2023 has arrived! It is unbelievable to say this, but this is the beginning of our 10th year of full time ministry with Solid Rock International. In some ways it seems like a long time, but then it feels like we just got here yesterday. Our roles have changed over the years, but that has allowed us a better understanding of the full scope of ministry that SRI provides. We enjoy catching up with our ministry partners and living life in the San Juan community! This year has a lot of exciting events in store.

In February, Braegan turns 10! It’s hard to believe she’s approaching double digits! She is growing up so fast, and a lot of the team members can’t believe how tall she is getting.

In March, our family will spend a week in Atlanta, Georgia celebrating Jeff’s parent’s 40th anniversary and his mom’s 65th birthday.

Following that celebration we will return to the DR for the dedication ceremony of the new clinic. This has been a dream in the making. We are anticipating close to 100 people flying in for the ceremony. I still remember ground breaking in 2014!

In July, Jeff and I celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary, we have plans to travel to Italy at the end of the summer to celebrate. We have already started mapping out the places we want to visit. We celebrated our 10 year anniversary there as well, so we are looking forward to visiting some of the same spots but also new places too.

December wrapped up well, we hosted a team from Southern Utah University the week before Christmas. We enjoyed a cookie decorating contest and visiting the Christmas lights in the center of town with them.

We spent Christmas Eve (Noche Buena) at Monchy’s house with his family. There was so much food! When we got home for bed our neighbors set off fireworks at 11:30 pm, so that made for a very late night. The kids enjoyed the show.

We spent Christmas morning at home with the kids opening gifts and playing.

We surprised the kids with a trip to the states to visit Jeff’s family from December 26-January 4 (Alabama and Tennessee). We told them on Christmas Eve. We weren’t expecting to see any snow, but on the day we landed the kids were able to have a snowball fight and build a little snowman before it all melted away the next day. Our initial week was spent in Alabama with Jeff’s parents. We played games, went shopping, explored a museum, and watched football.

One night we prepared empanadas and tostones for dinner.

Following our time in Alabama we drove to Nolensville, TN to visit Jeff’s sister and her family for a few days. The kids enjoyed their time with their cousins!

We arrived back to San Juan on January 5 and our first team of the year arrived on January 7. We have 6 weeks of teams until our next break. The kids returned back to school this week, so we are getting back into a routine.

We are excited for all that God has in store for this new year, and we are reminded that HE goes before us and we need only to trust HIM.

Prayer requests for our family:

• health and safety
• ministry ahead in 2023
• our staff