With a new year, new mercies
The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26
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¡Cozy Greetings <<First Name>>!
May the Lord's face shine upon you this year and always.
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A Quick Summary
We are currently in California on our first Home Assignment.
- This Season: We have been stateside for several months, visiting family, friends, and supporters.
- Language: Great news! Both Gamaiel and Rebecca graduated from the Spanish program.
- Ministry Update: We are still in the process of choosing the people group we will go to. Please continue to pray with us for guidance.
- Raising Funds: We are currently raising funds to buy a new truck.
- Los Niños: We continue homeschooling from the US. Isei is in10th grade and Ayin is in 4th.
- Travel Plans: We'll be leaving California and heading back to Mexico mid-January.
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Gamaiel singing and playing his guitar at our Night for the Nations at Reality Ventura.
This Season: Home Assignment
We've been stateside since late September, visiting family, church family and friends. We have seen many loved ones and have enjoyed a bit of rest in between our busy days. We're thankful to be here during this season. Here's a brief summary...
- We attended our cousin Jenna's wedding on October 8th.
- The next day we drove up to Northern California to Rebecca's sister Jenny's house. We spent nearly a month there to help out with the arrival of her baby girl Olivia Jae, who was born October 11th. We also helped out with her son, Micah.
- We celebrated Isei's 15th birthday while at Jenny's house.
- From there we drove up to Oak Harbor, Washington to visit Rebecca's brother David, wife Christine, and his beautiful family of 5 children. That was a fun adventure.
- We finally returned to Southern California the second week of November to help with Gamaiel's grandma Lu's memorial. It was such a beautiful service and we feel like it really honored her life well.
- Since then we have been staying at Grandma Lu and Grandpa Bob's house in Santa Barbara, helping to clear it out a bit since they both have sadly passed on. They built this house and it is full of wonderful memories and a lifetime of stuff. It's been quite the task, but we feel so honored to be able to be here to help the family in this way while we're here.
- We've been visiting with our loved ones and have been hosting a number of events as we joyfully stay in the family home.
- We hosted a family Thanksgiving gathering.
- We had a wonderful Night for the Nations at our home church, Reality Ventura on November 28th where Gamaiel also got to sing and play worship songs in Spanish.
- We celebrated Ayin's 10th birthday on December 13th.
- We celebrated Gamaiel's 43rd birthday on December 19th.
- We hosted a family Christmas gathering.
- We drove to Rebecca's dad and step-mom's on Christmas Eve and celebrated Christmas with them.
- On New Year's Day we went on our traditional family hike, which felt invigorating.
Here is Gamaiel's beautiful Grandma Lu, who passed away August 14th. We didn't get to say goodbye to her, but we have hope that we will see her again.
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Ministry Update: Where will we go?
We are still in the process of choosing a people group to go to. However recently we have felt led to visit a few specific areas when we return to Mexico.
So next stop...TBD. Please continue to pray with us for guidance and wisdom.
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Raising Funds for a New Truck!
We are currently raising funds to buy a new truck for the tribe. At the moment we have a Toyota Tacoma but we have grown out of it as the kids are both getting bigger.
Thankfully we have already raised quite a bit thanks to some very generous people in our church family. We thank Jesus for the generosity of His people who have already given 36% of the $15,000 towards a used truck.
If you feel led to give, please do so here and send us a note. Thank you so very much!
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Language: We Finished Spanish!
We got the most wonderful news that both Gamaiel and Rebecca graduated from the Spanish program in September of 2022. We will use Spanish to learn a tribal language, so this was a huge step for us.
It was a longer process than we had expected but wow, we are so thankful for it. And we couldn't have done it without our wonderful teacher Patty Ramirez. We won't have a Patty in the tribe so it was a huge leg up to have her patient, loving guidance as we navigated the difficult task of learning a new language and culture!
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Los Niños
We continue homeschool in the US. Isei is in 10th grade and Ayin is in 4th grade. It's a huge challenge for us this season as we are constantly in a different place, doing something new every few days. It's hard to find a good rhythm now but we hope to when we return to Mexico.
Please pray for patience and wisdom for each of us as we figure this out.
In the meantime, Isei and Ayin are having a ball with their cousins and friends!
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Travel Plans: California → Mexico
We are planning to leave California and head back to Mexico on January 18th.
We hold all of the following very loosely, knowing that our plans are not necessarily His plans, but here is what we are aiming for.
- January 1-18: Spend some more time in the states visiting our supporters, family and friends.
- January 19-21: Drive back to El Paso, Texas.
- January 22-26: File for new Mexican visas and try to get a little rest at the El Paso guesthouse.
- January 27: Return to Chihuahua and start making travel plans to visit new areas.
- Always: Seeking the Lord for guidance and wisdom.
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PRAISES
- We graduated from our Spanish studies.
- We have felt blessed by our time stateside with our family, supporters, church family and friends.
- We are already off to a great start for our truck fund.
PRAYER REQUESTS
- For guidance on teammates and location.
- For encouragement as we continue homeschool.
- For all the funds for our truck to be provided.
- For encouragement and wisdom for our missionaries 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! Usually in about a week, maybe 2.
Mail arrives much faster now that covid isn't such a big deal anymore. Yay!
Text us on WhatsApp, Signal, or normal text 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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