving.  I will be observing teachers in the classroom, providing feedback, and leading workshops to encourage effective and creative instructional practices.  I will also be contributing to the curriculum and assessments they already have in place, and work to show how those tools are being used toward a positive outcome in the classroom.  ALSO, I will be monitoring the growth of the individual students, writing reports on their progress, and communicating this with their sponsors and the COPA board.  I will have the opportunity for a few pet projects outside my duties, and I am playing around with a few ideas surrounding adult literacy in the community, athletics for female students, and increasing the amount of information available to the public about this organization and the communities in with it serves.

As if being offered my dream job weren't enough, the organization became interested in Patrick and his experience in finance and government as well.  Initially they were hoping to have him work for them on an as needed basis because they were in the process of hiring some one for the full time position of Project Director.  However, shortly after I was offered my position, that candidate withdrew her application, and they came running to my dear husband!  They offered him the job last week.  This position will be similar to that of a superintendent here.  He will oversee the schools and the health clinics, as well as break way for future projects including a school for the deaf.  He will be working closely with the local and national government to select quality teachers for the schools, obtain property and permits, and who knows what else.  He has always wanted to work in this area and would also deem this his dream job.  How blessed are we!?!

Oh and we get to bring our dogs!!! Ride mopeds everywhere, improve our Spanish and learn some creole from the Haitian refugees, meet new people, see new places, provide volunteer opportunities for our friends and families (let us know if you want in on any of this), and learn to surf at the near by beaches! And more!


We are both so thrilled about this adventure, and while we have concerns about the new lifestyle, challenges of the jobs, separation from friends and family, the heat, the bugs, the lack a grocery store within an hours drive, etc...we know that this is what we have been looking for for so long.  Those things are all details that we will work through together and we will come out stronger, closer, and hopefully a little tanner too!


Of course there will be more and more and more information as our trip gets closer and once we are already there...just keep checking in!