Calle 5 #14-32
La Mesa, Colombia
aaronlaurak@gmail.com
Changes in the New Year
Dear family and friends,
Hello from beautiful and balmy La Mesa! The last time you heard from us we were surrounded by family and the bustle of Christmas and Joanna's wedding. We can't say enough about the wonderful time we had in the States and how good it felt to reconnect with many of you again.
We had a safe and uneventful flight back to Colombia on January 9th. We were pleasantly surprised to see that coming back to La Mesa also felt like "coming home". We enjoyed walking the familiar streets, seeing the same friendly shopkeepers and sharing with our friends here about our Christmas. We struggled a little with loneliness in the evenings after having weeks on end with family and friends constantly with us.
But now we are in high gear again! Classes started at the Colegio two weeks ago and we have been adjusting to having very full days. This year Aaron is teaching full classes, with 35-45 students per class. He has grades 6-11 once a week for English, and is also teaching Religion grades 6-8. The Religion classes are new for him this year, and he's enjoying the challenge.
On top of the teaching load, Aaron is also taking an EMS online course called "Anabaptism Today". His head's been buried in John Howard Yoder and Stanley Hauerwas writings. He's finding the reading and writing and online discussion invigorating.
The La Mesa Mennonite Church is currently undergoing a pastoral transition. Jaime and Mitzi and their three children recently made the long trip from Barranquilla (a coastal city) to assume the pastorate here. We enjoyed meeting them when we visited the Barranquilla Mennonite Church last July and were excited when they applied for this position. Tomorrow will be his first official Sunday preaching. We are hopeful that the transition will go smoothly at the church. Please keep them and the congregation in your prayers.
Martin and Elsy continue to be our very good friends. They moved out of the parsonage a week and a half ago to a house about 3 blocks away from ours. Elsy cares for Abby while Laura is at the Colegio. Abby always loves to go to their house and comes home with a head full of Spanish vocabulary. Martin is using this time to do more intensive planning for the church project in Anapoima. He will be traveling down there at least 3 times a week to minister and work with the people there. We will be accompanying them about twice a month, visiting the families, giving Bible lessons to the children, and helping with community health projects. The entire González family is at peace with this transition and is excited about this new phase in their lives. It is, of course, one more thing you can be praying for.
Another very exciting piece of news: We are expecting another baby! Laura is currently 10 weeks pregnant, and all is going very well. The due date is September 7th. We had our first appointment in Bogota about 3 weeks ago, and saw the little heartbeat in the ultrasound. What a miracle! And a relief! After our miscarriage in September we naturally felt more worried about everything this time around. But only two more weeks and we are out of the first trimester and we can breathe a little easier. Please keep us and the little one in your prayers. This time we decided to go to Bogota to an physician recommended to us by Bonnie Klassen, the MCC country representative. He delivered her boy a year and a half ago. Well, we came away from his private office feeling so good about that decision! He is warm, caring, intelligent, and wants to make this pregnancy and birth the best experience for us possible. In a country where there is a 80% cesarean rate in some hospitals and clinics, this cannot be taken for granted!
We enjoy hearing from you and eagerly receive your letters and e-mails. We have not taken many pictures yet this year, but plan to do that soon. We'll let you know as soon as we post some new ones.
Grace and peace,
Laura, Aaron & Abigail