Collins Family in Mesick, MI

A NEW AGENCY After months of prayer and consideration, along with counsel from pastors and other friends and family, we want to inform you of a big and exciting change for us! In an effort to be the best stewards of the resources God has provided through our supporters, we are resigning from our current mission board, Avant, and we are transitioning to a new agency, Mission Quest ( https://missionquest.org ). WHAT IS CHANGING? This change does not affect our ministries here in Mexico. We plan to continue in the same ministry as before: Making disciples of Jesus Christ in Puebla, Mexico through orphan care, theological education, and church ministries . This is also not a change in doctrine . Our beliefs have not changed! You can check out Mission Quest’s doctrinal statement here: https://missionquest.org/about/Missionary-Statement-of-Faith/ WHY CHANGE? For us, this change is about stewardship . For our family to continue with Avant would not be good stewardship of th...

New House! Many of you know we have been praying for a new place to rent, closer to the children’s homes. The Lord has provided a place for us, a house in a very beautiful neighborhood within walking distance of the children’s homes, and still only about 10 minutes’ drive from the Seminary. We are hoping this will be a good place for us to settle for years to come, and we’re praying we’ll have good opportunities to reach out to neighbors here. Praise God for this answer to prayer! Orphan Care We are thrilled that God recently brought about the opening of a girls’ home, Casa Nueva Vida (New Life Home) near the boys’ home. We were able to be at the house to receive them the day they arrived, and we got them some delicious tacos al pastor for lunch. Marco, the house dad, asked me to share devotionals with the girls, and we are excited to develop relationships with both the house parents and the girls. We’re also thankful for continued opportunities to serve at the boys’...

This past Thursday, April 25, we celebrated one year since we arrived in Mexico. It was a good time to reflect over all that God has done in our lives and our ministry over the last year. Getting to Mexico Behind the scenes of our first year in Mexico was the process of raising support. We spent approximately 1.5 years raising support from the time we joined Camino Global until we arrived on the field. We are so thankful to God for all of our friends and family that have generously supported us and prayed for us to get us here to Puebla, Mexico. House One of the first blessings God bestowed on us was providing the house we are currently in. Only 3 days after arriving, God led us to this place, and we knew right away it was the right one. It’s only a few blocks from the Seminary where Chris teaches, and it is very open--a great place for having people over for ministry. Our rooftop view Orientation A big part of our first year on the field was our orientat...

26 My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. 27 Those who desert him will perish, for you destroy those who abandon you. 28 But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign LORD my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.  (Psalm 73:26-28, NLT) This morning I was discouraged thinking about a loved one who is far away from God. I so badly want this person to repent from their sin and turn to God. I want them to experience the joy and happiness of a right relationship with God, not His righteous judgment for their sin. But at the end of the day, I’m not responsible for them. I don’t get to make that choice—it’s up to them. I can pray, I can speak the truth in love, but I can’t turn them back to God. What I am responsible for is me. My own relationship with God. That’s what the Psalmist is saying here. There is a frightening destiny for ...

It’s a Boy! We are excited to announce that baby Collins is a BOY! We are so thankful for his life and God’s protection over him and Sarah during these past months. Orphan Care Opportunities In August we had another opportunity to visit Niños de México. On this trip Chris shared a devotional with the girls on the life of Joseph, and Sarah taught the girls how to make chocolate chip cookies! We’ve also had opportunities to visit the DIF, the government orphanage here in Puebla. The kids here are in such great need, but we are so thankful for the power of the gospel to change their lives. Greek Exegesis Class Greek class is going well. The students are working hard and learning a lot! Mentoring at the Seminary We have had great opportunities to develop relationships with Seminary students through the mentoring program, sharing meals at the Seminary, having them over to our house, and even playing soccer with them. Orientation As...

Exciting News! The Lord has added a new member to our family! We are expecting the arrival of baby Collins in early 2019. Please pray with us for health for Sarah and the baby during the pregnancy. Please pray also for God’s provision for the physical and financial needs we will have as we anticipate the birth of our child. We are very thankful for this precious gift from God! Preparing for Greek Exegesis Chris has been spending a lot of time the last few weeks studying Greek and preparing for his Greek Exegesis class this fall at Puebla Bible Seminary. One of the assignments for the students is to translate John chapters 1-4, so he has been working on translating that passage. In addition, there are multiple textbooks to read through (in Spanish!), so there is still a lot of preparation to do . Spanish Tutoring One of the main things we’ve been working on the last few weeks is improving our Spanish. Though we are both fluent, there is still much more for us to le...

When we arrived in Mexico in late April, we hit the ground running. Two days after arriving, God led us to our house. The house is only an 8-minute walk to Puebla Bible Seminary, and very close to some other missionary families. Our second weekend here was our missionary team’s annual retreat, and we spent the weekend at Veracruz. We enjoyed getting to know our teammates some during that time, and we had the opportunity to share our story and how God brought us to Mexico. It was a sweet time of fellowship. Over the last month we have visited 4 churches in Puebla. We are still looking for the place where God would have us join and minister, and we’re praying for God to direct us in this decision. Already during our time here, God has begun to provide some friendships for us. We’ve enjoyed getting to know some of the other missionaries here in Puebla, as well as some Mexican believers. Some other things that have happened: We got a car and license plates and beg...