A Look Back At 2016 - Part One
Dear friends, Merry Christmas from warm and sunny Nicaragua. We are celebrating here this year. Our sons, Abram and Jacob will be joining us in a few days. We will miss the rest of our family, and friends and cool weather but Chris has done an amazing job preparing our home to celebrate Jesus’ birth. In every corner there is something to remind us of His story. Our children love the familiar stories and eagerly accept Christ’s truths in their hearts. Their enthusiasm is contagious and never grows old. As we turn our focus to the Christ child and what His life means for all, our hearts are full of gratitude for all that He has done for us as a family and ministry. A great deal of that gratitude is for you and how God has brought our lives together. We cannot thank you enough for partnering with us and supporting this ministry.
2016 has been a big year for New Life and we see the Lord at work in all of it. Some seasons are coming to an end and new ones beginning. Even when change is uncomfortable, we cannot linger when God moves ahead. But we’ve walked here before, we know what God requires of us, to square our shoulders and live lives of faith. That’s what I want to talk to you about; the three significant changes taking place this year; how they align with each other and establish a foundation for our ministry in the future. I will discuss them in separate letters to avoid having one really long newsletter.
First among the changes and the most personal one, the Mohr family; Tim, Ginger, Isaiah, Thia, Ella and Eliza moved to Nicaragua back in July. Many of you have got to meet them over the last few months and have discovered what we have. How incredibly blessed New Life is to have them as partners and co-laborers. In many ways they represent the future. They have been gifted with compassion toward the Nicaraguan people and a strong desire to have lasting influence. Knowing full well the challenges they face, they move forward confident that the God who called them is also the God who will sustain them. They believe that God will provide for their family according to His riches in glory, not according to the world. We believe that as well. We are so proud of the Mohr’s and their positive attitude. They have positioned themselves for long-term success on the mission field. Their family is well settled, the children are doing great and they are learning the Spanish language. They will probably be giving me lessons before long. Already, they have stepped up and agreed to lead two separate internship programs next summer and I’ve also asked Tim to take the lead working with our architects and engineers. They will have key roles working with short-term teams, in our children’s home and in our community outreach ministries as well. They are such a help to Chris and I and will be taking on more and more responsibilities as time goes by. All in all, we could not be more happy with how they’re doing.
We are missing them like crazy while they are at home in Cincinnati celebrating Christmas with family and friends. I want to strongly encourage you guys to pray for the Mohr’s and support them financially. This time of year is a perfect opportunity to show your appreciation in a tangible way. The Mohr’s are great missionaries and have a promising future but they are depending on you for support. C’mon Cincinnati, we can do this, lets make this a great Christmas for the Mohr’s. Supporting them is supporting the ministry in Nicaragua. Click on the button or the link below to go to their giving page and you can make a deductible donation.
Thank you all so much for everything. We love you and wish you all a very merry Christmas and pray for God’s very best for your family. Part two of this message will be out in a couple of days. We have some really exciting news to share!