December 2023 Oaxaca

Hello from Oaxaca! It’s been a long time since our last update so we’ll just fill you in on what’s been going on the past couple of months. Things are going really well down here and we love serving the Lord here in Oaxaca.

A few months ago, Jon was invited to share at a church in the mountains, about 3 hours away from Oaxaca City. Since then, we have taken a team to do a VBS for the kids, and now some of the men from our church rotate going on Sundays, including Jon. They leave after church and make the drive up, spend time with some of the church body over a meal, teach a church service, and make the 3 hour drive back home. It’s a long day for them but they all really seem to enjoy it and have the desire to pour into the people there. This church is different than Calvary Chapel but now they have men teaching them verse by verse with sound doctrine.

In October we were able to be in California to celebrate our granddaughter’s 1st birthday with family. We also had opportunities to spend time with some of you while we were there. Jon shared with Calvary Chapel Saving Grace’s young adults, he had the opportunity to spontaneously share the gospel invitation at two events (Calvary SouthOC and Calvary Chapel South LA), and Jon and I got to share our missionary testimony with a mission’s class. We had hoped to see more people but we were all hit with sickness throughout the trip.

The men’s and women’s ministry started the book of Colossians. We continue to meet on the same night, have a time of worship together, and then break off into men’s and women’s. I teach the ladies and absolutely love it. Jon has some great guys who rotate teaching the men so that he can focus more on his Sunday sermon and online classes that he’s been taking through Moody. He continues to teach in Spanish and has improved so much. It’s amazing to see! He also has a church planting class that he teaches once a week, which is really helping build some of the men up who will hopefully one day plant churches in and around Oaxaca.

We are still going to the casa hogar (orphanage) once a month. This month is the 2 year anniversary since the first time we went with a team from Calvary South OC. It’s such a blessing to be able to go and spend time with the kids and staff. We have really built great friendships with all of them.

Jonny and Noah have really grown and changed. They are more outgoing (such shy guys) and have built some great friendships with some of the youth in the church. Please pray for their Spanish. They understand almost everything but are still shy about speaking. They are also playing with the worship team for one song this Sunday, while the kids from church sing. This will be their first time in front of everyone. Jonny plays drums and Noah plays the guitar.

Last Sunday we had 4 people take the step of faith and get baptized. It was so amazing to witness and we plan on doing another baptism soon for those who weren’t able to this time.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support for our family and the ministry here in Oaxaca. You all are a part of what the Lord is doing down here and we couldn’t do it without you!

As we close out 2023 and are about to celebrate the birth of Christ, let us not forget HIM in all of it. Not just at Christmas time, but every day. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all. We love you and miss you. If you would like to visit us, let us know. Also, for more frequent updates you can check out our Instagram and Facebook pages or send us a text. We always love hearing from you.

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

Jon, Allison, Jonny, and Noah

PS…scroll through the pictures above.


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July 2022

Hey all! Here’s our update for July, but really a quick look at the past few months. I have added some photos of some of the things we’ve been up to since our last update.

Lots of things have been going on. Calvary Oaxaca turned 3 at the beginning of the year. We had a great time celebrating at a local park/lake. It has been such blessing to see the people who attend the church grow in their walks with the Lord. We’ve had some of the same people since the very beginning of the church, and lots of new people too. They all have hearts to serve Jesus and have come alongside of us in amazing ways.

In the past months we have celebrated Dia de los Niños, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and other things. It’s always fun to have a reason to have a potluck and hang out together. And we had a baptism and a baby dedication! The men’s ministry just finished their study for the time and will start back up soon. The ladies finished the book of James ( amazing book of the bible) and are now doing Kay Smith’s book on Philippians.

In June Hurricane Agatha hit the coast of Oaxaca pretty hard. We were able to buy bags of essentials like beans, rice, flour, etc to take to two towns. Thank you to those who donated to this specifically because we were able to take a team of 9 people and hand out over 150 bags, plus tons of donated clothes. This was the first official mission trip for Calvary Oaxaca, and Allison’s first short term trip plus driving for that amount of time. (Jon and the boys were unable to go because of a commitment.) What a blessing it was to meet so many people who were so happy to just be loved on and prayed for.

