December Update

2009 has been a year of tremendous blessing amongst the challenges of life and ministry in Fiji. We are thankful for you, our friends and supporters. We are thankful for the opportunities we've had for ministry and growth this year. And we are looking forward to what God has for us in 2010!

This update is sent to you from the USA! We're spending time with family over the Christmas season and are enjoying it so much. Read on for more news . . .

Finishing up the Year in Fiji:

Before we left Fiji, Ray was keeping very busy with ongoing construction and development at Momi Bay. The project has officially been registered as "Agape Farms," a partnership between SI and the owner of the property. We've been rushing to finish the electricity, plumbing, etc. at Momi so that a Fijian pastor and his family can move in and begin outreach to the community. They have just graduated from Bible school and will be moving in this month!

Last month we were able to celebrate Thanksgiving with some other missionaries. We really enjoyed the fellowship. We also were able to attend a missionary retreat /conference earlier in November.

The first week of December, we were happy to attend the wedding of Evelyn Mani. The Manis have been friends of ours for the past 9 years in Fiji. Eden was a beautiful flower girl!

Our Travels:

We flew to LA on Dec. 6 and spent a week in CA, splitting our time between SI, friends, and family. It was a fun and busy time!

Currently we're enjoying time with Ray's family in Florida. His parents just moved here a couple of weeks ago, so they're still settling in. It's been nice to just be with them. We also were able to go to Disney World one day! The girls just loved it--they're at the perfect age to experience that wide-eyed wonder.

(We'll be back in CA again at the end of January. If any of you are in the Visalia area, we're planning a get-together the evening of the 27th before we fly back to Fiji. Email us for details if you can come!)

Family Corner:

We are so enjoying baby Isla Grace! She is very contented and peaceful! Even in the midst of all this travel and transition, she's only had a couple of fussy nights. She brings us all so much joy with her sweet smiles and snuggles.

Eden and Elani are enjoying time with grandparents (and all the "spoiling" that goes along with that)! Elani has had a hard time with the transition (she's been very fussy), but she is gradually doing better.

We're all enjoying this time in the USA but are also missing Fiji! We have a house-sitter at our house in Fiji and are thankful that he's caring for the place and the pets (this week he's been picking up the debris after the recent cyclone). Please pray for Zachary as he volunteers his time at the local orphanage and "holds down the fort" in our absence!