My In-Laws: Joel & Margaret Sloan

In my last post I introduced you to my hubby David's oldest brother Tommy and his family.  This time you will meet his second brother Joel.  And just to keep you straight on the line-up, I have provided this pictorial view of the eight original Sloan children, in birth order.  As you can see, we have quite a few introductions left in this mini-series.

Joel is very easy to describe: happy all. of. the. time.  I honestly think he may have been born singing and smiling.  (I'll have to check with my mother-in-law on that one though.)  If he can't sing, Joel is probably whistling or humming.  He really takes the words of the verse in I Thessalonians 5:16 "Rejoice evermore" to heart.

Because he grew up on the mission field of Mexico, Joel (like all of the other Sloan children) is fluent in Spanish and English.  It is fitting that the Lord is using him to work with both language groups on the border of Mexico/Texas/New Mexico.  

Joel married Margaret, whom he met in Bible college.  They have two sweet daughters and a son in heaven. Joel currently pastors two groups in one church building - a Spanish church (Iglesia Bautista Agua Viva) and an English church (Living Water Baptist Church), both in Chaparral, New Mexico.   He has also been the pastor of:

+ Templo Bautista El Paso in El Paso, Texas

+ Iglesia Bautista Colina Alta in El Paso, Texas

+ Mision Bautista Agua Viva in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

Have I told you yet that Joel doesn't sit still?  He and Margaret are hard workers and are always busy!  Our own son Nate is a lot like his Uncle Joel.  I wonder if it has anything to do with both of them being the second born?

{Below} Joel has always loved cowboy hats, which is why I chose to illustrate him that way in the pictorial graph above.  Here is some proof of that from when he was a little boy:

It is a pleasure to know how joyfully Joel, Margaret, and their daughters serve the Lord each day.  They keep us encouraged to enjoy our work for Christ.  And isn't that just how it should be?!

Whistle while you work!

My In-Laws: Tommy & Mona Sloan

So, I am starting something I have wanted to do for a long time.  This will be a mini-series where I will introduce you to my hubby's family.  There are so many awesome things about David, but one of the best things I inherited when I married him is his family.  You can read a little more about his parents (2nd generation missionaries) and grandparents (1st generation missionaries) here.  

David is the sixth of eight children.  Four girls; four boys.  And my poor David was born right in the middle of all of those sisters.  So, he grew up with three brothers who didn't usually want to play with him and with four sisters that he didn't really want to play dolls with! 

It all worked out though, because he survived and they are all friends as adults. :-)

First up, I will introduce you to David's oldest brother: Tommy.  He was named after his father, and has followed his father's footsteps as a missionary to Mexico.  He married a pastor's daughter, Mona, from Austin, Texas. They have five awesome kids who are full of life and personality.  Their oldest daughter recently graduated from high school.  My oldest child Davey (who is 12 years old) was recently looking at pictures of his cousins in this particular family and said (with a voice that has started to deepen... what?!), "Mom, we're (the cousins) not a bunch of little kids anymore."  Wow.  He is so right!

Tommy is now the pastor of the church that their father started in Chiapas, Mexico, and the work is going strong.  He is also the founder and director of Compassion Radio, a 24-hour Spanish radio broadcast which reaches across an area of 5 million people in southern Mexico and Guatemala.

We are so proud of the work this family is doing for Christ!

And, I just have one thing to say to my nephew Hank that you see in the picture above:  "Hank, your Uncle David completely understands what it feels like to grow up in the middle of four girls.  You're gonna make it!" ;-)  (It is going to make him a great husband one day too.  Trust me!)