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Impressions of Puebla

Thank you all so much for praying for us during our trip! We want to share with you some of the thoughts and experiences we had during our time in Puebla.

One of our first impressions was how big Puebla is! Puebla is a very large and quickly growing city, with over 3 million people living there. Both of us grew up in much smaller towns, and although we’ve been in big cities before, the thought of living in such a large city was overwhelming at first. However, as we got to know people there and begin to familiarize ourselves with different neighborhoods, the size of the city became a little less overwhelming.

During our time in Puebla we had the opportunity to spend time with several Camino Global missionaries. We were able to learn firsthand about many of the ministries in Puebla and hear the heart of the missionaries serving there. We really enjoyed our time of fellowship with the missionaries, and we loved seeing how unified they all are. They work really well together as a team even though they are spread out in different ministries.

We had opportunities to see a variety of ministries in Puebla. We saw Puebla Christian School, where some of the missionaries’ kids and also several kids from the city attend. We saw the seminary, where about 200 students are preparing for ministry. We visited a martial arts academy which is used as a ministry. We went to a couple different churches during our visit. We were also able to visit 3 different orphanages while we were there. It was a good experience to see what is available for these kids and also how some of the places are run. There is an incredible need for orphan care in Mexico, and one of the ministries that we would like to be involved in is beginning a Christian orphanage.

During our trip, we were privileged to stay with the family of a friend who I (Chris) went to college with. My friend’s mom, Ana Cuevas, and her family took really good care of us, and we really enjoyed getting to know their family during our visit. Ana drove us around and gave us tours of the city and surrounding areas and even took us to an African Safari. She also provided food for us, and introduced us to several delicious authentic Mexican dishes. We had a really good time with their family and learned a lot about Mexican culture from them.

Moving Forward
As we have reflected on our time in Mexico, we strongly believe that is where God wants us to serve Him. Especially toward the end of the trip, we really started feeling at home there, and we didn’t want to leave. The ministry possibilities are plenty. Some of the ministries that we especially feel called to are the orphan care ministry and also (for Chris) teaching Bible and Biblical languages at the Seminary and Christian School. We both feel that we are best gifted for discipleship type ministries and that teaching, training and raising nationals to continue to do ministry is how our efforts can make the biggest impact for Christ.

So what’s next for us? Our next step is to apply to Camino Global to become candidates. We have just under a month to complete the application in order to attend candidate orientation in November in Dallas. Please pray with us as we take these next steps toward becoming full-time missionaries to Puebla. Pray that God will give us wisdom every step of the way, for all the decisions we will have to make. Pray for financial provision along the journey. And pray that we would continue to become the people God wants us to be as we prepare to serve in Mexico. Thank you all so much for your prayers!

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