NAVmata.com

December 2002
Greetings from the Matas!!

We wish you a Merry Christmas in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Can you believe another year has gone by us again? If you are like me they fly by so fast. This year has been a year of growth for all of us, both through trials and blessings. I wish I had enough time and paper to share them all with you but I don't. I wanted to get this letter out to everyone sooner but we are all going through some major adjustments.

Where do I start? It all seems a blur to me. How about New Year's Day, January 1, 2002? We all went to the Pasadena Rose Parade with Tim and Kathy Barta (they are good friends of ours). It's the greatest experience to see the floats in person. Once you have seen it that way you never want to watch it on TV again! That's how great it is! You're welcome to join us this coming New Year too.

I began this year still employed by Boeing Co. know a layoff was coming since I was served with a layoff notice last fall but it was later cancelled. So when I was given my layoff notice again in August after being with the company 15 years it was no surprise to us. So DeeDee returned to work for the El Rancho Unified School District. She got a fifth grade teaching position at Selby Grove Elementary School. It is a five-minute drive from where we live. She has 31 students and is working very hard for us.

I am thankful to the Lord for His provision in this job.

Piano lessons for the younger Matas continued and I too started to take lessons. You ask, why learn now? It's because we bought a used piano and it killed me to see it sit there and not know how to use it!

During the spring DeeDee finished homeschooling our boys. Emilio and Andrés did great. Of course I give the Lord and DeeDee all the credit. As our boys grow so do the activities. Emilio played baseball for the Yankees PeeWee Division and they took First Place. They lost only 3 games out of 20. He was selected for the All Stars and they won all four tournaments that they played. Talk about trophies galore!

His team even got their picture taken at City Hall and put in the city paper. Andrés also played baseball for the Yankees but it was for the Jr. Pee Wee Division. It was a hard season and they won 4 out of 20 but there were 2 major highlights. One was Andrés' first base hit and the other was when he played up to the Pee Wee Division to help his brother Emilio's team play a game because they were short a player. They won the game by one run and Andrés helped throw out the tying run at home!

With each year there are trials, so I share this with great sorrow that Emilio and I witnessed a murder at a park. It rattled the foundations of my belief system. When you see evil manifested it reminds you that we live in a fallen world that needs Jesus. I am grateful for the Lord's protection - emotionally and physically. Emilio is doing fine and seems not show the stress of the event. But as for me - I almost bought a house in New Mexico! I struggled with fear and still don't know what is going to happen since now I am a witness in a murder trial. Please pray for a plea bargain. Thank you.

This summer we went to New Mexico to be with DeeDee's family. It is always nice to be around her family because we feel the love they have for us. We have traveled more than 30 times to Albuquerque since we have been married. It has been worth the effort. By the way, DeeDee and I celebrated our 14th year of marriage on December 17th - Wow! Our vacation included a trip to Colorado Springs for a Navigator family conference. The boys loved Colorado - especially the sight from the top of Pike's Peak. (We actually ran into our friends the DelFrates who live in Albuquerque!)

This summer we had Uncle Robert Morse, DeeDee's sister Arlene's husband move in with us. He got a promotion from Honeywell and started work in Torrance, California. Arlene and the kids stayed in Connecticut until the house sold and now everyone is safe and sound in their new house in Huntington Beach, California, a mile away from the beach.

As the fall brought changes so did it bring changes to our family. DeeDee started work. The boys started school for the first time outside the home. They go to Brethren Christian School. My layoff took effect in October. My health has changed for the better because I have been battling gout since the summer. The gout would move around in my body from week to week. First in the feet, then the knee, from leg to leg and back. It was a five-month struggle but the Lord has healed me and I have just experienced my first month without an attack. Praise the Lord!

Andrés played Upward basketball this year. It is a Christian league that teaches the fundamentals of basketball and allows the kids to play basketball with a Christ-centered emphasis. In other words, they don't try killing each other!
Andrés really improved and had lots of fun.

Emilio played flag football for his school. He played Quarterback and Safety. He enjoyed learning about the game and hopes to play tackle football next year.

So you ask what is my plan for next year? Let me tell you that we can use your prayers concerning an opportunity that has come up for me to go into full-time Christian service. In January DeeDee and I will be interviewed by a Christian organization called the Navigators. I worked for them when I was a single man as a missionary in South America. They asked me to help them in the Hispanic Community to work in the East Los Angeles region. So pray the Lord would open or close the doors for us. I'll let you know what happens.

Our family has found peace and love amidst all the changes and trials of this past year and it's all because of Jesus in our lives. May the Lord bless you in the coming year as you seek Him! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Alex... for the rest of the Matas

alex@navmata.com