New Year, More Changes...

     2015 is a year I will never forget. I am forever grateful that I have been able to spend the last year and a half in this beautiful country, making memories with new and old friends every day. After spending Christmas at home in California, it was time to come back to the craziness of Jarabacoa for a few more months! The emotional rollercoaster that has come with knowing I’ll be leaving this place in three months is overwhelming, but I trust that God knows what He’s doing, because I certainly don’t!

     On January 6^th, we celebrated King’s day at the Ark. Being a part of this event was so much fun. We had breakfast out at the Ark (I got to help make 300 pancakes!) and got to watch each child open gifts that had been brought down here by a team. Watching a child open Christmas presents for the first time in their life really put everything back into perspective for me. I hope to never forget what it looks like to be that grateful and full of joy.

Pancake breakfast!

New boy in the ark opening presents!

I got the best King's day present!

     Two days later, I had the privilege of getting to help at the ANIJA King’s day celebration also. In December, we wrapped 250 gifts to hand out to each child who has a scholarship at ANIJA. While talking with some of the children, it became very clear that a lot of them didn’t get to celebrate Christmas because of their economic situations and they weren’t given any other presents except the one they received during our school celebration. Moments like these make me so thankful for Kids Alive and all of the people who have dedicated their time and resources (Dominicans who are working at the school, teams coming down to visit, & child sponsors in the U.S.) to help provide these students with the resources they need in order to change their future. Being able to see these changes happening first-hand has been more incredible than I could have ever imagined. I love that we are able to celebrate with the kids, thanks to all of the support Kids Alive receives.

New toy for King's Day!

     Since we’re coming up on the end of January, obviously it’s time to work on Easter projects again, right?! It seems like last week we were sending last year’s Easter projects to the kids’ sponsors. Time has flown by so fast. This year, every kid gets to decorate butterflies (A symbol of hope here in the DR) for their sponsors. I've learned that glitter glue makes everything more fun and a lot more messy. I cherish the time making projects with these children so much. It’s amazing how well you can get to know a student individually when they aren’t with 20 other classmates. More often than not I see a completely different personality in each student during this time.  Through working with sponsorship, I have gained a much bigger appreciation for those of you in the U.S. who are sending money monthly in order to pay for these children to be in our program. There are no words to describe what it's like to tell a child, who's just been taken out of his home after being abused, that someone across the world loves him and prays for him on a daily basis. The transformations you are influencing are breathtaking. If you’re interested in sponsoring a child, please let me know! I would love to talk with you about some of our students who still need sponsors!

So. much. glitter. glue.

This boy melts my heart.

This little girl is looking for 3 sponsors!

They aren't afraid to have fun.

     As I look into the future, there are so many unknowns. It’s weird to not know where I will be living in three months. Everything has been so consistently inconsistent for the last year and a half and that way of life has become so comfortable. Transitioning back to life in the U.S. seems all too overwhelming at this point in time, but I know God will prepare me for that in the way He wants to. I’m hoping that part of this transition will include a one-week long debriefing program in Colorado that is recommended for missionaries returning back to the U.S. This time would be spent reflecting on my time here in the D.R. as well as gaining perspective on how to transition back and re-enter life in the United States. In order for me to be able to attend, I will need to raise $1,000 to cover the cost of the program as well as airfare. Would you consider supporting me during the home stretch of this journey? You can click here (https://secure.kidsalive.org/p-2747-hilary-ogro.aspx?Source=MA53C00000) if you're interested in donating. I trust that these experiences have been setting me up to continue this type of work in the United States. As always, thank you so much to everyone who has been supporting me financially and through prayer over the past two years. This life-transforming experience would not have been a reality without all of you!

Fast Forward to Fall

Summer came to an end after we were lucky enough to have a team from MVPC visit us here in Jarabacoa! It was so great to see so many familiar faces and be able to share my love for this country with friends from home. It's crazy to think about how coming on that trip when I was 15 ended up changing my life and leading me here for an extended period of time. The team was doing a lot of much needed painting at ANIJA and running soccer camp at the Ark. The kids get so excited when they hear that another team will be coming to play soccer with them!

