Autumn Drive!

We enjoyed cooler fall weather – and wonderfully warm fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. We’re now once again “sojourning” in SC after encouraging meetings in VA and PA.

 

An added bonus on this latest trip was driving the Skyline Drive and part of the Blue Ridge Parkway on the way back. We enjoyed amazing fall color and saw two black bears and lots of deer: 7 on one day and 21 on the next.

 

Views of the Shenandoah Valley were incredible!

 

Fall foliage was on display everywhere!

 

We drove through various changes in climate!

Rows upon rows of mountains stretched to the horizon.

See the black bear – disappearing into the woods? 

What a lovely time of year for such a drive!

Fall is definitely our favorite season!

A typical shot of our Little Lady in motion:

Her feet aren’t even touching the ground! 

Lovin’ freedom, sunshine, sticks, and leaves!

The does and fawns were so tame... 

Look at the detail on her face and ears!

(What a marvelous Creator she has!)

 

We caught just a glimpse of the famous Mabry Mill at twilight!

A life of travel with two little people in tow definitely has its challenges. (That’s actually an understatement!) But opportunities like these remind us that we have much to be thankful for!

Keep praying...

Read our latest report for specific requests and updates.

 

Pray for us as we continue preparations for a move to Uruguay. God is faithful; we are trusting His perfect timing and provision.

We were encouraged by a conference near Chicago.

 

Elizabeth sang with her grandparents at a retreat!

Pray for us!

Read our summer report for specific updates and requests.

 

We found the “Uruguayan Sun” in Ogden Valley, UT!

Surprising comfort...

He seemed to know exactly how to comfort that night – the night of August 10, that would have been Jona’s 18th birthday. As he cuddled in my arms he opened his eyes, looked right into my eyes, smiled until he dimpled, and said: “Jonatá!” I was amazed; our Little Man seemed to have read my mind, right then full of memories of Jona.

 

“DJ” (as Jona called our Little Man) was most likely thinking back to earlier that day when he sat on  my lap at the computer, looking through lots and lots of Jona pictures with Elizabeth and me as I compiled a collage to commemorate Jona’s birthday.

Up until that evening all our Little Man’s attempts to say “Jona” had for months been “Nana” (interesingly also his word for sweet things!) and then more recently “Nona” – but earlier on that evening of Jona’s birthday he had said “Jonatá!” for the first time. And he had even cooperated so we could get a video clip:

 

As he lay in my arms that night, his saying “Jonatá!” – so happily, confident that he was going to make me happy by doing it – was a blessing beyond description. Our loving Heavenly Father knew that we needed the extra special timing of it...

 

The eternal God is your refuge,
And underneath are the everlasting arms...

(Deut. 33:27)

Jona’s Birthday

Today would have been Jona’s 18th birthday...

It’s hard to know what to write...

So many precious memories...

Please continue to pray for Jona’s family – especially for his mom and dad and Marcos.

We know God is faithful; we continue to rest in His truth.

Jesus said:

I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?

(John 11)

Trying to catch up – again!

I found it amusing that when I typed “sonidos serranos blog” into the search bar, the first entry that showed up was one from late summer last year entitled “Trying to catch up...” (Sigh...) That seems to be the story of my life these days...

We’re temporarily back (again) in the Upstate – trying to adjust to the humidity as we work on organizing our belongings with a view toward a permanent move to Uruguay!

You can read our spring ministry report on our ministry blog. Overall, we remain encouraged in this stage of ministry God is giving us among North American churches. Do pray for us!

Elizabeth finished kindergarten on May 25, and we have since begun homeschooling her first-grade studies. A strength of her early elementary school experience continues to be geography! Please continue to pray that our children would faithfully follow Jesus.

Our most recent travels took us back to The West! We logged over 7K miles (i.e. spent many, many hours in the car!) and had some “bonus” educational and memory-making times as a family as well. Internet time tended to be limited for me, but I am planning to do some catch-up posts...

Thank-you for reading – and, most of all, for continuing to pray for our extended family. Random moments are often hardest...

In the spirit of catching up, here are some recent family snapshots:

Celebrating 13 years of marriage on July 16!

JM just finished an intense two weeks of D.Min. classes today, so he’s planning a “real date” for later. Meanwhile we managed to squeeze in a family outing to our favorite little restaurant, The Pita House. And, yes! DJM really is trying a sip of very strong Arabic coffee! He loved it – just like his sister did (but she was slightly older).

Celebrando el 18 de julio... ¡Viva Uruguay!

Celebrating our multi-cultural Little People!

We love ’em – lots and lots and lots!

Elizabeth is turning into an avid reader. As you might guess, DJM can be mischief personified! He loves to try to do whatever she’s doing; that’s his latest artwork in the background.

"Welcome, Spring!"

We’re enjoying late spring now – with currently cooler evening temperatures after recent rains. But we’ve already had some hot “summer” days and nights, too. And we’re still not sure we ever got any real winter weather here in the Upstate...

At any rate, we’ve been enjoying the flowers all around us – and especially in our own yard!

First came the crocus and daffodils:

Elizabeth was inspired to send a picture she drew to a children’s magazine. She received a nice letter of recognition in response. If the editors decide to publish her drawing, we were told that they’ll send us two copies of the magazine. Either way, the experience has already been exciting!

"Welcome, Spring!"

We also enjoyed the camelia and hawthorne and iris and roses – all of them wonderful reminders of our amazing Creator!

“You are worthy, O Lord,

To receive glory and honor and power;

For You created all things,

And by Your will they exist and were created.”

(Revelation 4)