Anticipating Thanksgiving and Learning to Let Go

On November 28, 2013February 8, 2014 By MitchenersIn Angela2 Comments

The pumpkin roll is in the oven. The pasta salad and guacamole are both chilling. The veggies are cut, and the potatoes are ready to be peeled and mashed in the morning. The pumpkin layer cheesecakes are cooling on the stove. The deluge of food held at bay in the refrigerator will undoubtedly flood the kitchen if I dare open the door. (Before you go thinking WonderAng made all that food by herself, accolades must go to Katie, Scott, and Yuleisy for their hard work prepping this overabundance of pumpkin-y goodness. I sure hope “accolades” and “sharing-my-turkey-and-stuffing” aren’t synonyms in the thesaurus…)

For the record, I am super-duper excited about Thanksgiving. I love food (see above paragraph). And games. And laughing. And getting an extended weekend to mentally recharge my brain-dead self.

But one of the things I’m most looking forward to is simply spending some time with my babies.

I don’t think I truly understood the plight of the working mom before becoming one. Since moving to the Dominican, I have added the role of teacher to my repertoire (yes, I did just say “repertoire”, and yes, I do think I deserve a cookie for saying it). In all seriousness, one of my biggest struggles has been figuring out how to balance work and family. There are days I can’t seem to cast off the guilt that comes with not accomplishing everything on my daily docket. I just want to cook dinner for my family and clean my house and keep up with the laundry and spend time with my husband and bathe my kids and have perfectly planned kindergarten lessons and exciting activities and a seamless curriculum and…

Then reality hits. And I realize that where I want to be and where I actually am as a wife, mother, and teacher are on completely opposite ends of this spectrum that I call my life.

I look at the Proverbs 31 woman and then look in the mirror and think, “There is no way I’ll ever be that.” I fall so short. When I get to the end of the day, absolutely exhausted and with so little crossed off my to-do list, I can’t help but let the frustration and apprehension and worry take reign for those last few moments before I drift off to sleep.

But thankfully, God’s been sharpening me and growing me over the last few months. He’s been showing me that my mind’s dial has been turned to the “wrong-thinking” position and that my perspective has been bent. I’ve recently been learning how to release the insecurities and regrets and feelings of not measuring up. I’ve been challenged to quit comparing myself to others and to just complete the tasks God has for me each day instead of looking to finish the jobs I’ve assigned myself. Some days I do better than others at finding this mental balance. I hate that I often give certain situations over to my Savior, only to later take them right back out of His hands – as if I know how to better handle them than He does. It’s been painful, this chiseling process. Letting go is a hard lesson to learn, and I don’t think I’ve aced it yet.

I know that I want to let the Lord have control of every area in my life – even in this battle of the mind. I’m praying that this Thanksgiving weekend allows me some moments to just reflect. Maybe while I’m scarfing down a ~~second~~ third piece of pumpkin pie, I can remember once again the amazing blessings I have in my family and in the opportunity to work here in the Dominican. I want to be able to share the testimony Jesus gave of His time spent in this world: “[Father,] I have glorified thee on earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do” (John 17:4, KJV).

One Year

On June 9, 2013May 19, 2024 By MitchenersIn Dominican Republic, Family6 Comments

We did it. We recently reached the one-year mark of living in a foreign country. On May 21, 2012, our family stepped off a plane in Santo Domingo and pulled suitcases, strollers, backpacks, and babies past a sea of Dominican faces to make this tiny island our new home.

How do we describe this last year?

Full.

A year full of new experiences and new relationships.
A year full of power outages, good Dominican food, and lots of Spanish.
A year full of family changes – Noah started to talk and Leyton learned to walk.
A year full of muggy weather, mosquito bites, and various car problems.
A year full of days where we couldn’t wait for our heads to hit the pillow.
A year full of death and new life.
A year full of feeling lonely, inadequate, and frustrated.
A year full of painful growth.
A year full of “a-ha” moments that helped us continue another day.
A year full of learning that faith in God requires more than just lip service.
A year full of God’s faithfulness and goodness.

