Meet the Mission Team in León

Just who is in León? A bunch of us: 10 adults and 2 kids, to be exact.

Here's how it breaks down: In León there are two missionaries called to serve Mexico, two Latin American Traveling Theological Educators (LATTE) missionaries residing here, and two WELS Kingdom Worker volunteers teaching English. Toss in some family members and you get 12 total. Here are the details:

Mike Hartman: Mexico field coordinator. I could list all of Mike's duties, but I'll just say it how I see him: he's the glue that holds Mexico together. From overseeing outlying missions near Cancún to checking on border town congregations struck by violence to counseling pastors, teaching seminary students, and always looking for an evangelism opportunity, Mike's days are full. He serves as the liaison between the Mexican Lutheran Church here and WELS in the U.S. and takes on the administrative duties that come with that role.

We support him by staying cute (Noelle), being Daddy's "assistant" on errands (Trinity), and keeping a positive attitude (me). He's pictured here with us, of course - if you've been following this blog for any amount of time, you know who we are! I'm Rachel, and our sweet girls are Trinity and Noelle.

Ralph Martens: Mexico missionary. Ralph and his wife Roxanne have served in various Latin American locations during their years of service, including numerous cities in Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Chile. Their current focus lies in getting the new mission here in León up and going. They plan to retire in summer. With that in mind, they shared this note:

"We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have supported us with your prayers and offerings through the many years we have been serving as world missionaries. All glory, praise, and honor to God for giving us this privilege to serve Him in this way and to be instruments in sharing the saving message with God’s chosen people.

"Many people ask us what country or place we liked best. Each country has its beauty, but it is always the people you meet that make each place special. We will be retiring the end of June to an undetermined destination. We wait on the Lord. His will be done. His kingdom comes."


Larry Schlomer: LATTE missionary. Larry and his wife Marlene have a long list of world missions experience, ranging from places like Colombia to Nigeria and now Mexico. Larry is part of the LATTE team, which means he trains men for ministerial work all over Latin America. He also helps out with the mission work here in Mexico by assisting with congregational duties and evangelism efforts (case in point: he's at the mission right now, helping with registration for the free English classes that start next week).

I've known Larry and Marlene since I first arrived in Mexico 10 years ago (thanks for picking me up at the airport!) and am truly thankful to God for placing them in my life. Among the many, many things I have gleaned from them about missionary life, I consider this lesson to be one of the most important: mission work begins - and ends - with the people. I have seen Larry and Marlene develop and maintain friendships with people wherever they go, which always opens doors to the Gospel and the nourishing of souls. They are doing the same thing here in León and we feel blessed to have them on the field.

Nathan Wagenknecht: LATTE missionary. Nate and his wife Julie are in the process of moving from Torreón to León. Once they arrive here, Nate will continue with his LATTE duties while also helping on the Mexico field.

Nate and Julie have served in world missions for more than 10 years. Nate started as a vicar in Puerto Rico in 1997 and Julie as a WELS Kingdom Workers volunteer in Japan in 1998. They met and started working together in the Dominican Republic in 2007. Between the two of them, they have assisted our missions in the U.S., Japan, Puerto Rico, Malawi, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Brazil, and other areas in the Caribbean. They post family updates at www.thewagenknechts.wordpress.com.


Andrew Gerlach (top) and Derek Bartelt: WELS Kingdom Worker volunteers. Andrew and Derek took time off of their studies at Martin Luther College to come to Mexico and help out on the field. For nearly a year, they have taught English classes, first in Torreón and now in León. We've appreciated the work ethic of these two young men, their patience as we moved, and their willingness to jump in and help with whatever comes up. They head back to the U.S. this summer and will continue their studies to become a pastor in the fall.

By the way, Mike's taking them out for duck at the Chinese restaurant near our home next week to celebrate the first week of English classes in León (Andrew and Derek, did you know that? You do now!). Thanks guys for your hard work and great spirit. Also for entertaining and playing with my children :).

So that's the mission team in Leon. Obviously, there's more to be said about everyone here, but those are stories for another post...

Also, as I briefly mentioned, we are in the registration process for English students and plan to start classes next week. This is big step forward for the mission work here, and I'll put up more info on that next week.