I am not one to "enjoy" a jigsaw puzzle. I will admit when someone is working on a puzzle I find myself sitting at the table trying to find the pieces that go together. I will sometimes look at the time and say...just one more piece, but then I find a piece that fits to the other pieces I was working on. That one missing piece brings a second wind that brings me to sit at the table longer. Now don't get me wrong, I have only done this a hand full of times, But seeing how the picture comes together is exciting. 
I feel as my time here in Bocachica is like that second wind. I can see God's hand in this. I have been seeing the picture become clearer as time goes on here. I see the Lord given us glimpses of how he has prepared us. Take the example of us building our house. We are building the whole thing ourselves. From drawing up the plans, to putting in electrical, plumbing, laying the brick (not to mention lugging all 9,000 of them up the STEEP hill) to washing the brick to pouring the concrete. How blessed are we that the Lord has equipped Nate with the ability to do all of this. I am not sure how many people would feel comfortable building there house from the ground up. I take time during the day,while jointing up brick thanking the Lord for Him preparing us for building our house. I choose to think of this time as bonding time with my family watching them all help out. I have met many new people here in Bocachica as they come to look at the construction of our house. We had wonderful helpers who worked on 2 different occasions bringing up the brick with us, and not to mention Guillermo and Wildio who have worked laboring for us.
Exciting news from the Ariels:
Nate has had on his heart to do a bible study with some families here on the island. However, Nate's Spanish is not strong on Biblical terms. A man who translated for the medical team when they came in February, came to the mission a couple of weeks ago and asked Nate if he would work with him on his English. He said he needed opportunities to translate from English to Spanish. What a perfect way to do so. Nate mentioned what his desire was and they both agreed it was a great thing to get started. Nate and Deiver will begin on Monday.
The kids are still working hard on their Spanish. The girls have classes daily and Nate and I have class once a week. My kids can have full conversations with the locals here and are enjoying their new friends. I am amazed to see how quickly they can pick up a second language. Vincent even says commands in Spanish. 'Than and Patrick talk to each other while playing in Spanish. :) It is fun to hear!
Thank you all for your continual prayers for our family!
Blessings to you and your families!
Nate and Tara, Valerie, Alicia, Jaiden, Kristen, Nathanael, Patrick, and Vincent.
If you would like to support us monthly or with a one time gift here's how:
Send checks to:
Antioch Community Church
P.O. Box 40
Elon, North Carolina
Please put "Colombia" in the memo line.
*remember all giving is tax deductible*
