Normal.

It is interesting to be back in the Dominican Republic for a second time.  While I am in a completely different program, life feels much more normal this time around.  I remember sending my parents text messages every day with something new and exciting:
"I had the official meal of the DR for the first time today!"
"I got to go horseback riding through the mountains for hours this afternoon!"
"You'll never guess what Mamá did today!  I've never seen something like that before!"
etc...

This time around, it feels less like a new adventure and more like returning home.  I've gotten to spend some time with both of my host families since coming back this summer.  But since I'm not living in the community, my experience on the whole is much more American as I return each night to the base and to my house full of American roommates.  This has contributed to a lack of culture shock this time around.  Additionally, many of the activities that are new from last time are reminiscent of camp: communal worship with the teams, large group games, campfires, etc.

I'm grateful to feel comfortable here and that I have gotten to experience so many wonderful things that good times are not surprising.  However, I think it would be better to keep challenging myself and pushing myself to get outside of my comfort zone in order to grow more.  It is good to find something new and exciting every day to avoid falling into a rut.

All that to say, this last outreach went very well, I had a blast, and I feel like I've gotten the hang of things around here.  For this next outreach, I'd like to push myself a little more.  In the same way that everything is new and a "first time" for the students who have come, the people I am with are new and therefore they completely change the experience.

- Pray with me that I can celebrate the newness each day holds and that I challenge myself beyond what is "normal."
- Praise God for how well things have been going, a wonderful last outreach, and that the teams are arriving safely as I write this.
- Pray for Génesis, a new student at Génesis who is having a tough time starting preschool and being away from her mom for the first time
- Pray that the gospel may be proclaimed