28 August 2012 Update!

Greetings from southern Mexico!  Thank you to each of you who are praying for the people here and for our family.  We are so grateful for you 'holding the rope'.

Summer 2012 is in the books and we've seen the Father do some great things.  Most of the time we've just been blessed to be at the right place at the right time to see God do great things.  As we told our semester missionaries yesterday, 'If you're looking for missionaries who've got it all together and know all the answers, then you've come to the wrong place.'  We are woefully inadequate to do what God has called us to do but we are very confident knowing if we put our lives in His hands, then He will get His work done.  And He does.

I Corinthians 1 reminds us:

26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth, 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.  30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness, and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."

We have a busy few months coming up.  Please join us in praying for these requests:

• Pray for students from the Baptist seminary in Oaxaca who will be going out to communities where our national and USA partners have been working.  It is a huge blessing to be able to work with these students.
• Pray for our four Hands On semester students who are here in Oaxaca until December.  D, K1, K2, and A need your prayers as they learn the culture here, fall in love with the people, and find the place the Father has for them.
• We will be welcoming teams from Missouri, Texas, South Carolina, and Mississippi over the next few months.  Please pray for the preparation that must be done for these teams.
• Haylee and Jackson have begun a new, challenging school year.  Pray for them as they adjust to school.
• Pray for the many communities here that need churches planted among them.  Pray that the Father will lead us to the right places.

Thank you for your prayers and your financial support through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and the Cooperative Program.

Jeff, Liesa, Haylee, and Jackson

ON LINE TRAINING BEGINS TUESDAY, AUGUST 28!

Here are descriptions of each class session.  Click on the photo to enlarge.

Our Fall On-Line Training Classes begin on Tuesday,

August 28 at 7 pm and continue for several weeks.

  We'll have different missionary presenters each week!

You'll need to have speakers or headphones with your computer to be able to hear the discussion.  If you have a microphone you can participate in the sessions!

Please click the link below to sign up!

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/564473322

12 August 2012 Update!

Jackson is a part of an American Football Club here in Oaxaca.  Today the dads played the sons in a game with full pads and live contact.  Jeff played center on offense for his team and Jackson was a defensive back.  Here's a few photos:

Jackson on his way to warm-up.

Ready for the snap.

This is really gonna hurt tomorrow!  --with Jimmy Streelman

  

Jackson stretching with his team before the game.
Dads didn't want to do this.

Jackson's Oaxaca Football Team

11 August 2012 Update!

(There are links to other websites in this edition of the blog.  Just click on the highlighted links to visit the other sites.)

Philippians 4:6-7...

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Thank you to all who pray for us.  We are grateful for the way you invest in the work here.  Here's a good tool to help you when praying for missionaries.

We were blessed to have a Vision Team from Sharon Baptist Church in Powell, TN here this week.  We crammed a lot of travel and learning into three days while they were here.  I'm sure they were worn out and mentally exhausted as they arrived back home in Tennessee this evening.  This was a somewhat frustrating week for me (Jeff) because I never sensed a clear direction of where to take this team.  For most Vision Teams coming to explore future involvement with us here in Mexico, I usually am confident as to where the Spirit is leading us.  This week was different in that we saw several options for future involvement here in southern Mexico.  Please pray for Sharon Baptist Church and their Missions Team as they try to discern where the Father is leading them.  The verse above came to my mind every morning as I met with these enthusiastic folks.  I know the Father has a plan for them to do great things.

Jeff will be traveling to the USA for two weeks of training.  This training is to prepare us for different scenarios that could occur on the mission field.  Please pray for Jeff as he participates in the training.  It is rumored to be intense but very, very important to our work.  We are thankful that Southern Baptists provide these training opportunities.

For those of you interested in how to prepare for work in a cross-cultural setting, Partner Connect On-Line Training will begin on August 28.  Please plan to set aside your Tuesday evenings for this very important training.  All you need is a computer with audio capability to participate.  And, if you have a microphone you can be a part of the discussion.  This is a great opportunity to get very good training without driving miles to attend a meeting.

We are so thankful that four students are coming to work her in Oaxaca this semester.  Anna, Davinity, Kim, and Kelley arrive on August 23.  They are a part of a program called Hands On.  These students are giving up a semester of college/after college to come and help spread the Gospel to the unreached people of southern Mexico.  Please pray for them as they get settled and begin their ministry assignment.  Pray their families who are supporting them.

