Friday, September 5, 2008

Long Time No Blog

Well, we figured that it was finally time for us to blog again. After a long hiatus from communication, we think we finally have our bearings and are ready to share them with the big world beyond.

As you can imagine, things have been pretty crazy these last few months. These have been the most trying times of our lives, and we know that there are more to come. One thing is for sure though; although things are crazy and trying, being with our children is the most rewarding part of our lives. Many of you have probably looked up Tay-sachs by now, and have an idea of what is coming for us as a family and what is ahead for Noah. Of all the things we want to communicate, I think the most important is this: in spite of all of this, we thank God for the blessing of having Noah as our child. He is truly a joy. At the moment he is a happy, silly, and sweet boy; and Adah is a sassy, smart, and sweet little "Miss Priss." We love every moment with our children, and we aim to enjoy all the good moments that we can. Adah is back in school and doing great. Noah is stable and still doing a few new things. Every small thing is a gift!

Ok, here comes the big, or not so big, news. We have decided to relocate to Childress, Texas for the next few years. This was one of the most difficult decisions of our lives. There are many, many factors that went into this decision, but what it comes down to is a desire to be near to family and loving doctors for the remainder of Noah's life. Noah and Adah's well being is priority. Our hearts are torn by this decision, but we are confident that God has guided us to this because we have begged him for wisdom along the way. Thanks for your prayers.

Mexico City Mission Project

We love Mexico City; it is our home. God's vision is alive and well. It lives in the leaders here as it lives in our hearts. Everyone has been very supportive of our decision, and they look forward to our return. We are confident that the church will continue to grow.

We are also thankful because Ryan and Amanda Gray are returning to Mexico City in January of 2009 to continue their work with the Mexico City Mission Project. It will be a whole new and exciting phase to the work that God is doing here. We plan to stay in close contact with everyone and, Lord willing, even make a few visits!

We are not yet informed as to who will replace us as coordinators of the Pink House, but we know that it is being considered. We will let everyone know as soon as we do. Vero Marquez will be staying here in the "in between" times. We thank God so much for her; she is amazing! Thanks to her the Pink House will stay "up and running" through this transition.

What's Next

So, our next steps are in preparation to leave. We plan to leave here in the last week of October. We are starting to get busy with moving plans. This includes everything from a moving company, to visas, to customs forms, to houses, to goodbyes. Please keep us in your prayers through this process. It can tend to be long and hard.

Although we are working on leaving, the work here is in full swing. Since September is "Mes de la Patria," we are busy with party plans for Independance Day. We are really looking forward to enjoying this day with all of our friends and family. As always, it will be a big "to do" with plenty of food, fun, games and serenading. It should be a blast. Our small groups are doing well right now. We are finally getting back in our groove after the full summer. We ask for you to pray for the continued growth and commitment of the church.

Other prayer requests include:
  • Noah's health

  • Adah's adjustment

  • Billy's recovery

  • Vero's health

  • Growth of the church

  • Multiplication of small groups and leadership

  • Giovana

  • Luz Elena

  • Laura

  • Raúl

  • Spiritual growth and maturity of our leaders

  • Pedro and his work downtown

Please check out Noah's webpage, courtesy of Brian Reed. It is http://www.prayersfornoah.org/


We will leave you with a few pictures from this summer for your enjoyment.