We started April off with a staff retreat, which turned out to be a lovely time spent together as both staff and friends. We got to know each other better and enjoyed some nice sunshine away from work.
This month has been kind of busy, despite our three week break from teams. We took advantage of some time off to get the guesthouse prepared for the next stretch of teams we’d be welcoming in this spring by fixing things that needed attention, reorganizing in a lot of areas and restocking some necessities.
In addition to that, we were able to take some time to travel the DR a bit and see some really neat places outside of San Juan. My best friend, Alyssa came to visit for 10 days during our break and got to experience some new places with us. This was her first time outside of the US, so it was cool to experience that with her. It was such a blessing for her to come here and spend time with us, we laughed so much together and had some fun experiences that will be remembered for a long time, although her time here did seem to go by all too quickly. Some of the things we did while traveling was staying a couple of days in Santo Domingo and touring a cathedral and some museums, we also tried some new restaurants and went to Lagos Tres Ojos, a national park where you can go into a cave and see the natural lakes within, it was an incredibly humid experience but also really beautiful. After Santo Domingo we came back to San Juan and got to show Alyssa some of what life looks like where we live and share some of our favorite things in this town, and also had several work meetings while in town. We then traveled to Jarabacoa for horseback riding in the mountains, tried some more great restaurants and even had a spa day.
Now we are back to hosting teams and jumping into the busyness that comes with that, but we were able to go into this season rested and refreshed. I’ve been enjoying our current team from Louisville this week and have gotten to try out a couple of desserts on them that I haven’t yet made at the guesthouse (so far so good).
I’ve been able to reflect a lot this month on the Lord’s creation and how much of a blessing it is to experience it. I am so grateful for the opportunity to see this part of the world and share this experience with so many amazing people. As busy as life gets, I’m grateful for the moments where God stops me and reminds me to slow down and enjoy the blessings he’s given me.
Prayer Requests:
- Trusting in God’s plan for our lives and peace over not knowing what comes next.
- Health and protection from illness.
“On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate”
Psalm 145:5 ESV
