Introduction

Jean and I arrived in Atlanta on October 3^rd and are here for our annual year end visit; we will return to Honduras January 3rd. The main purposes for this visit are to share with as many as possible the great things that the Lord has done through the ministry He has entrusted to us, to visit with our family and friends on a personal level and to raise funds for La Casa De Rubén (LCDR).

Through the wonders of technology, we are staying in touch with everyone in Honduras to encourage, assist and support as needed. While we are away from La Campa and La Casa De Rubén ministry continues so please pray for La Casa De Rubén, the staff as they continue to make things go there on a daily basis, our construction crew as they continue to advance the expansion construction at LCDR, for our patient guests, both current and some new ones who are being received into the house for treatment, for the scholarship students, and for the local pastors and churches we have the pleasure of serving with in ministry.

As always Jean and I are most grateful for your prayers for us and the ministry. Below are a few specific prayer requests and praises that we would like to share with you this month.

• Please pray for the Lord’s favor as we continue to plan the final meetings and visits for the next two weeks.

• Please pray for our van as we are planning to do all of our U.S. travel on the road this year which we are estimating to be some 10,000-15,000 miles. The van has been very reliable and well maintained but it is going on 27 years old and anything can happen. Praise: With some repairs and maintenance that was needed anyway in October the van was road-ready and has served us very well.

• We are praising God for the health that He has given us during our trip as there is so much seasonal sickness going around. There have been some people and family that we’ve not gotten to see as much as we would have liked but the Lord has kept us healthy and able to work and travel as much as we’ve needed.

• We are also told to bring our requests before Him so we are asking you to continue to pray with us for the remaining fundraising needs that we have for La Casa De Rubén for 2023. Our fundraising goal is God-sized but since the need is to accomplish the work God has for us in 2023, we trust Him to provide. Praise: We have raised 60% of the ministry funds we need for 2023!

• Please pray for Jean and me to also have enjoyable time with our families and to find a little time for some much-needed rest as this has been a very good but very stressful year for us. A praise is that we enjoyed a relatively quiet and restful Thanksgiving week. Please pray that we will be able to enjoy the same between Christmas and New Years although we will be packing and organizing in preparation for our return to Honduras on January 3^rd.

• We are praising God for the continued health and improvements of Rubén, Rosalina, Bayron and Yovin-they continue to get stronger, gain more mobility and independence and achieve results greater than expected by us and the doctors. It is a reminder of how great a God we serve when we see the kind of things He has done in these people’s lives.

• We are praising God for opportunities to assist more people with physical disabilities at La Casa De Rubén. Please pray for Nohemy, Seidi, Melvin, Angie and Carlos who are in various stages of the evaluation process and/or waiting for surgery and then physical therapy. Please continue to pray for Abdiel who just began his physical therapy and for Karen, a young woman who, through the mobility transportation part of LCDR is receiving the therapy that she needs to cope with her paralysis. Please pray for Karen to receive funds she needs for a particular medical treatment that will help her cope better with her paralysis.
• Please pray for us and the LCDR staff as we plan the upcoming annual year end shut down so that our staff can enjoy much needed vacations and for our patient guests to enjoy the holidays with their families. Please pray for safe travels for them as they return to their communities, for safety and health while there and for a safe return on January 9^th. Please pray for all of the details that have to be taken care of for the house to be closed and secure during the shutdown.

• There are some with disabilities who do not need to come and stay at La Casa De Rubén but the quality of their lives can be greatly improved with transportation or specialized equipment. Please pray for us to receive donations sufficient for us to purchase a larger mobility bus and for us to find the equipment that some of them need and for the ability to get it back to Honduras when we return. We will be able to share a more detailed praise report on this prayer request very soon.

• Please pray for the continued spiritual growth and development of everyone at La Casa De Rubén. Please pray for Pastor Arturo who has committed to visiting LCDR weekly on Wednesday mornings to share the Word of God with everyone there while we are gone.

• Please continue to pray for all of the students we have in our scholarship program. We are praising God because grades are coming in for the final period this year and the report cards are looking good.

• We are praising God for the new church plant that we have been working on in a small community called Los Positos and that God has provided the funds needed for construction. Please pray for Pastor Jorge (the head of the denomination), Pastor Arnaldo (the pastor of the church in Coalaca), and for Julio (the soon to be pastor of the new church in Los Positos) as the construction of the church building begins and continues.

• Please pray for us as we have discussions about short term mission teams coming in 2023. Please pray for God to move in some new opportunities and for Him to encourage others to return as short-term mission teams have been an important part of our community outreach. Praise: God has been on the move and our discussions and planning for short term mission team ministry for next year have been most fruitful. It is very likely that we will receive teams in 2023 at or near pre-Covid levels. Since God is the One who provides the teams, we will trust Him to provide the strength we need to plan well and host every team with excellence.