Closing Out

It is Tuesday evening, and I am exhausted! I over did it a little in the last two days. Eric and I celebrated the 4th of July with our house church. We had a great time hiking in the Gorge and watching the fireworks in Hood River, Oregon. Then today we went to the Oregon Zoo.

We have started saying goodbye to friends now, and that is hard for me. I am so excited to go, yet I am sad about leaving friends. Friends are like family for me, and I am reluctant to accept change. I am thankful for the time off of work to get the chance to have quality time with so many of my loved ones here in Portland. Every day from now until we leave there is some kind of event in place where we will be saying goodbye to people we love. The closure is good though, and it is getting very exciting.

With each day the reality of leaving Portland for more than a vacation becomes more real. It seems like I should have something inspirational to say to all of my friends, but when we hang out there is nothing profound to say. I have not had the life changing experience yet... I feel prepared and ready for this adventure. The unexpected will happen, but we are blessed with such an amazing community in the DR that I am not scared. That is a big answer to prayer. Fear is an emotion that has been a huge part of my life since I was young. But at this point in my life I am experiencing confidence and hope more than fear. I am confident that we are doing the right thing. I am confident that God will provide for our needs. I am confident that our friends and family will not abandon us. I am hopeful for the impact this adventure will have on our lives. I am hopeful for the impact we will have on the community we are entering. I am hopeful for my future, for our future.

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this change of attitude and perspective!

12 days

The count down continues! The next week and a half will feel like a whirl wind. There are thankfully a few slow days interspersed with the hussle and bustle of saying goodbye and enjoying Portland favorites! I had my last Physical Therapy session for real this morning. I am in good shape and we are hoping there will be little to no set backs while I am away. Tony Rocklin from Therapeutic Associates is an amazing support and has patiently walked this long road of healing with me. I am blessed by him and his staff. One of the events that I am most looking forward to is a lunch that I am throwing for his office a week from tomorrow.

Where will we be in the next few days...

July 1st- Hiking the Gorge

July 2nd- Family Wedding

July 3rd- BNC

July 5th- Zoo

July 6th- Therapeutic Associates

July 7th- The Journey With Christ send off

July 8th- Our Last Date in Portland

July 9th- Winquist/Townsley Wedding

July 10th- Family day and departure at 10:30pm

I know there are many people that I am going to wish I had gotten a chance to see, and I am thankful for the time I do get to spend with people I love. Please be gracious with me if we don't get together it is not because you are forgotten. If you want to see us the best place to just show up would be Beaverton Nazarene Church this Sunday!

Kisha

21 Days

It is hard to believe we only have 21 days before our departure. We have been asking ourselves what we need to do before we leave the US, and slowly collecting packable items that are hard to get a hold of for a reasonable price in La Vega. Yesterday my brother gifted us a pair of really good flashlights, since electricity is somewhat sketchy, and we may need to provide ourselves with our own light at some point. Some personal care items have also made it to our luggage, as well as spices that won't be readily available. (I can't live life without Kisha's chutney!)

I have been thinking about how wonderful it's been to have such great support from our family and friends in the Portland area. They have been helping us focus on what we're about to do, asking us pertinent questions, and reminding us that we can do whatever God is calling us to do. We have also received similar messages from our friends in La Vega, reminders that we can do it because God is with us and they hope to take care of us and love us in our new home.

Our remaining time in Portland is full of weddings, get-togethers, and spending time with family. We'll be visiting BNC and The Well in the next couple of weeks, so if you attend one of those churches please look for us and say hello.

One important note: Kisha has a photo website up and running. It is a place that you can view and purchase her photography from our recent travels to Boston & the Dominican Republic, as well as photos from Portland and our Oregon hiking adventures.
Check it out!
backprint.com/rememberpeace

First Day of Freedom

This is my first day without working and it feels great! It means I made it to the home stretch and all that is left for me to do is enjoy my friends, family and favorite places in Portland! I am a college graduate now from PCC. This is a huge accomplishment for me. I started taking classes 10 years ago so it was a long slow road. I am not sure what my academic future looks like but I do know I am taking a one year break so that Eric and I can enjoy some time together and settle into our new life.

Some things I am looking forward to are hiking and photographing my home city. I have started an online gallery for my photography. I will be selling my photos so please think of me when you need a gift or greeting cards. I will have photos of the great outdoors in Oregon and of my life in the Dominican Republic.

Fundraising update- we are only $210 away from being fully funded in our monthly support. As for the one time gifts that will help us to buy a vehicle we have only received $350 so far. That is not much towards a car there so we are praying that people are moved to give in both areas.

