" 'Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,' which is translated, 'God with us' " (Matthew 1:23).

Jesus Christ was born into this world, not from it. He did not emerge out of history; He came into history from the outside. Jesus Christ is not the best human being the human race can boast of--He is a being for whom the human race can take no credit at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate--God coming into human flesh from outside it. His life is the highest and the holiest entering through the most humble of doors. Our Lord's birth was an advent--the appearance of God in human form.

This time of the year is very special to us because we get to spend time with members of our family which we don't see much the rest of the year. Ministry wise though, it isn't the best time, people are so busy doing their own thing, partying and things like that, they don't have time for God, which is so sad to see.

How fast we humans forget. We are seeing how the people in Alamos have already forgotten about the hurricane that took so many lives, left so many without homes, and have gone back to their old practices. I was talking to somebody the other day saying how I liked Alamos more when it was without electricity and people were working together cleaning their homes and sorting out things that could be salvaged. We live in a dark world that rejects the Light.

Some of you have asked about my brother Miguel Angel. Well, he showed up yesterday. He has been married to a woman from the mountains for a few years now, whom he was planning to divorce, (that would have been his second time), before the hurricane hit Alamos, but now is back with her. This lady was a widow when my brother met her and she has a grown son. She is not saved and was really doubting my brother's decision to follow Christ.

Miguel Angel was telling how most people have left 'Cieneguita' (the community where they live, pictured below) because they fear for their lives. We are wondering why he stays there, except that Norma (that's the wife), has her 90 something year old mother (picture below) that says she won't move from there at any cost. She has lived there her whole life and that is where she wants to die. Fortunately this lady accepted Christ not very long ago and has had such a change of heart, not in wanting to move from there though, but to live for Christ.

Miguel Angel says he is not afraid to continue to live in this deserted place. I told him that is understandable since he now has eternal life, if he dies, he now knows he will go be with Christ and that gives him lots of peace. He continues to have a hunger to share the Gospel with the ones staying, as they seek him out in their despair. He wants to take back Bibles, NewTestaments, and pocket New Testaments to give away. He is sharing the Gospel with the people the Lord sends his way. It is great to see Him and encourage him to continue putting His trust in the One that never fails and will never leave Him. What an awesome, all powerful God we serve!

Esmeralda & Dulce came to visit us in church on Sunday. They used to live with us. It was so special to see them, especially sweet little Dulce. It was so hard for us when they left. They now live with their mother in Puerto Peñasco. We had a special Christmas service there in Osobampo. Lots of people came and we were blessed to have the Towgoods with us, (my sister Delia & her family from California). We also had two brothers in Christ that came to visit us from Life Christian Fellowship in Orange County, California. Brian & pastor Helyn were such a blessing for us to have over the weekend. Brian wants to bring a group from his church in March. They got to help transport the food for our event in church from 'Las Minitas.'

Lolis (Faith) is now 17 years old! I was telling her I was not even used to saying she was 16 yet, and now I have to say she is 17! What is wrong with this world? How come children grow so quickly, it isn't fair!

The adoption with Marilú & Lolis are finished, but we still need to go to Monterrey to get Marilú's birth certificate. Lord willing we will do it when we get back from the Missions Conference in January. Also with Lolis birth certificate something needs to be corrected. It will take at least 8 months to be done, and until then we cannot start the process for a passport for her. We are also starting the adoption process with Josie. It will take close to a year just to be done with the stripping of the rights for her. Oh, well at least we are starting. Hopefully it is possible to do it. Some times the judge in Navojoa won't allow adoptions to be done if she feels, or thinks that for any reason it isn't the best for the child in her opinion. We will pray...

We praise God for his faithfulness to us. We are so blessed in so many ways. We continue to lift many of you up by name to the Lord daily. It is such a privilege to pray for so many of you, knowing too so many of you pray for us always. THANK YOU!!!

