The Beard Family - Thanksgiving 2021 |
Has it really been over two years since my last post? (Yep. June 2019!)
I guess as our life got back to US standard “normal” I lost interest in sharing about the Beard family. Perhaps, I just lost the motivation, not seeing our significance without Rancho Oasis. Thank God His plan for each of us is long-term even when our earthly efforts don’t come to fruition!
So let’s review…
We all finished up our 2019-20 academic year just like everybody else: on-line learning due to Covid-19 interventions/concerns. Even Marillyn taught online because she had stepped into teaching the ASL class at the kids’ school. The demands of teaching at the junior high led me to leave the profession and go back to my “trade roots”. I installed whole house fans with Eco Air Solutions, my in-laws whole house fan company, in the warmer months and painted cabinets in the colder months. We homeschooled the kids in 2020-21 through the classical conversations community. Our life was finally beginning to settle in Colorado Springs when we decided to make another move…
Mathias at school homecoming rally! |
Marillyn and the kids, along with Brooke Goranson, arrived in Phoenix, Arizona mid-July 2021! The vision was to start an Arizona division of the whole house fan company and work Colorado’s offseason in Arizona.
The kids discovered a great Christian school and miraculously were all enrolled for the 21-22 school year! Naomi (15 y/o) has since hung up her ballet shoes, but is a social butterfly her first year in high school; Tabitha (13 y/o) is an 8th grade academic star and continues to play both court and sand volleyball; Tobias (11 y/o) is enjoying his 4th grade classroom and the baseball diamond as a 2nd baseman; Poema (9 y/o) is being challenged in the classroom after being identified as dyslexic and is a top goal scorer on her soccer team; Mathias (5 y/o) is making friends in the pre-k three full days a week!
Poema sporting her Inferno away jersey. |
After completing the summer install season in Colorado, I arrived in Phoenix on September 1st! Workwise the transition to Arizona has been very slow, so I filled in as a substitute teacher at the kids' new school. However, neither the whole house fan business nor teaching were consistent enough to sustain us and I was prompted to search elsewhere for work.
Via a contact with another parent in Poema’s classroom, I’ve been invited to pursue joining a Realtor Group in Phoenix. I’ve enrolled into a two week crash course and hope to pass my tests in January, get trained in February and begin working in March when the season picks up in real estate! God’s timing is perfect despite this huge leap of faith, also known as a “career change”! Marillyn has also started working part-time at a local barn getting her horse fix while earning a bit of income, too!
Tobias showing his purple school pride! |
Most importantly, after months of searching, we seem to be settling into a home church! Phoenix, a city with a population over 4.7 million people, has a lot of churches! Despite having a lot of recommendations from friends and families at the kids' school, we never were able to settle in at a church, until now.
A recent sermon emphasized Isaiah 43:18-19:
“Remember not the former things,
nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
What an amazing verse to start a new year and to “start over”, again literally in the desert!
Financially, we are in a unique situation as I transition careers.
There are two ways to help the Beards: Pray & Give!
Pray for the Lord to bless us in this transition:
-We may need to move out of our current rental to make payments;
-My 2005 mini-van needs to be replaced with a Realtor-friendly ride;
-That we can exhaust all the local & government resources available to us while I’m not earning a paycheck.
-That I would pass my real estate licensing tests
-That we would continue to grow spiritually as a family:
-Marillyn and I have recently restarted Christian marriage counseling
-The family is working through the New Testament in Bible Study
-That we would get connected with our new church outside of Sundays
Naomi and I serving at a high school field trip. |
You can give to Rancho Oasis for Youth. RO4Y still exists as a non-profit to receive monthly payments for the property in Honduras. The property is under a “rent to own” contract with another US based ministry working in Tegucigalpa and now Ojojona. We had hoped to have it paid for in full by now, but Covid really hampered their ability to raise funds for the property.
Please send checks to:
Rancho Oasis for Youth
UPDATED April 2022: 8765 Boxelder Dr
Colorado Springs, CO 80920
Or donate on Paypal with this link.
Another way to give is through the Arizona Tax Credit System to help pay for the kids’ tuition for school. Even non-residents can participate in the giving for a tax right off. Read more information by clicking the link here.
Forgive me for the delay in communication. It has been a rough journey, but for the first time in awhile I am experiencing hope!
Be blessed in 2022 and stay in touch!