Embassy Visit

This past weekend we took a trip to Virginia.  The purpose of this trip was two-fold; visiting family, and getting our temporary visa stamp from the Embassy of Jamaica.  On Friday we boarded the Virgina Railway Express in Manassas, Virginia and rode it to Union Station in Washington, D.C.

Waiting for the train

We got on the Metro at Union Station to travel the rest of the way to the Embassy.

We spent about 1 1/2 hours at the Embassy filling out paperwork and answering questions, but there seemed to be no issues.  Now we need to wait a few days for them to send our passports back to us, and we will be ready to travel.

We spent some time at Dupont Circle just down the street from the Embassy.  The girls' favorite thing of the whole day was trying to catch the birds.

We ate lunch at Union Station with our favorite tour guides.

Then it was time to get back on the VRE to Manassas.

We spent the next several days traveling to other locations in Virginia visiting family.

It was a fun, memorable trip.

Keep praying for us as we prepare to travel in several weeks.

If you want to help support us financially, see the info in the right side column of this page.

Thank you for your interest!

Kevin for the Stutzmans

We have tickets!

It's official, we have airline tickets for July 15!  The first part of our paperwork made it through the maze of the Jamaican government, so we are able to get our visas.  July 15 is only six weeks away, around 40 days or so.  My heart races a bit when I hear those numbers!  We are starting to get to the place of "one more time" to do this or that, and that makes it seem even closer.

Carrie is doing an excellent job of sorting, boxing, and tossing.  Our house is slowly being transformed into boxes of moving sale items, storage items, or trash pile items.  We are planning to have a huge moving sale Friday June 27 and Saturday June 28, so if you are in the area, make sure you stop by!

We are also excited that we have a teacher for next school year.  Tammie Weaver has consented to come to Jamaica as a teacher for our girls, and also be an extra hand around the house.

We are planning to do a little traveling yet, and have a family outing or two on our to-do list.

Please pray for us as we continue to make preparations!
Kevin

Countdown

Today, in 14 weeks we shall be setting our feet on Jamaican soil! Lord willing and if the creek don't rise. Yes, we have officially set July 15^th as our moving day. It feels good to have a day set for our move. I find this really exciting....today! But tomorrow it may find me shaking in my boots. :-) I kinda have this hunch that these next 14 weeks will go by real quickly. Last night as I was tucking in my oldest, she said in a very hyper, excited whisper "I can't wait til we move to Jamaica! I wish we were going tomorrow....3 months is a really long time yet." I love how excited the girls are about this move. There excitement really is contagious and an affirmation of us going. 

The last couple weeks we have really hit the "sorting, going thru, throw that in the trash, store, take along, moving sale pile" stage. One corner of our bedroom kinda took a hit and is looking seriously like a piece of art right now. I hate it, but somehow stuff, unwanted stuff lands there. I'm not fond of it at all, and there's nothing super romantic about having a cluttered bedroom. But, hey, that's just how it's gonna be for awhile. And I am super thankful for this dusty old attic. It makes for super handy storage, for the time being.

We will be having a large moving sale sometime the end of June so stay posted on that. I am sure we will have some kind of treasure for you.

Thank you for the interest you have been taking in our lives, your encouragement and prayers mean so very much!

Carrie

Updated Departure Date

Our paperwork is ready to send to Jamaica! All 78 pages of it.

We are now planning our departure for sometime between July 7-14 instead of the end of July.

Prayer items:

• Pray for the paperwork to go smoothly and quickly through the proper departments of the Jamaican government.
• Pray for organization and planning skills for us as we plan and prepare to go.

The Great Adventure

We are excited about the upcoming changes in our lives. We have committed to move to Montego Bay, Jamaica this summer (probably end of July) to serve a two year term with Jamaica Relief Ministries. JRM is a foster home/orphanage for children ages 0-8 in custody of the Child Development Agency (CDA). JRM is also involved in helping Jamaican children through other programs in the local community. More information about the mission can be found at jamaicarm.org. Our role will be as house parents/field director which will include responsibilities such as spiritual leadership for the staff and children, maintaining JRM’s relationship with CDA, bookkeeping/legal work, and grounds keeping/maintenance.

While we are excited about this move, we are also aware of our own shortcomings and limitations as we take on this responsibility. We are inviting you to be a part of this work by partnering with us.

The first and foremost way you can partner with us is through prayer. We will be posting updates on this blog so you stay current on how to pray for us.  The web address is stutzfamjam.blogspot.com, so make it one of your favorites today. :-)

The second way to partner with us is through financial support. This is a volunteer position with no salary or income. We will be provided with a place to live, basic groceries, and a vehicle. All other expenses will be our responsibility. We foresee these expenses to be for things like passports, work permits/visas, health insurance, travel to and from Jamaica, homeschool materials, family activities, as well as personal items/living expenses. We invite any support you can give, whether it be a one time donation or an ongoing monthly gift. Mark Beachy and Dave Yoder have consented to oversee this support fund for us.

Contributions can be sent to:

Stutzman Jamaica fund

c/o Mark Beachy

PO Box 298

Plain City, OH 43064

We would also welcome visitors, so keep Jamaica in mind as you think about future travel plans. We would love to be your hosts.

Thanks for the input you have in our lives. We value your friendship.

Kevin & Carrie Stutzman

Sierra, Chloe, Jasmine, Olivia, & Emma