the end of an era and starting of a new...BLOG

Dear guests. I believe there are few of you left out there as my blogging has dwindled to a near nothing. So I'm going to wrap this one up. I have had this blog for three years and it served me through my first support raising, Costa Rican language school, and my year in Colombia. Now Aaron and I are starting our new journey of missions together and I think it appropriate for us to start a blog together. I would say that we can each have our own, but I don't believe Aaron will keep up with his all too often. So we'll take turns writing in our new one. The url is: aaronandzoedas.blogspot.com and I hope you will visit it often. Thank you for staying in touch and keeping me in your prayers. Here's to what lies ahead and so long to "they call me Daniela"!

In our Beloved Colombia!

Here we are in Colombia (pictures to come soon). So much time counting down to this moment! Medellin is a beautiful place and when they say it sits in a bowl, they MEAN it! We are surrounded by extremely steep mountains in every direction. Sitting here, I feel the amazing breeze, hear the buzzing of cars driving by (way too fast I'm sure), and as we rode through the city today, I smelled about every possible smell in the course of one mile. From fresh bread to fresh sewage... But it doesn't bug me. Nor did my freezing cold shower this morning or the bed I slept in last night that is quite a bit firmer than I'm used to. Nope. At home, "some" (my father and husband) might tell you that I'm a princess. And I might agree with them on occasion (hey-just being honest here). But when I come here, its like no amount of rain, heat, mosquitos, or days without a real bathroom visit can bother me. (too honest?) :)

What DOES upset me greatly is some of the things I see here and am helpless with. The 5 or 6 people I saw sleeping next to eachother under a bridge this morning covered in newspaper. Or driving by the poor areas where the homes in NO WAY qualify as a house. This country, like EVERY country, is in need. And for some reason, God has placed Colombia in our heart. We're ready to be here, living amongst them and sharing His love. And so the be-patient-and-wait-on-God game begins.

More news to come as time allows. Please keep us in your prayers this week!
Z

Running a Race???...

What to do what to do? (sigh) I'm currently trying to decide on whether or not I want to try and run a full marathon. I feel like if I'm ever going to do it, NOW would have to be the time. I can easily find one here in the States (pre-missionary-move) and I'm currently in somewhat good enough shape for it (pre-babies). I know I KNOW, plenty of women run marathons after babies, but I'm not sure how motivated I would be at that point. I have done several half marathons and I know that the memory of those seems to miraculously omit the pain I felt at miles 9-13 and how, as I approached each finish line I would say to myself "why on earth did I do this to myself????" But then the pain goes away and you do it all over again.


So I say to myself these days "I know I could do it, I could run 26.2 miles if I really put my mind to it". And then I go out for a 6 mile jog, come back a little sore, and say "then again, maybe not." Six miles, not a big deal...6 miles + 20 more....OUCH!!! Any thoughts out there in cyber world?

Puppy Woes

Oh the challenges of puppy shopping. "He'll be too big" "She won't be a runner" "They require too much attention" "He's not even interested in the dang ball!" "I'm just not feelin that one"

We may be 75 years old before our four-legged member arrives. We decided to definitely get a dog, but now we have to wait until after our May Colombia trip because there is no sense in getting a dog and then leaving for week right afterward. Patience....I'm not a fan of that word! But I'm dealing with it because, as our landlord said, "God has the right dog for you and it'll be here right on time!'

In other news, we head to beloved Colombia in less than two weeks and I'm SO READY! We also just celebrated our 8 months of being married. I know for all you tenured folk out there that 8 months is NOTHING. And I would basically agree. But it is still true that those 8 months FLEW by. And what a happy 8 months they have been.

Sure do hope you are all enjoying this amazing spring (minus the pollen) and that 2010 will be a blessing!
Till next time!!
ZD

Puppy Love

Aaron and I are trying to decide when to buy a dog. Its not a matter of IF-we know its going to happen. But when is a good time for it? For those who still read this blog (not sure how many of you are out there still) I would like for you to comment and tell us what you think. We both are split on it. Here's some info to help you vote:

-We want to adopt a mid-size dog (25-35 lbs) that is already housebroken (about a year old) from a reputable adoption agency
-We have been wanting a dog since before we got married. Aaron has never had I pet, I have and love it!
-We can take our dog with us when we move to Colombia for a little $ but not too much extra hastle
-We can buy a dog in Colombia but its harder to find a reputable adoption agency as most dogs for sale are pure-bred
-We are hoping for an early 2011 move to South America (but we know it may be later) which would give us plenty of time to bond with a dog before a major lifestyle change

We have a going Pro's and Con's list which include the following items:

PRO'S/Reasons to buy now-
1. Give us yet another reason to spend time together outside and going to parks etc. with our four-legged family member
2. We have been wanting one for a while and will help ease any baby fever that might be setting in :)
3. We are at the point where we would like to take something on that will give us some responsibility but isn't quite as expensive or serious as having a baby
4. A running buddy for me which I'm dying to have!

CONS/Reasons to wait-
1. It is an added expense every month that, while we can afford it, will dip into the amt. we are saving every month
2. We both are gone every day from 8 am to 6ish pm. I work close to home and can go home during my lunch to take care of it, but its still a long time to leave him alone
3. There may be some time when we first move to Colombia that our housing will be unsure. The dog would probably have to stay with somebody Stateside for a few months and then be shipped down to us once we had a permanent home

So, if you can think of any more pro's and con's to add, let us know in a comment as well as any other thoughts that will help us decide. Thanks for your help everybody!!!

