Serving........

Our time in the Dominican has been all about serving. Serving God by serving others. We had the honour to serve lunch to the afternoon class at the school. A wonderful group of children in grade 1 and 2. They are just normal kids, kids that can be found in any country, but fortunately they are here and we have been able to get to know many of them. Many of them are connected to our family and friends in Canada through sponsorship. We are so lucky to be able to show them God's love and to let them know who their sponsors are. We pray that you are able to have the opportunity to serve this holiday season, it feels so good.

Brent? Is that you?

Brent spends a lot of time working at the camp. He works 1 week at the school and 1 week at the camp. He works hard most of the time, but when he is at the camp, he is on his own agenda and when he is on his own agenda he tends to push himself very hard. There have been 2 men hired to machette the land clear at the back of the camp. Brent has gone behind them and piled up the brush and then when it is dry he starts a fire to burn it off. I think he has fun doing it and he is out on his own alot and thinks. I love this photo because it captures just how much he is willing to work on his mission that God has sent us on. He could just leave things, light the fire and go, but he cares about what he does and really wants to do them work out for His glory.

Life at Campamento Buenas Nuevas

Life at the camp has been a huge adjustment, and a great one. We have welcomed many family and friends to our "home" oasis and with those friends have been gifts from family and friends at home. Like the "Webkins" pictured here with Mikaela and Reilly. They have been addicting little creatures that allow the owner to access this great website and all three of the girls are on it a lot. Thanks Marshalls!! It has been an honour to have many close friends come and see where we live. Bruce and Catherine French inparticular were happy to finally see where we live and how we live. Part of life in the Dominican is also how they travel and Canadians always jump at the chance to ride in the back of a pickup truck! When the team was here and building the playground, it was a 5 minute ride away so many took advantage of this fun way to get around!! We will make sure you see more of how things are here! Keep watching!

Our "Home" Church Visits

We had the honor of having our home church from Calgary, Canada, SunWest Christian Fellowship here for 7 days. Their focus here was to build this playground in a community in Los Alcarrizos and despite torrential rainfall for 3 days, they completed their goal. We had a marvellous time of fellowship and fun with them. Some we knew very well, and some we didn't know at all to start, but now are all considered our "church family". We swam in the ocean together, we walked the streets of the old city together and we ate lots of food together! It was a blessing to have them here to see our home and to share in our love of the Dominican people. If any of you want to come back......you know where we live and our door is always open!

Our English Students

Rebecca and I both have students that come to our home on Wednesday afternoons. Victor is 19 and is in grade 12 and Debby is 14 and in grade 10. We enjoy having them come and little do they know, but they are helping us with our Spanish too!

SunWest on Video On-Line

We have been blessed in many ways since coming to the Dominican, but what we discovered one Sunday was so totally great that we sat in awe and watched as our pastor gave his sermon via video. It was not live, but it was only a couple of weeks old and we were blessed! We go to church here, but sometimes only get half of the sermon, if that because of the language barrier. That Sunday and many since we have been fed!! We want to thank each and every person who makes this happen! Our only wish is that some music be attached sometimes, but will settle for Willy!!! Ha Ha!

An Outting

Hi. We were suprised by Valentin with a trip to the Botanical Gardens in Santo Domingo. It was a great day and it was a nice get away. We love the flora in the Domincian and so it was the perfect escape for the day. We are pictured here in the Japanese Gardens (it made me think of my brother).

Our "New" Sponsored Child

I would like to introduce to you Yomari Martinez. She is 12 and in grade 6. It is totally a God thing that we have her as a sponsored child because we were looking at sponsoring a younger child like Jerry, but God had different ideas. I was sure she would have had a sponsor already with her Dad, Juanito, working at the camp and she comes and helps out and hangs around. We didn't even think about her, but I happened to see her and give her a hug when I was on my way over to Sarah's office, so when I got there she was still on my mind and I asked Sarah if Yomari had a sponsor. And now you know the rest of the story.....Yomari is a good friend of our girls and she comes over often to "hang" with them when she isn't doing homework. We thought Juanito's smile was absolutely a blessing from God when we told him we were his daughter's sponsors and we thought we were blessing him! We just never know what is going to happen!

