Escuela Basica

                         Maria Luz                      Yaniri       (Photo from 2013)

 How it all began . . .

Sometime last spring I was sitting in the pavilion where we meet for church holding Yaniri on my lap.  We were flipping through some of the New Testaments that we had been handing out and came across some of the songs written in the back.  When we found the song "En La Cruz" written in the back, Yaniri got excited and wanted me to sing it with her.  So we did!  But as we were singing . . . I noticed that she was singing the words that we had taught her and following along in a completely different spot with her finger.  It was at this moment, that I realized how many of the kids were working with did not know how to read.  It was like a lightbulb just came on in my brain.  Who knows why I had never thought of it before (I am a teacher after all . . ).  I had eight year old Yaniri look at a few more songs and tell me some of the letters that she saw . . . She could only name a few!

God working "behind the scenes"

Later that evening, I spoke with Mike and Annie about Yaniri's lack of education and asked what they knew about the school there in Concho Primo.  It just so happened that when God first brought Mike and Annie to ministry here in this batey two years ago, He had put it in Mike's heart to build relationships by helping with the "English" class in the school.  Because of this, he not only had a pretty good idea of what their education was like but also had a connection with the teacher and director, which opened the door for me to do what I am doing now - teaching the alphabet/reading every Wednesday!  It is always fun when God lets you see a little bit of what He is doing behind the scenes.

Education in the Concho Primo.

I can't speak for all bateys here in the Dominican, but the education in Concho Primo leaves a lot to be desired.  A teacher comes from San Pedro everyday by bus/motorcycle (unless it is raining or something "more important" comes up).  Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades meet in the morning from 8:00-12:00 (in theory) in a one-room schoolhouse.  In reality, it is rare to have all of the kids attend on one day and those who do attend, frequently don't show up 'till closer to 8:30.  Attendance is very sporadic in batey Concho Primo. Third and 4th grades meet in the same classroom from 1:00 - 4:00.  Fifth grade and up meet in a different school (a much larger one) in the nearby city of Ramon Santana.

I'm sure you can imagine how difficult it would be to be a teacher in these circumstances.  First of all, it is difficult to teach kindergarten and second grade at the same time.  Secondly, Maria, the teacher, doesn't have a lot of resources to work with.  Thirdly, you may have different kids show up each day of the week and you have to pick up where you were yesterday even though only 2 or 3 students were there for lesson yesterday.

As a result of the poor attendance and these gaps in education, many of the students have been held back (some numerous times).  Most of the kindergarten students are 5 or 6, but once you get past kindergarten the ages vary greatly.  We have a 9 year old in first grade who does not know any of the alphabet.  We also have a 13 year old in second grade who only knows a few letter.  Most of the students in the morning session (k-2nd) are still learning the alphabet, but not all . . .we do have a 9 year old in second grade who is an excellent reader!  Most of the students in the afternoon session (3rd-4th) can read (with just a few exceptions) and have been loving seeing new books each week.  However, even in the afternoon, the ages vary greatly, the third and fourth graders range in age from 9 to 15!

All that to say . . .

It has been a joy for me and Annie to work with these kids every week!  I love helping them succeed, and their faces light up each time it is their turn to come!  My three main goals going into this were 1) help each student reach the next step in their education whether it be learning the alphabet, sounding out words, or reading a short chapter book; 2) spend one-on-one time with each child each week; and 3) (the ultimate goal) teach them to read with understanding so that when we see them come to know Christ they will be able to read His Word!

Blogging

Ok, so I think I have finally committed to this blogging thing . . . 

First of all, I sat down to write a update letter on what's happening in the ministry here and it was too overwhelming to write.  So I thought it would be a lot easier to write a blog post about some of the major things that happen instead of a big long update.  And besides, sometimes when I am posting pictures to Facebook, I want to write more of an explanation than just a caption.  

Secondly, there have been several times recently while reading my Bible or sitting in church that I wanted to share what I had learned with several people but just can't call or write e-mails to each one.  So, for the first time in my life, I found myself wanting to write blogposts! (it's a bit of a weird feeling for me, so I figured I'd better get started with it now!).  

To keep it from being too overwhelming, I am going to write a couple updates at a time. I will try to write about each aspect of the ministry here at some point . . . but it may take a while to get them all covered.  I just hope I can figure out how to move the pictures around on my blogpost this time . . .