Other prayer requests:

• Would you join us in praying for this list of unreached people groups...paying special attention to the groups listed in Mexico?
• Please continue to pray for the community of 'SPT' and the ongoing work there among this community with very few believers.  Pray for a strong church to emerge and impact this community.
• Pray for the small group of believers and the small group of seekers who live in 'SBY'.  You may remember that Jordan and Erica and Zuri just finished up two months of 'living life' in this village.  Read about their adventures here.  
• Pray for the village of 'PV' that we visited with a team from Virginia a couple of weeks ago.  These people are waiting for someone to tell them about Jesus.  Will you pray for workers among this harvest.
• Pray pray for our pastor friend Franco Lopez who would love to have some help reaching his village.  Pray for the village of 'SA' where he lives and ministers.
• Please pray for the village of 'SPH'.  Liesa and I visited this village but we did not sense acceptance by the people there.  This is a village with few believers.  Pray for open doors in the future among this community.
• Please pray for the home for indigenous children that we have developed a relationship with here in Oaxaca.  Casa Hogar is reaching many children from indigenous villages that we are not able to get to.  Please pray for their ministry.
• Please pray for Haylee and Jackson as they begin a new school year at Oaxaca Christian School.
• Pray for more workers for the harvest here in southern Mexico.  We have unfilled positions for Journeymen and Career Missionaries that would be great help to completing the task in southern Mexico.  You can visit www.imb.org for information about serving anywhere in the world.

As always, your prayers are vital to the work here.  When you pray, He hears and we see the answers every minute of every day.

Jeff, Liesa, Haylee, and Jackson Holeman

1 August 2012

Dear friends,

Thank you for all who pray for us regularly.  You are such a blessing to us.

Time really flies when your having interesting experiences.  While not all of our time here in Mexico has been fun we are amazed that it is August already!  Jeff and Liesa are excited that August brings American football.  The kids are gearing up for a return to classes in a couple of weeks.  It is amazing how time passes so quickly.  In just a few weeks we will mark 5 years as a missionary family.  Wow.

Thank you for your prayers over the past couple of weeks.  The Vision Trip with the team from Virginia went really well.  We were able to visit two people groups and the Father blessed us with open doors among one of them.  Pray for NBC from Virginia as they determine the Lord's plan for their future mission involvement.

A Vision Team from SBC in Tennessee arrives next week.  Pray for the Father to give clear direction to this team.  Pray for them as they make a commitment to training/preparation for their mission task in a cross cultural assignment.  Pray for the village they will be visiting to have a 'person of peace' to welcome them.

Liesa, Jackson, Haylee, and Jeff are currently traveling to a meeting of our Mexico mission personnel.  Pray for safe travel and a spirit of unity during the meetings.  Pray that the Father will continue to guide our steps.  Pray for those leading our meetings to be led by the Holy Spirit.

Also, we said 'see ya later' to our summer missionaries this week.  J, E, and Z did a remarkable job in the village of SBY.  Thank you so much for praying for them.  Your prayers definitely made a difference as they were able to build strong relationships and started a Bible study in their village.  Pray that 2BC in Missouri will continue to send workers into this harvest field.

We are blessed to know you all are praying for us and the work here.  Thank you for your support through prayer and your financial support through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and the Cooperative Program.

Liesa, Jeff, Haylee, and Jackson Holeman

23 July 2012 Update!

Many thanks to all of you who pray for us.  We are so grateful for your partnership.

Liesa, Haylee, and Jackson are currently trying to make their way home to Oaxaca from Mississippi.  Haylee and Jackson went to Mississippi for a few weeks to spend time with family and friends.  Liesa went up a few days ago to bring them back to Mexico.  Their flight to Oaxaca was cancelled so this morning they are trying to find options to get home to Oaxaca.  We're praying for opportunities to make some flights today that will get them home this evening.

Also, we have two leaders from Newsoms Baptist Church in Virginia who are trying to make  their way to Oaxaca for a Vision Trip.  They are in the process of deciding how to be involved among the unreached people groups of Mexico.  We're praying they are able to find flights to get to Oaxaca today.