I was fortunate enough to be able to go home for a month after summer ended for my sister's wedding! Being a part of the wedding was definitely a memory that will last a lifetime and it was great to be able to see so many people who have been supporting me throughout this year. I can't thank you all enough for investing in my life and believing in the work I have been doing here. I am constantly blown away by the outpour of love and support you have provided for me over the last year!

Libby and James' Wedding!

The school year has been back in full swing since the end of August. Things at ANIJA seem to be running a lot smoother this year due to a few key changes in staffing and discipline. We are lucky to have a team of counselors and psychologists who are working with students to help them work through some tough situations this year. It's great to finally have people to address these issues that are affecting students in their classrooms on a daily basis. Oh yeah, and one of these amazing people happens to be one of my best friends from back home!

Been waiting years for this moment!

This year I have been focusing more on being the Sponsorship Coordinator for ANIJA. This job includes working on projects with the students four times a year. Their projects will be sent to the generous people who donate money to the students monthly to help pay for their education, food, and other resources needed. We are currently in the process of finishing the Christmas cards that will be sent out in December. My favorite thing is getting to see the excitement on the students' faces when they realize where the cards will be going. They so frequently ask when I will be sending the cards and if their sponsors are going to come visit them sometime. I love that Kids Alive makes it so easy for Sponsors to be in contact with the children they sponsor here! We are constantly looking for more people to sponsor children in our program so we can continue to grow and help more students. Please contact me if you're interested in learning more about being a sponsor. We have a new class of 4 year olds who are all looking for sponsors!

Birthday Boy making his Christmas Cards! 

This cutie comes to school with the whole alphabet accounted for in her hair clips!

8th graders working on their Christmas Cards.

Another one of my focuses this school year has been working in the library. I am teaching library classes for first through eighth graders and it's been a great experience so far. We are trying to encourage the love of reading and being able to read silently. Some classes are having competitions with each other to see who can read silently for the longest amount of time. We will see if we can get to 20 minutes by the end of the year! I am in awe every day with how much these kids love to read! They are so excited to get to change their books every week and search for a new one to take home for the week. I'm so thankful that we have the ability and resources to send books home with these students who are often not exposed to books at all before coming to ANIJA. It is quite the contrast from children in the U.S. who are read to before they can even speak. Recently, I have been having students come in during recess begging to sit and read a book during their free time. Doesn't get much better than that! 

As always, I am so thankful for your prayers and financial support. I am constantly reminded of how amazing it is that I get to be here doing this work because of the support I have received from such an incredible team at home. Thank you! I am still raising more support to help me stay until next Spring, so check out this link (https://secure.kidsalive.org/p-2747-hilary-ogro.aspx) if you're interested in seeing how you can be a part of what's being done in the Dominican Republic!

Summer, Storms, and Spiders

     The school year is winding down and summer is around the corner, so I thought I would update you on what's been going on in the DR recently! In April, I was lucky enough to have my parents and brother come visit me for a week. We were able to go to the beach for a few days and spend the rest of the week in Jarabacoa, where they were able to get a glimpse of the craziness we call life here. The beach trip was fantastic. It was great to be able to show my family what the DR is like...I even made sure they saw two propane tanks fall off of a motorcycle and fly in completely different directions across traffic. That was a great way to welcome them to this extremely organized and safe country. The rest of our time on the coast was filled with hanging by the pool, going to the beach and riding ATV's through the mountains.

Cabarete 

My dad and brother after riding ATV's to the beach.

     Once we arrived in Jarabacoa, my family was able to see what I've been doing here over the past 6 months and meet some of my favorite people. It's a very weird feeling to be so invested in a place that most of my family and friends have only ever heard of. Being able to help them connect the stories and pictures to the faces here was an experience I will never forget. The boy we sponsor at the Ark was finally able to meet my family after asking about them for years and only seeing their photos. There's nothing better than showing these kids that people love and care for them all over the world.

My family and Steven (the boy we sponsor).

      With Summer approaching, we are saying goodbye to the kiddos at ANIJA for a few months. English classes are over and we gave our final exams last week. Our most recent sponsorship project is finished and now I will have a total of a couple days before starting the next one...the excitement never stops! For the next few weeks I will be working with the kids at the Ark for their summer program. The students will be doing elective classes during the morning and then going to "school" in the afternoon. It's looking like I will be directing the afternoon program and working alongside the interns that will arrive in a couple short weeks!

