Moving to Our Next Destination
I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. Isaiah 45:2
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Happy Summer <<First Name>>
We hope you're enjoying the sunny season so far.
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A QUICK SUMMARY
We have some wonderful news!
- Ministry Update and Teammates: We know where we are going, with who! Drum roll please....Chiapas, with the Ramírez family!
- In the Meantime: We are packing up what we need for the next 6 months
- Truck Update: We are hoping to import our big red truck, so it will be fully Mexican
- Past Travels: We went to visit Baborigame in May and Mexico City in June
- Travel Plans: We leave for Chiapas September 20th
- Los Niños: Isei went to Georgia with his best friend, Ayin is enjoying her friends
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MINISTRY UPDATE
After several closed doors we were beginning to feel a bit discouraged, but the Lord has been faithful, as He always is. We had lots of people praying for us and encouraging us so we felt peace about waiting patiently for a new direction. And praise the Lord we have it!
We have been given approval from our leadership to go down to Chiapas for a 6 month long People Group Assessment (PGA) - an investigation into the gospel presence among various indigenous groups.
We will be visiting 4-5 groups with the purpose of understanding the gospel witness among them and whether there is any evidence of a maturing church. Depending on the outcome, Ethnos360 will consider opening up a new work for missionaries to engage those people groups.
The various groups are spread out over the state of Chiapas so we have selected a central city, San Cristóbal de las Casas, to live in while we travel to surrounding regions. We plan to rent a furnished home, so we will only need to bring down our essentials.
This is the forth time that we have loaded up our truck with only our most needed items to live in a new place, so we are feeling peace about this next move as well. Homeschooling will certainly be a challenge during this time so please lift us up for that.
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OUR TEAMMATES!
We are really excited to introduce you to our new teammates. This is Jessica and Misael Ramírez and their 2 year old son, Felix. Jessi is from Mexico City, and Misael is from Guatemala. They are part of Ethnos Mexico, the Mexican entity of Ethnos360.
They are kind, humble, and excited to go to Chiapas. We feel really blessed and thankful to have the opportunity to partner with them for these next 6 months, and maybe longer depending on how the Lord leads.
Before we head down as a team, the Ramírez need more financial support. They need both monthly support and start up costs covered. If you feel led to help them financially please do so here. Thank you!
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IN THE MEANTIME
We are packing up what we need for 6 months, giving away, selling or storing what we can't fit in the truck. Please pray the Lord gives us wisdom and discernment through this process.
We are also being trained by the field leadership team to learn how to do People Group Assessments (PGA) along with the Ramírez. We have had 2 classes out of 8, so we are beginning to feel more prepared, but we are also well aware of what a challenge this will be.
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TRUCK UPDATE
We are hoping to import our big red truck so it will be fully Mexican. Driving through Mexico will be a challenge enough and we don't need Texas plates drawing more attention. Its fairly expensive to import a vehicle but the costs are mostly covered by the generous donations given while we were in California.
We got our Mexican drivers licenses. It took 4.5 hours and we only had to take a class, pass a written exam, turn in all the paperwork, and wait. We hope that by having our Mexican drivers licenses it will prevent any possible confusion while we are driving all over Chiapas.
You can be praying with us that we don't have any problems with importation or travel.
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PAST TRAVELS: BABORIGAME
At the end of May we went to visit Matt and Starr Arnold out in Baborigame. We enjoyed seeing them interact with the Tepehuan church in their own language and show them God's love in many ways.
We had the opportunity to join them in a bible study as they read through Genesis in Tepehuan and got to listen to a Tepehuan family talk about the things that stood out to them. We were encouraged to see a whole household who loves Jesus and wants to continue following Him.
We also got to get a taste of how ministry might be if we were to go out there. There are many widows in need of food, clothes, and hope. Starr and Rebecca got to help this widow, Candelaria (pictured below), with a few things like gathering firewood, and moving her into a new house.
Please pray for her as she struggles to care for her 8 children. She has begun to attend church services. God is calling her to Him. Pray she accepts His pursuit of her.
PAST TRAVELS: MEXICO CITY
In June we visited a missionary family, the Laredos, at their home in Mexico City. They are hoping to join Ethnos Mexico in November, and then they want to do church planting in Oaxaca (right next door to Chiapas). Please pray for the Laredo Family as they are also in the middle of raising support so they can go. Please pray for teammates for them as well.
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TRAVEL PLANS
We plan to leave for Chiapas by September 20th. We will be caravanning down with Jessi and Misael. It should take us 4 days of driving. We should arrive into San Cristóbal de las Casas around September 24th, Lord willing. The plan is to stay in an AirBnb for a week or so until we both find our own furnished homes.
Please pray He goes before us, follows us, and hems us in on all sides (Psalm 139:5).
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LOS NIÑOS
Isei went to Christian camp in Atlanta, Georgia with his best friend David. They just moved from Chihuahua back to Georgia and Isei traveled with them in order to attend the camp. He really enjoyed his time there, met lots of people, absorbed the teachings, and grew in the experience. We feel so blessed to have been provided for so Isei could go.
Ayin has enjoyed being an only child this past month. She's had lots of time with her friends. She goes into 5th grade next year, and she will miss her friends in Chihuahua very much.
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PRAISES
- We found our next location and teammates!
- We got our Mexican drivers licenses
- We got to visit Baborigame and the Laredo family
- Isei enjoyed camp in Georgia
- Ayin has loved spending time with her friends
PRAYER REQUESTS
- For wisdom and discernment as we pack up for Chiapas
- For the Lord to provide all funds for the Ramírez family
- For our truck to easily be imported into Mexico
- For homeschool as we're in Chiapas
- For the Believers and non-Believers among the Tepehuan
- For Candelaria, that she trust in God's Word and believe in Jesus
- For the Lord to provide funds and teammates for the Laredo family
- For the Lord to protect and guide us in Chiapas
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 text 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
Text us on WhatsApp, Signal, or normal text anytime:
Gamaiel +1 (805) 570-9728 | Rebecca +1 (805) 452-5449
Instagram:
Rebecca posts on Instagram, so 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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