Rough and Tough

I know I promised you an article about the new program we plan to start in the spring but our attention has been diverted by some other things lately. First of all, my mom's condition continues to worsen and we are adapting to the many changes Alzheimer's brings with it daily. She really can't do much of anything for herself now and requires constant attention, even on a good day. She has also been losing weight at a rather alarming rate so we are having tests run to see what might be causing that.

Ben decided to get in on the doctor's visits by falling flat on his face while playing in the bed of a friend's truck. It didn't bruise very much at all the first day but we knew the next morning he may have broken it so we took him for an x-ray. You know how a close up picture makes your nose look bigger? Well, this one wasn't taken from close range: 

He was a good sport about the whole thing, even when he bumped it two more times over the next few days and made it bleed all over again. We had to wait all that time for the swelling to go down so the doctor could see if there was any permanent damage. Ben said he thought his nose looked cool and drew a self portrait to commemorate:

We went for the follow-up visit today and received very good news. There is no fracture--only severe bruising--and the crookedness is apparently just from the swelling. I took this photo today to show you how much better he looks. As you can see, he still wants to get a bit more mileage out of his super awesome injury. 

We're thankful that Ben is fine and hope our other two don't perform any attention-getting stunts in the near future.

We Are Still Missionaries

Many of you have asked what we plan to do now that we're back in Texas. The simple answer to that is mission work. Since our conversions sixteen years ago, God has taken us across the country, across an ocean and back again, making disciples at every stop. We now find ourselves in my hometown taking care of my mother who has a terminal disease. As we grieve the gradual loss of the mother and grandmother we've always known to Alzheimer's, we are grateful to be found worthy of such an assignment.

Due to a tough economy we have also lost our main sponsor but not our focus to reach the lost. John is preparing to begin a non-profit after school athletic program in January in an effort to serve the community and make a living for our family. We're reminded of the apostle Paul making tents to pay for his ministry at times. If you've kept up with our travels over the years you probably don't expect this to be our last stop and we don't either. (Perhaps we'll even go back to Brazil some day.) I don't know exactly what God has in store for our family but I do know that we have been called to be missionaries and we will teach His truths wherever we go. If you would like to partner with us in this, your contributions will go toward the non-profit organization--I'll tell you all about it in my next post--which will provide an income for our family. Every dollar you send is less time making tents and more time making disciples.