January

As we turn to a new calendar year, I reflect back on all that God has done in 2011. I never would have imagined that 13 years into marriage, 7 kids later, 2 business to close down, houses to have rented out that we would move out of the United States and move to Bocachica, Colombia. A friend of ours from church sent a link from 9 years ago, He and Nate took their first mission trip down here, and they built an apartment on the mission site and today.....9 years later we now call this home. I can look back over the 13 years of marriage and see how God placed certain things in our path to bring us to this point. From moving away from our family to a new state as we began marriage. My husband owning his own construction company. Having the desire to show others how to construct things properly and well. From homeschooling our children to placing us in a church that believes and supports us in what we are doing. How great is our God! It is nice to see how many years the Lord had this in his plan and we can see it come together.

  Life here has been busy! Nate works daily on the medical clinic that the mission hopes to open this spring. He is working with individuals in the community and teaching them how to do concrete and working with them on fixing the roof. I still teach the children their studies, and we have Spanish classes 3 days a week. I can see the kids use more and more of the language and must confess my 10 year old corrects me on my sentence structure.

 We have enjoyed making new friends here on the island. We have many people now whom we visit. We have enjoyed 'Than's 4th birthday and Christmas here with our new friends. We are busying helping with needs they may have and my kids now have the desire to bake for families they come in contact with. We are rubbing American food off on them. I have been asked by many women here on the island to have cooking classes for them.

Here is a family we have become close with. Guillermo and his wife Mary Lendi, and their three kids. Nate had known Guillermo from his mission trips here prior to us moving. He works with Nate on projects and any thing we need Guillermo is there to help us. His wife and I have become friends and she has started coming to Bible study here. Please pray for them, that they would all come to know the Lord.

Thank you for your prayers and support for us! We have been blessed to see Him working here in Bocachica. Please pray that a Doctor or Nurse would come to work here at the mission. That the construction on the medical clinic would be finished on time and pray that our presence here on the Island would show Christ's love!

Blessings to you and your families,
With love,
Nate and Tara and all the kids :)