I was shocked, utterly shocked, when last week I realized it's been 5 years since I last celebrated Thanksgiving in the United States. That's right - 5! And, not only has it been that long since I celebrated this USA holiday outside of the USA, over the past 5 years my favorite holiday has been spent/celebrated in 3 different countries. Yep - 3 countries.
2013 - the year I started this blog. Originally, I started blogging to keep people updated on my family's travels to Central America that year, while also wanting a place to write and share about musings, growing steps, and life in general that could be an encouragement to others.
That year, Thanksgiving was spend in Belize! It was the first, and only, trip we took as a family to Belize. In the post Thanksgiving and Beyond I wrote about our time with the Baumgartner family. Thanksgiving is the special holiday that brings Americans living overseas together and it's been a unique experience every time.
2014 - the year I lived in Guatemala, interning with Pray America~Manos de Jesus in the mountains of Chichicastenango, Guatemala. That year (spring 2014 - spring 2015) will always hold a special bookmark in my heart, as that was when I had stepped out for the first time on my own and started putting into action what I believed God was calling me to - that was the jumping off point to bring me to where I am today.
I didn't write much about Thanksgiving in and of itself that year since the post The Clock is Ticking was written right before the holidays, but I do vividly recall a gigantic Thanksgiving Day spread in the common area of the Community Center on campus and celebrating with staff, volunteers, and one of our favorite teams of the year who was serving with us that week.
2015 - the year I moved to the Dominican Republic. That year, I managed to be in 4 countries for no less than a month in each one (Guatemala-USA-Thailand-Dominican Republic) and waved at Japan while catching connecting flights. I also moved from MI to ND to work, in between the country to country moves, and to establish more of a network and support system. In more ways than one it was the year my life changed, yet in other ways it was familiar because I was finally doing what I had dreamed of for so long.
I moved here, along with my bosses (Peter and Barbie Everett), on October 27th. We got together 2 weeks ago on our third anniversary to reminisce those first few weeks/months and reflect on what to leave behind and what to take forward with us into new ventures. That year's post The Worst Thanksgiving Day Ever was a reflection of how we were learning to depend on God's truth no matter the circumstances. It was also the only year, in these past 5 years, that I did not formally celebrate my favorite holiday.
2016 - the year I met Miguel AND the year we got engaged! That year was a road full of learning curves, growing pains, immense joy, crushing heartache, tears of agony AND joy, and dependence on Christ like never before. The safe home was up and running, girls came and went, staff grew and changed, and we saw work come to fruition.
I will always think of that year as one of the most colorful, most fulfilling, best, yet hardest years. That year's post I Am Thankful... was such a beautiful reminder of what God really can do. Thanksgiving Day that year was everything the previous one was not!
2017 - the year of change. It was a year of new beginnings on every front. My brother had passed away the end of 2016. We got married in the spring 👫. I stepped away from anti-trafficking for a year. We moved to Higuey. We got plugged into a growing, thriving local church and community. Miguel's residency process was started and completed. Grief, happiness, healing, changing, moving, difficulty, contentment, peace, trust, overwhelming gratitude - these are things we experienced and moved through and grew in.
We celebrated Thanksgiving in two distinct ways - once with a small group of family/friends (inner circle) and secondly with a large group of many missionaries working in all kinds of fields (outer circle) who came together to celebrate the special American holiday we all love. That year's post Preparing for a White Christmas! was an overview of the wonderful culmination of many prayers answered, a reflection of moving forward as our roots were beginning to grow.
2018 - the year of more! You all have lived this year with us, and I think you'll understand when I say this has been one of the sweetest years.
And this is the year we get to spend Thanksgiving in the good ole' USA! Miguel is looking forward to the authenticity and spread of food; I doubt he'll be satisfied if we have less than 3 options for each food group. We're planning to be in Texas from November 17th-23rd to visit my oldest brother and his family. They weren't able to make it to our wedding last year due to his preparation for a long term deployment, so they haven't personally met Miguel yet. Saying we're all super excited to get to spend this time together is an understatement!
