Dare to start another year!

Howdy, from North Texas! We're officially past the year and a half mark for being back in the good ole USA and approaching the one-year mark in our new home in Fort Worth. Alissa has actually passed her one-year anniversary as a nurse at Green Valley, and feels blessed to have a great job in this waning economy but also has experienced the stress of working in an often stressful environment.

As for me (Alan), I've had several ventures in 2009 and 2010 that didn't pan out, a part-time night-shift job that put enormous stress on the family, and in these last couple months a contract-based job as a tutor for high school students. Despite all the inconsistencies, we're surviving and thriving, all things considered. We must admit that, things look pretty grim for our beloved country, but as members of Christ's Body, we are upheld by the fellowship and communion of His People. Although we can make no guarantees as to what or how our government's decisions will affect our children, we confidently subject our future in the hands of the One who holds everyone's future.

Ministry and missions continue to be close to our heart, and opportunities abound to serve according to the gifts God has given us.

Many blessings!

The task of moving a missionary

This morning we unloaded a U-Haul truck from New York that contained household items from our home in NY from 10 years ago, books and paperwork from Singapore 6 years ago, and all this to add to our things from Bolivia from 1 year ago. Also, there are a few items from Alan's single days back in Missouri that are left to take out of storage. Oh the joys of traveling the globe in the last decade while establishing a family, serving in ministry, studying in far away places and coming home to roost. Please, please, Lord, can we stay a while and not move again? Thanks.

New Beginnings

We got the call today from our real estate agent that our offer to buy one of the many houses we've looked at in the last few months has been accepted. All we lack now is the contract process and the final stages of the financing. Although we wouldn't have imagined ourselves living in "neighborhood America" even a year ago, God has been faithful to lead us through this difficult time of transition by providing a way to make a new beginning, while keeping us conscious of all that our mission experience has done in our hearts.

Thanks to all our friends and ministry partners who have supported us and prayed for us during this time. Our new house will certainly be a blessing to us as long as God has us here. We continue to rely on the Spirit's direction to promote the mission movement started in Bolivia, and to use us to be a blessing wherever we are.

New adjustments

Hi friends,

Since my last post, we've been through several new changes. The most traumatic has been Alissa's acquisition of a job as a 'charge nurse' at the Green Valley Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center. The Center currently has her working in an orientation/PRN position until they feel confident that Alissa can handle her supervision role over LPNs and CNAs. Since she started working on Dec. 31, she has actually worked full-time hours. Now that she has her temporary license for the State of Texas, she can continue working while she waits for the all the processing for her permanent license.

Because of this opportunity, we were left with the decision about how the kids' home school would continue. We decided that I would continue to market our internet business, as best I could from home, and teach the home school curriculum as well. Well, so far so good. It has been a big switch from our life in Bolivia, but we see how God is providing in spite of a "down" economy. We're also confident that God has brought us here for a purpose, one that may not be easy for us to understand.

We appreciate your prayers as we find our way through these transitions, and we know that we share many of the same struggles that many families are facing these days. Let's draw near to God, unload our cares upon him and let Him fill us with contentment.

About our new business

As many of you know, Alissa struggled with allergy-induced asthma in Bolivia and this gave us enough reason to think about moving to seek better health for her. Thankfully, that has happened from being in a cleaner environment- away from the smoke and dust that common in any Third World country. This experience became an inspiration for us as we began considering ideas for an online business. We finally decided to offer air purification products that might help others with similar symptoms to experience relief by dealing with the root of the problem, airborne particles and VOCs (Volitile Organic Compounds). On October 1st, we officially launched "Air Purifier Central" which distributes home air purifiers and filters from five major manufacturers. Now comes the hard part- getting the word out about what we're doing- not just to those we know, but also to everyone around the country. Competition is very stiff when it comes to online business, but we're praying that God will give us wisdom for reaching the right people who might be interested in improving their health. We welcome you to help us out by informing those that you know with allergy and asthma conditions that could benefit from cleaner air.

Our first month back in the US

Hello to our friends and ministry partners,

Since we have tied up our activities in Bolivia, our broadcast of news has become less frequent. We did, however, want to keep you posted as to what we've been up to during our first month in Texas.

Originally we had thought that it would take several weeks to penetrate the fog of uncertainty before we finally discovered what we might be here to do. Our first week was certainly a flood of mixed feelings and hightened emotional vulnerability, but after our first week, we began to sense our options narrowing down to a family-business, which involved using the resources we had with the business platforms that Alan's parents had created over the last three years. The umbrella business is a Limited Liability Company with several Partnerships underneath them. For now, Alan has become one of the partners in one of the Partnerships, called Pathway Builders, a Real Estate Investment Company.

As for ministry, we keep in contact with the Mission Movement in Bolivia and have been able to raise funds for one student and a couple to get training in Singapore. We desire to become more involved in Hispanic Ministry in the future, but the church where we attend has not explored this area yet- hopefully we can change that.

We ask that you continue to pray for the close of our house in Bolivia, as we still await the final funds to get wired through to us.

Alan hopes to make a trip to Bolivia early next year, accompanied by Christian Business Leaders, and association of Christian executives and statesmen. He hopes to start a chapter of CBL in Santa Cruz in order to unite Christian Leaders around the common goal of expanding the Kingdom.

Alissa has started home schooling for our three girls, and has found it both challenging and rewarding. Please pray that she will have grace to teach the girls this year and be able to balance her spiritual time with all her activities.

Until next time, God bless you all,

the Holcombes

ENews June 2009

ENews June 2009

Packing, packing and more packing. Early in the month we were very persuaded that it would take at least three months for our house in Santa Cruz to sell, but within one month we already had two buyers interested in our house. As a result, we had to throw things into High Gear and begin paring down our furniture, household stuff and whatever else we have accumulated over the last eight years in Bolivia.This will continue to be a highly stressful time in our lives for the next month and a half, and we appreciate all your prayers that you send our way. As of the 26th we have officially started the paperwork for the sale of our house and are awaiting the final payment to close all the legal documentation. Also, we have purchased our tickets for the July 20. We will leave Bolivia and arrive in the US the same day (daytime flight).

In the meantime, the three girls enjoyed a one-week VBS at the International Church here in

Santa Cruz. Also, we celebrated Abigail's 4th birthday on the 21st, which made it a special Father's Day for Alan as well.

It has been a fairly mild winter so far in Santa Cruz, but not without a few nights down in the 40's. Since our house has no heat, we usually have at least a couple nights during the winter that we all sleep together in one room to keep warm- kind of like camping out, but in your own house.

Ministry News

As we try to taper down our responsibilities, we have realized how hard that is to actually do. One definite praise in this area is the willingness of a local Bible School, CIET, to continue offering the Bivocational Modules that we have been teaching at CBDI for the last three years. This was essentially the first program that was born out Alan's thesis that was elaborated in Singapore five years ago, and we're glad to see it continue. Although we're sad to leave during such growth in missions awareness, we can honestly say that we were privileged to be a major part of the formation of a national missions movement that will continue under God's grace to impact this country as participators in the Great Commission.

Our team in Santa Cruz continues to work in three new church plants throughout the city, and Alan was able to visit and teach at one of them in the neighborhood called Soberania. This church meets at the home of our team member, Richard La Madrid, and has about 25-30 members who are being fed the Word here. We are praying that these new church plants will be examples of organic, missional bodies that can produce many new disciples.

For Prayer

• Our preparation for departure, July 20
• Safety in our travel
• Wisdom and direction upon arrival

Thanks again to all of you who pray for and support our ministry!

God bless you,

the Holcombes