Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Home

For those of you who are faithful followers of our blog, we have arrived safely in the U.S. It was a crazy weekend with lots of family around and many things to do, but it was great to be greeted with so many familiar faces. We had a little trouble getting to KY but we made it and everything is great. We start our months of traveling starting on Thursday so keep us in your prayers as we continue down this road God has sent us.

We love you all.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Good friends...

A good friend reminded me today about a verse that is so applicable to my life right now (and possibly yours):

"Lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." -Proverbs 3:5-6

I (amanda) have been struggling with a few things lately, mostly just being emotionally overloaded, and have been looking for a little peace. And that verse just put all of my emotions in perspective knowing that I am here in the DR, for God's purpose and not for anyone else. He has me in this place in my life for a reason, and it is my job to trust that he knows the way.

I think that sometimes I just make this whole relationship with God so much more difficult than it needs to be. He has the plans. He knows the way. He is in the driver's seat. All I have to do is sit back, put my seatbelt on and enjoy the scenery. If what I do is with good intentions to further God's kingdom, there is nothing more that I can do to please Him. And it doesn't matter who else is pleased in the process. You know, God sure knew a lot when he wrote the Bible.

On a side note:

Please keep Mike and I's friend, Katie, in your prayers. She is going into her 9th month of pregnancy with her and her husband's first child. Today the doctor found a little glitch in the tube that lead's from Grace's (the baby) bladder to her kidneys. The doctor says its something to keep an eye on, but it may fix itself. Please pray for a healthy delivery and some sanity for the new parents as they prepare for Grace's arrival.

Friday, October 20, 2006

Prayers Answered

Thank you to everyone who prayed for our apartment. As of today, it is ours. They came down 1000 pesos which is good, but not what we wanted. We wanted them to come down 2000 pesos (about $60) but because they are making all of the new improvements they are wanting 5000 pesos a month ($150) not including utilities. If we were in the states, this kind of money wouldn't even be an issue, but because of the neighborhood we live in that is A LOT of money. Which is ok...we just need to do some more fund-raising, which is exactly why we are coming home. It's more than twice what we pay now, but we are still working on our 'summer budget' which is about $2000 less than what we should be working at. But, this all worked out to God's will and we have no doubt that everything else will fall into place when He wants it to. This also means that we will have an extra bedroom for GUESTS and we EXPECT many of you to come down and see us. No excuses! :)

Thank you again for all of your prayers and support.

6 days left here in the DR!

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

We need some prayer

For those of you who read this blog, we are in need of some major prayer. After speaking with the lawyer, they are wanting $50 more than we are able to pay, not including utilities. Samira, who is kind of negotiating for us, says that this price is so unbelievable that she can't even believe they are asking this. We just need prayer that all can be negotiated lower or that we know God's will and we can say no even though we really want the apartment. We know that it is all in God's hands, its just we have had our heart set on this apartment and now we may not be able to afford to live in it. Thanks in advance for your prayers, we will update you when we know more.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Final words....

Well, 10 days to go...it's hard to believe, although the last two weeks have gone EXTREMELY slow. We are busy, busy, busy making last minute dominican purchases, figuring out what is staying here and what we're bringing back and filling up our schedule for our time in the states. (Make sure you keep checking our schedule so you can see the changes that are being made, two weekends just filled up today!) We are eagerly anticipating our arrival in the states...although it will be sad to go. We pray that all goes well on our "fund-raising adventures around the U.S." so that we are able and ready to return to the DR in January. Please be praying with us that God's will be done and that we can return "home" in January.

Everything is going well in our planning for the U.S., it's absolutely crazy to think about all the time that will be spent traveling, plus trying to make time for me (Amanda) to be in the office and get some design work done. But amidst all the craziness, we continue to feel God's blessings upon us as we could NEVER imagine doing anything else, but this. We look back in hindsight over the past four and a half months and just can't believe all the things that have happened and all the changes that have been made. It's so amazing to be resting in God's will and feel His hand on your daily work. It's such an awesome place to be, crazy, but awesome!

