Daniel C Berman Communications

My wife and I find ourselves coming to the close of 2009. The single digit years of the 21st century will no longer be, and we likely will never see them again in our life times. Its been an interesting year. On a national level its been a tough economy. Ranch and Home has done reasonably well of we which we are thankful. On a more personal level, I started my own business, Daniel C Berman Communications to do communication consultancy. Basically I look forward to telling a business or individual’s story on multiple levels from business cards to website(s) to social media and provide them with a cohesive approach through the whole experience.

But I am getting ahead of my story, we moved. Rent was climbing out of sight with La Serena. Stephanie and I were very grateful to find a two bedroom apartment with a solid landlord for considerably less. A number of friends and family helped out with several vehicles and got us mostly moved in a single weekend. The neighborhood is reasonably safe, though every one within sight speaks English as a second language or atleast the adults. Its very much a small taste of living in a cross-cultural environment, every single time we walk out the front door.

Before that however Stephanie’s ministry took off and I moved them to their own website. The Christian Family Planning Network desires to educate engaged and married Christians about their options for birth control beyond artificial or hormonal contraceptives, and hopes to overturn the common misconception that all natural birth control methods are the Rhythm Method of decades past. They started off with a small core group of 7-8 women over two years and its has grown to a thriving community of over 100 women stretching from Europe through the USA to Australia. They are projecting 2,000,000 page views a year and growing. I’m having to hustle to stay ahead of these girls. (Any advice on keeping a growing SMF board alive and running is greatly appreciated)

We also suffered a loss. Stephanie’s paternal grandfather passed away this past spring. Her parents were overseas on a missions trip with International Messengers when it happened. The timing could not have been predicted but it was wonderful opportunity to thank God for a wonderful life and meet more of the extended family, this time from the east coast.

But finally we also had two unexpected angels walk into our lives. We met Kevin & Sarah through a business connection related to Ranch and Home. They run a local graphics design firm which does excellent work, but their hearts run much deeper than that. These two people through their gracious manners and earnest desire to serve God whole-heartedly on a very real day to day basis have been a major encouragement and blessing to Stephanie and I.

With God, many thanks for what has happened over the past year and much anticipation for what He will bring in this coming year.