NCA Triathlon

On Saturday, January 21, NCA hosted its second annual mini-triathlon. The race consisted of a 200-meter swim, a 10-kilometer bike ride and a 5-kilometer run. About 70 students, teachers, parents and friends of NCA participated in the race, which was held in two separate heats.

Students and teachers trained together for several weeks before the race. The primary purpose of the event was to build community, and it was a complete success! An estimated 200 parents, siblings and friends of the contenders came out to cheer them on. Liam participated and was proud to still be able to beat all of the students, with a third place finish and a time of 1:05. The winner of the race? Second-time champion Joel Kleinsasser, high school science teacher, with a time of 51 min 48 sec.

Answered Prayers!

The past few months have been full of surprises and changes for us as a family. In December we headed to the United States to spend Christmas with our families, which we had not done in three years. The boys enjoyed the little bit of snow they saw, Belen took advantage of the carpet to learn how to walk, and we all enjoyed spending Christmas with family in the cold weather.

During our Christmas vacation we also shared with our families the biggest surprise that has happened to our family recently, and that was finding out in October that we are expecting another baby! He or she will be born near the end of June. Although it was a surprise to us, we know that God has planned our family from the beginning, and it was not a surprise to Him. We were thankful for that as we began looking at both our finances and our current vehicle, realizing that although we were not going to fit a family of six in our car, we also were not going to be able to buy a new vehicle without His provision. It has been amazing to see Him work!

First, we quickly found out that a family from NCA was selling their 12 passenger van, only 3 years old, at a very good price. Although we still didn’t have the money, we started thinking about it as a possibility. In the second week of January, Liam talked to the family about giving them a down payment and continuing to make payments over a few months, and they generously agreed. The very next day, we got our statement from Christian Reformed World Missions that informed us how much support had been received from the previous month. As we are partner missionaries with CRWM, our support varies monthly based on how much comes in for us. We were blown away by God’s provision and the generosity of so many of you, as we saw that our support for the month of December was easily three times that of an average month. The majority of the people who gave had no idea we would need to buy this van, but God knew, and that was enough! We are so thankful for His control and sovereignty in our lives.

So, today we drove home our new van, and in four and a half short months, we will welcome home our fourth child. We are excited and thankful for answered prayers.

Busy Busy Busy

Liam is feeling the pressures of many demands on his time this semester. In addition to normal responsibilities, this semester is full of retreats, field trips and a week-long trip to Panama for HACIA Democracy. And as of two weeks ago, our elementary principal is now on maternity leave and Liam has assumed her supervision duties and meeting schedule. To add to the fun, Liam has resumed his studies toward his Master’s of Education degree and is taking an online course through Dordt College. Please pray for him as he balances work at NCA, studies and family time -- that God would provide discernment, efficiency, and most of all, time!

Check out NCA's new promotional video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yU8TnKCXGHo