PRAYER REQUESTS FOR RANCHO MARANATHA ALAMOS, MX.
Pray for the communities we work with. It is such a great honor to be able to share the Gospel with them and to see how the Lord opens their understanding for His truth and how they are also sharing with others. Like John the apostle says, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth" (3Jn 1:4). When I hear the ladies in the Bible studies I do with them tell me how they are sharing with others, I think of this Scripture because I feel such joy to see them practicing and living His truth.
Pray for the people getting ready to come out to help, groups, individuals, etc. We want to be a blessing for whoever the Lord sends here. We continue to be amazed at God's grace and provision to us as He always sustains us in every way!
Pray for my husband as he will be sharing in CC Alamos in their yearly New Year's event, that God anoints his speech, for the name of the Lord to be lifted up as a banner for all to see, for people to have ears to hear and soft hearts where the Word of God can penetrate.
Pray for Jerry & Jo that will be driving from Kansas to come and take care of the girls and things on the ranch while we are away in California. Pray also for Roshon & Carla that will be helping out with the girls and things around the ranch.
Please continue to pray for my brother Miguel Angel, for a greater knowledge of who God is in his life, for a more intimate relationship with Him, for protection and boldness to preach the Gospel to all those that need Jesus so much.
Please pray for our dear sister Dalia's family (she is from Mocúzari), her brother accused of murdering a man almost two years ago, was finally caught by the police and put in jail. He had been running from there all this time. His name is Eleazar. Dalia is the only believer in this lost, lost wicked family. We are so blessed to see her faithfulness to the Lord and her unwavering walk with Him that chose her for the kingdom, as she often says that of herself.
Please pray for Chuy in Mocúzari as she is teaching a Bible study for the women there and has been so blessed doing it. The Lord is blessing her as she continues to be faithful to Him.
"For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it" (Mark 8:35)
May the Lord bless each one of you. We love you all and wish you God's best during this season when we celebrate the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Daniel & Ana

"Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Act 4:12)

We are reading the book of Acts in Mocúzari with the ladies. Daniel is also teaching this book in Mezquital on Tuesdays. I was so blessed today being with my sisters in Christ in Mocúzari. I marvel at the faithfulness of our Lord! Dalia, one of the ladies, was sharing with us how the Lord is teaching her through trials and tribulations. We rejoiced and shared tears with her this morning, overwhelmed by the love she has for the Lord, and her boldness in sharing the Gospel.

We read in this chapter 4 of Acts, how the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, marveled when they saw the boldness of these uneducated and untrained men, speaking of Peter and John. Scripture says that they realized that they had been with Jesus.
I want people to look at us and be able to say, 'hey, those are believers, they are not afraid to speak of their faith, they bless when they are being cursed, they don't speak evil of the authorities, but instead pray for them and bless them... They have been with Jesus.'

I was sharing the verse above from Act 4:12 with a JW the other day, this really young and pleasant girl that wanted to share with me her beliefs. Also with another young lady that believes her traditions will save her. I told them both there was only One that could save and that was Jesus Christ.

In 'Las Minitas,' Chuy, the lady that used to live with us, started a Bible study with the ladies, she also does it on Wednesdays. She is amazed at how the Lord has blessed her life while she shares together with the ladies there. A few weeks back we had the privilege to pray with/for this man that accepted Christ there, his name is Andrés, he is an older man. We knelt on the ground together and asked the Lord to enter into his heart, He did! This man had tried to commit suicide twice without success, of course. He would hear voices that were driving him crazy, we now rejoice with our brother who is so eager to hear the Word! He anxiously waits for prayer meetings on Tuesdays there in 'Las Minitas,' for the Friday night study we do, and for Sundays, he cannot get enough of the Word!

Our nephew Rogelio is going to Osobampo on Wednesdays to encourage the men that are getting together there to pray and have a time of fellowship. Mother and Carla are going with Rogelio to visit and encourage the ladies in the community.

In Cieneguita, the mountains of Chihuahua where my brother Miguel Angel is, the battle continues. We are daily praying for my brother to be bold in sharing the gospel with those needy people there. Daniel shared with this man in his early twenties, that drinks straight alcohol, they call him Tavo, his dad is also an alcoholic. We are also praying for this 15 year old Dan also had the opportunity to share the gospel with, they call him Quico. Dan really liked this boy, his dad has him working the fields, harvesting marijuana right now. We have a few other people we are daily lifting up by name. The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
I was thinking of the great need there for someone to encourage the people and work amongst them on a regular basis. It would be hard and lonely for someone to be there full time. Although the mountains are breath taking beautiful, the places are somber, isolated and evil. I guess we could say the same thing about so many different places in this dark and sad world.

