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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November 2019 Update

I can’t believe our last update was so long ago. Many things have happened in this time, including the blessing of having many teams and visitors over the summer. It was so amazing for us to see all of the gifts and talents that each team and individual has been given from the Lord. It’s so true that we are all parts of the body of Christ and that we all bring different things to the table to serve Him. Things that I have absolutely no talent in, someone else thrives in that area, and vice versa. Thank you to all of the people who came and served at Calvary Oaxaca this year, and those of you who were lifting up each team in prayer as they were here. We were so blown away by every part of these past few months.

At the end of August we found a new church building to move into. What an amazing thing to have found a place for the Lord to grow His church. We were getting a little too crowded in our garage and it was getting hot in there. We had one neighbor kind of causing a stink about us having the church there and we didn’t want any issues with our neighbors or the law, even though we were doing everything legally. Praise the Lord for our residency visas being “religious” visas. So now we are in a huge building fairly close to our house! Praise the Lord for this location since a few of our neighbors come to the church and we’re all able to walk if/when needed. And thank you to those who have financially made this move possible!

Jonny, Noah, and I (Allison) were able to visit Baja and California in September/early October. It was a super awesome time for us to see family and friends, and just spend some time with everyone. Austin graduated from Paramedic School and we were able to be there for that. We are so proud of him for all of his hard work, and grateful that he has an awesome wife in McKenna, who supported him during it all!

We had our first baptism at one of the most beautiful places we’ve ever seen. Ten people made the decision to get baptized, and there were about 70 of us in total who went, including a team from CC Santa Barbara.

Jon was able to fly up to Baja and California to attend the SoCal Men’s Conference in Anaheim. He was so blessed to be able to attend it, and hearing all of the amazing stories of lives saved and transformed is incredible. He was also able to teach at the Church Planting Course at Calvary Chapel Rosarito. As I’m writing this, he is still away on his trip and I’m so excited to know that he’s being filled and fed and will come home renewed and refreshed.

We are now winding down the year and have been living in Oaxaca for almost 10 months now. We’ve had some ups and downs, and have learned some very hard lessons along the way. We have a greater understanding of things we may have never even thought we’d need to learn about, but the blessings and joy and just all around awesomeness of it all has been worth every moment. God has shown up in ways far beyond our needs and has taught us what it means to trust more and more in Him. He never fails us, does He? Praise the Lord for His faithfulness in the good and the bad times.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

  • This will be our first Christmas on the mission field, far away from family and friends. Each Christmas since we’ve been missionaries, we’ve been back in California for that time. Please pray for us to make it a memorable time for Jonny and Noah, and for us to not get too sad being away.
  • I (Allison) will be having our first women’s Christmas event in December. This will be my first time teaching since we’ve been down here and I am nervous, but also super excited. Please pray that I won’t cry, which is something that I’m notorious for, and that the night would be a blessing for all who come as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior.
  • Please keep Jon in prayer as he prepares and teaches each week. He is so diligent in studying the Word and preparing for the Thursday night study and Sunday morning service.
  • We are in need of new sound equipment and instruments for worship. We’ve come across some issues with the sound and are working them out as much as we can, but please pray for a solution to this. It may be a simple fix, or something bigger that needs to happen.
  • We also need to find a solution to the heat in the building. We are unable to put AC in because there are openings all along the top of the building, so it wouldn’t be productive. Please pray that someone with knowledge in this area would help us with figuring this all out. It can get really hot in there and we’re not even in the hot months that are heading our way.

PRAISE REPORTS:

  • Praise the Lord for the new church building and those who have made it possible to get in there, and all of the help we’ve had with construction and getting it cleaned up.
  • We are so blessed by the church body of Calvary Oaxaca. The people have a heart to serve the Lord and step in and help even before the need arises. These people have become our dear friends and brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s just such a blessing to have been called by the Lord to serve with the incredible people of Oaxaca.
  • The boys have had friends hanging out and it’s so neat to have the sound of young men filling the house with laughter and joy.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and keep up with our adventures for Jesus here in Oaxaca, Mexico. We would love to hear from you and to know how we could be praying for all of you. Thank you for your prayers, support, and encouragement always.

1 Corinthians 12:12 “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.”

Jon, Allison, Jonny, Noah


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May 2019 Update

Hi friends! It’s been a little too long since our last email update and we apologize for that. We have been really busy but that’s no excuse for not keeping you all up to date!

