June 2023 Newsletter

Mexico In early May we made our second work trip to Mexico to visit with another family doing Indigenous work. This trip was to the State of Chiapas.  We had a wonderful time getting to know them and their work. They are an adventurous family, and they planned us several fun outings.  To read about our trip there visit Tuxtla/ San Cristobal de las Casas.   Our family about to take a boat ride through the Sumidero Canyon in Chiapa de Corzo, Mexico. Mother's Day Event I was honored to be the guest speaker at a Mother's Day event at a local church.  The theme was taken from Ephesians 2:10 "Created in Christ Jesus to do Good Works". It was a joy to go and encourage the ladies.  In addition to the message, we enjoyed worship, door prizes, a delicious meal, and homemade gifts for each mom.  It was a fun time together! Here I am pictured with the women's ministry leaders.

Preaching David preached at a special celebration service in San Andres Itzapa.  They had just done some remodeling on their church and wanted to celebrate the completion.  We ended the service with a church-wide meal together.  We are thankful for Pastor Apolinario and the great work he is doing there to reach his community.  He is a great example to us in many ways and has become like family.  We are blessed to get to work alongside him.

Special Occasions We finished the school year and are officially on summer break.  We also had a fun time celebrating Mother's Day and Cruz's 13th birthday. Summer Sojourners We welcomed our seven Summer Sojourners on the 26th of May.  Here are Melanie, Mollie, Karsyn, Olivia, Bella, Trey, and Isaac. They will be here serving alongside us from May 26- June 19. We are spending their first week in the Chiquimula area. Their second week we will be serving locally in Antigua, and their final week they will be serving as camp counselors at Camp Guamiski.  It is an annual camp for Guatemala missionary kids.    Pray for these students over the next several weeks.  Pray for good health, that they would work well together, for many opportunities to share the Gospel, and mostly that God would work in their lives and grow them as they serve Him here. In all there are 56 IMB Summer Sojourners serving throughout the Americas this summer.  Pray for all of these students as they share the Gospel not only in Guatemala but also in Chile, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Argentina, Mexico, and Peru.  It is not too early to start making plans for summer 2024.  If you or a college age student you know would be interested in serving next summer contact JDSmith@imb.org.  Missionaries will start submitting requests this month and would love to have you serving on their teams. Mission Trip During the three weeks that we will be hosting our summer students we will also be hosting a volunteer team from The Church at LifePark in Mt. Pleasant, SC.  They will be here June 10-15.  Pray for a good week of being on mission together.  Traveling Lastly, we will end the month with another trip to Mexico.  Pray for safe travel for our family and that our time there would be productive. Thank you for praying for us! www.imb.org