One last lunchtime hang out with these kiddos.

     Summer in the DR also means very different weather. The days are a lot hotter but the afternoons turn into a thunder and lightning storm almost daily. This is often a nice break from the heat. With the rain also comes an interesting mix of bugs coming into the house. There have already been too many days where I've broken a sweat chasing a spider (read: HUGE spider) around the house in hopes of being able to sleep at night. Cockroaches are a regular occurrence and ants arrive in the thousands. I still haven't gotten used to this new life but let me assure you, this is a battle I will NOT lose!

Thank God for Raid.

     I'm excited to share that come August, I will be changing roles slightly and focusing more on sponsorship most of the time! Over the past few months I have really grown by being able to work with the students one on one and get to know them as individuals, instead of viewing them as just one of the 30 kids in their classroom. I will be working with them on quarterly projects which I will then translate so they can be sent to the students' sponsors in the U.S. I feel like this is going to be a change that will really allow me to grow personally as well as form more long lasting relationships with my students.

     Now that I am seven months into my year long commitment, it's time for me to look into the future and start to figure out what life will look like. There is an opportunity for me to stay in the DR until June of 2016 which would allow me to hold a more permanent job for the whole school year. However, staying longer comes with the need to raise more support.  In order for me to extend my stay for up to six months past my current commitment, Kids Alive has asked that I raise more monthly support, as well as one time donations. If you would like to join me in this ministry, please consider visiting my link (https://secure.kidsalive.org/p-2747-hilary-ogro.aspx?Source=OG53J00002) to find out how you can partner with the mission of Kids Alive in the DR. As always, thank you so much for all of your continued prayer and financial support. The work being done in Jarabacoa wouldn't be possible without you!

Winter Happenings

     It's been way too long since I've updated the blog, so here's a little glimpse at what my life has looked like over the past couple months! Since I got back to the DR after my time at home for Christmas, a lot has changed and life has been a little chaotic. The English teacher at ANIJA left at the beginning of January with very little notice, so I was given the job of teaching english to all of the students from 4th to 8th grade. 159 students in all. After getting a Bachelors Degree in Education, I thought I had a faint idea of what it meant to be a teacher. After working in some low income schools in Oregon I thought I knew what I was getting myself into. Let me just tell you, I had zero idea what was about to hit me.

View from the third level of ANIJA.

Making family trees after learning about family members.

One of my students showing some Cougar Pride!

     The kids at ANIJA are coming from home situations that are far from ideal, whether that involves abuse, neglect, or extreme poverty. Every student has their own story and they bring so many issues with them to school every day. It would be easy if they could just leave those issues at the door when they walked in the classroom, but that isn't the case. There are so many factors that influence who they are every minute of the day and that doesn't stop while they are in school. Dealing with these discipline issues would be difficult enough for me in English, but trying to correct behavior and explain my reasoning is nearly impossible in Spanish. A few weeks ago, another girl from the US arrived and she has been teaching English with me. We have decided to start celebrating the small victories every day. A few days ago I walked into one of the 7th grade classrooms and everyone sat down when I asked. Can you even believe that?! It was a pretty exciting moment that might have only lasted for a few seconds, but we're making progress! Overall this has been a very valuable experience for me and I'm hoping it just makes it that much easier to teach in the U.S. in English!

This boy knows how to brighten my day!

Just a little modeling session during our lunchtime chat.

     Since English classes are only three days a week, I have also been doing Sponsorship work for ANIJA. This involves sending all the information about new students and departing students to the Kids Alive home office so they can update their sponsors. All of the kids at every site send projects to their sponsors four times a year, so I was able to help them with their Easter projects that will be sent out in a few weeks. This is one of my favorite parts of the job because it really shows how grateful the kids are to have people sponsoring them. I am often blown away with some of the things the students want to share with their sponsors and how they want to express their gratitude. We are all very grateful for all of you that are sponsoring a child!

Working on sponsorship Easter projects at the Ark.

More Easter projects!