We are booked!

I recently received my new passport as a Das which is going to come in very handy for our Colombia trip we scheduled for May! Woohoo! We are so excited to have concrete plans to check out Medellin, Colombia and a ministry opportunity there. With less than 2 months to go, we are trying to finalize our plans for the week there as there are tons of things we need to get done...

-meet with the board of directors for the ministry
-check out apartments to get an estimate of cost of living
-check out language schools for Aaron
-go to a soccer match for the ministry
-visit some UCU friends/attend an UCU Bible study
-take a tour of the city to get a good feel for it

Our desire is for this to be the "make or break it" trip as a last step before we can start support raising and finalizing plans for a 2011 move. Aaron and I would greatly appreciate your prayers as we seek His will for our future in missions.

Below are some pictures from Aaron's birthday dinner/trip to FL and a little zoe-home-maker-pie I made. :) Happy Spring y'all!

4:57

Its too early in the morning to be thinking about Colombia. Or is it? Couldn't sleep and woke up with Colombia on the mind. As we head full swing into it, I can't help but fear a few things. Mainly, that support won't get raised any time soon and we'll be stranded with only a dream and a never ending unknown departure date that is always slightly out of reach. Of course God is in control of this, but the economy is just about as bad as it could be for missionaries.

So as we begin to support raise and have written the first draft of what will be our May support letter, I can't help but toss and turn and pray that God will do a miracle. Somehow it'll get raised right? And how can I, in good conscious, ask struggling folks who have been out of work for a year+ to help send us to Colombia? These are ramblings, but they are the true happenings of a restless missionary's mind. So there ya have it folks...worry. Yes, we "super-spiritual-holy-missionary-people" can worry too! :)

Now to try and sleep at least one more hour until that alarm buzzez me to the bank...

Transparency

Along with the new design of my blog, I am putting a new twist into my posts. I'm trying to blog more, but about what? These days I just go to work, go to the gym, cook dinner, and then sleep for a few hours before doing it all over again. I'm NOT complaining, but the truth is that nobody wants to read about what's for dinner or how many checks I cashed at the bank today. And since this blog is supposed to be about "the ups and downs of a missionary" I figured I should write about what's going on with that.



In order to report on "life as a missionary", things are probably going to get a little more personal. We aren't there yet. We aren't serving in that capacity yet. But everything in me wants to be there already. Fully immersed into service, Spanish, and ministry. But that's not where God has us quite yet. So this blog will, from here on out, be about what I deal with personally as we prepare to go, support raise, and long for the day to arrive when we'll board that flight to the unknown.



I can't promise there won't be posts where its obvious that I'm frustrated. After all, how many of us wish at times God would work with OUR schedule instead of feeling like He's just "penciled us in" for some unknown date out yonder?! Whatever the case, I look forward to sharing my journey with you, as transparently as I dare. So, enjoy reading about diary of a missionary in the making! Hasta Luego!

Job Title: Missionary/wedding coordinator/teller/translator???

What DO I do?

Wedding Coordinator? I thought you were a missionary?! Oh you work at a bank? WHAT???

Yes Yes and Yes. I am an x-missionary/almost missionary again who currently works as a teller and translator and is building a small wedding business to make a little extra cash and do what I LOVE doing: organizing and planning weddings! So, until that miraculous day that Aaron and I get to head out to the field, if you know of any brides who need a little extra help with planning things I hope you'll send them to the website:
www.zoedasweddings.com

Wedding Bells and PTO

Currently, Aaron and I are completely wrapped up in two things: trying to plan our Paid Time Off (PTO) from work and figuring out how we are going to attend THREE weddings in THREE different states all within THREE months of each other. YIKES!

First up, a short trip to Sarasota, FL to visit some good friends and get a little R&R. Shortly after that is a trip to Colombia where we plan on visiting a possible future ministry site in Medellin. While that will be PTO, it won't be vacation. This is a serious exploritory trip for which we are very excited. Then its Felice's wedding for which I am a bridesmaid in her St. Augustine, FL wedding in June. Next up is Aaron's best friend's wedding in none other than New Mexico in July. We're trying to plan a vacation around that trip. Last but certainly NOT least is my sister's wedding in August. I'm her matron of honor and I'm so looking forward to helping her. Somewhere in there we'll celebrate our one year anniversary and start support raising. Wow, I'm getting tired just writing it. But, its all going to be so fun and eventful and full of new love as our dearest friends and family take the plunge!


So, as January wraps up and the rest begins to unfold, all I can say is: ¡Que tengan un buen año! (Have a great year!)

2010

Well dear friends, I'm officially the biggest blog slacker ever! Honestly it just hasn't seemed like there was anything going on that I thought anybody would want to read about. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE my life! I'm having a blast being married and Aaron shows me every day why it is God brought us together. But other than working at the bank, cooking meals, cleaning house, and spending time with Aaron, my life hasn't been any kind of super exciting. Until now.....

I'm MORE THAN EXCITED to write about the fact that Aaron and I have officially started the missionary process. This month we are sending out letters just to tell people what is going on with us. Some of the letter's content include things like planning a trip to Colombia for an exploritory trip, starting the support-raising process in the summer, and how we are doing in general.

While I can't promise to update the blog as much as I used to, I am definitely going to be updating it at least bi-monthly. So, until next time, we would appreciate your prayers as we are taking the babysteps into all that God has for us as missionaries to the Latin World. God bless and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!