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Well, it started with Maria's dad, he was the first person that Donnell met at the Vineyard Church of Milan and Maria's dad was pretty good about keeping Donnell up-to-date on Maria's happenings either in Mexico or in other places. Donnell first met Maria on a hot summer day and the meeting went something like this: her dad said, "Donnell, I want you to meet all of my daughters." That was it! And Maria was gone!
Maria's dad kept Donnell updated with information on Maria for about 4 months, before Donnell and Maria would meet again. This time Maria and Donnell met at a Senior High Youth Event on New Year's Eve in 1997. Donnell says he wasn't really interested in anything with Maria; he just wanted to be friends (yeah, right, he was hooked before he knew it). Donnell claims he was more concerned with meeting all of the sr. high folks and getting to know as many people as he could. Fate (or something like that) would have it that Maria and Donnell would participate in several activities and had a great time hanging out together that night.
At the end of the evening, Donnell wondered if Maria had a good time hanging out with him, or whether Maria had a good time because of the event, you know, the whole "you're suppose to have fun at these things." The following Sunday after church Donnell worked up the nerve to ask Maria a question to that effect and Maria indicated that she did indeed have a good time and it wasn't just the atmosphere, but Donnell had something to do with Maria's fun. After hearing that, Donnell full of energy, excitement, and a new found strength asked if Maria wanted to get together for coffee or something like that. Maria indicated she would and Donnell left her with his telephone number. A couple of weeks passed and Donnell hadn't heard anything from Maria, so again after church Donnell ventured to check and see if Maria was still interested in hanging out. Maria made an excuse about not calling and Donnell not wanting to lose this last opportunity to spend time with Maria suggested that they get together for coffee right then, Maria agreed and that's where it started with breakfast or brunch at Café Marie in Ann Arbor. Maria and Donnell talked for a grand total of seven hours that day, and they report it was time well spent. After chatting Donnell drove Maria home and met her parents, who had a few questions.
Donnell is the Associate Pastor at Vineyard Church Ann Arbor, managing director of the Vineyard Children's Center, and serves as the Vineyard Great Lakes Regional Youth Task Force Leader, the Vineyard Great Lakes Regional Ethnicity Diversity Task Force Leader and the Director of the Cloud 9 Youth Retreats. Donnell received his B.A. in computer science from The College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio and completed Vineyard Leadership Institute. Donnell is also the lead developer of a new pastoral care software and church management tool, Community Center for Churches. Before joining the Vineyard staff full-time, Donnell worked for IBM in Southfield, Michigan as an eBusiness Solutions Manager. From time to time, Donnell writes for the Vineyard USA Youth magazine, Redpoint. Donnell also leads a weekly Community Life group on Wednesday nights at the Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor.
Maria is a senior Speech-Language Pathologist at the University of Michigan's University Center for the Development of Language and Literacy. Maria earned her undergraduate degree from Central Michigan University and her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Wayne State University. She provides speech, language, and literacy intervention to adults in the University of Michigan Aphasia Program (UMAP) and to school-age children and teens. Maria is one of the contributing authors to the dyslexiahelp.umich.edu website. She enjoys implementing state-of-the art technology to create custom solutions for clients with communication disorders and dyslexia. Maria enjoys providing conversational training to enhance the communicative experience for our clients with aphasia and their families and friends.
Maria's dad kept Donnell updated with information on Maria for about 4 months, before Donnell and Maria would meet again. This time Maria and Donnell met at a Senior High Youth Event on New Year's Eve in 1997. Donnell says he wasn't really interested in anything with Maria; he just wanted to be friends (yeah, right, he was hooked before he knew it). Donnell claims he was more concerned with meeting all of the sr. high folks and getting to know as many people as he could. Fate (or something like that) would have it that Maria and Donnell would participate in several activities and had a great time hanging out together that night.
At the end of the evening, Donnell wondered if Maria had a good time hanging out with him, or whether Maria had a good time because of the event, you know, the whole "you're suppose to have fun at these things." The following Sunday after church Donnell worked up the nerve to ask Maria a question to that effect and Maria indicated that she did indeed have a good time and it wasn't just the atmosphere, but Donnell had something to do with Maria's fun. After hearing that, Donnell full of energy, excitement, and a new found strength asked if Maria wanted to get together for coffee or something like that. Maria indicated she would and Donnell left her with his telephone number. A couple of weeks passed and Donnell hadn't heard anything from Maria, so again after church Donnell ventured to check and see if Maria was still interested in hanging out. Maria made an excuse about not calling and Donnell not wanting to lose this last opportunity to spend time with Maria suggested that they get together for coffee right then, Maria agreed and that's where it started with breakfast or brunch at Café Marie in Ann Arbor. Maria and Donnell talked for a grand total of seven hours that day, and they report it was time well spent. After chatting Donnell drove Maria home and met her parents, who had a few questions.
Donnell is the Associate Pastor at Vineyard Church Ann Arbor, managing director of the Vineyard Children's Center, and serves as the Vineyard Great Lakes Regional Youth Task Force Leader, the Vineyard Great Lakes Regional Ethnicity Diversity Task Force Leader and the Director of the Cloud 9 Youth Retreats. Donnell received his B.A. in computer science from The College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio and completed Vineyard Leadership Institute. Donnell is also the lead developer of a new pastoral care software and church management tool, Community Center for Churches. Before joining the Vineyard staff full-time, Donnell worked for IBM in Southfield, Michigan as an eBusiness Solutions Manager. From time to time, Donnell writes for the Vineyard USA Youth magazine, Redpoint. Donnell also leads a weekly Community Life group on Wednesday nights at the Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor.
Maria is a senior Speech-Language Pathologist at the University of Michigan's University Center for the Development of Language and Literacy. Maria earned her undergraduate degree from Central Michigan University and her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Wayne State University. She provides speech, language, and literacy intervention to adults in the University of Michigan Aphasia Program (UMAP) and to school-age children and teens. Maria is one of the contributing authors to the dyslexiahelp.umich.edu website. She enjoys implementing state-of-the art technology to create custom solutions for clients with communication disorders and dyslexia. Maria enjoys providing conversational training to enhance the communicative experience for our clients with aphasia and their families and friends.
