Viva 2025!

Greetings y'all!

(Ryan and Cyrus painting the coffee bar!)

It's exciting to share some great news with you as we continue doing life and ministry here in Guasave, Sinaloa! We last shared about taking Virtue to Choc Hospital when we returned to California as the sezuires had increased in frequency and we had come to our whit's end with getting them to stop. When we realized that it wasn't epilepsy and that even seeking therapy would be a challenging road to pursue (and with all the prayers from so many) we sensed we needed to just stop talking about it, and try to help Virtue to forget about it as much as possible. It took a couple weeks of following through with doing our best to "ignore" it (still had to have her sleep next to us and be next to her when she'd wake up to make sure she wouldn't have one and fall and get hurt), and we definitely struggled with getting her to bed on time (for it seemed like fatigue was also a culprit), but God who is rich in mercy has definitely brought healing to her! It's only been about two weeks, so it feels like going ice skating on a lake recently frozen; we are being cautious and letting her build confidence in her sleep and morning routine, but she is able to sleep in when she's tired (and before that was a huge challenge) and she has regained her normal, robust appetite (and thankfully regaining some weight)! I have to say there wasn't a specific moment in time when we knew God healed her, but God just gave us the confidence to leave it to Him, and how grateful we are! We continue to trust Him to build her confidence fully so that our schedules and life can also fully return back to normal! Thank you guys for your prayers!! This trial has been perhaps the most difficult as a mother, and it's made me so much more dependent on the Lord than ever before. Some pains in life have an ability to strip away at everything, and this certainly has. We are here; alive, and able to serve wherever we are, simply because God has permitted it to be so. And how worthy He truly is to receive it all. May the suffering that He permits in our lives and yours invoke a sincere worship in spirit and truth as He desires; for surely through it all I am convinced that His love for us is lavish indeed.

We are continuing to look for a house to rent but trusting in the Lord's timing. The kids were so eager to move out so that they would have a dog, but even in our attempt to bring one from California (two of our daughters have dog allergies and we found a hypoallergenic dog at a super low price) but sadly the dog died three days after we returned home! Still, we know God is orchestrasting the details for our kids' needs and even wants, and we all have been comforted with His amazing peace.

We are also blessed and comforted to see that the seats during church services are filling up more on a consistent basis. It is a JOY to see people (especially first-timers) come and hear God's Word! We held our first service the last Sunday of January last year, so it's been one year by God's grace! Thank you for all who have financially contributed and made it possible to plant a church deep in the Sinaloan state of Mexico! Praise the Lord!! I know you all have important matters to attend to, but please know we are DEEPLY grateful for your giving as we stepped out in faith as foreigners to this country.

As we noticed that donations have consistently been decreasing we have been praying for God's guidance into other opportunities for provisions. Ryan is investing time for some online work and I have just been approved to sell on Amazon Merch on Demand. It's exciting but we continue to seek God's favor to provide for our family's needs as we seek to be faithful to His calling. I look forward to posting the merchandise as they become available!

As far as Calvary Coffee, Ryan is doing everything possible to get it opened by tomorrow (1st day of Febraury). We don't have many pictures, but will definitely try to get more posted by our next update =)

The Thursday morning classes for teaching pastors and leaders to teach through the bible has resumed and moved to Friday mornings. We are excited at the opportunity to equip the saints in this region of Mexico and help other pastors understand how to teach the Word of God, verse by verse!

Our Friday evening outreach in Palos Verdes continues. And though it's still largely just kids and teens who come, it is so rewarding. Just today as I walked with our friend Flor, who helps out with this ministry, to the store to buy the hot dogs and buns for the outreach, a mother (looked to be in late forties or so) walked in front holding a baby girl with two teenagers at her side. It didn't take long to realize the mom was actually the grandma and the teenagers (and they looked very young!) were the parents! And by the way they dressed, it seemed like they came to the city center from a nearby village. I don't say this to judge, but with compassion, because I realized these kids had nothing else to chase after! These villages so often lack the basics of consistent water and electrictal supply during peak, summer months, much less the ability to offer their people an opportunity for consistent and stable kind of work. Without the knowledge of Christ and the tremendous value of upholding and seeking the truth of the Bible; corruption, poverty, and oppression cannot be successfully eradicated. People can try to rewrite history, but folks, after living in Mexico for two years and seeing the standards of building roads, structures, maintaining electricity and public sewage works, it is clear that the success of America's infrastructure in roads, public buildings, sewage, etc. came from people enlightened with biblical truths (like loving your neighbor as yourself). And thank God for America! May He continue to shed His grace on each nation, that all may come to the knowledge of Him!

Until next time, shalom!

P.S. We apologize to those who are still waiting for a 2024 tax-deductible letter from our non-profit organization! We still have a few that need to be sent out and plan to do so in the coming week. God bless y'all richly and cause you to be fruitful in the work of your hands!