First Night in Santiago

This is a photo I took this morning from Noah's bed... :)

Saludos de Santiago, República Dominicana!!! We arrived Thursday night right on time to the happy face of Wayne Lynch, the executive director of Santiago Christian School. It was so nice to see a familiar face in the crowd. Adam whispered to me “I feel so out of place.” Viola! Lesson one: Adam got to first hand experience the feeling of being a minority if only in a small way. It will continue of course but we were able to have a conversation about how that feels and we talked about how sometimes foreigners in America or new kids in school, etc must feel when they enter new countries or situations.

The kids did great helping us handle our 20 suitcases through the airport. Once outside, it was immediately apparent what a friendly, relational group the Dominican people are. Loud, happy greetings and hugs to family arriving. It was almost like a party! Valerio, the SCS driver, loaded our luggage into the school van and then gave Tim immediate practice in Spanish for the ride to our apartment.

Arriving in the night was interesting and I have since heard from other new teachers and even missionary from another country that it is difficult to do. Hard to see, unsure of what you are seeing…then Adam spots someone holding a shotgun. Of course we later find out that most security guards are visibly armed however the mood of the night was now set. At least for the kids, gloomy and for us, well, not nervous but overwhelmed with all of the newness we will be facing.

I liken our arrival at the apartment to arriving at a rented beach house. At first you feel like a guest but after a few days it feels like home. So we unpacked and saw the light of day and things were much better. Our phone rang early in the day and another new SCS employee, Paul Gibbs who lives across the parking lot, said he was bringing us coffee. Woohoo! Someone who speaks our language!!! LOL! Things were already looking brighter. J

So the big realities for the kids is that they are now living in a city and never have. They will be immersed in a new language and are also attending a new school. SO much to adjust to. They are handling things amazingly!!! They could still use some prayers for sure. I was talking to Adam last night and told him to think about how easy Spanish class in high school will be for him once he returns. He said “Sweet! I didn’t ever think about that!” It’s those big picture things they really cannot know because they’ve not lived much of their lives yet.

We have SOOOOO much more to share but will add later. Don’t want to lose you with the length of posts. It’s amazing how much I could share with you from just of first three days!!!

Thanks so much for all of your payers and continued encouragement. Facebook chat us if you would like our Skype address. We LOVE “showing people around” our little spot in Santiago.

Abrazos!