Merry Christmas from the Boaz family! Thank you for stopping by to catch up with
our news. This year, with all its ups
and downs, we celebrate our hope…
We wait in HOPE for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in
his holy name. May your unfailing love
be with us, Lord, even as we put our HOPE in you. Psalm 33:20-22
Abby is all 2, all the time.
Our “tiny tornado,” she spends her days looking for interesting things
to experiment with, explore, dump out, climb on, or knock over. She loves books, Daniel Tiger, being held upside-down,
repeating everything she hears, smartphones, and coffee. She gives great hugs, complete with back rubs
and sloppy kisses. This summer she
started to learn to swim, and she loves being in the pool. She has trained us to keep the house as
child-proof as possible and makes sure our cleaning appliances are well-used,
but we are soaking up every moment of these fun toddler days.
For you, O Lord, are my HOPE, my trust, O Lord, from my youth. Psalm 71:5
Ezra is 4 and is on a personal mission to make us laugh
every day. One of his favorite activities
is dressing up in his extensive collection of costumes. In one day we might be entertained by any
number of characters, including robots, cowboys, football players, knights,
sharks, and many more! Ezra loves to
join his older siblings “doing school” – he works hard at his letters and loves
to pour over books. He enjoys going to
Sunday School and Awana Cubbies. Ezra also joined his sister in learning to
swim, so he can now jump into the pool and swim across as he flips back and
forth from floating on his back to swimming with his face in the water. We love living in Ezra’s world of imagination!
We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a HOPE that
enters into the inner place behind the curtain.
Hebrews 6:19
Johnathan is 8 and in the second grade. He continues to swim on a local swim team, is
learning to play the piano, and is playing Upwards basketball this year. Johnathan loves building with Legos, riding
his bike and scooter, and is eagerly learning to read his favorite books. He went on his first missions trip this fall –
a week in the Dominican Republic with Mom, Dad, Naomi, and a small team from
our church. He was excited to be able to
share his testimony and the gospel with the help of our wonderful host and
translator. It was a joy to see him
stretch and grow in a new situation and discover some of his gifts and passions.
Naomi turned the big 10 this summer and is in 4th
grade. She continues to devour books,
and she loves learning to cook and swim.
She is also continuing to take piano lessons, and she loves singing with
the children’s choir at church. Naomi
has had fun joining Dad with visiting church members who live in nursing homes
and bring them cookies she made. On our
trip to the Dominican Republic, her highlights were playing with kids at a
school for kids with special needs. She
also loved trying out singing in Spanish at a church in Santo Domingo. Her heart for serving and connecting with children shone through on this trip.
For in this hope we were saved.
Now hope that is seen in not HOPE.
For who hopes for what he sees?
But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with
patience. Romans 8:24
2014 has been a year full and highs and lows for our
family. This spring, we said goodbye to
Kevin’s mom, Charlotte, as she went home to heaven after a battle with
Alzheimers. We miss her dearly. Our family was thankful to take a trip to
Colorado this spring to spend time with her, and Kevin was able to travel back
to be by her side during her last few days.
Then our whole family got to be together for her memorial service, which
Kevin had the honor of officiating.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused
us to be born again to a living HOPE through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead. I Peter 1:3
We were so thankful to have some fun family “field trips”
around the state with some our extended family – visiting the birthplace of
Texas and a historical reenactment farm with Grandpa Boaz and Aunt Karla,
playing at the beach on Mustang Island with Uncle Matt, Aunt Lara, cousins
Prisca, Max and Anna, and Grandma and Grandpa Stata, and visiting the Space
Center in Houston with Aunt Karen and cousins Ben and Matt. Johnathan had his annual trip to see his
orthopedic team at his hospital in Dallas, and we enjoyed a few personal family
retreats in Austin.
A big highlight was our first family missions trip to the
Dominican Republic in November. While
Ezra and Abby had fun back home with Grandma and Grandpa Stata all to
themselves, the rest of us traveled to Santo Domingo and Barahona for a
week. We visited the pastors in Barahona
and Santo Domingo that Kevin has gotten to know in his previous trips and
visited one of the only special needs school on the island. Kevin and Rachel spoke at a marriage
conference for parents at the school. We
got to share the gospel in a Haitian village (with some basketball, of
course!). And we visited and shared at a
church in Santo Domingo – even Johnathan shared his testimony and Naomi led
some songs in Spanish! It was an amazing
blessing and special time we’ll never forget.
We pray that the hope we have in Christ fills your heart
this Christmas!
Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God… Since we have such a HOPE, we are very bold… Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the
Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are
being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. II Corinthians 3:4,12,17-18
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