Since our last update we have had two small teams come down to plan for their future trips down to do ministry in Oaxaca. We had Gregg and Vickie Seymour from Calvary Red Rock who will be bringing a team down in a couple of months. (Thank you guys for blessing us with a few things from the states!!!) Then we had Pastor Terry, Pastor Daniel, and Dana from Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara, who will be bringing a team down in October. Both visits were filled with times of prayer and fellowship, along with scouting out lodging, sightseeing, and eating options/prices for the teams. If you’ve ever been a missionary, you know what a blessing it is to have visitors!

We also had the blessing of a visit from our dear family friends and fellow missionaries, Juan and Alicia. I (Allison) have known Alicia since we were babies, and Juan since they started dating back in high school. We got to spend some time showing them around and fellowshipping with them, and they blessed us with a huge care package with many contributors. Thank you!!!

The church plant has been such a huge blessing to us. I won’t lie and say it’s been easy. We’ve experienced many ups and downs but the Lord is sustaining us every step of the way. I can’t imagine doing this with anyone else by my side other than Jon. The church has very faithful attenders and we are so excited to have more and more of them beginning to serve each week.

And can I just say this: we love the people of Oaxaca. We love that God placed this calling on our lives. The people and culture here are so precious. We have amazing neighbors and friends here, and it’s such a blessing to call this home.

I have started English classes and it’s AMAZING!!! I teach young kiddos for about 30 minutes each Thursday, just vocabulary and basic greetings. And on Saturdays I have two classes for anyone age 12 and up (mostly adults) for 1 1/2 hours each. It’s so fun to teach them each week and they’re all very anxious to learn, and smart! I am having such a great time doing this and it’s really helping me practice my Spanish.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

  • We are changing our Sunday service time from the evening to the morning because of the afternoon rains. Please pray that this will be a smooth transition and that the people will be able to attend church. The rain in very loud because our garage/sanctuary has an aluminum roof, and it gets wet inside.
  • Please pray for wisdom on getting a building for the church. We would really love to have a building in our colonia so that the neighbors can still come but as of right now there isn’t anything available near us. Also please pray for the right timing for this so we don’t get anxious to do something that may not be in His will yet.
  • Wisdom on when to start a Wednesday night study.
  • Please pray for our Spanish to continue to get better. And for Jonny and Noah to have a strong desire to learn it. We are hoping to start getting them lessons once a week from a Christian guy who was highly recommended to us by some friends.

PRAISE REPORTS:

  • Praise the Lord for the faithful body of Christ who want to serve Him and be a part of this church
  • We are all pretty well settled here and are so blessed that God knew that this house would be the best house for our family. After getting down here and having the original house fall through, we see God’s hand on all of it!

Thank you for taking the time to read this. We thank God for all of your prayers, support, and encouragement each day/week/month! You all are blessings to us.

“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18

Love you all! Jon, Allison, Jonny, and Noah


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Calvary Oaxaca Las Flores

Hi everyone! Just wanted to share with you all everything that’s been going on down here in Oaxaca. We had our first church service at the end of February. It has been such a blessing to see the Lord’s hand on this church plant over the last month. We are so excited to be getting to know the people who are attending services each week. And there have been kiddos coming, so Allison has been able to start a small little study and play time with them while their parents study the Word.

We had two sets of visitors! Such a huge blessing to have the McCracken family here for a few days while they were on break from Spanish school. We went to this amazing place called Hierve El Agua. Check it out online to see how beautiful it is. Please pray for them as they continue to study at Roca Blanca Spanish School where we studied in 2017. We also had two friends from Calvary San Juan, Matt and Mark, who came to serve the Lord with their time and gifts. We had a blast laughing with them and they blessed us in many ways. One way was building a pulpit for the church. So awesome!

Huge praise report about our visas! Jon finally got his approved and was able to fly up to Rosarito with Armando and get the car and Abby (our dog). They made the long drive down with some hard times trying to find hotels that allowed pets, but they arrived after 3 1/2 days of driving. And I got my residency visa last week! God is so good. We were told they may not approve us for the 3 year visa but they did! So now we are temporary residents for 3 more years. Next up, getting the boys’ renewed.

God has been so faithful in every step of this transition and starting of the church plant. It’s a blessing to see familiar faces each week at the church services. We pray that the people coming will grow each week in their walk with the Lord, whether they’re new believers or have been saved for some time. God is truly bringing people to His church and it’s neat to see His hand in all of this.

