It has been a great holiday season for us all and we hope that you and yours had a wonderful time as well. We were so blessed to get that much more time with our families. We have been praying for the Lord to open doors and get us to Spain but have realized that we were needed here and His plan has kept us here in Arizona a little longer than originally planned.
My dad (Karen’s) has continued to decline in health and all the family is praying that God’s will would be done, even though he would be terribly missed! Jeremy’s mom has had surprise surgeries and being here to help her through her recovery has been a blessing to her as well as us. We have helped my (Karen’s) mom to get ready for winter and basic household repairs as well. We stood in as Karen’s mom and dad could not, at the funeral of her Uncle Ed and were honored to do so. It is nice to be needed!
We had been homeschooling our kiddos as it seemed the best thing with them already enrolled in school in Granada, Spain, BUT boy it was not easy! I so respect the families that can make that work, for us it was stressful! This last Monday we toured 3 schools in our area hoping to get the kids into a school. They needed a break from us, if we are being honest, and a chance to be with other kids. We found a wonderful school that will work with them as long as we are here and will work with them on their level. It is an Arizona Charter School called Jefferson Academy and they pride themselves on individual learning to meet the kids where they are and help them advance as quickly as they can. This is perfect for Noah and Belén since most of their education has always been in Spanish. They are ahead in math (once they really learning the terms in English it will be even better for them) but with English grammar they are a little behind. Their teachers are amazing and it is only the first week! We love it as the only thing we needed were uniform shirts, no supplies or anything else, it is all covered by the school itself! Noah was ecstatic as the day before they started another little boy started, he only speaks Spanish. Arizona is a non-bilingual state, meaning they only teach in English so if you do not know English you have to sink or swim! The teachers were happy to think Noah might be in their class and could help out as they do not speak Spanish either so there was no communication! Noah was all ready to help out and excited to speak Spanish again with a peer! The first day (Tuesday) Noah came home so happy, “Brayan and I did not understand our work so we worked together and figured it out!”
We were happy to get the kids in school but with many mixed emotions especially since that same Monday morning as we toured school we received a very important email! We FINALLY have our Visa appointment with the Spanish Consulate!! We covet your prayers as we go the 25th of January and are really wanting to get to Spain! Please pray with us for favor and a speedy response for our Visas so that we can get back to the job we love, ministering to and serving people!
It has been wonderful to see all the things that God has put in front of us these last 6 months and opportunities to minister and help family. He always knows what He is doing, even when we question Him. If we have learned anything it is that His timing is perfect and He is never late!!
