The Santiagos AUTUMN News 2025

Dear all,

As Christmas and the end of another year quickly approach we’re sending out our latest news before it’s too late!

We are grateful to those who joined us for our Zoom Prayer Update on 12 September —it is always encouraging to be listened to and prayed for! If you missed it you can watch the recording here.

Ekklesia

After what seemed like a very short summer break, term-time activities resumed at Ekklesia in early August in sync with term dates at the neighbouring BUAP state university. We missed our exchange student friends from Peru at the Wednesday Meetings, especially Mili, who we are still in touch with and pray for regularly (she often joins our Ekklesia Zoom prayer meetings on Thursdays).

During the first few weeks in August and September we met a number of new students who visited, but none have attended regularly except the three who are already part of our community (Nao, Sheyla and Ulises). Now with only a couple of weeks before the term ends and the Wednesday Meeting is suspended again for the Christmas break, our prayer is that attendance will pick up in January. As our Compa friends often remind us: student work fluctuates from term to term, but we should never underestimate the effect that hearing or being reminded of the Gospel can have in the life of each young person. We will hold a review meeting with the Wednesday team during the break to assess how we can do better, please do pray for the Lord’s leading.

Other areas in the life of the church have been going well, in particular the men’s group which began in the summer and has being going strong ever since. Meetings have included all sorts of activities at different times: Bible study, prayer, testimonies, breakfast, cleaning, basketball, volleyball… but the priority is fellowship. We are thankful for Herson (Karla’s husband) and Diego who help coordinate the group with Fabian’s input.

Sunday meetings have continued to be busy over the past few months and the need for more space has become pressing. In fact, after praying for the opportunity to meet and talk with Ricardo Ávila —our landlord— about the property next door, we arranged to see him on Thursday 20 November in Mexico City. However, the announcement of a follow-up protest after the 15 November one —which had turned violent— led to our meeting being posponed. We hope to speak with him soon and pray that we can agree on an arrangement that is beneficial to both parties and allows us to use the building next door. We'll keep you posted on what happens.

Regular church activities continue: the women's group has been a bit smaller of late, with only a handful of us attending the Bible studies (we’ve been studying Ephesians)… but we soldier on; at the prayer meeting on Thursdays we work our way through the church prayer list each week (see the list here); the children's activities also continue on Sundays though with few children (we are glad that a new church baby is due to be born in early December).

Bible-teaching-wise, we have just finished our series on the Gospel according to Mark, which took us over a year! We learned a great deal about the clarity of the Lord Jesus’ identity and mission in Mark, and also about our own mission now as his followers (see some of the the children’s work on the Gospel of Mark here). We pray for those in the congregation who are yet to be baptized —Joseph, Manuel, Moti, Agus— that they may commit to following Jesus in response to what we have studied.

"We learned a great deal about the clarity of the Lord Jesus’ identity and mission in Mark, and also about our own mission now as his followers..."

On Sunday 30 November our short Advent series begins, with other people taking on the Bible exposition, allowing Fabian a break from teaching. On 21 December we will hold our annual ‘Carols by Candlelight’-styled evening service and on 28 December our end-of-year prayer meeting, but other activities will be on hold during the Christmas break— so we hope to rest a little during that time.

Other Work

This past week, 18-20 November, Fabian took part in an intercultural training event in Mexico City, addressing Intervarsity (US) staff members who work with international students. He spoke from Scripture on the first intercultural mission which God called Abraham and Sarah to (Genesis 11-12), and also on Jesus’ own ‘cross-cultural’ trip and mission to Cesarea (Mark 8-9). He enjoyed the conversations with Intervarsity staffers and was able to catch up with some friends from Mexico City when not busy at the event.

Another project for the next few months —beyond our work at Ekklesia— is the publishing of Fabian’s recent essay entitled ‘Archeology and diagnosis of violence within the biblical narrative’ to be translated into English for the Journal of Latin American Theology. Rebeca will be helping with the translation.

Family

The last few months have been emotionally draining for us as parents to three teenagers. Each of our children face their own distinctive challenges, and the degree to which we should intervene to provide advice, help or discipline can sometimes be difficult to gauge. Do please pray for the Lord’s wisdom, for patience and for emotional endurance.


On the positive side, in September we celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary and finally printed, framed and put up a wedding photo on the wall of our home!