Our "Old" Sponsored Child

We were sad to hear that "our" Jerry was going to another school this year. His older brother Harrison is now going to the Nazarene School just down the road and Jerry refused to go here without Harrison. We are still not sure of the reason for Harrison going to the other school, but are thankful that they are going to a school none the less. We remain friends with the family and believe that to be important for Jerry and his family. We want him to know that we value him as a kid not just because we sponsored him. We let the family know that if they needed anything they were to ask and we could see if we could help out. We are also invited to Jerry's Aunt Julie's wedding in December.

Our Nikki and Darel

Our daughter Nikki married Darel Unruh, in 2004 and it has been a blessed union. Nikki brings out the best in Darel and Darel has brought the best out in Nikki. They both support each other and that is important. Both sets of parents live far away now, and they rely on each other and that is exactly the way it should be. They both make me laugh on a regular basis, in fact they crack me up. We miss them a lot and I know they miss us too, but they have each other. We love you guys!!

Our Christy and Taylor

Our oldest daughter Christine, has a daughter of her own, (our currently one and only granddaugther) Taylor. They live in Calgary about 3 blocks from our house there, so we normally get to see them a lot. With Christy being a single mom we help out a lot with her child care and Taylor is always welcome at "Nanny & Pa's" house, or course Christy is too. Christy works for the Calgary Public Library, following in her Ma's shoes. Taylor is in grade 2 and she really loves school, she is a very social little girl and loves to talk. Taylor loves be on the worship team at church as well. We miss them both a lot and "Yes Taylor we will see you again!" We love you Christy and Taylor!!

Our Dallas and Amy

We would like to introduce you to our one and only son and brother, Dallas and his girlfriend, Amy. Dallas is one of the three children that are "adults" and we have left behind in Calgary. Dallas is 25, soon to be 26 on the 29th of October. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOY!!! Amy and Dallas live in a cute little main floor apartment and have 2 cats, Peach and Evey. We miss them very much. WE LOVE YOU DALLAS AND AMY!

International Day

Brent and I, along with 3 others, were asked to judge a competition in which 6 teams of children grouped by grade displayed their knowledge of a chosen country. It was fun and interesting to watch how competitive they all were. These kids had really done their homework!! Our girls came to watch the process and had a lot of fun. When we announced the winners we couldn't believe the reaction!! It was so over the top. The winners were screaming and jumping around, and the teams that did not place 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, oh boy. Can you say "sore losers"? Some were crying, some were moaning, and it was probably a good thing that we don't speak Spanish very well. I think we will avoid the school grounds for a bit! While I do understand the idea of healthy competition, I don't understand this way of doing things. The teacher's even get involved in the negative comments and so you understand the reactions of the students a little better. It was just another lesson in the difference in culture, and though we did have some negativity at the end, the rest of the morning was a great experience and that is what we will take away. A good friend of ours once said, "it's not good, it's not bad, it's just different."

The Dominican Skies

The sunsets and sunrises in the Dominican are awesome! I grew up on the Canadian prairies, where Saskatchewan is known as the "Land of Living Skies". Here is different, but just as beautiful. This photo is actually a view of the sky to the east as the sun is setting. It was about 6:15 p.m. and I didn't know which way to take the photo because the sky was so amazing to the east and to the west. We are so fortunate to be able to experience this adventure. Though we get lonely sometimes we know that time will fly and all these experiences will only be a memory.

Brent the Builder

This photo show the girls standing in front of the shelves that Brent made to hold their school books. It really is a great organizing tool, in a small home we are managing to stay organized. Hard to believe. The shelves are great holding all the school supplies, hopefully will organize our studying and teaching habits as well.

