I(Kamanda) figured it would be a good idea to take a little time to introduce ourselves so you have a better idea of who “The Bucher’s” are.

I am originally from Archbold, Ohio.  I moved to Peoria, Illinois at the age of 7 and spent twenty years there.  I visited the Dominican for the first time at the young age of 18 months.  My parents were leading a group of youth for a week-long trip.  It was during this trip that I realized my love for beets while enjoying a meal at Bienvenidas.  I returned to the DR again during the summer of 2003 on a youth group trip with my church.  I fell in love with the children and looked forward to my daily walks to CCED where our group was working on a project.  After this summer trip, I began to visit the DR about every other summer following that trip.

Jeff is originally from Panama City Beach, Florida.  He also moved to Peoria at the age of 7 and spent twenty years there.  Jeff and I began dating our senior years of high school in 2005.  Jeff visited the DR for the first time during the spring of 2006 and fell in love with EVERYTHING about the country. The people, the food, baseball, dominoes, etc…  It was during this trip that Jeff and I helped with the construction on Central Church.  In July 2008, we got married!  We spent our two-week honeymoon in one of our favorite places; one week in Juan Dolio and the other in San Juan de la Maguana.

In the summer of 2011 we returned to San Juan to spend 8 weeks working as guesthouse assistants to Dan and Kari Straley.  It was during this time that we gained a better understanding of what being full time missionaries was really like.  Upon returning to the US, we continued discussing and praying about God’s calling on our lives to serve in the DR.  This dream became a reality as we began talking with the Executive Directors of Solid Rock International (SRI), Joe and Shannon Zimmerman.

Braegan is our daughter.  She was born in February 2013.  We are so excited for her to spend the early years of her life in the DR.

We will be moving to San Juan de la Maguana in mid-September 2013 and have made a 3 year commitment of service.  Each time we prepare to go to the Dominican, we transition from our American way of living to Dominican living:)  Here are just a few of the things that help get us in the Dominican state of mind:

• riding in our car with the air off and windows down on the hottest days
• taking quick showers that are lukewarm
• having our Pandora playlist set to Prince Royce
• attempting to find fruit that remotely compares to the fruit in San Juan (NOT possible in the midwest)

So that’s just a little about us as we prepare to embark on this next step in our lives. We pray God will continue to prepare us for our time in the DR and we look forward to developing old relationships and making new ones.