To our New Tribes Mission friends

Hello friends! I wanted to give you an update on what has been going on in the Mateer household since we moved from New Tribes this summer. We hope that you are doing well and that this letter finds you all in good health and joyful spirits.

Our time with NTM was supposed to be completed in November, when in June, Dave was contacted by a recruiter for Amazon.com. He decided before he would pursue an opportunity with Amazon, he would really love to check into some jobs in the western PA area to see if we could move closer to his family. He did that and in the course of the next couple of weeks, he was looking at 3 different job opportunities – two in the Pittsburgh area and one in Washington DC. He really had a desire to move back to PA, so after interviewing with all 3 companies, decided on one at a local hospital in Beaver, PA. (The IT offices are located in Hopewell, PA – for those of you who are familiar with this area.) So at the end of July, we moved from New Tribes, moved in with Dave’s parents and looked for a house. We found one and prepared to move in at the end of August. Meanwhile, Dave started his job with the hospital on July 31^st. It was a whirlwind of a summer,  that is for sure!

This is a picture of us the day we moved into our house

Our House

The fall was busy, trying to get adjusted to Dave’s new job and trying to get the house set up. God was so gracious to us.  Although Dave is finding the environment of working with non-Christians stretching at times, we are so thankful that the Lord is allowing us to be salt and light right now. After all, that is what He has called us to be, right? He is getting used to his position and is making some friends there. (One of his co-workers is a Christian and even grew up in Indonesia with missionary parents – how is that for a connection?!) Dave spent several months working his full-time job and then coming home and working hours and hours on the house, but lately things have been more relaxed with the house things. (We had some major plumbing issues when we first bought the house and that was a big ordeal, but we finally got that settled.)

We are so thankful for the house, though, and the kids esp. love the yard! Here are some pics of the kids really enjoying their time outdoors:

We also REALLY love the changing seasons!

I have been homeschooling again this year and it has been a good transition. Moving is always hard, but we really felt the Lord's presence with us guiding us every step of the way. The kids adjusted to school much faster than I expected they would and it has been a good school year for the most part. We are studying ancient civilizations through the Renaissance and it has been very cool.

So to all of our dear friends from New Tribes, we miss you very much and hope you are doing well. We are so grateful for the time that the Lord had us living and working with you all and we want to extend the invitation that if any of you are ever up in the Beaver area, you will always have a place to stay!