Just wanted to give you those quick updates!  Thank you all for your prayer support.

Blessings!
Jeff

14 July 2012 Update!

Hola from southern Mexico!

Just a quick update to let you know what is going on.

• Z, E, and J are our summer workers who are living among an unreached people group this summer.  They have a difficult assignment but are seeing the Father do some great things.  Please continue to pray for them.
• We have two Vision Teams coming in from churches in Virginia and Tennessee over the next couple of weeks.  Please pray for us as we determine where these churches should be working in the future.
• Valley Baptist, Bakersfield, CA will be sending a team down to work among their people group they have 'embraced' as their own.  Pray for them as they seek to open hearts to the message of the Gospel.
• Liesa and Jeff just completed three days of research of a couple of unreached people groups.  Pray that doors will be opened to work among more of the people of southern Mexico where no one is reaching them.
• Haylee will be attending Super Summer Mississippi next week.  This is a leadership/discipleship/evangelism training camp at Mississippi College.  Pray for her to have a tremendous week.
• Liesa is in Mississippi to have some fun and bring Haylee and Jackson back to Mexico next week.  Pray for them to have a great time with friends and family.

As always, your prayers are very powerful and we depend on them greatly.  Thanks for praying!

Jeff, Liesa, Haylee, and Jackson

View from a Chontal fishing camp on the coast of Oaxaca.
Pray for them as they recover from recent tropical storms.

"To know the will of God, we need an open Bible and an open map."
— William Carey, pioneer missionary to India

Beautiful lady on a beautiful beach in Oaxaca.

We love meeting fellow believers like Pastor Franco Lopez.
He leads a Baptist church in a coastal town in Oaxaca.

Here's info about Oaxaca.

5 July 2012 Update!

Just a quick update to thank you all for your prayers.  We are so thankful for you.  Your prayers are so important to the work that the Father is doing here and around the world.  Please don't forget how important you are to us.

1 Thessalonians 5:17: pray without ceasing.

Highlights of what is going on in southern Mexico and elsewhere:

• We are preparing for Vision teams from Virginia and Tennessee over the next few weeks.  Pray for the right people working in the right places doing the right things.
• Our summer workers are doing great work.  Continue to pray for Z, J, and E as they finish up their last three weeks with us.
• Liesa and Jeff have been able to begin research on several people groups.  Pray for us to be led by the Spirit to the places the Father is working.
• Haylee and Jackson are enjoying a month in Mississippi.  Pray for them as they enjoy time with friends and family.
• An IMB media team will be coming to southern Mexico to highlight some of what the Father has been doing here.  Pray that this project will be used to advance the Gospel here in southern Mexico.
• We are blessed that a large number of our Southern Baptist Churches are contacting us as they pray about how to get involved in missions in southern Mexico.  Pray that our SBC partners will be committed to preparing themselves for this huge task.
• Haylee will be attending Super Summer 2012 at Mississippi College next week.  Please pray for her as she attends this leadership/evangelism/discipleship training conference.

Thank you all for your prayers and financial support through the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.

Jeff, Liesa, Haylee, and Jackson Holeman

25 June 2012 Update!

Romans 15:30 (ESV) I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf,

Thank you to all who pray regularly for the work here in southern Mexico. We are grateful for the investment you make in what God is doing here.

God is definitely up to something here in the Oaxaca area. Since our arrival over 6 months ago, we have had contact with over 25 churches/conventions/ministries who are praying about beginning work among the unreached of southern Mexico. That's A LOT! We are somewhat overwhelmed at times but we know God is in control and will show us how we're supposed to do the work. Fortunately, there are a number of Mexican believers and churches that we are getting to know. Obviously, Mexican believers have the responsibility to share the Gospel with the unreached of their area. We are seeking the mind of Christ on how best to partner Mexican churches/believers and USA churches/believers. Please join us in praying about that.

We have asked you to pray for our summer missionaries. We have two summer M's who are college students from the USA and we have one Mexican student as well. These three are tasked with researching the world view of an unreached people group. They are living in a village in a small house and doing a wonderful job of loving on these people and determining the best approach to share the Gospel with them. Early indications are that the efforts of other evangelical and cult groups to forcefully share the message of Christ has done much to close the hearts of many of these people. Please join us in praying for open hearts and for opportunities to make disciples among these people over the next few years.

