April/May Update – 2012

Greetings to All!

We are very happy to report that we are once again sending our updates from Mexico!  Praise the Lord for His safe travels and His provision as we made our way through the U.S. during the month of May.  It was such a blessing being able to catch up with many of our supporters, to see how God is at work back home in the states, and to have a few weeks of vacation.  We want to say a big thank you to all of the churches that we were able to visit and that helped in providing funds for our traveling – Turning Point at Calvary (St. Augustine, FL), First Baptist Church of Brunswick (Brunswick, GA), Common Grounds (Glenwood, IA) and Cornerstone Baptist Church (Lawson, MO)…you were all instrumental in our trip and our ongoing ministry and we are very thankful for you all!! 

Currently we are in Jerez working at the children’s home as Mom and Dad made a quick trip to visit family in the states.  We are having a great time enjoying all of the kids, but especially being with our Neftali again.  It was a rough month away from him!  In the meantime, we are sort of in a limbo period here as we are trying to figure out the situation with our Suburban that has recently occurred. 

While we were in the states we received a letter from the Mexican government stating that when the last suburban permit expires that we will no longer be able to keep it in Mexico legally.  Apparently when we applied for our new FM2 status back in January, instead of receiving the regular “rentista” status, we were approved for a special “asimilado” status due to Jack being born here in Jerez and our history of living here.  There are many benefits to this “asimilado” status, such as being able to work here legally, (i.e. preaching freely), but one of the drawbacks is since we are basically Mexican citizens we cannot have a foreign vehicle here.  The immigration department meant to do us a favor by approving our FM2s as “asimilado” rather than “rentista” but since we did not realize that is what happened were caught quite off-guard by all this.  We were hoping that once we got back to Mexico we would be able to change our status over to “rentista” instead so that we could keep the suburban here for the next 2 years on this FM2, but after multiple trips to Zacatecas this past week, that isn’t going to be possible.  So now we are stuck here in Jerez with the suburban on expired tags… which means that if we drive it the police could confiscate it permenately!  Needless to say we have been spending a lot of time in prayer about what to do!

After speaking with Aduana, the tax folks here, they said we cannot legally import or keep the suburban in Mexico.  The best they can do is issue a 5 day temporary permit to return the suburban to Texas where we can sell it.  We then have to turn around and buy a vehicle here in Mexico to drive to Oaxaca!  The plan is to list it on Craigslist and then drive it to the border sometime next week, Lord willing.  We are praying we can get between $1,500 to $1,800 for the suburban to use towards a vehicle here in Mexico.  Today we were able to locate a 1995 Jeep Grand Charokee for sale in Jerez with all the necessary paperwork.  It has special shocks and four-wheel drive to allow us to handle the rough mountain roads and appears to be mechanically sound.  We were able to talk the owner down to $3,000 including the fees for new plates, etc.  That means that if the Lord allows us to sell the suburban for $1,500 then we need to raise around an additional $1,500 to cover the rest!  Please be praying with us that the Lord opens doors in his time and in His way to allow us to get back down to Oaxaca! 

As soon as we are back in Oaxaca we have a full-slate of ministry opportunities ready to start.  We will be resuming our English Classes with English II for the 80+ students who passed English I as well a second round of English I for those who need to retake it and new students.   In addition to village outreach and Bible studies we will be launching new Bible training classes in our home to sort through the doctrinal confusion that exist in Pluma.  Please be in prayer that the Lord would continue to work, through the preaching of the Gospel, in the hearts and minds of those we are working with.  We thank each and everyone one of you who partner with us to see Christ’s name glorified in Oaxaca!

In Christ,

Nate, Mary, Nef, Sam & Jack

Oaxaca Mudslides

Please be in prayer for those living in the village of Santa Maria Tlahuitoltepec, Oaxaca, Mexico. A large mudslide destroyed part of the town overnight killing several and possibly trapping many more. This is a trading center for Mixe Indians and is a couple of hours east of where we will be. The mountainous region…s of the state continue to be at risk for mudslides so please keeps this in prayer.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hl_pDxsnzNXUg2xSAHZJeJMgbvqgD9IH6LRO0?docId=D9IH6LRO0

May Update

Mexican Dinner in Glenwood, IA

Greetings!