From TX, we're flying to Maryland for an extended weekend to visit some of the same friends who were here in August with our last group of the summer. We're looking forward to seeing everyone again and making some new connections. I'm especially excited to get to spend a day in D.C. while we're there since I haven't been to my own country's capital yet (in all our family travels we never made it to the east coast for some reason).
I considered splitting this post into two, but decided against it, simply because my excitement about An Authentic Thanksgiving probably wouldn't suffice as a post in itself ;) So, I'll try to keep the Other Fun Stuff part brief.
If you've dropped in during October, you've seen our posts about a fundraiser we were doing. It's important I mention this because there is an amazing continuing story that has resulted from that event.
Our goal for the fundraiser was to raise enough funds to purchase 200 Human Kindness Kits containing basic toiletry items to be gifted, along with other basic necessities, to women coming through ATB's trafficking assessment center next year. The fundraiser was done in the form of an online party and everyone attending was able to give direct donations for kits while also being able to shop products for themselves. My friend who hosted this receives a commission on a percentage of the products purchased, and she had originally wanted to donate her commission to Miguel and myself. However, knowing we might not reach our 200 kits goal, we decided to have her commission go toward kits, so every purchase counted, and if anything was leftover, then she would give the rest to us.
~These details are important, I promise!~
Before going on, we want to sincerely thank each and every one of you who got involved with this fundraiser!! It has paid off more than we ever imagined.
While we were wrapping up everything, we did some brief calculations and figured we had enough in donations and commission on purchase products that would allow us to purchase 180 kits! So close and such a great number; I honestly would have been happy if we got only halfway to our goal, so we were excited. But -
Somehow, somewhere, our calculations were off and Joanne tells me a week or so later, while she was finalizing the event, that we actually would have more than we figured and had enough to get 200 kits!! I was stoked! Plus, she said, there would be some commission leftover that she could give to Miguel and myself after all. I was overwhelmed by God's goodness and people's generosity. God really does multiply in so many ways. But -
~It doesn't stop there!~
Let me rewind a little bit and fill you in on some behind the scenes of our life right now. Miguel's mom needs double knee replacement surgery and she would be out of work for several months after this takes place. Before we even met, Miguel had begun building a house above his mom's house that we have worked on on-and-off as we've had extra funds. When we found out about his mom needing surgery, we started working more steadily on finishing the house with the goal of having it be move-in ready by December. This way, we can rent it out in December and support his mom through the rent money over the following months while she is in recovery. This month, we reached the end of our extra funds with only painting and a few electrical details left to do. The cost is large enough that we thought we'd have to postpone finishing the house until mid-December. Then -
~This is the super crazy part!~
Joanne, my friend who was heading up the fundraiser, messaged me the day after Miguel and I had crunched numbers and decided we'd have to postpone finishing the house. She had been waiting for the month of October to close before knowing how much commission from the party fundraiser would actually be left over. When she told me the number I questioned her several times to make sure she had her figures right...The amount she told me was twice, TWICE what she had originally said would be left after purchasing 200 kits! The craziest, most God-detailed, part is that the amount she told me is only $5 shy of what we need to make all our bills and finish the house!! We are rejoicing!
In more Other news:
~ FCA DR had our annual marriage retreat again in October. This year, everyone brought their families as well, which is something we're considering doing every 3 years, and our pastor was invited to be the keynote speaker. The theme was Embracing the Plan of God and he shared, through vivid examples, the Biblical truth and need of family being our first ministry.
~ The calendar for next summer is filling up with teams. We have even more scheduled for 2019 than we had this year! Miguel and I have also been invited to share at an FCA specific event next year and could see more opportunities to travel and share about all sides of our ministry(s) come up as time goes on. If anyone is interested in knowing more about anything we are involved in (FCA and ATB) and possibly even have us share at your church or any event, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We are open to going where God gives opportunity.
~ In March, we are excited to be planning a trip to Guatemala! FCA's annual international Capacity Conference will be taking place in Antigua, which also happens to be where some of my former missionary coworkers are now at.
~ ATB was in the process of getting a building, for the Assessment Center, donated from the Dominican federal department over anti-trafficking and just as things seemed to be moving forward, the head of the department was replaced. This means, the process has had to be restarted from the beginning. Peter and Fernando were able to meet with the new head and we are hopeful to see progress be made soon.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we move forward in faith that God will continue to direct us to exactly where He wants us to be when He wants us to be there.
