"The Week Between Teams"

    When we said good bye to Kappy and Renee two weeks ago, we had an upcoming week with no teams before our last two week outreach of the year. We enjoyed having my folks with us for that time and having mom help out Karen do some organizing and putting things away. As we approached this week, Maribel had informed me that on  Wednesday she would like to have another cooking class for the students and I (Mike) would be in charge of it and was to make cookies. Instantly I saw a red flag (well actually several red flags) as that was when my folks would be here. So we would need to reschedule it for Tuesday before they get here. Maribel then said that no, she thinks it would be good for my mom to see me with the kids so we stick with Wednesday. GREAT!!!!!!!! THAT'S JUST GREAT!!!! Well it actually went off pretty uneventful considering how it could have gone.

Don't be concerned that his mask is not covering his nose. It got in his way when he had to sneeze (AUGH!!!!!!)

     We also had a couple of dramas that week put on by the teachers. The first one talked about how to clean your heart. It was decided that you can't clean it with a plunger or with laundry detergent. It is best to use God to clean your heart. One of the things that has been so encouraging to Karen and me is how the teachers are so creative in their methods. They also know how to keep the attention of the kids (and adults) and get the message through..

Here the three lions (Lionesses) try to scare Daniel

 The next play on Wednesday was acting out Daniel and the Lion's den. These are done during the time that the kids have their worship and bible time, after lunch. From there, they usually have some sort of craft time.

The king is praying to his God.

Here the kids try on the costumes to play the parts.

Here is a shot of Henny after hearing that the school had just received several cases of wet wipes from our Sunday School class in the states. Thanks so much for that donation and for my folks for bringing them down to us. 

Outreach # 2 October 13-20 2012

   
With another great week behind us, it seems like so much has happened, probably because it has. With our second cooking class, a skit with the best looking clowns in town, and we had the best two outreach participants of the whole group. Here is what they wrote of their experience here.

Renee working with Franklin

I have so enjoyed my time here at Genesis this week! Seeing the children participate in Bible time, choosing what songs they should sing, and raising their voices and hands in praise to God was a joy everyday! Spending time with Mike and Karen and their family was a joy as well! I am thankful that God has provided a beautiful, loving environment for the students to come and learn and grow! I will long remember dancing with Yunior, Spanish lessons with Emanuel, the walk to the park with Henny, and many other fun times! Praise be to God!   Renee

Kappy helping Reymond

When I had to decide on which site to work on in the Dominican Republic, I immediately chose Special Education.  As a parent of a disabled daughter, I was curious to see how special children were educated and cared for in another country.  From the first moment at Genesis, it became obvious that the children are loved and nurtured every day.  Karen, Mike and the teachers have great ideas for fun, informative learning.  If you come to Genesis, the children will steal your heart and you will never be the same.  You can see the love God has for these children pour out of every person at Genesis.  It was an amazing experience.    Kappy   

Vladi and Yunior learning to work in the kitchen

Henny enjoying the ham sandwich that she made herself during the cooking day

Arcadi and Yulissa putting on a skit about "the best way to clean your heart"

What a great week it was. Now we have a week of no outreach groups and then a two week group to finish out our fall groups. Thanks for following us and keep the emails coming.   Mike Unternahrer

1st fall outreach

       

 As you read the following posts from our outreach participants. it is very evident that we had a great week. Destiny and Glenna were wonderful.

    Hello, my name is Destiny I have been overly excited this last week knowing that I would get to wake up and work everyday at the special education site (GENESIS). I have always known my entire life that I wanted my career to be caring for children with disabilities. I was just a little confused on which way to go about it.  But over the summer I got offered to come to the Dominican Republic and work at genesis.  Now after doing so I can honestly say this was the best experience of my life. Being able to come and see their smiling faces everyday and their amazing sense of humor has made me very happy. The staff and children have impacted my life and I pray that God allowed me to do the same.   

Genesis -  “In the beginning…”

As a teacher of students with learning disabilities and a mother of a child who has developmental disabilities, I found it difficult to believe that before this center was established there were no educational opportunities for these children.

This week as I experienced the joy that is Genesis, God touched my heart for Mike and Karen, Maribel and Samuel, each teacher and each and every student. I will continue to pray for each of them as well as their families.

