A busy December. Video Series- Proyecto Global

What a wonderful and busy year it has been! This year has been one of the most exciting and also adventurous ones yet. God has been so faithful and we look forward to what else He will do in our lives.

This past month Natasha’s mom got to come and meet Gabriella and help with the household duties, it was a blessing for her to be here. Also, Jonatan’s parents came in the middle of December and will be here for two months to help, it is a blessing they could come.

December 21 we celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary and got to go on a one night get-away to a beautiful place called Cedar Key here in Florida. We really enjoyed getting some time to ourselves. We stayed at a quaint bed and breakfast, it is owned by a Christian couple and we enjoyed the atmosphere there.

Gabriella had her baby dedication on Christmas Eve at our church and we are so thankful to our church family for how they have shown so much love to her and our family.

This month has been so busy keeping up with life that we haven’t progressed much with our ministry goals but God knows and has a plan. Next week we plan on traveling to South Florida to be part of a missions conference and also we have a few churches lined up to go and speak at.

The next video in our video series is about Proyecto Global and how we are involved. We will leave you with that short video.



We hope you had a Merry Christmas and will have a Happy New Year.

Our newest addition has arrived!: Video Series- Amazon Life Project

Our little Gabriella has arrived!

Natasha had a wonderful experience this time around with her second birth. She delivered naturally again at a birth center and on arrival, within 30 minutes, Gabriella was born. She is a good baby girl, doing the normal eating, sleeping and dirty diaper routine but we are thankful and praise God for this beautiful blessing to our family.





As you watched the video, we talked about what Amazon Life Project stands for, basically, it’s just the name of our blog. Also, we raised another 10% of the budget! We are excited to see God working in our lives and the lives of other people through this ministry.

We hope you are enjoying the beginning of this Christmas season, may God bless you and your family in the next few weeks up to the celebration of the birth of our Saviour.

Stay tuned for our next video update about what is Proyecto Global...

Busy weekend in South Florida.

This past weekend we had the opportunity to go back to Hobe Sound, the city where we originally met as we were in college. We enjoyed attending the Spanish church on campus that celebrated their 25th anniversary. Jonatan and I both did Christian service there; Natasha was a Sunday school teacher and Jonatan helped with the youth camps, music, and children's ministry. It was a blessing to reconnect with some of the same people that have not seen us for some time.

Hobe Sound Bible Church- Spanish Anniversary

We spent a large amount of time with friends and students from the college that we haven't seen in a while and it was nice to reconnect with them. We shared with some people more specifically of how they could partner with us in the Amazon ministry and we hope to see more people getting involved.

Meeting with our friend Maritza from PR

Jonatan was happy to meet with a friend who is a Puerto Rican, was a missionary to Colombia, and now is a missionary to Panama. She came to the US for the weekend to get away from the hurricane crisis in Puerto Rico and to visit her brother who has cancer. We met up with her and had a nice time reconnecting.

Our last day, Sunday, we visited the church Jonatan ministered to every weekend for the 4 years he was in college. He did ministry through music, taught Sunday bible school, and had many friends there. Jonatan presented shortly at the church and they expressed interested for us to come back to share more. The pastor mentioned they want to prayerfully consider supporting us, we thank God for that.

First United Methodist Church

We are currently working on a series of videos that will explain more in detail about our background and ministries we are connected and involved with, past and present. Stay tuned!

We love you guys and are thankful for each and every one of you being part of our lives.

Glad to be home.

We thank God for getting us safely home and back into the normal routine of things. As we reflect on the goodness of his love and provision from this summer we are humbled to know that he takes care of his children and we do not need to worry about anything.


We stayed at Natasha's brothers house in Kentucky for a week to wait out the hurricane and also for some clean-up to happen. After that, we started our final trek, with a stop in South Carolina for the night and home afterwards. As we entered into Florida it was amazing to see the destruction of a natural disaster. People were still frantic, we stopped to get food at Walmart 2 hours away from the house, being advised to do so, and also we waited about 30 minutes in line to get gas at a gas station. As we were pulling up I noticed and mentioned to Jonatan, "this person in front of us only filled up $8."

Jonatan started talking and it hit me hard. This country has never really, REALLY, gone through a chaotic situation or horrible natural disaster. When there is a hard time people go crazy, only caring about themselves, getting every penny, every gallon of water, food supply and not leaving anything for anyone else. It is sad. When a true chaotic situation occurs, like the second coming, people will be a mess! We need to remember who to keep our eyes on, this verse comes to mind.

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

On a more personal note, the baby is due in 6 weeks! We cannot wait and are so thankful for God's provision for so many things, very unexpected surprises. Some people have asked about a gift registry, Natasha has made one with Target, if you feel lead to do so. 
https://www.target.com/gift-registry/giftgiver?registryId=5a6093e60d3c45d0a8e3af4f9c837878&lnk=registry_custom_url

We want to be the most transparent as possible about our missionary endeavours, always. Please continue praying for us and specifically making connections. The faster we get to 100% we get to leave for the field, we are currently around 20% supported.

