January 27th!!!, End of the Year Giving, and GO Sports updates...

Santiago, here we come!!!

Official Moving Date....January 27, 2016
We are so grateful for all God has done the past 10 months as we have been on this support raising journey in order to get to the DR.  To date, we have raised 85% of our monthly needed support and have been given the green light from our home office to purchase our plane tickets for the move down!!! So on January 27th, 2016 we will board a plane (for the first time as a family of 5) and head down to our new home in Santiago, Dominican Republic!  As exciting as this is, we also know it is just the beginning of many new steps of faith we must take in the days, weeks, and months ahead.  Of course with the definitive date of our leaving the US comes a slew of mixed emotions and a lot of work that needs to be done before we step foot on the plane.  Saying goodbye to family and friends is a bittersweet part of the process, raising the remaining monthly funds, packing what we will take with us, figuring out taxes and paperwork, and selling items are all things that still need to be done.   I (Dan) will continue serving at GEBC for most of the month and work to help prepare for that transition at the church.  To say there is A LOT going on, would be an understatement.  We ask that you would continue to pray for us this next month as this transition of life as missionaries becomes our new reality!

Year End Giving

We are so grateful for the partnership of many and pray that you would be blessed beyond comprehension for your investment in what God is doing through GO Ministries.  Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians:

 "I thank my God every time I remember you. 

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 

because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,

 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
Philippians 1:3-6

These verses are a significant reminder of what our partnership is and out to be all about- bringing the message of the Gospel to all people.  While your financial gifts help support our family, it also allows us to be part of empowering Local Leaders to do the work of redeeming people, renewing communities, and restoring creation.  This is the core of what GO Ministries exists to do, and it happens in a variety of ways- through sports, construction, medical and nutritional programs, Seminary education, kingdom businesses, and of course through the many churches GO has raised up throughout the island.  With your prayer and financial partnership we can see lives changed by Christ.  If you haven't given yet, would you consider doing so today!  You can click the "How to Partner" tab above for more information on how you can do that.  

Our Ministry

Initially we will be working hard to learn Spanish and become accustomed to the culture.  While this will take several months, I will begin my role on the GO Sports team.  I am really excited for those that God has placed on this team and look forward to seeing how He will work through each of us this next year.  The ultimate role down the road will be to equip local leaders to do youth ministry in the churches and communities where GO has established a presence.  While building those relationships, I will be helping coordinate teams coming down to serve with us.  I am the only member of the GO Sports team who has led a team from the states coming to serve, so I can offer a unique and hopefully helpful perspective to others coming down to serve on the island on a short term trip.  If you or your church is interested in coming to serve with us in some capacity- let me know: driemer@gomin.org.  If you'd like to learn more about GO Sports and what we are about, you can check out our portion of the website: www.gomin.org/what-we-do/sports.  You can also follow our new Facebook page! https://www.facebook.com/GOSportsDR/?fref=ts

We love you and are so thankful for all of you and your prayers, support, and encouragement! 

Recent trip to the DR, Visas, Support update, and end of the year giving

November DR Trip 

I (Dan) recently had an opportunity to go down to the DR for a quick trip with two friends from our church.  The goal was to get some things set up in our house, to meet with some officials at the school where our kids will be attending, to spend some time with our GO teammates from Wheaton (Kyle and Dariana Bradley), and to visit one of our church partners, Pastor Nico in the community of Los Perez where he pastors and runs a nutrition center.  We were able to transport nine extra checked bags/bins for the trip which was key in helping get a ton of our personal items down to the house ahead of our anticipated move in January.  The trip was productive on many fronts, but it also gave me firsthand experience on how life and expectations in the DR are drastically different than things in the US.  One brief example was during a trip to the store to purchase some mattresses and bed frames.  You'd think that once we had decided on what was needed it would only take a few minutes to purchase the items and then get them loaded up to take home.  What we expected to take an hour ended up taking over 3 1/2 hours!  Now, I should put a disclaimer that not every shopping experience is like this, and there were some complications, but it was a good learning experience for me.  I also got to take my first taxi ride and I got where I needed to be, so we'll say it was a success!  I was grateful to spend a few days with great company and  things really started to set in that this move is happening.  When I left and locked up the house, it hit me that the next time I am in the country and opening that door, our whole family will be moving in!!!

