John Mark & Moorea

On the dock, ready to watch some whales

Hello,

It has been quiet a while since my last post. Things have been going really well. We keep pretty busy with services, teaching kids classes, and other special events. We both love what we are doing and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

Whale Watching

For Christmas, my parents gave us the opportunity to go whale watching. I had never been before and it was amazing! Growing up going to the zoo, I am used to seeing animals in cages. You know what you are going to see before you get there, but this was totally different. We were speeding around, watching the horizon for a spout of water, a tail against the sky, or to snatch a sight of a long, round body under the water.  We saw a few from a distance. We even saw one dive down and fling his tail into the air. We thought that might be all for the morning, when we came up on a baby and, deep below the surface, the mama. They stayed within about thirty feet of us for a while. The baby even came close once. My friend jumped into the freezing water and got some under water footage. It was a pretty amazing morning.  

 Whale sighting

Learning to Listen

One Saturday, I really felt like we should do something a little different with the kids in San Ignacio. Through a translator, we talked about what it means to hear God.  We took some time just to listen. I separated the kids into corners and told them to close their eyes, and wait for God to speak to them. We got off to a bit of a rough start. This was totally new for them. Misha, my translator, talked to them a bit more, explaining exactly what we were doing, and then we separated again. This time it was totally different. The kids were  v e r y  still and quiet. I had never seen them like that before. I sat with the youngest ones in a group. They are about five year olds. I prayed very quietly, sometimes in English, sometimes in Spanish so they would understand what we were doing. I felt the presence of God come strongly into the room. One of the little girls with me knelt and put her face to the floor.  We stayed like that for maybe 15 minutes. For these kids, that is an eternity, and they were quiet the whole time. When we gathered back together, the kids were solemn in a way I had never seen them before. A couple of the girls looked like they were deeply moved; they looked like they might cry any moment.  Misha asked them if they had heard from God and several of them said that they had. We talked about how it is okay if they didn’t hear anything, but that God wants to speak to them and that with practice they will hear him more clearly. It was an amazing morning and I a so grateful that God touched all of us.

Since then, we have definitely been feeling the enemy push back. The kids have been even more distracted and other things have happened that make ministering in San Ignacio more difficult. Your prayers are vital. Please continue to pray for us and for these kids that they will love God passionately and change their community. 

Charla Pereau
In January, a lady named Charla Pereau came to visit. She was the one who started the orphanage on the Baja where John Mark lived as a little boy when his father was head of construction there. John's family met Pastor Keith when they were all living there and that is how we ended up here twenty years later. She has an amazing testimony about how God used her, a Christian house wife and a person with sever dyslexia and other learning difficulties, to start an orphanage that has grown to house many children. She has also founded a free clinic, many literacy programs and other services to the poor in Mexico. She is an inspiring lady.

Sewing Class

John Mark has started taking a sewing class they are offering at the church. He has been wanting to learn to sew so he can make his own backpacking stuff: tarps, tents, sleeping bags, backpacks, etc.  He has made himself a potholder and a nylon stuff sack for a sleeping bag so far to practice. He is getting a feel for how to use the machine so that he can move on to other projects on his own later. It has been difficult for him to find the types of materials he needs for backpacking gear like nylon straps, rip stop or waterproof nylon and plastic clasps, but he is happy practicing basic skills for now. 

Hiking

One of the things that John misses the most about being home is being able to go backpacking. There are not many trails around here. The jungle is too dangerous to hike through because a python can drop out of a tree, and there are also some panthers and crocodiles among other strange creatures out there.  The last few weeks, however, we have discovered a couple great places to go hiking. We spent one of our days off hiking along the beach in Sayulita. We covered sandy beaches, boulders, tide pools, and cliff faces. Some places the water came right up to the cliff, so we just free climbed right over the side. We covered about 7 miles that day and ended, as all hikes should, at a taco stand eating amazing food. It was super fun. We went with out fried, Zac, who is now hooked on hiking and has become our hiking buddy.

 Zac & John Mark

A beautiful hike

 Climbing

We went hiking again on our next day off. There is a river that flows out of the mountains, but it is really shallow right now since it is the dry season. We followed the river up about a mile or two, crossing it when the shore became impassable. We ended at a hot springs that is right next to the river. Some of our friends drove in and met us at the hot springs. We had a relaxing day sitting by the water and in the hot spring pools. We hear that there are even more hot springs hidden father up the river and there is also a great place to jump in the river. We definitely want to go back before the rainy season makes the river more dangerous and unpredictable (because of flash floods). That river might be our favorite place to go since it is so beautiful, quiet and the water is the perfect temperature: warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It was the only cool water I felt the whole summer. 
 

Thank you to everyone who is praying for us and who has give us support. We are continually in awe of how God has provided for us through you. We are so grateful for the sacrifices that you have made so that we can be here working with kids and supporting the local church.  We pray that God blesses each of you and gives you both a peace and a passion for his plan in your life. 

We love you,

Moorea (& John Mark) 

Please Pray:
That the kids in San Ignacio would hear God's voice in in their lives
That the kids in San Ignacio wouldn't be distracted during out teaching times