Prayer Request:
Please keep us in your prayers, we will be traveling to another city in Florida this coming weekend and are visiting with people and churches. We ask that God gives us clarity for sharing the vision and that people would be interested in supporting us.

Summer Deputation comes to an end.

This summer has been a wonderful time getting to know more people, churches, and connections. We have traveled at least 10,000 miles on our van that has over 250,000 miles on it! What a blessing to know it is still running and functioning fine! The only problem we had was when we ran over a nail.

This past week we spoke at our final church in Ohio. After that we went to Kentucky to visit with Natasha's brother and family for a day or two and are currently in limbo to move or not till the hurricane moves through Florida. We highly desire to be home but know we want to stay safe in a secure location.

We trust God to get us safely back to Florida with a loaded van and a mama that is on her 30th week of pregnancy. We also want to praise God that the need of a computer has been fulfilled.

ABWE appointed missionaries

Hello family and friends,
As we have been busy with our deputation travels and the appointing of us becoming official ABWE (www.abwe.org) missionaries, we wanted to take a short moment for everyone to hear a little about the change and to explain a little better for you to understand.
ABWE has almost 90 year of experience in missions with over 900 missionaries all over the world. Their mission is focused in discipleship which is very well aligned with our vision for the ministry in the amazon.
We have seen God opening doors and working in great ways in our lives. We pray that he will keep growing our faith, filling us more with the Holy Spirit and have a clear focus to share with others the ministry.

Prayer Requests:
- Both of our computers died this past month. Please pray this need will be fulfilled because we used them everyday.
-Natasha's pregnancy.
-Our last weeks of deputation, traveling, protection, provision and people interested in partnering with us in the ministry.

July update, continuation of deputation travels

Hello dear friends,

As we continue our travels we are so thankful for what God is doing and how he is working in our lives. We have been gone now for two months and we are starting to get tired, but God is good and renews our strength everyday.

We want to thank every church, our families, and awesome friends who have hosted us and given amazing hospitality to us during this time. You all are so great and we thank God for you.
A quick update on what we have done:

At the beginning of this month we went to a church in Culpeper, VA and had a great time sharing at three services in one morning. Our friends treated us so well and we were thankful for open doors.

After this we continued to PA to spend time with Natasha's grandparents and a Wednesday night service we spoke at their church. We had a nice time sharing with the people and pastor of how God is working in the Amazon and our lives.

While we were arriving to Natasha's grandparents, as we were driving up the driveway our tire popped; we had driven over a nail that was on the road. Thank God we had the help of Pappy and we knew the location well so we could find a good place to get it fixed. It was amazing, Jonatan had bought warranty on the tires from Walmart so we got a good discount.

The next two weeks we were in Harrisburg and also a few days at Lancaster, PA getting to know a mission organization called ABWE. We met some of the coolest missionaries and people who are interested in going to the field. This time was such an encouragement for us and we love the new friends we made that will be lasting friendships.

As we made our way to the next church in Wisconsin we made some stops at a few different places spending time with old friends. Natasha was especially thankful to get to see a best friend from college and Isabella got to play with their daughter who was around the same age.

June Update. Our first deputation trip

Our first deputation trip has begun!
Some people haven't heard the word deputation before, we mean that we have begun our first trip around the country sharing the ministry and spreading our vision. God has been so faithful and we are just amazed with how he loves us and is taking care of us.

June started off with a big bang! The last week of May Jonatan stopped volunteering at ITEC, where he currently was assisting in the hanger fixing airplanes. That Saturday, June 3, we had a family fun day at ITEC where many people from the community came out to see the facilities and we also had airplane rides. We couldn't believe how God brought the people to this event! The airplane rides were none stop all day and we ran out of food! Praise God!

The following week we left the comforts of our home and started our journey up north. We made a stop with Jonatan's cousin in Atlanta, Ga. We were thankful to be able to share time with her and her son. From there we went to Natasha's parents home in West Virginia and spent some days there so Isabella could spend time with them and also her uncle and aunt.

The following week June 12-16 we had a discipleship training in the beautiful mountains of WV with an organization from Kentucky. We learned how to find people of peace and make disciples through a rapid method. During this time almost the whole Proyecto Global team was there. We got to spent time bonding and spending time together as a team, it was a blessed time.




The following Sunday, June 18, we spoke at Natasha's church and shared the ministry.

As the following week rapidly approached we drove to Lynchburg, VA and had so many appointments. One day we had four different appointments to share with people, it was a little tiring but encouraging to see the people so interested. We thank God for those times even when we feel tired. Since we used to live here we enjoyed visiting with friends as well. The following Sunday we spoke at the church we used to go to.

After church we drove to Tennessee to have a family reunion with Natasha's family. During this time we had fun spending time bonding with family. We also got to share the ministry, Jonatan spent a day at a local non-profit there and it looks very promising about the possibility of  them helping to providing an airplane for the ministry! We also had a time to share with some of Jonatan's old friends he met years ago.

 

As you can see we have been busy. But, we praise God for these times and what he is going to do.

