Step By Step

Returning to Chihuahua after summer travel, one of my (Jordan’s) primary goals for the school year has been leaning into Spanish teaching opportunities. In Las Moras, I would at times teach Scripture in different contexts… but mountain Spanish, effectively a trade language, is quite different from what is spoken elsewhere. Adjusting back to ‘city’ Spanish, particularly in classroom-like settings, would require effort and perseverance… especially since the most intimidating and challenging steps would be the first ones! With this in mind, and knowing that every aspect of ministry is greatly served by continued growth in clear and effective communication, I volunteered to help my friend Hector with a couple of classes at our Spanish language missionary training center: Rancho Siloe.

For three Mondays over the past month, I have enjoyed walking through conversations on Folk Catholicism with the Ranch students. Our goal in these four hour classes was to practice analyzing Mexico’s most common belief system from a worldview perspective, helping them identify how different religious practices reveal the themes through which unreached people interpret the truths of God’s Word. The work was hard, but productive… and at the end of our practicum, the students were better prepared to perform this type of analysis in their future long-term ministry locations. For my part, I had taken a crucial first step in acclimating to formal Spanish teaching – one I look forward to building upon when teaching Team Formation at Rancho Siloe in January, though not before taking full advantage of the available prep time between now and then!

In our last update, we shared our hopes for progress on a few family health issues. Titus and Joel have been established with a new doctor whose early work encourages us greatly! We like the specific methods she is using to isolate the root causes of their symptoms… and after working long and hard to organize the many different overlapping ways we have tried to help our boys, it is a relief to largely turn tracking the big picture over to Dr. Rachel. Amy, for her part, is in another low stretch of her reactivated mono cycle – meaning that she once again need a couple extra hours of daily sleep. That has been challenging, but we are grateful that the sleepiness has not been accompanied by the discouragement characteristic of past times like this.

For the last several days, my parents have been in town visiting us. This is their first trip to Chihuahua since we came back in 2022, and we are greatly enjoying fellowship, games, conversations, help with projects… and the excuse to eat a ton of amazing Mexican food! The time has been very sweet, though – as always – it passes all too quickly this side of eternity. During the trip down from the El Paso airport, our minivan’s transmission finally told us it has had enough. God provided that we were able to limp the vehicle back home, but our mechanic says the transmission needs rebuilt – adding that doing so would be a poor investment considering the age of the vehicle, its 250,000 miles of prior use, and other problems it has begun having. We need to buy a replacement as soon as reasonably possible, and are starting work to that end on both fundraising and a vehicle search – more on that below.

These past few months, one of the ‘bonuses’ we’ve enjoyed is the presence of our Nahuatl brother-in-Christ, Efraín. Like Alma before him, Efraín – one of the younger generation of believers from Las Moras – has come to the mission’s Spanish language Bible school, and we are thoroughly enjoying the privilege of interacting with him again. Pray for his time of study, especially as he continues adjusting to drastically different surroundings while so far from home. Interacting with this good friend whets our appetite for our planned visit back to the mountains this spring, when – Lord willing – we hope to encourage the church and team over the course of a few short days back in Las Moras. Many people through the years have never returned after living there for a time, so it will be impactful for the community to see us come visit even though we no longer live among them. This would be our first time back as a family since originally leaving in 2021 – but, with the church planting team again having left the village for security reasons, we will make flexible plans which can be adjusted if the situation warrants.

In the meantime, there is plenty to keep us busy here in Chihuahua. The IT department continues rolling out a new system of email addresses, which will help Ethnos México manage a lot of our resources moving forward. Having wrapped up Folk Catholicism, I am not only starting to look at the Team Formation class… but prepping to take a prerequisite course at Rancho Siloe as a student. I am also starting to work through old notes on the book of Philemon, hoping to both teach a short course at our Bible school and perhaps preach through that text at our local church. Meanwhile, the next cycle of culture and language evaluations is only a few weeks away for our consultant team… and that’s just what we know lies ahead! Each day is a new opportunity to walk with the Lord through the things He has planned, and it is certain that there will be a few more surprises along the way. As we keep our eyes fixed ultimately on Jesus, and on the work of reaching Mexico’s least-reached… may we always be ready to set our own plans aside in order to join in what He has set out before us.

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Since we first entered missionary training, our habit has been to lay specific financial needs before our partners – recognizing that A.) God is the one who provides the needs of His ministry, and B.) He so often does so by means of His church. We are grateful to have partners who ask to hear what those needs look like, and understand our desire to communicate them in a pressure-free manner. Today, we have three things to share.

• We need to replace our ministry vehicle, as soon as feasible. This is a developing situation, so we are still researching options – but we have repeatedly heard that the best way to find a reliable vehicle is to buy used from a reputable local dealership. Some funds from selling our truck provide a start, and we estimate that $5,000-10,000 (edit: please see our Give page for a few updates) will be needed in the next couple of weeks to cover the balance. Given our family size and ministry needs, we are looking most closely at SUVs and minivans.
   
• Our upcoming visit to Las Moras, whenever it ends up happening, will require combining a number of transportation methods. We will drive or fly commercially to an intermediate city, from which a mission plane will carry us in and out of the village. Again, our plans are in early stages… but we estimate that it will cost $2,500-4,000 to get us there and back again.
   
• The pledged monthly support level for our family is at 78.4% of the mission’s recommended level, and the average we have received by God’s grace is 83.7%. Full support would allow us to save for needs like the ones we’ve shared today, permit to focus more completely on daily ministry, and free up more time on home assignments for our existing partners.

Thank you for considering these points with us – we appreciate your help in bringing them to the attention of those you know who may be interested in helping, and ultimately in taking them together before the Lord. Anyone wanting to know how to participate financially can find instructions on our Give page.

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For Prayer

• Please keep the Nahuatl church, missionary team, and community of Las Moras in prayer. We never desire regional instability requiring the team (and many villagers) to leave the area… yet we know that God works all things for good to those who love Him (Rom 8:28). Join us in praying for peace in Las Moras, that the Lord encourage the affected believers in Himself, and to see God’s Name glorified as He works out His purposes through even these kinds of events. Pray as well for our friend Efraín during his time in Chihuahua, and for Alma – who we hope to see return to the Bible school alongside Efraín in the 2025-2026 scholastic year.
   
• Pray for my work in preparing upcoming classes, both at our missionary training center and in other venues. May the material be a practical blessing to those who hear it, and may the teaching experience itself further equip me for serving the Lord here with Ethnos México.
   
• The missionaries pursuing studies of Mexican Spanish and culture face a long and challenging road. Pray that God encourage them in their studies, strengthening them despite discouragement and frustration, and keeping His ultimate purposes for this time of sanctification clear in their sight.
   
• Health and financial needs, as described above, always seem to be a part of the background of life. Pray that God keeps our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus, trusting Him and free from worry as we remember that our Father knows our needs better than we ourselves do. May we walk in freedom, focused on His kingdom and His righteousness.
   
• Finally, various ministries have active projects under development right now: in addition to teaching preparation, we are also working on a large IT undertaking and on further strengthening our field’s preventative child protection training. Please pray for strength and wisdom in each, and for good discernment in how to balance the needs of each good ministry God gives.