The Cost of Going

The Lord has placed a burden on our hearts to see the church actively participating in God’s global mission. Over the past three years, together with another Avant missionary couple, we have been praying and mobilizing churches in our area of Mexico to reach the Mixteca region.

The Mixtecos are the third-largest indigenous group in Mexico, with 81 different dialects spoken across the states of Oaxaca, Puebla and Guerrero. Language barriers, persecution, crime and other challenges make reaching these communities with the gospel difficult. Yet despite these obstacles, God is opening doors.

Into the Mountains

In partnership with local churches in Puebla, the Lord has given us opportunities to connect with communities in the mountain region of Oaxaca. Recently, we made our fourth trip to the region.

It’s a 10-hour drive from our home to the mountain village where we minister. On the last two-hour leg of this journey, we joined a local missionary who goes to the mountain village regularly to minister to the people there. On our way, we had to pull over because his car was overheating. This faithful brother does not have the money to repair his car. Every two weeks when he travels there, he has to stop once or twice for 30 minutes to let the engine cool down.

It makes an already long journey even longer.

Moments like this make us think about the value Jesus places on a lost soul. Are we willing to leave everything to go where the lost are? Even if our cars don’t work, will we do our best to get to them?

Once we arrived, our team divided into four groups to visit families and invite them to a Bible study. Homes in the mountains are spread far apart, and many can only be reached on foot. Some of us walked one to two hours to reach the families we hoped to visit.

Our group visited four homes. At one, we met with a woman who has faithfully attended almost every Bible study we have held in the community. Her family still does not know Christ, and her husband does not want to listen. Because of their opposition, it has become increasingly difficult for her to attend.

Still, she welcomed us into her home. We shared from God’s Word, prayed together, and invited her to join our study of Jonah later that day. She said she would come.

As we climbed up and down the mountains from one home to another, we thought about Jesus’ picture of the shepherd who goes after one lost sheep until he finds it. The long drive, the unreliable car, and the hours spent walking through the mountains brought that picture to life for us in a new way. We found ourselves asking: How much are we willing to give and do for one person who needs to know Christ?

Light in the Darkness

The physical challenges of reaching these communities are significant, but so are the spiritual ones.

The day before we arrived, the community had gathered for the Festival of the Holy Cross. Throughout the Mixteca region, this celebration often combines elements of Catholicism with ancient ancestral beliefs.

Around May 3, people climb mountains or visit caves and natural springs, using the symbol of the cross while praying to forces of nature. Offerings may be made, and traditional healers or community elders sometimes lead rituals asking the mountain or spirits of the water for permission, forgiveness, and rain for the coming planting season.

This blending of beliefs is common in many communities and presents a significant challenge as we share the gospel. Yet even in the midst of this spiritual darkness, we see God at work.

On Sunday, a small group gathered with us to study God’s Word. Our goal was simple: study Scripture, worship together, and share a meal like a family.

We spent time reading and discussing the book of Jonah. Spanish can be difficult for some of them to understand, but we could see their joy in grasping even a small part of what was being taught.

As I led the study, I asked what they had learned from Jonah.

One man looked at me timidly and said, “I was one of those sailors from chapter one. I used to worship the exact same idols they worshipped. I was just like them.”

Then, with joy in his eyes, he continued, “But now, I know and worship the true God—the God who created everything.”

What a gift it is to see the Holy Spirit using His Word to open eyes to the truth. We are filled with gratitude when we see God at work in lives that were once in spiritual darkness and are now seeing the light of Christ.

Who Will Go?

As our time in the mountains came to an end, we began the long drive home. The car was quiet as we reflected on everything we had seen—the people we had visited, the spiritual darkness surrounding them, and the evidence that God is already at work.

What else can we do? How can we better reach these communities? Are we truly willing to surrender everything to see people here know Christ?

We are praying that God will use these trips not only to reach the Mixtecos, but also to awaken a deeper passion for Him in His church, so that more believers will answer the call to go and make Christ known where He is not known.

We are already seeing answers to those prayers. An Avant missionary is preparing to serve among the Mixtecos long term. Local believers continue making difficult journeys to share the gospel. And in mountain communities where there is no established church, people are beginning to gather to read God’s Word.

The need remains great. So we continue to pray, as Jesus taught us, that the Lord of the harvest would send out more laborers into His harvest (Luke 10:2).

Pray with us!

• For the missionary transitioning to serve full time among the Mixtecos. Pray as she begins learning their language and culture.
• For the Mexican church and Avant missionaries as they work together to mobilize workers to reach the unreached of Mexico.
• For the Lord to send more laborers into His harvest so that those living in darkness may see the light.

Will you be part of what God is doing in Mexico? Discover how you can serve alongside local believers and missionaries to share the hope of Christ.

Opportunity in Mexico

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