25 March 2013 Update!

Growing up as small-town Southern Baptists, the idea of 'Holy Week' never really became important until moving to Latin America.  Holy Week is a BIG deal among Catholics in Latin American and Mexico is no different.  Processionals and ritual ceremonies will be the norm here for the next few days.  These days are a blessing in that so many folks are talking about Jesus.  They are also very frustrating in that so many folks think their participation in rituals and offerings are gaining them favor with God.  This is not so much a criticism of any one church tradition as it is a reminder that religion traps so many people in our world.  We Baptists have our 'rituals' and 'easy-believism' that causes us, in our own syncretistic ways, to believe we can limit God to an image and can control Him and make Him more 'comfortable'.

Our prayer this week is that we would have opportunities to speak the truth of the Gospel to those we meet. We want to respect the culture we are blessed to be a part of.  The sweetest people on the face of the earth live in Oaxaca, Mexico.  Would you pray that those in Mexico and Mississippi who think ritualistic religious activities score points with Jesus (and His mama) would exchange that lie for a relationship with the Jesus of the Bible?  Pray that they would know a Jesus who is alive, active, accessible to all, sending His disciples on a mission to the ends of the earth.

16 March 2013 Update!

We are so grateful for your prayers!  These have been some really busy times for us over the past few weeks.  Your prayers have worked to allow us to see the Father do some great things.  You have been a part of:

1. Large numbers of people hearing about what the needs are in southern Mexico at the World Mission Conference at Second Baptist Springfield, Missouri.
2. Outreach to more and more folks through the English Classes that Sandi, Jennifer, Anna, Natasha, and Ellen are teaching this semester at a local church and on the Lacy Seminary campus.
3. Several life-changing decisions made at a local church when one of our USA churches sponsored a 'Family Day' activity for those in the neighborhood around the church campus.
4. Safe travel in the air, through city traffic, and on mountain roads over the past few weeks.

Your prayer commitment to us is such a necessary part of the work going on here.  Please continue to pray and know that your investment of time is making a difference.

Remember this quote: “If you think you’re too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito.” -Betty Reese

And remember this scripture: Mark 9:29  And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”

Please join us in praying for these requests:

1. Jeff and Liesa have been asked to take on a new role within in our missions organization.  We will continue to live and minister in southern Mexico but will have to work a lot smarter.  Pray for us to have wisdom.
2. Pray for Sandi Bridges as she prepares to return to the USA in a couple of weeks.  Sandi has been here helping us to improve our ESL ministry and also to prepare for two weeks of Youth Camp for USA Youth Groups.  And, she has helped in a ton of other ways, too.  Pray for the Lord to guide her steps.
3. Pray for Jennifer, Anna, Ellen, and Natasha.  They are our semester missionaries working with us this.  Pray for them to establish relationships where they can be an influence in the lives of people.
4. Pray for Shindler Drive Baptist Church and Central Baptist Church who will be coming to Oaxaca in the next few weeks on Vision Trips.  These churches are seeking places to plant churches in southern Mexico.  Pray for them.

Thank you for holding the rope for us.

Jeff, Liesa, Haylee, and Jackson

Just one little thing we miss about Mississippi.

North Oxford and Ole Miss in Oaxaca! Spring Break 2013.

Here are some photos from today!

Keep praying!

8 March 2013 Update!

Many thanks for your prayers over the past few weeks.  These are busy days for us and your prayers are such a huge part of keeping things on track here in southern Mexico.

Please join us in praying for the following:

• Please continue to pray for our friend Sandi Bridges who is here helping with a wide range of ministry projects until the end of March.  Sandi joined our family during our time in Peru and is not tired of us yet.  Pray for her to finish strong during her remaining three weeks with us.
• We are very blessed to have another strong group of students serving with us this semester.  Anna, Natasha, Ellen, and Jennifer have had to deal with an erratic ministry schedule and some challenges in Liesa and Jeff's schedule but have handled all of this with grace and servant hearts.  Please continue to lift them up as they minister through English Classes, tutoring, and ministry to indigenous children.
• Pray for a ministry team coming from Oxford, MS on March 9. North Oxford Baptist Church is sending a team down to serve alongside a local church in Oaxaca and also to spend time helping at a local home for indigenous children.
• Pray for two churches that will be sending Vision Teams during the next few weeks.  Shindler Drive Baptist Church, Jacksonville, FL and Central Baptist Church, Wendell, NC will be coming seeking their place of service in southern Mexico.