Last weekend we had the huge honor to have Pastor Dan Finfrock come to Oaxaca to teach two days of the Inductive Bible Study class that he wrote. He travels all over the world to teach this awesome class so it was a huge blessing to have him come to Oaxaca. An added bonus was that his translator was a young lady we met from our time in Rosarito, Andrea.

The biggest news is that Jon is now teaching in Spanish!!! We lost our translators over the past couple of months and Jon really felt that this was God’s way of stretching him to take this next step. So this is also our biggest prayer request: that the Lord would continue to help Jon in this area.

That’s a quick version of what we’ve been up to lately. There’s also so much more we could share. Oh, that boys both finished 9th grade and are super excited (sarcasm) to start 10th grade soon. They are doing well, playing video games with friends online. Please pray for their Spanish to improve and for them to have a strong desire to learn and speak it more.

We have 3 teams coming up over the next few months and our dear friend Frank who will be helping us for a few months and we can’t wait! It’s always such a blessing to show our friends from other parts of the world all that God is doing here.

We will be in the states later this year to welcome our first grandbaby…a girl! Please keep Austin and McKenna in your prayers as they prepare to become parents. And send any and all grandma and grandpa name ideas to us. Haha!

Thank you for keeping us in your prayers…we sure feel them all the time. We are so grateful for all of you who are on this journey with us in prayer and financially as we serve the Lord here in Oaxaca!

Jon, Allison, Jonny, Noah Brechtel


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January 2022

Happy New Year to you all! It’s been another crazy season for us as we continue to serve the Lord down here in Oaxaca, Mexico. We have had teams since the last update and much more.

In September we had a team from Calvary Red Rock in Las Vegas come down. This was the second team with this awesome church and they blessed our church and family so much. We did a two night men’s conference, did a fitness event called the Fit2Serve Roadshow, had a fun event for the youth group, and so much more. (If you have Facebook and don’t follow us personally or our church page, you should! Calvary Chapel Oaxaca is the church page and we keep things posted on social media).

At the beginning of October Jeff and Bonnie Johnson came down and did some training on how to do great marital counseling, and then they did a marriage conference and our church provided a meal and dessert for the couples. It was a blessing to learn from Jeff and Bonnie and for us to personally get to know them better.

At the end of October, Jonny and Noah had the privilege of attending one level of the Spanish school that Jon and I attended in 2017. It was quite the adventure as the boys and I lived in the little village for 6 weeks while Jon was in the city continuing with the church ministry. I was able to help in the kindergarten class at the school on the mission’s base and it was a blast. The boys learned so much in their classes. We are grateful to Calvary Red Rock for sponsoring the boys’ schooling.

In December we had a team from Calvary San Juan, now Calvary South OC. This was also the second team from this church since we arrived 3 years ago. We had such a great time with them and they really blessed our church and us in huge ways. They painted an orphanage and we had a little Christmas party for the kids there. They also extended the stage at the church which was much needed. We had an outreach day for the kids in the community, a Christmas party for the church after service on Sunday. And we did it all while the entire city was blocked off with blockades. If you don’t know about the blockades in Oaxaca, you should look it up.

We decided to sell our car since we could no longer have it here in Mexico, so we drove up to the states and sold it. While there, we visited lots of our supporters and some family and friends. We returned to Oaxaca without a car, which can be difficult when trying to do certain things. And…..Jon and I got our PERMANENT RESIDENCY, which is a very huge deal and we are so excited!!!

Ministry at church is going well. Jon is planning on starting a men’s bible study and he’ll be having some of the guys take turns teaching also. He will be doing that every other Thursday, and I’ll be doing the women’s ministry on the Thursdays that he’s not meeting. We have been so blessed to have this church family here, filled with people who genuinely want to serve Jesus. People we get to call our friends!

