Prayer Letter December 2009.
Hi friends!



Remember how on November 7th we left the U.S. for Mexico with only books and clothes in our suitcases? Three weeks have gone by and we are so excited to be in the city where God has called us to serve him. We have felt extremely loved and welcomed by our team, friends, and students.

Upon our arrival some friends generously let us stay with them while we searched for an apartment for two weeks. Now with great joy we are happy to share with you that God has provided us with an apartment. (The new address is noted above.) The owner is very nice and our neighbors are welcoming and friendly as they share with us what day the fruits and vegetables are on sale at the local grocery store or help us figure out which bus we need to take. The location is great because we live near the rest of our team and are able to find everything we need just by walking around our neighborhood.

Over the last few weeks cool things have been happening, for example God gave us the opportunity help out with a ministry called Compassion International, a ministry that works with low income children and helps give them more educational opportunities. We helped translate for the sponsors from the U.S. as they met the child they supported in Mexico at a zoo in Mexico City. It was an amazing day.

Last weekend we went to the city of Puebla for new staff training from our national office. Karem and Cecy are two girls who have decided to serve in the ministry full time and are taking the training with us. It is exciting for us to see how God continues to call people to invest their lives so that others people will come to know about the love of God.

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and financial support, without it we couldn’t do the ministry that God has called us to.

Prayer Requests:

 That God would continue to call more people like Karem and Cecy to serve in the ministry full time.

 That as we visit Luis’s family during Christmas we would have opportunities to share the love that God has for each one of them as many of them don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus.

 That God would continue to introduce us to people who want to invest in our ministry and that soon the rest of our support would be complete.

Greetings from Mexico City. We had great flights and were able to get through customs without any problems. After we arrived we met up with a few friends to eat some long awaited tacos al pastor. Between Luis and I we ate a total of 14 mini tacos. On Sunday we went to a new church, it is actually a branch of the church we went to before. The church is only about 80 people and we felt it was easier to connect well with people. Today (Monday) we are going to walk around the neighborhood to see if there are any signs for apartments for rent.

We’re leaving for Mexico!

Hello friends, 

We are so excited to share with you that on Saturday November 7th Liz and I will be on our way to Mexico City. God has given us the privilege to be here in the United States a little over three months. Since our wedding reception last July with friends and family here in Wisconsin we have been working to invite others to be a part of what God is doing in our lives and in the lives of the university students in Mexico City where we have been called with the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ. We are very grateful that God has allowed us to meet with so many people who are interested and want to support us through prayer and monthly financial giving.

We are so thankful to God that we are now at 70% of our monthly goal in promises, and although we are not at 100% we trust in God that He will provide the rest when we return to Mexico.

I would like to share with you that personally I have learned a lot about the culture where Elizabeth is from. I know that this is an important part of our relationship as a married couple. God has also given me the opportunity to take ESL classes in the mornings. This has helped me improve my English in the areas of grammar, pronunciation, writing, and comprehension. But not only this, God has given me opportunities to meet people in my class from different countries like Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Laos, Thailand, South Korea, Bangladesh, and Puerto Rico, and I was able to share the Gospel with some while with others have had great conversations. Some of my classmates find it strange that I would want to go back to Mexico to work as a missionary rather than staying here in the U.S. to work.

We still need to raise another $800 dollars in monthly support, and when we return to Mexico we will continue to invite others to partner with us in the ministry, but we believe that it is time to return to Mexico and to have our own place as a family. Ever since we were married our living situation has been up in the air, but God is gracious, and provided us a place to stay in this time. We give thanks to God for his faithfulness in our lives.   
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20

Prayer Requests:

» That we would be able to find an apartment in Mexico City that is within our budget.
» For a good transition to life in Mexico City, especially for Elizabeth.
» That God would soon provide the rest of our monthly financial support. » For the people who have said that they will support us to start with their first donation.
» To be able to enjoy the time that we have left in the U.S with our friends and family.