Visas
For those of you who have not moved to another country, in order to do so you need to apply for residential or work visas and be approved by the government.  When traveling, typically you would fill out a temporary visa or tourist card, but in order to stay for an extended time you need specialized paperwork.  We understand it is not difficult and is probably fairly routine, but there is a lot of paperwork and it's a pretty big deal.  All 5 of us have our passports and we will be working through this process over the next month.  This is one of the major pieces we need to complete before we can move to the DR and begin ministry there on the ground.

Support Update
Currently we have raised about 75% of our monthly funds needed!!! We are really encouraged by the generous support by so many friends and family.  We would not be in this position without your faithfulness to God in giving and your sacrifice.  Here's a current look at what we still need in order to have all of our ministry expenses covered each month.

End of the Year Giving

Over the next month many people will be making decisions on how to make tax deductible donations before the end of the year.  GO Ministries is a fully recognized 501 (c)(3) organization and all donations are fully deductible.  If you are already giving and are looking to still give an additional donation, you can still give a one time gift to GO on our behalf.  Others may decide it is easier to give  annually at the end of the year than to give monthly, and may choose to support us through that avenue each year.  Whichever the case is for you, we want to say how THANKFUL we are for your partnership with us in this ministry (because it is much bigger than sending the Riemer family).  We'd love to answer any questions you might have about giving.

To give, you can follow this link and select how you'd want to give (one time donation or monthly recurring)

http://bit.ly/riemersupport

Thanks so much for all of your support and love! May your hearts and minds be filled with gratitude as you reflect on God's goodness and love in your lives.

  ~Dan, Holly, Jackson, Josiah, & Maddie~

Early Fall Update!!!

Support Update
Friends, a little less than a month ago we needed to raise $2500 in monthly support to reach 100% of our support, and in that short about of time we have raised $500 monthly!  We are grateful for your continued prayer and financial partnership!  To date, we have raised, and are already receiving 70% of our monthly need!!!  THANK YOU for your contributions towards this huge milestone!

If you are connected to people who you think would be interested in hearing more about GO Ministries, have a heart for youth ministry, or just love supporting those serving Christ internationally, help us get connected with them!!!

November Plans

November15-18, I (Dan) will be traveling down to the DR with our missions pastor John Foster and one of our friends Dave Ochs to take a few bins of personal items down ahead of our arrival in January.  The plan is to make some purchases and get the house set up on a very basic level so that our move down is not complete chaos.  I'm looking forward to a few extra days in the DR and opportunities to connect with other future team members and friends.  In the meantime we continue to downsize what we currently have here as most items we can't take down with us will either end up in bins to store or be sold.  God was faithful in May as we sold our house and many other items, and He will continue to lead us and provide for our needs in the future as we take these steps of faith day by day.

The Kids

Maddie with a friend at ballet class

Taking grounders with coach Tony

Later this month the triplets will turn 5!  It feels like just  yesterday they were born.  They love preschool and they have begun to explore some of their own interests to a greater level.  The boys are in a baseball and kickball class (gotta learn the basics so they can play with the dominican boys) and Maddie is learning ballet. It's fun to see them learn some new skills and grow in their independence.  We know that a transition to a new country, a new language, a new school, a new home, and new friends (just to name a few) will be a serious change for these guys, but they are also at a prime age to soak up these things.  Please join us in prayer for their little hearts- that they would be all stars with all the "new" and that God would give them a deep love for the people and the culture that we are going to live among!

Above Average

Our church started the ministry year a few weeks back with a series titled "Above Average" and the focus was on three areas of life that ideally we all would want to have an above average experience with: Relationships, Finances, and Faith.  We have enjoyed the series and the preaching from our Senior Pastor Kelly Brady.  You can hear the sermon audio files HERE. In student ministry we decided to teach through the same series with our students.  It has been great to be challenged both as somebody sitting and listening on Sunday mornings, but also as one studying to share a word from God with others.  Just the other day, we concluded our series by talking about Above Average Faith, and for me the preparation for this talk was very reflective.  How the heck did I get from where I was to a point of moving our family out of the country.  One of the takeaways for me was that living a life of above average faith provides opportunities to share about Christ, ones that you might not have otherwise.  I cannot begin to tell you how cool its been to tell others that we are moving to the DR.  If nothing more, it raises eyebrows, but mostly it generates conversation.  Holly and I both try to take advantage of these opportunities to share about how it is our faith in Christ that is compelling us towards such an "abnormal" thing.  As Christ-followers, our lives should be full of things that set us apart, (not make us weird) and that cause the world around us to say...there is something different and genuine about their faith.  Our prayer for you, as God grows you in faith, is that you would have and seize opportunities to share with others about Christ, and the rich hope that lives inside of you, just as Peter wrote:

"But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord.  Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect"

1Peter 3:15

Thank you for all your love, support, & prayers- we couldn't do this without you!!!

