Party of 3!

We are so excited that my mom has decided to go on the trip with us!!! She has been secretly wanting to go on a mission trip for the past few years and told God that if she had the opportunity that she would go.... 

Well, here is her opportunity!

When I first invited her to come with us a couple of months ago she immediately responded, "I would love that!" but continued to go back and forth for a few weeks wondering if now was the right time to go. I wanted to give God room to speak and for her to hear His voice for herself, so I did not push the issue. She needed to make this decision for herself. Well, after a couple of weeks she decided NOT to go. But weeks after her decision the Lord kept knocking on her heart and she just couldn't shake it off. 

So I asked her again and encouraged her to be brave!... And with a little nudging from my brother who said, "Mom, don't be a chicken!" :)
she has decided to go and is already signed up and apart of the team. We are thrilled to have her come along and know that this will be an awesome time of bonding for all of us. 

She has decided not to fundraise but she still needs our prayers and support! Please keep my mom in prayer as she prepares to go. This is a huge step of faith for her!

Just a little update!

We are so thankful for all the support and love that we have received as we are raising funds for our mission trip this May 31st-June 14th. Our hearts are overwhelmed with gratitude and thanksgiving for all the donations we have received. Both Curtis and I are 65% funded!!! 

Our first financial deadline is in just a few days where we both needed 60% ... we praise God that we have exceeded that goal with your help!

Our hearts continue to grow in excitement as the trip is coming up quick. We had our first conference call as a team this past week where we found out that we will be split up into 4 groups within our team:

Worship

Arts & Crafts

VBS

Sports & Games

We need to have material prepared before we go because we will need to be ready at a moments notice to lead worship, minister to the children, teach them or just have fun with them! Curtis has already requested to be apart of the worship team and I am so excited to see him use his gifts and talents for the benefit of others. I am still praying about what group I would like to be apart of but we have also been warned that we could be pulled into any group during the course of the trip. We just need be willing to serve in any place there is a need.

Curtis and I have also been a part of a small group at our local church where we are studying about orphan ministry. It is a video series that we are working through and is so beneficial as we are are moving forward with our mission trip. One of the speakers recently said that, "There is a great need for us to be brought near to the crisis - those who have no family or voice". I do agree with this statement. When we are brought near to the need then our hearts are moved to respond. Otherwise, our hearts can become hardened and even self-absorbed. 

So we are so thankful for this opportunity to GO where the need is the greatest and allow God to move in our hearts and show us how to respond!

If you would still like to give you can do so ...

Online:
https://www.visitingorphans.org/cgi-bin/donate.cgi : Be sure to type in one of our names

Mail: 
203 N. Carroll St. Ext #20
Thrumont, MD 21788

What we are up to now...

So I wanted to give you a bit of an update on what we are doing now... 

After arriving in Maryland in August I posted my profile on Care.com, which is a networking website for nannies, families in need of childcare, housekeeping and more! After a few interviews and some weeks I landed the perfect job. For the past few months I have worked for a wonderful family who has one boy that I help care for on a part-time basis. The family has treated me so well and been so generous towards me. It wasn't long after I started that they then hired me for more hours to do the housekeeping in their home. So now I work for them about 24 hours a week. I was/am so thankful for my job but I wanted to do more to help bring in more finances. So, through care.com again, I picked up a small housekeeping job for 4-6 hours a week and then another nanny job for another few hours a week. The scheduling for the jobs work so perfectly together, allowing me to do all three. I must stay that I am very happy and content with the work that I have. Working within the home truly is my passion!

After arriving in Maryland, Curtis needed a job pretty much right away, realizing that he was the main "bread winner" for our home. So he applied to many different jobs and ended up getting hired at "Chick-fil-a" within 2 days. It really was amazing how fast they responded to his application and hired him on the spot. It seemed at first that this job would only be temporary until he found a better one in the field he preferred... But so far his boss has given him some generous raises and even some health insurance. And within about 2 months he was promoted to a manager position. Then shortly afterwards we find out that Chick-fil-a has their own mission organization... who would have thought! The more that we learn about them as an organization, the more we agree and are encouraged by the values they stand on and their heart behind the business... their passion for serving people! So we just wonder... God do you have something more for us here... We are not entirely sure yet... but we are just waiting and taking one step at a time.

