2008 The Work Begins Anew!

We have been here one full week today. There are so many wonderful friends and family here to visit and get reacquainted with. And some new faces as well. We are grateful to be home, and part of the church here. We miss the rest of the church in Gassville, but feel very loved and needed here.

The church has grown some. We have a new sister in Christ, Marleni. She lives just up the road, is about 35 years old, and participates quite a bit in the class discussion. You can tell by her responses that she is hungry for understanding of God's will. We look forward to getting to know her better. Another new addition - Salinda has a new baby! Yes, that is the Salinda who already has 8 children. This one is a boy, 3 months old. He is gorgeous, and she is quite proud of him. This is the first boy with her husband of 4 years. This is a significant child for their marriage.

There have been some things that we were unaware of happen while we were in the States. We are still still trying to get it all straight in our heads and hearts. We have concerns for our future with Ezequias, and are praying fervently for God's guidance as we put together the pieces from the last 6 months. We beg you for your prayers concerning this. If you would just pray for God's will in our lives, we know He will guide us through this difficult and uncomfortable time.

Of course, all of the girls first question for me was " and Hannah? When is she coming?" I assured them all that she will be here in June. My almost grand-daughter has grown so much! she is now 7 months old, beautiful, and spoiled. We are told that all children should be spoiled until they begin school, then they will begin to change. Not sure if that is best, but they certainly follow that rule! Anna Valery is no exception! I will do my best to follow this rule for her, at least for this 6 month period!

Our washing machine had to be replaced. the motor had been burnt up. We went shopping yesterday and actually went with an automatic - fully automatic. We don't have to change over for the spin, or re-enter the water for rinse. Quite uptown! Many from the group last year will appreciate this. The biggest draw for us was that it is a Frigidaire; a name we know. All the others were either Japanese or Chinese, as was our last one. We will see how it goes. It certainly will be faster!

We also bought our new pickup yesterday. We received word that both of the old cars are being sold on Friday (We go to sign them over on Friday). As is the Nelson custom - we bought high and sold low. Actually we got a pretty good deal on the truck. It is a 2006 Mitsubichi 4 door, 4x4 in very good condition. It's only owner is a veterinarian for a single farm near David. He had the truck maintained at the dealership, so it is really clean running. We paid $14,700. How did we do? The Niva we bought for $1200 and sold for $850. It was a piece of junk, and we are glad to be rid of it at any price. the Nissan headgasket blew just before we headed home. Javier was able to get it going again but said if it happened again the motor would need to be replaced. it did, and he did a patch job again. So, we bought it for $3000 and sold it for $1000. Actually we sold the Nissan to Javier, our brother in Christ, and mechanic. If he can fix it and sell it for more, the church will benefit, as he is one of their best supporters. he supplies the bus, the gas for the bus, as well as his time to get everyone to the building (in David) on Sundays.

We are cleaning and repairing the house. Dany is a great help. She continues to work for us part time. She is paid $5 per day, and usually works 5 hours a day. We are blessed to have her help, and to be able to help her. This keeps her family fed. Two of her children are in our Beka program.

Though we have encountered problems, we are ever grateful to God for bringing us here, and for allowing us to help these people know and understand God's love and plan for them. We are very blessed.

May God bless you richly,
Joy & Lynn