Our Home-Away-From-Home Church

It took us a while to realize where we wanted to go to church. With the language barrier it is difficult to be "fed" here, but the Canaan Church is where God has led us. It is a friendly church that really does try to let us know what is being said in the sermon. The sermon is spoken in Spanish and the music leader, who speaks English very well, types as best he can in English on the computer that shows on the screen. It is an honor that they do this for us, the only white folk in the crowd. The pastor is Vietnamese and came here a number of years ago as a missionary with his wife to start a church, they now have a family and the church doubles as a school during the week. The music here is "rockin'" for lack of a better phrase and some songs have the words in English underneath the Spanish words. There is lunch served every Sunday, so we are getting to know a few people, mostly teenagers (boys and girls) who come over and introduce themselves and say they want to be the girls friends. Very culturally different to Canada where boys kind of "avoid" girls. We are settling in to a way of life very different to that at home. It is comfortable and unhurried and we are happy to be here most of the time.

Making Friends

Friends are so important in the lives of every person, perhaps even more so when you are a teen or preteen. Leaving all their friends and family in Calgary was probably the hardest thing for our girls to do. Now that we have been here for 3 months and somewhat settled into our lives here God is bringing people into our lives to be friends to our girls here. Pictured here are Rebecca with Debby, they are the same age, also Debby's little cousin (on her lap) and Aroura, a sponsored child from the Lighthouse school. The twins also have, Yomary, the daughter of one of the workers here. It is good to see this happening. The girls really miss their friends at home, but it's nice to have friends everywhere.

It's Moving Day!!

On Friday, September 22nd we began to move into our home that we had been waiting for for almost 2 months. What we thought was a major inconvenience initially became a huge blessing in many ways. God taught us patience and gave us a lesson in Domincan culture, while in the end blessed us with a beautiful new home. It has been a long 2 months in many aspects, with having to live in 2 separate rooms and not have "family time" together except with many other people around in the dining room or to watch a movie huddled on a double bed in one of the rooms. More realistically though, time has flown! We will be in Calgary again before we know it. I am sure the next 10 months, though they seem like a lot will pass just as quickly. There will be difficult times, like Christmas and special days, like our older kids birthdays, but all in all God will be here with us and we will get through. The photo with this post is one of my favorites from last Friday, the rebar was finished about 8 p.m. and as soon as that happened Brent had his flags flying! They symbolize to us the countries that we hold dearest in our hearts and also divide our hearts and lives.

We have new babies!!

On Friday, September 22nd "our" mama cat had 5 little kittens. The girls had been anxiously awaiting the arrival. I thought that they were going to jump out of their skin with excitement!! Of course they are so little yet that we haven't picked them up (except for Reilly, she just informed me that she picked one up), because the mama is pretty much a wild cat. Not one of us has gotten close enough to her to even pet her. Of course you know that the babies will know what human kindness is!! These little ones will never replace Shadow and Daisy, but will do for the time we are here! Oh, by the way the names of the babies are; Nikki, Christy, Sue, Diane and Josie!!

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't....

We spend our evenings right now in the dining hall so we can be together and that is where we can pick up our internet connection. The girls favorite thing to do is "talk" on msn to whomever happens to be online. It might be one of their friends, or a sister, or their brother, etc. Some of our frustrations have been with the connection, especially if the power goes out, things just die. If there is a tropical storm going through or it is raining a lot, msn will cut in and out, very frustrating for us as it must be for the people we talk to as well. When we bought our computer we got a webcam. This little thing makes life for the kids great when it works, because the people we are talking to can see us and if they have one we can see them! The girls also needed a set of voice recognition headphones for school, so sometimes we have the pleasure of hearing someone's voice as well. In the photo Rebecca is talking to Nikki and Mikaela is "talking" on msn to her. It is a great system and it all "just depends" on lots of things to make it work properly. Oh and by the way we are still not in our house, but we are getting closer!!

Things happen on Saturday!!

