The Mallaris - 2021

May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. - 2 Peter 1.2

As some of you know, Bryan has already graduated from seminary last May, woohoo! We praise and thank the Lord for his grace and peace that have surely multiplied throughout this long and taxing but blessed journey. And we are ever grateful to so many of you for your encouragement, prayers, and support for four and a half years.

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The whole family headed south for the graduation weekend to see old friends and to celebrate the Lord's goodness. The commencement, as Bryan said, "was humbling, gratifying, and God-glorifying, at the same time terrifying." Through it all, we were able to weather the storm as the Lord did much to crush our pride to show us that it is in Him alone that we will be able to finish this. And He is not done yet, it‘s just the end of the beginning.

Since the spring, we have been able to plug in more at Quail Lakes Baptist Church. Bryan volunteered as part of the Health Ministry, checking temps and sanitizing attendees at the entrance. Right after graduation, through divine providence, Bryan has started his Internship at Quail under Pastor Marc Maffucci. He has been getting first-hand opportunities to go to staff meetings, visit ministries, and go to funerals, and baptisms. He has also been tasked to do announcements during Sunday services and has become part of the worship team, and just a few weeks ago he was able to preach to young adults. He has also been working as a part-time Admin Assistant for the Adult Ministries. We couldn't be more thankful for the practical ministry skills he has been learning and being able to hone his skills. All glory and praise to our God!

Earlier this year we have signed up for and joined 5 other married couples in a 10-week Rooted class at church. After months of quarantine, restrictions, and Zoom fatigue, we longed for face-to-face interaction. We missed this gathering with brothers and sisters, studying the Word, laughing, discussing, crying, comforting one another. Week after week, we were enthusiastic to meet and share our experiences, pour our hearts out, raw and unfiltered. This is how we edify one another. We are thankful to our Pastors, elders, and leaders for being bold in their resolve that Christ is the head of the Church, and not Caesar.

We have been so blessed and encouraged that the group has continued to meet even after the program, taking on Love & Respect Marriage Conference. This has helped us deal with couple conflicts biblically, and learned that it isn‘t really a marriage crisis, but a faith crisis. My relationship with my spouse reflects my relationship with Christ. Very powerful! We are excited to see how the Lord will continue to grow and shape this group.

As for the kids, their spirits are high as we are able to go back to the library and play at the park. Boo, Rafa, and Yael have started their swimming lessons in the summer. We have kicked off our new nightly devotion schedule: Manners Monday, Torchlighters Tuesday, Club Quest Wednesday (at church), Theology Thursday, and Family Friday. They love it!

But I was racking my brain about homeschooling. Last year was just shaky and stressful for me and the children. Then I realized, it was shaky and stressful for the entire world! Thank God for redirecting my steps, I decided to do a 5-day online homeschool planning boot camp that helped me realize why we do what we do and how to do it right. It helped me to create a vision, organize our stuff, our space, the kids, and myself, all founded in prayer. I was so excited to get started! A couple of curveballs down the road but the Lord has sustained us, especially me when all this is far beyond my abilities. And now we're almost done with the fall semester, whew!

As the holidays are fast approaching, I pray that the Lord would fill our hearts with thankfulness and praise. However dark the heavens or violent the waves, may we trust that He who created everything is with us. As He calms the storm, may we be still too, and may grace and peace be multiplied in our lives.

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. - Habakkuk 3:17-18

Though not a popular verse to consider for Thanksgiving or Christmas, this passage reminds us, hopefully stirs us up especially in this trying year. Just as we praise God when things are going well, we likewise have been able to praise him through sickness, even death, broken relationships, or disasters of the past week, or month, or the last two years. The prophet Habakkuk rightly points out, this God whom we praise is the God of our salvation, and every little thing that we are thankful for.

Finally, we would love to continue praying for you. Please let us know how you are doing, we want to encourage you in anyway we can. And as you think of us, continue to uphold us in prayer as well.