December 2025-January 2026

Let us not therefore be weary of well doing: for in due season, we shall reap, if we faint not.   ~Galatians 6:9 

                                                                                                                                       

Seriously, I can hardly believe how God has answered our naïve, but sincere, prayers so spectacularly, and I'll never run out of gratitude for countless friends and co-laborers who have been vital to that well-doing process. December 12th, the Day of the Virgin here in Mexico, marked 48 years since our first day of arrival in Tepic (other than passing through en route to language school). We didn't even know what the Day of the Virgin was back then! Nor did we dream of the lifetime of stories, chapters, and sequels the Author and Finisher was about to write. The last week of December also marked 50 years since we crossed the US/Mexico border heading to Querétaro for language school...but a vapor, for sure! 

Blessings of God’s gracious harvest and “fainting not” — Years ago, more than forty now, during our early times in Tepic, Kirt met Lucio, a middle-aged man with whom he began to share the Gospel. Putting it mildly, the message was not well-received, and eventually, Lucio refused to listen at all. In fact, he was furious that we had come to Tepic for the purpose of spreading God’s Word, which he called, “the opiate for exploiting the masses.” Lucio faithfully read, memorized, and was determined to proclaim to his eight daughters and three sons, as well as everyone else he met, the teachings of his own “bible,” the Spanish version of Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto. There were no family portraits hanging in their house, instead, the living room was decorated with posters of Marx, Che Guevara, and Fidel Castro. 

Only our omniscient Father could have orchestrated the divine detours and appointments over the decades that followed, detours that began penetrating the hardened and hurting hearts of the children of that harsh and demanding father. All have professional careers, as he insisted; are divorcees, as he expected; and for years were open but empty targets of the enemy. Seven of those “girls,” now in their late forties, fifties, and sixties, have become believers in Jesus and followed Him in baptism. They are being marvelously transformed into new creatures, healing, growing, being discipled, and learning to use their God-given gifts to share the Truth with others as they begin serving their new-found Savior. 

As I walked one of them, Mirta, an esteemed director in Tepic’s public education system, through the six-month process of the basic steps of True Discipleship, God reinforced the promise that faithfulness and perseverance bear much unexpected fruit. Mirta repeatedly stopped our one-on-one sessions, placed her hand on her new, beautifully bound Bible, and with tears welling up in her eyes said: “If only I had known this before…I could have avoided so many tragedies in my life…my daughters…my ex-husband… the people I have hurt… the pain I have lived with…” 

And who would have imagined that one of hard-hearted Lucio’s grandchildren, Libertad (Her name means “Liberty”!), would be prepared to share the Gospel with him one last time, on his deathbed? We don’t know if Lucio’s last-minute confession was sincere, but we do know that his indoctrinated daughters are now our friends, sisters, Jesus’ disciples, and co-laborers. And we do know that Galatians 6:9 sustains us: Let us not therefore be weary of well doing: for in due season, we shall reap, if we faint not. 

And speaking of fainting not and reaping, we’re ramping up preparations for this year’s Huichol youth camp, Clay in the Potter’s Hands. We’ll be studying the Potter and the clay and learning to become vessels of purpose. This will be our 13th annual camp, and we’re expecting about 200 campers from across the Sierra Madre. It’s a logistical nightmare, but a dream come true, to watch hard-working, committed student leaders from IBBM–Tepic coordinate, sacrifice, and serve the Huichol community with such enthusiasm, while Huichol leaders also take on the responsibility of learning, teaching, and training their own. 

In our most recent planning meeting, it occurred to me that two kids from the very first youth camp we ever organized (not Huichol), more than four decades ago, were Martín, 15, from Tepic, and Erén, 14, from Culiacán. Who would have imagined that one day, Martín, who would become the pastor of IBBM-Tepic, along with Erén, now his wife, would be working together with the youth from our church to host a camp for young people from the Sierra Madre, who we pray will become the next generation of leaders in the Huichol church? 

