The Daubenmier Family - Fall 2009

Welcome!  We are so glad you are here.  Thank you for spending a few moments getting to know our family.  This page provides a great overview of who we are and what we are doing.  For more detailed information, feel free to read our most recent newsletters here or to visit our family blog here.

Who are the Daubenmiers?

Mark at VBS

We are a couple that has been focused on investing in the lives of children ever since we were married in 1993.  Over our lives we have been involved with children in many of the normal ways – I am a career teacher, God blessed us with four children, and we helped out with the many kids’ programs at church (VBS, AWANA, MOPS, Sunday school).

Sheri with a precious foster child

But there was this other strand in our lives that has proved to be life altering.  In the early years of our marriage we stepped forward to volunteer with our local children’s services agency and started working with some children in need through a program that looks a lot like Big Brothers and Big Sisters.  Being a part of the “system” helped us to see the needs of children in the “system.” This led us to become foster parents.  It was a real privilege to be able to welcome children into our home at a time when their own families were facing difficulties.

Mark meeting Grace and Daniel for the first time in Ethiopia - 2007

Through fostering we saw how natural it was for us to welcome other children into our home as family.  This helped to prepare our hearts for the next thing the Lord would ask of us – adoption.  The Lord blessed us with three wonderful children from Ethiopia, which was a particular joy for us given our long-term interest in the plight of the children of Africa.

Sheri meeting Addison for the first time in Ethiopia - 2008

Why are you going to Africa?

Welcoming into our home three children from Ethiopia has been life changing.  We now live with a part of East Africa in our home, which causes part of our hearts to be in East Africa.  Ever since our African children have been with us, God has been breeding restlessness in us – drawing us back to Africa.  We just did not know how.

Some of this restlessness has come from our greater awareness of the contrast between where we live and the region of the world that our adopted children are from.   Just about any statistic that you look at, whether it is humanitarian in nature (the number of physicians working, the amount of human poverty, etc) or spiritual in nature (where the Christian workers are, the need for trained pastors , or where the unreached people groups are) indicate to us that we should be going rather than staying.

This restlessness is helping us to follow the Lord’s leading as a new door is opening up to us – serving the children of missionaries in Africa.

What will you be doing there?

Rift Valley Academy

We are moving towards Rift Valley Academy located in Kijabe, Kenya.  RVA is a boarding school for the missionaries serving in Africa.  Well over 100 years old now, RVA has nearly 500 students whose parents serve with 80 different mission organizations in over 20 African countries.  The school strives to provide a quality education in a nurturing environment.

Sheri and I will be teaching at the school plus being involved in many other ways in caring for the students at RVA.  Our experiences (in the foster care system, having birth and adoptive children, Sheri being trained as a teacher and now homeschooling some of our children, and me teaching for over 15 years at one of the finest schools in our state) have equipped us in a unique way to join God in the work that He is doing at RVA.

When will you be going?

Lord willing, we will move to Africa during the summer of 2012.

How can I learn more?

You can explore the couple of pages we have here, read our family blog, or contact us for additional information.

What can I do to help?

As we look to Africa, we realize this is a large transition for our family.  We will need the aid of many people who will support us emotionally, prayerfully, financially, and physically.  If you would like to join with us in some way, click here to see how.