Work visa status

Hey Friends!!

Here is a quick update of our preparation to depart for China!  We should have our work invitation within two weeks, maybe less, from our schools we will be teaching in; only then we can submit our applications for our work visa .  Once we send the final application off for the work visas, then we just wait for them to arrive in the mail.  It has been a long and detailed process just to get to this point in order to actually apply for the visas.  Once we receive the work visa's in the mail, then we can order our plane tickets!

Please pray we find a good deal for our tickets, as the time is closing in.  We have been advised not to purchase the ticket until we receive the work visa in hand. This is in case we purchase tickets for a certain day then receive the visas the following day.  We are still praying all goes well for the 18th of August to be our departure date.  Our Visas are not valid until the 20th anyway and we want/need to be there ASAP!

Yanbian, China is 13 hours ahead of us, and 14 during daylight savings time.  We see it will be wise for our departure to begin early the 18th because of the time difference and the 26 hour travel time itself.  Please pray for our bodies as we attempt to adjust quickly and be ready for orientation on the 23rd.

Well our packing is going slow but steady!  It has been a challenge to literally go through every piece of paper, bottle of lotion, spoon and jacket that we own and sort through for washing, packing or go to the sell pile.  Any help would be appreciated with the sorting and packing!   Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy for now...

This is Dozier going through our basket organizations, making a FREE, KEEP and SELL box:

This is one bookshelf almost completed.  We ended up using three small storage bins for our books!  We have only a small sell pile of books for the yard sale or 2nd and Charles.  Plus a few textbooks for our SEBC friends that we will no longer need!

Thanks for reading and enjoying our post everyone!

Have a great day,

Michaella

Packing progress as of July 22, 2012

Beloved, this post is quite overdue, I know....  The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of a time getting our entire life in a box.  We have sorted, thrown away, shredded, given generously and even in moments of desperation shoved item into our friends hands and said please get this stuff out of our house!  We are thankful for the endurance God has given us to make this happen in just a couple of months!

Right now we stand with a growing pile of things for our yard sale.  Who knew that two people that began with two matted pillows (that we threw away) few blankets, and an ocean full of love in our hearts could have accumulated so many items in our one bedroom home after three years!  Now, to sell it all off, has been an enriching time, although trying to just sort through things.  Not to mention after so many years of college paper work, and loved books, we have much to desire to keep from our blood, sweat and tears poured into our college experience that we are keeping.  Our books alone have filled up three small storage bins (to the brim might I add!!) and have four large bins for our treasures such as wedding dress, pictures, beloved wedding gifts and my favorite cooking items/pots/pans/gadgets.  I took a picture here of our four bins to hold the things we will keep that are not our college books/materials.  Our three small ones are already at my (Michaella's) parents house.  They have a nice storage shed in the backyard!

Our sale is coming fast, August 10th and 11th.  Any help would be greatly appreciated in any capacity at this point in our sorting, boxing and packing. 

Our sale will be held at our Church,

Christian Life Church

2490  Valleydale Road

Birmingham, AL. 

If I may just say for a moment, Dozier and I very thankful for the support of our loved ones (family and friends) for this huge move!  We are going for a missions adventure of a life time, and know that this school we are going to in a month will just be the begining!  May the LORD continue to lead where He wills and may we seek Him always to follow His steps!

Do look for an upcoming PRAYER tab at the top of our page.  We will be adding prayer requests and praises very soon!  One month and counting!

Because of Christ,

Michaella (and Dozier)

<3

Announcement Letter

WE'RE CHINA BOUND!

       

Dear Family & Friends,

                                                                                               

               We believe one person can make a difference in the world. We believe it is the main purpose for one's existence. It can take place through a variety ways: politics, literature, media, education, business, financial contributions, giving of time, helping someone, & so many other ways. In our effort to make a difference in the world, we have gone through various types of preparation over the last five years & recently pursued education positions overseas. We are deeply pleased to announce that we have been accepted as teachers in Yanji, China! This means so much to us & we want all of you to celebrate with us over this special opportunity! Dozier will be teaching as a volunteer in the Conversational English Department at YUST (Yanbian University of Science & Technology). Michaella will be teaching 5^th & 6^th Grade at YIA (Yanbian International Academy) with a stipend for each class she teaches. By teaching in Yanji we will make a difference through education, obtain multifaceted experience, become more globally focused, better understand different ethnics & cultures, & make our family & friends proud! We believe contributing to the world is our duty to our fellow man & deeply pleases God.