2013 - the year I started this blog. Originally, I started blogging to keep people updated on my family's travels to Central America that year, while also wanting a place to write and share about musings, growing steps, and life in general that could be an encouragement to others.
That year, Thanksgiving was spend in Belize! It was the first, and only, trip we took as a family to Belize. In the post Thanksgiving and Beyond I wrote about our time with the Baumgartner family. Thanksgiving is the special holiday that brings Americans living overseas together and it's been a unique experience every time.
2014 - the year I lived in Guatemala, interning with Pray America~Manos de Jesus in the mountains of Chichicastenango, Guatemala. That year (spring 2014 - spring 2015) will always hold a special bookmark in my heart, as that was when I had stepped out for the first time on my own and started putting into action what I believed God was calling me to - that was the jumping off point to bring me to where I am today.
I didn't write much about Thanksgiving in and of itself that year since the post The Clock is Ticking was written right before the holidays, but I do vividly recall a gigantic Thanksgiving Day spread in the common area of the Community Center on campus and celebrating with staff, volunteers, and one of our favorite teams of the year who was serving with us that week.
2015 - the year I moved to the Dominican Republic. That year, I managed to be in 4 countries for no less than a month in each one (Guatemala-USA-Thailand-Dominican Republic) and waved at Japan while catching connecting flights. I also moved from MI to ND to work, in between the country to country moves, and to establish more of a network and support system. In more ways than one it was the year my life changed, yet in other ways it was familiar because I was finally doing what I had dreamed of for so long.
I moved here, along with my bosses (Peter and Barbie Everett), on October 27th. We got together 2 weeks ago on our third anniversary to reminisce those first few weeks/months and reflect on what to leave behind and what to take forward with us into new ventures. That year's post The Worst Thanksgiving Day Ever was a reflection of how we were learning to depend on God's truth no matter the circumstances. It was also the only year, in these past 5 years, that I did not formally celebrate my favorite holiday.
2016 - the year I met Miguel AND the year we got engaged! That year was a road full of learning curves, growing pains, immense joy, crushing heartache, tears of agony AND joy, and dependence on Christ like never before. The safe home was up and running, girls came and went, staff grew and changed, and we saw work come to fruition.
I will always think of that year as one of the most colorful, most fulfilling, best, yet hardest years. That year's post I Am Thankful... was such a beautiful reminder of what God really can do. Thanksgiving Day that year was everything the previous one was not!
2017 - the year of change. It was a year of new beginnings on every front. My brother had passed away the end of 2016. We got married in the spring 👫. I stepped away from anti-trafficking for a year. We moved to Higuey. We got plugged into a growing, thriving local church and community. Miguel's residency process was started and completed. Grief, happiness, healing, changing, moving, difficulty, contentment, peace, trust, overwhelming gratitude - these are things we experienced and moved through and grew in.
We celebrated Thanksgiving in two distinct ways - once with a small group of family/friends (inner circle) and secondly with a large group of many missionaries working in all kinds of fields (outer circle) who came together to celebrate the special American holiday we all love. That year's post Preparing for a White Christmas! was an overview of the wonderful culmination of many prayers answered, a reflection of moving forward as our roots were beginning to grow.
2018 - the year of more! You all have lived this year with us, and I think you'll understand when I say this has been one of the sweetest years.
And this is the year we get to spend Thanksgiving in the good ole' USA! Miguel is looking forward to the authenticity and spread of food; I doubt he'll be satisfied if we have less than 3 options for each food group. We're planning to be in Texas from November 17th-23rd to visit my oldest brother and his family. They weren't able to make it to our wedding last year due to his preparation for a long term deployment, so they haven't personally met Miguel yet. Saying we're all super excited to get to spend this time together is an understatement!
From TX, we're flying to Maryland for an extended weekend to visit some of the same friends who were here in August with our last group of the summer. We're looking forward to seeing everyone again and making some new connections. I'm especially excited to get to spend a day in D.C. while we're there since I haven't been to my own country's capital yet (in all our family travels we never made it to the east coast for some reason).