Wow!  I can’t believe we have already been on deputation for almost two months!  It has been a busy month since our last update in mid-April!  We have been in Mississippi, Missouri, and now Iowa.  The Lord has given us safe travels and we have had no car problems which is a huge blessing!!!  We have also been very busy this last week as our son was admitted to the Children’s Hospital in here Omaha for testing.  He’s been having some pretty bad stomach problems over the last month, and the family physician finally decided he needed to go so we could get this figured out.  He had lost quite a bit of weight and just couldn’t hold his food in.  Praise the Lord the Dr’s think they have found the answer!  We are still waiting for the official results from the biopsies they took through an endoscopy, which we should get next week, but it looks like he is fructose intolerant.  It’s definitely going to be a big adjustment in diets, but at least we do have an answer.  Thank you to everyone who was praying and all the words of encouragement!  It is so amazing knowing you have prayer warriors lifting you (and your son) before our heavenly Father.

Back to our ministry updates, on April 25th Bayou View Baptist Church in Gulfport, Mississippi allowed us to come a present the work the Lord has laid on our hearts.  We had a wonderful time of fellowship and look forward to partnering with them further as the Lord allows.  From there we headed to southern Missouri where the Lord opened up opportunities for us to present His work at New Hope Baptist Church and Talking Rocks Road Baptist Church.   New Hope graciously hosted a fundraising dinner which the Lord used to help meet our financial needs while on deputation.  My dad and grandpa also put together a garage sale fundraiser which turned out to be a tremendous blessing.  Following this we headed to western Iowa where we will be stationed until the latter part of June.  Here Mary’s mom hosted a fundraiser dinner to help us reach our monthly financial support level.  The Lord blessed and the dinner was a huge success!  There were 45 in attendance and through the generosity of missions-minded men and women of God they raised a large portion of our monthly financial support and we received many donations to care for our current expenses. We praise the Lord for His generous provision and we thank everyone who responded to His prompting and generously as unto the Lord.  The next few Sunday’s we will be in Glenwood, Iowa,  Omaha, Nebraska, and Kansas City, Missouri sharing our burden for the indigenous Indians of Oaxaca Mexico.  As always we are praying for and seeking opportunities to present the Lord’s ministry.  If you would like us to come and visit your church please talk to your pastor and provide him with our contact information or email us your pastor’s contact information.

As many of you are aware our goal is to be on the mission’s field permanently by January 1st, 2011.  In order to achieve this we need to raise the majority of our monthly financial support by then.   I am happy to announce that the Lord has allowed us to raise nearly 50% of this goal in less than 2 months of deputation!  This has been achieved both by local churches who have taken us on for monthly financial support and by missions-minded individuals who have pledged monthly support.  Our prayer is to be on the field as soon as possible and the sooner the Lord allows us to achieve 100% of our monthly financial support the sooner this can happen!  We would challenge you to prayerfully consider your role in this process.  How would God have you to support missions in Oaxaca, Mexico?  First, the most important way you can support the work of missions is through prayer.  The Bible tells us in James 5:16b that “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”  On our website you can find a prayer list of things we covet your prayers concerning as well as at the end of this email.  Second, maybe the Lord is leading you to get involved financially whether it $10 a month, $40 a month, or any other amount the lord lays on your heart.  If you feel the Lord would have you get involved this way you can find the needed paperwork under the donation tab on our website or you can email us for the forms. 

Our new prayer cards are in so if you would like to receive one email us with your address and we will get it right out.   Coming soon is a kid’s blog for all of the kids in our old Sunday School class and any other kids who are interested in or want to know more about missions.  We hope it will be an exciting way for kids to experience another culture and to get involved in missions.  You can also join our facebook page at, Stanley’s2Mexico, for much more frequent updates and photos.

In Christ,

Nathan, Mary, & Sam

April Update

Greetings,

We are so excited so to finally be on deputation!  Thanks to all of you who prayed for us as we traveled back from Mexico in March.  The Lord gave us a great trip.  We had no car problems, no heavy traffic and were not stopped at even one checkpoint! Of course we miss Mexico and all the kids at the Children’s Home very much but we are really enjoying the opportunity to share our burden for Mexico while raising prayer and financial support.In the last week and a half we have presented at our home church, Turning Point at Calvary, as well as Crossroads Community Church in East Palatka, Florida.  We are now in Gulfport, Mississippi until the end of the month.  We will then be in Missouri for two weeks before heading to Iowa until mid-June.  We have several churches already scheduled and the Lord has been opening up more doors for us to present our ministry every day but, of course, we are still actively seeking new opportunities.  If you would like us to your church please email your pastor’s contact information to us and we will reach out to him.Our goal for financial support is $2,300/month.  Through the generosity of our home church and other churches that have taken us on for financial support we are now at 35% of our total monthly goal leaving only 65% remaining to be raised!  We are praying that God will allow us to reach this goal as soon as possible so that we can get to the field!  Our tentative goal to reach 100% and be on the field is January 1st, 2011 which gives us just under 9 months.  In the meantime we are thanking God for every opportunity to help others catch a burden for the unreached souls of Oaxaca! The most important thing that can come out of our time on deputation is not financial support but rather men and women of God lifting us, our ministry, and the people of Oaxaca up in prayer daily.  Please join with us even now in prayer as we are on deputation in the following areas:1. Safe travels as we go around the U.S. speaking and presenting in various churches as the Lord gives us opportunity.  Please pray that we will experience no car problems or accidents!  Also pray that God will grant our one year old son patience as he rides in his car seat for numerous hours!            2. That God directs us to the right churches to present our work, both to gain prayer and financial support for our ministry.  Also pray that people will catch a burden for seeing Christ glorified among the nations through our presentation.          3.  For the Children’s Home, the Mission Biblica and all the kids there.  Please pray that God continues to work in each of their lives as they grow in their relationship with Him.          4.  For the Zapotec Indians of Oaxaca, Mexico.  Please pray that God, even now, will begin to work on the hearts and minds of those we will be ministering to.  We are commanded to go forth and proclaim the Word but it is the Holy Spirit the must effect the change.                Ephesians 3:20-21 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”In Christ,Nathan, Mary, & Baby Sam