 Yanji is located in the far northeastern part of China & is the capital of Yanbian Korean autonomous prefecture. The city is about 30 miles from the North Korean border & a few hours from the Russian border. It is embraced by mountains as it sits at the foot of Chaingbai Mountain. Nearly half of the city's 400k population are ethnic Koreans.  The city mainly speaks Mandarin Chinese & Korean (fortunately this will not be a problem for us in our schools because we will be teaching in English). The cost of living is very low so that this will be financially easier for us.  The city has some western style foods like Italian restaurants with pizza & even a few KFCs.  We will mostly be using the low cost cafeteria at our schools, running about $1.25 USD per meal. It is open every day & will provide us with a very convenient way of survival. We will be living in a faculty dorm that is a 10-15 minute walk to our schools. Other transportation needs will not be a problem due to the many affordable bus routes. Concerning the weather, Yanji has four distinct seasons. The temperature peaks around 85F during Summer but reaches -5F during the very windy Winter, giving it a yearly average of about 35-40F.

                 There is much about the religious/spiritual condition of the city that we have yet to discover. There are both Protestant & Catholic churches in Yanji in the native languages of Mandarin & Korean. There is also an English speaking gathering at YIA—we hope to attend services in each language as often as possible.

We believe our classrooms will provide one of the many windows into the lives of the people of Yanji. We see our classrooms as missionfields that will provide multiple unique opportunities for the betterment of people's lives. We feel so blessed to have this before us! We foresee ourselves being in Yanji for one to two years. After this time, we will prayerfully & wisely reassess our goals & opportunities to make a well-informed decision, probably applying for teaching positions within ISC (International Schools of China) or ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International).

We ask you to deliberately consider symbolically joining us in Yanji in two ways: (1) generously pray for us & the city of Yanji &/or (2) prayerfully give a small one-time financial gift. We are so thankful & blessed for you being in our lives & sharing in this experience with us!  Your blessing, support, & excitement in this means so much to us! We want to make a difference in the world just like you have made a difference in our lives! So do not stop but continue to "shine like lights in the world" (Philippians 2:15).

Praising God Forever,

Dozier & Michaella Lee 

Stay connected with us at TheLeesOverseas.blogspot.com   Facebook  dozier.lee@gmail or michaella.lee523@gmail.

Financial gifts are accepted through the YUST PUST foundation in two ways (in the appropriate line write "Dozier Lee at YUST" or "Michaella Lee at YIA”):

1.      Online: yustpust.org

2.      Mail: YUST PUST Foundation, P.O. Box 336, Winnetka, IL 60093 Phone# (312) 805-8646.

About Us

We are 3+ years married (no children yet), recent college graduates, & are leaving to teach in China! We are scheduled to depart from the U.S. on August 18th, 2012.  Please stay in the know on our blog site by subscribing. 

We have both graduated from Southeastern Bible College in May 2012.  Dozier received a B.A. in Bible and Theology, a minor in History and holds a certification to teach History and Bible in middle and high school.  Michaella received a B.A in Bible and Theology also a B.A. in Elementary Education.  She will be able to teach K-8th grade with her education degree in a Christian school.

Our drive in life is people and to see others grow in knowledge of the Word of God.  Educating the world about how to teach God's Word properly is a reason for living, and teaching!

China!

Yes! China!

 

So, you may be thinking, "This is a little out of the blue Doz!"

Well, to some...yes...to others...no.

For the last 5ish years Michealla & I have had China & South Korea in our minds.

 

Going overseas was one the earliest things we talked about in the progression of our relationship--communicating to each other our goals & dreams & such.

 

The story of us getting job positions in China is pretty simple but awesome--(deep breath) Michaella went to a women's luncheon & sat beside a lady who has a brother who is a close friend with the headmaster of a school in Yanji China. Emails/resumes were tossed around, applications--BANG! Michaella's approved as 5th & 6th grade homeroom teacher! Easy right?

 

My story is similar--(short breath)--The headmaster of Michaella's school in Yanji China has close ties with a nearby university. Emails/applications tossed around--BANG!--Dozier's approved in the Conversational English Department. (Moral of story--love networking!)

 

Many many details were left out of this deeply complicated process (I lied about it being simple). We're currently working towards getting our work visas to teach in China--man is this process complicated!!! Woman is this process complicated!!! This is complicated!

 

We're making progress with the visas, our positions are secured, housing is secured (faculty dorms--will talk about that later), & we're scheduled to leave AUGUST 18/19th 2012.

 

We're very excited about this & hope each of our family & friends are too! We'll just be gone a little while or so.

 

More details to come :)

 

Dozier