Bienvenidos a Jarabacoa!

Friday evening we went to the Santiago airport to pick-up and welcome a work team that came in from Texas. Since then we have been hosting them at the Villas which are just a short walk from school. This work team is a mix of high school and college students who have been helping to update some classrooms, the library, and the grounds of our school. They have been hauling dirt, mixing cement, chipping off paint, pulling staples, taping, painting, etc. WORKING HARD! They are such a fun bunch! We had one night to sing karaoke-which this group loved! Last night we got the chance to spend about 3 hours hanging out with and eating dinner with some of the families of students that go to Doulos. Below is a picture of me with 2 of the girls who are part of the work team, and our Dominican host family at their home. We had a blast playing Pictureka!

Group Photo!

On Sunday we went to church with the work team. Worshipping with open walls so that we could see the outdoors was such a wonderful experience. Nothing that we could do weekly in Minnesota!

The front of the church.

The view from where we were sitting at church.

Yesterday I was given a tour of Jarabacoa. We went to the biggest supermarket in town, the vegetable market, fruit market, hardware store, cell phone store, found the store where you go to pay your electric bill, where to go to get cash, and a few others. If you asked me to find them again today...it might be another story, but with time, this will become home. We love and miss you all! :)

We Made It!

Kitchen/Balcony of where we stayed our first night.

We have safely made it to Jarabacoa! We stayed at Shelly and Jonathan's house for our first night! We slept great! In this top picture you can see the view from where we ate breakfast in their outdoor 2nd story kitchen. It has a covered roof and partial walls. A very beautiful kitchen!

Breakfast!

Here is our breakfast. We had mangoes (on the left) and bread (made by the monks at the monestary up the road), with peanut butter (homemade by our hosts) and honey on top. We had fresh organic coffee from a coffee plantation just up the road. You can see the white stuff in Robbie's glass---thats yogurt. YUM!!

Ellis Family Update

There have been a lot of big changes in the past month since school let out! We went camping with friends, attended festive grad parties, celebrated Father's Day with a "bang," Robbie went camping in Colorado, and I packed up our townhouse with the help of the best family moving crew in town! Here are a few pictures to highlight the memories!

The only picture we have of all of us. We were grilling kabobs for lunch.

The men of the hour-shooting their guns.

And the moms with their turn.

Summiting Mt. Huron at 14,005 feet

Lake Ann crossing the Continental Divide

Napping in a hammock after a week of packing our things.
Couldn't have done it without everyone's help. THANK YOU!

We have now moved into my parent's home. We're downsizing a bit. A two bedroom townhome to a one bedroom room. Things are fitting in nicely, and we are enjoying the company (and delicious meals). We will be leaving for Jarabacoa on July 15th--10 days from now! Hope you had a fantastic 4th!

"Last Day Blues"

Well, today was the last day of school for my Kindergartners. I knew that we had an awesome bunch of kiddos, but I didn't know how hard it was going to be to say good bye. My goodness. I held it together pretty good all day (but, once the students left and it was just KJ and I its a different story)...when I got home each one of their faces and a funny memory from our school year came back to me. It will be so hard to not get to see these Kindergartners in the hallways next year, and get to hear stories from them about their adventures in First Grade. But, I know these kids will flourish and have a wonderful school year next year. And I must say, these kids have such a special place in my heart. There are so many wonderful personalities and so much potential all stored up in such tiny 6 year old bodies!

We read a book in class today called "Last Day Blues." In it the characters shared something they were going to miss about school, and something they couldn't wait for. "I'm going to miss my friends, but I can't wait for summer vacation." "I'm going to miss chocolate milk and pizza for lunch, but I can't wait for picnics at the park." And on it went. Well it got me to thinking...what will I miss?? Here are some of my favorites:

• The Breakfast Club. Students eating 2 chocolate muffins and a chocolate milk for breakfast in the classroom... inevitably spilling something all over the floor.
• Ms. Hanlon and I jamming to our favorite musical artists before school, during prep, and after school. (Beyonce, Taylor, and recently Postal Service top the list).
• Helping to teach 35 Kindergartners to learn to read. They amaze me daily by how well they can read!
• Notes written by Kindergartners. A favorite: "Dear Mrs. Ellis, I will miss you. You are nice. My sister has a scab. She picked it. I love you.               Love, ________
• Singing the wrong words with the right tune or the right words with the wrong tune. I clearly am not musicly inclined. I will be lost next year without Ms. Hanlon.
• AMAZING parent volunteers. This year couldn't have been as fun without their help!
• The most WONDERFUL teaching partner anyone could ever ask for!

What can't I wait for?? Here are a few:

• The new adventure that lies ahead in the Dominican Republic.
• Learning Spanish.
• Going camping and hiking with Robbie before we go to the DR, and exploring the DR once we've moved.

I will get to carry many fond memories from this school year with me to the Dominican. Luckily for me they won't take up any space in either of my two 50lb. checked suitcases!

Learning To Be Bold

This past week I have been praying for boldness and courage. Asking people to partner with us financially is outside of both of our comfort zones-however, we know we have been called to this ministry, and we know that the Lord will provide prayerful and financial partners. Relying on my own work ethic and abilities has been my M.O. ever since I got a part time job as a sophomore in High School against my dad's will. I wanted to feel like I was able to have money that I had earned, and didn't want to rely on him and my mom for all of my spending money. Carrying that strong-willed and determined attitude into adulthood, I am still very comfortable with working hard for the money that I earn. I am still very uncomfortable with asking people for money or accepting monetary gifts.

