To catch you up from the last post, Tyler shared in church at the beginning of October and did a great job. We can now drive to the grocery store without using a GPS. And I’m still not driving yet (but have been practicing in very controlled settings)! 

We were able to get to know some more people from Second Chance Church by going on an amazing hike, where the kids really surprised us with their ability to climb (without complaining). Asher took an art class for the month of October and learned how to use pastels. We stayed the night in Antigua and got to spend some encouraging time with our team leaders and see their son in a play. We helped to send off our teammates, the Robertsons, for their stateside (they will be back in May or June of next year). And we got to make a trip (about 2.5 hours north from where we live) to Huehuetenango (nicknamed Huehue or “way-way”) to visit a Youth Ranch (Boy’s Home). 

And this is where our story really begins. On the way to Huehue, we were feeling so excited and hopeful for the day ahead. We made it about 2 hours of the journey following behind the Stones, another couple here in Guatemala. Suddenly, Tyler began to notice a problem. It became increasingly more difficult to shift into first and second gear. Oh brother. Tyler safely got us to the side of the mountain road, where of course there was no cell service.

The spot we pulled off at didn’t have service, but it was in the front yard of a mechanic! While he could not work on our vehicle (because he specialized in larger work trucks), he knew of a guy up the road and pointed us in the right direction. Without service, we couldn’t get in touch with the Stones to let them know what was going on. So, when the mechanic told us he had a friend up the street and to the right, we felt we had no choice. We said a prayer and bucked up. 

We started the car in second gear and, by God’s grace, were able to make it about two kilometers down the road until we saw the Stones standing on the side of the road waving us down. We pulled off, updated them, and made a plan to get the truck to a mechanic. We were still able to make it to the Youth Ranch and got to meet some of the boys and learn about all the neat stuff they are doing. When it was time to leave, we all crammed in the Stones car and, leaving our truck with a mechanic who works under a shade tree, headed home.

That weekend we used Ubers to go everywhere. We had to fight with a few different ATMs to get the cash we needed to pay for the truck repair, which Tyler would need to pick up on Sunday. Rookie mistake not having cash on hand, lesson learned. On Saturday we had a really nice lunch with some new friends which provided a nice escape from the chaos we were living in, and then that night we attended a kid’s movie night at Second Chance Church, where we watched Prince of Egypt and Wrenley fell asleep in my lap! My favorite! 

On Monday and Tuesday, the Stones traveled to an area where they have done significant work throughout their time in Guatemala. Tyler joined them for the overnight trip to Ixchiguan and had the opportunity to meet many of the church leaders who work throughout this area. These are people we will work with regularly. Please pray for the churches in Ixchiguan to remain faithful to the gospel. The girls and I are looking forward to joining them next time!

Monday (11th) was also a big day for our neighborhood. Monday morning, the neighborhood WhatsApp group began blowing up. Our water tank had run dry. This water tank feeds our neighborhood and the one next to us. Bone dry. 

The girls and I did great the first two days without Tyler and without any extra water. We had plenty of drinking water already filtered, but were careful not to waste a drop. We ordered takeout, used paper towels as plates, and made it work! But by Tuesday evening, we were ready for Tyler to be home and help us carry the heavy 5 gallon jugs of water from the shop across the street so we could, you know, flush the toilets and wash some dishes. We thought the water would be fixed that first day. Then they discovered it was a bigger problem than initially thought, so it would be a few extra days. Then the neighbors (of our neighborhood and the one next door) needed to come to an agreement about the fix, so we waited more days. Then it was Sunday (today), and no one should work on a Sunday. And now we are (still) praying it will be any day now. The girls have been troopers! I have mostly been a trooper. I’ve had a few low moments, but with a bit of Tyler sarcastic jokes, I am staying positive and hopeful. Please pray for our attitudes to stay high despite the challenges of not having water. And please pray for the issue to be fixed soon. 

Tomorrow (Monday), Tyler and Gary Stone are driving to Guatemala City. A few of our Logistics Coordinators are coming to Guatemala for a check-in. We know two of them, one from our time in Botswana, and the other is one of our closest friends from our year in Puebla, Mexico! I know they will have a great time catching up! 

It’s funny to think we thought we were settling into a routine before last week! Things have gotten a bit more complicated, first without a car, and now without water. Hopefully, we’ll get back on track soon. We’re wrapping up our first month back in language study and would appreciate prayers for finding great language partners who can help us grow in our ability to communicate.

Tyler is also preparing to attend a meeting for indigenous pastors during the first week of December, where he’ll also share a little about us and our roles here. Please pray for meaningful connections to be made during this meeting!

With Love,
Tyler & Rachel

We’re still in shock to be here! We have been in Guatemala for almost two weeks now and are just starting to find a bit or normalcy (if that’s even possible two weeks into a new country).

We made it to Quetzaltenango (nicknamed Xela, pronounced ‘shay-la’) on a Friday evening and hit the ground running getting things set up for the house. We have our phones and internet set up, most of our furniture has been delivered, and we are kinda learning the roads around our house. 

