Prayer and Idol Worship

Howdy y’all!

I want to thank you for your faithful support and prayers, because it is your faithful partnership that enables me to be in Mexico, pursuing the work of God and encouraging believers each day. I praise God for the way he has consistently raised up men and women around me to send me to this country where the name of the Lord is preached.

Unfortunately, there are many here, who instead of following the Lord, choose to worship idols. Some of those idols have made this month a truly dark and hard month here in Mexico, beginning with San Judas (Saint Judas), who is a saint celebrated for the miracles attributed to him. On the 28th of every month, people all over the city carry these idols and wear this image around their necks or on their shirts and then take their idols to the Catholic churches to be blessed. On my way to my church that night, I witnessed one of these ceremonies, with about twenty people gathered in the street, dancing native dances, celebrating this saint and blocking traffic for more than two hours.

The darkness continued through Halloween and Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), which on the surface felt like an American Halloween on steroids. However, you notice the difference, when you actually consider the costumes people were wearing, even the smallest children were dressed, not in cute animal or pumpkin costumes, but as skeltons or worse. You further see the difference in the altars that they put up dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe or the Santa Muerte (Saint Death) and the fact that every costumed person was something dark.

In spite of the darkness, though, God was truly at work! I have finally been able to start meeting regularly with my small group at Compa, and I have truly loved building relationships there! Also this month, my church welcomed at least two new believers into our small church! There may have been others, but I still don’t understand everything that goes on around me… Even so, God has continued to bless my studies of Spanish, several people have remarked in this past week about how much I have improved since I arrived in September!

I was also able to attend a prayer retreat with my entire YearOut team, which was an amazing weekend, spent resting and meeting with God. Just this afternoon, God chose to pull me aside again and take me on a little adventure, getting me a little lost, but showing me the most beautiful, rural hillsides, covered in grass and cactus and, most notably, free of people. I had searched long and hard for just such a space on Sunday and without finding one.

I ask that you would continue to be in prayer for:

• My church, Iglesia Cristiana Sion, as we are looking for land to purchase so that the church might have its own space and room to expand. We currently meet in the front room of Hector and Milca’s home, which reaches its maximum occupancy with around 30 to 35 adults.
• My church’s mission in Toluca, which is also looking to buy land and have its own, consistent space, as it currently meets in the homes of its various members.
• My small group with Compa, which is in severe danger of dying out after this coming semester, as all of its members will graduate. Specifically pray that the members would be encouraged to evangelize and reach out to the people around them, especially younger people, and for me as I consider teaching an evangelistic English class to draw new people in. Also pray that Mario, the Compa staff worker I work with most closely, would be open to the idea!
• Me, as I am looking into making a very big change in where I will be spending the next several years of my life, pursuing, ironically, the same goal, but in a country, cultural context, and language that is not my own. Specifically, pray that God would give me wisdom as I begin to pursue the possibility of serving as a part of Compa staff, here in Mexico, instead of returning to the States to pursue InterVarsity staff there.
• Running the race well over the next two weeks, as I look forward to preparing for Christmas and returning to the states for a couple weeks to rest and reconnect with people.

As I consider Christmas, I will be in Texas for a few days, as I head home, and will more than likely swing back through for at least one night in January, as I return to Mexico. If you would like to get together, either in Texas or in Michigan, I would LOVE to reconnect with YOU! Send me an email and I will do everything I can to come and see you!

Finally, if you are considering a year-end gift, I would very much welcome the extra support! With the possibility of extending my service here in Mexico consistently becoming more real, there are even more opportunities to join God and me in the work He has planned for me here! I am specifically looking for people to join my support team with small, but consistent monthly gifts, ranging from $5 to $50 a month.

Love in Christ!

Nicole Dietzel