We bought plane tickets!!!

It's official: Lord willing we will be on a plane to Orlando on January 13th for two weeks of training, then leaving straight from there on January 28th to the DR.

ps. That's not a squirrel hanging from Jake's chin. He's just working on a massive gotee.

Thanksgiving with everyone!

Both of our entire immediate families converged on Jake's parents' house for an awesome time of fellowship, food and football watching.

Kyla's nephew Ezekiel

The sisters, Eryn and Eliza

The youngest, Ezra

Cross Cultural Orientation in Colorado

Jake and I went to our first Young Life International training November 6-11 in Colorado Springs. It was such a great time to come together with twenty other individuals who are serving all over the world with Young Life. The staff who shared with us were amazing and so encouraging as we learned about topics such as: Conflict Resolution, Language Acquisition, Cultural transitions, Donor Care, etc. We spent most of the day in a classroom-like setting learning from these staff members, and then at night we would relax and have fun together. Some of my highlights from this training were talking to other young couples like us and encouraging each other, praying together and laughing at some of the experiences we have been through so far. All in all, we were so thankful to have been a part of this training and to meet so many great people.

P.S. Jake made this video and it is awesome, you should watch it!

Family and Friends in Portland

Sharing our vision with family in Portland

This was just after we had some great Louisiana cooking and fellowship with the Chevealliers and some awesome friends from Wolf Mountain.

Thanks Grandma for the great lunch at Beaches!

Fun times in Ashland

Jake and I stayed in Ashland for almost a week with a wonderful family who let us live with them.

We had an awesome small group presentation sharing our vision for the Dominican Republic and also visited many other people in Ashland who Jake had known while growing up.

Some memories that I will enjoy: watching many episodes of The Office with the Stranbergs, getting to meet lots of amazing and encouraging people, and walking in Lithia Park with the beautiful fall trees all around us.

Thanks to everyone who supported us on this trip and opened up their homes for us to stay or share a meal with you!

Love,
Jake and Kyla

What a game!

Jake and I got to visit our friends last weekend in Boise, Idaho. We had so much fun and we even got to go to a Boise State football game. Little did we know that it would even go into four overtimes! Now, I don't know a lot about football, but that was crazy, and lots of fun.

We had a great trip and were able to relax, have fun with friends, and we even stayed in Ontario on the way home.

Thanks to everyone for letting us stay with you!

Our new home away from home...

Well, we've done it, we've moved in with my parents. This is that time in life when you look back on all of the independence that you have gained and wonder where it has gone... Actually, this has been a huge blessing. Both of our parents helped us move out of our apartment in Eugene to Central Oregon, where we will be continuing our fundraising while preparing to leave for the Dominican Republic in January. We will be visiting friends and family all over Oregon as well as attending a Cross Cultural Orientation training in Colorado and three weeks of training/conferences in Florida. Lord willing, we will fly from Florida to the DR at the end of January. In the mean time, we will be raising the rest of our funds and believing for many more miracles. Thank you for all of you who are praying for us now. We really appreciate your encouragement and support in this time. This is the point of no return and really a time of dependence on the Lord. Although we are being stretched, we are thankful for what God is doing in our lives.

May God richly bless you as you seek HIM!

Kyla