¿Mexico?

Plans have changed folks! This decision has had our hearts in turmoil for several months now. As many of you know, we had set our sights on Indonesia! We were really excited to move there, and had hopes of being able to move in April of 2014. As we got closer and closer to the departure deadline, several things started coming up that got us wondering if Indonesia would be the best fit for us after all. Some of them health concerns, some of them logistical, we began praying about a possible switch in directions. 

After much prayer and conversation with Indonesia field leadership, we have decided to totally shift our sights to MEXICO! Vastly different than Indonesia, but still with great needs. We met with one of the field leaders of Mexico while we were still at the training center in Missouri and were excited to hear about all the areas we might be able to fit. 

There are over 270 different languages in Mexico! Some of them very difficult. We originally had planned to go to a much more primitive and isolated area of Indonesia. Although the people groups of Mexico are not that isolated, many of the people have had little to no access to the gospel, but much of Mexico has had brief evangelistic efforts and a lot of exposure to Catholicism. The problem with quick evangelistic efforts is that it is usually not done in their heart language, but often in Spanish (which many of these groups might not even speak much of), and even sometimes in English with a Spanish translator. So much is lost in communication when it is not done in the language native to the people.  Many of these people groups might look religious at first glance, but when you dig deeper you’ll find Animism and Syncretism. A mish mash of belief systems and hardly any true understanding of The Bible or Salvation! We hope to do the exact same thing we planned to do in Indonesia. Go to one of the people groups with no established Church, learn their heart language so that we will one day be able to teach them chronologically through the Bible to help shed light on their false beliefs and bring them to a saving knowledge of Jesus! This will be a long effort, which will take many years. The languages in Mexico are some of the hardest in the world! We will first spend around 2 years studying Spanish in Chihuahua. We will need to speak Spanish as we will most likely have Mexican co-workers in the tribe. 

Our hope is to work in a tribal group, and that is where we are heading. But we know there are many other needs with NTM Mexico as well! There are many needs for Linguists and Translators! We are grateful that Don was able to become a Linguist because it looks like he will definitely get to use those skills in Mexico. They also have staffing needs at the Mexican Missionary Training School/Bible School. So many opportunities! As we take this next step, please be praying with us that we will find the area of service in Mexico where we will fit best! 

We will keep you updated as we move in this direction! Our first big goal is to find a good strong truck to get us through some rugged terrain in Mexico. We are going to be raising money specifically to fund the purchase of this vehicle. It’s going to be very necessary to have a truck big enough for our little family and strong enough to handle rough roads and a big load of supplies. Praying we’ll find one soon! If you’d like to give toward our vehicle purchase you can GIVE ONLINE and add a note saying it’s for the vehicle.

If you have any questions about Mexico or any thoughts you’d like to share, please let us know!

Much love, the Chubbs