We have exciting news!
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:6
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¡Hola <<First Name>>!
Through all that is happening in the world we continue to praise the Lord for His kindness and goodness and for always being faithful.
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A Quick Summary
We are currently in our 18th month of Spanish language and Mexican culture studies.
- News: We have something exciting to share....read below.
- Travel: Our whole family was able to take a trip to Baborigame at the end of January.
- Team: Meet our team, the Arnolds and the Thomas.
- Language: We got our 4th language evaluation results. Still further to go.
- Culture: Amor por México: Things we love about Mexico.
- Niños: The kids are going to finish school at Binimea in May. Homeschool next season.
- Plans: Our timeline for 2022.
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Travel to Baborigame
At the end of January we took a trip to check out Baborigame, Chihuahua, accompanying potential teammates of ours, Caleb and Emily Arnold. Gamaiel had already visited last year, but Rebecca and the kids wanted to see it too.
The drive was very windy and rough. It took 11 hours with 5 of them being super bumpy. The last photo above shows the curvy road through the valley. But the little pueblo was beautiful and green with chickens and cows roaming around in the fresh air. We all felt relaxed and peaceful there.
On the second day Emily and Dezi (5) got sick. We weren't sure if it was covid or not but about half of us went down one by one. It hit Isei pretty bad and he was in bed the last half of the trip.
It also snowed while we were there, which was fun for the kids to see. However, it iced up the roads and delayed our return home by a few days.
Getting covid and having our trip delayed by the snow were bumpy roads to travel down but we were not discouraged. This was another confirmation that yes, even though we sometimes travel rough roads, the Lord is faithful to walk with us, holding our hands all the way.
We connected with the people there as much as possible prior to getting sick, visiting with friends and neighbors, bringing food to sick people, and traveling to see as much of the area as we were able.
We came home to Chihuahua feeling pretty excited about the possibility of that being our spot. We continued to pray and ask the Lord for more direction and clarity.
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Team Baborigame
We have been accepted to join the team in Baborigame!
Matt and Starr Arnold (bottom left) have been working among the Tepehuan for over 25 years and are now itinerant, visiting several times a year. Matt was critical in helping us to join Ethnos360 after our time at Radius in Tijuana. We can easily say that we wouldn't be here now without him.
Chris and Rachel (bottom right) have been ministering in Baborigame for 11 years. Caleb (at top) is Matt and Starr's son. He grew up in Baborigame so he and his wife Emily are very excited to be going back. Caleb and Emily have been in Chihuahua with us learning Spanish and graduated quickly. They're gifted language learners.
We are in the process of team formation with them, and so far we feel like we will fit well together. We are very excited to join the team and feel like the Lord has prepared us for this work for many years now.
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Here's a short video of what the Tepehuan language sounds like (starting at 12 seconds).
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More About the Tepehuan in Baborigame
It is an older work and there are currently about 30 Tepehuan believers. However, they have no Tepehuan leaders, no building, and no gathering space or worship time of their own. They do have a newly published New Testament in their language but not very many of them know how to read.
Our goals are to:
- Learn the Tepehuan language and culture.
- Teach literacy to the Tepehuan.
- Help grow and mature the Tepehuan church through God's word.
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Language Evaluation #4 Results
We had our 4th language evaluations mid February 2022. The results weren't exactly what we were hoping for, but we keep trudging along, day by day. We each have one more level to go. We see the light at the end of the tunnel, praise the Lord!
Language learning is hard. It's a very humbling experience that really tests your "sticktuitiveness" (as Brad Buser, our teacher at Radius would say).
Hopefully we will have both reached our goals by our next evaluation in August of 2022: Gamaiel to Capable Mid, and Rebecca to Capable Low. More than anything we just need to talk more to build fluidity. Please pray with us about this.
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Los Niños
Ayin really enjoys school and does very well in her studies. She reads very well and is gifted at telling stories. She loves to make up songs, which we try to record so we can remember them.
Isei is growing very quickly into a young man. He's matured a lot while being at the missionary school down here, and is becoming quite responsible and hard working. He continues to work on his art skills and looks forward to having more to time work on creative things when we get to the tribe.
When we visited Baborigame they both really enjoyed it. Shown in the photo above, they helped us sort donated clothes by gender and size to distribute to those in need.
When we go to Baborigame they won't have friends their age that speak English, so please pray that they can continue to learn Spanish and that they'll get along really well with the Arnolds and their kids, as well as we do.
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Culture: Things We Love About Mexico
If you've ever been to Mexico you know there's a ton of amazing things to love here. There are also some challenging things. We have been making mental notes of all the things we love about Mexico and it's culture, which far out-weighs the things we struggle with.
We love how patient and kind the people are. They are willing to spend time with us, listen to us struggle to speak Spanish, and are always willing to help us.
We love the History of Mexico. We've had the opportunity to dig into the history of Mexico and it's all very interesting.
We love the food in Mexico. Of course! Tacos, tamales, tortas, burritos (they're growing on us), enchiladas, tlacoyos, chilaquiles, chile rellenos, alambre, al pastor, arrachera, bistec con papas, pozole, jamaica, limonada, horchata, churros, buñuelos, pan dulce, atole de avena, champurrado.
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Plans: Our Timeline for the Next Season of Life
We hold all of this loosely, knowing that our plans are not necessarily His plans.
- August 2022 - Our last Spanish evaluations?! Please pray with us that we can finish by then!
- Septemberish 2022 - Spend time in the states visiting supporters, family and friends. We need a place to stay during this time so please let us know if you have any ideas for us.
- End of 2022 - Come back to Chihuahua, pack up our things and begin transferring our lives to Baborigame. We expect this to be a very challenging time for us.
- Early 2023 - Lord willing we will be in BG.
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PRAISES
- We have found our tribe and our team. A huge praise!
- We continue to grow deeper relationships with locals.
- The kids are excited to go to BG (Baborigame) too.
- Our teammates the Arnolds are done with Spanish and are already learning Tepehuan.
PRAYER REQUESTS
- To finish up Spanish study.
- For the hearts and minds of the Tepehuan people.
- For our team as we choose a place to live in BG.
- For our kids to be encouraged as they finish off the school year.
- For a place to stay while we are in the states.
- For the other missionaries here in Chihuahua.
DO YOU NEED PRAYER?
<<First Name>> - thank you so much for praying for us. We are so thankful for you. We would love to pray for you too. Please email us your prayer requests by replying to this email, or WhatsApp Rebecca at: (805) 452-5449
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Our Contact Info
Our mailing address is:
Gamaiel and Rebecca Zavala
10101 Dellwood Dr.
El Paso, TX 79924
We get packages and letters here!
Mail takes a while to get to us since there's an additional trip from El Paso to Chihuahua, but we get what you send. Thank you!
Text us on WhatsApp anytime:
Gamaiel (805) 570-9728
Rebecca (805) 452-5449
Instagram:
Rebecca posts on Instagram frequently, for more updates follow us there:
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Would You Like to Join Us?
Do you want to be involved in God's mission but don't know how?
Become part of our stateside team to help us reach the unreached of Mexico.
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