The Santiagos Summer News 2025

Dear all,

What should have been a spring newsletter has now become a summer one; please forgive the delay.

Our last communication was the Zoom Update in January, for which a number of you sent questions and joined us online. Thank you so much for taking the time (you can listen to the recording here). Due to this newsletter now being a summer one, we will postpone our next Zoom Update till September, when we are likely to have more to tell you.

Family

First thing to report since October is that we were finally able to purchase a newer car in December —the week before Christmas. The car we bought is a Kia Sorento 2019, and has been running well so far —though Rebeca had an accident a few weeks ago and damaged the right side doors, so the car had to undergo repairs—. We are grateful we kept the old car, which gets used for short distances when commitments overlap and has proved a great help these last few weeks.

The academic year 2024-25 has just ended for Laila, and a couple of weeks ago for Timoteo and Agustín. Timoteo finished top of his class —no surprise there— and is set to spend his summer learning French and art in order to start the next academic year with some advantage. Unexpectedly for us, he has chosen the Humanities route for his International Baccalaureate and has his heart set on eventually going to university abroad. Agus did enough academically to get by, but he must work harder on his Spanish over his long summer break. Timoteo returns to school the first week of August whereas Agustín doesn’t go back until September. We try to keep Agus busy with basketball and chores at home, though it would be nice if he could do some activity with friends other than playing video games!

Laila turned 18 in May, a momentous occasion for her and for us as parents! We pray that the Lord will guide her always.

Please pray for her, that plans can come together, and for the Lord's help so she can break free from negative habits...

Some of you know that she has struggled academically for a while, mostly due to procrastination habits. Shortly after Easter this year she decided to put her baccalaureate on pause and to continue with just her music studies. In general she has done well with music, but this is only a part-time course. Our hope for Laila in the next few months is that she’ll change her routine and take on new responsibilities. To this end we have asked her to either look for a job or do some volunteering work. Please pray for her, that plans can come together, and for the Lord's help so she can break free from negative habits. She has one year left of her music course, but it won’t open many doors unless she can also finish her baccalaureate.

For Rebeca this year has meant a change in gear, with early mornings to take Timoteo and Laila to the bus terminal and additional work at church to make our midweek service happen. Other projects and activities have fallen by the wayside while making these efforts and she has at times felt frustrated. However, there have been many encouragements, and these help her put things into perspective and be grateful for the work she manages to do.

Fabian is his usual stable self with a routine involving lots of reading and study, prayer, some church bookkeeping, laundry, daily walks with Kofi (our labrador dog) and his running twice a week.

Ekklesia

At church our midweek Wednesday service has been the biggest change this year. The service is a shorter version of our Sunday meeting and has been drawing students from the nearby BUAP campus as well as Ekklesia members who cannot attend on Sundays. There is a core of about 15 regular attendees and a handful of other ‘floaters’, so that we often have about 20 people at the meetings (see some photos here). We serve supper afterwards, which is a great opportunity for young people to get to know each other and especially valuable for those who are away from home.

Among those away from home this last term was Mili, a Peruvian exchange student who heard the Gospel while in Puebla. She attended practically all our meetings while she was here, and benefited from hearing Bible expositions on the Gospel of Mark twice a week! She was baptised just before returning home on 8th June (the 11th person to be baptised in Ekklesia during our 7 year history). We will make sure we stay in touch with her and encourage her as she searches for a fellowship in Cusco, Perú.

During the month of July —which is when university students have their summer holiday here— we will suspend our Wednesday meetings and also have a break from our current Bible exposition series on the Gospel of Mark (see series so far here). As in previous years this will allow others to take on the Bible teaching at Ekklesia for six weeks, this time for a short series on the life and ministry of Moses.

Our move to the property next door has been posponed: the landlord fell ill with cancer and his current tenants extended their stay. In the meantime we’ve been accommodating the overflow on Sundays in the small patio next to the main meeting room (we’ve yet to invest in extra chairs and a second speaker to facilitate this layout). We are set on staying where we are and eventually renting next door because we are known in the area now, which is the main student quarter in Puebla. The two properties together —the one we currently occupy and the one next door— would make up a good space with plenty of potential for growth in the future. Also the landlord is a brother in Christ who is keen on his property being used for Kingdom purposes.

