Trust and Praying for Miracle

These past few weeks have been a tough regarding teacher recruitment at JCS. We thought we had many positions filled, but one by one some teachers pulled out. Some chose to go elsewhere, one had emergency surgery, and one is pregnant and is going back to the States, since her insurance is there. Again and again my trust has been stretched. It's hard to see how things will come together with only 1 week left until teacher training. After the last staff loss, I immediately thought angrily, "Ok God, this is it. What are you going to do now?" However, the response that came back was an eye-opener. God gently spoke to my heart and told me that if my trust in Him is based on circumstances, it's not trust. Either I believe He's in control, or I don't. He's proven Himself trustworthy again and again, but whenever things don't go the way I think they should, I doubt and think He's doing it the "wrong way." What a human response! I don't know what He has planned, but that's ok- I don't have to. As long as I'm faithful to do what He's called me to do (and He has not called me to worry and fret when things are out of my control!), then I can leave the rest to Him. It will take a miracle to start the school year off fully staffed. And I'm praying for a miracle!

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God."
-Psalm 20:7

July Newsletter

We've sent out our July newsletter! :-D If you did not receive it but would like to, please let me know, and I can email it. Here's the email that went out with it:

Dear Friends and Family,
Here is our most recent newsletter in PDF format.

Highlights of the Newsletter:
Blessings and Changes
-new house, new position, new dog :)
-2 week trip to the States
-teachers still needed!
Prayers and Needs
-A vehicle
-Pursuing Residency in the Dominican Republic
------------------------------------------------

Since we wrote the newsletter, 7 scholarships for JCS students have fallen through. JCS has a scholarship program that allows underprivileged students to a receive a quality education. We would love to see this program grow! However, Daniel recently had to tell the parents that, though their children have been great students at JCS, we no longer have a scholarship for them. It grieved him to do this, and we are looking for people/churches/groups interested in sponsoring these children, as well as others. For more information about scholarships, go here.

Thank you all for your love and support!
In Christ,
Daniel and Teresa

Needing Inspiration/Brief Update

Not much to blog about...so why am I blogging? Because it's been so long since I last blogged. I feel that I'm lacking inspiration. Nothing seems blog-worthy. And since I have nothing else, I may as well update you all on things here (I'll do it list style):
-A team from Delaware was in this week to help with some building and preparing of classrooms.
-I went in to school a few times this week, as well as tutored in the afternoons.
-Our first new teacher arrived this week, and I enjoyed showing her around town.
-Jeremiah has a cold (cough and runny nose), but is otherwise doing well and walking a little sturdier (but not without prompting).
-We still need to fill some positions before school starts: 4th grade, math, P.E. and school counselor.
-I'm still enjoying reading through the book of Daniel. God's been teaching me much this week about trust.
-We're working on sending out another newsletter.
So, that's about it. Sorry it's not very exciting...

First Steps!!!

Today, Jeremiah officially took his first steps! Naturally, we are very excited. Here is a little clip of video we took (we took more on our real video camera, put it's easier to download from our photo camera).

Without further ado:

Jeremiah's First Steps:

Random thoughts for the day

It's been raining off and on today, which has been nice. A cool, refreshing, rain that smells so good! And I'm sure my plants are loving it. Sorry for all the fragments; I guess I don't feel like thinking in sentences right now...
Jeremiah is getting closer to walking. He loves pushing around the plastic chair, and can stand for a few seconds by himself before he sits down. He is also a very good helper with laundry. I dump the laundry on the ground. He hands me an article of clothing. I make sure to tell him thank-you (and I sign it too). Then he giggles and give me another piece as I fold the first and lay it on the bed. Of course, it's hard to keep him going at that for long before he gets distracted.
In my quiet time, I'm currently going through the book of Daniel. I did an in-depth study of it on my own, and am now doing a Beth Moore study with it. It's a reminder and encouragement that this world is not our true home and we need to be careful not to get to sucked into the culture that tells us to indulge, satisfy our every desires, and build our worlds around ourselves. Babylon, the place Daniel and many other Israelites were being held in captivity, was at this time a place that offered it all- every kind of entertainment, pleasure, fun, success, beauty, etc... Daniel was a shining example of a man who resisted conforming to that culture and instead demonstrated integrity, faithfulness, trustworthiness, and wisdom; assets that, as a result, benefited the king and people of Babylon for the better. It's a challenge I want to strive for- not being conformed to the pattern of this world, but instead being a light. I need the continual reminder; it's a constant struggle! I'm sure I'll have more thoughts on this as I continue the study.

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."
-Romans 12:2

Meet and Greet Monday: Bowling and TGI Fridays

Once again, blogging has been sparse. I started tutoring again this week. Which means it takes time to find materials, etc. and figure out what level the students are at. In addition, I've done some sewing and spent Thursday doing birthday things for Daniel. So, life has been busy. But I'll try to still do some blogging. :)

On Saturday we went bowling in Santiago with some friends, a couple from our Bible Study, as well as their kids. It was like a quick trip to the States. Bowling, Pricemart (a store kinda like Sam's club), and TGI Fridays. Boy did we feel spoiled!

