His Love is Extravagent.... 
 

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10

Greetings and Happy New Year!  It has been quite a while since our last communication, but that does not mean that God has not been on the move in our family. As many of you know, we officially arrived in Houston in late November so that we could pursue preventative treatment for the melanoma that was removed from David’s leg last September. This move has brought a lot of change to our family and our ministry, but yet looking at these last few months we can only give praise to the Father for His faithfulness and love!  He has been so good to us and has already done things that we never saw coming.

Housing
One of our first miracles was finding a place to live and getting it furnished. We initially ended up staying a few weeks in a trailer home that had been renovated for us. There were also a flurry of donations that helped us not only furnish the place, but also have all the odds and ends we needed to cook, clean, and live. Though our stay there was not long, it was a huge blessing and a huge part of us getting to the place that God had prepared for us. We are now staying in a 2 bedroom duplex in a cute and peaceful neighborhood that we know God was setting aside for us. 

Job & Ministry
At the same time that we were moving into the duplex, David also started a job as an outside sales rep for Brinks Home Security. Initially, this was a big challenge for him after having lived and served in a “Christian Bubble” for the last 15 years. But it did not take long for him to see his place in this company was not only to make a little money to pay bills, but to shine His light in the workplace and the homes of many people in the Houston area. Because it is a door to door position, he finds himself daily in the homes of many people, many of which speak spanish. Of course, that always strikes conversation as to how this gringo learned spanish which in turn opens the door for him to share about the cancer, Guatemala, and how God has made the impossible possible. This then leads to David being able to not only get them the home security system they desire, but also pray with them and encourage them as well.

Serving the Local Church
In the midst of work, we are also getting the opportunity to serve our home church on a practical level. For many years, Living Branch Church has been our home and has stood beside us in our ministry in Guatemala. Now we feel it is our turn to pour into our “home”. Juli is currently a part of the worship team as well as teaching once a month in the children’s ministry. Meanwhile David is currently a part of the Wednesday night service rotation to teach and equip the body! We were also involved over Christmas in the church’s yearly Christmas outreach to the homeless.

Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy
This past Friday, David finally went through the very procedure that brought us to the US to begin with. A Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy is an operation where they use radioactive tracers to discover the lymph node roots that the part of the leg that had the melanoma drained to. They then take out the sentinels as well as 1 or 2 nearby. In total, they took 6 lymph nodes out of his leg and we are now awaiting results. The results will determine if further treatment is necessary and which kind of treatment as well. Please continue praying for my recovery from the operation as well as accurate and favorable results.

Prayers Appreciated
As we await results from pathology, we want to invite you to continue praying for us. Pray for us to continue to have favor in all that we are doing and for effectiveness in ministering in the new circles of influence God has given us. Pray also for favor in David’s job and for a continual increase in His provison.