It is Saturday (Sabado), September 9th! This picture may not look like much is happening, but let me tell you that by the end of the day today this room and the 2 bedrooms had 2 coats of paint on the ceilings!! A huge accomplishment! But let me tell you what else happened. With everyone working all our family and lots of workers, we cleaned the and smoothed the interior walls, the sanding of the outside of the south of the house started, the bathroom in our room has the walls tiled, the cement is poured for the base of the retainer wall that will go around the "veranda" or outside area, the girls bathroom has the top of the walls sanded, and the house is closer than it has ever been to becoming our home!! Valentin worked his butt off, to get today to the point that it is. He is just the greatest. He worked until 7:30 tonight in the dark to finish the last coat of paint on the girls room. Tomorrow is Sunday, our family considers it a day of rest, but with things so close and the same workers there tomorrow as today who knows what will happen. We are going to a larger church tomorrow that are looking forward to the "Canadians" coming and they are serving lunch after, then we absolutely need to go to the market. We go to bed tonight satisfied from a days work that brings us closer to a long awaited goal. May God bless you. Love, Rhea

What a bug!!

Hi everybody!! We have discovered something about each of our children since coming here, but Reilly's has been so weird!! She loves bugs, and most of God's other creatures in the Dominican. She wants to go "tarantula hunting" with a flashlight. She saves tadpoles from certain death in ponds that are starting to dry up, and then frees them to grow after the rains. She is very excited that the mama gato (cat) is expecting, and she loves the pack of dogs that run around the camp. She is enthused with giant caterpillars, interested in the gechos (until they come in the girls room), and has befriended beetles. The one here was crawling around on her shirt first, but loves the feel of them on her hand. She had one once that was about three times the size! Hope you are having a great start to the school year.

House is coming along!!

Hey everybody here is Mikaela in our house looking out the kitchen window and Valentin looking out the window in Brent and Rhea's bathroom. Our house is coming along slowly, but surely. It went with great leaps and bounds for a bit but now it is slower because of the details. Like knocking out holes in the cement for electricity, finishing of the interior walls with fine grind cement (like on the front of the house shown here), and bathrooms. It will be beautiful when it is done, and it is much nicer now than a couple of days ago that the buckets and buckets of dirt and debris is out of the kitchen and our room, but the bathrooms and girls bedrooms are still a mess. With the date they give us of September the 6th fast approaching there is no way we will be in by then. Realistically and hopefully the weekend after is a possibility. This house is being built for the long run of the camp. We just happen to be the first of a hopefully long line of missionaries to live here and help out. Frustrating as it is, we will be blessed when the time comes to move in!

Sponsorship Family Swim

We had our sponsored kids over for a great family swimming event! There were lots of kids and they had a blast! Most of these kids never get an opportunity like this and it was just so cool to see them excited. In the top photo is Harrison, Jerry's brother and Todd and Sandy's sponsored child, Samuel, Rebecca's sponsored child, Jerry, our sponsored child, Ruth, Jerry and Harrison's cousin, and Yasmin, Nikki and Darel's sponsored child. Yasmin also brought with her, 2 sisters, Nicole and Nairobi and there were other sponsored kids that weren't "attached" to us some how. It was a great afternoon and we look forward to spending more time with them and developing relationships with them and their families. It is a joy to see them stop by the camp and say Hi. If you have a sponsored child we encourage you to write a letter to them. Kids come by the school office and ask if they have gotten a letter from their sponsor. Developing a relationship is an awesome experience for you and your child either in person or through correspondence and photos.

A Day Trip To Santo Domingo

On Monday, August 21 we took a well needed trip into Santo Domingo. There were 10 of us all together, Brent, Rhea, Rebecca, Mikaela, Reilly, Valentin and his brother, Miguel, Diana and Matt, friends of ours from Calgary and Tracy, from Oakville ON. We travelled in a truck 4 in the cab and 6 in the box, so unCanadian and so unsafe, but when in the Dominican, do as the Dominicans. We went to the market, to the Old City and to the beach. At the market we didn't shop too much, Reilly bought a present for her friend and Brent got a birthday present for his friend, (the gifts went back with Diana and Matt) and we thought about gifts for our kids in Calgary for later. The Old City is great, over 500 years old and full of history. We love it there! The girls are standing beside an anchor from one of Christopher Columbus' ships, the Pinta. Boca Chica Beach is world famous, and has many resorts along it. It is soft sand and you can walk out from the beach into the water for a very long way. It was a nice break from everyday.

