At Caritas Felices

We were all excited to visit Caritas Felices School today.  Services and education for special needs kids in DR are rare, so this school fills a desperate need.  The school moved this summer to a large campus after running out of space.  Vanessa and Andrew were part of a team that painted at the new location to get ready for the students before school started.  So today they got to see the school filled with students!

We toured the classrooms, buzzing with activity.

Then Vanessa, Andrew, Naomi and Johnathan did a program that they prepared for the kids.

They sang and Andrew shared a message about being thankful.

Naomi explained how to do the "Thankful Hand" activity and the kids colored and wrote what they are thankful for.

Johnathan really wanted to share his testimony and the gospel with the kids, so he and Dad got ready in the hallway.

It was an unforgettable moment to watch him share his faith story for the first time with others.

 And Kevin went back to his Hoops days to do a little ball tricks show for the kids.

 What an amazing day, seeing the thriving ministry that Maritza and Pastor Julio have to students and their families in Barahona.

Vamos a la Playa

After all the travel, it was a treat to spend Thursday afternoon at the beach.  Gorgeous blue water, a freshwater stream that flowed into the ocean, and billions of beautiful pebbles... a wonderful afternoon of enjoying God's amazing creation!

Barahona Bound

Next stop, Barahona, where we will work with Pastor Julio and Maritza to put on a program for the kids at Smiling Faces School and a marriage conference.  Naomi and Johnathan are well-experienced with long road trips, so they settled right in checking out the new scenery for the 3 hour trip to Barahona.

Mesa stopped by the water so Naomi and Johnathan could get their first look at the ocean when we pulled into town.  Then we were off to Pastor Julio's house for lunch.

At Pastor Julio's house we ate some delicious chicken, rice, yuca fritters, and the freshest avocados straight from the tree in their yard.  We relaxed, visited, and the kids had fun checking out the view from the roof!

Maritza and granddaughter Ashery got home from school, and Naomi loved playing with Ashery and trying out the Spanish words she's been learning.

Dominican Republic, Here We Come!

After months of anticipation and planning and a long day of travel, we are in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic for Naomi and Johnathan's first missions trip!  We arrived in the capitol on Wednesday evening, where we met Mesa, a missionary from DR whom Kevin has been so thankful for on his previous trips there.  Our team was completed by Vanessa, Andrew, and Pastor Mark.  Together, they made the best group we could ever imagine to travel and minister to and with our family.

Thursday morning started with breakfast at a French bakery in Santo Domingo before we hit the road for Barahona.

Mother Daughter Retreat

Naomi and I had the fun memory of a weekend at a mother daughter retreat at Frontier Camp.  We had a sweet time with buddies Cassandra and Betty riding horses, exploring, competing in a mother-daughter costume contest, riding a big swing, trying archery, making crafts, painting nails, hunting for fossils, and enjoying the beauty of the camp.