Our major prayer requests for these next couple weeks are:

1-We still haven't heard anything about the larger apartment we are waiting to hear about. Prayer that some things can be finalized before we leave, or that doors are closed or opened to help decisions be made.

2-After hours of debate, we have decided that we need to sell our truck back in the states and replace it with something more gas efficient. As you can tell by our schedule, we will be doing more traveling in the next two and a half months than we have in the past 4 years of being together. Our truck isn't practical anymore. (This is very hard for me because it was given to me as a graduation present from my parents...if you know me, you know I love that truck!) We have found a vehicle that is available for the same amount that we could sell our truck for, and it has 60,000 less miles on it, and gets twice the gas mileage. We need prayer to sell our truck quickly and that the owner of the car is willing to sell it for a little lower than it's worth.

3-Pray for Mike and I as we begin to prepare to start a family. Help us to have wisdom and discernment as to when is a good time, and also that there are no complications or problems that would keep us from having a family.

4-Pray for us as we begin to wrap things up in the DR for our trek home. Just that we can get everything done efficiently and effectively and all goes well with all of our travel plans. As well as safety on the 26th as we have a long day of flying back to Louisville.

5-Pray for Mike's brother, Tim, who is at the beginning stages of entering the music business. He has try-outs/rehearsals with a producer from Nashville next week. Pray for him to learn the songs quickly that he has to learn for the try-outs, for ease of nerves as he performs and practices and just that God's hand is on the whole process of Tim and his talent for music.

6-My sister, Ashley, is finishing up her first semester of her second year in med school and is in the process of thinking, studying and setting things up to take the boards next summer. Pray for her end of the year exams as well as her sanity as she continues to adjust to becoming a doctor.

7-Mike's grandfather and my Uncle Owen were both diagnosed with Prostate Cancer within months of each other. My uncle has had his prostate removed but there may be some other complications and he may need to do chemo as well. Mike's grandfather is in the process of taking hormone pills and may also being doing chemo sometime in the near future depending on what the doctor's say.

Ok, this was a long one. Sorry about that but there's so much going on and I don't know if I will have time next week to update the blog. Please, please, please continue to comment and e-mail as much as possible for encouragement as well as just communication with everyone. It's hard because sometimes we feel like we miss out on stuff back home by being here, but you can help us stay up to date by letting us know how your families are doing as well.

Thank you all for taking us this far on the journey...we look foward to what God has in store for all of us together, in the future.

Love, Mike and Mandi

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Sometimes God leads us elsewhere...

Haha...I bet you FREAKED when you read that title line! Well, if you didn't freak, good, cause there's nothing to freak about. I mean, the title still has something to do with what I'm writing about, but no worries if you thought our stay as missionaries was over.

God has put a little twist in our plans here as missionaries, as far as where we live, that is. We have posted several pictures about our new apartment that we have worked very hard to make a home...but now, God has brought a new apartment to our attention. You see, in the Dominican republic (especially the city we live in) it is incredibly difficult to find a good apartment. Not only a good apartment, just an apartment itself is hard to find. We LOVE our current apartment, but something has come our way. There is a third floor apartment, just down the street for our current one, that is being remodeled. Did you hear that? Remodeled...that is like NEVER heard of here. Anyway, it has a full kitchen, living room, THREE (count them) Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a balcony out front and a porch out back. All that for only $50 more a month than we pay now. It's not all worked out, and we haven't made any decisions or anything, but we need prayer from all of you for wisdom and discernment to make the best decision.

Since we are planning on trying to start a family next year, we will definitey need more room than we currently have. We just didn't expect something like this to come up so quickly. So PLEASE be praying for us, as we are nearing the date to come back to the states and now we are forced to make some major decisions we weren't ready to make yet. Thanks to all of you prayer-warriors, you have done an amazing job of going to God on our behalf so far! We love you all...more to come.