We Have a Roof!!

It happened Sunday, August 20th!! We have a brand new roof to cover our family. Our house is not completed, but we have a roof. The girls placed medium sized rocks underneath the electrical tubing so the cement would not pinch it, and then the guys pictured at the bottom of the photo (and more) brought in all this big machinery and the roof was poured in 6 hours. A record for here! Today, Tuesday, some of the framing came off and some new windows were knocked into walls and a second wall was knocked down to make room for a closet between Liliana's office and the girls bedroom. We look forward to our new home, someday. We know each day brings us closer to the finished product. We are thankful to Child Evangelism for working so hard to build this home for us and for future missionaries that God will call. We are proud to be the first family to live in the home, and God is giving us patience to live where we are for a time. Ta Ta For Now!!

Coconut Trees

We had the great experience of having Valentin climb a coconut tree for us and "kick" some out. He and Rafael then cut the top off with a machette and we drank the coco agua, they call it water here not milk, which makes more sense because it is clear like water. Also, every coconut tree produces a different flavor, there are many different coconut trees in the camp grounds and all taste different. Valentin says the ones he picked for us were the best and we tended to believe him.

My New Coworkers!

This is a photo of the lovely ladies that I work with in the kitchen at the camp. From left to right, Bartola, Me, Luisa, Miledy, and Ana. I love these women, and someday I'll understand most of what they are telling me. Ana and Bartola are very patient with me and taking time to say things slowly. It is amazing what can get across the language barrier!! Miledy talks very fast and very quietly, compared to other Domincans, but love to laugh. Luisa doesn't talk too much and is more the official one in the group, but loves hugs. Ana is the character and Bartola is very funny. I have come to appreciate these ladies through their work ethic and kindness. They work hard and they love life!

Renos

Things are coming along nicely with the house. It will still be a long time before we are in, but with Valentin being on top of things we are encouraged by the results he gets. He has been on people's tails all week and now the roof is ready for cement. Today he again on the phone and the last of the supplies arrived today for the roof. First the rebar came this morning, then this afternoon the sand and cement, and about half an hour ago the gravel. He, Valentin, is leaving tomorrow for the weekend, he is going to a family reunion in Puerto Plata, so told us that we should have a roof Friday or Saturday. Please pray that all goes well, his reunion, our roof, and the group of 400 here from the 7th Day Adventists. Should be an interesting weekend!! After the roof gets poured, we have to wait 7 days before the wooden braces come off. So it is important to get things done. We are thinking another month we should be in!! Things are okay with where we are staying now, just so cramped with Brent and I in one small room and the girls in another. We had to replace the ceiling in the girls room last Sunday as Mikaela was getting badly bitten by something, were still not sure what it was. Her arms were just covered! We got some ointment from the farmacia and changed her mattress. The photos we have posted with this are of the current view of the outside of the house and the inside of the kitchen area, with a "planning session" going on. We are blessed with the help that we are getting from all the people at the camp! Talk to you soon.

A Wedding

Well, we attended our first gathering in the Dominican culture. Our "landlords" who are in the photo with us invited us to a wedding at their church. Liliana and Ramone live at the camp above the kitchen and she is the Latin Director of Child Evangelism. They are a wonderful couple. Liliana speaks minimal English and Ramone, nada, but communication is okay. Especially with Valentin around. The wedding was to start at 5:00 pm the bride showed up at about 7:10 and the wedding was over by 7:40 and we were outside partying, we celebrating. There was the biggest cake we had ever seen! It was a great way to understand some culture here, as far as time goes and that nothing is so important that it can't wait a few minutes. Relax and enjoy life, because living life is what we have. What we have to give God, what we have to give our family and what we have to give to ourselves. No rushing, just living, but it can pose a problem when you are waiting for your home to be built. We went over the plans with Ramone today and it will be beautiful when it is done. Doubling the square footage and bathrooms. A veranda will overlook the pool and lawn area. God is good and we are spoiled!! More to come very soon.

