July 29 to Aug 5th Outreach

 

Dinner in the Community at la lasa de Vladi. 

 Vladi trying to tell us to listen to him "Escuchame!! Escuchame!!

My name is Kate. I was originally hoping to be placed in the Physical Therapy site through SI, but instead I was put in Centro Especial Genesis. I am now extremely glad that God put me in this site. Everyday I see His face through all the kids here at Genesis. They have taught me to have unending joy and love. I am so thankful that God put me in this site.

Hello! My name is Logan and I first became interested in this trip when I heard that we would have the opportunity to work with physical therapy patients here in the Dominican Republic. What I did not know, however, was that I would get to work with so many smiling faces at Genesis. I do not have much experience in working with special education, but I completely fell in love with the children at Genesis this week. Their joyful laughter and willingness to love others is what truly made my trip to the Dominican so special. I will miss them so much but they will forever be in my prayers when I go back home.

Hi, my name is Brianna. I came on this trip incredibly excited to work at the special education site. Though I had originally wanted to work at the physical therapy site doing occupational therapy, the thought of working at Genesis made me very happy. I have had a heart for people with disabilities for pretty much my entire life, so getting to work with the children here at Genesis in the DR was right up my ally. I came hoping to be a blessing to these children, but the truth is, they have been more of a blessing to me. God has impacted my life so incredibly much through these kids, in such a short period of time. Their smiles melt my heart every day and I just cannot get enough of playing with them, singing with them, and enjoying life with them. I also loved doing therapy with the kids and seeing them improve and learn in many ways. Their spirits have brought me so much joy! When I leave here, I will be carrying all of these children in my heart and praying for them. I thank God for blessing me with this opportunity and I could not think of a better way to spend my time here in the DR than working here at Genesis.

Hola! My name is Kenny, and I have had the privilege to be at Genesis this last week. I was originally going to be working at the boys club site, but God had other plans, and His plans are always better. My spanish, pre-Genesis, consisted of episodes of Dora and Dieogo and I've never truly worked with children with special needs. That being said, this experience has has been a blessing to both my heart and soul and Lord willing the students as well. One of the first things you notice here is the students unbridled joy. I've seen students scream with delight as they've ridden on leaders backs like horses, sing worship at the top of their lungs, and simply desire the Love of Christ in a hug from a caring adult. The students seem to experience joy in ways that we are called to but rarely tap into. One of the other characteristics of Genesis that screams at you when you visit is the passion of the workers. Mike, Karen, the teachers, and interns (tylo and layla) all truly, truly... truly love the Lord and their calling to these precious students. On a trip that should have caused exhaustion, my Spirit has been fed and God's strength in me has been renewed. It will be hard to leave these students at the end of the week, and Lord willing I hope to return. God is working and moving students to the cross at Genesis, and it's been my honor to be a small piece of that puzzle.

Hi, I am the last to write for this blog for the last outreach of the summer here at Genesis with Students International. My name is Brad and I am a summer intern originally with the Physical Therapy site and have ventured over to Genesis for the last week after the Physical Therapy clinic unfortunately had to close. To be honest I was not quite sure how much help I would be here as I have never worked with special education kids and especially not in a therapy setting. But, God works in mysterious and wonderful ways if you just give up everyday to Him. The Lord has truly allowed for my eyes and heart to be open to the pure simplistic joy that the kids have and the joy that they bring to each and everyone of us. It is a difficult moment to describe when you are attempting to work with a kid and take them through the necessary therapy and no matter what you do with them they take a firm grip of your hand, interlocking fingers with you, depending on your strength and then look up at you and smile. Not simply one of those smiles that are formed by their mouth, but one that you can see in their eyes.

This was a busy week with graduation, and saying goodbye to our two interns Elly and Tyler and also to Joan who has been teaching at Genesis for several years now. He taught music and art. He will be going back to Jarabacoa Christian School to teach music and art there.  Our daughters Janae and Marcy were much more excited about his leaving than Karen and I were. Possibly because they attend school at JCS??????? Thanks Joan for you dedication that you have showed at Genesis during your time there. Also thanks so much to Elli and Tyler for you time this summer. The kids will never forget you and we will miss you as well. It just wont be there same without you loving on the kids there. THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!

and This was one of the last flag raising ceremonies that we had every morning at Genesis. (Thanks Elli for letting me steal this off your facebook :). 

 We had our graduation ceremony on Friday the 3rd, This was a great experience for all of us at Genesis. Some of the children will not be back in Sept. so it was also somewhat sad.

 Juan Carlos receiving his certificate. 

On Saturday the 4th all the staff and families at Genesis went to the beach for the day. We went to Gui Gui Beach on the north Eastern side of the island. It was a fun day for all even though it rained a lot of the time. The company we all had with us made all the difference. Thanks to all for a great year and check back with us the first of Sept for new updates on the new school year.

Wellspring group

   On Thursday July 19th, Genesis was moved to Jarabacoa Christian School (JCS ) for the following week. We had the pleasure of having 23 people from Wellspring Camp in Jefferson Georgia, come back for a second year to join us in bringing a day camp to all the students at Genesis. The kids had been looking forward to this week all summer.   Mike Unternahrer

"What a pleasure and blessing to spend time with our friends at Genesis again! For the second year (with many more to come!), our group was able to come to Jarabacoa from Wellspring Camp in Jefferson, GA. Actually, our team came from 10 different churches in 5 different states to spend a week loving on our Genesis "campers"! 

Wellspring Camp is a Christian camp in Georgia that provides respite and camping activities to children and adults with developmental disabilities. We LOVE sharing our resources with the kids at Genesis and providing a week of "camp" for them! We've named our camp in the D.R. "Campamento Aguas Vivientes" - Camp Living Waters. 

Our goal is to provide a week of "something different" for the Genesis students. No school, just FUN!!! We also love to give a bit of a break to the teachers and staff as much as possible. For starters, we hold camp at a location away from Genesis to give the students a new look - somewhere other than school. We incorporate games, crafts, devotional times, and outdoor activities into each day, just like we do at camp in Georgia. We also provide a "pool day" for the kids, taking them to a local pool for fun and pizza. 

It is our goal as well to provide opportunities for our servant staff to see where God could use their skills in the special needs community overseas. This year was a special treat as we had skilled leaders who could share resources. One of our camp's board members was along - Adam Beadles, who is a physical therapist. He was able to share ideas and plans with the Genesis staff for future work with students. Cris Franz, who was along for her second year, was able to provide "teacher training" in behavior management for the Genesis teachers. Jenny Walter, a mom of one of our Wellspring campers, came along and provided parent workshops - a much needed time of sharing for parents.

Most of all, we enjoyed all of our time spent with everyone from Genesis. We love our campers in Jarabacoa! We also enjoyed each moment spent with Mike, Karen, and all the wonderful staff from Genesis. As well, God provided some great unity between our team and the team from SI that was serving while we were there".

Blessings, Josh Griffin