Don & Chris Lovingfoss, Mexico

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Ministry Overview:
Don and Chris have been appointed by the Baptist General Conference to serve in Guadalajara, Mexico. Their vision is to change lives and transform communities which do not presently have a gospel witness. They hope to accomplish this by starting healthy churches which are able to reproduce themselves. They also have a vision to be a catalyst in seeing a broader church planting movment developed in Mexico. Don and Chris desire to work with with national leaders to develop the systems and strategy to multiply the planting of churches.

Where They Live:
Guadalajara is the second largest city in Mexico with a population of approximately 6 million people. It is the birthplace of Mariachi music, and is rich in beauty and culture. Historically, however it has not been as receptive to the gospel as other regions in Mexico. It is the main population center of a region of Mexico where only 1-2% are evangelical Christians. Don and Chris believe that God wants to make a strong impact on the city and the surrounding region. They desire to reach the people who up until now have not had a gospel witness in their community.

Prayer Requests:
Pray that the entire family will continue to learn the language and culture. 

Pray for opportunities to develop relationships with neighbors, classmates and teachers.

Pray for those attending the two Bible studies (a few believers as well as nonbelievers)

Connor, Logan and Kaitlyn have made some good friends in the neighborhood.  Pray that our family will be a good example in the neighborhood and have opportunities to share Christ.  Specifically pray for Carlita, Michele, Jose and Cassandra.

Pray for safety in Mexico.  Pray that God will protect our family.

OCTOBER 2007 - PRAYER UPDATE

Life In Mexico

Well we have been in Mexico for more than two months now.  Our kids are in school and are adjusting well and making new friends.  We have been blessed with wonderful teachers for each of them.  The regular schoolwork has not been a big adjustment, but learning Spanish has been.  Ironically, Spanish is their favorite subject.  Kaitlyn has already told us that after she learns Spanish this year, she wants to learn French next year (the optimism and enthusiasm of a 6 year old).  Connor and Logan are playing soccer on their school team and are really enjoying it.  We play games during the week and on Saturdays.  Sounds like Santa Clarita!

As for Chris and myself, we are attending an intensive Spanish class during the day and have homework in the evening.  It is a lot of work, but we know there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

We have settled into a house and neighborhood.  We have really been blessed by our neighborhood, there are many kids to play with.  The kids are always outside playing with the neighborhood kids and practicing their Spanish.  The neighborhood kids also like to come to our house to practice their English.  We are praying that these will be some of the kids who will participate in a future Vacation Bible School.

Getting to Know Mexico

There is an annual pilgrimage in Mexico of the Virgin of Zapopan in October.  About 3 million Mexicans (catholics and tribes from surrounding areas) celebrate the Virgin's final day of a six month pilgrimage visiting Catholic churches in the area.  Each tribe has different dress and are reminiscent of the ancient Mayan dress.  They make loud noises with cymbals and beads on their shoes to keep the evil spirits away.  There are many of the tribal customs incorporated into the local Catholic religion.  A book, "Charming the Serpent" is available at Amazon written by Patrick Carter.  He's a missionary who has spent forty years in Mexico and the book's about his experiences with demonic influences and spiritual warfare in Mexico.

Church Planting

On the one hand it seems like learning Spanish will take forever. But on the other hand, we are already starting to plan for the next we months.  In August we had our annual Central Mexico Field Council.  There were 12 missionaries present and they were all very excited about the plans for the upcoming year.

As for Guadalajara, we are currently putting together the leadership for an initial church plant in the Zapopan area (our target area).  We hope to have a grand opening next September.  A Bible study in this area has been going on for about six months.

Simultaneously, a Bible study in El Vergel looks promising for another church plant in that area, which is one of the poorer areas of town.  This Bible study has also been going on for several months.  Last summer a VBS was conducted and over 80 kids attended.  The VBS was the catalyst for the Bible study.  The receptivity in this area is really encouraging.