Season's Greetings

Wow. It has been quite a while since we have updated anything. It seems like it has been a whirl wind of activity around here. Sorry, for such a long break from the blogging, but hopefully we can update more often now.


We just finished our first Thanksgiving here and it was a blessing of a time. Mr. Mike from MS joined us for our feast and is working with Ryan for the next few weeks until he returns home. They have been working on our little house (casita) and are working with the maps looking at areas for research. They hope to head out in a week or so and visit several areas.

Yesterday, we started our Jesse tree for the Advent seasons and what a great tool that has been. Every person that comes into our home sees it and generally asks questions about it. We have been able to share with so many about Christ just through our Advent tree. God is so amazing, isn’t He? I can’t wait as each day we have our scripture reading and devotion time and then make our daily decoration for the tree, it will be one more story we can share with the people around us.

We have a young girl staying with us for a few days, so our house has been quite full, not to mention the youngsters that have found our home to be a great play area during the day now that school is out. It seems that we have had around 5-10 kids here each day from sun up to sun down. I love seeing the kids come together and forming such great relationships with one another. The kids have been swimming, fishing, coloring, playing football (soccer), and reading Bible stories each day. It is so fun to see them all enjoying their free time.

I have been busy with our kids’ school each day and with cooking for the large amount of kiddos we have running around. It seems like the days were running together and I was getting so worn down, in a good way and just when I really needed a day of rest God blessed me with it. You see it is raining something fierce today, so that means we can basically sit inside and do nothing. During a lull in the storm Ryan and I ran to little store to get some rainy day snacks, but other than that we rest. God knows just what we need when we need it. We simply have to rely on Him and He will provide in His time.

To all our family and friends we love you and are praying for you daily. We can’t wait to see you in the upcoming year. Take care and remember Christ as you go through this busy season.

Newsletter October 2011

This blog is a little different.   I know alot of you do not recieve our monthly newsletter and wanted to make sure we shared with you the changes we will be making.   The following is the newsletter we sent out for October 2011:

Wow!   I cannot believe it is already October.   I am sure everyone back in the States is enjoying some type of fall festivities.   I really do miss the fall decorations and fall festivities from back home.   We are in full mode rainy season, but I must admit I really enjoy it.   The weather has cooled down and walks in the rain are always great fun.  Like the change of our seasons we are also having some changes in our lives here in Honduras.   Change is good and we are even reminded in Ecclesiastes 3:1

There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven.

In September, the missionaries we are working with presented us with the direction of the ministry for 2012.   There were many great changes being made, but there were a few that we could just not agree on and they were all issues with doctrine.   We took time to pray about it and met again with them a few weeks later to discuss the changes being suggested and at that time we all agreed that the issues of doctrine were too great and Ryan and I would not change our beliefs.   At the end of the meeting it was agreed that we would no longer continue working with them after our one year commitment.  This however left Ryan and I with lots of questions and searching for answers.   We sought council of those wiser than us and devoted ourselves to prayer and seeking God’s will on our lives and our future.  

During this time we were presented with 3 options and with none of them seeming to be any better than the other.   We continued to seek God’s will and I (Natalie) even prayed and asked God for one of those easy buttons.   During the week we saw one of the options go away and the other two needed drastic things to happen to see either one come to realization.   As the week ended God put all the pieces together for us to remain in Honduras.   Our time with the other group may be done, but our work here is not.   God provided us with a house and land, He sent people to us confirming His calling on our lives, and He spoke through our son Walker and the work he was doing.

Ryan will continue church planting and working with pastors and Natalie will continue home schooling the kids and will also start a Nutrition and Education program.   The program that Natalie will be working on creates a great way for Ryan to work in closed areas as well as allows us to develop personal relationships with those we are working with.  During the next several months Ryan will be refurbishing our new home; it comes with a little too much of the local flare…i.e. holes in the walls and dirt floors, no indoor plumbing, you get the picture. 

These changes also mean that we will be returning to States on furlough a few months early.   We will be heading to the States sometime in January and returning sometime March/April.   We will be spending this time with our family and friends as well as raising additional support.  We are so excited about getting to spend time with everyone even if it such a short while. 

I know this is a lot of information so if you have any questions or would like more information please send us an email.   We would love to hear from you or answer any questions you might have. Also, if you would like to contribute to the house refurbishing cost ($1,000) or help with our airfare ($2,500) please just let us know.  

In His Service,

Ryan, Natalie, Walker, Mari-Madeline and Lorelai McGehee

Paul's Missionary Journeys

I have been reading a book detailing the journeys of Paul from his conversion experience through the end of his ministry.  As a missionary with a young, developing ministry it is encouraging to see the way that his ministry developed and grew in complexity over the course of several years.  It is so easy to get caught up in the story when reading Acts and think that he did all of his work in a short amount of time.  When we read the accounts of Pauls missionary journeys in the various books of the New Testament you recognize the enormity of the task Paul was given, but you do not recognize the time that was required to complete this task.  He spent several years preparing, and then several more years during his missionary journeys.  Between his journeys, he spent several years planning/praying/growing. 

Paul was a rabbi that was very well trained in Old Testament theology and he also had a profound understanding of the people groups in the different regions in Asia Minor and Europe, be it Jews, Gentiles, Romans, or others.  He recognized that there were culturally relevant ways that each group would have to be taught to acurately understand the message he was bringing to them.  Studying the different strategies he used and why he used them has helped me tremendously to prepare the work in Honduras.  You see we live among three distinctly different people groups, the Miskito Indians, the Ladino's, and the Garifuna, a African tribal culture.  Paul recognized cultural issues with each group he came into contact with and used those issues to teach the message of Christ.  We too have to learn the cultural issues that are a hinderance/door to sharing the gospel with the individual groups we work amongst.  Please pray for us to recognize these barriers and doorways so that we may better teach the gospel in our region of the world. 

The task at hand here is truly enormous, but the reward is even greater.  We recognize that the time required to effectively reach the Rio Platano Biosphere Region is a long commitment, but with your prayers and Paul's church planting manual-The Bible, we know that no matter the size of the task, it is possible.

"I can do all things through Christ who strenghtens me" Phillipians 4:13

Ryan