Lisa: And so it begins...

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."     Jeremiah 29:11


Little did I know when I first heard that verse how different the Lord's plans were for me compared to what I thought they would be.  My future was going to go like this:  graduate college, get married, have children, be the room mother for my kid's classes, go to church, work as a nurse, watch my kids grow up to be happy and graduate college and then sit back, wait for the grandchildren to come, retire and live a quiet life with my husband.  Sounds like a normal dream, right?  Nothing out of the ordinary with a happy ending. 

Wow!  Does God have a great sense of humor!  Never tell God your plans because I think he just sat back and laughed and said--"My plans are so much better than anything you can ever imagine. Lisa, listen to me and be obedient."  It was about 8 years ago when God placed the desire in my heart to be a missionary.  I think I ignored this calling on my life because I knew I would never go without Marty and this is something that I knew Marty was not ready to do. It was also a great excuse to not pursue the plan God had for me.  Fast forward to last year--God was speaking to me daily and telling me to be obedient and trust Him.  So I prayed about the move, talked with Marty and here we are--planning on downsizing (that is probably an understatement) and moving to the Dominican to serve God and the people there.

To say that I am excited is an understatement.  We are leaving in April 2014, only 8 1/2 more months!  I am so excited to be sharing this time with all of you and hope that as we blog about our adventures we will be able to share God's love for us and for you and for the people of the DR we will be working with.  I know the stories will be exciting as we look for a place to live and prepare to move. 

We hope you will join with us on our journey and we plan on weekly updates so you all know what is happening in the lives of the Hogans!  Marty, Jess and I will be moving to the DR; Erin is still on her World Race and God is speaking to her in each country about where He wants her to serve.  Stephen is staying in the states but I know will visit and help us in many ways!  Stephen is waiting to see if we have water and electricity before he will make a commitment to visit--haha!  Know that all of you are welcome to come and serve with us anytime--I'm sure we can find you a place in our casa.  Thanks for all your love and support!

God Bless You!

Lisa

New Blog for New Adventures!

Well hey!  I just wanted to let everyone know that my family and I have decided to create one blog for all of us (my parents and me) to give you updates on our next adventure in the Dominican Republic.  The new address is servinghopedr.blogspot.com.  One of us will keep you updated as we count down to the big move and afterwards as we discover how God wants to use us individually and as a team in the DR.  With only 9 months left until the big move we are getting very excited.  We appreciate all of your prayers and support that you have so graciously offered, and we are looking forward to joining with you in this ministry.