PRAYER REQUESTS:

  • Please pray for wisdom and provision to buy a car. We would really love to buy something that has enough space to transport people. Unfortunately we cannot use our missions funds to buy a car possibly because of tax purposes, which we understand. So we are trying to save up some money to buy something. This complicates some of the ministry we were doing at one of the rehab centers here, and being able to handle everyday church needs.
  • Please pray for all of the ministries in the church. Unity within the ministries and communication. We have a great core group of people who serve, which is such a blessing.
  • Please continue to pray for all of our spanish to improve more and more.
  • We no longer have a Wednesday night translator so we need to find someone for that.
  • Continued good health in the church and in our family. With the new cases of Covid right now, we pray that no one gets sick because the medical care here isn’t like that in the states.
  • Please pray for a more personal prayer request…that our son and daughter-in-law would be able to have a baby. They really desire to have a baby, so please pray for God’s perfect timing and peace in the waiting.

We are so grateful for all of you who love and support us through prayer, texts/calls, and financially. We couldn’t continue the ministry here in Oaxaca without all of you. May the Lord bless you all in this New Year.

Jon, Allison, Jonny, and Noah


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August 2021

Hey there! We’ve had a whirlwind couple of months here in Oaxaca, and a visit to California and Rosarito.

In June, we celebrated Father’s Day with the church. The kids sang for the dads and we had fun fellowship and games for the dads after the service. We also had Pastor Juan Carlos and Dr. Miles from Calvary Rosarito come down and put on a 2 night evangelism conference. It was such a blessing to the people who came, and a blessing to us personally to have them come and fellowship with us.

We also started up the youth group in June! What a blessing this group is, and is continuing to grow into. Jonny and Noah are part of it so it’s awesome that they get to be part of a group of people around their age. Our friend from the church, Miguel, was leading the group but he and his wife had to move back to Puebla for her work as a teacher. Please keep this ministry in your prayers, that the Lord would put it on someone’s heart to take over the role as the leader and make it clear to Jon which man the Lord is calling into this position. For now, Jon will be teaching.

In July we took a quick trip to visit some friends who were on vacation in Puerto Escondido. This is the city that’s closest to the village we lived in for Spanish school in 2017. While we were walking down the street, a car drove by and started saying hi to us, mainly Jon. The driver stopped and got out and it was one of the guys who used to live at the rehab center that Jon visits. He told Jon that he’s been clean for a year, has a great job down there on the coast as a chef, and HE READS HIS BIBLE EVERY DAY AND GOES TO CHURCH. What a testimony of the power that investing in the lives of others can have. God is so good!!! While we were there, we also got to visit Cacalote and see our friends there. It’s always such a blessing to visit the place where the Lord placed the calling to Oaxaca on our hearts and lives.

Also in July, levels one and two of the Navigators class finished. These groups worked so hard and were so faithful to complete their “homework” and participate in the classes each week. After a break for a month or two, they will resume the classes again. What a blessing to see their diligence and the growth in each one of them.

In August we were able to fly up to Calvary Rosarito for the annual church planting conference. We were able to hear from many different church planters who shared their experience on the field and poured into those who are currently church planters and those who feel that calling on their lives. Added bonus was getting to see and hang out with so many of our friends from Rosarito and all over the world.

After the conference, we spent some time in California with family and friends. We got celebrate my mom’s birthday with her and some of the family, saw Jon’s mom a couple of times, did some fun things, visited Calvary San Juan a few times, the boys went to a high school event with the youth group, and Jon even got to teach at the men’s breakfast for CCSJC. It was an amazing time and refreshing. We learn from each visit that we need to slow down while we’re there, but it’s SO hard to do that.

When we flew back, our great friends the Delgados flew back with us. They serve at Rancho Poiema near Ensenada, a men’s discipleship ranch. We spent a few days showing them around Oaxaca City and exploring some of the Nacho Libre spots. It was a blessing to have them here with us and to show them the work that the Lord is doing here in Oaxaca, and to have Cesar teach with his wife Claudia translating for him. And two of their kids were able to come which made it extra fun for Jonny and Noah. Their son Manny is about their age and they all just picked up like no time had passed since they last saw each other.