May Update

Hello family and friends,

We skipped a month of blogging because you all received an email from us last month about our plans for this summer. We would love to hear from you! We are planning on leaving the first week of June for West Virginia and from there we are going to be visiting churches and friends spreading the ministry. This is a much needed part of the process of going to Colombia as full time missionaries. It is just amazing to see how God is putting these plans together, our schedule is coming together wonderfully.

Some specific prayer requests:
*We are going to be driving our van that has over 236,000 miles on it. We trust God to keep us safe and give us wisdom if something does break down on how to fix it. Jonatan can fix airplanes so I'm sure he can fix our car, that is if it is fixable :)
*Natasha is in her second trimester of pregnancy. Pray that her morning sickness will subside and she won't have any complications. We trust God for a smooth and enjoyable time for her. She has a check up a few day before we leave and a few days after we get back. Also the doctor is on call if she needs anything, which is a blessing.
*Isabella to be flexible and patient as we are on the road for hours. That she will have an enjoyable time, that God will use her in a special way and be happy meeting new people.
*We are considering partnering with a missions organization and are in the process. We would like God's approval on this and if it is the right thing for us to do. There are pros and cons about being part of a missions organization and going on your own as a missionary. If you have any insights to help us with this we would love to hear from you.

Please prayfully consider how you could help us this summer! This time, more than ever, we need you prayer and financial support.
We would love to see you! Some states we plan on visiting are West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma.

March Update

I had wrote this recently on my Facebook (Natasha) and thought to share it on the blog.

This is my little princess... She was such a trooper while we were in the Amazon.
She woke up every morning putting joy and excitement in our hearts and everyone around her just loved her. She was fearless enjoying her swim in the deep waters of the amazon basin, she talked to people regardless of cultural differences/language barriers and made everyone smile, she went to her first class at school in one of the villages... I am beyond proud of her. God has blessed us so much with her and I know she is also making God proud. This trip has been the best one yet, for me, because she made things so comfortable.
Thank you everyone for your prayers, we felt them.

As we are back home to the norm we are thankful for our comfy bed, hot showers and a personal kitchen to prepare whatever we wish. We are also planning our summer deputation schedule and things are coming together. If you would like us to come visit you let us know!

February Update

 As the time of the year where love is emphasized is upon us we we want to thank God for the unconditional love he bestows upon us. He is such a great God.

This past month we made some nice memories. We got to go to Hobe Sound camp meeting, this is where we went to college and we could sit in some services and visit with people whom he met years ago. It was a time of relaxation and also encouragement as well as encouraging others. We met up with some friends that we haven't seen in years and really enjoyed it. We also got to be part of the dedication ceremony of the coffee shoppe that is opening on campus of the college and they will be selling Natasha's parents coffee.

My parents got to come down for the weekend of camp meeting so we celebrated my dad's retirement, what a special time for him.

This past weekend our church hosted a marriage and family conference. It was so encouraging for both of us to hear how to strengthen our marriage. It is challenging when life is so hectic and busy, you are raising kids and life just doesn't slow down. We felt challenged to make sure there is always time for our relationship, we want to be an example for others and need to keep our marriage strong.

Next month we are going to Colombia. We plan to spend some time in Leticia to do some ministry then also spend some time with Jonatan's parents, Isabella needs some abuelito(a) time. Please keep us in your prayers that this will be a fruitful and effective time. We are going with a family we are friends with and assisting them, also we would like to see what options there are for us as living arrangements when we move there.

This summer we want to spend as much time as we can evangelizing and spreading our vision of what God has for the Amazon to as many churches as possible. We would love to see every one of you! If you wouldn't mind we would love to come to your church. If you would be interested please let us hear from you! We are putting our interinery together now :)

Sending hugs and well wishes,
The Nieto family

Planning for the new year

Hello family and friends in Christ,
We are so excited for a new year. Happy New Year! I was thinking of a good verse to start the year and this one touched me:
" Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever." Psalms 136:26
This Psalms is so encouraging knowing that God's love endures forever.  The chapter speaks about amazing things like God doing great wonders, governing the day and night, frees us from our enemies, gives food to every creature. How can we not thank him. He is an amazing God! Even when times are bad we still need to remember to thank the God in heaven because his love endures forever.

This year we are excited of what is to come. We have many plans driven by God and with his help he will fulfill them in us. 

March we are planning a trip to Colombia/The Amazon. The tickets to Colombia and coming home are paid for, given by some wonderful friends. We are praying for God to supply the other needs we have. We need to buy tickets to/from Leticia and some money for food and housing. Part of the time in the amazon we will do ministry and the rest of the time we will be scouting for a place to live and getting to know more people in the area as well as organize thing for out move. If you feel lead to help with this trip, please let us know.

Sometimes it is scary knowing that God has called us to this work and we don't know the details, we don't have anything to offer- except our lives. We just need to remember in his word it says that he is our provider, Jehovah Jireh, and not to fear. We are learning to live with little and know that God honors that, we are willing to go where ever he wants, when he wants.