Peace in the midst of waiting...

Last week my kids played PEACEFULLY with each other for almost 2 hours while I cleaned. I did still had to intervene a few times for little things, but overall it was such a rare occurrence that I found myself happily cleaning with no intentions of disrupting the peaceful sound of my children laughing and being creative together. You could say I was very pleasantly surprised! 

God has been using this season of support-raising and the various steps of faith we’ve taken a long the way to teach me about finding PEACE during uncertain times. In 2 Thess. 3:16 it says, “Now may the Lord of Peace himself give HIS peace at ALL times and in every situation.” I believe Jesus Christ is the Lord of Peace, therefore if you know the Lord, you will know peace. Does this mean I will experience peace at ALL times as a believer? Unfortunately, not. Not because I can’t find it in Christ; but rather I choose to look to my own understanding (Prov. 3:5-6) or circumstances to bring me peace. This is very conditional and temporal. On the other hand, the Lord’s peace is CONSTANT (remember it says He will give us peace at ALL times?) 

Those of you who know me know that I’m a planner and are obsessed with lists! Yep, I’m the mom who likes to plan our week out the Sunday before. And when the triplets were babies, I had a feeding/sleeping chart until they were 5 months old (I know I sound nuts, but it really helped!) A few weeks ago, I was feeling anxious about the many tasks we need to do over the next 4-5 months in preparation to move to the DR. I was losing some of the passion & excitement behind what God was calling us to because I was feeling weighed down. I was convicted to spend more time in prayer. I also sat down and created monthly to-do lists from now until December (with plenty of room to add… and of course boxes to check off when completed ) I felt such a relief just getting all of it down on paper and having a rough idea of where to focus my time and when.  

But what about the questions and uncertainties that can’t be added to a list, like…What if we don’t get to 100% by Jan? Will our kids adjust? Will they be brave or fearful being immersed in an all-Spanish speaking school? What will the day-to-day look like? And so on. All questions that do not consume me with worry but ones that I need to give to God more and ask for the Lord of Peace to rule over those uncertainties.  Making lists, connecting with potential supporters,  and planning vision nights are all necessary steps in the process but if my eyes are not fixed on the One who gives me peace at all times- no matter what the circumstances look like, I will not be able to walk by faith each step of the way. 

I have found much comfort lately in the song “Prince of Peace” by Hillsong United. Here is just a portion of the lyrics. 

(it continues)

Oh, be still my heart

And my soul will ever know that You are God

And You heard my prayer

Just as I would LOVE to drive for 10 minutes, get ready in the morning, or even clean the house without my kids whining or fighting, even more so, our Heavenly Father longs for us to know and experience constant peace found when we stop worrying and simply rest in Him- the one who orchestrates everything according to His will and His glory! What is keeping you from experiencing peace today? My prayer is that we break away from the temptation to figure everything out by our own limited understand and instead look to the Lord of Peace and find REST. 

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13  

Check out our updated praise/prayer requests link for more specific updates. Please print it out, so you have it accessible. Also, this is a mutual partnership- so don’t hesitate to shoot us an email, text, or facebook message on how we can be praying for you! 

House Sold, Upcoming Trips, 51%, and why you shouldn't wait to give!!!

Friends and Family,

This update has been on our minds for quite some time, but we are just now sitting down to write it out!  Where to begin...

House Sold!!!

M, J, & J with the sign :)

You may remember from our last post that we took a step of faith in order to move closer to living in the DR by putting our house on the market.  Our prayer was that the Lord would sell our home and do so quickly so that we would have more flexibility towards moving overseas.  The house SOLD in 8 days!!!  We are thankful for the 5 1/2 years this home provided refuge, many memories, and a place to host small groups, friends, and family.  This is also the only home our kids have ever known, so leaving it once and for all last week was bittersweet, but one step closer to our next home.  As a temporary home, we have signed a short term lease and have moved into a 3 bedroom apartment in Warrenville.  The kids enjoy the "new" place but are asking when we are moving to the DR!  Thanks for all your prayers for the sale of the home and our state of transition.