The girls have been doing amazing and have enjoyed staying in our “yellow house”. We spent our first week in country staying in a nearby apartment while visiting our house every day to get a bit of work done. They were really confused for a while about where we were actually living. It does help that we’ve now unpacked all the toys that they haven’t seen for a while! We are so grateful for the personalities the Lord has given each of them and how they have been able to conquer a move like this one with so much joy! 

We’ve now enjoyed two Sundays at a small local church planted by one of our partners here in Xela, and it’s quickly becoming like family to us. Be praying as Tyler will be sharing at the service this week about our call to missions and how the Lord calls all of us to share His story. 

Our Guatemala team has been incredible! We feel so blessed to be a part of this group and can’t wait to serve alongside one another. We had a team meeting over the weekend and it felt so natural.

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Below we have listed a few specific prayers for our family over the coming weeks:

Tyler will be sharing at a local church this week. Pray his message is understood and plants seeds for future ministry opportunities. 

Pray for friends for us and especially for the girls. We will take some walks in the neighborhood this week and next and hope to meet our new neighbors. 

Praise for a good house for our family. We are so thankful to our team for making it happen before we even arrived. 

Lastly, our family car is a stick shift which Tyler is loving and I am dreading having to drive. Please pray for our marriage as Tyler teaches me how to drive it!

With Love,
Tyler & Rachel

Blink and you’ll miss it.

It’s hard to believe that exactly one year ago we were celebrating the completion of our pre-field training in the States.

Honestly, that time seems like such a blur, seven weeks of training, packing, excitement for the new while saying tough goodbyes to the life we had known.

When we landed in Mexico just a few weeks later on October 2nd, we were ready to hit the ground running. Had we known then the uphill battle that language learning would be, we might not have been as excited.

But we persevered.

Week after week we attended classes each morning and practiced what we had learned in the afternoons. It was a grind. Some weeks felt like we were making progress, and others felt like we couldn’t speak at all. It was a humbling process, but we know it was worth it.

“But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:31

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This weekend, we are celebrating Mexican Independence Day with our church. It also happens to be our last weekend here in Mexico, which is bringing a lot of mixed emotions.

We have grown to love our church here in Puebla, and will miss our time with new friends so much. We still spend a lot of time staring blankly towards the front of the church trying to work out what is happening, but everyone has been so loving, patient, and helpful as we have slowly figured things out. 

On Saturday, we had a party celebrating Independence Day with delicious food, trivia about Mexican history, songs, and of course a piñata. Our kids have become experts at popping piñatas this year. Towards the end of the party, knowing this will be our last weekend together, the church came together for a time of prayer for our family. They are sending us out, just as our home church, family, and friends in the States did, just one year ago.

Looking back, we are so grateful for this year, and the way God has walked with us through the good and the bad. Rachel and I would appreciate your prayers for these goodbyes and for our kids as they are faced with yet another transition. We know that God is with us through this time of tough goodbyes, and will provide the strength and comfort we need.

Please pray for our full day of travel on Thursday as we say “see you later” to Puebla and hop on the plane for Guatemala. We will keep you updated along the way.

With Love,
Tyler & Rachel

Thank you so much for your prayers for our weekend trip to Tuzamapan! Before heading out, we had a special team fellowship on Friday evening where our SLAM Team prayed over us and our teammates who are also leaving in September. It was a really heartfelt time with those who have become like family this year. 

Saturday morning, we set out on what was supposed to be a three-and-a-half-hour journey (though with stops, it was actually closer to five). Once we arrived in Tuzamapan, we stopped by a church member’s home to share a meal. We were so proud of the girls for being brave with the new foods they were offered and for greeting and speaking with everyone so well in Spanish. We then set out on a short prayer walk through the small town and stopped by a few homes along the way to chat. We had the incredible opportunity to share the Bible stories we had prepared, of course completely in Spanish! 

It was truly a blessing to be welcomed into these homes and for our girls to experience this time in the community with us. In one of the homes, a little girl gifted us with some small beaded crafts she and her grandmother had made, a beautiful flower and three dragonfly keychains. We will absolutely treasure these gifts!

On Sunday morning, Tyler had the chance to share during the service. He spent hours preparing and translating his lesson, and he communicated his message with clarity! We had a good laugh afterward when the Pastor, a dear friend of ours, mentioned that Tyler had only mispronounced 8 or 9 of the words. A handful of mispronunciations after just under a year studying the language is not too bad! He took it as a compliment!

We were so proud of our girls for being flexible and respectful throughout the trip. They faced some uncomfortable situations, nothing unsafe, just different from what they were used to, and they handled it with grace. This was our first night away in a community for ministry, and it was a great experience with lots of opportunities to learn. We know there will be many more opportunities like this in Guatemala, where we will travel far out to communities, and share the Good News with others.

Again, thank you so much for the prayers while we were away! Our move in September is coming together: Our house is almost finalized, tickets for flights have been purchased for the 19th (our original target date), our packing pile is growing, and we have just six days left in school! Please continue to pray for us as we move forward to this next transition.

With Love,
Tyler & Rachel

Check out this short video update highlighting what’s been going on for the past few weeks and sharing some exciting news!

With Love,
Tyler & Rachel