Other than that, ministry is still moving along and amazing. We continue to have our Sunday service, our weekly prayer night, and Jon recently started teaching the book of Revelation on Wednesday nights. I am still teaching the book of James with the ladies, every other Thursday. We are so amazed to see all that the Lord is doing in the ministry, and what an honor to be a tiny part of His work.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

  • Please pray for all of the covid cases and that we can keep the church open. As of right now we are in orange, which means we can stay open with extra caution. If we go into red, we will need to go back to online services until we are no longer in red.
  • Please pray for all of the ministries within the church. We need more children’s ministry teachers/helpers so that it’s not always falling on the shoulders of the ones who already serve.
  • Please pray for all of the weekly teachings that take place in the church. That the Holy Spirit would speak through Jon when he’s teaching, and through me when I’m teaching the ladies.
  • Please pray for Jonny and Noah as they just started 9th grade. That they’ll understand the school work and Jon and I will be able to also understand it (algebra…eeeek) so we can help them.
  • We really need to figure out what to do about our car situation. Our visa for the car expires in February and we need to decide if it’s better to drive it up to the states and sell it, or try to get it imported which will also require a drive to the border. We are also really praying about somehow purchasing a vehicle for ministry so we can transport teams that come and the church members when we have events outside of the church. Many don’t have cars and we can only squeeze so many into our car.

Ok, I think I’ll FINALLY end this now. So much to share and we are grateful if you have read this far. We love you all and are so grateful to the Lord for your prayers, encouragement, and financial support. God bless you all for being a part of the Lord’s work in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Jon, Allison, Jonny, Noah Brechtel


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June 2021

Hey everyone! Lots has been happening here in Oaxaca, so here’s a little update. Ministry has really started to pick up and the church has been growing in so many ways. We have some new families who have started to attend and who are already such a blessing to the church family. And the Navigators classes have continued to be a blessing to many, and seeing the spiritual growth has been amazing.

In March we visited Cacalote, where we attended Spanish school in 2017. We were able to visit the school and many of our friends there!

We have had some fun celebrations in the church too. Día de los niños is a very big day here in Mexico so the children’s ministry team put on a great even for the kiddos of the church and some of their friends. We also had fun celebrations for Easter and Mother’s Day. I’ve added some pictures from those days!

Jon was able to go to Rosarito and share at Calvary Rosarito for the Monday morning staff meeting, the church planting course that we went through, and teach on a Wednesday night while there. Such a blessing for him to have the honor to do that. While he was up that way he was also able to visit Calvary San Juan, and see our son and daughter in law, and other family.

I have started the women’s bible study and we are studying the book of James together. The ladies also had a fun night of fellowship and bowling, which was a first for many of them. The Lord is really teaching me how to be diligent with studying (I am a work in progress) and I am learning so much as I study and prepare. Never in my life would I have thought I would enjoy teaching or speaking in front of people. These women have become one of the biggest blessings in my life because we all share our hearts with each other and I just love them all.

We have a LOT of things coming up over the next few months, with some teams coming and doing some conferences for the church and community. Jon is trying to go to the men’s rehab as much as possible also, but the man who was translating for him is no longer there. He has a couple of guys who will be going with him and teaching the men too.

It’s such a blessing to be able to be here in Oaxaca, and we are really enjoying ministry. Jonny and Noah are finishing up some last days of school and will be starting 9th grade in the fall. They are still taking music classes and really enjoying them.

