4 weeks here, 2 weeks left

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great Fourth of July. We had a wonderful time at the orphanage, sans fireworks. I missed my family for the first/only time so far over the Fourth of July.

Yesterday all of the short-time missionaries met up at the capital (only about an hour away from Monte Plata) and we saw museums, churches, an old military base (Marty and Michael you would have loved it!) and Diego Columbus's house (Christopher Columbus's son). It was a lot of fun to see all of the interns again and be a tourist for a day. We are back in Monte Plata now, and getting ready for our second to last week of school.

I wanted to let everyone know what the landscape/nature aspect of the area is like. Monte Plata is supposedly the hottest place on the island, and I believe it! It's probably around 90* everyday, plus A LOT of humidity. It is green everywhere (like Oregon), and there are these little lizards all over the place. Mango trees are as common as apples are in Oregon (Washington apples are imported and VERY expensive!). My teachers here know that I LOVE plantains (as common as potatoes in Oregon), and mangoes, and bring me both at the beginning of the school week. We have eight or nine mango trees in our backyard, and they are just now starting to fall. Monte Plata has about 10,000-60,000 people, depending on who you ask and if they are talking about the town or the providence (both of the same name). Monte Plata is VERY impoverished and just what you would expect to see in a third world country.

The little one (the girl I talked about last post) wasn't at school this past week, but we had some new students and are now averaging about 8-12 a day in first grade (5-8 in second grade and 8-12 in kindergarten). We have gotten into a nice rhythm, and one of my other teachers (Andreina, a University student) is my closest friend here. We have had some amazing talks, and I have been so blessed to be able to know her.

I know these last two weeks will go very quickly! Please pray for the continued safety and health of the kids and us (so far no severe injuries or health issues!). And pray for a wonderful end to our summer program. On our last friday, we invite the parents to come see all the learning and work that their children have been involved with for the past five weeks, and last year only a handful of parents showed up. We are really hoping that oodles of parents can come and support their children!

Thank you again to my supporters and all of your prayers; this has been an incredible experience.

Mom, Cara Lynn, and Anne Marie: we gave a lot of the things you donated/gave money to to the orphanage last week! THANK YOU!!

Nanny, I love you and think of you a LOT!

All my love,

Elizabeth