Keeping Up With the de la Peñas

Read the latest from Ryan and Leanne de la Peña and follow their work with Casas por Cristo.

We are here!!! It wasn’t easy and the first week wasn’t pretty, but we survived and are excited to call El Paso home once again.  After a six day road trip full of adventures including a snowstorm, late nights driving, more bathroom stops than I can count, and some fun time spent with family and friends along the way, we drove into El Paso during the peak of a nasty sandstorm.  We are so thankful for the group of friends that showed up with lunch, groceries, toilet paper and strong arms to unload the moving truck.  However that first evening several of us started feeling ill.  By Tuesday, Ryan, Leanne and 2 year old Landon all tested positive for a nasty case of the Flu. The rest of the kids have had a variety of symptoms, but thankfully didn’t need anything other than some extra rest.  Once again we watched in amazement as friends brought more meals and even a practically new bed as we weren’t able to bring our old one with us. They made sure that our children were alive and taken care of, as Ryan and I were really wiped out by the virus.  

So here we are two weeks later, thankful to be healthy and even more thankful for all the little and big ways that God provided and protected us during our transition.  Last week Ryan jumped right into building as he and fellow staff member Jason Roth headed to Juárez with Bethel Church all the way from British Columbia, Canada. Despite the wind and rain, they succeeded in building 2 singles with only 10 people.  In March, Ryan is scheduled to build with 2 or possibly 3 more teams in Juárez.  So please pray for us as we continue to settle in and also prepare for the birth of our 7th baby in April. 

To step back for a minute, in January, Ryan was able to fly from PA to El Paso for a short weekend build with The House of God, whom we had both previously worked with many years ago.  It was a joy to be able to give the Vasquez family a home and to connect with some old friends. 

If you have previously made a pledge to support us, now is the time to start sending in your monthly support if you haven’t already. If you haven’t considered coming alongside us financially, we would ask for your prayerful consideration.  We do need to raise additional support and would love to have you as part of our team.  The easiest way to give is through Casas por Cristo staff page. You can set up to make automatic monthly payments or just a one time gift. If you prefer not to use the internet, you can also mail in donations to the office address, P.O. Box 971070 El Paso, TX 79997.  

Thank you to each of you who have given and/or committed yourselves to giving.  We are excited to get back into the swing of things here and to see how God will use us!