August 10, 2006

Hi everybody! Things were hot here but now that it has rained today we were able to have a cooler afternoon and relax in the dining room for a while. Brent was cutting down trees yesterday and trimming hedges today with a machette! The girls were painting at the school and I was, guess where, in the kitchen. We are invited to a wedding at 5:00 on Saturday. Will let you know about how that goes. This afternoon a little gecko had lost it's way and we found him in our bathroom, the girls had another in their shower. The photo inserted is of Rebecca and our very good amigo and translator Valentin. He is taking very good care of us and annoying us with making us ask for things in Spanish. We just wanted to let you know that we are well and having a great God time in the Dominican.

Spider Sightings

Tarantulas are nocturnal!! Okay then why did we see 2 today in the morning. We saw one while we were eating our breakfast, a cute little baby one and the second I could have stepped on today while we were hanging out laundry! He was a little bigger, but we caught him and put him in a plastic ziploc bag, with a small hole it so he could breathe, (I knew you would be concerned for his safety) to take to some place safer for him and for us. Okay those are the only 2 we have seen since we have been here. I am sure there are more come. Have a blessed day!!

August 4, 2006

Hola!! A tropical storm is going through the DR is has been raining for a couple of days, and thanks to God our roof doesn't leak. It has been an eventful few days. There were two teams here we were helping, so washing dishes for 220+ people 3 times a day!! They are both gone now and there is another team coming in for the weekend of 74 people. Should be so much easier with so many less people. Not swimming so much with the rain and all the kids that had been in the pool! I, Rhea, have developed a stomach problem, cramps and feeling yucky, so that ladies in the kitchen made me some tea made of garlic, cilantro and oregano. Not bad, but left me with really bad breath! All the rain has put a stop to the renos on the house so we are now looking at a longer time to move. We saw Jarison, Harrison and Ruth today (our sponsored child and his siblings) and were introduced to traditional DR food. Chicken soup made with the ALL parts of the chicken, inarrds and exremities!! For supper we had Okra and fried onions, goat cheese, and boiled green bananas (which tasted remarkably like potatoes). The attached photo is of the renos being done on our little house. Things are good and so are we! We will be in touch again soon.

Hot! Hot! Hot!

Hola!! Things are great here, except for the fact that we miss you all. God is great! The weather is hot and very humid, lots of water and shade helps. There is a team here from New York state that is working on our remodel of our house. Will post the photos next time. They told us 1 week, but we know it will be more like 4 before we move in. Perhaps when Diana and Matt get here they can help us move again. We are in 2 rooms and are very comfortable. Twins and Brent have been painting at the school and I have been busy in the kitchen. Rebecca got to spend time with Samuel today, but we have not seen any of the other kids. Today we all fed over 200 people here as there is a second team here with over 150 Dominican kids from poorer areas for summer camp. Both teams will leave on Thursday and will give us some time to relax, somewhat because then we will help with our little renovations. There is another girl here for a month from Oakville ON so she is happy we are here. There are plantain and mango trees and many mosquitos!! Lots of little geckos running around, there is one in the girls shower! They thought it was dead, but NO. Have not seen any tarantulas, but apparently there was one in the boys bathroom. Better go before I get eaten alive by mosquitos as am sitting outside, it is dark and the bugs love the computer screen and the fresh meat on my bones.
Love to all,
Brent, Rhea, Rebecca, Mikaela and Reilly

We Are Here!!

