Time Is Flying!

I can't remember where I heard this, maybe in one of those FWD: emails or maybe from you-I'm not sure; but it went something like this: "Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer to the end you get, the faster it goes!" If life were going any faster for us I'm not sure what we would do!

What have we been up to?

Well, we both are thoroughly enjoying spending time with our Young Life small groups. The girls that I have been leading for 2 years now are graduating, and I couldn't be more excited for the plans God has for their lives. They are such a fantastic group of young women! Rob's ecstatic about the trip he will be leading to Colorado with his Young Life group. He's telling me about some new hiking boots that will be a necessary purchase for their trekking in CO, and how great they will be to also use in the DR. Sounds good to me! Rob's been working so hard on his Thesis, and is making great progress. I'm so proud of all the hard work and determination that he has put into this project. I know we will both breathe a sigh of relief once it is completed.

This is my second year teaching Kindergarten in Anoka, and it has been such a great school year! Kindergarten in the Spring is my favorite time of year because the kids are so independent and they are blossoming as readers, writers, and mathematicians. All day long I wonder what teaching Kindergarten will be like in the DR, and how it will be similar and different to teaching in the U.S. It will be such an adventure! Robbie is finishing his first school year teaching High School Physics (and Physical Science) and has been blessed with a helpful and encouraging teaching staff. People say that the first year is always the hardest, and while it has presented its challenges, Robbie has faced them with a lighthearted attitude and had a great school year as well.

After we figured out that we would be leaving mid-July, the reality of our soon approaching moving date came at us pretty hard. In less than 3 months we will be moving! We've spent the past few weeks working on our budget, figuring out our needs, and a creating a "game plan" for fundraising and moving. While the process seems overwhelming at times, we are trusting that God will provide.

Thanks for following along on this journey with us,
Meghan and Rob

Please Pray!

Today Robbie and I got an email from Krista Wallace, director of Doulos Discovery School. She asked if we could come down 2 weeks earlier than we had planned, to give Rob some experience with a work team that will be there the week of July 16-23. We both think that this will be a great opportunity for Rob to see what is required for hosting a work team, and to better prepare him for his role as Workteam Host.

This also means that we need to mentally prepare for leaving mid-July! Our last day of school on our contracts is June 11, which means we will have about one month (less for Rob) to switch gears and get everything taken care of. Prior to our commitment to Doulos, Rob had committed to take his Young Life small group to the Wilderness Camp in Buena Vista, Colorado, where they will be summiting a mountain. He will be hiking, camping, and leading these young men in their faith for a week in June.

This has been a challenging Spring Break with more work to do than the average work week! We definitely got some spring cleaning done and spent memorable time with family for Easter. We were also somewhat overwhelmed with the amount of things on our plate. Rob is continuing to hammer out his Thesis, but it is a constant struggle for both of us to find balance between family, work, Young Life, school work, friends, and each other. With all of these things going on, we are starting to realize just how quickly our mid-July departure date is arriving! We have fundraising, moving, and some Spanish to learn before we go! We know that we need God to carry us through this busy season of preparation. Below are a few ways you can keep us in your prayers!

• Continued growth in our relationship with the Lord
• Quality time with each other
• Time and motivation for Rob to finish his Thesis
• Courage and direction for our Fundraising process
• That God would prepare our hearts for this transition

Grace and Peace,
Meghan and Robbie

Cool Jarabacoa Video

Week 3
Happy Easter! We've had a great weekend of spending time with family-eating, talking, laughing! In the middle of all of it, it's easy to forget the true meaning of why we celebrate Easter-so it was refreshing to get a reminder at church this morning. Because of Jesus' death on the cross, and resurrection, those who place their faith in Him are forgiven, and may experience true Joy. "So embrace Him, walk with Him, and trust Him in the difficult circumstances in your life. Make sure Jesus is the foundation of building a great life." (from Eaglebrook Church website)

"In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." Proverbs 3:6

A week or two ago, we were looking online trying to read about Jarabacoa, DR, when we came across this video clip. Someone is videotaping, while a man is driving around Jarabacoa and telling about the town. It's pretty cool!

