Dear friends,

Sometimes you just gotta’ get down and dirty and fast.

That’s what these UNFILTERED mailings are about. If God has placed us Baers and our calling on your heart, read on. If not, please go back to what you were doing. No hurt feelings.


√ Getting to Colombia

Our house has not yet sold. That’s a concern. We need to sell this puppy.

The percentage of the funds United World Mission has established for us to raise that we’ve seen come in has hit 56%. We’re told this is a jaw-dropping outcome for six months of trusting effort; that’s the good news. There’s still 44% to go; that’s the other side of the coin. Missionaries do develop a special sense of tender dependence upon people of good will and common cause in a process like this one. There oughta’ be a word for the peculiar gratitude that ensues.

Karen’s Spanish lessons continue apace. Her teacher Magdalena wrote a side note to me about Karen’s ‘discipline, passion, perseverance, and great attitude.’

We are a month away from  moving East to move South, on which more below.


√ Our health

Karen is well after a series of uncharacteristic medical crises the landed her in the ER and the hospital. Many tests later, we’re without a diagnosis and probably won’t get one. Wo we do the next thing, and trust.

I’ve been in agony for five days with the worst sore throat of my life. The doc says it’s a virus that will pass. She did not say ‘Stop your whining and belly-aching’, but I could see it in her eyes.


√ Moving east

We have decided to move to our temporary home at the Haven House of David’s Community Bible Church in Millersburg, Pennsylvania. This is the church were I grew up, where my parents still are, and where I was nurtured into deep faith in Jesus as a teenager. We can hardly wait. We’ll be based in this beautiful, rural, Pennsylvania Dutch (German) location for the duration of our support-raising process. When we’ve finished that process, we’ll head to Colombia from there.


√ Current ministry

How to describe this? It’s just kind of burgeoning (I can’t remember the last time I used that word in a sentence). Almost too much to keep up with.

* I’ve had the enormous privilege of two week-long work sessions of the Vital Sustainability Initiative with phenomenal teams in Lebanon and Colombia.

* A series of talks, including ‘Five Things I’ve Learned by Failing at Leadership’ at LeTorneau University and its Honors College, out in Longview, Texas.

* Continued every-day progress on translating BIBLE MESH’s Hebrew-language teaching into Spanish for the Biblical Seminary of Colombia and Spanish-speakers everywhere, together with my Colombia colleagues Eduardo and Milton.

* Coaching and counseling, as part of my new role leading the Theological Education Initiative, with gifted people at various stages of finding their way to God’s calling as missionary scholars.

* An invigorating role on the Executive Committee of the Global Forum of Theological Educators’ as we plan for a 2nd gathering in 2018/2019.

* Near daily blog-writing on Isaiah as an early stage of preparation for a Spanish-language commentary on this biblical book.

* Coming up: a series of sermons and meetings at the Wethersfield (Connecticut) Evangelical Free Church, where Karen and I met; this church, with its growing Latino subgroup, is pastored by a guy I grew up with in Pennsylvania. His father pastored me in that church I mentioned earlier. Both Brooke and Ruth Solberg remain a force in Karen’s and my life.

* Also coming up: a small role at Langham Partnership’s annual ‘Vision Weekend’ in San Diego. Langham is one of the missional families in which Karen and I feel like adopted son and daughter. We love these folks and what they do.

* And coming up after that: one of the ministries I most admire in this world has asked whether I’d serve on their board. For reasons I could poke around at with a stick if you asked me to do so, this represents both a great opportunity and a huge, inviting affirmation at this stage in Karen’s and my transition. Plus, the organization is simply stocked with committed, talented, visionary, wonderfully enjoyable people.



√ Family

Karen is with family in Alabama as I write this. She’s bonding with little Cooper, our youngest of eight grandchildren.

Son John (Captain, US Army) will compete in and lead a series of two-man teams in the Army’s grueling ‘Best Sapper Competition’ in late April at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. And I’ll be there to watch! John’s brigade commander has provided him with all the resources he needs to ‘bring this thing home to the 101st Airborne Division’ (in which son Christopher also serves). Although I would have thought that Ranger School and Sapper School were likely the hardest thing a person could sign up for, John claims that the much shorter, three-day ‘Best Sapper Competition’ (this year will mark his third participation) takes the cake.

My father, in Pennsylvania, is in a nursing home for rehab. Karen and I are looking forward to being close to Dad and Mom soon.


√ The vision

Ever clarifying, ever invigorating, always challenging, much larger than we are. If God is not in this, we’re toast.

With deep affection,

David (and Karen)



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