It’s been a record run… intern Josiah Rydmark has volunteered almost a year of his time at Welcome Home. Arriving in January 2009, Josiah has just returned to his Molalla, Oregon, home in mid-November. Josiah has been a great asset on the staff at Welcome Home, working together on construction projects with Welcome Home staff, Steve Scott and Jose Luis (Colores). Josiah likes to keep busy, so when the Welcome Home projects slowed down, he spent a lot of time helping build a home for Canadian missionary Karen Wind and her adopted boys, Gumaro and Alex. During the year he enjoyed working with special folks like Brad Roosma (Fairbanks, AK), Warren Baerg (Saskatchewan), the Lindstroms (Edmonton, AB), Andrew & Dawn Bernardi (Hope, BC), as well as his youngest brother, Micah — and, of course, all of our visiting Welcome Home missions/ministry teams. We are so grateful for his commitment to the work and people in Mexico. Thank you, Josiah, for being part of our family!

So, why the congratulations, you might ask? Well, Josiah is engaged! And imagine this: he met and courted his fiancee, Gabrielle Bremner, right here in Vicente Guerrero. Last June, Gabby came with her church team from Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church (Clackamas, OR) to work in Vicente Guerrero. Gabby and Josiah met and hit it off. So, Gabby returned in August to live in the village of Zapata and the rest is history. Josiah popped the question in early November and a January wedding is planned. These two young people love living in, and serving the people of Mexico and, no doubt, will return to some kind of ministry here when the opportunity arises. God bless you, Josiah and Gabby! We love you.