Recently we have been trying to get more church members involved in our efforts as a community. Rebeca has been trying to delegate the organisation of Sunday meals —especially since now she’s in charge of preparing supper each Wednesday— also more people are taking part in leading meetings regularly now. However, we have lost one of our Leadership Team members and we are down to just three of us in the group: Karla —who got married in January— Fabian and Rebeca. We continue to pray for more coworkers in serving the church long term.

We continue to pray for more coworkers in serving the church long term.

Rebeca is especially grateful for the support of another Rebeca, who is involved in mission work and joined Ekklesia in late 2023 on her return to Mexico. She is in Puebla while she undertakes some further training in ‘Member Care’. Rebe O.—as we call her— is a great help in sharing the burden of pastoral care in prayer. She has just rented a simple apartment in Puebla to be close to her place of study and to the church (let us know if you would like to contribute something so she can equip her flat).

Remember that you can follow Ekklesia on Instagram @ekklesiapuebla to see what is going on at the church.

Other work

In August Fabian will be teaching a course on the book of Revelation at the Langham Preaching summer gathering for Central America. This is the first opportunity he has had this year to serve in Bible teaching beyond our church after the Calvin Theological Seminary masters program for Latin America —which he taught in last year— was suspended due to a lack of students.

Also in partnership with Langham —though in this case Langham Literature— Fabian has been asked to take part in a peer review for a PhD thesis from India which is being considered for publication.

On another front, an essay that Fabian authored last year and which he presented at a symposium organized by IFES Central America has just been published as chapter 4 of a small book which includes the contributions of a number of other people. The title of the book is ‘Caminos de justicia y paz’ (Paths of Justice and Peace) and it can be found on Amazon.

We continue to support the work of Compa (IFES Mexico) in many ways as a church, though we have not been called upon to teach in any of their recent events. However, many of Ekklesia’s student members benefit and contribute to the Bible study groups that take place in their uni faculties and online. Also, over the Easter break five young people from the church were able to attend the Compa Bible camp, including Laila and two of her friends. Karla and Julio, who are IFES staff and also attend Ekklesia, accompanied the group.

Thank you

Of course there is much we are not including in this newsletter. We hope you’ll be able to join us for the Zoom Update in September to catch up and that you feel free to write to us if you have questions; and of course you are also welcome to visit us! But please, please pray for us. We realize that what we need the most is the Lord’s guidance to do what is best and for his purposes to be worked out in what we do. There are several needs in terms of finances (see family budget here) and —as always— we are grateful for your generosity and partnership in the work we do.

With love and thanks from Puebla,

Fabián & Rebeca

Prayer Points

Family

• Thankful for the car the Lord provided for us. That we’ll be able to cover the cost of recent repairs.
• Thankful for Timoteo’s success in his studies this year and for his feeling content in high school.
• For Laila, that the Lord will help her as she tries to make some changes and as she makes decisions for her future.
• For Agus, that he will have more friends his age and a happy and productive summer break.
• That we’ll be able to get away for a couple of days as a family during the summer or do some special outings from home.

Ekklesia

• For Mili, who was baptised on 8 June. That the Lord will guide her towards the right church and friendships in Cusco, Peru.
• For continued success with our mid-week service on Wednesday evenings when meetings start again in August.
• For good ideas and the equipment required to make best use of the space we have while we wait for the next door property to become available.
• For the tax-exemption status for our Mexican charity. That we will make progress with the application process.
• For the summer Bible exposition series on Moses. That the young people who take part in the teaching will be encouraged in the use of their gifts as they serve the church.
• For wisdom from the Lord in delegating tasks so that Rebeca can concentrate on teaching the church children and other projects she has long wanted to do.
• That the Lord will give us coworkers willing to serve regularly in the church and with a long-term vision for Ekklesia.
• For Julio and Ale, a young couple preparing to go to Paraguay in early 2026 to serve with IFES student ministry. For the Lord’s strength and provision.
• For Rebe O. that she will settle well in her new flat and continue to be a blessing at Ekklesia. For Lord’s provision during her stay in Puebla.
• For the teenagers and children in the church. That we will be able to encourage them and teach them well.

Other

• 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.

Mexico

• For our freedoms to be preserved in Mexico as one by one independent and regulatory institutions are taken over by the party in government —most recently the judiciary and a new media and communications regulatory body.
• For the areas controlled by organized crime, that the authorities will confront the criminals and the population will be free of violence and extortion.