Our Journey to Missions
From Oregon to the Dominican Republic
Our 3,522 mile journey started long before we even knew Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic existed.
God began planting initial seeds in our teen years, with both of us serving on three high school mission trips each. As an adult, God began to move in Mike’s heart again, leading him to serve in Peru in 2010 and then acting as lead coordinator for a missions team of 30 teens to Belize in 2012. While these experiences deeply burdened our hearts for the developing world, we had no idea that they were the foundation for an invitation to be God’s full time hands and feet overseas.
A Calling to Missions
In a quiet park near our Oregon home, God ignited a personal calling to missions during a transformative prayer time in May of 2013. Mike discerned that this long term ministry would be in South or Central America and involve using his gift as a teacher at a gospel centered school for impoverished children.
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?
Romans 10:14-15
And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?
The next five years included the process of each surrendering our hearts to this radical calling as well as many preparatory disciplines. We regularly petitioned the Lord through focused prayer, started learning Spanish, began streamlining all financial and material areas of our life, researched various educational missions pathways and continued to equip spiritually through our home church.
Discovering Doulos
It wasn’t until November of 2018, after months of fruitless searching and little clarity, that God opened the door to Doulos Discovery School in Jarabacoa, DR. After a series of interviews and an abundance of prayer, Mike accepted a four (or more!) year position at Doulos. Our two children, Brennan and Ava attend Doulos alongside Mike while Melissa manages the household, continues to learn Spanish, assists the family in adapting to Dominican culture, and organically ministers to the community of Jarabacoa.
Before moving in 2020, we came to Jarabacoa on a two week vision trip. Our family visit in August 2019 further deepened our confidence that Doulos was indeed the Great Commission ministry the Lord was calling us to. We were blown away by the school’s commitment to build up the body of Christ through evangelism and discipleship, all while providing a path out of poverty through high quality education. The four of us fell in love with the Dominican culture (and almost came home with that Chihuahua for Ava!) and have felt incredibly blessed to serve the Lord in the Dominican Republic since July of 2020.