I feel like I have so much to blog about....i waited too long to write this! So I will give a condensed version:)

School was really great last week, but I was so very thankful for a 4 day week! By Thursday, I was completely exhausted for some reason! I think just being super busy. Our progress reports were due to go out Thursday, which meant that I had to get everyones grades together, and then write individual notes home in Spanish, so that just took tons of time! Thursday was completely rediculous, during lunch I helped two of the boys in my class with homework, and they brought me this drink, and it ended up being this 911 energy drink they sell here, but it was really good so I split it with them....HOLY ENERGY!!! I was like going crazy all afternoon, but it ended up being a great afternoon...thankfully we were just having a fun afternoon with a bit of learning mixed in...haha and lesson learned, don't accept drinks from anyone! Thursday afternoon we had a great soccer practice! I spent all my planning time on Thursday researching fun drills and planning for practice, and it ended up being really fun! I was so glad, because I was pretty nervous going into it! I think it is going to be a great experience to be "Coach Stanley" :) weird though.

We left early Friday AM for the beach, we were supposed to be taking 2 cars, but one fell through, so we squeezed 8 of us into a CRV--hilarous! (see pictures) It was quite the experience. I sat in the way back trunk facing the back of the car, which was interesting because it meant I had direct eye contact with every person who drove behind us, and that isn't always the best thing here! Seeing "gringas" is so exciting that people get a little crazy sometimes! We had these crazy guys on motorcycles following us, a car full of guys offering us rum/beer (because everyone drinks and drives here) and people taking our pictures like crazy! We had to drive through the city on our way to the beach, so we stopped at McDonalds at 8:30 AM looking for one thing: ICE CREAM!! haha the workers thought we were so crazy, and they obviously didn't have any....but it was worth a try! We finally made it to the beach and stayed at this awesome house we rented for like $20 a night each!!! So sweet! Spent the day swimming/boogieboarding/playing paddleball/plenty of other random things and just enjoying the ocean and the HUGE WAVES they have in Cabarete! It was a wonderful day!
I got up early both Saturday and Sunday morning to watch the sunrise, and was so grateful that I did! It was so awesome to see such a beautiful picture of God's wonder each morning! Saturday morning I was reading in the Psalms and randomly came to "The Lord reigns, He is robed in magesty, and armed with strength. The world is firmly established, it can't be moved! Your throne was established long ago, you are from all eternity. The seas have lifted up, O Lord! The seas have lifted their voice, they have lifted their pounding waves. Mightier than the thunder of great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea, the LORD IS MIGHTY! Your statutes stand firm, holiness adorns your house for endless days, O Lord!" What an awesome chapter to read when sitting on the beach. Such a much needed reminder of just how amazing God is! Ps 95 "The sea is His, for He made it! Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord, for He is our maker! We are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care!" Ps 96 "Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord all the earth!" That also reminded me of a quote a friend told me the other day:"There are always 2 stories in life, the one you see and the one God sees" and I feel like that is exactly what I needed to be reminded of this weekend! God is awesome, He has a story, He has a plan, He IS in control, but I need to give Him complete control before His plan can take place! Stop feeling overwhelemed and give God control!
One of the girls, Melisa brought her guitar, so we had worship time at night, which was perfect! Just a weekend full of being in awe/worship of our God!
Sunday morning was amazing too.....I was on the beach wishing one thing: for my DOG! haha! Might sound funny, but I really do! This cute stray came up and sat by me when we were watching the sunrise, and just stuck around all morning! He even sat and waited for me when I went swimming! (i will put up pictures of that too!) It was so cool, and such a blessing to have a bit of "dog time":)
OH just remembered one more thing--I DROVE this weekend! It was so scary, but so exciting! There are no traffic laws here at all, so driving can get a bit crazy, but I braved it and had so much fun! Totally worth being scared. I decided I need to get better so when I have visitors I can drive them places:)
Anyways....sorry this is so choppy and long! Way too much to say! We have Wyld Life tomorrow night--pray for as successful a night as last time please!