Kunkel Family Photos

 Levi visited us this last week and we were able to do some family pics while he was here. This is no easy feat with 10 people ;-) We got some good ones though. Check them out below.

Grace was the most challenging but she is smiling good here! Emma was not thrilled ;-)

Still hard to believe God has blessed us with 8 kids!

Here is the whole crew.

The beautiful ladies of the Kunkel family!

The handsome men!

Some fun was had too.

I can't believe how grown up this young man is!

Our young men do a good job taking care of their sisters!

New Life Church Santa Lucia

 

We are excited about the church that God is planting in a town not too far from us. We are excited about this new work that is just getting started. We hope to officially launch next year. Please pray for the couple in the middle (in pic above sorry for the bad quality), Eswin and Evelyn. They are going to be the planters/pastor.  They came to know the Lord and got baptized through the church we planted in Magdalena and now feel called to plant in their home town.

We started to prepare the area the other night through a prayer walk. Please pray that many will come to know Jesus through this work. Below is a picture from the prayer walk. We plan on continuing to pray a lot, evangelize, do events and then begin a small discipleship group in this area next year with the goal to launch services by the end of next year. 

Thanks for praying!

Grandma Jane's Visit

 

We had a great visit with Ben's Mom over the last few weeks. She got to meet her new granddaughter and enjoy time with all her grandkids. One of the hardest parts about being a missionary is living far from family and grandparents not getting much time with their grandkids. So we are grateful for the time we do get together.

We had a special Sunday while she was here dedicating Emma which you can read more about here.

Lots of snuggles with Emma Jane.

Three generations. This is Grandma Janes youngest and probably last grandbaby.

Snuggles at church too.

We celebrate Carlos' birthday while she was here.

She also read a lot of books to the girls and Luke.

And lots of walks with Luke and the girls.

We also got to visit Cesar our friend who has been bedridden for many years and has a great testimony. Jane enjoys visiting him while she is here. He is a blessing to many!

Dedication of Emma Jane

 "And she said, “Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord. And he worshiped the Lord there." 1 Samuel 1:26-28

We are so grateful for the children God has blessed us with! Many call us crazy (definitely some truth there ;-) for having so many kids, but they are all gifts form the Lord (Psalm 127). And although life can be hectic, crazy, and challenging, it is a joy too. We are trying to raise our kids to love, know, and follow Jesus. We want them to be focused on one thing: The Glory of God being made known among all nations. "For as the waters fill the sea, the earth will be filled with an awareness of the glory of the Lord." Habakkuk 2:14.

We know that our kids belong to God and has loaned them to us to love, raise, and send into the world to make a difference for Him and His name. So we always early on publicly dedicate our children to God. I love the story of Hannah who prayed for years and years before God gave her a child and she then dedicated him back to the Lord. Although different in our case, we want all people to know that we are committed to raising our kids to love Jesus and be his disciples and then make disciples of all nations. (Matthew 28:18-20) This brings other around us in our community to pray and help us in this endeavor. As someone once said...it takes a village to raise a kid.

It was special that we were able to do this dedication with another couple that we have discipled. They/we prayed for over 8 years for them to have a baby. The Lord gave them a baby boy just 11 days before Emma was born. His name is Selvin.

Please pray with us for sweet baby Selvin. Also we are grateful after many prayers for a baby girl we now have 3 baby girls! Pray for Jennifer and our family in this challenging and joyful time of infancy. May God be glorified in and through our family so that all may know of His Name and Glory!

We are also grateful Ben's Mom could be here for this special day!