PRAYER REQUEST:

  • continued team unity
  • Jon and Allison (and the boys) to really work on and learn Spanish better
  • we have an opportunity to rent another building right next to our house that would house teams and could be used for classrooms. Please pray for wisdom on whether or not this would be a good fit for the church and ministry. It would be through our current landlords who we LOVE!
  • please pray for each person who attends services to hear the word of God and really learn from it. Pray that Jon and Armando deliver His word well.
  • Allison is hoping to start free English classes soon. Originally she was going to do a Kid’s Club but it seems like English classes might be a better way to start. Please pray for wisdom, direction, and for Allison to be disciplined in this area.
  • Please pray for Jonny and Noah to make new friends. The Lord has been answering this prayer and has brought some guys over, which has been such a blessing. Please pray those friendships can grow. Some are locals that only speak Spanish but they always seem to work through the language barrier.

PRAISE REPORTS:

  • Praise the Lord for the 3 year visas getting approved!
  • So awesome to see the Lord moving here in this little part of Oaxaca as people come to church eager to hear the Word
  • We have lots of teams and friends coming down over the next few months and we are excited to see how the Lord will use those times with each visit.

Thank you to all of you for praying for us, supporting us, and loving us. We miss you all so much. It’s strange to think we’re really this far away now. We would love to hear from all of you whether it’s on social media, phone calls, emails. or texts. Love you all so much.

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6 May we all diligently seek Him!

Jon, Allison, Jonny, and Noah


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Another Move, A New Home in Oaxaca City

The last few months have been crazy and we are excited to say that we are here in Oaxaca City getting settled in our new home!!!

A lot has happened since our last update. Our house was broken into in December. Unfortunately Jon’s Mexican residency visa was in the wallet, along with his driver’s license. His license has been replaced but he’s still in the process of replacing his visa. More on that in a minute…

We had an amazing sending weekend at Calvary Chapel Rosarito where Jon was able to share the Word and our calling, plans, and prayer needs for our move to Oaxaca. We were SO blessed by the outpouring of love from our brothers and sisters there.

We also had an awesome going away party at Calvary San Juan which was so fun. It was a blessing to spend time talking to our friends while we ate together, laughed, and shared a bit of what’s next for us. Ended the night being prayed over by our California church family.

Such a huge blessing to have these two churches support this calling on our lives and send us out to share the gospel with the people of Oaxaca.

We also got to spend some time with Pastor Gregg and Vickie Seymour of Calvary Red Rock in Las Vegas. They are fellow church planters doing an amazing work in Las Vegas, so please keep them in your prayers.

In early January we headed up to Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara for their missions weekend. The highlight for me (Allison) was sharing about Oaxaca with the kiddos during each service. Jon let me take the ropes and it was hilarious having the kids telling all of their stories of bugs and critters after I shared some of our stories. Plus, try getting a room full of 5-12 year olds to pronounce Oaxaca…it’s awesome!

Fast forward and here we are living in Oaxaca City. Jonny, Noah, and I flew down 10 days before Jon and Armando arrived because Jon had to be in Tijuana to take care of his visa. Originally we were going to have a house ready for us when we got here, but that didn’t work out, so the boys and I spent time trying to find a house. Things kept falling through and it got pretty discouraging, but one night Jon found one on Facebook and set up a time for me to go see the house. The peace that I was hoping to feel in other houses, I felt in this house. It’s an amazing house, perfect for the beginning of a church plant. God is so good in showing us that He has everything under control and He was preparing this house to be our home.

It’s amazing to have all of #teamoaxaca here now, ready to build the team up and see what the Lord has in store. We are grateful for Meg and Obed who are committed to being a part of this church plant, and for Armando who has moved down here with us and is a huge asset to our team and a great brother.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

  • please pray for our visa renewals. They expire on February 7 and we are working on getting all of the paperwork turned in correctly before then. With Jon’s visa being stolen and me losing mine, there are added complications but we know God is in control.
  • pray for continued team unity and growth. We plan on starting a bible study together soon along with some team training
  • pray for opportunities for us to meet the people in our neighborhood and ways for us to minister to them and share the love of Jesus
  • PLEASE pray for our spanish to grow and for us to use it even when we are insecure.
  • we know that with us getting settled, the reality will start to hit us that we’re not near family and friends from “home” anymore so please pray for protection of our hearts, especially the boys.

