Yard sale was a success!

The sale has come and gone and wow are we glad!!  Dozier and I are very thankful to our good friends the Hicks from CLC that helped us put it together and make it happen!  SO many of our friends and loved ones donated items and we are all so very thankful to each and every person that donated their items and time to helping us get to China!

The Wednesday before the sale, Dozier and I loaded up our things on the moving truck and unloaded at CLC by 9:30 that morning.  We left to go return the moving truck and finish a few things at our house and by the time we got back to CLC around 11:30, it may have been noon, there were so many boxes undone and set out on many tables.  The youth came over and helped sort and organize the items on the tables so when we walked back in seeing everything out for the first time, it took my breath away.  We were both in awe; I had tears in my eyes.  We just kept saying "wow, I cant believe this!"  There was so much stuff for our yard sale given by so many of our loved ones... I must have walked around for maybe 20 minutes, just up and down the aisles looking at everything.  Dozier said "it looks like a store in here!"

We undid box after box, opened bag after bag.... it took us all day and most of the night.  We finally finished around 1 am.  Well, we did not really finish but we just could not go any more.  So, we all left and Dozier and I slept on a pallet for the next days.  We were sooo tired, it was comfortable and we got such good sleep.  We were very thankful we kept a few blankets to sleep on while our whole life sat on tables at the Chu.ch   On Thursday, the day before the sale actually began, we sold about $200 from people just helping us, or from our friends that asked to come a day early.  Bless the L.RD.  What emotions we were going through those days as we packed up some of our items either to store or take with us, but the majority, maybe about 85% of what we owned, was put into the yard sale.

Here are some pictures after getting almost everything out, I think there are just a few boxes or bags left at this point.

This picture below:  we did not get out the clothes yet.  I can not believe we did not take a picture of the mountain of clothes that piled high on the tables that are empty on the right.  there were so man clothes that at the end of Friday we decided to make a make-shift clothes rack.  The black decorative walls in the back are portable; so Dozier and Adam shoved two through the openings.  Its plywood with with paper material for decoration.  We had both top and bottom poles full and the tables looked a tiny bit thinned out by Saturday.  

The traffic of people kept us all busy and on our toes.  We had such great time meeting so many different kinds of people and just talking with some!  We certainly met some diverse people in culture and behavior!  The whole week and the sale was a huge challenge but it finally ended!  A pile of about 10-15 boxes and maybe 10 bags, I think, were left.  The items were donated to the Love Lady center and their were about 10 windows left from about 35, that we donated to habitat for humanity.

What a joyful, exhausting, and faith filled experience this sale was.  We are very gad it took place and are even more glad it is over!!!  The final count of items sold, from stuff before the sale that we sold on our own, and from the yard sale itself was just under $2,900.   WOW we are overjoyed and so humbled at every one that contributed to making this happen!  We thank you all for your support and pr.y.rs that went into making it possible!

  

We love you all <3

Dozier and Michaella Lee

Yard sale preperation schedule

Hey Friends!

We are in need of some help for our moving days, in order to prepare for the yard sale. Many items have already been sold to the next tenants so that has helped greatly!  Now we will not have to get a large moving vehicle, but rather a small one!  Many of our boxes have been taken to the Church already, as we have just taken a few car loads from our house.  I have heard the "pile" is growing from other WONDERFUL friends dropping items off for the sale.

If you would like to drop off donations for our yard sale, please have your items at the Church by early morning on Thursday, August 9th.  Items can be dropped off any time Monday till next Thursday from when the student center opens, I think its open from 8am to 5pm.  The student center is the THIRD building on our Church grounds.  (It is also known as the Family Life Center to some.)  The items can be left just inside the building; there is a stack of boxes piling up already.  You can not miss it once you open the door.
Christian Life Church address:
2490 Valleydale Road, Bham, Al 35244

Alright, here is our expected schedule for this week.  Please feel free to come help, none will be turned away!!

1) Monday and Tuesday: we must complete sorting and boxing everything in our house that is going to our sale.  Not very much is left that's going to the sale so that is not going to take tremendous effort at this point. 

2) Wednesday at 8am we will get the moving truck and load everything to take it to the Church.  Any hands would be GREATLY appreciated at this time.
Our address is 94 Bushwood Road, Irondale Alabama. 
Loading the truck should not take more than just a few hours so we expect to be at the Church to unload and sort around lunch time.   

3) Thursday will be spent completely at the Church for sorting and pricing everything.  Also, making any necessary signs for the sale.  This should take place from about 8am-4pm in the student center at Christian Life Church.

4) Friday and Saturday THE SALE!!  YAY!  The yard sale hours will be 7am to 2 pm.  We anticipate getting to the Church these two days around 6am or just before.  At the close of the sale on Saturday, I am arranging for the Love Lady Center to come pick up the remaining items for their ministry.  Most of you may know, I have spent many years pouring my college Women's Ministry into the Love Lady Center.  As a little side note, they are in need of size 5 and size 6 diapers.  They are in a huge overflow of women and small children!  Praise God!  But of course, there are tangible needs to be met.  Please spread the word of their need!  They will pick up or you can drop off the diapers at the thrift store in the old Circuit City building in Irondale/Eastlake (not sure exactly what its defined) or at their main location in Eastlake.

Anyway, I feel strongly about donating everything that is left to them because of my heart and dedication to them for the last 4 years... So that means, when the sale is over we will need to put everything in boxes for quick pick up by the Love Lady mission.

You guys rock!  And Dozier and I are overwhelmed with everyone's emotional and spiritual support thus far!  Feel free to call, email or FB us with any questions that you may have.

D 205-260-7104
M 205-332-9865

Blessings,
Michaella Lee (and Dozier!)

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