Happy Independence Day!

Hello and Happy Independence Day from the Dominican Republic!

 Dominican children proudly sang and danced this morning at the park in the middle of town. A group of our students laid flowers in front of the statue of Juan Pablo Duarte, the hero who led the way in freeing Dominicans from Haitian rule 169 years ago on February 27, 1844.

We are enjoying a day off of school and even postponed homeschool. Unfortunately, it's just not a good day to run out of gas for the stove so our cookie dough will have to wait until tomorrow. Baking cookies was probably not a typical way to spend the holiday anyways. Time to go outside and enjoy the sun!

Enjoy your day!

Marcie Cooper

Simple Sunday School

Hello!

Our little church has a big heart for kids. There is a van that picks them up for for church and AWANA and there are teachers that want them to learn about the Lord. The older kids have Bible lessons every Sunday and I am excited that now the little ones do too.

Several months ago, I started helping out with the nursery which actually went up to age four. There was a schedule but no one ever followed it because workers weren't consistent. I was hardly even in there on my actual turn because I had been in there the previous week when the helper did not show up. So I came up with a new plan. I made a list of names of people willing to help and a blank schedule for each Sunday. Then I wrote in the names of people who ACTUALLY helped each Sunday so I could keep track and not ask the same person two weeks in a row. It seems to be working although attendance is down and workers are not always present (or are helping with the older kids.) While I love teaching little ones, I sometimes find it tiring after being with my own all the time. Please pray for growth and consistent attendance among our workers. And kids! Most weeks there are five or six kids but sometimes there can be ten or twelve. Most of them are three or four years old and I found that most "teachers" were just letting them play the whole time. I felt like they needed more.

I love The Beginner's Bible and have been reading it daily with one of my children or another since our daughter was a toddler. I found it in Spanish (La Biblia Para Principiantes) and began reading a story to the children each Sunday. It was easy to find colouring pages to go with the stories (e.g., thebeginnersbible.com or calvarycurriculum.com) and all I had to do was pass it off to whoever was teaching that week. That has become my simple Sunday School.

Please pray that the children would learn to love the Bible and that their parents would also come to church and learn about Jesus.

Thank you!

Marcie Cooper

Worthwhile

Dear Friends,

I just finished sending out our latest prayer letter where we shared some of our ups and downs over the past couple months. There are always challenges. Discipline problems and tough relationships and financial needs. Seeing students and former students making poor choices and reaping the consequences. Lately though, we have had our share of accidents and deaths. One little boy in our daughter's class is still unable to walk or talk after being hit by a jeep. It's hard.

But there are joys too. We work with children who are at risk as a result of poverty, broken families, and lack of education. We feed them, educate them, and share Christ's love with them. And, for the third year in a row, we (actually my husband and staff but I'm the one who gets to write about it) get to take a group of Grade 8 students on a mission trip to a area where the children are poorer than they are. As part of the interview process, the students are asked to explain their faith. Paul has been clarifying that we cannot get to heaven by good works or going to church or attending a Christian school. Having a Christian family does not necessarily mean that you are a Christian. We each need to believe in Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins. In the past week, three students have decided to put their faith in Jesus. We pray that they will grow and serve Him on the short mission trip and beyond.

A few weeks ago, a friend who we have been praying for for over three years also made a profession of faith. She and her boyfriend, who we have worked with for almost 9 years, were just married. We are thrilled! This is what makes working here worthwhile. Thank you to all of you who pray for us and support us so we can be here. We appreciate you!

Marcie Cooper

Strawberries

Hello!

I'm finding blogging (and actually accomplishing much of anything these days) difficult with a two year old who isn't ready to lose his afternoon nap but doesn't really want to go to bed at night. Eventually this tends to happen:

We're working on him but I really wanted to show you the strawberries I got today. Did you know that strawberries grow in the Dominican Republic? Some of our friends went farther up the mountain to where they are grown and are half the price of what we pay here. I couldn't resist having them pick some up for me. 

Yum!

I disinfected them like we do with all of our fruits and vegetables here because of impure water and parasites. For a while, I was using bleach but then I discovered "the blue bottle" which still smells like bleach but makes me think it's a bit less toxic since that's its intended purpose.

Strawberries are my favourite! I had lots of plans for them but they are disappearing too fast. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

What is your favourite thing to do with strawberries?

Marcie Cooper

Fun in the Snow

Hello!

Here are some long overdue pictures of our fun in the snow in Canada. We didn't have much snow last Christmas and were praying for some more this time!

I think he looks bigger than last year

He did get out in the snow and discovered that it tastes good!

Snow angel attempt?

Sledding at Grandma and Grandpa's

Even more fun at the park

And even more fun tobogganing with Daddy!

And a snowman, of course

My favourite part was shovelling a giant maze on the pond with my four year old maze-lover but we were too busy to get a picture. We will have to do it again next time. 

While we would not have minded a little more time in the snow, we are content to be back in the Dominican Republic enjoying the sun.

I hope you are enjoying the weather where you are too!

Marcie Cooper

Canadians

Hello!

Before we left for the holidays we were answering questions like, "What's toboganning?" and "What's a squirrel?" We weren't sure if our kids could call themselves Canadians! The three weeks we spent in Canada were packed with Canadian experiences. Hopefully our kids will remember them!

Toronto (CN Tower)

Niagara Falls

Tim Hortons

Canada Geese

Hockey

Swiss Chalet

Maple Syrup

and finally...

SNOW!

More on that next time.

What are some of your favourite Canadian experiences? Or what things in Canada you would like to see? If you've never been, it's a great place to visit!

Marcie Cooper

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Canada!

We are still hoping to see some more snow but are glad

to be with family and friends for the holidays. 

We hope that you have a wonderful Christmas too!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Marcie Cooper