February 24, 2008
Well, by the Grace of God, things seem to moving right along for us. Since our last newsletter many things have changed. The first thing we’d like to share with you is that Ron has finally finished Spanish study! In December, just before the Christmas break, he successfully passed his final interview. While “fluent” is still a hard word to quantify, he is officially an “advanced mid” Spanish speaker. As we have been transitioning out of language school, we have begun working our way into a Mexican tribe in southern Durango state: the Mexicanero tribe. The first week of December Ron was able to go out to the tribe and help with a dental clinic. It was headed up by our partners Tom and Teresa Elkins along with an American oral surgeon from Kentucky and a Mexican dentist from Durango. It was a very successful trip. We saw about 70 patients and did over 100 procedures, mostly fillings and some pullings. The people continue to be open and friendly and we are really looking forward to the day we move in. Our major hold up so far is that we don’t have any partners ready to move in with us. Tom and Teresa will be mostly support for us and will continue to live in Durango. We need at least another family to move into the village with us and help balance out the team. There are perspective families down here and it is just a matter of timing, their gifts and abilities (so we can have a well-rounded team) and, of course, their interest. We are confident that the Lord is moving and arranging in all these areas, so we are excited to see how he pulls it all together. In the mean time, we have been helping out in the National Language Department where Ron has been teaching Spanish grammar classes and Tasha has been helping to coordinate childcare for some of the families. And in the midst of this, we have been planning a "whole family" trip to visit the Mexicaneros. So far everything has worked out for this trip. Not perfectly, but certainly sufficiently.  We will be leaving today, the 13th, flying out tomorrow and then spending 5 days camping out there. Please keep us in your prayers, even if you get this letter a bit late. We have never camped in such a remote place and we would like it to go well. Also, one of the main purposes of this trip is that we begin to bond with the community and start developing good friendships. These friendships are a key part of our ministry. Also, Emma and Ron have been sick this week, so pray that they recover well and that all of us can stay healthy.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support on our behalf. You are a vital part of our ministry and we praise God for you. We will get an update on how the trip went as soon as we can. |
GET INVOLVED