You know, this past year has been the longest and hardest one we’ve endured as a family. And next year is certain to bring even more challenges. When we’re in the midst of the difficulties, it’s so easy to lose perspective. It’s so easy to focus on the pain. But in the middle of the trouble – that’s when trusting the faithful One is so important.

So here we are, one year later – still learning to live by faith and not by sight.

Our desire is to give all the glory and honor that is due our Savior. He is so worthy!

“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…”
Hebrews 12:2

Packing Up and Moving Out

On May 8, 2012May 19, 2024 By MitchenersIn Dominican Republic2 Comments

It’s official! The plane tickets have been purchased. Our belongings are slowly being sorted and packed away. We are on our way to making the Dominican Republic our new home! Thank God we have reached the point in our support raising where moving is a reality. Come the afternoon of Monday, May 21, the four of us will be on Dominican soil for good. While we’re not nearly 100% funded, we’ve never gone without our needs being met. We trust that God will bring in the rest of our support over the next few months.

People are asking us how we are feeling. There is no easy answer to that. We’re excited about this “next chapter”. We’re heartbroken to be leaving family and friends. We’re relieved with each task we complete. We’re nervous about adjusting to a new culture and way of living. We’re eager to really build some relationships with people. We’re dreading the exhaustion of the move with two little dudes. We’re anxious about learning Spanish. But we’re content in knowing that we are loved and cared for by One who is our source of strength and peace and joy. Above all, we’re hopeful that Christ will use us as He wants.

With that said, we’re packing up and moving out! Onward…

1000 Miles (And 3 Supporters) Closer

On April 24, 2012May 19, 2024 By MitchenersIn Dominican Republic, FamilyLeave a comment

What a weekend. We’re home again after a long trip to Virginia. Over the last 4 days, we drove about 22 hours and racked up 1000 miles. Thankfully that just means we’re 1000 miles closer to moving to the DR.

Noah and Leyton had fun hanging out with some families who are currently supporting us and who were gracious enough to host us.

Want to hear another reason we’re closer to making The Big Move? We gained several new supporters over the weekend! It is unbelievable how God continues to bring us the people and funds we need to continue on this journey. None of this is by accident. And none of this is from our efforts. Again and again, God has shown us that His timing and His will are perfect. This experience hasn’t always been easy or pleasant. But we want for nothing. And we praise Him for everything.

Next step – buying those one-way plane tickets! Still praying for a May leave date.

Breaking News – Freedom Missions Team Grows by One!

On February 24, 2012March 14, 2015 By MitchenersIn AngelaLeave a comment

Introducing… our newest little missionary.

Leyton Reid Mitchener was born on February 3 at 8:59 am.
He weighed in at 7 pounds, 14 ounces and measured 21 inches long.

Things are finally starting to settle down here in the Mitchener household. There has been some adjusting to life as a family of four, but Leyton has been such a great baby! We are so blessed to have another healthy little guy. He has already changed so much in these three weeks. Noah loves his little brother already, and minus the occasional poke in the eye, he does a great job “helping” with Leyton. Thankfully we’ve had help from our small group from the church. They’ve been bringing us amazing, delicious meals – and these couples have busy families and responsibilities of their own. Talk about being the hands and feet of Jesus to us right when we need it.

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It’s hard to believe we are three months out from moving to the Dominican, God willing! We’ve gained a couple of new monthly supporters over the last week or so (yay!), but we still are in need of others to join our support team if we are to make it by our target date. You can pray for us this weekend as we head to Illinois to present the ministry at a church there.

Scott and I are trying to learn more Spanish vocabulary and “basics” as we get ready for language training when we hit the ground at the end of May. It’s been slow going, but we’re attempting to keep a good perspective on this area of our preparation. Dominican Spanish is different in many ways from other Spanish-speaking countries’, so we won’t fully “get it” until we are immersed in it for awhile – this is another area in which we could really use your prayers and support.

March 2011 in Pictures

On March 30, 2011May 19, 2024 By MitchenersIn Dominican Republic, Family, Photos of the MonthLeave a comment

Earlier this month, we took a vacation to Gatlinburg, TN with Scott’s parents. It was so relaxing to put aside the stresses of work and support-raising for a week and enjoy spending time with family!