Hi all, have a few minutes but wanted to let you know that we are all here and well and safe and having pizza with Cristian, I will post a photo of him next time, he is our contact here. We will be at the camp now for a few days, doing improvements on our appartment, apparently a 2nd floor with a concrete roof!! Whoa!! Things are going so well and God is with us!!
It's hot here, but it's a great hot!
Love you all much and miss you,
Be blessed,
Brent, Rhea, Rebecca, Mikaela and Reilly

Our Last Day In Canada

Well getting ready these last 2 weeks has been sooooo very hectic. Trying to get things settled into the correct place, like whether to put it in storage, or pack it to take or pack it to send on the rail container, or do we really want it any more. Trying to get in all our visiting, last minute details to make sure are done (everything from school supplies to making sure we have enough feminine products!) and shopping (I even said I had had enough of shopping). We had to make sure that our "girls" that are renting our place were all set and that we left our house in the shape that we wanted them to get it in, so had to have some major work done to the pot bellied stove and chimney which put us back a bit. Little things that normally we just wouldn't think about. So though I have been done work, I sure haven't had time to miss it. Brent was done work last Friday and his coworkers got him a camera! It gave him a lot of pride to know that he will be missed! Tonight we had a chili supper with all our family, except Taylor who has gone to visit her Dad in Ontario for 3 weeks, and will spend some quality time with them. We will miss Christy, Taylor, Dallas, Amy, Nikki and Darel very much! Our dear friends Al and Sue came over for a visit and then we tried to sleep.

We want to thank everyone for the support as we go on our adventure, from family to coworkers and friends to church family. God Bless you all!

To leave a response to the blog, click on the comments button below and enter in your own comment. Choose "other" or "annonymous" and then publish and we will be able to see how our friends and family at home are doing. See you in a year, unless you want to come for a visit, our door is always open!!

Rhea's Last Day of Work

As I sit at work and think how much I am going to miss the people I work with, I wonder about how things will be without me here. Will they miss me? Will they wonder how we are? Things change and so do people. It's funny, how things come about. What things lead you to different decisions in your life? Two years ago this day would have been the furthest thing from my mind, foreign to me. What? Quit my job! Are you nuts? Apparently! I just wanted to say that working for the Calgary Public Library was the best job I have ever had. Was an excellent part of my life for the last 7+ years, but things change. The decision of management to not give me a leave of absence was probably the most shocking thing. It rocked the strong belief that I had about how CPL was really the best place ever, but now I know that to not be true. I was comfortable in a place that was making me not live my life to it's fullest. Don't get me wrong, I think that they made the wrong decision in not giving me a leave. I was a very loyal, hardworking employee and would have been back in a year, even better, but now I have the whole world open to me and God will guide where I go from here. Just as he has guided me so far. I am at a good "place" right now and looking forward to our adventure to begin in 14 days!

19 and counting!

With 7 of our 12 bags packed we are counting down from 19 days. Rhea has 4 'work' days left, Brent has 8. The girls of course are done school and are busy hanging with friends, swimming at the lake and shopping. The last week before we leave we plan on seeing Pirates of Caribbean, maybe the X-Men 3 and hiking at Lake Louise just to help distract and keep us from going crazy, which we happen to be half way there already! We have said some Goodbyes and shed a few tears, but know that the 29th when we say Goodbye to our older kids will be the toughest. Things are incredibly busy and our minds are always working, tough to sleep, even when know you need a good nights sleep. Talk to you in a few days!!

1 Month Left!!

I know a month seem like a long time, and it is when you are a kid or if you are waiting for something really exciting to happen! Well time is certainly going slow in the Davies house for some, and for others it is a runaway train! So much to do and to just wait for the time line to hit and do it is hard. We are beginning to pack. Pack up things to take and pack up things for storage. What to leave out for the lovely girls who are renting from us. It is an honour to have them "take care" of our home for the year. We totally trust them and know that God have directed them into our lives, so all will be well. "It is Well With My Soul" is my favorite "older" hymn and all is truely is well with my soul. God is in control and it is a great feeling! We had some extra expenses come into play, but also had some extra funds given so we will be fine! Rebecca got her hair cut last weekend and is donating it to "Locks of Love". She looks so beautiful and has not regretted her decision. Talk to you again very soon.