Laila has found some part-time work teaching piano to children at a local music school two evenings a week and also supervising a group of ‘homeschooled’ children three mornings a week. She would like to continue with her music baccalaureate course at the BUAP next term. Please pray for clarity in her decisions, both regarding her studies and other personal choices. She has agreed to try a bit of counseling in the next few weeks to work on her procrastination problem— our prayer is that she can leave all that behind with the Lord’s help. It’s good to see her taking some positive steps.

Timoteo (Moti) is doing very well at school —consistently attaining top marks in his class— though he is not so sure now that humanities was the right track for him. Whatever the case, he cannot change route at this stage, so he’ll have to wait until he begins higher education for that. This academic year he has made some good friends at school (answer to prayer), which we are really happy about, and he also reports feeling more comfortable at church again after a few awkward months. We are truly grateful for this change in attitude.

Agus is doing better with school work, but generally struggles with limiting his time spent in front of a screen. He has basketball and athletics Monday to Friday in the afternoons, but we’d love to see him develop leisure interests rooted in real-world activities or practical skills. He’s still his usual happy and outgoing self at church though, and received the prize for ‘the audience's favourite act’ (see video here) at the recent Talent Show!

As the political and economic climate deteriorates both in Mexico and abroad, our finances —like that of many— have taken a hit. It has become more difficult to raise support for Gloria lately (she is almost 94 now and the cost of her care amounts to more than 10% of our monthly income), also our regular monthly support has slightly decreased (see our most recent budget here). We are grateful for some additional paid work that fits in with our current occupations (a translation), but pray for energy and good time management in order to carry the workload.

The hope, as we look ahead, is that as Ekklesia grows so will the giving and with it the possibility that part of our support might come from the church. However, this is still not viable while congregation growth is constrained by the space issue. Do pray for wisdom for us in making decisions. We get older but circumstances in Mexico get tougher and we have to prepare mentally for what is coming: life will become more difficult, not more comfortable. Whatever the case the Lord’s calling for us remains here —and it is not like life is getting easier anywhere else... We are each of us called to persevere in our service to the Lord and his church wherever we are, while we pray and care for the needs of the body of Christ all across the world.

We are so thankful for your love and your prayers over the years. We pray you will have a blessed time at Christmas remembering Him who left all comfort and glory to enter into our messy suffering world.

With love and thanks from Puebla,

Fabian & Rebeca

Prayer Points

EKKLESIA

• For Mili, now in Cusco, Peru. Give thanks that she remains strong in her faith, but pray that she can settle into a church fellowship.
• For the Lord’s leading as we plan ahead for the Wednesday Meetings in the new term.
• Give thanks that the men’s group is going well and pray for the young men in the congregation still to be baptized: Joseph, Manuel, Moti, Agus.
• Pray that we will have the opportunity to meet with Ricardo Ávila before Christmas to talk about possibly using the next door property for Ekklesia.
• For Ale’s recovery after her stroke and for wisdom for both Julio and Ale in their decisions about going to Paraguay to serve in student ministry.
• For more children to join the church so the three we have aged 4, 9 and 10 can have more friends and activities can be more fun.
• For Irene, who is due to give birth in the next couple of weeks. That all will go well (treatment of new mothers in Mexican hospitals is often cruel).
• For good attendance to our Christmas carols and readings service on 21 December. Also for rehearsals ahead of the event.
• For other leaders willing to serve the church long term to work alongside us.

OTHER

• Give thanks for Fabian’s interaction with Intervarsity staff and for the project leading to the publication of his latest essay in English.
• For Gloria, the older lady we help support. That the Lord will provide for her continued care as her health deteriorates.
• For opportunities for Fabian to teach beyond Ekklesia and earn some additional income.
• For Rebeca to manage her time well so she can make progress with the translation.

FAMILY

• For Fabian and Rebeca as parents to three teenagers. For patience and wisdom and energy.
• Give thanks for Laila’s small jobs and pray that she can overcome her procrastination issues. That the counseling will do her some good.
• Thankful for Timoteo’s new friends and for his new attitude at church.
• For Agus, that he will find constructive ways to use his leisure time.
• For the Lord’s provision for the family and for the grace to live faithfully in difficult times.

MEXICO

• For our freedoms to be preserved. Especially as the government tries to push an electoral reform through congress that would consolidate Mexico as a de facto one-party regime.
• For peace as areas controlled by organized crime face unprecedented levels of extortion and violence. That the authorities will protect the population.
• That the Lord will use these difficult times to draw people to Himself and that the church in Mexico will prove faithful in the face of intimidation and fear.