Your prayers are VERY important to the work that is going on here.  Thank you for the way you support us.

Jeff, Liesa, Haylee, and Jackson

26 February 2013 Update!

Greeting from a blizzard in Missouri!

Yep...that's right.  Liesa and I are on the 5th floor of a hotel in Missouri looking at the beautiful winter wonderland outside.  We're here for the 2013 World Mission Conference at Second Baptist Church in Springfield, Missouri.  We've had a great time with these folks and we're excited about what the future holds as we partner with this great group of believers to take the Gospel to southern Mexico.

We've had a busy couple of weeks.  After a spectacular Vision Trip with Urbancrest Baptist Church, we had to make a quick family trip to Mexico City to visit the friendly folks at the Immigration Office.  We gave them our fingerprints, got some paperwork done, enjoyed a meal at Chili's with our great friend Anthony Gillen and got on a bus back to Oaxaca.  A few days later Jeff made a trip to Lima, Peru for some meetings with our Affinity leadership team.  Then, it was a long day of travel to meet Liesa in Springfield, Missouri.

Liesa was busy getting our semester missionaries settled in to life in Oaxaca.  Anna, Natasha, Ellen, and Jennifer are here for several months to serve in a myriad of ways.  Teaching English, caring for indigenous children, ministering to missionary kids, and helping with teams from the USA are just a few of the things these ladies will be doing.  We are so thankful for them and their willingness to give up some time to help the people of southern Mexico.  Please pray for them.

Liesa boarded a plane to Springfield, Missouri but weather caused her to spend a night in Chicago.  Of course, as a missionary, she is able to roll with all the obstacles.  She was able to work out a way to get to northwest Arkansas where the Lord put her in the care of an adult missionary kid whose parents had served with some dear friends of ours.  He gave her a ride to Springfield and when I arrived Liesa was there at the airport to greet me!  Amazing!

Haylee and Jackson are doing very well and are very busy with school and their social life.  They are preparing for a mission trip to the Amazon jungle of Peru in June with some of their classmates.  Liesa will be helping to lead this team of Missionary Kids to a Yagua village.  Haylee and Jackson are doing great in school and are growing into faithful disciples with big hearts for ministry.

We are grateful for your partnership through prayer and through your financial support of the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.  You are a blessing!

Take a look at this video to see what one of our partner churches is doing in southern Mexico and in the USA!

Jeff, Liesa, Haylee, and Jackson Holeman

11 February 2013 Update!

Dear friends,

Feb 11, 2013  Petal, Mississippi

Thank you for your prayers.  You never know when they are needed.  On Sunday, Feb 10 a tornado roared through Petal, Mississippi and decided to visit the neighborhood where my mom lives.  The Father protected her from certain destruction.  To the right is a photo of her back yard from this morning.  A huge thank-you to Danny Forrest and the crew from First Baptist Richton, MS for helping her to get some trees cut today.

Last week was a busy week.  A Vision team from Urbancrest Baptist Church in Lebanon, OH visited southern Mexico for the purpose of seeking an unreached people group to explore.  

Yes!  The road and the river share the same spot.
I gotta say this was incredibly fun!

We traveled to some interesting  places over the span of four days.  Every community we entered was a blessing.  In every community there was a 'Person of Peace' waiting for us.  Your prayers are opening doors in southern Mexico for the Gospel to move forward.

Here are some more photos and prayer requests from last week:

Pray for this family of believers who are living for Christ
in a very difficult place.

Pray for Nicole.  Pray for a church to be established in her village
so that she will hear about a Father who loves her and has big
plans for her life.

Pray for teams of  Southern Baptists just like this one
who will answer the call of taking the Gospel to last
remaining unreached peoples of the world.

Your prayers are powerful.  James 5:16 reminds us that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.  Please don't stop praying for the people of southern Mexico.  Your prayers are making a difference here every day.

Blessings!

Jeff, Liesa, Haylee, and Jackson

29 January 2013 Update!

Greetings from southern Mexico!

Many thanks to all of you who are praying for the many unreached people groups here.  Your prayers are the most important part of the work here.

