So much has been happening since our last update! Here is the abbreviated version:

FAMILY

If you have not yet heard, we are going to become grandparents any day now! Brian & Brittany are expecting a baby boy – Joshua Brian – on March 17th! We are super excited for them. Brittany has been continuing with her job at Chik-fil-A in California. In January, Brian was ordained as an Assistant Pastor at their church, Calvary Chapel Playas de Tijuana. We’re super proud of him and excited to see what the Lord has in store for him in the future!

William will be graduating from high school in May. He is currently doing a four-month internship, serving in the Communications Department at a large church in southern California. His work is related to graphic design, which is one of the options he has considered as a career. Please keep him in your prayers as he gets ready to graduate and make some major life decisions.

Our family had the opportunity to take a few weeks at the beginning of the year to visit with the majority of our supporters. We are so thankful to everyone that has partnered with us in prayer, as well as financially. We know that none of this would be possible without you. We are humbled and more grateful than you could ever know!

We also had the privilege of attending the weddings of two of our nieces and nephews at the end of last year. The fourth grandchild on Ron’s side of the family to marry was Emily, in Topeka, Kansas. The second grandchild on Kristy’s side of the family to marry was Matthew, who was married in Chicago, Illinois. We enjoyed sharing their special day and spending some time with family. 

MINISTRY & THE CORONAVIRUS

We are in the process of getting ready for our spring teams! We will have a couple of months where we have at least one team every week. It will be very busy, but we are looking forward to it! We have completed several smaller projects on the 2nd floor covered patio. This includes installing windows, stuccoing a wall, finishing electrical, painting, and relocating the snack shop. We also widened the lower outdoor staircase and added some new railings.

We have had some teams questioning the traveling situation because of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The fact is that there are no travel warnings at this time to travel into Mexico, nor is there any concern right now for the closing of the border crossing. There are only 7 cases as of today in the whole country, while there are 1,010 in the United States. You can click here to see what the Center for Disease Control has to say about travel & prevention of the Coronavirus. 

SUMMER INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY

This will be our third summer offering an internship program for young adults. It’s perfect for anyone considering full-time ministry or missions, Bible college students, or other young people who feel led to serve and deepen their relationship with Christ. Click here for dates and for more information, or contact Kristy if you are interested.

CONNECTIONS HOUSE

The 3rd floor expansion project has really taken off! You can see a short video of the progress made in 2019 here. The exterior of the building is completely finished, except for the installation of the doors. All of the interior metal studs are installed, the plumbing is done, and the floor is poured in the bathrooms. Lord willing, we will have a team at the beginning of April coming to install the insulation and drywall. In the meantime, we mostly just have a little bit of sheeting to install and all the electrical in preparation for their arrival. We are a little short in funds and time, but we believe by faith it will get done. Of the $3,500 needed for this part of the project, we only need about $800 to finish it up.

Here’s a quick look at the budget needed to complete the entire project. The previous amounts needed as of February 2019 are on the right. Over 95% of what has gone into the building so far has been donated:
$0 – Railings ($2,400)
$0 – Block Walls ($4,000)
$13,000 – Occupancy: Materials for doors, ceiling, bathroom fixtures, lighting, etc. ($40,000)
$1,800 – Cabinets & Kitchen Prep Tables ($1,800)
$4,600 – Kitchen Equipment ($4,600)
$3,000 – Dining Furniture ($3,000)
$6,000 – Tile ($6,000)
$28,400 – TOTAL ($61,800)

We’ll leave you with a few photos of the new kitchen/dining room building. We praise God, first and foremost for the progress, but we also give a huge thank you to so many of you as well!! God bless!