Brechtel Family Update May 2019

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!!!)

Gregg and Vickie Seymour form CC Red Rock in Las Vegas

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!

CC Santa Barbara Prep Team

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!!! 

Dinner with Juan and Alicia

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. 

Church Service 5/26/19

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. 

Amigos y Vecinos

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. 

Some of the morning English class
Some of the afternoon English class

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 is 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