Another of our USA church partners has discovered a segment of an unreached people group from Oaxaca living very close to the campus of their church. They are seeking to plant a church among these people in the USA and in their villages here in Oaxaca. Please pray that more of our USA churches will reach out to those from other cultures living within the shadows of their churches. Pray that disciples will be made among them on USA soil who will return to their people in their own countries and bring the Light of the Gospel to them.

While we're talking about sharing the Gospel, exactly what does that mean? I like this definition of the Gospel:
THE JUST AND LOVING CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE HAS LOOKED UPON HOPELESSLY SINFUL PEOPLE AND SENT HIS SON, GOD IN THE FLESH, TO BEAR HIS WRATH AGAINST SIN ON THE CROSS AND TO SHOW HIS POWER OVER SIN IN THE RESURRECTION SO THAT ALL WHO TRUST IN HIM WILL BE RECONCILED TO GOD FOREVER. (David Platt)
That is the message we want to proclaim to the people of southern Mexico.

Please continue to pray. Your prayers are a powerful weapon here.

Thank you to all who give to the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Your financial support is so important to the work of over 4600 Southern Baptist missionaries serving around the world.

Blessings!

Jackson, Haylee, Jeff, and Liesa

Jeff's mom learning how to spin wool in to yarn in Oaxaca, Mexico.

19 June 2012 Update!

Fun Day With Friends!

We took a little time off and headed out to a local Oaxaca park called Hierve El Agua to celebrate a BIG day!  John McLamb's birthday is today!  Happy Birthday John.

Jeff and John.

Jackson, Haylee, Luke, Caleb, and Elijah. (Hope was busy.)

This is an H.M.M.  (HOT MAMA MISSIONARY).  Hmmmmm.

The Holeman's including Jeff's Mom.

18 June 2012 Update!

Here's a photo tour of the last week...

Father's Day 2012.  We went to one of our favorite restaurants for some good food!

Today at the local children's home the kids hit the jackpot when they found a bunch of big, black ants! They took them in the kitchen and fried them up....

 After they are fried all you have to do is wrap them up in a tortilla and you have a great snack!  Watch for this in your local Taco Bell real soon!

 Jeff's mom had a great time with the kids at the children's home.

Liesa with one of our favorite kids.
Edu is a blessing to us!

 Our Summer M's are doing
incredible work among

a local people group.

Our Summer M's making some great friends in their village.

Thank you for praying!  Keep those prayers going....

Jeff, Liesa, Haylee, and Jackson

12 June 2012 Update!

Happy Birthday Mom!

June 12, 2012 at Monte Alban, Oaxaca, Mexico

11 June 2012 Update!

Saludos de Oaxaca!

Here's an update for all of you who are so faithful to pray for us.  We are so thankful for your commitment to support us through prayer.

We are supporting the work of three student summer missionaries.  J and E are from the USA and Z is a student from Oaxaca.  They are working out in a village as they begin the long-term ministry of one of our USA partners.  These three will be spending the next six to seven weeks building relationships and conducting research among an unreached people group.  Please pray:

• Adjustment to a new culture...emotionally and physically.
• Spiritual health for all three.
• Open doors for relationships to be made.
• Favor from the local government for future work among this people group.

Haylee, Mimi, and Jackson on the Oaxaca zocolo.

Jeff's mom arrived last week and we've hit the ground running. She has already been to our favorite taco stand and experienced a meal with one  of our pastor friends (He made ceviche which is  quite the experience.). Today she is working with  Liesa at the children's home that we have adopted  as a local ministry. She has had to adjust to life  without air-conditioning and has beaten Haylee and  Jackson in several board games. Jackson has yet to  get her playing the Wii yet...but that day is probably  coming.

We took a quick trip the USA...oops, we mean Puebla (It's a lot like the USA in Puebla)...on Sunday to deliver Haylee to the site of this year's Mexico Kid Missionary Camp.  She will be there this week for a time of spiritual enrichment and some just plain fun.  We are so thankful for the way Southern Baptists support our kids.  If you are considering the call to missions (We KNOW folks read our blog who are considering missions.) and are worried about your kids then DON'T.  The International Mission Board will do all possible to make sure our children are well taken care of.

