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Showing posts from January, 2014

Ah.....Winter Weather!

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This week in Southern MN, we hit a balmy -8 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday……yup, that was the HIGH…..whew!   Was it ever blustery and cold!!!   We thought we would do a bit of a documentary of how people dress in such frigid temperatures…..Here’s Brian on his way out to plow snow: Do you recognize him underneath all those layers?   I had trouble…..but his eyes gave him away…;0) Thankfully, Brian and his Dad, Gene, were able to plow us out of the snow…We are looking forward to heading back to Santiago where there will be warmth for a little while yet.   Brian has been telling people that we are ‘true’ Minnesotans….why, you might wonder?   Because we are skipping the Chilean summer to be a part of winter and then we’ll go back to winter in Chile in May……he says we are following the winter weather!   Hahahaha. While we are enjoying the last bit of extreme cold here in MN, we have been warmed by the overwhelming privilege it has been to see many of you.   We only wish there were

Daybreak Church

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This past week we were able to attend Daybreak Community Church http://www.daybreakcommunitychurch.org/page10.php and share what we have been able to do through our supporters’ prayers and financial partnerships.   It was encouraging to see and talk to many within the church.   It is humbling to realize that there are so many MORE people beHIND this couple in the picture than what meets the eye…….we couldn’t be serving Jesus without a team!!!   We have been deeply encouraged and energized by talking with many of you over the course of the weeks we’ve been in MN.   We have roughly three weeks left in these tundra-like temperatures before we return to Santiago, Chile and our ministries there. We are looking forward to getting back in the swing of things, but it will mean saying good-bye to those of you here.     Know that we are doing our best to connect, and we appreciate all of you following us as God's plan for our lives continues to unfold!!!

Perspective

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As we have reached about the half-way point of our time being home, we had a perspective check.   What we’ve found is that things haven’t gone exactly how we expected.   However, we are very thankful for the time we have been given.   It has been filled with great times with family and some great opportunities to connect with friends.   It also has been filled with plenty of challenges and each day we seem to find another one.   That is how life goes though…..there will always be challenges, hardships, and bad days.   What do we do with those days….and all that stuff?   Great question, I (Brian) cannot say I have the answers to that, but I know Who does.   The only One who can truly answer why we go through the things we do is the Creator Himself.     That does not mean we do not have responsibility in our actions. We are not just coasting down a predetermined path.   Each day we get out of bed and make decisions….some good, some bad.   Each one of those decisions is a reflection

Hovey’s Believe it or Not!

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  This photo that you see here is our church kitchen…..believe it or not!   While we have been home, our church started work on remodeling the kitchen.   Today was Brian’s first day as a man on the job!   We have been busy meeting with friends and family for personal support, but we also believe in supporting our local church.   Here’s how we decided to help this time!   Brian and some other guys were hard at it all day today with cutting concrete and digging a trench to fit the drain pipes.   To God’s glory, no one got hurt and a lot of work was accomplished! The goal is to work alongside believers whether in Chile or in MN to further God’s Kingdom.   While working on a project at church may seem unprofitable, we are choosing to look to eternal value in helping people rather than monetary value of helping ourselves.   THANK YOU to each of you that make this possible for us to do projects like this! We are enjoying our family and friends here in MN in spite of the frigid tempe

New Years Hope

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Today we celebrate the first day of 2014!   With the closing of 2013 and the beginning of 2014, we cannot help but stop to reflect on where we have been and where we are going.   This last year has been filled with some amazing things and incredible challenges.   We continue to learn each day from the situations we are placed in and the people God brings into our lives.   There is no doubt we have made mistakes and not done everything as well as we would have like.   However, as we seal the records of this last year we cannot help but give God the glory for allowing us to be part of the year.   As we push forward into this New Year, we have no idea what it will bring.   We can tell you with complete confidence that regardless what happens this year our hope and trust will be in Jesus Christ.   We say this because there is no other way.   There are no guarantees in life and the only sure thing is that one day we will die.   We do not know if it will be this coming year or many ye