God Bless Us, Every one...

Merry Christmas!

Our first holiday season in New England has turned out to be a great one! I've spent the afternoon baking up a storm of Christmas cookies (I made a bunch earlier in the month, but apparently not enough to last!) and finished wrapping the last couple of presents. We really have had a wonderful mix of relaxation and a lot of hard work while we've been out here. Sometimes as the days go by it is hard to notices the subtle changes that God is making and working out in you, but I got a fun glimpse of it last night when I talked to my dad for the first time in awhile. Talking to him, I can really see how God has been growing, healing and changing us during this time. It may feel like everyday is such a small baby step, but they've added up! It gives me all the more confidence to pray and trust that he will make sure that we are ready for this job that he has given us.

Thank you so much to all of you who have already responded to with love and support to the letters that we sent out a couple weeks ago. It's amazing how blessed I feel and the wonderful way that it makes us feel so much closer to all of you, even when we're thousands of miles away. It means more than we could ever say and as the day gets closer we will be coveting your prayers more than ever!

The official date as it stands is February 19th. If you would like some direction on your prayers for us, we will be dealing with a lot of logistics of our trip right after the holidays and there are a lot of elements that need to work together and fall into place:
* Health Insurance
* Plane Tickets
* Selling our Car
* Finances
* Dr's visits, etc.
Our own prayer is that these things would go smoothly and that God would remind us consistently that he is in charge and that any worry or stress on our part is doubting his ability to take care of us- and look where he's brought us so far :)

Andy Williams has me convinced- this really is the most WONDERFUL time of the year! Have a very Merry Christmas and 'God bless us, every one'!

Dan and Kari

Our Christmas Tree! (well, one of them)

I convinced Dan that we needed one for downstairs too :)

We spend a lot of time playing with our puppy Diego

Out to see "Tangled 3D" with the family after Thanksgiving dinner

The day it started to feel real:

As may be expected, getting ready to leave the country has brought on an interesting journey of emotions. Most of the time, honestly, it doesn't feel quite real. It's that dream that we've always had that was always going to happen "someday". So even now that we finally know exactly when that "someday" is, it hasn't stopped feeling like that dream lying ahead.

But it's actually those few moments when it DOES feel real that you have to worry about! We've been at the computer all morning (and now into the afternoon) working on the ever daunting "support letter". I must have proof-read it eleven times, when it finally started to sink in. 

I've never been one to be afraid of the unknown. I love it and tend to run head long toward it. No, what scares me isn't the unknown- it's being unprepared. Makes me shudder to think of it! Ever since moving out to Connecticut our days have been filled with planning and preparation. We've been getting passports renewed, Dr's appointments set up, setting up an insurance plan, getting rid of phone lines...all that kind of fun stuff. But no matter how many times I've written it into my schedule, I haven't been able to really make God work with me and show up when I demand him to, and prepare my heart how and when I want it. And no matter how meticulously I proof-read this letter, I cannot ensure that it will bring us even $3.00 worth of support. This is really happening and I am unprepared in a way that I can do nothing about but wait and trust... terrifying.

Sitting here, it is suddenly starting to make more sense why the idea of waiting on God and His sovereignty over our lives has come up quite a bit lately ;)

How It All Began...

On September 22nd, 2010, Dan and I had a chance meeting through a mutual friend (thanks Amanda!!) with Joe and Shannon Zimmerman. It wasn't a long meeting, but driving away, we knew it had been an important one.
Joe and Shannon, a young couple like us, have been missionaries to the Dominican Republic for the last 2 years through an organization called "Solid Rock Missions". Recently they were asked to take on a different role within the organization, opening up the need for a couple to take their place.

Dan and I were smack dab in the middle of a year of confusion and frustration. It had been so long since we'd heard God's voice that we thought we had forgotten what it sounded like- but after talking with Shannon and Joe, it was like something lit up in us and we couldn't stop thinking about it. Luckily, it turns out they felt the same way :) So within the matter of a couple weeks time we had met, corresponded, been contacted by the directors, interviewed and decided to accept the position!

We couldn't possibly be more thrilled! ...or intimidated. This is the job that we've always dreamed of having and yet, we feel less qualified than ever. In preparation for the road ahead, we closed down our lives in Indiana, and headed out east to stay with family for the next 3 months. It will be a time to heal and to grow. Our hope is that God would restore our joy and help us learn to trust him again.

As it currently stands, we will be moving (with our new puppy Diego :) to the Dominican Republic, February 19th, 2011. We'll be living in a community near western haitian boarder called "San Juan de la Maguana". Solid Rock Missions operates a guesthouse there. The guesthouse is a facility that is made available for any group (religious or otherwise) who would like to come to the DR to do service work. Dan and I will be running the guesthouse. Some of our responsibilities will include: communicating with groups planning on coming down about their expectations and service goals, tailoring an experience to help meet those goals and preparing for their arrival, as well as transportation, meals, and other basic needs while they are staying with us. It will be a full time job, as there will most likely be groups staying with us around 45 weeks a year! 


There is still a lot that we are learning about the Dominican and Solid Rock, so if you'd like more information, we'd recommend skimming the missions website:
http://www.solidrockmissions.org


or the blog of the current guesthouse couple, Joe and Shannon to get a better picture of where we'll be and what it is that we'll be doing:
http://zimmermansdr.blogspot.com


Or of course you can e-mail us anytime at: 


dan.kari.straley@gmail.com