2007 Year in Review Highlights

2007 Turned out to be a great year for our family. We traveled to Mexico three times. Selene and I renewed our wedding vows on our tenth anniversary. We visited several churches (in our efforts to raise support) and went from around 10% of our necessary support raised and pledged to around 40%. We met and made new friends, rekindled older relationships and experienced God's rich kindness and mercy. What follows is a pictorial view of our family's 2007 highlights (along with written explanation). Pictured to the left are mountain peaks outside of Toluca, Mexico.

Our trip to Mexico in February was our first driving experience to Mexico. We traveled over 5000 miles (to and from and in Mexico) and visited several different LAM missionaries, friends and family. We also participated in the yearly LAM Mexico retreat. Pictured to the right is our family with Pastor Ignacio, his wife (in the pink shirt) and a family from the congregation he pastors in La Presa, a community north of Mexico city. We also visited with different LAM missionaries like Manuel and Laura Vivanco and their family (pictured below).

In March Selene and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversa-ry by renewing our wedding vows at our home church, Emmanuel Bible Church. A very close friend and mentor of mine, Bill Lawrence, conducted the ceremony and over 70 of our friends and family celebrated with us. Our dear friends Karen Rios and Donna Guzman did an awesome job of turning E.B.C.'s basement Faith Chapel into our wedding chapel! Both Selene and I agree that this ceremony was more meaningful than the original!


We "sealed the deal" after the brief (and wonderful) ceremony and posed for the picture on the right shortly after that. Selene and I are best friends, lovers, growing/maturing parents, ministry partners and closets confidants. We are so, so very grateful to God for the 10--going on 11--years of marriage He gave us. And we are so thankful for our three wonderful boys: Karl 10, Abe 8 and Zachary 5. We have learned so much from them! Doesn't Selene look absolutely stunning?! We kinda had a red thing going that evening!


July was a special month for us this year. During that month we celebrated Selene's 30th birthday on the 12th and made our second trip to Mexico. While we had an excellent time in Mexico it was not without a few bumps and bruises. On our way down to Mexico while traveling through southern Texas our van broke down. After guiding the boys safely away from the interstate we held hands and prayed for God's guidance and safety. Just minutes after that Dean (pictured with me to the right) pulled up next to us on an adjacent frontage road and began the process of getting us back on the road. By 2:30 the following morning the repair was complete and we were back on the road to Mexico. It was truly awesome for the boys to see God answer our cry for help so quickly! Our "good Samaritan" Dean is one more reason we are so thankful to God and His faithfulness to us this year. By the way, traveling over 5000 miles in a minivan can make you tired. Just ask these guys!



While in Mexico we visited LAM missionary Rebekah Meyerend (pictured below left in the red shirt) in Chalco--just south of Mexico city and...












...former LAM short-term missionaries Joni &
Deb Martinez and their family in Morelia.


We re-visited a house church in La Guadalupana (another community north of Mexico city) where the pictures below of Selene and several ladies and Jose Luis, myself and Gilberto were taken.















And of course, there were the children!
Here Selene is pictured with two girls that we met in Chalco while visiting with LAM missionary Rebekah Meyerend (pictured above). Our visit happened to coincide with their V.B.S. so we spent a little bit of time helping Rebekah out with the rather large group of children! She has worked in Chalco for 10 years.
Chalco is among some of the poorest places in Mexico and Rebekah spends her time working with children in marginal conditions.


Pictured right outside (pictured right and below) the carport that became my "sanctuary" are just a few of the neighborhood kids that our family spent time with--pretty much just playing soccer! Our impromptu soccer games were really challenging because of the altitude in Toluca-which is well over 8000 feet above sea level. However, we were able to connect with these children and share the love of Christ with them.

Just before we left for home from Toluca--during our last days there--we were able to give some of these children Gospel tracts and toys we had brought with us from home. After our last soccer game (as our family was walking away form the playground) one of the boys shouted out a question, "When are you guys coming back?!" We answered that we would try to be back in the spring and wished them a Merry Christmas!




Pictured to the right are Julio and Juliana and their family. Like Julio and Juliana many people come to Toluca from neighboring communities looking for work. Selene spoke with them for a little bit and we were able to give them milk and some fruit.





In November our family went to the newly opened Creation Museum just outside of Cincinnati with a group from our church. We had a awesome time and look forward to going back a.s.a.p.!

We are so thankful for all of you who prayed for us during this past year and for your faithful support. We look forward to another awesome year as we continue to grow closer together as a family, as we grow closer to God and as we prepare to serve Jesus Christ in Mexico with the Latin America Mission.

To make a donation:

Latin America Mission, P.O.B. 52-7900, Miami, FL 33152-7900 (with a note that it's for the Strittar family).

Or by internet: lam.org Go to donations/missionary appointees/Strittar family.Or click on this link to go directly to our LAM family bio:http://shop2.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/lam.storefront/EN/product/757716