December 2023

Christmas will be here in just a few days! It’s still very strange to celebrate in 90 degree weather. Every year we experience some homesickness around this time, but we still enjoy celebrating and spending time together.

January 1st will mark 4 years since our official crossing into Mexico as missionaries. It seems like it’s been longer, but sometimes seems like just yesterday. Either way, in all our time, we thank God for using us and making us effective for His kingdom.

Here are a few highlights from the last months! Thank you for praying for us, and for your support. They are making a very real difference in Oaxaca!

Family News

As you know, last July we headed to the States for our first furlough. It was great, but flew by so quickly! We’re so thankful for the time we got to spend with family. A real highlight was going to summer camp at Sand Hill Lake Bible Camp. Ben took kids up there every year for 10 years, and it was great just to go, and for the kids to be campers.

When we got back to Mexico, we almost immediately went to immigration, where we finalized the kids’ permanent residency! It’s hard to describe how long and difficult this process has been for our family, or how much relief we feel at having it done. Praise God!

We had an unfortunate accident happen at the end of October. Norah was playing at a friend’s house, and her friend accidentally nailed her finger to a coconut in a misguided attempt at opening it. Ouch! She came screaming home holding her bleeding finger, and I (Hannah) heard her coming down the road. I went out running to see what had happened, slipped on the front walkway, and broke my leg. You can’t make this stuff up!

To make things more interesting, Ben was away on a medical mission with a team, and the power was out (a recurring problem in the rainy season). Having no power and no cell signal means no communication! After some stressful moments, Cooper was able to get his teacher, who drove me to the hospital. By the time Ben got word of what had happened I was already finishing up at the hospital and headed home.

I was laid up in bed for 5 weeks. 5 weeks felt like 5 months! It was NOT an easy time. I’m thankful to say that I’m now walking tentatively on the leg, and have some follow up appointments and physical therapy on the horizon.

While it was extremely frustrating, being laid up provided an unexpected opportunity to focus on something I’ve been wanting to do since I was a kid! The Lord is so faithful to redeem the time. More on that a little later in the update, along with some other new family projects!

In the meantime, a few pictures…

Ministry Update

This is really good news, and it also means a lot of work! The dates for trips keep filling up. We’re so thankful, and also completely rely on God’s strength and grace to do all that’s needed to host teams well and bless our surrounding communities.

A few ministry pictures for you…

We are so thankful for all the Lord has done in these last months, and full of expectation for what he will do next. It’s never boring, that’s for sure!

We have a couple of projects we’ll be working on in 2024.

First, we are looking to build a house! We have been renting ever since we arrived in Mexico, and in the last couple of years we have rented a lovely house from some missionaries who are currently on home assignment. We are so thankful for the spaces we’ve been able to occupy. However, it’s not “ours”, and with 7 people we are finding we need our own space, and more space for the kids to roam. We are excited to be able to own a home again! We have begun raising funds toward this effort, and praise God, we already have some money set aside for this! You’ll be hearing more about this from us before too long, but we’d love to invite you on the journey as we move forward and share our progress.

Second, Hannah is starting to earnestly pursue authorship. This is the fruit of being stuck in bed for weeks on end! Since a young age, the Lord has spoken over her life that she would write books that make an impact for him. So, here we go into this totally unknown realm of publishing! I’m starting with kids’ books. I have a little series that I’ll be starting with, and then perhaps venturing into more “serious” work. I’m setting up a separate site for that, and will share it here when it’s ready for those who may be interested. It’s new, terrifying, and exciting. Can’t wait to share more about that.

As we head into Christmas and soon the New Year, we want to send our best wishes and love to you and your family. May you feel God’s presence so near, wrapped tightly like the swaddled Emmanuel with you. Oh come, let us adore him!!

In love,

Ben, Hannah, and kids