Looks like Haylee is on the losing end of Monopoly.

Jackson is doing well.  With no school until August, Jackson is enjoying mucho pajama time and riding his bike and sharpening his Wii skills.  Jackson and Haylee will be headed to Mississippi on June 23 for several weeks of fun with family and friends.  They are excited about seeing so many of you.  

We are grateful for your prayer and for those of you who support us financially through the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.  You all are a blessing!

Jeff, Liesa, Haylee, and Jackson

3 June 2012 Update.

Greetings to all of you out there.  We want to remind you of our next Tuesday night training event.  The training will begin at 6:00 pm.  All you need is a computer with some type of speakers to listen and participate.  Terry Lassiter, our big boss, will be leading the training this week.  Other than being a Baylor fan, he's a wonderful guy and will teach us much.  Click HERE to register.

Another good week in the books here in southern Mexico.  Haylee has finished 9th grade and Jackson has finished 7th grade with flying colors.  Their grades this semester were excellent (as always)!  They are looking forward to a few lazy weeks before they head to Mississippi for several weeks with friends and family.  Jeff's mom will be coming to Oaxaca on Wednesday so it will be a lot of fun having her here.  

Jeff and Liesa were able to travel to some new villages this week to gather information for the future.  Southern Mexico has a large number of people groups that we need to explore.  We must get out to the communities and find out if there is a need for our USA partners to begin work.  In a very simple explanation,  our objective is to search for communities where the population of believers is less than 2% of the total population and there is no church-planting effort among them.  There are several of these people groups in southern Mexico.  The good news is there are a large number of believers here.  We can learn so much from the Mexican believers and we can work together to take the Gospel where it is not.

We have three summer missionaries who will begin work this week.  J and E are from the USA.  Z is from Mexico.  These students will be working in the village of S.B.Y. to be 'Jesus With Skin On' among the people, to encourage the small group of believers, and to conduct research so we can determine the best ways to communicate the Gospel.  We must understand world-view and culture before we can begin to effectively make disciples.

We are making plans for Vision Trips from churches in Texas, Virginia, and Tennessee during the next few weeks.  We are excited about a possible future partnership with a church from our hometown of Oxford, MS.  And, we have several exciting projects coming up over the next year involving students.  So, things are going well down here.

We do ask for prayer from each of you.  We always want to be doing exactly what the Father desires.  Serving as missionaries doesn't make us 'super-spiritual' or even more committed to Jesus than each of you.  It is merely by the grace of God that we are here.  Most of you would make much better missionaries than us.  Working for a large mission organization certainly has many benefits, but there are challenges that sometimes overshadow the benefits.  We are trying to be very careful to not become dependent on anyone other than our Lord.  The Father is so good to provide everything we need each moment of each day.  We know that your prayers are such a huge part of what happens to us each day.

Please join us in praying for:

• The Right Places.  Pray that the Father would guide our travels to the communities where He wants us to work.
• The Right People.  Pray that the Father would allow us to continue to build relationships with Mexican believers.  Pray that we will have humble hearts that can learn from our Mexican brothers and sisters.
• The Right Things.  Pray that our time will be spent doing things that make an eternal impact.  Pray for our USA partners to have humble hearts that will listen first and speak later.  We need USA partners who will make a commitment to learn culture before launching plans.  Pray for USA partners with humble hearts and love for these precious people.

Thank You for praying.  You are all loved more than you know....

Jeff, Liesa, Haylee, and Jackson

27 May 2012 Update!

Hola from southern Mexico!

Thank you to all who pray faithfully for us, support us through the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, and come to southern Mexico to work among these precious people.  We are so thankful for you 'holding the rope' and enabling us to be here in southern Mexico.

We have had a good week.  Haylee and Jackson are busy getting ready for the end of their school year.  Haylee finishes up 9th grade and Jackson will say good-bye to 7th grade on Friday, June 1.  They are so ready for a break from school and a good summer vacation.  Haylee and Jackson will be spending a month in Mississippi this summer with family and friends and they are excited about that.