No, you can’t make this up. He is faithful to His promise that in due season we will reap, and His vessels will bring ultimate glory to the divine Potter. 

December 2023 - January 2024 His process of redemption in the lives of those who are waiting to hear

“And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, …eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day…She began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.” Luke 2:33-38 

Through her love, devotion, and constant service to God in the Temple of Jerusalem, day and night, Anna was divinely positioned to see Him face-to-face and witness the presentation of baby Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior of the world Whose coming had been prophesied just following the very first sin in the Garden of Eden and for Whom Israel had waited all these years. 

No longer did it matter who Anna’s father was, though his name, Phanuel, means “Face of God,” nor was it so important that she was from the “lost” northern tribe of Asher (certainly not lost or forgotten by God!), nor that she was just a little old widow lady. All that mattered was that she had been privileged to personally know the Savior, and she resolved, wholeheartedly, to introduce the Redeemer to all who waited. Anna, the prophetess, would be the very first missionary mentioned in the New Testament, a proclaimer of His redemptive truth. 

The past two months in Tepic have been filled with God’s divine positioning of faithful servants who, day and night, witness His process of redemption in the lives of those who are waiting to hear.

In the last part of December at the Tepic church, IBBM, we had our annual OANSA Christmas party. LOTS of people worked together night and day to have everything in place, games, piñatas, food, special treats, and most importantly, the story time sharing the best Gift ever! Not everything worth doing comes off without a hitch; the enemy sees to that. For starters, the OANSA-mobile refused to move, so several of the leaders with their servant’s hearts, jumped in available cars and trucks and drove the bus route to pick up the kids from the other side of town who can come only if they have transportation.

Once everyone was here, we met in the church auditorium for singing and the Bible story time. Jonatán, once in cubbies, now club Commander, oversaw the preliminaries, and María, along with a few leader friends, shared the story of God’s very best Gift. As I looked around, I realized that Jonatán, María, Adriana, Josué, David, Omar, Carlita, and Lynethe grew up in OANSA. They started as cubbies and went through the entire program, with at least 12 years of hiding God’s Word in their hearts, learning to apply what they learned, serving, and becoming leaders. When María shared that God’s Gift came to give His life so that we might be forgiven, she could hardly get through her tears. When little cubbies María first started attending OANSA, her dad never dropped her off without leaving her in tears. Now she’s an excellent teacher who freely speaks of Him to all who are waiting for redemption. This coming month’s OANSA theme is: “Did Someone Say Mission? I’ll Go!” 

The following week IBBM-Tepic hosted our annual community Christmas Celebration. It was another wonderful opportunity to share the plan of redemption with all who are waiting to hear…even if they don’t know they are waiting! We shared 200 plates of tamales, beans, and dessert after the program. 

Preparations are underway for the upcoming 2024 Huichol youth camp in which we’re expecting more campers than we can handle from various mountain villages. This is a HUGE problem (It’s a good problem!). We've had to set a limit this year after concluding last year that the facilities we rent just don't allow for more than 200. If the “polling” on the sign-up sheets coming in indicates the final outcome, we will have to turn away way too many Huichol young people from this year’s camp. We are praying for God’s provision of a larger, more user-friendly multipurpose campground (and that dream may be a possibility), but the old “modified” brick factory where we meet is all we have right now. The theme this year, chosen by the Huichol leaders themselves is, “Guard Your Heart.” Each lesson includes a specific kind of “heart” referred to in the Bible and a character who portrays it: Deceitful-Judas, Cleansed-David, Willing-Isaiah, Abandoned-Solomon, Stone hard-Israel, Serviceable-Anna – Oh yes, Anna, that little old lady who with no father, no husband, and no children, did not neglect to serve, night and day, in the Temple. She appropriated the blessing given to her tribal patriarch from Moses: “As your days, so shall your strength be.” And God was just waiting to share His very best with that overlooked little old steward who was faithful, with her servant’s heart, in the place He positioned her. And Anna gave thanks to God and spoke of Him to all who were waiting for redemption.