I am more thankful for your prayers and support this month than I have ever been, as God has been doing some strange and stressful, but good things in my life and in the lives of those around me.
It has been a month filled with transitions for me. If you remember, in my last update, I was excited and hopeful for having just moved in with my new host family and roommate and was hopeful that I would not be moving again until August. Well, in both of those things God had other plans. Although our new family was very welcoming and wanted our trust, we encountered some of the brokenness of Mexican family life in a new way this month. Unfortunately, that brokenness inhibited Ashley and I from truly integrating with this family in a positive and healthy way. The added stress also brought to light some emotional issues in Ashley’s life, which she will be leaving Mexico to deal with more effectively. Between the two pieces, it became clear, both to my leaders and to me, that it would be best for everyone if I also move when Ashley leaves. At this point, I will be returning to the De Alba home for a few days until a new host family can be arranged.
Despite the chaos in my living situation, it remained a place of deep ministry for me. Just two weeks into my time here, I happened to be present for a conversation between my host mom, Hermana Ursula, and our cousin, Samuel, in which Hermana Ursula was presenting the benefits of faith in Christ to Samuel. When I got a chance to speak, I was able to ask Samuel if he even knew who Jesus was and thus earned the opportunity to share the Gospel of a Lord who would leave everything to become a man, even more, a baby, and then live a perfect life that we could never live and then be unjustly and cruelly murdered, but then not stay dead. Instead, this Lord was raised to life and lives to restore our world to its intended glory. Later, I got to ask a few more questions and eventually Hermana Ursula was blessed with the opportunity to lead Samuel in prayer to accept Christ as Lord! I was also able to minister to Ashley in a way that could only have been possible through the grace of God as she began dealing with the depth of her emotional issues.
A month ago, I was also nervous about finding a new church, having left my wonderful and loving church on the mountain but not having the opportunity to visit my potential new churches. This month, I visited two churches and saw God’s hand at work in amazing ways. Within minutes of walking into the first church, I knew it wasn’t the church for me, because it was simply too big for me to get involved with. Yet, the following week, when I visited the church that I would choose, I knew just as quickly that it was the right church for me. My new church is La Cuarta Iglesia Nazarene de la Cuidad de Mexico and is located just three minutes walk from my current house. Although I will be moving in a few days, I will remain with this church, for which I am truly thankful, as I am already starting to build friendships there. Thus far, my ministry consists primarily of attending services and observing at jovenes group activities, however, I look forward to having a greater voice among them as I get to know them better and am hoping to lead an inductive Bible study with a few of the more spiritually mature jovenes and leaders.
I have also had a wonderful month with Compa and my ministry there. I attended my first celula (small group) just a few days ago and look forward to getting more involved as the celulas actually get started. I have also been attending staff and leaders’ meetings and have enjoyed getting to know the members of my area staff team, Ada, Hendi, and Benjamin, better. Together, the four of us will minister to roughly eight campuses and seventeen celulas located in the southern part of the city, including La ESCA, where I attended a celula in the fall, and the UNAM, one of the largest universities in the world, with a student body numbering over 315,000! I will continue working with the students at La ESCA and have already begun a celula with the Facultad de Derecho (Faculty of Law) students. I am also hoping to get involved with a celula for the Facultades de Ingeniro y Arcitectura (Faculties of Engineering and Architecture), which I am truly looking forward to! Having grown up with my parents, both with degrees in engineering, and having attended Texas A&M, where every other student, or so it seems, is or has been an engineering student, I have been surrounded by engineers for nearly my entire life. In fact, I’ve never been away from them for this long, ever. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to being around engineers again!
One of the craziest new developments this month has been the introduction of seminary classes into my schedule. I will be taking two classes, via distance education, with Moore Theological College, located in Australia. The bigger shock, though, is that these classes will be conducted in Spanish, and I currently have about a fifth grade reading level in Spanish. And if this doesn’t seem insane or crazy to you, you didn’t read this paragraph very carefully… The incredible part, though, is that I do have a fifth grade reading level in Spanish, having studied Spanish for all of eight months of my life. Eight!
Overall, this month has been one of my most difficult months here in Mexico, but also the one where I most clearly saw God’s hand at work in the various parts of my life. From watching God move to care for Ashley and I in a deeply emotional time, to welcoming Samuel into the family, to meeting some of my new students, God’s fingerprints have been everywhere I look.
Please continue praying for:
- Ashley, that she would be restored to full emotional health and that God would lead her in this time of unexpected transitions
- All the transitions that are continuing to occur in my life, including Ashley leaving, moving in with a new family, and my seminary classes
- My students at the ESCA, that they would truly be ready to share their faith and be intentional and invitational with their fellow students, giving their celula a chance to continue into next year
- My Derecho students, that God would be at work among them and be growing them into men and women who look like Him!
- My Ingeniro y Arcitectura students, that God would give them a passion for sharing the Gospel with their fellow students
Love in Christ!
Nicole
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