Year end update

Judging by the frequency of our posts for the last six months one could conclude that either there is not much to report or so much going on there has not been time to report it. The latter is true as June through December has held many full adventures for us. Here's a brief summary:

Summer Campaign - we had a team of 30 from two Chicago area churches come for a bit over a week in late July to hold a basketball clinic, kids club and english class for people in Tenancingo, specifically in Agua Bendita and San Jose. It was refreshing to have much energy and excitement and a hectic change of pace. Both Lina and Matthew were heavily involved in coordinating details related to the campaign.

School - Samuel started 3rd grade and Rebeca 1st grade at the same public school where Samuel has been. Matthew got elected to the Parents Association as treasurer and has spent many hours getting to know the school structure, happenings and "ways of doing things." We have made good relationship with a number of families, some of whom have asked us whether we can help couples with counseling.

Church - We have continued our involvement with worship on a regular rotation with Lina on keyboard and Matthew singing, playing guitar and occasionally leading. This fall we also underwent some training for marital counseling with our teammate Steve Peterson. Though the program called Prepare/Enrich, we took a marriage inventory and were able to go through an evaluation of areas of strength and opportunity. It was refreshing and encouraging for both of us and we are now meeting weekly with a newly married couple and working through the followup with them. During the upcoming year we will continue to debrief with more couples both in the church and broader community.

San Jose - This past fall Matthew led a team of 5-8 mentors who spend time with elementary students helping them work through their homework. Because we have limited volunteers, we have only been able to offer help on Tuesdays and Thursdays. During October and November, our friend Carolyn Preston volunteered her time to teach English every Monday and Wednesday. She has since returned to the US, so our plan starting in January is to have homework help from Monday through Thursday. Additionally, we have had a few activities for women, teaching them crafts they can use for home business initiatives. We have started to think and pray about the possibility of moving to this neighborhood in future years so that we can spend more time investing in the people of the community.

That's the last few months in a nutshell. We appreciate the love, kindness, prayers, encouragement and support from so many. This year has been a bit difficult financially, although God has graciously allowed us to end each month in the black. We have gained a few supporting families, but lost more. We trust God will add others to our team of regular donors who will invest in our lives as we invest in the kingdom here.