Good Afternoon,
 
We hope you are staying warm on this gray and chilly Friday. We have had a lot going on these last few weeks. Some things are good some are not so great. As you may have heard, we had to put our dog Baxter down on Monday the 30th. His health took a drastic turn with no way of healing him. It was hard to say good bye but we knew his days were numbered to begin with and he is in a much better place.

Ally is having some health obstacles. Her knees and joints have been problematic for years. She spent about a year going through physical therapy with no relief. She had increased knee pain that led to hip pain. She went back to the doctors beginning of November to start again on trying to figure out what the problem is. They referred her to see an Orthopedic again to make sure there was no known issues with the bones. The orthopedic referred her to a specialist because there was no damage done to the knee joint. During this time there was an anti-inflammatory that Ally was taking that caused a severe skin reaction. She was in the ER last Saturday night and they thought it was either a virus reaction or reaction to medication. She went to a Dermatologist on Monday for a skin Biopsy and to figure out the problem. The biopsy came back inconclusive. Meaning that there is no serious skin problem occurring. The skin reaction was due to either a virus or medication. She stopped taking the new anti-inflammatory. The rash has since gone! Still working on joint issues, she went to see a specialist that could tell right away the problem wasn’t with her knees. Her pelvis is tilted and rotated. She will be doing specialized physical therapy during the month of December. This physical therapy is going to be much different than what she has worked with in the past. The specialist wanted MRI’s of the pelvis and hip area. She went in today for those. They are looking to see if there are any tares or visual issues with the tissues or muscles.
 
There are good things happening too! Whaylen is growing and talking like crazy! He’s working on talking in sentences. It’s amazing to see how fast he is picking up new words and learning how to use them correctly. It is such a wonderful blessing to have both of us home with Whaylen and spend this time. We have a list of churches that we are going to be sending packets to and contacting. We are very excited to keep moving forward. We are at 70% of our monthly goal! The Lord gets all the praise! He planned this whole journey from the beginning and it’s all for His glory! Your prayers have helped us in so many ways, thank you for bringing our requests to the Father.  Please continue to pray for our family as we seek the lords leading in this season of our lives. Below is a list of prayers and the churches we are going to try to speak with.
 
Prayers:
For Ally as she recovers from Skin rash – infection
Praise that the Biopsy showed the reaction was caused from the new medication and nothing more serious.
MRI’s that were done today on Allys hips/pelvis – that they don’t show any signs of tissue tares or visible damage that would need to be fixed.
That the PT Ally is going to go through will finally be what her body needs to heal, no longer be in pain and last for her life time.
For the churches that we are going to be sending packets to – That we would be able to speak clearly to them. Show them what the Lord is doing in Alaska and through MARC.
Discovery Community Church, New Brighton Christian Church, Andover Christian Church, Knollwood Christian Church, Southeast Christian Church, Forest Lake Church of Christ, Hope Summit Christian Church, Marion Church of Christ, Kimball Church of Christ, Cleveland Church of Christ, New Life Christian Church.
For MARC – as the seasons change the hangar stays busy, helpful and a shining light for Christ for all to see.
 
Thank you so very much!!
The Hard Family!

BEAUTIFUL SEASONS OF LIFE

Here at the border, October brings cooler temperatures, which is such a relief from the extremely hot summer weather.  The leaves are falling as well as the pecans, to which the students and squirrels gather up quickly!

The ministry highlights of October began with the 25th Anniversary celebration of the Ontañon Church of Christ on October 8th.  It was a wonderful service with our first minister bringing the message, Joel Cordova.  Back then he was a single Bible College student, today he and his wife, Cristina are grandparents.  Time marches on.  Photos of this special day are on the church Facebook Page:  Iglesia Cristiana en Ontañon.

Here at the Bible College the Wednesday night students preached a continuing Bible study from the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5.  They did a outstanding job of working together.  This gave them the opportunity and confidence to work as a team and share their talents and love for the Lord.  Photos of each week are on our Facebook Page:  Emanuel Mexico Mission.

October 14, 2017 was a very special day for us.  Efrain came into our lives at age 6.  He was a bright, energetic young boy with many talents, Music, Mathematics, Reading, Skate Boarding and much more.  At each level of education he suceeded his goals and more through Speech Contests, His love for Music and his Bass Guitar.  During his time of studying for his master's degree (2013 / 15) he met a special young lady, Belen, at a Christian Youth Conference in Monterrey.  Long story short.  It was a beautiful wedding on October 14, 2017.  Perfect in every way.  Valencio, Ithamar, Jose, Luis and Angela, his brothers and sister, all shined.  It was a great family reunion with our kids.  To see photos of this day you can check our Facebook Pages:  David DeBolt or Sheri Lynn.

With all the changes that October brings, the colors of the leaves, the lower temperatures and much more, one thing always stays the same, God's love for us!  His faithfulness when we are weak.  His care for us when we doubt.  Most of all, His promise that awaits us after all the beautiful seasons of life.  Victory in Jesus, Eternal life.

October 2017, is over but its events are highlights that brought us joy and made us proud of the life we have lived and shared with so many in Mexico.  As someone wrote about one of the wedding photos of our 6 kids "There are so many God stories behind this photo".  So true.  

UPDATE:  Thanks to the Joy Class, Markle Church of Christ, for your special offering to help with our need for new tires.  Close to a third of the cost was covered.

Thank you for loving, praying and sharing with us.
God Bless,
David DeBolt

AMNION CRISIS PREGNANCY CENTER
BURNSVILLE, MN

November 2, 2017

Dear Ministry Partner,

Thank you for attending Amnion’s “New Life is a Gift!” fundraising banquet and auction on Friday, October 27. What an amazing celebration of the life-saving work that the Lord is doing through Amnion’s ministry! We were so blessed to hear testimonials from Jana and Greta Guldseth and the video from the adoptive family.

The banquet challenge partners, the live and silent auctions, and banquet donors gave so generously that the funds raised exceeded the banquet goal by raising approximately $128,000 for Amnion’s ministry, with funds still coming in! Please continue to pray for Amnion’s ministry team as we continue to reach out to women and men in crisis who need practical assistance and the hope of the Gospel.

On a special note, Amnion’s Board of Directors hired Pastor Mark Opseth, as Amnion’s next Executive Director. We praise the Lord for our new leadership. Mark has served a number of ministries in the South Metro for the past 25 years. He lives in Apple Valley with his wife, Michelle, and seven children.

We look forward to your attendance at the 2018 banquet.

Blessings,

Michele Hartshorn
Center Administrator

P.S. We collect gift baskets throughout the year. If you are not going to use the baskets your auction items were displayed in, please consider donating them to Amnion for next year’s silent auction. They may dropped off during business hours, from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Thank you!