Hello from Wisconsin!

Elizabeth and I are here as we continue to invite more people to join our ministry support team. Currently we are at about 30 % of our monthly support goal, God has been faithful with us and we are very happy. Meanwhile, the staff team in Mexico City has already begun activities with the students for the semester. We hope to be able to join them in Mexico City soon. For now we would like to share with you Mitzi’s testimony, a student who got involved in the group last semester.

“I always wanted to be happy”
This is the phrase Mitzi, a Political Science student at the UNAM (University of National Autonomy of Mexico), uses to sum up her life before accepting Christ. This is the story that she shares with us:
I always wanted to be able to be very happy, without this happiness needing to depend on who was at my side. I just wanted to be happy for who I am and for what I have. For some time I thought I was immensely happy. I thought I had everything, a family that loved me and always supported me, friends to go out with every weekend, but most of all I had a boyfriend that I loved, and that loved me, and that made me feel very happy. When my relationship with my boyfriend started to unravel and come to an end, it was a very difficult time, because my boyfriend didn’t love me anymore and I could not imagine my life without him.
It was at this time I realized that I was empty, that the friends I had, all the parties, drunkenness, going out with different boys every week, and everything else that I was filling my life with was actually leaving me feeling more and more empty. Around this time I a guy from school started sharing with me about God, I liked how he talked about God and what he had to say. He told me that I was not alone and that God loved me in a way that nobody else could. Then he invited me to a retreat with Campus Crusade (Vida Estudiantil). I went, and it was amazing! I went full of taboos, but it was there that I decided to give my life to Christ. I experienced a happiness that I had never felt before. I felt His immense love for me, and I realized that He is always going to be with me. The happiness that I had been looking for in parties, alcohol, and men; I found giving my life to Christ. Having given my life to Christ has been the best decision that I could make, allowing Him to control my life is the most satisfying thing that’s come to me, there has never been a moment when I have felt alone or thought that life’s not worth it. Now my happiness and my emotional stability no longer depend on who is at my side.

Thank you for all your support, please pray with us for our monthly support, and than we can come back soon to Mexico City,

In the Michigan Lake, the water was really really cold, even than is summer here.

This is the anual picnic in community church, was really cool have the meeting outside.

Honney moon picture in a water park in Cozumel with some cool animals.

“ Nuestra Boda”

Apreciados amigos.
Les escribo para compartirles que el pasado 27 de Junio de 2009 mi ahora esposa y yo nos unimos en matrimonio en la hermosa ciudad de Xalapa, junto con nuestros familiares y amigos. Para nosotros fue una boda bellísima, rodeados de gente a la que amamos y nos ama de igual forma, y de detalles especiales, por ejemplo, la mayoría de mi familia nunca había estado en una boda cristiana y tampoco en una iglesia cristiana, le damos muchas gracias a Dios por esto.
Fue un día de muchísimo gozo para nosotros, aquí está una foto de nosotros en la recepcion.
Muchísimas gracias por sus oraciones por nosotros y por todo este proceso de ahora estar juntos mi esposa y yo.
Déjenme compartir con ustedes nuestra situación actual y algunos cambios que vendrán para nosotros en estos próximos meses.
Mi esposa y yo ahora estamos en los Estados Unidos levantando finanzas, invitando a más personas a que nos apoyen económicamente y con oración en el ministerio al que Dios nos ha llamado, ayúdennos orando para que Dios nos lleve a mas personas que estén interesadas a ser parte de lo que Dios está haciendo en la vida de los estudiantes en la Ciudad de México. Esperamos que este proceso no nos lleve mucho tiempo y estar pronto de regreso trabajando con nuestro equipo en México.
También una compañera de ministerio y yo estaremos dirigiendo a todo el equipo en la ciudad de México, será un gran desafío para mi en lo personal pero al mismo tiempo se que Dios va a enseñarme muchísimas cosas en este proceso.