I'm in the DR!!

I just wanted to send you all a quick note that I have safely arrived in the Dominican Republic. My flight into Santiago was delayed for a day, but for once the airline put me up in a hotel room and I didn't have to sleep at the airport. It was actually pretty exciting to have my first free hotel room---with my choice of fluffy white beds! One of the school staff picked me up from the airport and I am staying with the director and her husband at their lovely home in the mountains before I move in with a local family. I will probably move in with the family the school found for me tomorrow. I feel safe and well feed---I had oatmeal and mangoes for breakfast with fresh organic grown coffee!! Yum! The director even has a cute kitten named Buster whom promptly curled up on my lap and started purring when I picked him up. I miss all of you very much, but am feeling affirmation in my choice to come here by the wonderful people I will be working with.
I hope you are all well and I will try to post some pictures later this week.
-Emily

Background on Doulos Discovery School

Doulos is a private K-12 school that was started only 5 years ago. The school consists of local and international teachers with roughly 160 students. The school was started with a vision of building bridges for rich and poor, Catholic and Protestant students and community members. The teaching is based on experiential and explorative learning. US national standards are used as a guideline for content and to prepare students for educational opportunities past high school. The main goal of the school is to equip future leaders to be socially responsible and active with Christ as the guide. I have already been impressed with the school’s dedication to experiential learning and community service. For example, the ninth grade physics class last year built a mini hydroelectric plant on a local coffee farm as part of their learning process. The students actually studied and learned about the plant themselves and involved community members. This is exactly the kind of teaching that I have always wanted to do! The picture below is of the front of the school. If you want to learn more about the school, click on the link above my picture.

Fundraising

I am currently still raising money to support myself while embarking upon this ministry opportunity. I have only reached about half of the $15,000USD that I need to raise to be able to pay for all of my expenses over the next year. If you would like to become part of this ministry please feel free to click on the link above my picture where you can donate online with your credit card or send checks. Please make all checks payable to Doulos Discovery Ministries and be sure to write “Emily Wisseman” on the memo line. Mail checks to Doulos Discovery Ministries PO Box 3080 Burnsville, MN 55337.

Why do I need $15,000USD to support myself in the DR? What does this money cover?

• Asking teachers to raise their own support, allows the school to focus on funding local students that would not be able to afford a decent education otherwise.
• The money you send to the school with my name on it will be used to support my expenses and all donations are tax deductible since Doulos is a charity organization.

Estimated expenses:

$2,000 for airfare
$1,000 for transportation within the country
$1,000 for medical coverage
$1,000 in taxes, incidentals and service charges
$850/month to cover living expenses

Financial support allows me to be involved in this ministry, but even more important is prayerful support. Without God looking after me, I'm sure I would walk into a tangle of trouble and not be nearly as effective in this ministry.

Why did I choose this school?

This school comes highly recommended by several members of my church (New Covenant Fellowship) who have visited or worked with this school during the past year. I applied to the school with support and recommendations from my pastor (Ron Simpkins) and student teaching supervisor and have received and accepted an offer to teach middle school and high school science starting in August 2007. This job would allow me to use my Bachelor of Science in biology, IL state certification in secondary education, recently completed Master’s Degree in Geomicrobiology (with a focus on coral reef diseases), undergraduate research on outdoor education, experience studying Spanish, and potentially my past experience in coaching soccer and rock climbing. The skills I have to offer seem to be exactly what this school is in need of at the moment. I am also personally in need of a job where I can talk openly about what Christ has done in my life, explore my passion for teaching, and spend quality time with children of all ages. I see this opportunity as a way of serving others, but also as an important step toward a career in third world development. I strongly believe that to solve third world problems, I need to develop a deep understanding of life and people in a third world country.

I am excited to be working in a supportive environment dedicated to innovative teaching with a focus on service and community projects that will allow me to refine my skills in Spanish, teaching, and deepen my understanding of other cultures and the needs of the third world. My dream is to use all of the various forms of education I have been blessed with to find a job that will allow me to work in international development. I see the next two years in the Dominican Republic as another key step in God’s plan for my life and a period of growth, learning, and hopefully making a difference in the lives of the students I will be teaching.

Why am I doing this??

Throughout my undergraduate and recently completed graduate studies, I have been searching for a job in which I could serve others using all of the various skills I have developed. During my research excursions in Latin America I fell in love with this area of the world and the people in it. I have also developed a deep compassion for the problems ailing third world countries and am determined to dedicate my life -God willing- to working toward improving some of the problems which I have observed. Throughout all of my countless hours of searching through mission conferences, job postings and company websites, I have not found anything that fits my own goals and uses my own skills as well as Doulos Discovery School in the Dominican Republic (DR). This school was developed to teach the underprivileged students of the DR with a focus on experiential learning, innovative teaching techniques, and leadership. This school aims to give students opportunities to have a quality education that is designed to prepare them for higher education in the DR and the US as well as being in an environment that is thoughtfully exploring what it means to follow Jesus.

I'm moving to the DR!!

I’ve accepted a job I’ve been dreaming up for at least a decade and now that I have actually finished graduate school I am free to embark upon my dream of working to improve life in third world countries. I will be moving to the Dominican Republic at the end of July to start a science teaching position at Doulos Discovery School in Jarabacoa, Republica Dominicana. I have committed to two years of teaching at this school (contingent upon raising $15,000USD a year to cover all of my expenses).