June 2007

Well it seems we have lost track of time. I wrote this update a few weeks ago, but it didn’t get sent right away and then we left for the States!  We are in Colorado now, and have been here just over a week.  It’s so good to be home!  Our trip up here was far more eventful than we like (why do our bags get lost every single time we fly from one country to the next??) but we made it and are grateful to be back.  Nathan started his summer job today and we will be moving into an apartment here in Denver tomorrow.  God has provided cars, apartment, job, temporary sleeping arrangements, etc… all in ways that we were not expecting at all!  He really has supplied all our needs thus far.

The first part of June, we had a young man come to stay with us from Zoque territory. Amin is 22 yrs old, and came back with Nathan to work on translating new Biblical materials. In the process, he was talking to Joel (our dear friend that we mentioned in last month’s e-mail) about the text they were translating and Joel explained God’s plan for salvation for each of us.  We were excited to hear that Amin accepted Jesus as his Savior that night and we were all amazed to see the change that started happening in him over the next few days.  If you think of this brand new believer, please pray that he will keep growing even when he’s back in his village and not surrounded by other believers. He has very little to rely on for spiritual instruction or encouragement.

As of the week before last, Nathan is finished with his project in San Fernando !  He spent quite a bit of time there last month, as he really wanted it to be completed before we left for the States.  He ended up being the electrician, plumber and general contractor for the house.  Being the general contractor on the job also meant that Nathan was able to hire Joel to work for him.  That was a big boost for Joel who left behind a good sized slice of his income to work on ministry projects with us. Please pray that Joel will be able to find a source of income that will allow him to continue ministry and yet provide for his needs.

Also in June, we were excited to welcome a temporary addition to the workforce!  Sarah Hooley came down on a short-term mission trip last April, and decided to return for an indefinite amount of time.  She is SUCH a doll and we’re so excited to have her with us.  She’s been helping up in the office a lot, but we get to see her on weekends and evenings.  Cloe has already become quite attached to “Miss Sarah” and wants to make sure she is involved in every family event.

Now we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Gabriella Joy (or Baby Gabi, as we often refer to her) which is supposedly about 5 weeks away now.  Though it’s hard to imagine that I could keep getting bigger for that long.  Cloe is already SO precious to her baby sister… it melts my heart!  She hugs my belly, sings songs to Gabi, etc.  All of us are anxious for her to be on the outside where we can kiss on her!  We’ll send you a note and picture when she makes her appearance.  Yes, I did finally get a registry created at Target.com for the few things we are lacking… thanks to those of you who kept reminding me!  Other than a birth-announcement e-mail, you probably won’t hear from us again until we get settled back in to Mexico after this trip.  We’re planning on being back in San Cristobal (though the “how” of that is still sortof undecided) the first of October.  We hope you will keep in touch this summer.  Below is all of our contact info for the next 3 months.

Nathan, Steve and Mark are planning a short return trip in August. We will let you know how that pans out.

Much love, and God bless! Julie (for Nathan, Cloe, and Gabi too!)

P.O. Box 470726

Aurora , CO

80047

(719) 289-2607