Prayers & Answers

We’ve been praying a lot since Kisha’s last post. There is nothing like logistics to get God’s people on their knees with the quickness! It’s been good, and I hope to be reflecting more and more on what great stuff God has been doing in our lives lately.

We had a partial answer to our prayers for provision last night. One of our friends got a hold of us because he found a really nice apartment near his place. The photos below are what he sent us. It’s a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 2nd floor apartment that has a place to park a car and hot water (not all Dominican houses in the area we are moving to have hot water). Basically, it’s perfect. The best part was that it’s about half of what we had budgeted! Thank God for answered prayers!



This will obviously help us in our month-to-month expenses, but we’re still looking for supporters in both our one-time gifts for move-in costs, and on a month-to-month basis.

I’m plugging away at my studies. I’ve pretty much wrapped up the Spanish class I was taking, and I’m over ½ done with ELL class. So I’m hoping to wrap up these last two classes before my birthday, and it looks like I’m on track. Please pray that I can be focused and diligent.

Also, we’re moving in a couple weeks. Our lease is up, and we’ll be staying with my parents until we take off in July. Pray that the moving goes without a hitch, and that it will be a good time of closeness with the family before we leave.

Recalculations

So Eric and I have taken a look at our budgeting and found some items that needed updating, and the results were sobering! Unfortunately that means I have to raise my fundraising goals. I wish I could say that I was full of faith, but at the moment I am a little worried. I know that God is in control and that we have been called to this mission, so I am confident in the end result and scared of the process. It has been hard to put much energy into fund raising because I am also finishing my last term at PCC. So I really need to trust that God is speaking to people and directing funding my way.

Let me tell you about one of those girls… I have watched this girl grow up and she is an amazing person who wants to work hard and earn money to help her whole family. She is now 17 and is painfully aware of the poverty that she lives in. She has two years before she can finish her high school degree, only public school there means that she goes 2 or 3 days a week for a few hours. That is not much and outside of school there is nowhere for her to put her energy. When she began school she was attending the TEARS school in the barrio. The TEARS school is of a much higher quality than the public schools, only it stopped at 3^rd grade. Eric and I have been planning on putting her into La Vega Christian school for her last two years so that she can finish strong and be prepared for college. She wants to be a teacher!

So if you hold one of my fundraising boxes please get the word out about these wonderful Dominican girls that need a chance to thrive in this world! Or if you haven’t given yet please do. If you cannot commit to giving monthly that is fine a one-time gift is wonderful and much appreciated.

One-Way Ticket?

We are plugging along in our preparations for the DR. I’m working on the schooling stuff like a madman, trying to get things finished by May 31st so I can get all the paperwork in on time. I am pretty much done with my class on Spanish in the classroom, and working on a class for writing and a class for English Language Learners. All three will be really good for my upcoming teaching assignment.

As far as logistics are concerned, there hasn’t been much going on. I’m waiting for Uncle Sam to renew my passport so it doesn’t expire while I’m over there, but other than that it’s pretty quiet. We did buy our plane tickets, which was kind of weird. I’ve never purchased one-way tickets to a foreign country! I’m sure I’ll get used to the idea soon enough, though. It does make the whole thing more of a faith walk somehow… we are trusting God is gonna take care of us!

Fundraising, Photos, and Maynard

Fundraising is going full swing and I am so appreciative of the encouragement and support I am receiving. Thank you everyone! In order to be fully funded in my monthly expenses I need 12 commitments of $50 dollars a month and so far I have 5 of those! Our onetime expenses have not been coming together so swiftly.

In other news, I am wrapping up my last term with PCC. This is a fun term for me because I am taking a photography class and Latin American Literature. I hope the photography will help me be able to tell my story with pictures and words.

This past weekend the reality of what I am leaving behind began to sink in. We were going through our closets and getting rid of clothes we will not need any more. It hit me, and I became very emotional. My dog Maynard means the world to me, and I am very sad to have to leave him behind! Please pray for me because Maynard is a great comfort to me, and I lean on his unyielding affection. Sounds silly but it's true... I just love my dog!

From Full-Time to Full-Time

Today is the first Monday since working at the clinic. I had been thinking things were going to slow down—just a little—as we started this transition. So far, that hasn’t really been the case. I have managed to line up more things than I can probably finish before it’s time to pick up Kisha and head over to kick it with the Monday Nite Posse. Most notably I’ll be dropping in at Faith Bible to let them know I’m available to sub from now till the end of the year. It’s exciting to think about being in the classroom again, spending quality time with ill-adjusted teenager types, and simply doing the things that I love doing.

So, I guess I just jumped from full-time receptionist to full-time… um… life!

A Good Friend

We had the opportunity to have a good friend over for lunch today. She has been living in La Vega for the past 9 years, working with TEARS in an administrative roll, and ministering to the community from the corner of 12th & Principal. Today we spoke a lot about logistics, what it's like to live in La Vega, what kinds of things to expect, and generally how to maintain sanity when living abroad. It's fun to try and get our heads around what we're about to do, but I think it's the sort of thing you just have to try and be flexible about when you get there. She looked over the budget that we have planned, and seemed to think it was a good amount to help us live a healthy life while we're down there. She gave us cooking tips, and promised to show us a couple places to eat out at. The above photo is taken from the house she lives in when she's down in the DR.

Set Up

The adventure keeps drawing nearer and I am so excited. It is now official that I will be working as a missionary through TEARS. My specific responsibilities have not yet been defined but I know they will keep me busy! My vision is to mentor young school age girls helping them to dream and see the value of their lives. Also I will continue to mentor the couple of teenage girls I have maintained a relationship with over the last 10 years. I am praying that God will help me to dive into deep foundation establishing relationships with these girls as they transition to adulthood and need to have the confidence to resist the trappings of poverty. As the Dominican Republic develops there are more and more opportunities and I see myself as a guide for these young women to learn how to rely on God while being more self-sufficient.

Along with these personal ministries I will be serving in an administrative roll for TEARS in general. TEARS is a faith-based nonprofit that depends on individual donations (for more information check out http://www.tears.org/). I won't have a salary but will be raising my support. Thankfully God has provided a paying job for Eric and I only need to raise $600 a month in on going support.

As part of our ministry vision Eric and I are hoping to be able to live in La Vega so that I will be close to the community that I will be serving. This desire comes with a financial cost. We will need to get an apartment and furnish it with the normal things, but in the DR apartments do not come with appliances! That is why will are looking for $5000 in initial set up expenses. We will also need to purchase a vehicle so Eric can commute to Santiago Christian School, where he will be working.

If you would like to give to this ministry you may give online or through the mail. To make an online donation go to http://www.tears.org/crm/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=21 and follow the instructions. To give through standard mail please make checks payable to TEARS and put "Children of Light" in the subject line. The stateside address is:

T.E.A.R.S

3614 NE 50th Avenue

Portland, OR 97213