Dear Ones,

Celebrating Christmas was extra special this year. Not only did we rejoice in the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but we also welcomed a number of our kids who had grown up at New Life Children’s Home to spend Christmas Day with us. Some of the kids we had not seen since they left in 2007!

It was wonderful to meet their spouses and children, hear about their lives, and just catch up! It was a lot of fun and filled our hearts with joy and thanksgiving. One of our girls even announced that she was engaged and will be getting married in December, and she asked Kendon to give her away!

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School: A Record-Breaking Start to 2026

Our 2026 School Year is off to a great start. We have a record enrollment of 737 students in our pre-kinder – 12th grade school. This includes 72 in our special education program. We are particularly thankful that one of our missionaries, Beth Ann Tobin, is now our English Coordinator. Pray for Beth Ann as she works with our staff to move our school to the next level to become fully bilingual.

Speaking of school, last week was Holy Week which means that school was out for Spring Break! We had a fantastic team from Calvary Community Church, Houston, Texas to help us celebrate the Passion Week with the kids leading up to Resurrection Sunday. One of our little ones gave her heart to Jesus and several rededicated their lives to him. The kids had a nice relaxing and fun week, and also experienced the significance of what Christ did for each one of us on the Cross. He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

We are also grateful for the other teams we have had this year so far: Trinity Christian School, Lubbock, Texas and Grace Fellowship Church, York, Pennsylvania. What a blessing each visiting team brings to our kids and ministry!

The Latest on Michelle...

Wendy and I have had a couple of trips already this year. We took Michelle to Jacksonville for her annual checkup. Praise God that even though she has two tiny aneurysms, her doctor noted that there has been no growth or change since last year! We went half-way expecting that he would have to do surgery, so this was fantastic news that she did not have an operation this time around.

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Celebration of Life-Dave Depew

About a week after that trip, we went to Houston to attend the Celebration of Life service for former NLAI President David Depew. Dave passed away in December at the age of 89. He was such a dear boss, mentor, friend and father figure for us over the years. We are indebted to both Dave and his wife, Susan. Please keep Susan in your prayers.

Praises and Prayer Requests:

We wrote in December of our need for additional support and God answered! We thank Him and each of you who responded to this tangible need.

Pray for our two NLCH Interns, Lizzie Gunter and Camryn Sherrill. Cammie will be here for six months and Lizzie for a year. Cammie has finished her six weeks of language school and Lizzie has another four weeks to go. Both are already having such a positive impact on the lives of the kids and are a huge help.

Pray for the eight new children, three girls and five boys, who arrived at NLCH in February. Pray for our staff as they love on them and “connect” with them. Several have significant learning issues and are behind in school. We praise the Lord for each one!

This week we are having the seventh training for our staff thanks to our dear friends at Prepare International. The topic this week is "Divine Communication". Pray for the two teachers who are coming, Quinn and Daryl. Pray for open, receptive, and expectant hearts for our staff as they receive this training.

Kendon will be traveling to Houston this weekend for the semi-annual NLAI Board of Directors meeting. We are grateful for the nine godly men and women who serve on our Board. Please pray for them and our meeting, that the Holy Spirit would lead and direct according to his good and perfect will.

In May we will have our annual NLAI Missionary Staff Retreat. We are asking the Lord for a fresh outpouring of his Spirit on each one individually, and on us corporately. Thank you for joining us in prayer.

Thank you for standing with us in this ministry. Your prayers, encouragement, and support mean more than words can express! We are continually reminded that God is faithful, and we are grateful to be serving Him together with you. Please continue to pray for the children, staff, and all that the Lord is doing here.

With grateful hearts,