Hi to you all, family and friends! No we have not fallen off the face of the earth! We are so grateful that you are taking the time to read this and to keep us in your prayers. There have been many incredible things to write about in this season. It’s really too much info for one newsletter! But we are excited to share and will provide a glimpse into what God is currently doing in our lives. ...

We are excited to announce that we are married! We can’t believe it has been a month already; it has been so awesome! Marriage is such a gift from God and we both can’t wait for all that the LORD has in store. Leading up to the wedding it felt so slow at times, and yet at other times, time was flying! There were many challenges for both of us in our engagement season, lots of difficulties that we did and didn’t anticipate, but the LORD was absolutely enthroned through all of it. We can honestly say that we are grateful for all of the stretching and growing, for all of the various trials by which He has tested our faith and gifted us with perseverance, preparing us for seasons, trials, and victories yet to come, but now… as husband and wife! ...

Hey everyone! It has been a couple months since our last newsletter, and we are really excited to share all the different things that the LORD has lead us into. We are truly grateful for every opportunity that has come about this summer, in regards to missions, ministry, marriage and so much more. One of the biggest things that has been on our hearts in this season is the LORD’s provision; as the world would see, we face a lot of physical challenges as a nearly-married young couple living in Orange County, CA, serving at the church. But the main focus for us has been to fix our eyes upon Him, in every aspect of our lives, both together and individually. Romans 11:36 tells us that, “…of Him and through Him and to Him are all things,”. In this doxology of praise, we are reminded that there is promise, provision, and purpose in the LORD’s will: there is promise that He is sovereign over what we face, there is provision through Him and Him alone, no matter what we face, and He is the purpose for why we face what we face! He is more than worthy. ...

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” ‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬-‭5‬ ‭ Hello, Barek here! We are both so excited to welcome you to our conjoined newsletter. It is wild when we look back to over a year ago; we were communicating through email about CSOM, Araceli as an office admin and myself as a student, looking to set-up this very newsletter account! The same now as He did then, God has plans for us, and we can’t wait to share with you what has taken place the last few months. Thank you again for your prayers, support, and messages of encouragement! ...

It has been a little while since my last newsletter, right before leaving for Southeast Asia; I have been back for a few weeks now and I am excited to share all that has happened! I want to first thank all of you for reading my newsletter, praying, and partnering with me as I continue to seek the Lord and train for full-time missions work. BALI and EAST JAVA Getting to visit these islands in Indonesia, seeing the culture, interacting with those in local ministry, and witnessing the darkness of the dominant religions has altogether left me with quite a lot to process in this season. A lot of people have asked me what I thought of the region, if I feel called or if I want to go back. The one thing I can say for certain is that there is so much spiritual darkness there, and the gospel is needed; Jesus Christ is needed. ...

It’s been too long, but I’m excited to be here writing my first newsletter of 2024! 2023 was a year of God’s faithfulness in ways that I can’t even begin to fully describe, but those of you who know me know this! To think where my heart was, my head was, not more than a year or so ago; all I can say is that God is faithful, so faithful. Missions wasn’t a blip on my radar, let alone all else that has come about. There is a lot going on, so I am eager to share with you all, family, friends, and followers, what His continued faithfulness looks like right now. ...

Hello to you all, family and friends! I’m excited to be in the middle of the holidays, spending more time fellowshipping and thanking God for His grace towards us. Praise God for this country, for our provisions, and for the freedom to fellowship in His name; I pray that these opportunities always point us back to Him, and the greater purpose of love that is always behind His giving and taking away! I haven’t written a newsletter in some time, and as always, there are praises to report and prayer requests. The Lord has given me eyes to see His sovereign hand working all things for His glory, and I’m excited to share these insights with all of you. ...

Hello to all my family and friends! Im excited to be writing this newsletter, and to be sharing the incredibly exciting things that the Lord is doing in my life, post CSOM. I can attest that He has been faithful to continually show me my great need and desire for His constant presence. There have certainly been trials in this season, but I praise and thank Him for them, as they perpetually lead me to understand more and more just how sovereign God truly is. While in an abandoned tower on the Baja beach front, I felt the Lord give me a passage of scripture to work through with Him. The passage, in Genesis 32, is where Jacob becomes Israel, and it has been an awesome reminder as of late. Just as he was given a limp, a thorn in the flesh, with which he had to walk for the rest of his life, that same blow brought him to the place of pure faith in God and God alone to fulfill the promise given to him by God. I pray to welcome the thorns in the flesh as they come, inasmuch as I cease from catching heels and instead have faith in God to fight my battles. ...

6 weeks in Mexico have come and gone, and I’m now at a beach in Baja, California. This past week’s sequence of traveling, lack of sleep, and stomach discomfort are all a blur, and yet there has been solid ground beneath every step I’ve taken; the best thing about that, what I’ll describe as blessed assurance, is that it’s more than a feeling, which is fleeting. To know Jesus Christ is to live, and yet the grace of God does not cease there; as the Son alone knows the Father, we are invited to know the Father, solely by way of the Son. This is amazing grace; this is the infinite (God) reaching down to the finite (you and I). Furthermore, we get to imitate Christ, being His hands and feet in reaching out, inviting the lost to life, and to communion with God. We’re given the privilege of joining in the greatest cause this world has ever known. ...