     I have also been able to spend a lot of time at the Ark and I've gone on a few house visits which are very eye opening. I'm a strong believer that it's so important to go visit students outside of school occasionally in order to see where they are coming from and build a relationship with them in a different context. It is so easy to get frustrated about students not doing their homework or not concentrating in class, but after seeing their home conditions it allows you to have more compassion and grace for the students. Of course they didn't do their homework; they live with 8 other people in a one bedroom house without a light. No wonder they can't concentrate in class; they are hungry and didn't get much sleep last night. Uniforms make it look like everyone is the same at school, but the reality is they are all coming from tough situations, all different from one another. Without seeing that, it would be impossible to give each student the help they need.

Play time at the Ark.

Barrio where some of my students live. 

One of my fourth graders (left) in his neighborhood.

Brothers at the Ark.

     Thanks to the donations of some of you, I was able to reward some of my students with ice cream for their success on our most recent test. They loved the experience and it is helping to increase motivation in the classroom!

7th grade ice cream trip!

Getting Comfortable With the Uncomfortable

I've now been in the DR for a little over a month and I've come to realize that daily life here is filled with many new obstacles, but also a lot of moments which make it clear that this is where I am supposed to be. There are so many things I have taken for granted in the past and I am being reminded of that every day. Things like bleaching vegetables, brushing my teeth with filtered water and hang drying my clothes are a great daily reminder of the important things in life. The reality is, I am very fortunate to have the ability to buy enough food, use filtered water or wash my clothes in a machine. Walking the 20 minutes to school every morning is always exciting because of the hundreds of motorcycles that are constantly rushing by me and there's no chance they are going to stop for me while I cross the street. I have almost perfected the art of running across the street while dodging motorcycles and cars coming at me from every direction. On a daily basis, I need to distract the Rottweiler that likes to hang out outside of our gate while I try to escape on my way to school. Some days I'm even greeted by two lovely bulls (see below) in front of our house when I get home. Every minute is filled with new obstacles, but I'm constantly learning how to be grateful for those experiences instead of letting them be a source of discomfort. 

Frequent visitor.

I'm also finding that reality does not match my job description. In the past month I have worked in the English classes, tutored kids in 1st-3rd grade, worked in the first grade classrooms, created activities for centers in the preschool and kindergarten classes, helped with the vaccine clinics at ANIJA and the Ark, and translated Christmas letters from the sponsors of the kids. Every day is completely different, but that has really given me the chance to see all of the ministry, and it has given me some insight into how I can be most helpful after the New Year. It looks like I will be focusing on teaching English when I get back in January. Additionally, I'll be helping with the new curriculum the first grade teachers will be implementing, and helping with some of the sponsorship work at ANIJA. As usual, things could change and be completely different by the time I return.

Helping with the vaccine clinic at ANIJA.

English classroom at ANIJA.

One of the kids I hang out with during lunch.

The last month has also been filled with moments that remind me exactly why I am here. Kenia, a Dominican who is in charge of Special Ed at ANIJA, really wanted to learn how to cook American food, so Neilly and I went over to her house to cook and hang out with her family. This will be a lifelong memory for me. Everything in this country is so much more about relationships than anything else, and the relationships are what will last beyond the time that I am living here. When things get really busy and chaotic, I hope to remember the importance of forming relationships, because they make a much bigger impact on a person's life than finishing my "to do list" ever will.

Kenia, Neilly and me.

Even though my Spanish still isn't perfect by any means, it has been incredible to finally get to communicate on my own with all of the people I have gotten to know here over the past six years. My family and I sponsor a 9-year-old boy named Steven that I instantly fell in love with when I was here a few years ago (even though he was probably in the middle of a fist fight with his brothers). It has been so great to be able to spend a lot of time with him since I've been here. He and his brothers came from a very difficult home situation when they were brought to the Ark a few years ago. When I was here last in 2013 he was days away from being kicked out of the program because of his horrendous behavior. I can honestly say what has happened over the last year and a half is a complete miracle. He is the sweetest boy who loves to please everyone now, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to get to know him better now that we speak the same language. Hearing the kids' stories is heart-wrenching, but seeing real changes in their lives reaffirms that Kids Alive is having a significant impact in the Dominican Republic.

Brothers Randy and Steven.

Before dinner at Steven's house.

