Let it Rain

July 20, 2020

We are officially into summer, which means rainy season up here in Las Moras. An opportunity to resupply for the next 4-5 months out here (muddy mountain roads don’t travel easily!) went well, and upon returning we hurried to prepare for the arrival of regular, ongoing rain and thunderstorms. By God’s grace, we got it […]

Facing Fear

September 16, 2019

Concerning Baptism The concept of water baptism is not a natural fit within Nahuatl culture. Rainy season flooding can transform oft-placid (or dry!) creeks into treacherous, surging rivers – making crossings dangerous. Rumors circulate of large and malevolent snakes, said to live below the water’s surface. Furthermore, animistic fears come into play as well – […]

All in a Week’s Work

May 10, 2019

It’s amazing how much can change in the space of just one week! Above, you see the result of the Peaceful Valley Church team’s efforts in Las Moras last week – a structure twice the height of that in my last blog post’s photo. All week long, we worked: cutting studs, placing plywood, framing walls, […]

Sun Mar 17, 2019

March 17, 2019

With two weeks of construction behind us, things look really good out here in Las Moras. The walls are basically done – on Monday morning, we’ll place the final lintel… and expect the final four rows of adobes on the west wall to be in place by midday. Next week, the adobe foremen will continue […]

Sun Mar 10, 2019

March 10, 2019

One week down, and a whole lot of progress has been made. The Nahuatl master builders are fantastic, and have impressed Don with their craftsmanship. The walls are just over 60% of the height needed for this stage of the build. Being so far ahead of the game, we’re starting to plan other tasks for […]

Here We Go!

February 26, 2019

Hey all – Jordan here. This thing is really happening, so buckle up! On Sunday, I headed down from El Paso to Chihuahua. Saying goodbye to Amy and the kids for nearly seven weeks was hard for us all… and after a week together at that future point, we’ll do it again for another four. […]

Signatures and Fingerprints!

September 20, 2018

Walking into the Immigration office earlier this month, we were greeted with an unanticipated question. “Are you here to do signatures and fingerprints?” Though unexpected, the question was not a huge shock – we knew some coworkers had just been in to take care of that stage of the residency visa process, and imagined the […]

Visa Updates and Changing Plans

August 24, 2018

In our last update, we shared an urgent prayer request: our Mexican residency visas were up for renewal, but a particular high-level official was suddenly rejecting documents which have always previous been accepted. If our applications were denied, it would mean restarting an expensive four-year process before we could receive permanent residency. A last-minute letter […]

Furlough in Full Swing

May 17, 2018

April has come and gone… and with it, that nasty flu which started off our time in Spokane! Despite our best efforts, it doggedly trailed us for several days in Western Washington – but the lousy bug finally moved on and left us in peace, for which we are grateful. Despite all that, we greatly […]

The End of an Era

February 16, 2018

We have some pretty exciting news to share! As January gave way to February, it seemed clear I’d taken large strides since my previous language evaluation. Our consultants scheduled an assessment of my Spanish speaking abilities… and I passed! The same day I was evaluated, we learned I had graduated “with flying colors” from our […]