Awwww... 

Peterson Update and New Address!!!

Here is the update we sent via email. If you are not on our list and would like to receive email updates, let us know! :)
We should have new pictures up soon.

Dear Family and Friends,

We have a new address, as our mail carrier has moved. The address is:

Unit 3039-ECDR
3170 Airmans Drive
Ft. Pierce, FL 34946

It is now the same for UPS and USPS.

March has been a very busy month for us. Just a week ago was the biggest school event of the year: Kermes (basically a carnival). For us, it included getting our games together (I did the cake walk, so I had to find people to help me bake cakes, bake a bunch of cakes myself, etc.), and getting costumes made (I was Dorothy and Daniel was the Tin Man. It was a Wizard of Oz theme). The Saturday before Kermes my, Teresa, parents flew in. We picked them up at the airport, drove to Jarabacoa, had lunch, and took them to the local coffee factory. While the tour was in Spanish, we were able to understand it, partly through our very limited Spanish, and partly because I had done the tour a year ago and someone had translated. We had a great time and enjoyed some good coffee. Oh, and the tour guide gave Daniel a coffee plant (he jokingly asked if they sold them). Sunday was an incredibly hectic day, we went to church in the morning, left after the worship time to hurry over to school, worked at the Carnival all day, cleaned up, and then went out to dinner very exhausted (I was not going to cook that night!). Monday was better because we had the day off (due to Kermes). We went with my parents to a beautiful waterfall (the same one we took Daniel's parents to) and ate lunch there. On our way up it started to pour… and didn't stop until Thursday. Ok, maybe it stopped at some point, but not for long! At that point, our water went off, and we didn't get it back until Wednesday afternoon. But Monday night we went out to eat, so I didn't have to worry about dishes and not having water anyway. Tuesday my parents came to school and met my students. That evening the Taylor group (on a missions trip over spring break) came over for dinner, along with other teachers from school. All-in-all, we had over 30 people at our house. JCS teachers pitched in food, and we had a great time! However, we still had no water, so that was a little embarrassing, having to force flush the toilet every now and then. On Wednesday my parents went up to Constanza (the next town up the mountain) to visit some friends that are missionaries there. They work with Kids Alive and are building an orphanage. Daniel and I took that opportunity to get things ready for Friday, as we would be taking the day off and having a sub. Thursday afternoon, Daniel and my class threw a party for me, and my parents joined. We played kick-ball, ate food, had fun, etc. They even decorated the classroom! I felt very loved. J The sun even came out during kick-ball!

Thursday night we went to the birthday party of a teacher's son at a Pizza place. It was fun to be a little kid's birthday party and watch him get excited about his presents!

Friday morning (Teresa's Birthday) we left for the beach. When we got there it was cloudy, but we walked from our hotel to the beach anyway (and decided we would drive the next day). That night my parents took us out for a very nice dinner. On Saturday we were expecting it to be cloudy and rainy, and hurried to the beach, hoping to make it before the rain. To our surprise, it was beautiful and sunny! We also met the some of the Taylor group on the beach and chatted with them for a while. In the evening we had dinner at an Italian place that made their own pasta. I felt very spoiled. Sunday morning we had a nice breakfast at our hotel and had to drive my parents to the airport. L Then we drove back home and got things ready for school the next day. Pictures from the visit will be on our blog soon!

So, thank you mom and dad for a great visit! Daniel and I enjoyed our time with you!

Sorry your plane was delayed for so long!

Prayer Requests:

-Continued search for a new director

-Teachers for JCS next year (if you want to come, let us know!)

-Summer jobs

-Guidance with grad school for Daniel (online)

-Restful spring break next week

-That we would continue to show God's love to our students (and grow in patience!)

God bless you all!
In Him,
Teresa and Daniel

Poor Chai... 

Chai's first bath 

Poor Chai

Today was a tough day on Chai- but she handled it like a champ. First, we clipped her nails. Last time, she freaked out. So this time, we let her eat tuna while we did it. It worked a lot better. Then, I decided to give Chai her first bath. She does a good job of keeping herself clean, but it's so dusty that she often still smells like dust and makes us sneeze. She didn't like the bath very much, and tried to get away multiple times. But she never bit or scratched me, which was pretty amazing! She never even meowed, and now she's clean and smells nice. But I wonder- who got more wet- Chai, or me? You decide.

Shadows kissing :) 

Daniel on the beach 

Another sunrise pictures 

Us at the Mexican restaurant in the resort. 

