Good Stuff!

I feel very blessed and lucky right now! Some good things are happening for me at work (I'll write more about that next week). Yesterday I booked a trip for Josh and I to Savannah!! Just a couple weeks ago Josh was asked to be the best man in his friend Kris' wedding in Savannah on July 17th (a Thursday). When we looked up tickets they were $450. Way too much money for both of us to go because this was a) kind of last minute, and b) not in the budget. I looked again at tickets yesterday and they were down to $266! So we're both going! We'll be there Wed-Saturday. We've always wanted to go to Savannah so we're really excited. A bummer is that I will miss class on Wed and Thur. It's really hard to miss class anytime, but especially when it's a 7 week class. Our 4th wedding anniversary is on a Thursday (July 3) and I was planning on missing class that night but now that I'll miss class a couple weeks later I'll have to go on July 3rd (major bummer). But we're just excited about this little vacation!

Josh is out of town at Whitey's bachelor party all weekend. I can't remember the last time that I was alone for a weekend. Last night I went to happy hour with a couple friends and then just chilled on the couch and went to bed at 9:30. Sydney woke up at 4AM with diarrhea (sp??) so that was exciting. It's a beautiful day today! I'm going to work out, get my oil changed, meet a friend for lunch, maybe go shopping, and have girls night with my mom tonight! (it's a surprise so I can't spill what we're doing). Should be a fun day.

Have a fantastic day!

Sydney Bristow Docken

Not only is she the little love of my life... but she's now my secret weapon for grad school! She studies for me!

SYDNEY! FOCUS!!!!

Kris and Amy Klitzke!!

The girls at the rehearsal dinner at Buca di Beppo.
Getting ready the morning of the wedding at the hotel.
First dance!
Having fun.
Amy and Kris got married on May 17th. Amy and I met the first day of freshman year of college. We lived on the same dorm floor for 2 years and were roommates Senior year. I was honored to be a bridesmaid and so happy to share the special day with Sarah and Pam too! Amy and Kris started dating just 2 months after Josh and I. They are an awesome couple!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Happy Birthday, Mom! You are so beautiful!
I am so incredibly lucky to be your daughter! I love you!

"My mom is a never ending song in my heart of comfort, happiness, and being. I may sometimes forget the words but I always remember the tune."
-Graycie Harmon

Esperanza!!

I can't believe it's been 2 months and I am just now posting about our trip to the Dominican Republic!!

We went to DR with HOPE International in March. Our dear friends Quenton and Bethany Marty led the trip. There were 5 couples in total and everyone was awesome!! We loved getting to know all of them.

HOPE International "is a global, faith-based, non-profit organization focused on poverty alleviation through microenterprise development. HOPE serves people living in Afghanistan, China, the Dominican Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, India, Moldova, Philippines, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, South Asia, and Ukraine. HOPE’s vision is to enable sustainable economic development that results in significant and lasting change, temporal and
eternal, in the lives of many people living in poverty."

Most of you know I've been to Ukraine a few times. In Ukraine I was visiting the Marty family (at least part of them - Paul, Cindy, Josh, Justin, and Jessica) who were serving the Lord through HOPE. Cindy founded the Tomorrow Clubs. This is similar to Awana, if anyone was a part of that as a child. When I was in Ukraine I spent most of the time with the Tomorrow Clubs so I was very excited to learn more about the micro-lending part of HOPE in the DR.

Imagine a life without a job, without a car loan, without a school loan, without a home loan, without a way to save money. Where is the hope? This is the life for so many people around the world. There are many charities that try to help by providing resources to these poor people- water, food, clothing, school supplies... While this may give them a temporary "band-aid" it doesn't fix the problem. After they consume the resources given to them, they are right back where they started - without a job, without capital, without hope. Micro-lending stops the cycle!! The poorest of the poor are given business training, skill training, a loan, support, encouragement, and are able to start or supplement a business! Now armed with a job and income, they are able to send their children to school and leave the cycle of poverty! It is arguably the most effective way to bring people out of poverty.

The bank loans are repaid within 6 months. Every two weeks the community comes together and repays a portion of their loan. They are also required to save a portion of their loan. Many people save above and beyond what is required because they realize the power of savings. There are 5-6 people that make up a "bank". Since these people have no collateral this is the way that HOPE ensures repayment on the loans. If one person cannot make a payment, the other people in that bank are required to pay the shortage. They carefully choose who they want to be in their bank since they are liable for each other's loans. The average repayment rate for HOPE is over 97% so this is very effective!