A team from MVPC, as well as the Breul family, came down for the week of Thanksgiving, and it was so nice to have a part of home here with me in the DR. The Breuls lived here for three years, and the moment that they returned, the impact of their many relationships became evident. It's not just about the vaccines that are administered or the math programs that are taught. Those are important, but crossing the cultural barrier and getting to know the hearts of the people here is what we all remember for years to come. An added bonus to having the Breuls in town was that they invited me to go to the beach with them for Thanksgiving weekend. We cooked a full Thanksgiving meal and took it to the beach the next day. It was a different experience to be eating Thanksgiving dinner outside in 85 degree weather, but it was nice to be with good friends since I wasn't able to be with my own family.

Less than two more weeks and I will be home for Christmas! Crazy to think that I have already been gone for four months!

Leslie, Sally and me cooking Thanksgiving dinner.

Cabaret, a beach on the North Coast

Cabarete

Home Away From Home

After months and months of planning and organizing, I finally made it to the Dominican Republic where I will be for the next year!  I arrived in the DR last Sunday afternoon after a long night and day of traveling.  I spent the rest of that day trying to get settled into my new house.  I am living with a girl named Kelsey that also works for Kids Alive, and another girl, Nikki, who works for a different organization.  The house that Kelsey found earlier this summer is beautiful and in a perfect location, making it very easy for me to get to the school in the morning.

New house for the year.

This past week, there were a few different trainings going on, one at the Ark (orphanage) and one at ANIJA (the school I am working at).  Different groups of people from the US and Canada often come down to do teacher training or other programs with the people working here, so this week was a little chaotic because of that.  I spent Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday tutoring kids in the morning at ANIJA and in the afternoons I went out to the Ark to play with kids and practice my spanish a little more.  I thought I learned a lot of Spanish while in Guatemala but I am now learning that the Spanish here is so much different.  I'm sure it will take some time for me to catch on, but hopefully I'll get the hang of it.  On Thursday and Friday, we had teacher training at ANIJA with a group of women from Canada who came down to train all of the teachers, both Dominican and American.  It was nice to be involved in that so I could get to know the teachers a little more and become a part of their community.

ANIJA (the school I will be working at).

ANIJA

The best pine tree drawing I've ever seen.

Tutoring room at ANIJA.

Group of kids waiting to be taken to the Ark after school.

ANIJA is the school where the kids from the orphanage go, as well as other students from the community that need the help from Kids Alive.  Parents of students that aren't at the Ark have the opportunity to come help in different ways at school in exchange for being able to have their kids go to the school.  The students from the Ark (orphanage) are bused in to the school in the morning and ride back after school to spend the afternoon studying more and playing at the Ark.  The Ark is made up of 10 houses, each with house parents that have their own biological kids, as well as 8-10 kids that have been brought in from abusive situations, to live in the Ark until they are about 18 years old. It is incredible to see how the house parents continue to treat all of the kids as their own and they all emphasize the importance of forming family bonds and making sure every kid is surrounded by people that love them unconditionally.

As of now, the plan is for me to be working at ANIJA in the mornings, working on tutoring kids that may have undiagnosed learning disabilities or just need more help outside of the classroom. I'll also be helping in some of the preschool, kindergarten, and first grade classrooms, trying to get them set up with running stations in their classrooms so the students can have a variety of different activities going on at one time.  This is a concept that the teachers have heard of, but haven't been able to implement yet, so hopefully we can get it started soon! In the afternoons I will be going to the Ark to do some more tutoring with the kids there, as well as helping with sponsorship work.  Each child that lives at the Ark has 8 sponsors that donate every month to pay for their living needs.  I will be helping the kids with projects that will be sent to their sponsors a few times a year to update them on how they are doing. This will be the plan until I get back from my trip home over Christmas, then we will re-evaluate and see how I can be of the most help to the ministry.

I just want to say "Thank you" again to everyone who has donated and supported me in various ways in order to help me get here.  This dream truly would not be a reality if I didn't have such a great support system encouraging me through every step of this journey.  This is something I have dreamed about doing since I was 16 and it is still surreal that I am actually here!  I have no doubt that this is where I am meant to be at this point in time and I am so grateful that you have all helped me get here!

Houses at the Ark. Each one is named after a Fruit of the Spirit.

Another view of the Ark.

Jewel, the cutest kid in town.