Reaching out to More in Mexico

Isn't she a cutie? I'd love to meet her. But honestly, I'm not sure if I ever will.

Jaqueline lives with her mom, baby sister Andrea, and other relatives in the town of Ascension in the state of Chihuahua, just a couple hours west of Ciudad Juarez. There isn't a Lutheran church in her area. She has relatives that belong to the Santo Tomas congregation in Phoenix, Arizona, served by Pastor Tim Otto.

The family members in Arizona asked Pastor Otto if a Lutheran pastor could come and baptize Andrea. Pastor Otto, in turn, got in touch with Mike, who asked Pastor Carlos Rosales to make the trip over to Ascension. Pastor Carlos Rosales and his family live in the state of Sonora, about eight hours from Ascension.

Earlier this month, Carlos headed over and carried out the service. Here he is baptizing Jaqueline's little sister, Andrea -

The family was grateful to Carlos for making the trip.

Traveling to Ascension to help a family is just one of the many ways pastors here in Mexico are working to reach out to others. Mexico is a big country, and while we have congregations in a number of the major cities, there are many areas where we do not yet have a Lutheran church. Traveling to places like Ascension (and Queretaro, as I mentioned last week) enable us to help people living far from a Lutheran church.

Another way is through the Internet. Members of the Mexican Lutheran church and volunteers in the U.S. are working on a website - http://www.luteranosmexicanos.net/. The site is still under construction, but it scheduled to be finished in late July. In addition to providing information about the Lutheran church in Mexico, the site will list ways to contact pastors, download Bible studies and devotions, view pictures of the congregations, and listen to a weekly sermon.

Technology and the ease of transportation are two tools God has granted us here in Mexico. We're thankful for these blessings, and look forward to serving more people in the future, no matter where in Mexico they live.

And who knows? Maybe someday I'll get a chance to go to Ascension and meet Jaqueline and her family in person.

English Classes Kickoff

Give me an I, Give me an N, Give me a G-L-E-S, what's that spell? Inglés! Inglés!

And best of all, it's gratis. Say it with me: gratis. Good.

This concludes our Spanish lesson for the day.

As many of you know, one of our first goals upon arriving in León was to offer English classes for free. Last week, Mike and the volunteers did some advertising for the classes. They handed out 4,000 flyers, ran an ad in the local newspaper, and put up the banner pictured here on the front of church.

Last Friday and Saturday were registration days for the classes. More than 160 students signed up for this 9-week session of classes. A few more are signing up this week so we may end up with about 170 in all.

Having English classes is a way to meet people and build relationships. It often opens the door for friendship evangelism. In addition, it helps the church build a name and become known in the community.

We are thankful for the opportunity to hold classes and for WELS Kingdom Workers to teach the classes. God willing, this will be the first paso (step) toward getting a church established here in León.

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.

Serving Querétaro

Last weekend LATTE* missionary Larry Schlomer and his wife Marlene traveled to Querétaro, about a two-hour drive from where they're currently residing in the city of León. On Saturday night, they had a church service in the home of one of our members of the IELC (Iglesia Evangelica Luterana Confesional), the Lutheran church here in Mexico that the missionaries work with.


There are two families in Querétaro that are members of the IELC. These families also have a number of prospects that are interested in learning more. Since there is no Lutheran church in their city, the missionaries here agreed to travel from León to Querétaro periodically to serve them.


During the weekend, classes were lined up so that those interested in further studies can participate in some long-distance education. A son of one of the IELC members will take confirmation classes with the missionaries using Skype. Another family member asked to take Bible information classes, which he will do through email and by phone. LATTE members and Mexico missionaries** will take turns visiting the group in Querétaro once a month to hold worship and further Bible studies.

One of the blessings of having some of the LATTE team here is that it enables us to carry out more church work in Mexico. They use their time to teach men throughout Latin America, but they also help the Mexican Lutheran Church by teaching in the seminary and carrying out congregational work.


So thanks LATTE for the trip and for your ongoing contributions to the mission work here in Mexico. We heart you :).

* LATTE stands for Latin America Traveling Theological Educators and consists of a four-man team serving Latin America in different locations. In Mexico, we're blessed to have two of these LATTE missionaries: Larry Schlomer and Nate Wagenknecht. While they teach students in countries like Brazil, the Dominican Republic and Colombia, they also contribute to the work going on in Mexico by participating in worker training programs, congregational assistance, and outreach efforts.

** While writing this, I realized I have rarely addressed the mix of missionaries we currently have on the Mexico field. So if you're confused after reading the post, worry no more - I will put up a longer description of the missionaries in Mexico later this week, complete with pictures to help you get a better feel for who we are and what we do. Stay tuned!

León Mission Update

Praise God, we have rented a place!

This is the building where English classes will start on April 26th. It is where we will eventually start holding worship. Seminary classes will be taught here and the place will also serve as a dormitory for sem students.