Upcoming Trips

40+ students being commissioned

The last few months have been busy, busy, busy!  Holly just finished up teaching her second year at homeschool university, the kids finished their first year of pre-school, and I (Dan) have been slowly recovering from shoulder surgery in February and closing the ministry year with our student ministries.  I have the great opportunity to lead two student trips- one to the DR with GO Ministries (June 16-23), and the other to Pine Ridge Native American Reservation (June 27- July 5).  These are always exciting weeks of ministry for me as we get to witness students outside of their comfort zones serving, sharing, and learning.  Holly will be helping lead the trip to the DR with me and will have an opportunity to spend some time with some of the other missionary wives while we are down there.  We are hoping also, that this trip will be the first of many for the students of GEBC to partner with GO Ministries.  This is likely the last time I will be leading our students from this side of the process, and look forward to hosting other teams as a missionary!

51%

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have officially crossed the 50% mark and currently sit at 51% of our funds raised!!!  That means that we have 49% left to raise before we can head to the DR.  We've signed a 6 month lease where are are currently living and our hope is to leave sometime in January.  Please continue to pray for us in this, that the Lord would help us communicate the vision of our ministry, that people would join us in partnership both prayerfully and financially in the days ahead.  We have had 5 vision nights already, and are speaking at a church in a few weeks.  Our hope is to continue to build as many connections, share at other vision nights, and meet with anybody interested as much as we can over the summer and hopefully reach our goal by this fall.

Don't Wait to partner!!!
Besides our need to raise $6500 monthly for ministry in the DR, we also have an outgoing expense that we need to raise of approximately $18,000.  This figure helps with the visa fees, initial travel to the DR, set-up costs (home furnishing and a vehicle), and a few other expenses.  The good news is that of the 51% we have raised, the majority of this is comprised of people who are ALREADY giving monthly!  By doing this, our outgoing expense is being covered by the money we are currently raising and building up in our account.  If you'd like to partner with us financially, you can do so online through this link: http://bit.ly/1CITArP  and you can set up recurring payments (monthly, quarterly, yearly- whatever your preference), or you can give a one time gift towards our outgoing expenses.  All donations are completely tax deductible as GO is a 501(c)(3) organization.  We'd ask you to continue to pray and ask God how HE would have you partner with us and this awesome ministry!  To find out other ways to partner, check out our "how to partner" page!

GO in Major League Baseball News!!!
Lastly, GO recently had some great PR as St. Louis Cardinals Manager, Mike Matheny invited a team of teens to come up and serve in St. Louis for a week and to take part in some festivities with his Catch 22 Foundation.  Here is the MLB article if you want to read more.  Its exciting to see how God has grown this relationship and how it will be used for His glory!  Here is a link to the article:
http://m.cardinals.mlb.com/news/article/127609232/mike-matheny-helps-dominican-youth-visit-busch-stadium

We wish you all well!  Please contact us to find out more about GO Ministries, partnership, or our role!

House for sale, Vision Nights, 20% and other bits and pieces...

Anybody want to buy a house???

Last Monday, I (Dan) met with a local realtor to start the process of getting our house up on the market, and by Wednesday morning, this sign was being pounded into the ground in the front yard, with plans that it will be officially listed in the next two weeks.  I was upstairs icing my arm (still recovering from shoulder surgery) while Holly and the kids were caught off guard by the sign going up so fast and the chaos that selling a home with 3 children was about to kick off.  Talk about a real visual to remind us that this IS really happening- in God's perfect timing! We want to move forward in faith, trusting that the God who called us to this privileged opportunity would sell our home, continue to provide the funding we need to get there, and provide peace in our hearts through it all!  In the few days since the sign went up, we have been looking at this home very differently, not as a place where we will create memories for years to come, but as a means to get where we are supposed to be together!  Home is not a building made of a foundation, walls, and a roof, but rather the place where you and your loved ones are together.  We are looking forward to "moving" our home to the DR in the near future- but ask that you would pray for a quick sale of our current place of residence, an affordable and temporary living space for our family, and the ability to give away a lot of things to others in need along the way!

Support Update...
Last week was a big week in our support raising as well- we are at the 25% mark of our total monthly need raised!  Its crazy to think that it was only weeks ago that we sent out our initial letters sharing with friends and family about this journey of faith that we are on, and yet God has prompted many to give!  We are thankful for all who have joined us in this ministry- because it is more than just a financial transaction, its a mutually transformational partnership that we are engaging in together.  We need resources but those resources are being used by God to grow His kingdom, and our supporters get to be part of something WAY BIGGER than writing a check!  Changed lives through the power and work of the Gospel!  If you'd like to partner with us financially- you can do so via one time gift or monthly reoccurring payments by clicking here- http://bit.ly/1CITArP or by clicking the "How to Partner" link above for more information.

