SUPER exciting update! :)

Friends and Family,

I'm so excited to share with you some potentially big news. This week at school we received our Letters of Intent. I kindly told the director of our school that he could keep it because it makes me want to vomit looking at it and deciding whether or not to commit to another year of the Natalie's Life: Dominican Republic chapter. Although I have been praying about it for quite a while, thinking about it quite often, and just plain wondering what God wants me to do, I've been so scared of making a commitment either way about how I want to spend the next year.

BUT as of right now, I am planning on staying another year at JCS. There it is. Phew. It's like a load off my chest. As I continue to talk to the director about some of the "accommodations" that I request for next year, he has been very encouraging and willing to try to do everything he can for me. (These accommodations include actually having curriculum, and...well, that's about it.) It makes me excited to be settled in a job, having a year of experience, becoming a better teacher, and enjoying another year on this blissful tropical island. :) Although this year hasn't been all rainbows and sunshine, I can clearly see God working in my heart, in the hearts of the other staff, and in the hearts of our students.

I also want to share with you somewhat of a need or maybe more of a desire of my heart that you could potentially help out with. At our school, JCS, we are encouraged to build relationships with our students, the other staff, and the community members. It presents a problem when we're not "allowed" (recommended...strongly) to be out after dark by ourselves and many of my students don't live close to my house. I want to be able to take my students (or just students in general) on adventures, take them out for dinner, or just out to get ice cream. I think that this is one of the best ways to get involved in the community. So this is what I ask: I am going to try and raise money to buy a pasola (a scooter-type thing--think a Yamaha Jog scooter). I wouldn't be asking if I was only planning on staying for 3 and a half more months, but I think that it would be worth it for another year, another year of building relationships and fortifying already made relationships. A pasola in the Dominican Republic costs around 800-1000 dollars. I know that seemsThe easiest and quickest way to support me is by sending a check to my house in Indiana, but if you would like to do a tax-deductible donation, you can send it through New Horizons. One of the visions I have is taking some of the scholarship students whose families don't have a lot of money to go get ice cream or dinner, to share with them the gifts that God has blessed me with.

Natalie's Home Address
17522 McDuffee Rd.
Churubusco, IN 46723

New Horizons (make sure my name is somewhere on the check)
New Horizons Youth Foundation
Attn: Jarabacoa Christian School Staff Support Fund
701 S. Clinton St. Suite 112
Fort Wayne, IN 46802

I appreciate all of your continued support, whether through email, thoughts, prayers, or financial support. I feel so blessed by each and every person. Thank you in advance for helping me advance the ministry that God has placed me down here to do.

Natalie :)