We are so thankful for this season that we are in and embracing everyday!!!

Thanks for following our story!

Would you partner with us?

In light of our recent decision to go on our first missions trip to Africa as a couple in June of next year, we also have the humbling realization that we can not make it there on our own. We need help! We need financial and prayer support from our friends and family members. 

It is never easy to ask our loved ones for finances, in fact, I consider it painful and humbling. But I also know that it is an opportunity for our loved ones to "partner with us". 

This is a journey that we can walk through together. We get to share the impact and the ministry with everyone who supports us. So when we go to Africa, we know that we did not get there on our own but by the support of all who love us back home. That means, that any positive change and influence that we have over in Africa is of a result of those who have chosen to enable us to go. So any impact that we have is not just our impact but your impact, your influence!!!

So would you consider joining us on this adventure as we go to Africa? 

Would you be willing to give so that we can minister to and love the orphans
we will be in contact with?

What we need: 
Both Curtis and I each need to raise about $3,400. 
We have already invest $400 of our own money towards the trip and wanted to make sure that we made an investment of our own money first before asking others to invest as well. 

How to give:
There are 2 main ways that you can give financially -

1) you can write us a personal check and send it to our address
     203 N Carroll St. #20
     Thurmont, MD 21788

2) you can give online at visitingorphans.org for a tax-deductable donation. 
     Be sure to select "Hyman Team - May/June Uganda & Kenya"
     Also be sure to select that you would like to donate to a team member or ministry name. Then type either  Curtis Dooley or Katie Dooley in the space provided. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

Click here to donate: www.visitingorphans.org 

What you will receive:
It is our desire that you are blessed when giving to our mission trip. So for all who give financially we will mail you a follow up newsletter updating you on our trip, what we learned, who we met, what we did and more!

give $50 or more!
- and you will also receive a CD of pictures from our trip

give $100 or more!
- and you will receive a newsletter and video DVD of our trip.

Our contact information:
Katie - Katiedooley87@gmail.com
Curtis - Curtismdooley@gmail.com

Thank you for considering to partner with us on this journey!!

- Katie & Curtis Dooley 

We're going to Africa!

Where:
Jinja, Uganda and then western Kenya

When:
May 31st- June 14th

With Who:
Visiting Orphans - you can learn more about them at visitingorphans.org

What will we do:
We will be visiting a number of orphanages in each location throughout the trip. We will be loving on children, doing activities with them, learning about there lives, cultures and the orphanages they are living in. We will also seek to be a blessing in anyway that we can including but not limited to emotional encouragement and support, any work that needs done around the orphanage, helping with meals, and just to be an all around blessing to the people there. Once we know more about specific activities we will be doing then I will make sure to update our blog!

Why:
For our first year of marriage Curtis & I really wanted to just "lay low" in terms of ministry and mission work. We wanted to take time to just focus on setting a strong foundation for our marriage and relationship. Yet, even through we have not been very involved in outreach, we have been talking, praying and considering what we would do together as a couple. Both of us have had done extensive overseas mission work before getting married, both of us love Africa and both of us love working with young people. For me, I especially love caring for babies and young children. For him, he especially loves working with the middle and high school age group. So what do we do?

Well, I began to look back at the 19 months total that I spent in Tanzania/Kenya between 2008-2010 and I asked myself... What was the most fulfilling ministry that I was involved in? When did I experience the most joy in pouring out my life and serving others? When did I have the most passion and love in my heart?

And I remembered... It was when I was taking care of this little boy...

This name is Abdallah and we met on Christmas Day 2008. Our team was doing an outreach at the local orphanage and that night I met this sweet little boy. He was brought to the orphanage because he was abandoned at the local hospital by his mother and the nurses practically forgot about him. He was not being fed or taken care of at all and I was horrified at the condition of his health. He had absolutely no fat on his body whatsoever. He was completely skin and bones. I knew that if he did not get the love and care that he needed then he would die. Even though the orphanage was doing the best they could to care of him, my heart was moved to do my part as well. So I decided to visit him everyday for as long as I could. 

When I first began feeding him with the bottle he would throw it all up. His stomach was rejecting the milk because he was not used to being fed that much. So I sat there, holding him for hours, putting small drops of milk in his mouth at a time until he had stomached a couple of ounces of milk. After a couple of weeks of working with him, he finally was able to drink from a bottle. He got some meat back on his bones and was beginning to look like a normal baby once again, (which was when these pictures were taken).

