La Familia Barba (The Beard Family)
Jon has served in ministry
for twelve years as an ordained assistant pastor, youth pastor, and worship
leader. He has served in the foreign mission fields of Mexico, Costa Rica
and now Honduras for a combined nine years.
Marillyn has had extensive experience with all
things equestrian for seventeen years, including time as a professional rider and
trainer. She is also the amazing mother of four children.
Naomi Shalom, Tabitha Charis-Helle and Poema Alizay our three beautiful
girls.
Our handsome little Honduran-born men, Tobias Dayne & Mathias Caleb, our "baby-cinco".
While serving as full-time missionaries in Mexico, we discovered a ministry that combined the rescuing of abused horses and neglected children. We fell in love with the idea; thus was born the vision of Rancho Oasis for Youth.
Our handsome little Honduran-born men, Tobias Dayne & Mathias Caleb, our "baby-cinco".
While serving as full-time missionaries in Mexico, we discovered a ministry that combined the rescuing of abused horses and neglected children. We fell in love with the idea; thus was born the vision of Rancho Oasis for Youth.
In April of 2008, after
five years of marriage, we answered God's call to move with our daughter,
Naomi, to the Central American country of Costa Rica. We desired to stay
indefinitely and we had had our second child, Tabitha, born in Costa Rica;
thus, allowing ourselves to become legal permanent residents. However, after
almost two years in Costa Rica we were unable to find a piece of property that
we could afford. Sensing that God did not want us to borrow money to start the
ministry, we begin to pray for land.
In the fall of 2009, we
befriended a pastor and his wife who were ministering in three different locations.
One of the churches was being established in a rural area on almost 4.25 acres
of land. Our friends once hearing about our vision for the Ranch, offered us
the opportunity to serve on the property! There was only one catch... the property was in a different
country! Honduras!
God opened the door for our move in February 2010 and we´ve been living and working in Ojojona, Honduras. (Located in the mountains about an hour south of the capital Tegucigalpa). We have also gained residency through the Honduran birth of our third child, Tobias Dayne.
Our youngest daughter, Poema Alizay, was born in Iowa during our furlough in 2012.
God showed us that the size of our current ministry location was inadequate for expansion and we have purchased a larger property in the community: 17 acres!
We have completed many projects on the new site and officially moved onto the property in April of 2015. There is still much to accomplish as we reestablish ourselves and begin to reach out to our same community & beyond in a new, better location!
Finally, our youngest family member, Mathias Caleb, was born in our new home in December of 2016.
(Updated October 2017)