PRAISE REPORTS:

  • We will be starting a youth group this month. Our friend Miguel will be leading this group and he really has a heart for the youth!
  • Jon is doing well teaching each week and just restarted the Wednesday night services. He really does well balancing studying and preparing, along with “life”.
  • The women’s ministry has restarted and is a huge blessing.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

  • Please pray for continued growth in the walks with the Lord within the church, and for unity within the church.
  • We need to decide what to do with our car once the visa expires in February. We are praying about somehow buying a bigger vehicle for when teams come so they don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on rentals.
  • Please keep the youth group in your prayers. That the youth will learn and grow in their relationships with the Lord.
  • Please pray for each ministry in the church. There are some amazing people who serve week in and week out, and who are such a blessing.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support, and the encouragement you all are to our family!!! We love you all.

Jon, Allison, Jonny, and Noah


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Calvary Oaxaca Turns 2!

Hi all! Well, a lot has happened in the last couple of months. We went to the states for some time with family and friends. Jon flew back before the boys and I, and while he was getting back into the routine of ministry he ended up getting covid. He actually started feeling sick the day before we flew back so when he picked us up from the airport, he made sure we didn’t touch him and he immediately quarantined away from us. Praise the Lord he got a very mild case and his symptoms were very light. And the boys and I never got it. I took a blood test to see if I had it or had ever had it and it came back negative. And another praise from that is that our great friend, James, had come back with Jon and they built a room in the church that will eventually be for the younger children. James was also exposed to covid and he didn’t get it!!!

Calvary Oaxaca turned 2 at the end of February so we had a super fun celebration at a local pool. We were able to rent out the place so that it was a private event. We all had a blast hanging out, eating, swimming, and playing games. The best part of the day was the baptisms! Nine people made the decision to take that step of faith and get baptized. What a blessing it was to see each of them do this and to hear them tell us all why they had made this decision. God is so amazing!

We are excited to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus as a church family on April 4! And Jon will be ordaining someone in April also. It will be his first time ordaining someone and we are excited for this step of faith as a church and for this man.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

  • Please pray for the church body for continued growth in their walks with the Lord. We are continuing to do the Navigator’s classes and we see so much growth and transformation.
  • Please pray for us to continue to learn Spanish, and for Jonny and Noah to really have a desire to speak Spanish. They seem to understand a lot of Spanish but they need to come out of their shells and put it to use.
  • Please pray with us as we are looking for land to buy to build a men’s discipleship home on. This would be land outside of the city which is less expensive. We have some options but we’re trying to work out the kinks and see if it’s a possibility. We want to make sure it’s all legal without the chance of someone coming and taking the land from us. We are also praying to buy land to build a church on so we don’t have to continue renting. This land would be a lot more expensive because it would be in the city.
  • We need prayer for wisdom on what to do with our car. We have a permit for it that expires early next year and we will either need to drive it up to the states to get a new permit or sell it and buy something down here. Ideally we would be able to buy a van so we can transport people and teams, but we are praying for direction on what to do. It’s far away but we all how time flies!

PRAISE REPORTS:

  • The church has been growing in their walks with the Lord, and we’re continuing to see friendships grow.
  • Praise the Lord that Calvary Oaxaca celebrated 2 years!
  • God has raised up men and women in the church who are helping in different ministries, especially the Navigators classes.

Thank you all for your support for the ministry here in Oaxaca! We are so grateful to all of you who keep us in prayer, support us financially, and encourage us. We couldn’t do what we’re doing without all of you!

Jon, Allison, Jonny, Noah Brechtel


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December 2020

Hi all! I’m hoping to get this update sent out today, so it’s going to be a quick one.

We’ve had a lot going on down here in Oaxaca! Ministry seems to be in full-swing, for the most part. We are using precautions but it’s so nice to feel like things really are moving forward.

This month, I (Allison) had the honor of hosting an event for the ladies for Christmas. We had a blast playing some fun games, I shared a little bible study/devotion, we had lots of fellowship, and yummy coffee and cakes. It was our 2nd annual women’s Christmas event, which really reminds us that we are so close to completing two full years as a church family.

Jon has still been going to the men’s rehab each week, and he really loves doing it. He goes with our friend and neighbor, Joseu, so last week our families all went out there to celebrate Christmas with them. We had a fun time of eating and hanging out. The Lord provided for each of them to receive bibles, and to see the looks on their faces was indescribable. They said that they had never received a gift like that before.

