Custer

Custer just sent out another update so i'm gonna share it with ya'll.

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Thank you all for your prayers. God is clearly, and at times not so clearly (for my eyes), at work here in Fresnillo.
For those of you just joining us, this letter is intended to connect you with my life, ministry, and the people we minister to here. I have been extremely encouraged recently at the number of people in the last month that wrote me and asked to receive these updates. Thank you!
I have also been encouraged recently in my musical endeavors with my housemate, Chris. We had a rough start last summer and I was not looking forward to spending a whole year living with him. Through prayer and the wise and timely counsel of Jonathan and Doug, we have become close friends. He loves music and I studied voice at Wheaton, so we make a good team. He has incredible natural talent, and I have the ability to tell him what he is doing when he plays something wonderful. I am teaching him to read music and he is teaching me how to cut loose as a musician. We have written two worship songs now and we look forward to sharing them with the team on Tuesday at our worship time. We will also led worship last week at our cell group meeting. Chris has been a great friend over these past few months and a great outlet for my musicianship. Praise God that He gave us hands to play and voices to sing praises to Him!
Cell groups are also a new experience for me here. I joined the “Alpha” group led by Pastor Doug and Juan Camarillo. Tuesday is our fifth meeting and I am excited to see how this group will grow and develop. I felt a lot of encouragement and good spirits two weeks ago, especially in our icebreaker. We played the game Jenga: wooden blocks are built up in a tower and we each take turns removing one from a part of the tower and placing it on top. Everyone in our group participated and we got to 31 levels before it toppled! I have never seen that before. One woman from the colonia in particular, is generally reserved and was very nervous about participating. We all encouraged her, helping her pick out a block, and she did very well! You could see by the smile on her face at the end of the turn that she knew she could trust this group. That is a huge thing here in the colonia. Lack of trusts exists abundantly between neighbors and even within families. Praise God for his relationship-building through the cell groups!
I would appreciate your continued prayers for my decision about next year. I am trying my best to seek out God’s will for this coming year and I don’t yet know where He is leading me. Please also pray for the next team that will start working together in 4 short months. Please also pray about becoming a partner in my ministry through regular prayer and financial donations. We cannot do anything without prayer and funds. My support for this year is not up to where it needs to be at the moment, but I am trusting God for His provision. Please pray about your possible involvement in that provision.
Thank you for your interest and prayers for this ministry that is drawing people closer to the heart of God – growing missionaries (me!) and the families with whom we work. Blessings to you all.

By His Grace,
Stephen