I pray that God is restoring you into the man or woman that He created you to be and that you are faithfully growing in Him and taking His restoring power into the world, wherever that may be.
I know it has been some time since you heard from me last. December and the first few weeks of January have been busy, crazy times for me. Even so, they have been a sweet blessing. In this update, you will find:
- Wrapping Up Ministry Before Christmas
- Christmas Break
- Returning to the Field
- Looking Forward and Financial Need
- Prayer Requests
Wrapping Up Ministry Before Christmas
I spent the first two weeks of December here in Mexico, ministering at my church, Iglesia Cristiana Sion, and preparing to say goodbye to the believers and my dear friends there. The most exciting moment of that time came in sharing in their Baptism service, in which around 10 people (I lost count!) from their two locations, Mexico City and Toluca, were baptized! those baptized included Carmelita, a new believer that recieved Christ during my time here, and Memo, one of my jovenes, and one of two currently pursuing high school studies in preparation for college.
Christmas Break
Midway through December, I was thankful to be able to spend a few whirlwind days in Texas, on my way home. I was able
to use that time to reconnect with many dear freinds and several supporters. I then flew to Michigan to spend the remainder of the year with my family. I was delighted to celebrate both Christmas and New Year's in my picturesque hometown of Frankenmuth and to attend Frankenmuth Bible Church while there. I enjoyed reconnecting with friends and family during that time, including my baby cousin, Tommy! I was also able to shed Christ's restoring power during that time, by caring for the safety of my brother and his friends. They would choose to celebrate the New Year with alcohol and late nights, despite being underage. Rather than making my bbrother and his friends my parents' worry, or speaking words that would go unheard, I decided to ring in my New Year by "babysitting" their keys until they proved sober, thereby keeping them safely off the roads and out of the five to ten foot ditches that line many roads near my home.
Returning to Mexico
I returned to Mexico just a week and a half ago, to officially say goodbye to 
my Mexican church and family, as I will be moving to a new family and a new church. This transition is so that I can be more deeply involved in ministering to college students, through Compa, InterVarsity's sister organization here in Mexico. I will be officially joining the ranks of Compa's volunteer staff this semester, which I celebrated by attending their regional staff retreat last weekend. Trhoughout the weekend, God's hand was most clearly seen in the relationships I built with the other staff, comprised of predominantly part-time and volunteer staff. As volunteer staff, I will be assuming more responsibilities on my main campus, the ESCA, and will be attending at least one other celula, or small group, starting in the next several weeks.
Looking Forward and Financial Need
As I look forward to school starting, I also have to look at my reality, that I face the prospect of my severely dwindling funds. I came to Mexico as a direct result of your incredibly generous gifts, however, many of those gifts were one-time gifts, not monthly or recurring gifts which would maintain my support level over an extended time. Thus, my huge initial support is now running out as my faithful monthly supporters, though generous, cannot fulfill my financial needs on their own. At this point, I am facing a monthly deficit of roughly $900. Thus, I will be spending the next week focusing on both kicking off the Spring semester well and doing extensive fundraising. If my funding situation does not improve, I may be forced to return to the States for a time, to focus on restoring my funding to an appropriate level, which I clearly would prefer not to do.
I am desperately in need of your help! With my funding sitation as it is, if it does not improve, I could be returning to the States as soon as February or March for funding purposes. I realize that many of you currently support me, either through one-time or monthly gifts, but if you are willing, I could desperately use more of you to come on board with consistent monthly gifts, specifically those in the $10 to $50 a month category, and generous one-time gifts to get me through this financial slump. Also, if you know of anyone, even people you know I know, that I may not have thought of or may not have an address for, that may be interested in supporting me, please send me their addresses and your own, as I will be sending out fundraising letters in the next week.
Prayer Requests
My ministry and efforts cannot have their full effect without your faithful prayer support. Please be praying for these specific needs:
- That God would provide in huge ways for my financial needs over the coming months, and that people would actively get on-board with supporting my ministry here
- That I would wrap up my ministry at Iglesia Cristiana Sion well this weekend and that my transition into a new family and church would go smoothly
- That I would be able to meet with Compa leaders, both staff and students, to kick off the new semester in a way that is glorifying to god and is specific to the campuses I work with, specifically the ESCA
- That God would raise up students and student leaders at the ESCA, to take the place of those who are graduating, so that God's work through Compa can continue on that campus
Love in Christ,
Nicole Dietzel
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