During these couple of weeks I absolutely fell in love with him. I would have dreams about him at night and would miss him during the day when I was not with him. My heart longed to hold him and care for him! I do believe that I loved him like I would my own son during those couple of weeks. But one day I went to visit him at the orphanage and he was gone. They took him away ... maybe because I was a Christian and he was a Muslim boy and they did not want me influencing him or adopting him. I don't know, but I never saw him again after that.

Though I did move on,

I never forgot him. 

Yes, God's purpose in all of this was so that I could help him get back to health but I also believe God wanted to use Abdallah to influence my life as well and to give me a heart for orphans in Africa.

So with Curtis' heart for youth, my heart for orphans and both of our heart's for Africa, we have decided to take a first step forward in our ministry together by going on this mission trip. We are considering this our "vision trip". We want to be with orphans, be in Africa, see how orphanages are being run, see what works and what doesn't work, and then pray to see how we will get involved long-term for years to come.

This is the beginning of our story...

Here are some pictures of Curtis on his trip to Zambia & Zimbabwe in 2007.

On this trip he worked with an organization called "Every Orphans Hope"

3 months in Maryland!

It has been about 3 months since our move to Maryland, so I thought it was time to give a bit of an update on our time here. It has not been without some hard-times, challenges, adventures, fun, excitement, definite long-lasting memories and everything in between ... But I must say, it has all been worth it!

(some flowers and chocolate my husband left me one day)

I have an amazing husband who loves and supports me no matter what comes our way and that has made the world of difference since our move out here. No matter how rocky or uncertain our lives may be... I know that his love for me and our relationship is strong and steady. So I feel like I can walk through so many challenges with so much peace and assurance! 

Ok, enough with the deep and meaningful  :)

Here are some pictures of a couple of our adventures here in Maryland...

Curtis and I, along with my sister's family, hiked to a near by waterfall. 

It was a perfect day for a hike!

We were so proud of Hannah who walked almost the entire way, there and back. (Except for the few times here mom and I rotated in carrying her) Aaron did good just hanging out in the backpack carrier while Jim carried him the entire time. 

(Hannah actually took this picture with my camera. Not bad for a 3 year old!)

The most recent adventure was Hurricane Sandy. We didn't know what to expect from this storm. Some people on the coast were ignoring the orders for evacuation and some were calling it "The Perfect Storm". So we did our best to prepare, without over reacting.

Again, I have so much confidence in my husband, who grew up in Oklahoma where dangerous storms were a norm. So it seemed like he thought of everything we would need and knew exactly what to do and how to prepare.

We were blessed through it all! Even though the winds got really bad and the down pour was immense, we did not go out of power once and we had no major flooding in our town. The Governor of Maryland stated this morning that we literally dodged a bullet with this storm. There were times they thought it might hit us directly but instead it went just north of us to the New York, New Jersey area. The damage on the coast there was devastating, so our thoughts and prayers are with those people. 

(this body of water is not supposed to be there)

This picture just goes to show how much water fell within 24 hours. The water had already gone down a bit by the time it was calm enough for me to take this picture. 

So there you go... just a few of our adventures in Maryland!

I am sure that many more are still to come!

Our new home!

This may or may not come as a shock to some of you who read this blog but... we moved to Maryland! It was something that we had been talking about and contemplating for a while now but the opportunity came sooner than expected. We thought that it would be years down the road that we would actually move out this way but we felt like the time was right ... so we moved! 

We knew that there would be many challenges with a move half way across the country, which there have been of course, but through this move we have found more blessings than challenges. To say the least ... we love it here! 

                                                                 (our town square)

                                                                           

     We love our new place

          We love being close to my sister and her family

               We love living in a small town nestled right next to the Appalachian mountains

                    We love the way that Maryland is a state where the North meets the South 

                                                                                                 (so we both feel a bit at home)

                         We love this new season that we are in (in life and marriage)

                                                                   (Catoctin Mountains)

We are both so excited for the future that the Lord has for us and will try to keep this blog updated on new things happening in our life. But in the meantime, know that we are doing so well and are so blessed to be here!