Praise the Lord, I made it here completely safely! There were a few slight delays in the airport, but I think that's to be expected. I spent the first few nights in the Dominican Republic at the homes of the Foundation workers. (Here, they call the children's home "la Fundación" or "la Casita," which means little house.) On Sunday, I met the kids for the first time, and I moved into my bedroom here on Monday. Tomorrow I will start to teaching the kids in English classes. Construction workers are wrapping up work on the computer room, but when they are done, I will teach computers too.

One answered prayer: A few days ago, I found out that the Fundación had very few English teaching resources. I had no idea how I was supposed to teach these kids English when I speak so little Spanish. Then on Monday, a church group on a mission trip visited the fundación. Without being asked, they brought with them literally hundreds of English textbooks. I spent over an hour this morning sorting them by publisher and level. They will definitely be helpful as I try to teach these kids some English.

One thing to pray for: Patience, especially when it comes to a language barrier. I have definitely struggled with language more than I expected. My whole life, communication has come pretty easily to me, but here, I have to ask the kids to repeat nearly everything they say, and often I still have no idea what they are asking. Things are certainly improving. For instance, I can conjugate some verbs much better now. But the communication barrier can make me feel isolated and unhelpful. Please pray that I will learn Spanish better, and have more patience in my limited communication now.

Some phrases I use all the time that I never learned in Spanish class.