Liesa and Jeff have enjoyed a 'calm' week before a busy summer arrives.  Jeff's mom arrives on June 6 for a couple of weeks of life with us.  We will have two summer missionaries here during the months of June and July.  There is also a great deal of research that must be done and Liesa and Jeff will be traveling quite a bit to find info on some of the areas of southern Mexico.  We have three churches from the USA coming down in the next few weeks on Vision Trips to seek God's place of service for their churches.  We have much work to do to prepare for these big events.

We were blessed this week when the Father sent us a wonderful young lady to work with us this summer.  We have been praying that God would call out some Mexican Christians who would be willing to teach us about ministry here and allow us to teach them also.  We are excited about what God is doing here through us and the other missionaries who are working here.  We are convinced that this part of the world must be reached by our Mexican brothers and sisters.  Our role is to help them to do what God has given them to do.

You can join us this week in praying for:

1. The Right People, in the Right Places, doing the Right Things.  
2. For more opportunities to build 'discipleship' relationships.
3. For the villages of S.B.Y. and S.P.T. to have new churches soon.
4. For protection as we travel around southern Mexico conducting research.
5. For J and E who are coming to spend two months living in a remote village.
6. For Z, our new national partner who wants to serve the Lord with us this summer.
7. For God to guide our steps so that we are following Him every day.

Psalm 9:10 - And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

Many blessings to you all!

Jeff, Liesa, Haylee, and Jackson

Pray for S.B.Y.

Yesterday we traveled to S.B.Y. to visit with some of the people there and to continue to make arrangements for some short-term missionaries to live in the village.  Please continue to pray for this village and the small group of believers there.

15 May 2012 Update!

Hello to all of you out there!

First, let us remind you of our Tuesday Evening Partner Connect Webinars for all of you to receive training.  Click Here for more info.

It has been a while since our last update.  We are so grateful to all of you who encourage us through your commitment to pray for us and, most importantly, the many here in southern Mexico whom the Father is bringing into the family of believers.  Your prayers are so important to the work here.  Thank you for the time you spend in prayer.

The Lord continues to open doors for ministry.  Liesa has found a children's home called Casa Hogar.  She is loving to be able to spend time with the children and with the workers.  Jeff is continuing to explore some of the communities around our area and spending time researching different people groups with whom we have responsibility.  We have several churches who are in the process of receiving Phase One training and will be traveling to Mexico in the near future.  

Our ministry assignment in Mexico is to work with Southern Baptist churches and our Great Commission Partners who are dedicated to the task of reaching the people groups of southern Mexico that do not have believers AND/OR the number of believers among the people group is very small.  You can go HERE to find out how your church can be a part of the work in Mexico and other parts of the world.

Please join us in praying for these requests:

• The Right People in the Right Places doing the Right Things.  This has been our prayer for the work here in southern Mexico for a long time.
• Pray for the village of S.B.Y. where doors are opening for ministry.  This is a village of approximately 600 people with no evangelical church.  We have found 4 believers in the village.  Pray for a new church in this village soon.
• Pray for the S.P.T. people.  The work is in the early stages with this people group.  There is a USA partner working with this group in Mexico and in the USA.  Excellent opportunities for ministry and missions.
• Pray for our USA churches who are praying about working in Mexico to be given wisdom.  It is so easy to think that ministry methods that work in the USA will work here in Mexico.  Pray for these USA churches to take seriously the training and research elements of mission work.

We have just returned from a week in Peru.  Jeff and Liesa were a part of training meetings in Lima and we were able to take Haylee and Jackson with us.  The training was really good and the opportunity to visit with our Peruvian and missionary friends just made it all much sweeter.  Haylee and Jackson were able to connect with many of their friends and we all had a great time.  Here are some photos:

Our sweet friends Clara, Gladys, and Anibal from Peru.  Sweet memories!

Haylee and Jackson were able to spend time with some of their friends in Peru.

Jackson and the guys.

Bredbenner's and Pennington's.  These folks are the greatest.
Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Anibal (A.K.A. Jungle Boy) is a part of our family.  He is a wonderful missionary.

Have you heard that Jackson is now 13 years old?

Jackson and one of his 'best buds' in Peru.

Lots of fun times with Christy and Mindy.  Wonderful friends whom we miss very much.

Kid Missionaries.  The best in the world.

Goofy Kid Missionaries.