PRAISE REPORTS:

  • Praise the Lord for a place to call home in our new city
  • we already have new and old friends here and nearby which has made this transition a lot smoother for all of us

Thank you for taking the time to read this. We love and miss everyone far, and are so excited for what’s to come here in this amazing city.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen Matthew 28:19-20

Jon, Allison, Jonny, Noah


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Vision Trip to Oaxaca City

 

Last month we took our vision trip to Oaxaca City!  We had a team of 12 people on the trip, and it was such a huge blessing.  We spent time each morning in the Word and sharing what the Lord had been showing each of us.  It was an honor to have Pastor Mike and Mario from CC Rosarito, Tim and Nikki from SGWM, Armando, and a team from CC Santa Barbara there to share in this time together.  We are so blessed to have made new, lifelong friendships with the CCSB team, and grow closer to everyone.

One of the days together, Pastor Mike suggested a time of spending time alone to hear from God and then coming back together to share what they had felt the Lord telling them.  This was a time of sweet encouragement and fellowship and it meant a lot to us to have this team pouring into us.

 

God was moving the entire time on this trip.  We had an information meeting while there and 5 people from the community came!  Jon was invited to teach at Capilla Calvario Oaxaca with Armando translating, and then we were welcomed into Pastor Antonio and his wife Carmelita’s home for lunch and fellowship.

 

We also met Meg and Obed who are going to be a part of our team when we get settled down there.  One of our prayer requests has been for a worship leader, and Obed is an answer to those prayers.  And Meg is fluent in Spanish so she can help Allison with translating and working on her Spanish.  We are looking forward to getting to know them better and serving with them.

 

 

On our last couple of days there, we got to reconnect with some friends from our time in Cacalote who now live in or near the city, Toby and The Blycker family.  It was so nice to see these familiar places.  No one quite understands our time in Cacalote like people who’ve been there.  Super excited to know that we’ll be “neighbors” in a couple of months.

 

 

 

Since our trip, we have seen many doors opening for us in Oaxaca, and we’re excited to see how things come together once we are living there.  Jon will be flying down at the end of November for a few days to look for a house for us.  We are planning on moving to Oaxaca City in mid-January!  Our time in Rosarito is quickly coming to an end and it’s definitely bittersweet.  We have made many dear friends here and love serving at CC Rosarito.

 

PRAYER REQUESTS

  • Please pray that Jon will be able to find a house for us on his trip at the end of the month, and for safe travels.
  • For us to make this next transition smoothly.  It’s been 2 years with lots of moving, so protection of our hearts (especially the boys)
  • Our Spanish to improve more and more
  • Please pray for our team to have unity and to always point each other to the Lord

Thank you for your continued love, prayers, support, and encouragement.  It is an honor to have you all in our lives and be a part of this calling on our lives.  We love you all so much!

Jon, Allison, Jonny, Noah


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August/September Update

I can’t believe it’s almost fall.  Our time in Rosarito is really starting to fly by, and before we know it we’ll be planting a church in Oaxaca!

Jon completed his first quarter of teaching at the Bible College at CC Rosarito.  It was a great experience for him as he studied and prepared to teach each week in the book of Daniel.  He has 2 weeks off and will begin teaching a new class after the break.  He’s also teaching the New Believers class on Wednesday nights.  It’s neat to know that he’s teaching a class that meant so much to him when he first got saved.  I love how the Lord brings things full-circle like that.  He also teaches the 11 and 12 year old class on Saturday nights.

Jonny and Noah have officially begun 6th grade.  We are homeschooling them again this year, and this is our 7th year of homeschool minus the few months that they attended school in Cacalote.  They are really enjoying their time in our neighborhood because they’ve become really close to one of the boys who lives across the street.  It’s going to be hard on them when we move, so let’s start praying for that one now!!!

I am really enjoying serving in the greeting ministry!  It’s my favorite!!!  I’m also teaching the 9 and 10 year old class each Saturday.  It’s a challenge for me to prepare each week but I think I’m finally getting a good routine down.  I have a great translator/co-teacher too.

Jon and I are back in the Church Planting Course each week.  It’s been such a blessing to see how the Lord has used this course to prepare us more and more for what He’s called us to do.

We had a great time serving at the grand opening service for Calvary Valley Center.  Please keep this church plant in your prayers as they serve the people of Valley Center.

Our vision trip to Oaxaca is just 3 weeks away!!!  We are so excited to see what the Lord reveals to us while on this trip.

