Declaring the Savior in these Last Days

Happy New Year Folks!

We are writing to you from Southern California, hoping you all had a Merry Christmas and a blessed time bringing in the New Year! We had spent Christmas in Guasave with our church family and then left early Friday morning as both our visas and car permits were expiring at the end of the month. As a mom, I was also eager to get Virtue checked at Choc, as the seizures continued with weight loss and anxiety battles in the mornings.

Esther: After checking in Virtue at the Choc ER and having her transferred to the neurology unit for the day, the neurologists decided to have her scheduled for an outpatient EEG to make sure she does not have epilepsy although they believe she does not. They recommended a couple different therapies with pyscologists. Interestingly, we had to get the approval through our family doctor and upon updating him; our family doctor who is Christian, advised us to wait and not take her to a pyschologist, as the risk of them putting her on meds (that kind so many get addicted or dependent) on would be highly likely. So we are following through on doing the EEG and waiting on the Lord. It's been so difficult to watch her suffer this way. But the Lord has been ministering faithfully to her and all of us. So many have prodigal sons and daughters, and how difficult it must be to watch them walk away on the Lord or never really taking their walk with Him seriously. I am so thankful that this in not the case. Many verses have ministered to me, but one that stands out is from Proverbs 20:30, "Blows that hurt cleanse away evil, as do the inner stripes of the heart." We continue to entrust our daughter (all of our kids, but especially as we go through this painful season with Virtue) to the Lord. She belongs to Him first and foremost, and even though as her parents and caregivers we fail at times as we are far from perfect, I really believe God's got us covered and will bring her through this with much gain and complete recovery. For all of you who have prayed, for all who continue praying, please know we are soo grateful.

Ryan: This trust is so crucial. Virtue is in the most shaping moments of here life. Of the three girls, She has struggled the most with her desires and her faith. Satan has wanted to pull her into his kingdom, but in his His grace God has illuminated the darkness and made it repulsive for Virtue. Now, that complete trust in all that God has for is information. I fully believe that her healing is being stored up for that day when she also fully reaches out to grab hold of her Savior.

Lunches after Church

One of our regular fellowship meetings are lunch at a charcoal chicken hut right across the street from church on Sunday afternoons. Even though it's quite smokey, the chicken is delicous and incredibly economical in price. It's been sweet to "break bread" together and do life with our congregation as the people don't want to go home but continue hanging out. It definitely increases our bond with them, and we are grateful for this season as we know that as the church grows meeting here won't be as doable (both for space and finances).

New Building

Beginning of December we began renting the space nextdoor to church! Remodeling is taking place! Actually, Ryan fell off a ladder and sliced his right thumb and palm quite deeply in the middle of it, but praise God that his hand and fingers are all ok! The plan is to make half of it into a cafe, with the opportunity to draw in the locals and share the gospel with them and at the same time help cover the rent and electrical utilities for the church. Please keep this project and new development in your prayers!

Prophecy Update

Nearing the end of December, Calvary Guasave and Calvary Merida Norte teamed up to do a prophecy update for the year's end. Pastor Yoshimi (also Daniel's dad) was excited we could introduce this topic to the Spanish world seeing that it is extremely uncommon in Latin America. It seems that there are doors opening for this to continue on a regular basis, so please pray for the Lord's guidance in this.

Caroling

Praise God that we were able to continue with the tradition we've done many years (it's how Ryan and I connected and got engaged actually) by going Christmas caroling in Guasave. Such a quaint city, quite tranquil and safe in comparison to others, but still so dark as so many respect our Saviour in a formal way (they mention God so many times throughout the day) but they don't know Him personally. And it felt so good to sing with all our hearts about our Savior's birth outside as we'd sing right on the corner and sidewalks of the streets. It was also sweet to see the children chime in singing and with different bells and tamborines!

Christmas Celebrations

For Christmas, we were blessed to be able to bring gifts for all the kids in Palos Verdes as well as special gifts to the kids at our church. Each and every one received a fairly nice looking watch wrapped around some delicious Hersey's Kiss chocolates. These kids are really growing, and we can see how many of them are in the throws of decided to really follow Jesus with all their heart, soul, and strength. In Guasave, we spent time with church families for the Mexican tradition of La Noche Buena, and on the 25th had Christmas service with a teaching from Galatians 4:5-6 - Perfect Timing.

We were so blessed to have family time reading from Luke and Matthew about our Savior's birth and enjoy seeing the delight on our children's faces as they opened their Christmas gifts. I can only imagine the delight of one day getting to "open" and see all the gifts God has in store for us in eternity! Oh, thank heaven for little glimpses we get here on earth that renew our hope of eternal riches and glory!

Book

For those who don't know, Ryan recently wrote a book which is available on Amazon. "Saved From Self" is also available on Amazon in Spanish under the title "Salvado del Yo". Please pray for work still needed to make it available as an audiobook!

Get "Saved From Self"

Lastly, please join us in prayer as we look for a different home to rent in Guasave. The current one we have has been a great blessing, but being that it's right above a dentistry without a yard for the kids to have room to run outside or keep a dog, we are praying and looking for a different home. We trust the Lord to open the door to the right home with all the details just as He so faithfully has always done. Also, for those who live in the OC area and would like to meet with us, please reach out! We are tentatively here for most of next week, and besides several dentist and doctor appointments, we are looking forward and relishing the time we have with our family and friends in Christ. May the Lord bless you richly this year of 2025!