The work that is being done here is happening on so many levels. I loved to see each day begin with a devotional time for teachers to get into the Word and pray for what God has in store for them. On Wednesday I asked the “profesoras” why they teach here and each one answered with a sincere heart. Some had family ties with children with disabilities, but all indicated that they felt called by God to serve Him in this way. They view their students as capable of learning, each in their own way. What a gift!

This blessing that is Genesis has a permanent place in my heart and my prayers. ¡Dios le bendiga!

                                                “…and God saw that it was good.”

Glenna Spindelman

Oceanside, California

         On Friday we celebrated Dia de la Raza (Columbus Day) at Genesis. the teachers and staff put on a skit that  the kids really enjoyed. as you can tell in the photo. I was Photoshopped in with a skirt. Of course I would never wear a skirt, even for a skit. But it really is a great job of editing a photo don't ya think? Now the lady on the far left is Karen. She was not able to find a suitable costume so she just wore her regular everyday school clothes. As you can tell we have a lot of fun at the school too.

        

Juan Carlos Bueno

Meet Juan Carlos Bueno.  He is 8 years old and has advanced Rheumatoid Arthritis. He has been coming to the school for about 1-1/2 years now. He lives with his father and two sisters about 2 miles north of Genesis and one of his sisters brings him on a moped each morning. His mother passed away soon after his birth due to complications during the birth. His father, Santos, works as a farm worker in the fields each day. Juan Carlos is just beginning to learn to use a walker as his Rheumatoid Arthritis is progressively getting worse and his walk is getting more unstable. He is close to non-verbal, saying maybe a few words each day. He does a lot of nods with his head for yes and no and other than that it is difficult for him to communicate anymore. He does the same school work as the others in his class and at times he has homework that his sisters help him with when he gets home. To offset his tuition cost of $13.00 per month, his two sisters come once a week and help to clean Genesis. He is one of 5 students that have a “scholarship” like that to offset the cost of tuition. He is a real joy to have in school and always has a bright smile for us all. His sisters are also very good about attending our monthly parent meetings. They are very involved in the school. 

Being one of the first ones there each morning, he greats the others with his face full of joy as the others start to arrive at school. If you have any interest in helping with Juan Carlos' costs, you can email me back and let me know what your wishes are and I can tell you how to go about sponsoring him. There are sponsorships avaliable for all of the kids that attend Genesis.

Juan Carlos has special place in my heart because I have a cousin Jane in Iowa with a similar degenerative condition and Jane also has the same positive outlook and encouraging spirit that Juan Carlos has. 

When Jane was in her low 30’s she was diagnosed with Chronic Progressive Multiple Sclerosis. Not really experiencing any noticeable symptoms for a number of years, but by 1995 she was in a wheelchair and has been using one since.  I try to have some email contact with her once in a while but it is getting harder for her to type now and more and more movements that you and I take for granted are a struggle or impossible for her.

Every day when I look at Juan Carlos, I see Jane setting there smiling back at me. I give thanks to both of them for the encouragement that they give me.

Back in the "Saddle" again

           So we have now been back at School for three weeks and it feels great. The kids were all anxious to be back as well as the teachers. It was fun to be part of the last week in Aug. when the teachers were setting up their rooms and getting their curriculum together. All the laughter and chatter was a nice sound again. We were privileged to have Amy Green with us for a number of days the the first week back. Amy was the PT and past interim director at Genesis. The kids all enjoyed seeing her and getting their hugs again. Thanks Amy for sharing your short visit back with us at Genesis. You are welcome anytime. 

     Another highlight was that on Friday Sept. 21, we had two local men bring in their horses for a great day of horse riding. There were more highlights and excitement that day than this page can contain.

 

 Henny was barely able to breath by the time we got her on the horse because she was so excited.

A mother and son team featuring: Nelito

Mike had a "horse of a different color"

Laura realized that the saddle was not in quite the same position as her wheelchair.

Even Karen tried it out. (we wont be buying a horse in the near future)

 Nina was an old pro after riding for therapy in the states for several years now.

Alfry was able to get in on the action too.

        It really was a great time by everyone. We have our first fall team coming in just two short weeks. their arrival date of Oct 6th will be here before we know it. I hope to begin featuring individual kids before that time so keep checking back as I hope to get my posts back on a more consistent schedule again. 

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