Jarabacoa Driving Tour

Robbie's mom has ordered us two of the books on our list, so we are excited to get them and start reading! One of them is Funding Your Ministry, which we are excited to get because we are not sure of how to start the fundraising process. Hopefully it has some good ideas!

We've felt so encouraged during this beginning part of our journey, and we want to thank you for your love and support! If you have any questions or want to know more let us know and we'd be happy to fill you in!

xoxo,
Meghan and Robbie

Books, Books, TETNUS!

Week 2:
So we got our Teacher Preparation Packet this week! It's 16 pages long, and answers just about all of the questions we have or can think of right now. A little overwhelming, but very resourceful in helping answer questions that family and friends may have! We have a mandatory list of books that we need to read before we go:

• The First Six Weeks of School by Paula Denton and Roxann Kriete
• Guide for Planning a Learning Expedition by Outward Bound Inc.
• Foreign to Familiar by Sarah A. Lanier
• Funding Your Ministry by Scott Morton

We have checked for a few of these books at Barnes and Noble, but no luck. We have found them on Amazon, but if anyone has one of these books and would be willing to let us use them we would really appreciate it! :) We were recently blessed by one of our Young Life kids with the Rosetta Stone for Spanish! It is going to come in SO handy in helping us learn Spanish (and boy I need it!).

Another "highlight" of the week: I got my updated Tetnus shot and round 1 of 2 for the Hep. A (yayyyy, and the crowds roar!) and I handled it like a PRO! I only cried when the doctor was in the room! By the time the nurse came in I had gotten my breathing under control so she could give me the shots. I do not remember the Tetnus hurting this bad, but all Friday I was such a gimp with my left arm it was hilarious!
xoxo
Meghan and Rob

Starting Out

Week 1
Here we go! This is my first post and I am kind of nervous. I've never blogged before, and I'm not so sure I'm as witty and wordy as those who do this regularly, but we are excited to share our experiences and journey with our family and friends!

Our Story

For almost two years now, Robbie and I have been praying that God would use us in missions. We have had many family and friends journey through this time in our lives with us. While we were on a leader's retreat with Young Life this February, we shared our prayer request with the other leaders. Our prayer was that we would be patient with God, and trust in His perfect timing for our lives. We have had a strong desire to live and serve somewhere other than Minnesota, but we also didn't want to just jump into something for the sake of doing it. On our car ride home from the leader's retreat, a friend of ours, Joanie, told us that she had been to the Dominican Republic for a work crew trip (as a volunteer), and thought that we would be a perfect fit at the school there (Doulos Discovery School). We were excited to listen to her stories, and as soon as we got home, we checked out the school's website. After reading about their history and mission, I was so excited and almost on the verge of tears! It seemed like such a great fit for us. To make this long story a bit shorter...this Tuesday we had an interview with the Director of Doulos (Krista Wallace). Again, I was almost brought to tears as we met for the first time. She walked in the door to Panera, and as I walked toward her to introduce myself and shake her hand, she just reached out and gave me, and then Robbie, great big hugs. What a welcoming way to join the Doulos family! We spent the next three hours praying, learning, and talking with Krista about life in the DR.

We are now working on wrapping our heads around what to do first, next, ahh! This is going to be an amazing adventure, and we are both so excited for what God has in store for our lives. Robbie took Spanish in High School, so he has some background, but I don't know much at all! One of our first steps is to start practicing. Right now he is using Byki to practice on our computer, and we have talked about renting some CD's from the library to listen to on our 2 hour commute to/from work. We also have some friends who have offered to help tutor us! Thank You! We also will be working on a budget for when we live there, as we will be fundraising money for our salaries. This is also something new for us--PRAYERS are welcome! Robbie and I will be raising full support for our 2 years in the Dominican, and we know that God will provide. We appreciate prayers and advice from those who may have experience doing this!

We thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers! If you would like to get together to chat more about our adventure let us know we would love to fill you in with more details!

Much LOVE,

Meghan and Robbie