PORTLAND, MAINE!!!

So I am pretty sure everyone already knows this, but I like to think of this blog as something we will go back and read later in life, like an old journal, so I wanted to announce that we are moving to PORTLAND, MAINE!!!!

Everything happened really quickly… Dan and I have been applying and interviewing for jobs for a couple months now (really ever since we came back from our December trip). It has been an emotional process and at times, very challenging. I found it extremely difficult to work full-time then come home and job search. As they say, “job searching is a full-time job”. Even though Dan and I tried to stay positive I think we were both feeling weary from trying to maintain that balancing act.

So a few weeks ago I interviewed for a job with Safe Passage/Camino Seguro. It went really well and they stressed that they wanted to fill the position asap. But then I didn't hear anything... until a couple weeks later all of a sudden, they were asking for my references, requesting a second interview and offering me a job! In a crazy turn of events I was offered TWO jobs in ONE day! :-O But that is a story for another time….

After weighing our options, Dan and I decided that moving to Maine was the right decision. Since then everything has been a whirlwind as we've tried to wrap up our jobs here and figure out logistics for our big move. Our last day at Mayan Families is tomorrow- Wednesday, March 13^th. Dan and Lucia fly out this coming Friday, March 15^th and I fly out the following Friday (the 22^nd). So much change! And so fast! But we are really excited and happy!

I will share more later about my new position and other details, but for now I just wanted to let everyone know and ask for your prayers. One of the most stressful parts of our move has been figuring out everything with Lucia. It turns out moving a dog from Guatemala to the US is quite complicated! Luckily, we have someone helping us who is truly an angel (and an expert on puppy transport). Please pray that we can have peace as we finish our jobs, say goodbyes, finish packing and move out of our casita. Also, that everything goes smoothly with Dan and Lucia’s travel- from traveling to the city to everything with the airline and that they both arrive Stateside safe and sound.

That’s it for now! Cheers to a new adventure! :)

If only she was still this small!
Then transport would be easy! We love her so much!!!

Change. Change. Change.

Well friends there has been a lot of changes in our life lately. And no, I am not pregnant! :-P

Let me fill you in.... Recently, Dan and I have been going through some difficult times financially. Earlier this year Dan was teaching at a local school, but since they follow the U.S. school schedule he finished in June. He continued working at a local restaurant, but it was only a couple days a week. As many of you know I get paid a monthly stipend. It is not a salary, but a small monthly payment- enough for someone to live simply here in Pana. For someone like me who is married and supporting not only myself it is difficult to make it stretch for two people. (Almost all of my foreign co-workers are single and support only themselves.) Due to the difficulty of living off my stipend and some challenges with my current position Dan and I started looking for new opportunities. We began seriously praying about and pursuing other options. It's not that we are unhappy here. We simply thought that maybe God was calling us to someplace new. (For those of you concerned that we are going to be vagabonds all our lives I want to mention that we would love for our next step to be something a bit more permanent- a move that is for 2 or 3 years or more.)

Our first surprise lately was that Dan was asked to fill in at our weekly worship gathering at Solomon's Porch. The couple that runs it, Lloyd and Melanie, are in the U.S. for almost two months. They asked Dan to fill in preaching every Sunday and running the service. (He did this in May for a few Sundays.) He was honored that they asked and excited to have the opportunity. They generously offered him a small compensation for his time and efforts. For us it was really unexpected and a very big blessing.

Meanwhile at Mayan Families as the end of the calendar year draws near I have been talking with my co-worker, Laura, about all we need to get done before December in the Education/School Sponsorship Program. Mention of a need came up for an English speaker to help us check missing payments. When I first learned about the opportunity I thought that maybe Dan would be offered something part-time. Imagine our surprise when Mayan Families offered Dan a full-time position! He is really excited and started on Monday. Interestingly enough we are working side by side (we literally sit less than a foot apart) . Now that is some marital bonding! Haha :) He is also helping with some technical things like teaching some of the Guatemalan staff how to use a Mac computer and making thank you videos for visitors.