Whoo, that's a lot of stuff.

Fortunately, the place is a house and is the perfect fit for all that we need. Even better, it is in a superb location. Although you can't see from the picture, it is right off of a major intersection in a key area of the city.

The location is ideal, and the price was affordable because...as Mike says, it is a "fixer upper." The first things to go will be the wallpaper and stained (I won't say with what!) carpet -

Because the price for rent is within our budget, we will be able to do some repairs to this place. I expect it to look much different -and by that I mean better - in just a few months.

It is an awesome feeling to have this place rented. Now we can focus on the next steps involved in getting a church started here. This includes English classes and the outreach efforts associated with them (thanks Andrew and Derek!).

While English classes will begin right away, we will not hold church services in the building until we get a group ready to go. This could take a number of months, depending on how things unfold.

Meanwhile, we will continue to worship with St. John's in Sleepy Eye on Sundays. In fact, an article about us tuning into their live services appeared in the Sleepy Eye Herald Dispatch. I strongly encourage anyone who's on vacation or away from a church to turn on their computers on Sunday morning and join them too. After all, we'll be there!

Noelle Samples León

Many of the memories Mike and I have made during our 10+ years together involve food, and the sampling of it (though I have my limits. He recently informed me of the next item on his to-try list: eye tacos. I'm going to have to sit that one out).

I'm happy to report, however, that Noelle has inherited much of her father's frenziness for food sampling. Here she is testing out some of what León has to offer:

getting ready to try a guayaba-filled pastry -



digging into a chorizo and cheese sope -



trying a Mexican corn muffin -




sipping a Coke in León - is it the same as Coke in Torreón?




yes, it is! how comforting to know some things don't change -



But Noelle, just between you and me, don't let Daddy talk you into those eye tacos.

Easter in Mexico 2010

Here are some pictures of a few of the congregations in Mexico celebrating the joyous resurrection of Christ through worship, study, and fellowship.

Starting off in Sonora, where kids gathered during the week for various activities -








Then on to Puebla, where there was a service, followed by Bible class and a picnic -









And in the preaching station in Gomez Palacio, a twin city to Torreon, the members gathered sang a popular Easter hymn here, "Because he lives, I am triumphant."




Happy Easter from Mexico!!

First Easter in León, and thoughts on why we are here

A note from Missionary Mike Hartman on Easter...

Two days ago I went with our Kingdom Worker volunteers to watch the Good Friday procession here in León, and bought a snack from a vendor. (Yes, they have lots of vendors who come to the procession, so you can watch Jesus get beaten and crucified while munching on some goodies. It makes me feel like a Roman gladiatorial spectator - I imagine there were very possibly vendors at Jesus' crucifixion. I mean, wherever you have a crowd of people, some enterprising capitalist is going to try to sell something to drink and eat... but I digress.)

So I'm watching Jesus get crucified and am in need of a snack when I notice a very popular stand selling what I come to find later are "Dori Locos". Basically, it is quite possibly the craziest thing I've ever seen anyone do to a bag of chips, and of course, I need to try it.



Here's how they made it: take a bag of Doritos (I had red nacho flavored) and cut it open with a scissors the opposite way from normal.

To my bag of Doritos the snack lady added:

cucumber chunks
cabbage
peanuts
jicama (pronounced HEE-ca-ma, a root, it tastes kinda like a sweet radish)
chunky red salsa
cream
carrots
another type of bottled orange salsa
a handful of Mexican orange chips (taste like Fritos)
pickled pig skin
shredded white cheese

Then she handed me a napkin and a fork!

Apparently this is a regional snack, and the ingredients vary slightly from vendor to vendor. Unbelievably, it is REALLY good.

So, the next time you pop open a bag of Doritos, why don't you consider making a meal out of it?

The sad part about the day: after Jesus was crucified, everyone went home. The church that sponsored the procession didn't even have a special Easter service (or at the very least they didn't announce anything.) They only advertised services on Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and a Saturday evening vigil. It is so unbelievable to me that almost everyone in Mexico thinks that Holy Week ends with Jesus' death. It's like watching an action flick and just when you get to the climax and it looks like the hero isn't going to make it, you decide to get up and turn off the movie! Extremely sad, but also extremely motivating.

This has been a most unusual Holy Week for Rachel and me. It is very odd to celebrate Maundy Thursday and Good Friday gathered around the living room in a missionary home. After all, we just arrived last week and are starting from zero. But what a great time to remember why we came here. God willing, an actual Easter service will be celebrated in León next year. For some, it will be their first time celebrating Easter.

This Easter, please pray that God bless the work of his church in León so that others might learn of the positive and hope-filled ending to Holy Week.



Have a blessed Easter! (And please let me know if anyone is brave enough to bring Dori Locos to a church potluck.)

He is risen!
Missionary Mike Hartman