 

PRAYER REQUEST:

  • Worship leader for church plant.
  • Wisdom for what to do with our car when we go to Oaxaca.  We don’t know if we can nationalize it because of some of the rules they have.  If our vehicle isn’t nationalized then we would have to drive it out of the country every 6 months which wouldn’t really be wise financially.
  • Our trip to Oaxaca City in October, that the Lord would show us where He wants us to plant His church

Thank you for continuing to follow along as we move forward in His calling for us to serve Him in Mexico! We are so grateful for each of you who love us, pray for us, support us, call us, and everything else.  We love you all!

Jon, Allison, Jonny, Noah

PS…my goal is to get more pictures of Jon and the boys this month.  🙂


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An Amazing, Blessed July

 

Hi everyone!  We’ve had a VERY eventful month of July, with many blessings.

Jon was ordained by Pastor Mike Vincent and the pastors of Calvary Chapel Rosarito.  He is now serving as an assistant pastor, alongside some amazing men.  We are so blessed by this!  On the same night that Jon  became PBJ, aka Pastor Big Jon, he also taught on Prayer and Devotions in the main sanctuary as a part of the Pillars Series at CCR.  He did a great job, and had Armando translating for him.

Our oldest son, Austin, married his beautiful bride on July 8.  What a blessing to now have the daughter we never had, and one who we love SO much.  We praise the Lord for their relationship that keeps Him in the center.  The wedding was as close to perfect as it could have been, and it was so fun to celebrate with so many dear friends and family.

I (Allison) was invited to serve at the youth girl’s retreat with 13-17 year old girls.  The theme of the retreat was “Born to Be Light”.  I got to share my testimony with the girls, and the entire time was such a huge blessing to me.  I was able to get to know some of the girls, and I look forward to spending time with them some more and being there for them when they need someone to listen to and pray for them.  This was one of my favorite times of ministry, although I was nervous about even going.  The Lord blessed me more than I can put into words.

Jon started teaching at the Bible College on the book of Daniel.  He loves it, so please keep that in prayer as he studies each week.

Jonny and Noah are continuing to love being here in Mexico.  They have been focusing on Spanish with some tutoring and Rosetta Stone.  They love hanging out with their friends on the street, and their friends at church.

We are loving our time here in Rosarito as we continue to prepare for the move to Oaxaca.  We have our Vision Trip in October that will be here sooner than we know.  This trip will be a time of prayer for the city that we will call our home, and also to try to find a place that we would like to live in which will be our church in the beginning also.  So far there are about 11 people that will be on this trip and we are SO EXCITED!

Thank you for following along on our adventure for Jesus in Mexico.  We love hearing from all of you through messages and calls.  Feel free to send us any prayer requests you may have.  Here are some of ours:

PRAYER REQUESTS:

  • Please continue to pray for a worship leader to go with us to Oaxaca
  • We will be starting the next semester of the Church Planting course on August 13 so please pray that we will grow in the areas we are taught on
  • Continued growth in the language for all of us.  We feel like we’re finally starting to remember more and more of what we learned in Cacalote, and we’re using Spanish more.

We love you all so much.  Thank you for your love, prayers, and support.  Remember:  YOU were born to be light!  Shine the light of Jesus everywhere you go.

Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.

Jon, Allison, Jonny, Noah

Click on the photos above to see the complete picture.  🙂


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May Update

 

Hola!  We have had a full May and beginning of June.  In May we finished our first semester of the Church Planting Course at CC Rosarito, along with the finish of this session of guitar class for Allison.  It has been such a blessing to be a part of this course, and have the opportunity to serve here at Calvary Chapel Rosarito.  Jon has been teaching in a rotation in the Pillars Class on Sunday mornings, and he will be teaching in the sanctuary on a Wednesday night at the end of June.  We will also be teaching with a translator in children’s ministry, each of us in a different class/age group.  This will be a new thing for Allison because she’s never taught with a translator.  Oh, and Allison is now a greeter…does that shock anyone?  Her dreams have come true…seriously!

We also had the honor of serving as chaplains at the Franklin Graham Decision America event in Escondido with our sending church, Calvary Chapel San Juan Capistrano.  It was an amazing night serving with them and witnessing lives turning to the Lord at the event.

In the beginning of June, Jon went with a team from CCR to Calvary Chapel Maranatha in Mazatlán.  The team worked long hours doing construction on the building, remodeling the sanctuary.  It was a blessing for him to be on this trip for many reasons.  Pastor Tony, his wife and son opened their home to us when we drove back to California in October from Oaxaca. They didn’t even know us but our connection went back to Roca Blanca Spanish School, to a woman who also barely knew us, Nancy, who serves at the church in Mazatlán.  Just a fun story about how awesome God is!!! It was also a blessing for Jon because he really got to know the guys he was on the trip with and bonded with them.  He came home refreshed even though they had been working so hard.