Today is May 15 and this morning Southern Baptists put another paycheck in our checking account.  It just showed up...exactly as it has the other 55 months that we have served as missionaries.  We know that most of you make great sacrifices to give to the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.  Thank you for your giving.  We don't take for granted the churches in the USA that God uses to allow us to serve here.  Thank you for your faithfulness to the Gospel.

Please let us know if we can help you in any way.

Jeff, Liesa, Haylee, and Jackson Holeman

“Our vision is...

...A Rapid Heart-Language  Presentation Of The Gospel  used by the Holy Spirit to produce...

   ...a multitude of disciples among all peoples of Southern Mexico And the Americas...

     ...equipped to fulfill the Great Commission...

        ...to the ends of the earth.”

18 April 2012 Update!

Thank you to all who pray for us.  We are so grateful for your investment in what God is doing here in southern Mexico.  We've had some busy times here over the past few weeks!

GREAT NEWS!  YOU can receive some important training that will help you understand how to be a better short-term missionary on Tuesday Evenings in May.  There is no cost and all that you need is your computer.  For more info please CLICK HERE!

Arnold and Marie

Liesa's folks came down for a week-long visit and we had a fun time with them.  We were able to hit all of the local tourist sites and show them a little about what our work involves.  Of course, the real reason they came is to see Haylee and Jackson and they enjoyed having Nana and Papaw around.  We enjoyed nightly games of Farkle and trying to get them to eat grasshoppers.

Our furniture arrived from Peru on April 4!  We are really enjoying having our furniture.  Three months on the air mattress was quickly forgotten when we were able to sleep in our own beds.  Amazon, the amazing Peruvian Dog, has loved having her normal perch back on the back of the big red chair in the den.  We still have a few boxes left to unpack but we are all enjoying life a little more with our 'stuff' around us.

Easter Sunrise in southern Mexico.

We spent Easter morning with a large group of our missionary friends.  We had a sunrise service at Oaxaca Christian School (where the kids go to school) and it was a meaningful time for all of us.  We rarely get the opportunity to worship and be taught in English so that was wonderful.  During Easter weekend we invited two of our missionary friends who live and work in a village to come and spend the weekend with us.  They are Journeygirls serving for two years here.  It was great to have them with us.

A team of two men came down from the Agricultural Development Foundation to look around our area to determine possible agriculture and human needs projects that USA partners might could be involved in.  Jeff had a great time traveling the back roads around southern Mexico looking for ways to help the people.  The team was able to meet with a trout farmer and a local greenhouse owner while they were here.  To learn more about the Agricultural Development Foundation click here.

We also had a visit from a few folks from First Baptist Church, Clinton, MS and Menchville Baptist Church, Newport News, Virginia who came down to look around Oaxaca and explore possible future ministry projects.  We were able to speak at FBC Clinton last fall and their folks have been very interested in southern Mexico since then.  We are always excited when Mississippi folks come down for a visit.

We've also had a visit (along with the FBC Clinton crew) from the Dr. Ramiro Marrero family.  The Marrero's are a Mexican family who are doing great things in Atlacomulco, Mexico.  They came down to learn more about southern Mexico and discover ways they can get involved.  We look forward to some shared ministry projects in the future.  You can discover more about their ministry by clicking here.

Our city is in a huge valley surrounded by the Sierra Madre mountains.

Here are some prayer requests that you can help us with:

1. Please continue to pray for open doors among the indigenous communities here.  Pray specifically for a village that we'll call 'S.B.Y.'   We are planning to place a small group of summer missionaries there this summer to build relationships and get some regular Bible studies going.  This village of around 600 people only has 4 known Christians.  
2. Pray for more open doors in other communities.  Pray for God to lead us to the right places.
3. Please pray for Jeff as he travels to Virginia for training meetings.  Pray for productive meetings.
4. Jeff has some upcoming training meetings in Lima, Peru so we're taking Haylee and Jackson along with us.  They are excited about returning to Peru and seeing their friends.
5. Pray with us as more churches in the USA express interest in engaging an unreached people group here in southern Mexico.  Pray that God would lead the right people to us who are committed to doing the right things.  For more info about YOUR CHURCH engaging an unreached people group please CLICK HERE!

Thank you for the way you bless our family through your prayers and your giving to the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.

Hasta luego!

Jeff, Liesa, Haylee, and Jackson