This past Sunday we had an all-church picnic at a local park. It was a blast to all be together, outside, laughing and having fun. We played volleyball, rented bikes, ate, and just spent some much needed time together as a church family. It amazes me how much this group of people means to us as a family. They have welcomed us into their lives and their culture with open arms and hearts.

We will be heading up to see family soon, and celebrate Christmas with them. We hope we can see many of you while we’re there. Hopefully we can plan a time where we can all get together, but we also understand that covid is serious and it may not work out. Please pray that our time with family is a blessing, and that we stay healthy.

We pray you all have a blessed Christmas as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And we also hope you all have an amazing New Year in 2021.

God bless!

Jon, Allison, Jonny, and Noah Brechtel


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November 2020

Can you believe we’re already in November of this crazy year? It’s been the longest/shortest year ever. Ministry is really picking up here in Oaxaca, along with the “normal” day to day life. Every week seems a little more like life before the pandemic.

Right after our last update, we celebrated Mexican Independence Day with some of our church family and friends. It was SO nice to take a drive up to the mountains, to a small Christian-run camp, and have some fun and fellowship. We hiked, did a little mini zip line, played basketball, ate, and just had a much needed day of rest and time together. It had been 6 months since we had a day like that with the church body.

We had to re-close the church for 2 weeks because we had some COVID cases in the church body and we felt it was better to just go back to online for 2 Sundays. Praise the Lord that those who were sick had mild cases and are all healthy, and we’re back open. This past Sunday was such an encouragement because we had the most people returned to the church since March. There is still quite a bit of fear here so it may take some time before everyone returns.

Jon has been continuing to go to the men’s rehab each week and it’s been such a huge blessing to hear him talk about his time with them when he gets home. He’s got such a heart for the lost and just wants to see them fall in love with Jesus. Before he started going, this ministry was fully secular, and now they’re all reading their bibles and doing their Navigators homework every day. God is so amazing. And the men in the church are still going strong with their Navigators groups each week. People really love having this time.

This past Sunday was also the very first baby dedication at Calvary Oaxaca, and for Jon. Witnessing this sweet moment where her parents wanted to publicly dedicate their baby to the Lord and have her prayed over was amazing. We have experienced so many cultural firsts with this couple. We were the “godparents of the rings” for their wedding, Jon was a part of their wedding ceremony, the baby dedication, and many other things. God put this family in our lives not just to love, but for them to also patiently teach us the amazing cultural things we knew nothing about.

I’ve restarted English class but I’m praying about starting a beginners class after the holidays. I absolutely love these classes, and they’ve really helped with my Spanish since I teach it in Spanish (besides the English part…haha). Jonny got all of his braces and he’s doing great with them. Noah recently went to the dentist and had a couple of tiny cavities. Both of the boys continue in their music classes each week. Noah with guitar and Jonny with drums.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

  • That the people would start returning to church when they feel it’s the right time for them. And that those who haven’t returned to be spending time in the Word, in prayer, and getting some sort of fellowship with other believers.
  • That we would be purposeful in reaching out to the church body and checking in on them.
  • SPANISH!!! That we would continue to learn and use Spanish, and the boys would have a desire to learn more. They understand but are so timid about speaking it.
  • Continued growth in the Navigators groups at church, and at the men’s rehab.

PRAISE REPORTS:

  • We are so grateful for the men who translate for Jon. We have some great guys to help him with this.
  • The growth in the guys at the rehab, who went from knowing basically nothing about the bible and Jesus, to having personal relationships with him.
  • That people are starting to return to church to have the fellowship we all so desperately need.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and catch up on our lives. We praise the Lord for those of you who pray for and support and encourage us. You all are a part of the work that God is doing here in Oaxaca!

Jon, Allison, Jonny, Noah


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September 2020 Update

Hello all! Here’s a quick update about what’s been going these past few months.

