August-November 2020
It has been so long, and so much has happened, since we updated you all last. It’s wild how quickly time flies! Our internet connection is also tenuous at best, so we have to work with what we have.
We’ve also been pulled here and there with several developing situations. It’s been a bit of an unstable time for us, but God is seeing us through.
In early August, Ben made an emergency trip to the States to see his dad, Jay. Jay has been battling colon cancer for about a year, and it appeared that he may not recover from a severe infection. Praise God, Jay recovered and is still with us, although he has been placed in hospice. He is resting at home now, and being well taken care of. We’re thankful.
We decided that as long as Ben was in the States, Hannah and the kids would join him to continue work on our residency in Mexico. We were very hopeful that we would be able to get our residency sorted out quickly. However, after 10 weeks and an appointment at the Mexican consulate, we were informed that we did not qualify for the type of visa we applied for. We were so disappointed!
They did point us in the right direction for another path to residency, and although we came home a little discouraged we are working on this new procedure and praying all goes smoothly. This does mean an extra trip to St. Paul again once all is in place, which we were trying to avoid, but we’re trusting that God will provide all we need and open up the way for us. He’s good and we will trust him.
We are currently back home in Cacalote. It was with mixed emotions that we crossed our front door and felt that we were both home and far from home. Ben decided to re-take level 4 of Spanish school, as his last session was interrupted several times by travel, health problems, and ultimately the unexpected trip back.
Hannah is back working on school work with the kids for now. Things are slowly reopening here, and we hope it will continue so that we can more fully enter into the other things we’ve come to do.
We are slowly beginning in the Guest Ministries Directors role, meeting with the facilities staff at the Guest House and starting to fill out the calendar for teams to come minister. We’re really excited to get to it and start seeing smiling servants arrive to support the ongoing ministry here at Roca Blanca.
Please pray for wisdom and strategy as we navigate all those details while a pandemic continues. We know God has plans! And we want to get in on them.
Here are some pictures from these months… hope you enjoy!
Reunited and happy about it! Please pray for Jay and Jane as they continue in the hospice process… for rest and peace.
Enjoying time together
Norah’s first time flying
The kids in front of the Mexican consulate. “Esperanza” means hope, which is what we have re: getting our residency soon!
Norah turned 5!
We were overjoyed to be able to join Andy (Ben’s brother) and Jessie for a week on our way home. They pastor a church, among other things, in Autlan – about 3 hours from Guadalajara. This was a Sunday service. It was fantastic to see first hand all the work that they’ve been doing.
Here we are with Andy, Jessie, and their 9 children. They will be joining us for Christmas, which is very exciting!
This is Lidia. She is a pastor’s wife in one of the Roca churches. Here she is teaching Hannah how to make some authentic, fresh Mexican food. Yum.
Sage turned 11! She got to celebrate with Naomi, a good friend whose birthday is within week of Sage’s.
It’s NOT a birthday without a piñata
Ben helping make a table out a tree trunk that fell after heavy rains
Every year during the rainy season a river opens up between the base and the ocean. Here the boys splash around in front of the Guest House
Ben and siblings (Andy, Becca, and Jon) all together for the first time in a long time.
On our way to join Daddy in the States!
On a walk with Jay and Jane, enjoying time together
Jay and Norah enjoying a good book together
One really exciting thing we were able to do while in the States was join Elim Fellowship in a prayer time for the nations. We were able to share about some of the needs in Central and South America, and pray for more workers. It was awesome.
A very exciting thing happened while we were in the U.S. … We sent out a quick email asking if anyone had laptops they weren’t using, in hopes of bringing one or two home for the Roca Multigrade School. These students do not have resources to complete their schoolwork properly, and we were SO blessed to receive NINE laptops and $2,000 in donations toward computers. We were blown away. Here are some of the computers with Dad and Paloma, the school Director. THANK YOU!
This is Abdías, the first computer recipient.
When we get time off, this is usually our destination
Norah and her friend Elías monkeying around
The river brings in shrimp-like creatures called chicalines. They are caught with a hand net, and they’re delicious! Here we try our luck at getting some.
As we celebrate Thanksgiving, we want to say a huge THANK YOU to all of you for being part of the Kingdom story here in Oaxaca. Your prayers and support are truly invaluable. We don’t take them for granted, and thank God for each of you.
You are truly loved by Jesus, and by us too!
Ben, Hannah and kids
Love your newsletter and all your pictures. May you have a blessed Thanksgiving. Love you all.
Glad you enjoy the photos – they’re a great way to show what life really looks like here! Happy Thanksgiving to you as well.
The Cookie Jar misses ALL of you so very much and. Send you Blessings and prayers this Thanksgiving Day.
Right back at you Cookies!! <3
What a great news letter!! We are blessed to know you guys and look forward to co-laboring together.
Same to you!
So sorry we didn’t get to touch base with you in MN. We are fine, just continuing to stay close to home. We did enjoy Thanksgiving with our boys. Praying for your residency to come through soon. Love you all!
Love you too! Glad you’re staying safe. We’re praying for you and everyone there.
Always good to hear from you and “see” your life through all the great pictures! Miss you and love you! May God richly bless your Thanksgiving!
Thank you Maura!!
It’s encouraging to see that y’all are doing well! I hope to come and see you all soon ?
Just let us know when! ☺️
Hello, Ben and Hannah,
So glad that we were able to “see” you earlier this year. You are in our hearts and prayers!! Paper work is exhausting, but worth it all!
Praying for you always,
Ken and Sharon
Thank you so much for praying for us. We look forward to a good report on visas soon!
Love the updates and the pictures! God bless you guys.
You too Alyssa!
Great pictures! Thanks for the update, blessings from the Swanson’s and West Side Church!
Thank you!!