Vision Nights...
We are so thankful for the many friends and family who came out and participated in our 4 vision nights thus far.  It was through these opportunities that we were able to share more specifically about our call to serve in the DR, who GO Ministries is, and what we will be doing down there with GO.  It was a great experience for the both of us to publicly share our story, and we had a very positive experience doing so.  My parents will be hosting one more vision night on Saturday, April 11th in Naperville.  If anybody is interested in joining us for this last vision night, let us know!

40+ students gong on mission in 2015

Students on Mission...
While we could spend full time work hours on raising support, I have enjoyed continuing to lead our students at Glen Ellyn Bible Church.  While we are in a busy season of raising support to serve full time on the mission field, there are 40+ students and adult leaders preparing to serve this summer on the Pine Ridge Native American Reservation in South Dakota and with GO Ministries in the DR!!! I am super excited to be leading these trips and seeing these students hearts open to how God may speak to them about serving the least of these both this summer and in the future.  After all, it was through trips like these that both of our hearts were opened to what God would eventually call us to.  Maybe some of these students will be future team members with GO (Hopefully)!  I'd ask that you pray for them all as they prepare, and for us as we lead them on these trips (Holly is helping lead the DR trip).

The Trips

Last but certainly not least...
The Trips (Maddie, Josiah, and Jackson) are doing well and are excited about the future adventures they will have in the DR.  Josiah is psyched about going on an airplane for the first time, they are all looking forward to meeting new Dominican kids, and all have taken interest to learning spanish. We remind them almost everyday that they won't be able to take baths in the DR and they are sad to hear we'd be selling the only house they have lived in. (They are also worried every time we leave the house that someone is going to take it while we're out!) Please continue to keep them in your prayers as well since the adjustment will be challenging for all of us.

"I thank my God every time I remember you.  In all of my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus"  Philippians 1:3-5

Love and Peace-
Dan & Holly

Learning a new skill... developing support partnership!

Dan, Kyle, and the Ochs men!

Well here we are, the blog is up and running and hopefully somebody will actually read it (besides us)!  We have been excited about beginning our journey to raise support by partnering with others and hopefully in the near future move down to the DR.  We've had a variety of questions about how this all works and when we will move.  I will attempt in the little understanding that I have to offer my answers to a few of the FAQ's we have received about the journey ahead:


1. How much do you need to raise?
We are looking to raise $6500 per month.  These funds pay for our basic living expenses (rent, utilities, food, etc.), but the bulk of it is designated for ministry expenses.  Ministry expenses that we raise help pay other G.O. Ministry Partners (over 100 local leaders serving as coaches, pastors, youth leaders, cooks, construction teams, etc.), fund our nutrition centers all over the island (G.O. feeds close to 1,000 children a day through these centers), G.O. Kids ministry (sponsorship of dominican children), and of course the continued development of land and resources that will continued to be used to grow the ministry in years ahead (LDC, Medical Clinic).  Its exciting to know that a portion of the money we raise will be used directly for the ministry that we get to be part of!

2. How do you plan to raise support?
We want to create and grow partnerships with churches and individuals who will prayerfully consider giving to support our ministry, and the ministry of G.O.  Our plan is to connect with many people in a variety of ways to share the vision of G.O.  As part of this process, we will be mailing out a copy of our family brochure and will also be inviting those who are local, to join us for one of several smaller gatherings where we can talk in person about the vision God has placed in our hearts and the other exciting things that He is doing in the DR and Haiti.  We will post links for those who want to sign up for a specific date and join us in the near future.  If you are more interested in how you can partner with us, click HERE to go to our page on Partnership

3. When will you be leaving?
The short answer is this- we will be moving when God provides the monthly need we need to fulfill.  G.O. Ministries is excited to have us join the team and would love to see us get down there by September 2015.  While that seems quick, we would love to get down there, get into language school, and begin building relationships with the other G.O. missionaries and local leaders.  The summer is a busy time with teams coming to serve, so having a few months where we can get adjusted and grow in our knowledge and base of spanish would be a great start!

We are grateful for such a strong support base and will continue to trust God with all things related to raising what we need financially to GO!  Take a step of faith and join us in this process!!!