We are doing well.  Time is flying by so quickly as we approach the end of January.  Here's some highlights of the month along with a few prayer requests:

• We have seen an increase in the number of our USA Southern Baptist Churches who have an interest in the dozens of unreached communities in southern Mexico.  Several churches are in various stages of determining their involvement in planting churches among the unreached and under-churched.  Please pray for God to send us the Right People, serving in the Right Places, doing the Right Things.
• As a family, we are doing well.  Everybody is healthy and busy.  Haylee and Jackson are back in the school mode and Liesa and Jeff are busy preparing for full calendar for 2013.  It's good to have things to do!  Pray for us as we try to balance a busy schedule without losing focus on our family.
• Sandi Bridges is with us to help with several projects we have going on.  Sandi is the Ministry Coordinator for our International World Changers projects this summer.  She is also helping us with the ESL classes that we are offering in partnership with a local church.  Pray for Sandi!
• Anna Sanders is here with us as a part of the Spring 2013 Hands On Team.  We'll have two more students joining us in a couple of weeks.  Hands On is a way for college students to spend a semester serving as missionaries.  We are grateful for Anna agreeing to come and work in Oaxaca this semester.
• February will bring a Vision Team from Urbancrest Baptist in Ohio.  Pray for this church as they seek God's plan.
• Liesa and Jeff will be traveling to Second Baptist Springfield, MO for their annual Missions Celebration.  Second Baptist is a great fellowship of believes who have been a blessing to us in many ways.  We're excited about being with them.
• We'll have two more Hands On students arriving in February along with a student volunteer from Texas.  Pray for Ellen, Jennifer, and Natasha as they adjust to life in Oaxaca.
• International World Changers is coming in July 2013.  We will be hosting two weeks of youth mission camp where teenagers from the USA will travel to Oaxaca to minister cross-culturally in a variety of venues.
• North Oxford Baptist Church is sending a team in March.  We're excited to have 'home folk' coming to visit and work in Oaxaca.  Pray for them as they prepare.

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers.  You are a blessing to us and through us.

Jeff, Liesa, Haylee, and Jackson

15 January 2013 Update!

Greetings from warm and sunny southern Mexico!

We know many of you are freezing up there in the U.S. of A. but we are enjoying some gorgeous weather down here in Oaxaca.  Of course, we would love to have a rain shower since it has not rained since November.  But, that's the way it has been in southern Mexico for many centuries so we're pretty sure we're not seeing any rain until late March.

Thank you to all who pray for the work here in Mexico and our family.  We are so grateful.  You need to know how much we depend on your prayer support.  It gives us confidence every day to do the Lord's work.  You Prayer Warriors are the ones who pack our 'spiritual parachute' each day.  If you don't keep up your end of the work then we go 'SPLAT!'  So don't stop praying!

Here's some updates from the past few weeks:

• We were blessed with a great visit to the USA for the Christmas holidays.  We love getting to see our families and friends but it is impossible to see everybody we want to see.  If we didn't get to spend time with you this trip, please keep us in mind for the next time.
• Liesa (and our Fall 2012 Hands On students) put together a special gift for the kids at the children's home.  Thanks to the generous support of First Baptist Oxford, Mississippi, each child living at the home received some new clothes.  It was a blessing to see this huge physical need being met by a body of believers in Mississippi.
• Last week, Jeff traveled to some of the 'uttermost' parts of southern Mexico on a research trip with two other missionaries.  It was sobering to see communities with little Christian witness.  AND, It was so encouraging to hear the stories from the few Christians we did meet.  These folks live for Christ while facing persecution that most of us have never faced.  Pray especially for Augustine and Lorenza who face so many challenges because of their love for Jesus. 
• Haylee and Jackson are back in the swing of things at their school.  They brought home amazing report cards and are doing so well.  We are grateful for Southern Baptists and their financial support that sends our kids to a great school.
• The Ole Miss Rebels won another bowl game....Yawn.  Ole Miss is the 12th best college football bowl program since Jesus was born.  Baylor is nowhere to be found on the list.
• It has been so good to spend so much time on Skype and the phone with pastors, mission pastors, and church leaders to talk about missions in Mexico.  I was getting a little concerned during the holidays because the phone was too quiet.  Now, we're busy!  Pray for the Father to send us the Right People, serving in the Right Places, doing the Right Things.