The Final Paper

I just turned in my final paper! This means that I should be right on track for the license renewal by my birthday. I’m extremely grateful that I was able to stop working and focus on the school part… I’m not sure if I would have been able to finish while working at the clinic.

Kisha also finished her schooling this week, which means that we’ve passed another mile marker in our adventure. School was one of the loose ends that we needed to tie down before we move to the DR, and now Kisha will have her associate degree and I will have a 10 year renewal on my teaching license. Things seem to be moving quickly, with at least one big thing on the agenda for each week. Next week will be Kisha’s last day of work, and we’ll have less than 30 days to finish everything up.

I’m still waiting for my passport, so if you’re praying you might keep that in mind. I sent it off over a month ago, and had to re-send the application a couple weeks ago. Pray that it gets back to me with the quickness so that it won’t interrupt travel plans! Also, pray for good connections with people when we get down there. We have a church family that Kisha already mostly knows, but I’m just getting to know everybody. Normally that’s a non-issue, but there is more of a language barrier with this particular gig. The people were extremely kind and easy to get along with when we were down there for vacation, so I’m not super worried about it, but I’m praying for a couple of really good, really close relationships for myself (I know, everything is always me, me, me). Pray for Kisha as she finishes her last week of work, that she can finish strong and with as little stress as possible.

Moved In With The Folks

I turned in the keys to our apartment earlier today, and we have officially moved in with my parents. There was a HUGE pile of junk in their garage for a couple days, but I’ve mostly got it trimmed down to our luggage, the stuff I put up in the attic, and the junk I pawned off on our friends (thanks friends!). So far it’s cool living with family, but they’re already starting to get nostalgic of our childhood. Just this evening they’ve listed at least 9 of the cute things we did as kids. We were VERY cool kids, apparently.

I didn’t know how much moving in with the folks would put our upcoming adventure in time perspective. Getting everything packed as if we are leaving has reminded me how close we are to leaving. We have 40 days left! I feel almost ready… does anyone ever feel fully ready for this sort of thing? Since I’ve never done anything like this I don’t even know how to know if I’m ready or not. It’s exciting and overwhelming at the same time. I’ve managed to short circuit a few times, which never really feels great, and usually requires a few hours recovering equilibrium on my brother’s Xbox 360. But other than that I’m doing pretty well. I’m close to finishing my final class for continuing education, and that should leave me plenty of time to read Pop’s new book and the required readings for new teachers at Santiago Christian School.

We are grateful that God has provided us a place to live this month. Most of us have heard that God will provide, and we say it to each other with some frequency. It is one thing to hear it, and another to actually see the places that God is already providing. It feels good to know that God has been providing, and helps us remember that God will continue to take care of us. Kisha only needs a few more people to sign up for the monthly contributions, which is really good. We could still use some help with the one-time giving, so it’s not too late to join the action.

But now I must retire.

7 More Weeks

We’ve made it to the seven week mark. I like talking about it in days, because 50-something sounds so much less intimidating than 7. Yep, it’s coming fast!

It seems like most of life revolves around tying up loose ends that are the inevitable by-product of living life. We’ll be moving into Mom & Pop’s next weekend, and as usual we have more junk than I thought we had. Where did we get all this junk? Didn’t I throw or give away almost everything 6 months ago when we first felt like God was leading us to something outside the US? I’m confident I gave almost everything away… well… I meant to, anyways.

I have sent away my final assignments for the Spanish class that I was taking online. I’m 1.5 assignments away from wrapping up the ELL class, and that just leaves the writing class, which I hope to get done in the next two weeks. That would be plenty of time to submit my paperwork to the State of Oregon for renewal of my teaching license. I caught myself daydreaming about how great it would feel to have all the class work behind me… Good motivator to finish!

I’ve been thinking a lot about life, more specifically about my own culture. In the US we have a tendency to think that we don’t have much culture… “I’m Heinz 57” is a relatively common phrase. There is nothing like preparation (and I assume actually going) to live in the context of a different culture to help remind you about yourself, your upbringing, and the kind of lifestyle you’re used to. I have culture, and although it’s a culture that seems fused with lots of different input, it remains quite American. I have a relatively large “personal bubble” that I’ve been trying to shrink in preparation for the DR. I’m VERY used to popping into the local Safeway and paying reasonable prices for easy-to-prepare food. I walk around in total safety, without worry about people really trying to take advantage of me on my 5 min walk to the MAX, or without worrying if the police are going to ask me to empty my wallet. I don't have to negotiate the price of most of the things I buy.

These are cultural axioms that will be changing in about 7 weeks. Pray for Kisha and I as we attempt to avoid being lost in translation, that we will be able to identify things that are cultural misunderstandings, and that we may navigate them in a way that helps us love the people we find ourselves surrounded by.