14 August 2014 Update!

Greetings from Oaxaca!

We are thankful for all of you who are praying!  We are back in Oaxaca after some busy travel days.  We were blessed with a visit from a team from Second Baptist Springfield, MO and First Baptist Branson, MO.  Then, we made a quick trip down to the coast (with our awesome teammates Frank and Phoebe) last weekend for a wedding of some of our colleagues' kids.  It was a beautiful wedding on one of Oaxaca's prettiest beaches.  Then we joined up with Sandi Bridges and the Crosspoint Church crew for part of their time with the Chontal people group.  We're now back in Oaxaca and have been busy running errands and getting ready for a busy fall!

Would you join us in praying for these things?:

1. Our Fall 2014 Hands On students arrive on Saturday (Aug 16).  Katherine and Sara will be here until December and we are looking forward to serving with them!  Pray that they adjust well to Oaxaca and that they have some great opportunities to build some meaningful relationships.
2. First Baptist Oxford, MS is getting started with a project that we know will be a great tool for helping so many of our indigenous communities.  Please pray for the team from FBC Oxford that arrives on August 30th.
3. We have a group of mission leaders from Georgia arriving next week on a Vision Trip.  These folks are looking for opportunities for their churches to impact lostness among Unengaged Unreached People Groups.  Pray for safe travel and that we will go to the right places!
4. A Vision Team from a church in Virginia arrives in a couple of weeks.  This church has been praying about their place in Mexico for quite some time.  Will you pray that we will find open doors among some unreached communities among the Mixtecos?
5. New Teammates are Coming!  Rebecca and Christy will arrive in early October and will be in southern Mexico for at least two years!  We desperately need their help and we are beyond thrilled to be able to serve with them.  Pray for them as they finish up training in the USA.  They will arrive in Oaxaca on October 5!
6. More New Teammates are Coming!  We asked you to pray for more laborers and it looks like at least two more IMB missionary families will be joining the work in southern Mexico in the next year or so.  We are thankful that the Lord is calling new workers to southern Mexico because there is so much work to be done!  Please pray for these families as they leave the USA.
7. More New Teammates are Coming!  Several of our USA church partners are in the process of sending folks from their fellowship down to southern Mexico to serve among their communities where they are working.  Please pray that these new workers will prepare well for their assignments!
8. Jeff's Mom is coming to visit.  We're excited that Jeff's mom will be coming to visit for about 5 weeks.  Please pray for her as she adjusts to life in southern Mexico.
9. Our Stateside Assignment will begin in August 2015!  We will be living in Oxford, MS!  Please pray that details will work out so that Jackson can have a great school year.  We will need to find a place to live, car to drive, etc.  Pray for all of that!

Some really great things are happening and you are a part because you pray!  Here's an update:

1. Haylee got a really great report regarding her rheumatoid arthritis.  We continue to pray for complete healing but we're also so thankful for our great doctor in Oxford, MS:  Dr. Kirk Eddleman.
2. One of our USA partners was able to spend almost 6 weeks among their people group this summer.  They have seen amazing progress in building relationships!
3. One of our USA partners recently held a Sports Camp in their village and they were able to build some relationships and make some plans for the future among their people.
4. We have had some great training opportunities with pastors/church leaders recently.  Pray for us as we try to expand ways to meet the need for training among indigenous church leaders.
5. Our Summer 2014 Student Team was simply A W E S O M E.  These students really worked hard to invest and pour into people here.  They made a big difference in many lives and were even able to build on some work they had done in the past.
6. We are thankful for Fairview Baptist Church, Lebanon, TN for donating their VBS offering to help indigenous kids in Oaxaca!  This church is buying school supplies and backpacks for some kids in some really tough circumstances!  
7. First Baptist Oxford, MS always is generous and their help with school uniforms for some indigenous kids is a huge blessing to many and it is a great way to help build relationships through meeting important needs.
8. The Father continues to bring us some great Mexican partners.  We know that to truly reach the hardest places in southern Mexico that we must pour into Mexican believers even more.

We are so grateful for your prayers.  Thank you also for your giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and the Cooperative Program!

Love to all,

Jeff, Liesa, Haylee, and Jackson

Students from Second Baptist Springfield loving on some kids!

Second Baptist Springfield working hard!

Second Baptist Springfield visiting one of our friends!

Second Baptist Springfield Taco Night! (We had several!)

The church we attend in Oaxaca is planting this church in another
part of town.  Great crowd at VBS!

The one and only Neil Franks (Pastor at FBC, Branson)
teaching the word in a nearby village.

The Coke name craze is in Mexico, too!

Coke craziness continues...

In a village with the Crosspoint team.

The Crosspoint team loving on their community.

Sandi is our oldest child.  We're smiling when she is here!

Fairview Baptist Lebanon, TN bought a truck load of school
supply stuff for some great kids in Oaxaca!