Four Days Left!

It’s hard to believe how fast the last two months have gone!  Time goes flies when your taking care of 37 kids!  We are planning on heading back to the United States on Saturday the 20th to start the process of raising prayer and finacial support through deputation.  We still have a busy week ahead, however, with a missions group scheduled to arrive today and little Sam’s 1st birthday on Thursday.  It’s hard to believe our little boy is going to be one!!!  Below are a few items we covet your prayers concerning as we move  into the next phase of our ministry:

1. Safe travels back to the U.S. this coming weekend.  There have been some problems with the border cities due to drug sparked violence so we expecting extra military check points, etc.  Please pray we have a safe, speedy trip without any car problems!

2. We will be starting deputation at the beginning of April.  Please pray that God directs us to the right churches to present our work both to gain finacial and prayer support for our ministry.  We are actively seeking churches to present in so if you would like to have us present in your church please send us the contact information for your pastor.

3.  For the Means family.  They are another missionary family that are finishing deputation this month and will be moving down to Jerez at the end of March.  Please pray that they have safe travels, have no difficulty crossing the broder and that they are able to get settled in quickly.

4.  For the Children’s Home, the Mission Biblica and all the kids here.  We have grown very attached to all the kids and our gong to miss them very much.  Please pray that God continues to work in each of their lives as they grow in their relationship with Him.

Thanks for your prayer support and words of encouragment!

In Christ,

Nate, Mary and Baby Sam

March Update

Good Afternoon Everyone!
 
We have no idea how a month has already passed since our last update, but it has!  How time flies when you are having fun…and taking care of 36 kids.  Let’s see, where to start?
 
Nathan has been able to preach quite a few Wednesdays now, and he’s really been enjoying it.  The only problem being that he prepares way too much and went over at least 15 minutes the first few times.  So last week when he preached he made a point of cutting the service a little short and it was so funny, all the kids from the children’s home shook his hand and thanked him:)  They all have a great sense of humor!  On a more serious note, after one of his messages Angelito (7 years old) and Lidia (14 years old) felt that it was about time to be baptized!  Here in Mexico that is a big step once you decide to be a Christian.  It’s telling everyone that they are not Catholic and are rejecting the original baptism they received as a baby.  So Nathan was able to preform his first two baptisms!  It was very exciting for us and of course for Angelito and Lidia too. 
 
Youth nights on Friday have been going great!  Each week the teens ask what time we are leaving because it seems we have to leave a little earlier each time due to picking up new kids in town for it.  We also had a girl at the home, Lupita, who just turned 12 this week and was so excited for her birthday to come, so that she could start going to youth nights too:) 
 
On to a bittersweet subject, we will be leaving on the 20th to head back to the states to start out on our deputation.  It’s exciting because we will be able to see friends and family (along with having Baby Sam’s 1st Birthday party!) and because we will be moving on to the next step in seeing God provide for us.  We have been contacting different churches trying to set up times for us to come and present our work, so hopefully we will have some scheduled soon.  However it is also a very sad thing for us to think about!  We just can’t imagine leaving the kids at the orphanage here and not knowing when we will see them next.  We were considering just adopting them all…and then we woke up:)
 
We have a few prayer requests that you can add to your list if you don’t mind.  First of all, we are going to be doing lots of traveling over the next couple months, so if you can pray for safe travels and that the car holds up that would be wonderful!  Also, if you can be in prayer that God will open up doors and provide us with contacts as to where we can be presenting our work.  We already have a couple of churches that would like us to come in June, but we need to fill up April and May first. 
 
Thank you for all of your prayers and emails.  It’s always good to hear from home!