Here Comes the Summer!

Summer heat in Chihuahua is almost legendary! Since arriving last August, any conversation around heat or cold has usually ended in a warning: just wait until it starts getting hot in May! (And don’t even mention the humidity of summer’s wet season…) Well those daily highs are regularly hitting the 90s, cloudless days are the norm, and triple digits are not far behind! It’s finally time to fully experience what we mostly missed by arriving last year in August.

With the arrival of summer weather comes the end of school – and we are very proud of our daughter Elayne, who just yesterday finished kindergarten. It’s hard to say goodbye to a beloved teacher like Ms. Russ, and it will be hard for Laynie to not see friends daily… but she is already looking forward to first grade next year with classmates and a new teacher she already knows.

Our sons are also doing well – Titus has been enjoying working with me on projects around the house, and learning uses for the various parts of my multitool. Nothing made him more excited than helping me rehang the closet door in his bedroom! And Joel continues to grow faster than we think ought to be possible… he’s working on his fourth tooth, is learning to eat all kinds of real food, and scoots around so well it hardly matters that he’s also almost able to crawl!

Before we can truly settle into a summer schedule, there is one more very important event: our annual field conference! Over the next several days, the members of NTM Mexico will gather together for a time of shared encouragement and fellowship. We will hear reports from each of our tribal church planting teams, helping us understand what God is doing in each area and what specific challenges they are facing. We’re told this is always a time worth anticipating, as time with the church planters is hard to come by for those here in Chihuahua!

This year’s conference is of particular importance to our family. It is our first chance to meet most of the tribal missionaries, of whom some will likely be our future coworkers! Both they and we have this short opportunity to get to know one another, and to consider what it might look like for us to work in the same location. So you can imagine why – though our time in Chihuahua is far from done – we are incredibly excited to see how God will use this time shared together.

As each of us continue walking with Jesus wherever God has placed us, Amy and I remain so grateful for you: our partners in the Gospel. Each of you who prays for us and those who need the Gospel, who encourage us when the road is difficult, and who give from what God have given you – you are precious to us, and we love you greatly. Thank you for sharing with us this amazing privilege of making God known among the nations!

 

Thanking God together:

• We are finally really feeling ‘at home’ here in Chihuahua!
• To see Elayne finish well in her first year of school.
• For the successful conclusion of multiple ‘surprise’ home projects, each requiring time we prefer to use elsewhere.
• That we will get to see most of my (Jordan’s) family in June, for almost all of which it will be the first time since last July! (Only my mom has yet met Joel in person…)

Ways you can pray:

• For NTM Mexico’s field conference, and wisdom as we start to meet potential future coworkers!
• We also need wisdom in adjusting to a different pace of life in the summertime, and finding needed study hours with all of our kids in the house.
• That we would continue to grow in our understanding of language and culture, going deeper in relationships with friends and neighbors, all the while keeping our focus on Jesus and the ultimate reason we are here!