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Sharing the Gospel and Our Lives: October 2022

El Cacalote, Mexico

Hola Famigos,

While October brought cooler weather to most of the United States, we have continued to see highs close to 90 degrees and humidity at about 70 percent. We did still get the benefit of a "fall" break with a week off between our second and final set of classes.

We spent our first full day of vacation by accompanying my friend Nidia to visit her family in Manialtepec. If you remember from an earlier newsletter, Fahren had the opportunity of praying for Nidia's cousin in Manialtepec on two separate occasions. On this trip, we were priveleged to meet several of Nidia's aunts.

Our lunch of shrimp and bean soup cooked by our gracious host, Nidia's aunt.

As we have experienced repeatedly in this culture, we were welcomed with open hearts and generous hands. One of Nidia's aunts cooked us a homemade meal of shrimp and navy bean soup for "almuerzo". We were sent away not only with full stomachs, but also with a bag full of homemade tostadas to bring home.

Another one of her aunts gave us a beautiful hand-embroidered "servilleta", which they often use to wrap and serve warm corn tortillas. Fahren noticed that her aunt favored her left hand and loosely wrapped her right hand with a cloth. Once a nurse, always a nurse... so Fahren invited her into conversation about the pain that has been nagging her for almost a year after a failed carpal tunnel surgery. Fahren gave a few home care recommendations but more importantly, we both had the opportunity of praying for healing and patience. Tears filled her aunt's eyes as we finished lifting her up to our Heavenly Father.

A hand-embroidered tortilla wrap that we received as a gift from another one of Nidia's aunts.

What we did not know until we arrived in Manialtepec is that October 15 is a common day in this community to bring Marigold flowers to the gravesites of loved ones in order to prepare for "Día de los Muertos" or the Day of the Dead at the end of the month. Nidia and her family joined in this tradition by placing fresh flowers on the gaves of several of their family members. Although it was never our intention to be present for this type of celebration, we found ourselves surround by gospel opportunity. We both prayed internally as Nidia and her mother cleaned the gravesites. Fahren was able to ask Nidia about what she believed happened after a person died.

The gravesite of Nidia's baby girl on the one year anniversary of her death.

This was not the first time that Fahren has had the opportunity to share with Nidia and her family surrounding the topic of death. Earlier in October was the one year anniversery of the passing of Nidia's baby. Fahren baked a birthday cake complete with sprinkles and brought it as a gift before they visited the gravesite together with Nidia's mother and another friend. Fahren explained that she wanted to make a birthday cake to celebrate the life of Maria Jose (Nidia's baby), because even though her life lasted a few minutes outside of the womb, all human life is precious in the eyes of God. She also shared the hope that King David had that he would indeed be reunited with his deceased child after death (2 Samuel 12:23).

A picture that Nidia sent us to show the graves at a nearby "panteón" the night of October 15.

The topics of death and life are of utmost importance and not ones to be avoided. Jesus's death on the cross was the payment for our sins. And His resurrection is proof that the payment was indeed sufficient. Christ conquered death on the cross! Death holds no power for those who trust in Jesus alone. Each one of us has been invited to die to ourselves and to live a new life in Christ.

One of the most beautiful pictures of "death to life" is found in baptism. We could not be happier to share that just a few short days ago, Nidia decided to be baptized because of her faith in Jesus. Nidia shared with Fahren that she is not the same person now that she was a year ago. The Lord used the death of her baby to bring her into community with His church. Like all of us, she will continue to learn and grow in what it means to follow God's plan for her life.

Nidia being baptized by the local pastor and his wife on the beach just outside the missionary base.

Prayer Needs:

1. Please continue to pray that the Lord would enable us to learn Spanish for the sake of the Gospel in a way that far supercedes our mere human efforts.

2. Please pray that Nidia and her family would continue to seek to know the truth of who God is by reading His Word (Hebrews 11:6).
3. Please lift us up in prayer especially during the first week of November so that we could speak life and truth into dark places that need the hope of Christ.

Practical Needs:

1. Large vehicle for moving: In late December or very early January, we need help moving our belongings to Rocky Point. We cannot bring a rental vehicle across the border, so we need someone to drive a minivan, a truck and trailer, or an RV from Phoenix to Rocky Point to transport some of our larger items which cannot fit in our cars.

Prayer Updates:

1. September 2022: Wisdom on how to proceed with the boxing class and that the Lord would use this as a training ground for how to navigate the various needs of children versus adults at Pan de Vida in the future. The Lord has brought even more kids from the community to our boxing class, those who otherwise do not attend any activities of the church. We are grateful for this opportunity and will continue to be good stewards of what God has done by leading weekly boxing classes dedicated to the children of this neighborhood. Thank you, Lord, for bringing us Your precious ones!
2. September 2022: Car storage for 2 months. We have been blessed with a place to store our car until we return in December.

Interested in investing in the Lord's kingdom work being done in Mexico?

i6eight is a gospel proclaiming, disciple making, compassion ministry that lives for the glory of God and the good of others. We exist to invest in the physical, relational, and spiritual lives of the people we serve. Our programs cover a wide range of needs, including education, housing, clothing, health care, nutrition, and community. We accomplish this by training, serving, and discipling together. The ultimate goal of each program is to see the people we serve fall in love with and worship Jesus Christ.

Pan de Vida is one such program which strives to satisfy spiritual needs as well as physical hunger for the glory of Jesus. Taylor and Fahren will join Pan de Vida in the hopes of seeing God transform hearts through Biblical training and life-on-life discipleship.

If this newsletter has been a blessing to you, we encourage you to follow us on social media. The buttons at the bottom of the page will take you to our Facebook, Instagram or YouTube, as well as the i6eight website and our email address.

Phoenix, AZ 85028

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