A New Chapter Begins

Well, I have reached the end of my first summer program. IT was a summer full of laughter, tears, and lessons learned. This blog post is entitled "A New Chapter," because I am entering a "new" phase here at CMA. The ending of summer means that I have said farewell to all of my students--one graduating, one leaving, and the rest are from summer program. 

Roomie Date Night!

The lesson(s) learned? Boundaries. Motivations. Desires of the heart. In counseling, I sometimes ask people "so what's the big deal about that?" I spent a lot of time asking myself that question--over and over again. I am a person of extremes, and when I've decided to give myself to something, I typically don't flake out of it; I put everything I've got into it. Doing that this summer, I found myself emotionally exhausted at the end of every week, and sometimes physically exhausted and beat up as well (dumping your moto three times, and getting into a minor car accident will do that to a person).

Did I have to deal with tough situations with students this summer? Yes. Did I have a crazy busy schedule? Absolutely. The problem is I misinterpreted the call to excellence and pushed myself harder than I should have this summer. And why? Because of some unhealthy and untrue beliefs connected to my worth and value. Sometimes we need to say "no." "No" to that extra event that is unnecessary. "No" to believing you are responsible for someone else's emotions or motivations. "No" to taking responsible for someone else's decisions. 

Much needed girls' night

Coming out of this summer, I have learned a lot about myself. A friend suggested that I am entering a time of much needed rest, and perhaps I am. Or perhaps I'm being given the time to reflect on who I am and where I need to work on myself, on my "failures." 

I was pretty discouraged at the end of the summer program, but I've put that behind me. Despite all of the struggles and challenges I've been through since I've moved her, or maybe because of them, I love my job. I love the students, and I love the Dominican Republic. 

Positives of the summer include getting to do more with the missions teams that have come to help us with service projects. We also got to celebrate the 4th of July Dominican style (bonfire and brats. But we had to use an oven rack rigged over the fire to cook them), unfortunately there were no fireworks. I also got to travel to a new beach--Punta Rucia. It was gorgeous; also, coral does not feel good and neither do sea urchin spines. Also positive--I passed the National Counselor Exam!!!!! This means I now have two years of work and 3,000 hours to accrue before I can take my NEXT exam to be fully licensed and done with all of this foolishness. 

Thank you all for your prayers as we work here and try to remember that we are only to be open to God's leading as we interact with these students. Thank you also for your support financially that allows me to have this experience and make an impact in these students' lives. 

Punta Rucia