The last surprise wasn't really a good one, but I want to share it as it's especially important for those who want to support us in prayer. With Dan being offered a full-time position at MF we were faced with the challenge of finding a place for Lucia to stay while we are at work (previously Dan was home a lot during the day and took care of her). After our original plan of asking a couple of friends fell through we decided that the best option was to keep her in the small patio behind our apartment. (She is still a puppy so keeping her inside all day was not an option. Unless we wanted our house destroyed.) We spoke to our landlord about it and he seemed ok with the idea so imagine our surprise when Saturday afternoon we found a note taped to our door stating that it was time for us to move on a.k.a.- find a new place to live!!! Yes, this is a true story. This is one downside to not signing a lease like in the States... Our weekend was a whirlwind as we packed up all our belongings and wrapped our minds around finding a new place to live. We cannot say thank you enough to Lloyd and Melanie who agreed to let us stay in their home while they are in the U.S. It is only for a week or two as we search for a new place, but we are grateful to have a comfortable place to stay while we transition. Also, we are able to keep Lucia outside while we are at work.

Our "daughter", Lucia, during a hike

So, in a just a couple of weeks God threw our world upside down! One minute we thought we may be leaving Pana and the next God clearly directed us to stay. Then, we unexpectedly had to pack up everything and move!

Celebrating Dan's birthday in July

I am grateful for God's guidance and provision during this tricky time. Please pray for us as we search for a new place to live. We are looking for a place that is affordable, safe, and with a space/yard for Lucia. Also, please pray for us as we transition to working full-time and working together. Pray that God would continue to make His plans clear to us and that we would be willing to obey. Thank you!

-Rachel  & Daniel

"Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." -Matthew 6:31-33

Heading H-O-M-E

Well friends, I can hardly believe it, but Daniel and I will be U.S.-bound very very SOON. The past few weeks have been a blur. All of a sudden I went from counting down the days to "ohmygosh! I better pack!!!". Those who know me well know how much I despise packing...

So while I procrastinate beginning that task I thought I'd write a list of 10 things Daniel & I are looking forward to during our trip:

1. Drinking water from the facet! No purification or filtration required. Also, being able to eat fruits and vegetables without sanitizing them or worrying about crazy parasites. 
2. Seeing all of our wonderful family members and friends of course. Especially celebrating two weddings and a retirement! :-) 
3. Food, food, and more food. We have a mental list of foods we miss including: Greek yogurt, nuts, certain fruits & veggies (brussel sprouts!!!), salads, and almost all forms of ethnic food. Luckily I am sure we will be blessed with many delicious meals. 
4. Being able to flush toliet paper! (rather than put it in a trash can) and HOT SHOWERS! Yes, we have hot showers here, but they are just not the same. 
5. Shopping at some of our favorite stores like TARGET and The Body Shop (ok this is probably more me than Dan).
6. Comfy-ness- couches, carpet, a REAL pillow... all in all cushy-ness that we don't often get here. (ps- my worst packing mistake was to not bring a pillow here. I plan to rectify that this trip.)
7. Good beverages- guess who added this one? ;-)
8. Going to a park or two or three. We don't really have those here. Just plazas and "beaches" and they are full of stray dogs, drunk men, and beggars. Can't wait to visit some of our favorite places in Philly like Kelly Dr.
9. Less bugs!- With the rainy season starting this month there have been all sorts of strange insects floating around. 
10. Modern technology like dishwashers and washing machines. 

Hope this list made you smile! One thing we will be sad to leave behind is our babygirl, Lucia. Luckily, she will be at a friend's house playing with other doggies and getting a lot of love. 

"Yeah I'm a dog model in my spare time."

All joking aside please say a prayer for safe travels. We leave Pana tomorrow and fly out Thursday very early (around 6 am. eek!). We are very excited, but also expect to experience some reverse culture shock. Hoping for good health (for me) and fun times for all. For those that don't know, I went to see a natural doctor recently. I will be happy to fill you in in person if you want to hear more about it (kind of a long story). One of my biggest prayer requests at the moment is that my stomach would be ok throughout this trip and that it wouldn't interfere with our time with loved ones.

Thanks for reading & see you sooooooooooooon! (If you want to get in touch with us please feel free to call. I will have my old phone and number.)