A real bowling alley!

Rick and Jer.

Jer. picking out his bowling ball

"I wanna see!"

Jeremiah checking out the scores

Jeremiah "bowling"

Daniel bowling with Jeremiah

TGI Fridays. Mmmm...fajitas

Enjoying the "imported" burgers (which means they actually have fat, unlike the beef here)

Us and the TGI Fridays staff; there was a theme for why they were dressed up

It was great fun, as we haven't bowled or been out to an American restaurant in a long time. (while we were in the States, we did some "carry-out" of places like Subway and Panera, but never actually ate in a restaurant...

Now, if someone could just help me figure out why blogger keeps rotating my images, I'd appreciate it!

Vacation, Part II

The day after we drove back from Indy to Wheaton, we went to a Cubs game. It was a surprise birthday present for Daniel and his dad. Daniel's mom got the tickets, and I bought them both a Cubs shirt. They opened the shirts Thursday morning, and found out they were going to the game that day!
We tried to leave in plenty of time. However, 2 minutes from home we were double-rear-ended. Daniel's mom and sister were behind us. They were rear-ended, causing their car to run into the car Daniel, his dad, Jeremiah, and I were in. After about an hour, we were able to leave again, and sadly missed the first few innings of the game.
But, once there, we had a great time!

Stadium

Daddy and Son

Grandpa and Grandson

Mommy and Son

After the Game

After the game, we drove to Lake Michigan beach, where Jeremiah played in the sand.

Hanging out

Sideways Jeremiah playing in the sand

Clapping

The next few days consisted of seeing lots of family and friends:

Jeremiah and Peter

Jeremiah visiting with friends

Us, Sopeak, and Zay

Indiana Visit

The first few days of our vacation were spent at Daniel's parent's house. Then Saturday afternoon we headed to Indiana. First, we stopped in Noblesville where we attended Grace Community Church (the Sat evening service). Daniel and I both interned there one summer, and we were happy to see many people we knew but hadn't seen in a while. We went home with Joanna and Josh, and were able to be their first overnight house guests in the new daybed Josh built. They were great hosts! We had a good time talking around the bonfire, and just hanging out on Sunday morning. We even ate some yummy homegrown peas from Joanna's garden. I have a few pics, but for more, see Joanna's post.

Joanna and Casey

Joanna and Jeremiah

From there (Saturday afternoon) we headed down to Indy where we visited Allie and Mike (Taylor friends) and their beautiful 6-week old daughter. After a wonderful visit with them, we drove up to Upland, stopping to visit Ron and his family on the way (Daniel's boss when he interned). Finally, we arrived at Brent and Sara's house in Upland Sunday evening.

Our visit in Upland included spending time with Brent and Sara, visiting Taylor, celebrating Brent's birthday with him, seeing the Shockeys and Moores, playing Wii bowling and Mario Cart, and relaxing.

Brent's birthday dinner

Liz showing Jeremiah his new book

On our way back to Wheaton, we stopped in West Lafayette to visit Beth and Josh (Taylor friends). Jeremiah had fun playing with Benjamin and Olivia, while Daniel and I enjoyed seeing Beth and Josh again.

The men and the babes

Beth and the boys

Cuddles! (Aren't they cute?)

Olivia and Jer

I'm not sure if she's attacking him, or giving him a kiss...

And thus ended our tour of Indiana. Pictures of the rest of our trip to come soon.

New Neighbors

We have new neighbors: a family across the street, and a single neighbor next door. The family across the street lives in New York and is just here to visit. They had the house built, and hope to rent it out. Our neighbor next door is tall, dark, and eats grass. (He's a horse.) I don't know whose horse he is, as it's just an empty lot. It's nice to hear horsey noises. :)

Home again!

We had a great two weeks visiting with family and friends throughout Illinois and Indiana. We took a real vacation- we checked email (and Daniel had to do some emailing for work), but we didn't spend much time at the computer. We enjoyed time with family, went to parks, etc. All went well, besides the two airplane trips there and back. On the way to Chicago, we were delayed in Miami for 6 hours (most of which we were on the plane). On the way back, we were delayed in Miami 31/2 hours (all of which were on the plane). However, Jeremiah was great and smiley throughout most of it. And for that, we are very thankful.
The rest of the time was wonderful. We split the time between Daniel's parents, my parents, and Indiana, where we visited Indy and Upland. However, more on all that to come. For now, I will post some Jeremiah pictures, as I know many of you have been anxiously waiting. ;)

Climbing the window

Taking a peek outside

Going down the slide

He even helps with the laundry!

His first time on a swing

Hmmm... close, but not quite

Crawling out of his pants

Playing around

Staying cool in his ducky
(I tried uploading this picture twice, and it rotated it both times)

More about our trip and fun pics to come...