It’s been a strange time for all of us with COVID-19 and pressing on in ministry, usually through social media and online. Jon has done such a great job of doing all of our services online, he’s become quite the pro! We’ve had an amazing team helping him each week.

In June and July we started doing food bags for the church body and some of their family and friends. Such a blessing to have people step in and help even with all of the fear that has come with the pandemic. This was really encouraging for me (Allison) because being an extrovert, not seeing people was really discouraging. So to be able to see some familiar faces, under masks, was a huge blessing.

On June 23, there was a major earthquake centered off of the coast of Oaxaca. We were driving in the mountains heading to the coast with another family when it happened. Having lived in California all of our lives, we were used to earthquakes. But never had we ever felt one while driving. The Lord protected us big time. There were rockslides all over the place, including one right in front of us when we stopped our cars to see what was going on. Praise the Lord that none of us were hurt, our cars weren’t damaged, and the damage was minimal for the people in the church.

In August we took a trip up to the states and spent some time with family, celebrating my mom’s birthday with most of my family. It was our first time being with almost my entire side of the family since the end of 2018. Jon was also invited to share at a break-out session at the Church Planting Conference at Calvary Chapel Rosarito. It was a blessing to hear other church planters share their stories and wisdom with so many. And it was awesome to see so many of our CCR friends. We also got to spend some time at Calvary San Juan and see our amazing church family there! It was an all-around blessed trip.

We were FINALLY able to open the church on September 6, with many regulations. Our church building has plenty of space for social distancing, and we try to follow the rules as much as possible. There is still a fear of being out, so attendance has been down, but that’s something we totally understand. Many members of the church body have to take public transportation which isn’t the safest way for them to travel during this time. But let me tell you…it was so amazing to be together in the church building, worshiping the Lord, hearing the Word, and having some much needed fellowship.

We also started the Navigators course, with four men from the church leading two groups. The people really seem to be loving it, and it’s a blessing to have people that can lead these groups.

Jon has also been going to a men’s rehab center each week and going through the Navigators with them. He really loves going to be with the guys each week.

As we move forward, we aren’t sure if we’ll be able to STAY open or if we’ll have to close once again. We are back in a more restricted “color” and if we go up one more, we’ll have to shut down again.

Jonny and Noah have started 8th grade with a new online curriculum that seems to be a great fit for us. They plug away each day to get everything done, and after chores they are able to play online with friends from all over. It’s fun to hear them talking to their friends.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

  • Please pray that we will be able to stay open and have services in the church building. We will continue to have online options, but we know the importance of being together
  • Please pray for all of the things Jon has going on. That each one will be a blessing to those he is ministering to.
  • Pray for the boys’ school year to go well and for us to stay focused. And for me to be able to teach them and help them with love and patience.
  • Please keep the English classes in prayer. I have recently started them again for the first time since March and I’m really praying about starting a new one for beginners. Right now it’s my intermediate class. There’s an interest in a kid’s class too. Pray for wisdom on when to start these new classes, and that they’ll be a good tool for ministry in the community.

PRAISE REPORTS:

  • Praise the Lord that we’ve been able to open the church building after 5 months!
  • We just signed a new one-year lease on the church building. So grateful for the financial help we have gotten to help us monthly.
  • Praise the Lord for new opportunities in ways to do ministry in this new season of life with COVID.

Thank you to all of you who read these updates, and support us in prayer, encouragement, financially, and so much more. We love you all.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

Jon, Allison, Jonny, and Noah Brechtel


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Calvary Oaxaca Turns One, Coronavirus Quarantine

Hey all! Hope you all are doing well despite the pandemic going on in the world. Isn’t this a crazy, strange time? We’re doing well down here in Oaxaca. Praise the Lord, the total cases and death counts haven’t reached the numbers that other places have reached.

