Prayer Request

A few days ago we found out that some of the tests done on my father-in-law showed that the prostate cancer has now spread to his bones. We would really appreciate your prayers for him and all of Jorge's family. he is still on chemotherapy and even though he has lost some wieght lately, he is in good spirits.

Julian, CA

We finally made our trip to Julian, California, an old gold mining town that nowadays is famous for it's apple pies and old-timey feel. Here's a little blurb about the town from a website:

Julian was founded following the Civil War, when displaced Confederate Veterans from Georgia headed West to seek their fortunes in a new, mostly unsettled land. Among these were cousins Drue Bailey and Mike Julian, who found a lush meadow between Volcan Mountain and the Cuyamacas to their liking. They were there in 1869 when cattleman Fred Coleman found the first flecks of gold in a creek. It was San Diego County's first and only gold rush. The gold rush was short-lived, nearly over within a decade. But the pioneers stayed and began farming the rich land. While many crops were planted and animals pastured, Julian proved to be a fine place to grow apples. Apples continue to be produced in Julian. Their sweet, fresh flavor lures thousands to the mountains each fall, when visitors will find fruit stands overflowing with crisp fruit, homemade cider and other delicacies.

The Miner's Diner, where we had lunch, was the first brick building built in Julian...

Three generations...Mom, MawMaw, Karen.

We took my Grandmother on a little carriage ride/tour through the town and heard some to the interesting history facts about the town...our tour guide was from Ireland and we enjoyed hearing her accent.
You can't go to Julian without having some pie!

Erika's Coming!

This is Erika. She is a Dentist from Cartagena who has been on staff with us in Bocachica for 4 years and started coming to Bocachica as a volunteer even before that! The last 2 years that we were in Ensenada she served on the Leadership Council and also assumed a portion of the Bookkeeping/Banking responsibilities of the ministry. She also leads a discipleship group with the non-Christian teens that live near the mission in Bocachica.

We really wanted her to join us on our visiting tour next month but we had the huge obstacle of her getting a U.S. Visa in front of us! I know we shared about that in some of our recent updates and asked you to pray about it. Well we are so excited because today she had her appointment at the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá and SHE GOT HER VISA!!!!!!!! Now we have the challenge of the finances ahead of us but her getting the visa was a miracle and confirmation that God is in this!! So we know that He'll take care of the rest (do you know that Keith Green song?)

Here's an excerpt of what Erika had to say in her email to me today:

"At the Embassy it was a struggle but God overcame! In the beginning they were questioning me a lot ... they asked me about everything... it seemed impossible but God finally did the miracle. A miracle because humanly it was impossible, I didn't meet any of the requirements and when I think about it, I imagine Caleb and Joshua when they decided to believe God in spite of the things that they saw when they went to spy out the land with the rest of the spys. I left there crying at having seen God give me the victory over what I saw as a giant. Definitely God did all this and I give Him the glory. My faith has really grown through this time. Now we have the challenge of the finances but nothing is impossible for God and He will continue to do miracles."

Yeah!!! Erika is coming!!!

Jorge's Dad

Many of you have been asking about Jorge's dad, Antonio, so I wanted to give you an update. Back in January he had his prostate removed and unfortunately they found it was malignant. On the up side, the additional tests they have done seem to show that the cancer hasn't spread to other organs. However, the doctor has encouraged him to have surgery to remove his testicles. According to the doctor, the testicles produce testosterone which feeds any of the cancer cells that may have been left behind. Jorge's dad has chosen not to have the surgery at this point. It is understandable that this would be a huge step for him and it's not a surprise that he didn't want to go through with it. So, in the meantime he is on chemotherapy that is supposed to eradicate the testosterone...if there are any medical experts reading this, forgive my ignorance if any of this doesn't make sense... I'm repeating what I heard as best as I understand it. We would like to see him have the surgery because this would give him a far better chance of preventing the spread of the cancer but that is a decision only he can make. We pray that God will give him the wisdom and courage to make the right decisions in the right time.