Dear Friends and Family,
Read this update in a word document here: October/November Update
Mike and I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and we hope that in this busy holiday time that you can find time to relax, enjoy family, praise God and reflect on what is important.
Mike and I spent the month of October in Ecuador. It was a relaxing time. We spent most of the time in Shell, which is a small town a couple hours just outside the rainforest. It was in this town that Mike spent most of his growing up years. Mike’s parents let us stay in the downstairs apartment of their house because they are here in Minnesota until late December.
It was a blast being in Ecuador with Mike. He was able to show me the things he did when he was growing up, tell me a lot of stories, and introduce me to many of his Ecuadorian friends. While in Shell we spent some time at the orphanage down the street. We also hung out with some friends from Bethany College who had just gotten married and were on their honeymoon in Ecuador. They stayed with us in Shell for a week and we had a blast that week visiting some waterfalls, riding across a deep ravine in a cable car, and renting mopeds in a nearby tourist town. We took the mopeds up the side of a mountain. It was breathtakingly beautiful and the volcano nearby was spewing ash, which was an incredible site!
During our time in Ecuador, Mike and I spent a lot of time praying about our future. We thought that God would lead us to work in Ecuador, but after much time in prayer we think the opposite is actually true. Mike and I think that God clearly showed us not to work towards returning to Ecuador for full-time ministry at this time. We are not sure what the Lord has for us instead, so we are seeking Him and doing our best to glorify Him wherever we are.
The day after we returned from Ecuador we moved into our new apartment in Excelsior, Minnesota. Mike and his dad did tons of work and had almost everything moved in to our new home in one day. So far, we love living here. Excelsior is a great place to live, and it gives us the feeling of living in a small town. We can walk to the charming downtown, visit little shops, watch a movie, or walk by the beautiful lake. We also have great neighbors. One of them made us a homemade pumpkin pie the day we moved in!
A week after we moved into our apartment we were able to have dinner with Mike’s parents, who were visiting us for the weekend , and my parents. It was a great time, and made our apartment feel even more like home.
Mike is looking for a job right now. He hopes to work with computers in a help-desk job. With this job he would help people fix their computer problems. I am glad one of us is good with computers! He has had a few interviews and many calls for possible jobs. It is encouraging, but also stressful to be job hunting. We are trusting God for the perfect job.
The baby is growing tons right now! The baby can hear sounds and gets startled when there are loud noises. It is also calmed down by my voice and often kicks when Mike talks to him or her. The first Sunday we went to church after being back from Ecuador the baby moved and kicked almost the entire service, especially during worship. It is an incredible feeling. We went to the doctor right after getting home and they reported that the baby is still doing great, but they did change my due date to February 22 instead of February 14. We cannot wait to meet our little gift from God!
These past two months have been wonderful and filled with blessings. We have been surrounded and blessed by family. Mike’s dad, and my family helped us so much with the moving process, Mike’s parents have already been able to stay with us, and we enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving meal with my family. We are truly blessed!
We thank every one of you for taking your time to read this letter and we are so grateful for all your thoughts and prayers.
God richest blessings,
Lindy and Mike
Prayer Requests:
•   For Mike to find a great job, and that we would be patient and wise while we wait for that perfect job.
•   For our baby and his or her continued good health and development.
•   That Mike and I would continue to seek the Lord and glorify Him wherever we are.
•   That we would be able to witness to our neighbors in the apartment. Mike met some Bosnians!!