Dear friends,
Josh, Jack, and I send you this update from Wisconsin, where my sister Christina just celebrated her wedding in the midst the pandemic.
Report from June Trip
Two friends from City Church – Pastors Joe G and Chris L – came in June to encourage three missionary families in one go. They started with Doug and Helen White in the city of Guadalajara, then came out to us, and then Holly and Noe Clemente and their six kids came for two nights to fellowship with us as well. Joe and Chris are prayer warriors that had the opportunity to pray over almost all of us personally, and a number of other team members of the Whites as well. They also lent a hand digging trenches for our well, which after 100 ft straight down into the rock finally filled with water. Praise the Lord. Now, it is piped up to our water tank and can supplement the supply we get from the city on a water truck once a week. They also scouted the site of the Whites’ upcoming church plant and helped us purchase conduits and fuse boxes and other such things for our needed electrical projects. We were so blessed to have them and to see our missionary friends
Six-month Leave
Due to a number of factors, we have decided to stay in the States through the end of the year. Those factors are, briefly
1) We are still carrying a heavy burden of grief, and Anne especially feels the need to be with her family for a while to help carry it. We need to receive from others and be healed.
2) The coronavirus restrictions in Mexico have put an end to any thought of city-wide events or martial arts classes or hosting groups at our base, so it is an ideal time to take a break from ministry.
3) Even if we could have groups, our base has actually lost capacity to host people due to problems in the community with trash and water, and our electricity troubles. Plus, Jonathan’s family is living in some of the guest quarters, so until his house is built (currently under construction), we don’t have much room to house people anyway. Our absence actually makes our house available for any workers or helpers that Jonathan will need for his house project. (Interested in lending a hand? Let us know and we will put you in touch with him.
4) We would like to visit our supporting churches to give an update in person, and since it is not advisable to cram a multiple-city tour into a small window of time, we hope to be able to spread out the visits to keep everyone safe and to keep our toddler content with a somewhat-routine life.
In terms of finances, we are going to continue drawing our paycheck from Latin American Ministries as we transition. The cost of living is much higher over here! So we are thankful for any continued support as we try to make it stateside for these few months. If for some reason, we stay more than six months, we will stop using donations altogether and make sure they all go directly to Mexico.
Josh is also looking at work options to see if he can find something that will support us for these months, and if that happens, we will direct donations to Jesús and ongoing projects in Mexico.
Other Ministry Updates
Back in Mexico, meanwhile, Josh’s dad continues pastoring our church and Jonathan continues building his house. Josh also left a core team of survival course men with a few assignments to expand the courses when we return. For instance, he charged the paramedics on the team to give the other team members a first aid/CPR course with materials we brought from the States so that for the next course, the leadership team will all be trained. They have set a date to do that August 1, and Josh will continue to be involved with guiding them from afar. He is hoping that this team will be one that continues to be committed to discipling others and offering the hope of Jesus Christ through wilderness experiences.
Blessing to you all,
Anne, Josh, and Jack
Josh and Anne shared from their hearts July 26th. It can be viewed on You Tube Grace Church NG.