After 15 years of marriage, we are excited to share with you that we are now parents! Our daughter, Breanna Mercy Gaona was born on Friday, July 10, 2015 at 11:58 p.m. After a long labor that spanned several days (50+ hours), she finally entered the world weighing 7 lbs 9 oz and was 21 inches long. We are so thankful for all of your prayers, which were answered, as she is healthy and beautiful. ...
We celebrated the life of Bud (Heather’s dad) in March after he ended his battle with cancer. We then determined that it was best for Bond to return to Nepal to continue ministry and I would stay in Southern California for the remainder of the spring. There was much to take care of stateside with the remaining affairs and paperwork that had to be taken care of after losing both of my parents over the past 8 months. ...
In July 2014, my dad (Bud) was diagnosed with Leukemia. Doctors shared that it was a fast moving cancer, but they seemed optimistic early on about getting his cancer into remission and we knew that with God all things are possible! Over the course of the past 8 months, Bud spent 150+ days in the hospital and went through 5 rounds of intense chemo. As long as doctors gave him treatment options, he took the opportunity and fought hard. During this time, we had many heart to heart conversations, went on walks, spent much time praying together, shared with him that we were pregnant and had many celebratory dinners when he was be released from the hospital. ...
It was wonderful to spend Christmas and New Year’s in the states with our family and friends. The main reason we were glad to be home was to spend time with Heather’s dad (Bud) who continues to battle cancer. He remains hospitalized and is recovering from a fifth round of chemo and we continue to pray for a miracle. It was also great to have opportunities to share at several churches, attend and teach at conferences and tell many about the amazing things the Lord is doing throughout Asia and Africa. We felt welcomed and overwhelmingly loved by so many of you who faithfully pray and support us in ministry. ...
It is hard to believe that we have now completed our third year serving with Saving Grace World Missions and Promise Child. It would not have been possible without you, our faithful partners who have supported us and the ministry financially, prayerfully and with much encouragement. You have cheered us on as we have spanned Asia and Africa several times over. As we spent Thanksgiving in India, we set aside time to thank God for each one of you in our payers as we often do. May the Lord bless you for your generosity and sacrifice! ...
After two months of serving apart (Bond in Nepal and Heather in So. CA), we were reunited at the airport in India earlier this month. We broke the unwritten cultural rule in India with our public display of affection…sorry we just couldn’t help it! We weren’t given much time, as we were reunited on a Sunday afternoon and we were scheduled to start teaching the following day at a conference. ...
“Where in the world are Bond and Heather?” you might be wondering. It has been a different season for us, and the first time we are sending an update from both here and abroad. Bond is in Nepal and has been teaching and ministering there since early August. I am in So. California and have been working for the ministries that we partner with as well as caring for my dad (Bud) as he battles cancer. Last week, we received good news from the doctor that my dad is improving and the recent chemo treatment worked. There is still some leukemia remaining (less than 10%) and the doctor will monitor him on a monthly basis, but overall he is feeling good. Please continue to pray for Bud’s complete physical healing from the cancer and for emotional strength to move forward without my mom here. With this recent news and my dads blessing, I will be flying to India on October 10th and Bond will travel from Nepal to meet me there. We celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary this month and cannot wait to be reunited after two months apart. Serving the Lord together this fall in India never sounded so good! ...
Storms in the Summer This summer has been a season of storms with the waves seeming to crash down one after another. Heather’s mom Janice went to be with the Lord on June 24th. One week later her dad Bud was taken to the emergency room complaining of pain under his arm. On July 1st he was admitted at the same hospital where our family had walked out a week prior thinking we would never return there again. He was diagnosed with Acute Leukemia shortly after and has remained hospitalized since that time. ...
Dear Family, Friends and Partners in Ministry, We returned from Nepal in the end of May and immediately went to visit my mom Janice who had been in and out of the hospital and skilled nursing rehab facilities since breaking her leg in three places back in February. In mid-June it became apparent that her health was drastically declining and we began looking into long term care options. In the process, she became more ill, got another infection, was not eating much and was readmitted to the hospital on June 19. The following day the doctor recommended hospice as her body had already begun shutting down and there was nothing else that could medically be done for her. ...
Dear Family and Friends, As we waited to move into the new campus in the capital city of Kathmandu, Nepal there was an open door for Bond, Ryan and Efrain to spend a week in the mountains in a rural village. It started with a 6-hour van ride followed by a two-hour hike with only their backpacks on. A brother from the East Coast shared that he had 30 pastors and leaders in a remote area, but had been unable to travel to teach them as much as he would like. It made for a wonderful opportunity to go and teach through the book of Acts and highlight how the early church shared the Gospel preaching wherever they went! ...