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Greetings from Wendell & Dianne Merritt,

BACK FROM GUATEMALA

We returned as scheduled midday Friday November 8 -- tired, excited, and glad to be back with family and friends. The prior three nights had been short on sleep, so we have noticed this weekend exactly how tired we are. Our home was spic and span clean, thanks to two good friends who cleaned it, and it really feels good to be back.

LAST WEEKEND

Wendell spent last weekend with Tom Cooney at a youth retreat camp at a facility in the mountains about an hour west of Guatemala City. Tom is a very dynamic person -- great with youth -- and an effective speaker. About 100 youth and staff attended a very well programmed weekend. Also, this year Tom has been an interim pastor at their church in the capital city and is well loved and respected for his preaching and care for this local body of believers.

Dianne spent the weekend with Tom's wife Mary, and thoroughly enjoyed the fellowship. Mary is a remarkable woman -- a farm manager (like Meryl Streep in "Out of Africa") and an excellent mother to two adopted Guatemalan kids. Also she and Tom are keeping a four-year old boy with suspected developmental problems who was referred to them from the orphanage where he had been struggling. Mary and Tom have big hearts.

LAST WEEK

Last week John Lohrenz, our host for the eight weeks, left for the States for a planned trip. Therefore, we had a less full schedule, which helped us spend good quality time together for talking about and processing through our experiences.

Wednesday and Thursday we had a romantic getaway to Antigua, Guatemala -- a beautiful and historic city several hundred years old. Friends referred us to a small, quaint, romantic hotel of just 10 rooms. We had a great time of casual conversation, shopping, five-star dining, and fire in the bedside fireplace. It was a perfect close to a great trip and an investment into our romance of 32 years.

OUR OBJECTIVES

In our first email "Our Adventure (02Sep10)" we listed the following objectives for this trip:

• Spend a lot of quality time with the Lohrenzes and other CAM families
• Meet the local people and leadership
• Absorb the culture
• Get a feel for how God is moving and drawing people to Himself there
• Spend quality time in prayer and conversation with one another

All of them have been met beyond our expectations.

We also listed these:

PRAYER FOR US

• Wisdom, discernment and clear direction by the time we return
• For profitable quality time with those God places in our paths
• For our availability and openness to God's message with us...whatever that looks like
• Protection and provision for the needs of our family: Dianne's Mother, Neil, Brandy, Finley, Wayne, Timothy
• Our affairs and ministry left behind in Dallas will go smoothly

Your prayers and partnership with us have been so valuable. Many of these prayer matters have been answered.

We both long for unity of spirit, emotions, and purpose in how God might use us in this season of our lives.

Therefore, we continue to value your prayer. We will stay in touch and continue to thank God for your friendship and partnership with us.