I considered splitting this post into two, but decided against it, simply because my excitement about An Authentic Thanksgiving probably wouldn't suffice as a post in itself ;) So, I'll try to keep the Other Fun Stuff part brief.
If you've dropped in during October, you've seen our posts about a fundraiser we were doing. It's important I mention this because there is an amazing continuing story that has resulted from that event.
Our goal for the fundraiser was to raise enough funds to purchase 200 Human Kindness Kits containing basic toiletry items to be gifted, along with other basic necessities, to women coming through ATB's trafficking assessment center next year. The fundraiser was done in the form of an online party and everyone attending was able to give direct donations for kits while also being able to shop products for themselves. My friend who hosted this receives a commission on a percentage of the products purchased, and she had originally wanted to donate her commission to Miguel and myself. However, knowing we might not reach our 200 kits goal, we decided to have her commission go toward kits, so every purchase counted, and if anything was leftover, then she would give the rest to us.
~These details are important, I promise!~
Before going on, we want to sincerely thank each and every one of you who got involved with this fundraiser!! It has paid off more than we ever imagined.
While we were wrapping up everything, we did some brief calculations and figured we had enough in donations and commission on purchase products that would allow us to purchase 180 kits! So close and such a great number; I honestly would have been happy if we got only halfway to our goal, so we were excited. But -
Somehow, somewhere, our calculations were off and Joanne tells me a week or so later, while she was finalizing the event, that we actually would have more than we figured and had enough to get 200 kits!! I was stoked! Plus, she said, there would be some commission leftover that she could give to Miguel and myself after all. I was overwhelmed by God's goodness and people's generosity. God really does multiply in so many ways. But -
~It doesn't stop there!~
Let me rewind a little bit and fill you in on some behind the scenes of our life right now. Miguel's mom needs double knee replacement surgery and she would be out of work for several months after this takes place. Before we even met, Miguel had begun building a house above his mom's house that we have worked on on-and-off as we've had extra funds. When we found out about his mom needing surgery, we started working more steadily on finishing the house with the goal of having it be move-in ready by December. This way, we can rent it out in December and support his mom through the rent money over the following months while she is in recovery. This month, we reached the end of our extra funds with only painting and a few electrical details left to do. The cost is large enough that we thought we'd have to postpone finishing the house until mid-December. Then -
~This is the super crazy part!~
Joanne, my friend who was heading up the fundraiser, messaged me the day after Miguel and I had crunched numbers and decided we'd have to postpone finishing the house. She had been waiting for the month of October to close before knowing how much commission from the party fundraiser would actually be left over. When she told me the number I questioned her several times to make sure she had her figures right...The amount she told me was twice, TWICE what she had originally said would be left after purchasing 200 kits! The craziest, most God-detailed, part is that the amount she told me is only $5 shy of what we need to make all our bills and finish the house!! We are rejoicing!
In more Other news:
~ FCA DR had our annual marriage retreat again in October. This year, everyone brought their families as well, which is something we're considering doing every 3 years, and our pastor was invited to be the keynote speaker. The theme was Embracing the Plan of God and he shared, through vivid examples, the Biblical truth and need of family being our first ministry.
~ The calendar for next summer is filling up with teams. We have even more scheduled for 2019 than we had this year! Miguel and I have also been invited to share at an FCA specific event next year and could see more opportunities to travel and share about all sides of our ministry(s) come up as time goes on. If anyone is interested in knowing more about anything we are involved in (FCA and ATB) and possibly even have us share at your church or any event, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We are open to going where God gives opportunity.
~ In March, we are excited to be planning a trip to Guatemala! FCA's annual international Capacity Conference will be taking place in Antigua, which also happens to be where some of my former missionary coworkers are now at.
~ ATB was in the process of getting a building, for the Assessment Center, donated from the Dominican federal department over anti-trafficking and just as things seemed to be moving forward, the head of the department was replaced. This means, the process has had to be restarted from the beginning. Peter and Fernando were able to meet with the new head and we are hopeful to see progress be made soon.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we move forward in faith that God will continue to direct us to exactly where He wants us to be when He wants us to be there.