This is why my prayer has been that the Lord would give me boldness and courage to ask people to partner with us. This not only allows us to do what we feel we have been called to do, but it also gives others an opportunity to be part of our lives, and the lives of the students and families at Doulos. This understanding is becoming more and more real to me. 

I found this verse in Deuteronomy 31:6, and it has been my encouragement this week. It says, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." 

It was this verse that played over in my head while we were at dinner last night. Krista Wallace (director at Doulos) had emailed us to let us know that she was in town this weekend, and was wondering if we were available to get together. Strangely enough, she invited us to get together with another new Doulos staff member, for dinner at a families home in Mahtomedi (where she was staying). Small world. :)

During dinner, our host asked us about how we heard about Doulos, why we decided to go, and what we were most excited about and most apprehensive about. After we had all shared he asked the other new staff member, "So are you going to ask me to partner with you?" She looked at Krista, and then looked back at him, and asked him to partner with her. He said, "Yes, I would love to.." Then he asked if anyone else was feeling bold (looking directly at Robbie). Robbie asked him if he would partner with us, and he replied, "Yes, I would love to.." Then he looked at me. And my heart started to race, and tears came to my eyes, because who was this man that I had never met wanting to be part of our team? I had never befriended him, or helped his family. He had only invited us to his home, fed us, and then asked us if we wanted him to partner with us. With a shaky and unconfident voice I asked him if he would be interested in joining our support team, and he said, "Yes, I would love to." I would be lying to you if I didn't admit that at this point I was so overwhelmed with his family's generosity that I was a crying mess! You see, I failed to mention that this man serves on the Doulos Board, and has a strong passion for Doulos. After we had all asked him to partner with us, he encouraged us not to be afraid of asking people to partner. He said that it gives them an opportunity that they otherwise would not have. What a lesson to be learned!

Through more dinner conversation, his oldest daughter expressed an interest in becoming more involved with Doulos. As she was expressing this, our eyes locked. I took a gulp, and thought of the verse in Deuteronomy. I got the feeling that this night was no ordinary night, and that I was truly learning what it means to be bold. I looked at her again, this time with many tears in my eyes (and even more as I type this) and asked her if she would be interested in becoming more involved at Doulos through partnering with us. She said, "Yes, I would love to." Her younger sister said that she would help make this commitment. These are two of the most amazing girls I have ever met-their courage and boldness surely taught me a lesson last night!

God is good, and He does provide. I hope that this story serves as encouragement for you this week!

With love,

Meghan

Monthly E-Newsletter

Hey Blog Followers!
Does anyone out there know how we can add an option to our blog that would allow people to "subscribe" to our e-newsletter? We are getting ready to send out a monthly update, but we don't have everyone's email address. Any and all ideas are welcome for trying to add this as an option to our blog!
Gracias,
Meghan and Robbie

Joining The Team

As many of you know, Rob and I are joining staff at Doulos, and will be moving to the DR this summer (July 2010). We couldn't be more excited about this adventure that the Lord is leading us on! Along with the excitement that we have for what we will be doing for the next 2 years, there also comes wonder, nervousness, and sadness.

We wonder about our new roles in the Jarabacoa community. We wonder about simple things, like what grocery shopping and cooking will be like and how we will wash our clothes. We also wonder about the climate and how long it will take Robbie to sweat through one of his t-shirts!

We are nervous about speaking Spanish (as neither of us are near fluent). We are nervous about our new roles at Doulos-I will be teaching Kindergarten and Rob will be a Guidance Counselor to Juniors and Seniors, and the Work Team Host. 

We are also sad to be leaving our families, friends, co-workers, and school communities. We are sad to be leaving the Young Life family that we have grown so close to through the years. We have so many loving and caring people in our lives that we are so blessed to know. Please know that many of you who are reading this blog have touched our lives in significant ways, and because of the significant role you have played in our lives we want to invite you on this journey.

Doulos Discovery School is unique in that one of its goals is to bridge the gap between the rich and poor of Jarabacoa. Many students who would otherwise not be able to afford a private school education are given this opportunity through the financial support of churches here in the U.S. Other families that can afford the tuition do so. However, to keep costs low for all families regardless of socioeconomic status, teachers are asked to raise their salaries.

Robbie and I are in the process of asking family and friends to prayerfully consider joining our prayer and financial team. If we haven't contacted you, but you know you would like to meet with us, or be added to our mailing list please let us know. We have listed below a few ways that you can join our financial support team. Most importantly, please keep us in your prayers as none of this is possible without God's provision.

With Love,

Meghan and Rob

"This is how we know what LOVE is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."  1 John 3:16

Ways to Donate:

• Monthly
• One Time Gift
• Direct Deposit 
• Pay Pal

Online Giving:

Pay Pal: http://www.doulosdiscovery.org 

There is a yellow button in the upper right corner. Make sure when making a donation to put our name in the "Donation For" line.

Direct Deposit:

If this is an option that you are interested in, we can email you the correct forms.

Mail Donations To:

Doulos Discovery Ministries

P.O. Box 3080

Burnsville, MN 55337

*Please make all checks out to Doulos Discovery Ministries and put our name in the memo line*