Quick update on what’s been going on over the last few months. We had an amazing team from Calvary Chapel Rosarito come down before the COVID-19 stuff hit. What a blessing it was to have all of them here. They did construction in the church, adding new lighting, electrical, walls, building a sound booth and welcome center booth. We also had two holistic medicine outreaches, which were a huge blessing to all who came and got checked by Dr. Miles. We also did a mini VBS for the kiddos, and had a married couples dinner. All who came to these events were so blessed, along with us.

At the end of February, Calvary Oaxaca turned ONE! It’s hard to believe that we’ve been here for over a year now. In the first year of the church we have learned some tough lessons but we have also experienced such amazing blessings through it all. The Lord has surrounded us with people who love Him and have become our Oaxacan family. We had a fun little potluck at a park to celebrate the anniversary of the church.

I (Allison) started a bi-weekly women’s bible study in February. This was a huge stretch for me since public speaking is not something I’ve ever “enjoyed”. But God is SO GOOD. I tried to be diligent in studying the Word and preparing, and the Lord took away all of my fears as I taught. Don’t get me wrong, I will never take teaching the word of God lightly, and I know that it was not me, but the Holy Spirit teaching through me. I just think it’s so awesome to see the Lord’s hand on taking me from literally crying at the thought of speaking in front of 5 people, to being able to share like that. Sadly, after just 2 meetings, we had to cancel for the quarantine. And my english classes have been on hold too…super sad.

Jon has been doing so well during the quarantine. I know it’s hard on him, and all pastors, to not be able to have the people there when you teach. We are doing all of our services online for now. He is teaching through the book of Matthew on Sundays and the book of Genesis on Wednesdays. He is so great about spending time studying for each message. He has also decided to continue our Tuesday night prayer meetings online. This has been such a huge blessing for me to see, as people type in their requests and they are prayed for right then and there. This night of prayer has been such an awesome thing since the church started.

Jonny and Noah are doing well also. Since we already homeschooled, that hasn’t changed for us. They were taking taekwondo and music classes, so that looks very different for us now. They have their taekwondo classes through Zoom, which is cool that they have that availability. Jonny was taking drum lessons, so that has been put on hold since we don’t have a drum set. Noah is taking guitar and is able to have his classes online with his teacher. We are so proud of both of them. It’s been neat to finally have that “extra” feeling of this being our home with them starting these classes.

Before the quarantine, my mom and niece were able to visit. It was such a HUGE blessing to show them around. The highlight was having them be able to attend one Sunday church service, and see all that we’ve been telling them about. We got to show them around Oaxaca City, and just had a great time hanging out together. I’m so grateful that they were able to come. Literally right after they left, things with the coronavirus started really getting bad.

We love keeping in touch with you all through texts, calls, social media, and visits. We try to keep in touch but if you need prayer or a friend to talk to, please reach out to us. We still have our same numbers and would love to be able to pray for and with you.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

  • Please pray that the quarantine will end soon and that we can go back to meeting together and having that face to face contact with the church body. We really miss everyone so much.
  • Please pray for those who have been out of work and are struggling financially.
  • Please pray that the church body would feel loved, and that we can be encouraging to them from afar. We are trying to keep in touch with them all, but there are a few who’s numbers we don’t have so we can’t contact them.
  • Please pray for our continued growth in the language. Some days it’s so hard, and other days we are amazed that we’ve come so far. I always joke and say that Jon and I together are fluent, but separate we both have different strengths and weaknesses.
  • Please keep our son Austin, my brother Craig, and our niece Rachel in prayer as they all work the front lines during this time, along with all of the front line workers.

PRAISE REPORTS:

  • Praise the Lord for ONE YEAR as a church here in Oaxaca.
  • For the lessons we’ve learned, even the really hard ones, because we know that God has been teaching us through each one.
  • That Oaxaca has become more and more our home here on earth.
  • We are so thankful for the friendships we have made here.

Thank you all for your love, support, prayers, encouragement, and all that you do for us. We are honored to call you all friends and we love you all. Like I said, please let us know how we can pray for you all.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For is they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.”

Jon, Allison, Jonny, Noah


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