Here with the girls, we just started learning about Colombia, a nation with the reputation of being one of the most violent in the world. Colombia, we learned, supplies 75% of the world's cocaine. Missionaries there live under great stress and the constant threat of kidnapping and murder. Yet the Gospel is changing lives. We learned about this maximum security prison in Medellín (one of Colombia's major cities with a population of close to four million people, one of the least evangelized do to its hardness to the gospel. This great city is also known as the nation's crime and narcotics capital), often referred to as 'hell on earth' where the murder rate often topped one per day, through prayer and the bold witness of some anointed believers has seen a remarkable turning of the most hardened criminals giving their lives to Christ. Even a Bible Institute has formed in this prison now, training inmates for ministry once they are released.
We are praying for the leader of this nation, Alvaro Uribe Vélez, serving for the second time as the president of Colombia. I like doing this with our girls here, because I want them to realize how important it is for us to intercede for the leaders of our nation, as well as other nations in the world. The world is in crisis, we as Christians, more than ever, need to be on our knees.

The twins continue to grow and mature, the Lord is faithful!

Obed with great-grandpa, and with grandpa. Yes, he is already learning how to drive. This boy too continues to grow and fill our hearts with tenderness toward him and our faithful and loving Father.
Levi showing his tooth!

Being grandparents is great! We love it!

PRAYER REQUEST FOR RANCHO MARANATHA, ALAMOS, MX.Please continue to pray for Rochelle & Brian's lives, for them to be a blessing to others where they are, for them to grow closer to the Lord, for strength, wisdom and patience as they take care of the precious gifts the Lord has given them. For the twins to continue to grow and be strong. We praise the Lord for their lives!Pray for Cindy and her children, they left for California this morning. They arrived at the ranch two weeks ago, but Cindy feels very responsible for her aging parents back in California and she needed to go see them. Pray for guidance in her life and for the Lord to accomplish His perfect will in her life as well as in her children's.Pray for Daniel & Roshon as they will make a quick trip to Tucson this coming Monday, for the Lord to protect them and give them travel mercies, and for them to be able to accomplish the things they need to do.Please continue to pray for wisdom and direction for us here on the ranch, for the changes taking place, for the new people the Lord is sending to work with us. For Him to open doors for those He would want working here. We are so thankful for His faithfulness and for the way He provides for all of our needs. We daily thank God for each of you that lovingly supports this ministry with your prayers and finances. We are forever grateful and indebted to you all.Please pray for Rogelio as he is deciding to stay and work here with us. He is a great person to have around. Pray for direction in his life as he seems to be making some really hard decisions.Continue to pray for my brother Miguel Angel as he continues to be in the mountains, for strength, courage and faithfulness to our Lord, for him to grow in knowledge and love for his saviour Jesus Christ. For more people there to come to the Lord through his witness.Please pray for the people that will be traveling to the ranch for Christmas, mostly family, for travel mercies and for the Lord to provide for all their needs, for us to be a blessing to all that come to our ranch.Pray for Paul & Ruth as they are badly missed here, we thank God for the time they were able to serve together with us and pray for the Lord to keep using them where they are right now. He is!Pray for us as we get ready to attend missions conference in Murrieta Hot Springs next month. For Jerry & Jo as they will be traveling from Kansas to come and take care of the girls and the ranch while we are away. We thank God for these faithful servants and for the great blessing they are to us. Please pray for Frank and Susan Sanders as we are so looking forward to having them here with beside us serving in the ministry. Pray that God's perfect will would be done in their lives as well as ours. Pray for Paul & Pam Cooper from S. Carolina as they get ready to come and serve full time with us the beginning of February. For the Lord to open doors for them as He sees fit.Pray for Brian & Audra from TN as they will come to 'spy' the land to see if maybe this would be the place where the Lord will call them to serve. God's will be done!
"The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest" (Matthew 9:37-38)
Our love to each one of you,
Daniel & Ana