Next month we will officially be gaining a daughter when Austin and McKenna get married.  We praise the Lord for their relationship and can’t wait to watch them grow as a couple in the many years to come.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

  • for a worship leader to be raised up to go to Oaxaca with us
  • that we would practice/use Spanish everyday and grow in the language
  • for Jon to do well when he teaches in the sanctuary
  • Jon’s foot to heal or for a doctor to treat it so it’s not so painful

We are grateful for all of you who love us and check up on us, pray for and support us. Thank you all for being there for us!  We love you!

Jon, Allison, Jonny, Noah


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Blessed Time of Growth

 

BENDICIONES DE ROSARITO!!!April was a month filled with really exciting things for us down here in Rosarito.  I’ll try to keep it short and sweet but some of you know that’s hard for me to do sometimes, especially when I’m super excited.  🙂

We were given the opportunity to share our church planting update on a Wednesday night after service and were so blessed to have people stay and hear all that the Lord is doing and how they can be praying for us as we prepare to go further south of the border.  This was the first time Jon and Armando teamed up as speaker and translator.  I was so blessed to sit and listen to them flow so naturally as a team. #teamoaxaca  Jon shared our hearts for the people of Oaxaca and how the Lord has really buried this love in such a way that we can’t deny this is where He’s calling us to go.

We completed the Pillars class with Jonny and Noah by our sides.  The purpose of us taking the class was to learn how to teach it in the future when we plant the church in Oaxaca, but it was also a huge blessing to sit and learn these things on a deeper level.  The Pillars class is a 6 week class for those who have been at the church and are ready to start serving!  The week after we finished, Jon was asked to start teaching one of the classes in each rotation.  He taught the Devotions class.  This is an exciting thing for him to be doing not only to be teaching the class, but also to be teaching it with Armando as his translator.  #teamoaxaca

I have been asked to do a short teaching at a young women’s retreat in late July.  What a blessing to be asked to do this but I’m also terrified.  Haha!  My favorite verse in the bible is Matthew 5:16 and that’s the theme of the retreat.  Please keep me in prayer as I prepare to share some of my testimony and how the Lord can and will use ANYONE, no matter what their past is.  I’m scared to death to speak in front of people but that’s something that the Church Planting Course has been helping me with.  Still…please pray!

We are both enjoying going to the Men’s and Women’s Spanish bible studies each week.  For me it’s such a huge blessing to be loved by these women, and to love them right back!!!  Mondays are our long days and by 6:30 I don’t always feel like going to the bible study but EVERY SINGLE TIME I leave there feeling so full of love, and so excited for the next week.

Jonny and Noah are doing so well down here!  They are almost done with 5th grade and have done so well with all of the transitions over this past year.  They are ready for summer!  They have some really sweet friends from our street and from church.  Every evening is filled with boys in and out of the house, riding bikes, playing Nerf wars, and coming in for snacks and video games.  Thank you for praying for them to adapt well, and please keep them in your prayers.

There’s so much more to tell, but I’ll go ahead and end here with prayer requests.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

  • For a worship leader to go to Oaxaca with us to plant the church.  Please pray for the Lord to place it on someone’s heart to go with us, possibly even another family
  • That we can figure what to do about our car.  If we don’t have a nationalized car, we would have to drive across the border every 6 months and the closest border would be Guatemala.  We are praying that we can get it nationalized but it’s sounding like it’ll be difficult.  If we can’t, then we will want to sell our car and buy one in Mexico.
  • That we would meet our financial needs each month.  We are at about 1/3 of what we would need long-term.  The Lord always provides and we are so thankful to everyone who supports us financially and through prayer.

PRAISE REPORTS:

  • We are so grateful for all of these opportunities that the Lord is giving us while we’re down here building the team
  • Continuing to praise the Lord for Armando’s commitment to go with us for a year, and the fact that he’s truly becoming one of our family members.  Such an answer to prayer!
  • Grateful that Jonny and Noah love it here but that they also feel that Oaxaca is where “home” is

Thank you all for reading this, supporting us, PRAYING for us and with us!  We love you all so much.

Jon, Allison, Jonny, Noah Brechtel

 


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