August, 2003

Dear Faithful Supporters,

Hola!  We trust that you have all had a good summer.  We have enjoyed the few weeks that we’ve been here in the States.  We’ve visited some of our churches, and attended a meeting at the mission.  Joshua is having a great time visiting family and friends, although he is a bit confused by all the States we’ve been in!  Caleb has taken advantage of the carpeting here in the States, and has learned to crawl really well, and may even walk soon. 

What an adventure we had getting back to the States!  On Saturday, two days before we had to leave Mexico , the transmission went out again, for the third time in two months.  So Sunday we took it to the mechanic again to have it fixed.  He told us that he couldn’t fix it because he couldn’t get the parts, but that we could make it to the border without any problems.  We would just need to drive it like a stick shift, going from first to second to third to drive.  On Monday morning, we headed off for the States.  The first couple of hours everything went smoothly, but then all of the gears went out except third.  God graciously allowed us to arrive at the border without any problems.  We made it to within 20 miles of San Antonio , where we were left with only first gear.  We putted into San Antonio , and the next day took it to Aamco.  They had to rebuild the transmission, and once they opened it, told us that the transmission had never been opened before, which means that the mechanic in Mexico didn’t fix it like he had told us.  So, after spending $1,500 on the car in Mexico , we returned to the States to get it fixed right for another $3,000.  What an adventure!  We praise God for his mercy in allowing us to arrive in the States without breaking down.  We know that a lot of you must have been praying for us!

Thank you for your prayers for the ministry in Mexico .  The evangelism class went very well.  We had 8-10 people on average.  It was great to see the people get excited about sharing the gospel, and to hear their testimonies each week of how the Lord gave them opportunities to establish relationships and share the gospel.  Several of the people in the class were able to lead people to Christ during the six weeks.

Susan’s Spanish has improved a lot, and she feels much more comfortable speaking it now.  The time spent in language study was hard, but a real blessing too.  It was amazing how many opportunities God gave us to share the gospel with teachers and other students at the school.  Adriana, Susan’s Spanish teacher, came to church with us before we returned to the States.  Coming from a very strong Catholic background, she felt very uncomfortable, even though she seems to be starting to understand some of the things we’ve shared with her.  Although we are gone, we are trusting that God will continue to bring Christians into her path, like Jonathan Baker, a fellow missionary in language school, who has also had many opportunities to share with her, and will be in Cuernavaca with his family for several more months.  

We have enjoyed the past few weeks here in the States.  We have visited a few churches and attended the annual EBM conference in Bellefontaine , Ohio .  It was great to see so many of our friends, and hear what they are involved in around the world.  It was such a great time of blessing and encouragement.  While there, we attended a Latin America Team forum, along with several potential missionaries who are interested in forming a multinational team in Latin America , probably beginning by planting the first church within a 300 mile radius of Puebla .  The idea for the team is still in the making, and has many details to iron out, but we are really excited about the potential explosion of new workers coming to the field.  God is working!  

We look forward to getting back to Mexico where we will be working with Rick and Carol Hudson, and their Mexican leadership team in the church plant in Puebla .  Bryan will be working closely with Christian, a Mexican university student who is part of the leadership team, and they will be primarily involved in evangelism and evangelism training.  We need your prayers as we begin to become a part of this team, and begin working in Puebla .  

Praises

1. Our sending church called Pastor Joe Billingsley as our senior pastor.
2. Safety on our trip back to the States.
3. The fruit from the evangelism class
4. Susan was able to learn a lot of Spanish, and feels much more comfortable speaking it now.

 Prayer requests:

1. Safety in traveling back to Mexico the 18^th through 22^nd of August
2. Our transition into the ministry in Puebla
3. That Salvador and Salvador Jr., our neighbors in Cuernavaca , would get involved in a good church.
4. The salvation of Adriana
5. That God will provide the money to help pay for the transmission work

 Thank you for all of your prayer and financial support of our ministry.  We can see by God’s mercies that you are praying for us.  Thank you!

 In Christ’s Service,

 The Nevin Family