The Peterson's Visit

Last Wed. (Feb. 22), Daniel's parents came to visit. They came in on an evening flight on Wed. morning, and Daniel went to pick them up from the airport. On Thursday, they walked to our school and got to experience a day at JCS. They met our students, had a Dominican lunch, and watched some of our classes. It was so fun to have them there seeing what we do! That night we ate dinner on our patio (pasta with okra and mango, and grilled veggies). On Friday we took the day off and went to the Bamboo Hole (a waterfall). We had a wonderful time there and relaxed, got some sun, and played in the water (a little). That night we took them to a Pico Pollo stand (little fried chicken- Dominican fast food). The next day we headed off for the beach. We stayed at a beautiful all inclusive resort, jogged on the beach; went snorkling, wind surfing, sea kayaking; and basically enjoyed ourselves and being with them. We even got to watch the closing ceremonies for the Olympics! All-in-all, we had a great time with them and are so glad they were able to come. It was hard to say good-bye on Monday. :(
Daniel already posted some pics from the trip (see below) and I'll add some more. :)

Mom P with Chai 

D & T's feet at the beach :) 

Sunrise at Playa Dorada (the beach). 

All 4 of us at the Bamboo Hole 

Daniel's parents at the Bamboo Hole 

us at the Bamboo Hole 

The Peterson ladies at our apartment 

Peterson's Weekly (sometimes?) Update

We'll start with last weekend. On Saturday we took a walk and had a picnic by a river with some teacher friends. That night we attempted to watch the Olympics, to no avail, because the D.R. does not carry NBC. :( Maybe they'll come out with a highlights video...
On Monday, since it's our date night, and Tuesday is our "dinner party" night, we celebrated Valentines day. Daniel cooked a wonderful dinner for me consisting of grilled marinated flank steak, roasted potatoes, and a green bean- bell pepper salad. For dessert I made white chocolate covered strawberries. It was a delighful meal! He also brought me flowers for my Valentine gift (he tricked me by telling me he needed to run out for Salsa China (soy sauce). We relaxed and enjoyed our evening together.
At school the next day, I was amazed at how many people made a big deal out of Valentine's Day. I received more gifts from my students that day than I did for Christmas! The school was also doing a fundraiser by selling candy, flowers, or balloons and delivering them to the person that you bought it for. It was a fairly crazy day, and I was glad when it was time to go home. :) We had yummy taco casserole at Leah's that night.
The rest of the week went by quickly, but I was ready for the weekend. On Friday night we had a family from church over (The Vandermulens). They have 4 very cute children of different ages that they adopted. After dinner, we all went to JCS for movie night. We had a great time and won a prize for brining the most guests (some candy). :)
Saturday was work day. We went grocery shopping, bought a plastic outdoor table, made yogurt, bread, and muffins, and went to a couple's house for dinner (lasagna... yummy). Today we've relaxed and done some work so we can be caught up at school since Daniel's parents are coming on Wednesday. We're so excited! So is Chai... aren't you? Well, she would be, but she's too busy giving herself a bath.
So, that's all the news for now. We sent out a email update a week ago. If you aren't on our list and want to be, let us know.
God bless!

1 1-derful Year!

What a wonderful anniversary celebration! We left Friday straight from school with 8 other adults and 2 children. Daniel and I drove one car with another teacher. When we arrived 4+ hours later, we discovered that the hotel we were to stay in had given away our rooms, save one. Luckily, there was another hotel two blocks away that had rooms for the same price (we went cheap this night). We awoke on Saturday and hoped to go whale watching, but were told that the ocean was too rough. So, we decided to flip flop our plans and drive to Las Terrenas. On the way, we stopped and hike to a beautiful waterfall called Salto Limon. (lemon falls) Although the water was freezing cold, we all got in and swam. The falls had a little cave underneath so we swam underneath the falls. It was pretty cool. J Then, we proceeded to hike back and drive to our hotel in Las Terrenas (oh yea, and one of the other drivers left the lights on and a Dominican had to jump start it by taking his battery out of his car and using a normal appliance cord. It was quite exciting). Once at the hotel (a much nicer one- we splurged), Daniel and I went to the beach for a walk. It soon began to rain, but we had fun anyway. We hung out for a little bit, some at the pool, and some in our room, and eventually went out to dinner at a fondue restaurant (by ourselves). It was very nice-the beach was right across the road. After that, we headed back to the hotel and watched Emma (the movie).

The next day, we got up for an early anniversary breakfast and then headed with the gang back to Samana for whale watching. We went with a larger boat, and an American marine biologist. We had a lot of fun. Almost as soon as we were out in the bay, we spotted a humpback whale. We then proceeded to follow him (at a good distance) for a while, and saw him numerous times. Unfortunately, we could not go further into the ocean because the waves were still rough.

The boat dropped us off at a little island. It was the typical tropical island everyone dreams about. We relaxed, swam, got sun, etc. The other teachers let us drive back separately to give us more alone time. When we got home we made lemon poppy seed cake. J

All in all, we had a very enjoyable trip. We feel truly blessed that God gave us this amazing opportunity and brought things together even when it seemed things would not work. I don’t believe I’ve ever been anywhere as beautiful as the Samana peninsula with the beach coming right up to the mountains. Though, I have never seen snow-capped mountains, so that might win.

As to thoughts of the 1 year itself, all I can say is- God is good! I absolutely love being married to Daniel and I know that God is blessing our marriage daily. Thank you all for your love and support in our lives.

A beautiful day to celebrate 1 year!