An Introduction: Transitioning Transitions

I remember reading somewhere, someplace, that "to transition is to be alive." Well if this is the case, I do not believe anyone could be more alive than Rachel and I right now. We both moved from our previous locations into a temporary living situation, gradually storing our possessions in my parents' basement and brother's attic, coming together in marriage and starting a life together as husband and wife, and soon packing a very limited amount of personal belongings to move to a country we have never been to, a country that we only know about through books, internet, and other people's personal experiences there, a country that I can barely speak the language of... and all of this happening in a two month span.

Transition is never an easy thing, particularly when it is so multifaceted as this is, and the range of emotions that come out in such a time are widespread. On one side, the struggles, or bumps in the road so to speak, of the situation can cause frustration, despair, and a desire to give up in complete apathy. The anticipation to finally be done with the transition brings anxiety, a test of patience, and an incredible desire to "be there" instead being "in the moment". And the utter complete disorganization of midstream transition in our lives heightens frustration and anxiety even more.

But if transition is to be alive, then it cannot be all bad. Of course there needs to be a positive side to such major changes, with positive emotions to go along with it. The sheer awesomeness of marrying the person of your dreams creates a happiness and contentment inside oneself that no amount of words on this blog could ever express. Having a clear partner, doing everything as two instead of one brings out empathy that overcomes any above noted apathy and exudes a feeling of peace that no matter what happens you have that person to comfort you. And most importantly, this transition ends with us finally fulfilling our dream of working together to do development work, working with and serving the marginalized. The feeling that comes out of this long awaited fulfillment, is what this blog is centered on: the feeling of love (amor) that drives us to serving each other, humanity, and God; and the feeling and belief of hope (esperanza) in God's divine providence that calls us to start our ministry of service together, in Bolivia and beyond.

In order for us to better explain this theme of love and hope for our Bolivian adventure, we have two biblical passages to help clarify what love and hope mean to us. We find Romans 12 and Isaiah 58 fitting to be our key passages for our Bolivian experience not only for their help to define our call to love and hope, but also because they help define who Rachel and I are and why we are together beginning this adventure in the first place. Romans 12 is commonly known for its beginning, with Paul calling his readers out to be living sacrifices to live out their call to worship through action. For me though, verses 9-21 stand out above the rest and help explain what it is to be a living sacrifice. The ESV bible I use titles this section "Marks of a True Christian", but I think this is not open and broad enough. I would title it "Marks of Someone in Love with God's Creation." Everyone likes to use 1 Corinthians 13 to talk about love, but here in Romans 12, Paul not only tells us how to love, but specifically mentions who to love: your brothers, those in low places around you, and loving the "enemies" attempting to stop you in your ministry.

From love in God, we gain our hope in God, which we feel is embodied through Isaiah 58. This passage is a message of hope to all that are willing to struggle and suffer for the sake of those who are in continual struggle, suffering, and oppression. I think it is easy to read this passage and say if we do this then God will do this for us, but that is not the point at all. To me, the point is that when we are weary from the long road of attempting to live out one's calling to love God and God's creation, when we feel like we cannot go on, that God will go on, God will restore us, God will provide, and God will make us like new so that our walk will continue. The hope in this passage is not the kind where one wishes something will happen rather this kind of hope rests in the belief that it will happen. So there we have it, a call to love as it being our act of worship, and a call to hope believing that God will provide in the midst of our journey.

Eventually this blog will be more about sharing and explaining our work in Bolivia, but for now it is good to focus on not what we will be doing, but why we are doing it. To close this very long blog post, it is prudent to return to the beginning of this post, as well as the beginning of Daniel and Rachel. The first time Rachel and I met, we had a long conversation about the development organizations we like, and how we both would love to do development work overseas in our lives. Now I most definitely do not believe in love at first sight, to me that is more of a movie thing. But I will say this, by the end of that first night of meeting Rachel, I had a different kind of "____ at first sight". I couldn't put it into words then, but after years of dwelling on it I can now. It was, "I can transition with this girl" at first sight. Something in me knew all the way back then, that this was a girl I could "be alive" with. Well here we are, about to start this "aventura de amor y esperanza" (adventure of love and hope) together. I hope you enjoy our sharing and we hope our words and experiences help inspire you to love and hope in the days, weeks, and months to come.

Peace,
Daniel