More school? Yes, please!!


Yesterday, Monday, 23 June was the first day of six weeks of summer school. The teachers will spend the time reviewing, teaching the last concepts the students will need for the next year's class, combating the heat and cursing the principal who instituted this craziness. Gulp! So, now you have a better idea how to pray for the Makarios staff and kids this summer. Also, we are going to have a full summer of groups and we pray they have a life-changing experience as they invest in the Kingdom by serving with Makarios.


I wanted to just give anyone reading a little feel for what it is like in the everyday for the Majcher's in the DR. There is a lot to share as I try to paint a mental image of our life here. For now I will start with how we get to school.


Usually the boys and I take public transportation to school. This consists of Joe taking us to the entrance of our community at 6:45-ish where we wait for a guagua (van) or a carrito (a four-door vehicle). The trip to the edge of our community involves dodging several things: guys on motorcycles, stray dogs, wandering horses, the occasional cow and, even, one time, a family of pigs....oh, and the potholes. Oh, the myriad of potholes. Once we are at the end, Joe lets us out and we wait. Sam and Levi pick little flowers for their teachers that I am supposed to preserve until the end of our trip. I have not successfully done this in almost a year's time. :/


If we get a guagua then we pay about a dollar for the three of us to get dropped off at one of the streets leading into the town of Montellano. If we take a carrito then we will pay a little over a dollar for the three of us to arrive in Montellano as it turns into the town to pick up other folks. Each vehicle has beyond its limit of people in it. A few times Sam has asked why Dominicans don't like to have so much space around them. We chat on the 15-minute trip there or watch the sun start to peek through the clouds or talk to the folks around us who are always wondering if the boys are twins. It has become a sweet time for the three of us to just be together and pray for the day and take in our surroundings.


Once we pay and hop out, we have a little bit of a walk to school. For normal people this would take, oh, say, about 7 minutes. Sam and Levi manage to drag it out to a solid 15 minutes if permitted. It is just that there are so many interesting things to see and comment on. So many people to greet. We usually arrive at school before 7:30 and often are the ones to open up the main office. The boys like to help me open the windows and Levi likes to sit on the swivel office chair and plow into stuff. Sam usually goes out to the kitchen to greet Odilsia and Monica who cook for the school and give the boys the biggest hugs...and sometimes some bread or mango. :) I get stuff prepared for the day and the boys wait for their friends to come—Mak staff and students alike. Not a bad start to our day!