Dear Friends and Family,
A new year is upon us! I absolutely love the transition from one year to the next– reflecting on God’s goodness and faithfulness over the previous year and looking forward to the next one with hope and excitement. What does God have in store for each of us, I wonder? :)
Since I last wrote in the beginning of October, a lot has happened. One of the biggest things being that Vienne had her first birthday in November– how is that even possible!? She is such a joy and is constantly pushing the limits. She is strong, curious, smart, and very independent. She thinks she is quite the big girl and doesn’t enjoy being told what she can and can’t do… I pray for grace, patience, and wisdom pretty much all the time. Please pray for both me and for Mario in this beautiful, wild thing called parenthood! I’m convinced there are few things that show us God’s heart more than becoming a parent. I love it, but I am also constantly reminded of my own need to be parented by my Heavenly Father, amen?? He is so good.
Also in November, we got to start on a project that we’ve wanted to do since we were engaged. There is a special-needs family (a mother and her three adult kids) here in La Venta who have had really awful living conditions– a shack is a fairly generous term for where they were living– and we have wanted to build them a house. God opened the doors and provided the necessary funds to make that possible. The project is almost complete– the walls are up in their new home and soon the roof and windows will be installed. Praise Jesus for this amazing opportunity! (Some before and in-process pics below)
November was a big month… We also got to reopen our café, Taza de Gozo! Currently just 1 night a week out on our porch, but it’s been so fun. I love the life and bustle of it when our porch is full to the brim and it’s spilling over into our living room and it’s a little too loud and there’s a lot of laughter. Taza de Gozo has been a fitting name– Cup of Joy.
In December, my parents came down to visit. They were here for 3.5 weeks, and we had a full, wonderful time. A couple days after they arrived in the beginning of December, a family from their church in Cody came down for a week. We enjoyed having them and getting to show them a glimpse of life in Honduras. The day they left, a women’s soccer team from Cornerstone University in Michigan arrived. We spent a few days in the city collaborating with a ministry, Point, that is focused on helping kids in some of the roughest areas of Tegucigalpa. They also got to play soccer with some of the higher level women’s soccer teams, high school teams, and do a soccer clinic with young girls. The last few days were spent here in La Venta helping on the house project we’re building (mentioned above), playing soccer with women and kids in the village, and painting the new rental house that our pastor, Roger, and his family will soon be moving into. I absolutely loved getting to be a part of that team, it was such a blessing!
In other news, the church plant we are a part of has been such an encouragement. We are loving the fellowship, the life, and the joy of this small body of believers. We have all kinds of goals and dreams for this next year, including starting new ministries and doing outreach around the village. We pray that all that we do be done in obedience to the Lord’s leading and for His glory. We are also no longer called LOGOS La Venta as we decided to become our own local church entity. We are now Iglesia Biblica Rey de Gracia (we still have to go through the legal steps to establish that fully, so I suppose something could change that…). This church has been such an answer to prayer, as have Roger and Liliana and their family. As I briefly mentioned above, they will be moving to a rental here in La Venta soon. They wanted to get out of the city and have fallen in love with it out here and God has graciously opened the doors for this transition. We are so excited to have them closer! (Photos from our end-of-the-year church dinner on the 31st.)
Prayer Requests
God’s continued provision to us as He allows us to be in full-time ministry. The same for Roger and Liliana and their family.
Taza de Gozo– it has been a means of God’s provision and a source of joy. Our desire is that it would grow even more and be a way to invite people in and a place where people would encounter the presence of Jesus.
The church, IBRG– that we would keep our eyes always on Jesus, that He would strengthen, equip, and guide us as we pursue developing more ministries and doing more outreach, and that He would provide whatever He deems necessary in this season.
Mario’s mom, Rosa– she needs prayers for her health and for God’s peace to fill her heart. We also have substantial financial needs with her that God alone can provide. Because it is somewhat personal, I’m not going to share details on this platform as it is public. Anyone who would want to know more and would desire to help support us in this season, feel free to comment and give me your email address so I can write to you directly.
Mario’s visa– always a prayer request for us. There always seems to be some hiccup and it is honestly extremely discouraging at times. I would so love for this to be the year that I get to take him to Cody!
Friends, thank you so much for your support. God’s grace to us is unfathomable as He has used your generosity to allow us to live doing full-time ministry. Your prayers, too, are a huge aspect of generosity– in time and thought and consideration. What greater gift can we give than our prayers? I am humbled time and again as I think about how much kindness we receive from you and from the Lord. Thank you so much. I pray that each of you may experience personally the depth of God’s love and the power of His grace. May we live in such a way that our lives are a form of constant worship before Him!
With love,
Katie and Mario
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