You can join us in prayer:

• Pray for four students and a former colleague who will be joining us this semester.  We worked with Sandi in Peru and now she has had a temporary lapse in sanity and is coming to live with us for 10 weeks.  Anna, Natasha, Ellen, and Jennifer are all college students giving up a semester to come and serve in southern Mexico.
• Pray for some Vision Teams that will be visiting Oaxaca during the next few weeks.  Teams from Ohio, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina are making plans to come 'check-out' Oaxaca and determine if this is 'The Place' for them to engage in missions work.  Pray for wisdom and discernment for these folks.
• Pray for some great opportunities we have with local churches in the city of Oaxaca.  Some mission agencies and missionaries have given up on established, traditional churches in Oaxaca.  We're seeking to build relationships with them and help them to see the 'fields ready for harvest' in the mountains all around our city.
• Join us in praying for Second Baptist Church, Springfield, MO.  We'll be in Springfield in February to be a part of their World Mission Celebration.  Pray for this church to continue to take the Gospel to the difficult places in our world.
• Summer 2013!  We have bookoodles of students coming to Oaxaca this summer.  It is going to be insanely fun!  Pray about the insane part, please.

You all are a blessing!

Jeff, Liesa, Haylee, and Jackson

Three Kings Celebration at Casa Hogar Benito Juarez!

El Dia De Reyes, the Epiphany, remembering the day when the Three Wise Men following the star to Bethlehem arrived bearing their treasured gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh for the Baby Jesus is celebrated in Mexico on January 6 each year.  At Casa Hogar we celebrated this holiday with the children much like Christmas celebrations in the U.S. with family and friends.  We had inflatable games, Domino's pizza, piñatas filled with special treats, and gifts for each child.  This was a very special time for these kids and they were so excited.  The inflatable games were a blast.  We even had a mechanical bull.  It is an honor to serve along the directors, Fran and Carol Marin, and their staff at this special place. 

A huge THANKS goes out to FBC Oxford, Mississippi for providing nearly 70 kids with new clothes, pants and shirt/sweater for each child at Casa Hogar!

                                      

Happy New Year!

Good bye to Mississippi and hellooooo to Oaxaca!

We've had a fun two week visit to Mississippi but now it is time to get back home to Oaxaca.  We have a busy few weeks coming up and would appreciate your prayers as things continue to roll along in southern Mexico.  Please pray for:

• Sandi as she comes to Oaxaca for 3 months to help us with several ministry projects.  We worked with Sandi in Peru and we are excited about her coming to our rescue in Oaxaca.
• Natasha, Ellen, and Anna are three 'Hands-On' students who will be arriving to make a difference in Oaxaca.  We'll be working with them until May.
• Vision Teams...We have plans to host Vision Teams from churches in Ohio, Georgia, and Florida over the next few months.  These teams will come to southern Mexico to explore opportunities for their churches to plant churches among people groups.
• International World Changers.  We will be hosting two weeks of 'Youth Mission Camp' in July through International World Changers.  Youth Groups from churches in the USA will come to Oaxaca to learn about missions and serve through different ministry projects.  There is a ton of work to be done before the students arrive.

We are grateful for the opportunity to serve in southern Mexico and be supported by your prayers and giving.  Please give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering if you haven't already!

Blessings!
Jeff, Liesa, Haylee, and Jackson

22 YEARS!

On December 22, 1990 Liesa must have been a little out of her mind and said 'I do!'  22 years later we're blessed with two amazing children and we've survived Calhoun City, Gulfport, Kosciusko, Oxford, the Farm in Virginia, Costa Rica, Peru, Brandon, and Mexico!  An amazing ride and a wonderful testimony of God's faithfulness!

13 December 2012 Update!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We are so grateful for the prayer support

and your financial support through the

Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.

Blessings from southern Mexico!

Jeff, Liesa, Haylee, and Jackson

Not a 'Good-Bye'....Just a 'See Ya Later!'

The Hands On 2012 Crew with our family.

Dear Kimberly, Kelley, Davinity, and Anna,

Tomorrow we take you to the airport and this journey with us in Oaxaca will come to an end.  We have learned that the missionary life is a never-ending series of trips to the airport to say good-bye to folks we really care about.  WE have loved EVERY day that you have spent living 'La Vida Loca Mexicana' with us.  It really does seem like you have been here forever even though it has only been four months.  You are a part of our family and we will miss you terribly when you leave.

