Merry Christmas!

December 23, 2022

Christmas is my favorite time of year. Family gatherings, favorite traditions, and tempting cookie trays all come out… enjoyable in and of themselves, yet reminding us over and again of the Reason why such ongoing celebration is warranted: the Christ child, “born to die, to set us free.” As the prophet Micah wrote: But you, […]

Desert Rains

October 2, 2022

Putting Ferndale and Washington State in our (literal!) rear view mirrors this July came at a cost for our family. It seemed we had just re-acclimated to being with family and friends for the ‘regular’ parts of life… such as birthday parties, soccer games, and quiet morning lattes. Leaving meant a return to scratchy phone […]

Facing Changes

July 6, 2022

Last year, our family left the mountains of Mexico in unexpected and rather sudden fashion. Our field leadership, concerned both for Amy’s health and the degree of ongoing stress affecting our family, sent us back to the States for a medical leave of absence. The departure process felt like a whirlwind as we packed, planned, […]

A Time to Heal

July 15, 2021

When May arrived, two major events remained on our dry season schedule: a visit from Pete and Liesl Hypki (our itinerant coworkers, now on the field leadership team), followed by a couple weeks on the coast for pre-rainy season repairs and resupply. We greatly anticipated the break from mountain life the latter trip provides, as […]

Early Evaluations

April 9, 2021

During Amy’s recent language evaluation, our consultant asked her to discuss colors. Looking down at her beautifully patterned traditional skirt, Amy pointed to a section and began to demonstrate her hard-earned vocabulary. “This is yellow,” she said in Nahuatl to our friend Lenny – who had come to help with the evaluation. “And this…” At […]

Cavities and Cubbies

March 5, 2021

Worldwide pandemics have a way of complicating things – including plans for the (mostly) annual dental clinic in Las Moras! Pulling off this year’s edition required jumping through many hoops – including considering PPE access, medical experts’ recommendations, and two nations’ coronavirus responses. Despite these challenges and more, our little mountain community still wanted the […]

Moving Along

October 19, 2020

When writing our last update, the process of moving into our house-in-progress loomed large. Challenges certainly continued to present themselves: a dozen leaks springing (literally) to life one evening, unexpected interruptions abounding, and the polyurethane coating our kitchen counters needing over a month to dry in rainy season humidity! Yet, in the end, we did […]

Busy Season

September 3, 2020

As our family’s first rainy season in the mountains unfolds, life continues moving forward at a rapid pace. At times, it seems that another monumental unexpected shift inevitably follows its predecessor… and were perseverance to depend on our strength, we would long ago have been swept away! Yet God’s faithfulness remains when our strength is […]

Let it Rain

July 20, 2020

We are officially into summer, which means rainy season up here in Las Moras. An opportunity to resupply for the next 4-5 months out here (muddy mountain roads don’t travel easily!) went well, and upon returning we hurried to prepare for the arrival of regular, ongoing rain and thunderstorms. By God’s grace, we got it […]

Teamwork

May 30, 2020

“When life give you lemons, make lemonade!” Familiar words… ones which a new daily reality gives us fresh opportunity to apply in walking with the Lord. Uncertainty and doubt are a natural response to major upheavals in life’s expectations… but in what context do we choose to place them? For the believer in Jesus, our […]