June 20th Update

Well, Hello, we are so close now. With 39 days to go we have many things on the go. Packing is the number 1 priority, but close behind trying to stay sane. 16 working days for me and 21 for Brent. We have a trip to Saskatoon planned for early July to say "Goodbye" to parents/grandparents and going away parties for July 14th. We hope to stay focused on the task at hand and prepare ourselves and those we leave behind for a year. It will be difficult to say "Adios" to our 3 older kids and their significant others, I dread that day actually. I have been good so far, but know that the 29th of July will bring a flood of tears like I have never seen before. The photo attached is of our entire family, Brent and I, Christy and her daughter, Taylor, Dallas and his wonderful girlfriend, Amy, Nikki and her great husband, Darel, Rebecca, Mikaela and Reilly, 11 in total. Brent and I are so fortunate to have them all! Please pray that we will stay united and in touch during these next few weeks and in the year to follow.
Serving Him,
Rhea

Fundraiser Supper

What an amazing evening we had!! It was busy, busy for 2 days before with cooking and making sure everything was going to be there, but the night of the meal went off without a hitch!! God knew exactly what we needed and we had enough of everything. We made stewed chicken, stewed red beans, white rice, vegetable soup, spinach soup, and tres leches (three milk)cake. There were enough funds raised to pay for our medical insurance for the year! We continue to be amazed at the blessings that God gives. Just when we think we are not going to succeed, God says "Oh Yes you are!" and keeps his promises. Whenever we wonder if this is really what we are supposed to be doing, going to live in the Dominican, He reassures our decision with blessings. Even though we know it is going to be tough to be without our family and friends for a whole year, God will be with us just as He promises in Joshua 1:9. We just want to thank everyone involved with making this evening a huge success!
The Davies Bunch

Our little home!!

I was so excited to see our little home!! A few days ago we received a photo of our little place we will be living in. It is very small and cute, but all that we will need. Enough, and that is all we had prayed for.
You must know that this is part of an entire complex! Right out our bedroom window at the back of the house is the pool, that is used by the entire camp, but hey we can share!! There is a LOT of lush, green grass and tropical plants just to the left of the photo and the area is beautiful. We are thrilled and honoured to live there in July! Hopefully some of you will come for a visit.

With 66 days to go until we leave there are a thousand things that still have to be done, from packing to buying medical insurance, from planning how to get everything we need down there to fundraising, from preparing to say goodbye to loved ones to making sure we have enough summer clothing. The other day I was wondering about elastics, a stupid thing really, but what if we really needed an elastic when we are there and don't have any, so I threw some in my bag. As days go by we get more and more excited and less and less nervous. We just want to get there and start our lives serving God and being with the people who have touched our lives so much. We will keep you posted as the time comes closer.
God Bless

Commisioning Service

Hello everyone,
Happy Mother's Day, yesterday. We also had our commisioning service at our church.
It was really a lot of fun. Going up on stage at church is always a little nerve racking, but well worth it! We were blessed by our "family" there and were able to sell a few tickets to our Dominican Meal Fundraiser. Still quite a few tickets to go on that with less than 2 weeks before the fundraiser itself. We know that things will work out though!
We are slowly packing up our household and storing in the basement storage room, garage or in the neighbours basement.
Gotta run, talk to you soon.
Princess Buttercup

Getting Ready

Oh my goodness, I can't believe that it is only 81 more days until we leave for the Dominican Republic for a whole year!! And that we will be there as missionaries.
July 14th is when I will be done my job and I can hardly wait.
I will miss my friends at the library and the kids at storytime, but that is about it.
I am going to love this time and be very lonely at the same time.
Will keep you posted as to how our plans are going as well.
Our fundraising is going well and we are just over half way there.
Better go now, talk to you soon.
Love Buttercup