Milestones are wonderful to celebrate. We had a sweet milestone to celebrate in our marriage on December 29th: Twenty years of marriage! We thank God for each other and the relationship He has given us and grown us through. As a wonderful way to celebrate this milestone, we were able to get away the first week of January all by ourselves while Rachelle’s parents watched the kids for us. It was a wonderful time of enjoyment of each other and also exploring a new countryside in Argentina. We thank God for this special time we were able to experience. And thank you to many of you, our supporters, who gave extra Christmas gifts that helped pay for this trip and invest in our marriage.

January is Summer Camp season. Bible camp has a special place in our hearts because of decisions made by children and youth during this time apart from the world, concentrating on God and his Word. We were able to participate as a family in two weeks of camp, and took twelve youth and two children to their corresponding camps. Although we had a heat wave one week and a monsoon the next, many decisions were made while there including the salvation of one of our own youth! Please pray for Alvaro, the young man who was saved, and for the rest of our youth to be firm in the spiritual decisions made while there at camp.

Amidst camps, and missionary/pastor retreats we took off for a week up north to go to an ordination of one of Ben’s former seminary students, family vacation, and a visit to one of the missionaries our church supports. It was a whirlwind trip, but a wonderful time as a family we were able to relax but also be a part of the special ordination service and celebration afterward, and then see how the Perdiguero family’s ministry is going in Villa Dolores, Cordoba. Your giving makes it possible for our church to exist and also since our church exists it supports eight missionaries. You have a double investment into the Great Commission as a result!

The end of February we took advantage of a the “Carnaval” holiday here and helped out in a marriage retreat out at camp. We had 5 couples from our church go to spend time with each other and to invest in their marriage. One of our couples, Martin and Carolina (pictured on the left) gave their testimony of how God saved them and restored their marriage. It was a wonderful to see God use them to tell of His grace, when two years ago they were lost and their marriage was in shambles. Please pray the marriages of our church will be strong and serve the Lord together as Joshua 24:15 states. Strong marriages build up strong families, and strong families are essential in building up a strong church.