Visiting Jarabocoa and Short Term Teams
Hello everyone! It’s great to see you again. Over the past two weeks, I got to experience some pretty phenomenal things, and I’ve been able to see God affirm who He is over and over again. From February 10th to the 16th, I was in Jarabocoa, where Students International has another base. From the 17th to the 23rd, we hosted a short-term missions team from Capital Christian School (based out of California). Over this weekend, I got to enjoy some rest, get my nails done with the other girls, and finish up some basic housekeeping. In other news, I have a big announcement at the end of this post, if you’ll follow along.
We started the week in Jarabocoa off on Monday (12th) with site tours. Jarabocoa has roughly double the amount of sites that Santiago has, so it took pretty much all day. I loved touring all of them and was amazed by how much more established the Jarabocoa sites are, due to the fact that SI has been there for much longer than they’ve been in Santiago. Many of the sites are bigger than the ones I’m used to here in Santiago, and their facilities are more intact.
I was really lucky because I got to work at the tutoring site in the El Callejon community with one of the Global Bridge 2 girls. Her name is Lydia, and she was gracious enough to answer the many, many questions I had over the week about GB 2, the community itself. We walked around the community during lunch (and even got empanadas!). We had two classes, one in the morning for the older kids (ages 8-10) and a class in the afternoon (ages 5-7). The kids were an absolute blast and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to connect with them. We played tag just about every day. I loved sitting down on the swingset and getting to connect with some of the students- talking about our families, what foods we liked, and so much more. On the 14th, we had a Valentine’s party, playing all sorts of games like musical chairs and exchanging candy with everyone in the classroom.
The other thing that I adored about Jarabocoa was how much freedom we had. On Thursday (15th), we decided to go on a hike to Salto de Jimenoa in the mountains. After a brisk half-hour hike to the bottom, I got to see a breathtaking sight. There was a waterfall, front and center, and a cliff face surrounding it that stretched into the sky, covered in all sorts of greenery. Massive boulders stretched out behind us, reminding me a bit of Glacier National Park, or even the North Shore. My group spent a solid forty-five minutes splashing around in the water and exploring the rocks, at one point finding a natural rock slide into a lower pool of water. I found myself standing on one of these boulders, turning in slow circles, struck by the beauty of it all. Our God is an awesome God, who is intentional in everything He has placed into creation.
We left Jarabocoa on Friday, the 16th, and spent the next two days re-cooperating before the team arrived. They came from Captial Christian High School, in Sacramento, CA. There were about twenty-five participants and they were great to have on base and at sites! There weren’t technically any participants at my site, although the two people who were at the Volleyball site, Ruth and Bree, hung out with me and Elizabeth before they played volleyball in the afternoon at the base. It was amazing to see how they connected with the kids, and how willing they were to practice and learn more Spanish so they could communicate better. The students loved playing baseball with them in the yard, and both of them were so patient when teaching. It was an honor to serve for the week with both of them!
Thursday, the 22nd, was a really special day for me. Not for any particular reason, but it was one of those days where the facts really hit me deeply. It was a day that affirmed, yet again, that I am supposed to be here. I kept looking around at the people I was serving with, the kids I was serving, and thinking: This, this is why I’m here. I am so privileged to serve here, while surrounded by people who love me. I am blessed to be a positive influence on these students’ lives and blessed to be able to build relationships with them. God is so good to have brought me this far and I am forever thankful for His continued provision in my life.
On that note, I would like to announce something really exciting! After a lot of prayers, (thank you to everyone who prayed!!) I decided that I’m going to be pursuing Global Bridge 2 in Jarabocoa next year. The application process will be taking place over the next few months, and I would appreciate continued prayer for that. I will also be looking for people who are willing to partner with me financially over the next few months, so if that is something that interests you, feel free to reach out! I would love to give you more information.
These past two weeks have been full of God’s grace and goodness, and it makes me excited for the weeks to come. Thank you for following along on this journey. I appreciate the support!
We started the week in Jarabocoa off on Monday (12th) with site tours. Jarabocoa has roughly double the amount of sites that Santiago has, so it took pretty much all day. I loved touring all of them and was amazed by how much more established the Jarabocoa sites are, due to the fact that SI has been there for much longer than they’ve been in Santiago. Many of the sites are bigger than the ones I’m used to here in Santiago, and their facilities are more intact.
I was really lucky because I got to work at the tutoring site in the El Callejon community with one of the Global Bridge 2 girls. Her name is Lydia, and she was gracious enough to answer the many, many questions I had over the week about GB 2, the community itself. We walked around the community during lunch (and even got empanadas!). We had two classes, one in the morning for the older kids (ages 8-10) and a class in the afternoon (ages 5-7). The kids were an absolute blast and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to connect with them. We played tag just about every day. I loved sitting down on the swingset and getting to connect with some of the students- talking about our families, what foods we liked, and so much more. On the 14th, we had a Valentine’s party, playing all sorts of games like musical chairs and exchanging candy with everyone in the classroom.
The other thing that I adored about Jarabocoa was how much freedom we had. On Thursday (15th), we decided to go on a hike to Salto de Jimenoa in the mountains. After a brisk half-hour hike to the bottom, I got to see a breathtaking sight. There was a waterfall, front and center, and a cliff face surrounding it that stretched into the sky, covered in all sorts of greenery. Massive boulders stretched out behind us, reminding me a bit of Glacier National Park, or even the North Shore. My group spent a solid forty-five minutes splashing around in the water and exploring the rocks, at one point finding a natural rock slide into a lower pool of water. I found myself standing on one of these boulders, turning in slow circles, struck by the beauty of it all. Our God is an awesome God, who is intentional in everything He has placed into creation.
We left Jarabocoa on Friday, the 16th, and spent the next two days re-cooperating before the team arrived. They came from Captial Christian High School, in Sacramento, CA. There were about twenty-five participants and they were great to have on base and at sites! There weren’t technically any participants at my site, although the two people who were at the Volleyball site, Ruth and Bree, hung out with me and Elizabeth before they played volleyball in the afternoon at the base. It was amazing to see how they connected with the kids, and how willing they were to practice and learn more Spanish so they could communicate better. The students loved playing baseball with them in the yard, and both of them were so patient when teaching. It was an honor to serve for the week with both of them!
Thursday, the 22nd, was a really special day for me. Not for any particular reason, but it was one of those days where the facts really hit me deeply. It was a day that affirmed, yet again, that I am supposed to be here. I kept looking around at the people I was serving with, the kids I was serving, and thinking: This, this is why I’m here. I am so privileged to serve here, while surrounded by people who love me. I am blessed to be a positive influence on these students’ lives and blessed to be able to build relationships with them. God is so good to have brought me this far and I am forever thankful for His continued provision in my life.
On that note, I would like to announce something really exciting! After a lot of prayers, (thank you to everyone who prayed!!) I decided that I’m going to be pursuing Global Bridge 2 in Jarabocoa next year. The application process will be taking place over the next few months, and I would appreciate continued prayer for that. I will also be looking for people who are willing to partner with me financially over the next few months, so if that is something that interests you, feel free to reach out! I would love to give you more information.
These past two weeks have been full of God’s grace and goodness, and it makes me excited for the weeks to come. Thank you for following along on this journey. I appreciate the support!
¡Hasta luego, y'all!
Maddy <3
Maddy <3
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| Baseball at the Tutoring Site |
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| Salto de Jimenoa |
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| Making Flags |
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| Waterfall |
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