THE SANTIAGOS Autumn 2024

4 October 2024

Dear all,

Welcome to our new shorter version newsletter.

As life and ministry gets busier we have decided to reduce the length of our biannual communications. We will still send out our newsletters in April and October, but they will be shorter, and we will supplement them with two 'Zoom Coffee with the Santiagos’ events —one in January and the other in July— in which we will answer your questions and you’ll be able to pray for us. We will record these hour-long meetings for those who wish to listen to them afterwards. In February there will be an Ekklesia guest service on Zoom —with translation provided— that you’ll be able to take part in. We will let you know in advance the details of each of these events. But remember that you are always welcome to get in touch with us via WhatsApp (+52 222 348 4497) or email (fabianyrebeca@gmail.com).

trip to uk and spain

We are very grateful that the Lord provided for a visit to Northwood (UK) and Seville (Spain) in June and July last summer. Sorry if we didn’t get to see you on this occasion. We were only around for two weeks in the UK and our diary got full very quickly. Also, we didn’t have the use of a car and we had promised the children we would take it easy this time and do some sightseeing. We enjoyed the London parks in all their green glory and took in the scent of the lime trees in full bloom. To top up the sensory delight we also visited Oxford and Kew Gardens, and the sun shone for most of our stay! It was lovely to catch up with many of our Fairfield friends and attend the church service two Sundays in a row.

"We enjoyed the London parks in all their green glory and took in the scent of the lime trees in full bloom..."

In Spain we stayed with Rebeca’s parents in Guillena (Seville) and had two day outings to the beach, which the children loved. We also enjoyed the swimming pool —built after our previous visit— which made the heat bearable. We were glad to see Rebeca’s parents’ church —planted by four pensioners five years ago— growing: a testament to how God works when his people are faithful.

Ekklesia

Our own church continues to grow in number, but more importantly we can see that it is also maturing.

We are waiting to move to the next door property as soon as the current tenants leave, but in the meantime we are making do with the space we have. We thank the Lord for our landlord who is glad we use his property for Gospel work and who prays for us regularly.

We held a baptism service on Pentecost Sunday in May with four people ‘taking the plunge’, including our next-door neighbour Max (see photos here). We thank the Lord for these four ‘young’ believers.

The weekly church service and shared meal continue each Sunday. Meetings during the week now include the women’s group Bible study on Tuesdays (listen to the audios here), a new mid-week short service on Wednesdays (aimed at those who work during the weekends or are only in the city during the week) and the prayer meeting on Thursdays. You can follow Ekklesia on Instagram @ekklesiapuebla.

Because of our trip, we extended the Abraham & Sarah Bible teaching series on Genesis 11-25 till after our return —we finished it in early September— and are happy to report that six different people (!!) stepped in to teach a summer series on the prophet Elijah while we were away. We are grateful for so many younger people who have been studying Scripture and taking Bible exposition seriously. In many ways Ekklesia is a very well-equipped church now.

"Now it seems the Lord is preparing us to look beyond our country’s borders..."

Which brings us to the issue of how our congregation is maturing: since our beginnings we have supported student ministry through prayer and in many practical ways. The church has in that sense always been mindful of the call to preach the Gospel beyond our own community. Now it seems the Lord is preparing us to look beyond our country’s borders. With two of our members (a couple) called to go to Paraguay, another member preparing to return to a Muslim majority country in June 2025 and a young man considering serving in ministry in Europe, we are faced with the reality of becoming a ‘sending church’. Since we don’t want to be unprepared for whatever the Lord has in store, the leadership team has approved a new ‘missions fund’ that the church will begin saving into. We hope that when the time comes we will be able to support those who are sent financially as well as in prayer and care.

Us

As the church workload grows, we do find ourselves stretched and continue to pray for another couple or individual who will serve the church in leadership with us long-term. We also pray for practical support with admin and audiovisual tasks which we have absorbed but we are not best suited for.

