USA

Well, we are finally on the downhill slope of logistically moving back to the States.  We are living in a townhome that we are grateful to have found.  It has plenty of room and is costing us less than we were thinking we would have to pay for something smaller in this area.  We are close to the B2B office, where I'm working, and to Loveland, where we go to church.  We moved home with just the stuff we could fit in our Suburban (which is more than I thought it would be) but through the generosity of others, we have furnished the entire home and even had some leftovers for a friend of ours.  God is good like that.

Sofia is enrolled in 1st grade and loves her teacher and classmates (one whose family is from Mexico).  Nico is enrolled in a pre-school at a local church 2 mornings a week and loves it as well.  The church, after finding out our situation, agreed to let Nico join his class for the rest of the school year without paying a thing.  Again, God is taking care of us in the midst of a very difficult transition.

To summarize what we've been through in the last 9 months and, in particular, the last couple of months with making the decision to move back to Cincinnati is challenging to say the least.  At times we feel sad, frustrated, angry, disillusioned, confused and a myriad of other emotions.  We have chosen to leave not only our 8 boys (probably for good) who had become a part of our family but also our B2B family there in Monterrey.  Once you get used to living in that type of community it is extremely difficult to leave and be without it.  We miss all of them terribly.  We also miss the adventure of living in another culture.  It was fun and everyday was something new and adventurous.  I must confess that I feel a bit trapped here in the US but I know there's hope.

Although Mandy and I would rather be living in Mexico or some other Spanish speaking place taking care of orphans, we know and believe wholeheartedly that God has not left us.  In fact, we have felt His presence more deeply as we walk through this process.  We believe God is using this time to heal physical and emotional wounds.  He is teaching us things that I'm not sure He would've been able to teach us if it weren't for this process.  I have come to believe that God is always preparing us for what lies ahead.  God knows the desires of our hearts and how He made us.  As we deny and surrender ourselves, He will always use us to bring glory to Himself and to build His Kingdom.  He will do that while we are here in the States and wherever else He chooses to send us.  So, in spite of prefering to be somewhere else and doing something else, we are trusting in God's plan for us and desiring to grow in the areas of our lives that God is pressing into. 

I love my Father and know that He is always good. I know that suffering is a part of our journey here on Earth but I also know that Jesus' resurrection gives us hope that God not only overcomes all those things but redeems them as well so that He will be glorified.  At the end of the day, that's all I want.  Be glorified in our lives, Father.