We have arrived to 2017! Another year has come and gone! December brought the end of the school semester as well as a quick trip to the United States. On December 1, Tim preached to the middle and high school students one last time for the semester on the true story of Christmas. It is always a joy to share the true meaning for this time of year. Later that night, he preached his first full length sermon in Spanish on Joseph’s testimony during the birth of Christ during one of our midweek services. The following week, he was privileged to preach again in Spanish at the prayer meeting on the Great Commission. On Saturday, December 10, Stephanie introduced the different activities as well as the guest speaker at the annual ladies’ Christmas meeting in Spanish. Thank you to those of you who have faithfully prayed for us as we have learned and studied the Spanish language.

We both finished our classes for the semester in the New Life Christian Academy. We enjoyed the opportunity to invest in the lives of these students not only academically, but most importantly spiritually. It reminds us of the many different people who took time to teach us as we were in school. On December 8, we took one final trip to the immigration office after months in the application process to complete the final step to receive the residency visas for Tim and the children. The next Sunday, Stephanie and Mrs. Chona baked cookies for the neighbors in our apartment building and passed out brochures for the church. In the following weeks, two families from the building came out to the services!

On December 13, we flew back to the United States for a four week period. The following Saturday, Tim was blessed to officiate the wedding for his brother. Also during the trip, Stephanie was fingerprinted-which could only be officially done in the US-in order to get a background check for her visa. The first prints were unsuccessful, but after much prayer and a second trip, she received a perfectly clear set. We mailed them off immediately, but we will not hear back from the FBI for 12-14 weeks from when they receive them. Once we receive the report, Stephanie will be able to apply for her residency visa.

We trust that you had a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. We enjoyed reflected on Christ’s birth as well as time together with family. God has given us another year in order to serve Him. May we make it the best year yet as we labor in service to Him.