The beginning of the academic year has been a strain for the whole family. It began in early August just a few days after we returned from our trip to find our car out of action. We were forced by the situation to use some of our ‘newer car fund’ to repair the old one (we still hope to be able to buy a newer vehicle this month of October).

Timoteo began high school at the institution he was hoping for, and though the new routine is tough he is working hard and appears motivated. Laila continues with her online high school while also attending music school and leading Bible studies weekly there. She is happy though she still struggles academically sometimes. Agus is in his second year of middle school, doing well but hoping for more friends his own age to interact with.

Rebeca has found this term’s six o’clock start to her day challenging and has had to put some projects aside to keep up with the basic demands of the household and regular church activities. Driving Laila, Timoteo and Agus around also takes up a lot of time. Though Fabian does his fair share, it is mostly Rebeca who gets stressed. She is still hoping to get some housework help, as Laila and Timoteo can no longer help much.

Other contexts

Fabián taught his 8-week course on Analytical Skills at Calvin Theological Seminary from March to April and spent May marking essays, only to find that the second course, which was due to begin in August was cancelled due to a lack of students. It is disappointing to find that the few opportunities for academic theological study aimed at Spanish speakers in Mexico and Latin America are often short-lived.

"It is disappointing to find that the few opportunities for academic theological study aimed at Spanish speakers in Mexico and Latin America are often short-lived..."

Rebeca is involved as part of a local team in supporting Littworld 2024, an international conference for people involved in Christian publishing which will take place in Puebla in early November. It is a good opportunity to meet interesting people and keep some connections with the world of writing and publishing.

Thank you

We have tried our best to make this newsletter shorter but informative. Please forgive us if you feel cheated out of the usual feast of details. You’ll notice the prayer point list is as long as always, so please do continue to pray for us, as we need it as much or more than ever, and consider joining us for our Zoom Coffee (questions and prayer) on 16 January 8pm GMT. We’ll be sending out the details closer to the time.

With love and thankfulness from Puebla,

Fabián & Rebeca

Prayer Points

Family

• Thankful for trip to the UK and Spain and being able to see family and church family.
• For the Lord’s protection and peace over Laila, who has felt some spiritual oppression recently as she continues to lead Bible studies at her music school.
• For Timoteo at high school. That he’ll be able to manage his time better and be more confident in his interactions with classmates and teachers.
• For Agus, that he will have more friends his age.
• For a newer car that will be right for our needs within our budget.
• That we’ll be able to get some help with housework.
• For restful moments for Fabián and Rebeca and more work-life balance in general.
• For Rebeca’s emotional health. She’s felt on edge lately and struggling to control her moods.

Ekklesia

• For Max, Eli, Ximena and Nao who were baptised on 19 May. That the Lord will protect and guide each one of them with his Spirit.
• For the new mid-week service on Wednesday evenings. That more new people will benefit from the meeting and many will come to know Jesus.
• Thankful for the new Bible teaching series on the Gospel according to Mark which began on 15 September.
• That the next door property will become available soon so we can have some extra space.
• For the tax-exemption status for our Mexican charity. That the process will be successful.
• Thankful that the church did well during our absence during June and July and that we had enough people helping run things.
• Thankful for the Bible series on Abraham & Sarah that we finished in September.
• For the support we need for several admin and audiovisual tasks at church.
• That the Lord will give us coworkers willing to serve in the church and with a long-term vision for Ekklesia.
• That the Lord will lead us as we consider how the church can support those who the Lord has called to serve him outside of Mexico.
• For wisdom in dealing with pastoral issues that arise within the congregation.

Mexico

• For the new President and government which took office this week. May they fulfill their responsibility towards the population. That they will make good decisions for the future of the country.
• For the areas controlled by organized crime, that the authorities will confront the criminals and the population will be free of violence and extortion.
• For the areas affected by the hurricanes in the Pacific coast of Mexico. May they receive the help they need and that roads, houses and infrastructure can be rebuilt.

Autumn Newsletter - 4 October 2024