One of HOPE's clients started a school in her home for children that were too poor to attend the regular school. She started with just a few kids and now has a couple hundred! She has two sesssions- morning and afternoon. There is not much room but the kids are soo happy and grateful to be in school!
Here is our group with this amazing woman. Before the school day starts, she gets up at 4AM to sew clothing out of the textiles that she buys with her loan from HOPE. This is how she supports herself. And we thought we had a long day!
This client opened a grocery store in his little two bedroom "house". It's not a house by our standards- there is no water, no electricity, no plumbing.... But he is making enough money with his store to feed his kids and hopes to soon be able to send them to school. His store is open from 7AM to 11PM.
This is absolute poverty. I have learned about absolute versus relative poverty. Most of the poverty in the United States is relative poverty. The people who are under the U.S. poverty line and are eligible for assistance often have a TV or a car. These people have nothing. Look at the below "houses". Poverty has a brand new meaning for me. Did you know that 4 billion people in the world live on less than $4 a day?




Most of the clients are women. Below is an adorable man that we met. He has been very successful since he started working with HOPE! Most loans are around $200-$500 (but can vary widely- in Rwanda it might be $50 and in Russia it might be $5000). This man's business is buying and selling spices. He is like a wholesaler. Most of these communities are very rural and the people have no way to get into the city. So many of these clients go to the city and buy food, toiletries, etc, and re-sell them in their community.
If you would like to learn more about HOPE and micro-lending, Josh and I would love to talk with you! You can also visit the HOPE website at www.hopeinternational.org. We are holding a garage sale for HOPE in June. All of the proceeds will go directly to people just like the ones in these pictures. If you want to help HOPE and make a difference, we will gladly take any donations for our garage sale! Let us know!

And character...hope.

Romans chapter 5 says, "And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character, hope".

I have been reflecting on this verse a lot lately. I understand how suffering produces perseverance and how perseverance produces character. What I have been thinking about is how character produces hope. I think hope comes from our faith in God. I can't imagine living a life without hope and without being able to rest in this promise: "For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" Jeremiah 29:11. That verse is widely known and quoted. Most people miss the context for this promise. God had just sent His people into exile in Babylon. He promised to come back after 70 years and bring them back to Jerusalem. That is when He tells them that He knows the plans He has for them. Then God says, "Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" (vs 12-13). The plans and hope and future God promised to His people did not come without trust and suffering (because of the exile).

Character is built through perservance. We persevere when we are tested, tempted, and tried. And the character that is built supplies us with hope that our suffering and trials bring us closer to God and closer to what He wills for us.

I rejoice in knowing that God knows exactly when we are going to have a baby. He already knows everything about our children. What they will look like, how they will act, how Josh and I will cherish and treasure them every single day. So, we wait. And we persevere, and build character, and rest in our hope.

Amy's bachelorette

Amy's bachelorette party was Saturday. Amy and I lived on the same floor in the Dowling dorm freshman and sophomore year and lived in the same house, along with Sarah and Pam, senior year (2067 Dayton!). On May 17th, Amy and Kris are getting married and Pam, Sarah, and I are the bridesmaids.

The first half of the party was at my house. We played games, ate dinner, and got ready to go out. The limo bus picked us up at 9AM and drove us to St Paul, then Minneapolis, and then back to Savage. We had so much fun!!! Josh was SUCH a good trooper through it all! He grilled dinner for us, took lots of group pictures, and didn't complain one bit when we got home at 2AM (and were not as quiet as we could be..). He also blew up an air mattress for a couple girls and put out clean blankets for people to use and also cleaned up dishes and food from dinner! Everyone commented on how I have such a terrific husband.... I Agree!!

Somehow my drivers licence got lost on the bus. Kris' cousin Britany (above) somehow had an extra license on her! For the whole night I had to use her ID to get into the bars. Do you think we look alike?

Dancing queen... feal the beat from the tambourine..oh yeah..

To show how out of touch I am with pop music, Pam had a specially created mix playing in the limo and when a new Britney Spears song came on, I asked Betsy (who LOVES the new Britney CD) what "Amarada", which is repeated like 200 times throughout the song, means. She said, "it's 'ON MY RADAR!'". Whoops!!!

A special thanks to Pam, who planned this event! Super job, Pam, super job.