Just think about what God has done through you in such a short time:

1. You have invested in the lives of dozens of Mexicans with your English classes.  You have encouraged them and given them help in learning another language that might just open doors for them in the future.
2. You have loved on the missionary kids at Oaxaca Christian School and have been an encouragement to the teachers there.
3. You have learned the importance of knowing and studying language.
4. You have invested time with our MK girls through Bible studies and spending time with them.
5. You have loved on the kids at the children's home and spent time helping them understand God's love for them.
6. You have embraced the culture here and jumped smack dab in the middle of it with a smile on your face so many times.
7. You have learned to sleep through fireworks, mariachi bands, dogs barking, and that a small earthquake is just not that important.
8. You have spent time with so many people in Oaxaca and sought to encourage as many people as you could even when you might have really wanted to do something else.
9. You've been on research trips where a drunk crowd of clowns surrounded the truck and another trip lost in vast fields of sugar cane.  You did this so that the Gospel could go to those places in the future.
10. And there is so much more...Huatulco, the Zocalo, Monte Alban, riding the bus, Dancing with the Stars, Chedraui, Soriana, Sam's, Wal-mart, Italian coffee, the neighborhood tamale guy....

Thank you for taking the time to come to Oaxaca.  As a missionary, you never know the result of your work.  All we can do is be obedient to the task the Father lays out for us.  You have been obedient to His request to 'Go serve in Oaxaca.'

Our family has grown to love each one of you deeply.  But, we aren't saying 'Good-bye.'  Just a 'See ya later!'  We'll see you again one day...

Because of Him,

Jeff, Liesa, Haylee, and Jackson (and Amazon, too!)

6 December 2012 Update!

Liesa and Haylee performed in the Oaxaca Christian School Christmas Program tonight.  Here's some photos:

4 December 2012 Update!

From a hotel room in Tuxtepec, Oaxaca, Mexico.

There is really never a normal day in mission work.  The only 'normal' is that we expect God to do 'something special' each day.  This day was no exception.

We (Jeff and the Fantastic Four) are on a research trip on the east side of the state of Oaxaca.  This area is mainly vast fields of sugar cane with small indigenous settlements scattered throughout the area.  We were headed down a dusty road this morning when we see two ladies and a little girl walking and Jeff decided we were going to give these folks a ride.  They climbed in the back of the truck (provided by the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering) and were able to sit in the shade of the camper (provided by the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering).  They told Jeff where their village was and we headed down the road (using fuel provided by the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering).

When we arrived at their village Jeff got out of the truck and began to talk with the ladies (The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering paid for me (Jeff) to learn Spanish and I was expecting something good to happen because you all who read this blog are praying and holding the rope).  Their names are Norma, Perfecta, and the little girl is Esmerelda.  It turns out that Norma is a follower of Jesus and has been talking to Perfecta about the Lord for some time.  So, Jeff shares the Bible story of Jesus changing the life of the Demon-Possessed Man (from Mark 5).  Perfecta and Esmerelda are listening to the story and Norma is pulling her Bible out of her purse to find the passage in the Bible.  We share the story and we talk for a while about the need for Jesus in our lives.  Norma preaches a little sermon right there on the dirt road and Perfecta agrees to think about all that we have shared with her today.  (This all happened because so many of you are praying for us and the Father is answering your prayers).

The Fantastic Four and Jeff hop in the truck and continue on our way to find more communities out among the sugar cane. Your giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and your prayers are so important to the work going on here.  Thank you for your support.  Please continue to pray for Norma as she continues to share the sweet message of Hope in the middle of the fields of sugar cane in Mexico.

29 November 2012 Update!

Please join us in praying for these people groups with whom we are connected and/or working.

• MSPT
• ZSBY
• CCPV
• H
• K
• P
• OC
• PC
• CC
• CS
• CY

We do not use real names to protect the ministry that is on-going in those places.

Pray for:

• God to lead us to the right people who will do the right things in the right places.
• Open doors in these communities for the Gospel message.
• Persons of Peace in these communities.
• A deeper commitment by the churches in USA to learn language and culture in Mexico.