I pray you have had a blessed year in the service of our King. We have been truly blessed and give thanks to our God.
Please welcome and pray for Ashleigh Mendoza as your new sister in Christ. She obeyed the gospel in the irrigation canal just north of the building we meet in, which is called “Canalside.” It was pretty chilly, but didn’t have to break any ice and Brother Matt did the honors of helping Ashleigh into Christ.
The first couple of days of the month three brothers came out from Tennessee to help us look for a more permanent place to meet. This was a big help & I am so thankful for their sacrifice to come out. It was good to have so much experience and wisdom. Right now, we are in the process of negotiating a price that will hopefully work for us at a business office park. It is located in the area we would like to be in. Lord willing, this will be accomplished by the next newsletter.
December is always full of family activities and fun memories. My parents came out several days for Christmas. Grandparents are wonderful and family bonds grow stronger during this time of the year. The kids enjoyed opening their gifts as well as the adults. My mom was also able to come out a week early and go to Zoo Lights as well as the girls’ volleyball games. There were several families from the church that went with us to the zoo. It wasn’t too cold, so everyone seemed to have a good time in admiring the beautiful abundance of lights.
Divine and the kids worked really hard on baking and putting together Christmas cards and care packages. It is a blessing to share with friends, loved ones and neighbors. We were grateful that Juan, Shelly and her two daughters Ashleigh (mentioned above) and Sheleigh could join us for our Christmas dinner.
Shelly became a Christian about 5 years ago in Kayenta. Shelly and three of her older kids have all now moved down to Phoenix. Shelly lives quite a ways from us, so she attends the Eastside church of Christ. It is amazing how God has worked through this mother and now we are seeing her children coming to follow Christ as well.
For New Year’s Eve we had Bible study and let the kids stay up until 12:01 and then we all went to bed. Nothing too exciting, but what we are excited about is this upcoming year. Only God knows and we pray that the church can continue to grow and bring much glory to His Holy Name!
We pray that your holidays were filled with time spent with loved ones and packed with great memories! We want to thank all of you for your continued love, prayers and support of us and the work here in Phoenix as we try to reach out to the precious Native American people. God bless!