Life is going well in Mexico. Apart from my son’s ear infection, and the onslaught of a virus that has my daughter feeling pretty bad. They both stayed home from school today, and that will be the case for Vanessa tomorrow as well, as per the doctor. She can return Monday, with a large stack of homework to welcome her.

Sickness seems to be all around us right now with numerous cases of the H1N1 influenza and more prominent; dengue fever. Dengue is contracted by being bit by an infected mosquito; being that we are at the end of our rainy season the mosquitos are large in size and even greater in number. Please pray for those infected by either of these.

Please catch up with us and the latest events going on here Guadalajara by going to our Fall 2009 Newsletter on the Newsletter page. Let us know what you think, any thoughts or insights are always welcome. May God richly bless you and your family.

Thanking God for His grace, Lad & Aimee

Hello all. We are sending an update to let everyone know that we returned to our home in Guadalajara and everything is well. Our trip home was pretty much uneventful until, we crossed the border and had to deal with a not so happy immigration official. He informed us that we needed a certain paper, a red paper with no name to be exact, a paper that we did not have. A little red paper we have never been given or needed for re-entry. So…he had to impose a ‘fine’. If we didn’t want to pay this ‘fine’, we could travel back to Cd. Juarez in Chihuahua (across the border from El Paso, TX) and obtain the paper from where we exited the country. That’s all fine and dandy but we already were in south Texas and did not want to drive NW for an entire day, spend the night and get the same story from another immigration official there. Anyway, long story short…we payed the ‘fine’ and made it home late that night, 12.5 hrs later.

Enough of that.

Sunday was our first day back at New Creation. It was great to see how close the church family had grown together in our absence. They were working side by side making things happen, people recognizing the need in areas and then taking the initiative to complete the tasks at hand. It was a joy to see those faithful members really take ownership in the church and to step up and get things done. Our God is so faithful!

Also on Sunday, we had a visitor to the church; Jose Luis. He is the brother to Julia (we have told you previously about her; she has 6 children and a alcoholic / drug abusing husband). He sat through the service and then wanted to talk to Jorge afterward, Jorge shared the message Sunday. After a time of talking, Jorge shared the gospel with Jose Luis and then led him in prayer to accept the Lord Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior. How cool! Just another way that the Lord shows His grace and faithfulness to us all.

As summer winds down and we prepare for another season of school and Awana we want to give you all a personal Thank You for your continued support of us and what God is doing here in Mexico. We know that if it wasn’t for your prayer and finances we would be unable to be here. God bless you all.

Thanking God for His grace,
Lad, Aimee, Zane and Vanessa DeGraffenried

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Our ministry video; click here.

This morning, Wednesday July 1st, we are headed home to Colorado.  We will be there for the month of July and are really looking forward to re-fueling.  We ask that you join us in prayer for traveling mercies as we travel through Mexico.  We are praying that we will not be stopped or searched at any of the military checkpoints.  Tomorrow by early evening we will make it to the border.  Would you please pray that we get through Mexican immigration services as well as the border crossing. It is such a blessing to know that you will be praying and that the Lord will guide us as we travel.

We look forward to seeing you all.  We are planning a potluck picnic on the 25th of July in Castle Rock with our coworkers.  We would love to see you there and have the chance to catch up and meet our coworkers; Jeremiah and Kelley Frey and their family, for those of you that don’t know them already.

See the picnic invitation attached below.

Thank you once again for your prayers, support and love.

Thanking God for His grace,

Lad, Aimee, Zane & Vanessa DeGraffenried

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you mothers. May your day be filled with joy and celebration.

We would like to bring you up to speed on the latest developments here in Guadalajara. As we had previously stated in our email on the 7th of May, high school and college levels returned to school last week. They attended school Thursday and Friday and were instructed to watch the news for updates. It seemed that life was returning to normal. Unfortunately, there are now numerous confirmed cases of the H1N1 flu and many suspected cases here in Jalisco. Therefore, the government closed school again for all academic levels until May 18th. Additionally, we had to suspend Awana Club and Nueva Creación church services for the second weekend in a row. We know that God is working mightily in this situation and is in control. Psalm 46:1 tells us, God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. We are excited to hear reports from our church family and remain in communication with them. Please pray that we know how to minister effectively in every situation. Please also join us in prayer against the fear of the enemy that attempts to prevail in situations like this one. For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Isaiah 41:13 The promises from the word of God are so comforting, a true lamp to our feet and a light for our path.

Thanking God for His Grace,

Lad and Aimee

I’m sure that you all are aware of the influenza epidemic here in Mexico.

From our local news, the state in which we live; Jalisco, remains free from the virus as of now.  However, all of the schools nationwide are closed from 27 Apr until 6 May, next Wednesday.  The Secretary of Health is also recommending: staying home, avoiding malls, movie theaters, clubs, etc. anywhere there are crowds of people.  We are taking the advice and are hanging out at home, enjoying our own “snow days” since we no longer get those occasional free days.

We do ask that you keep us, our coworkers, our church community and the entire country of Mexico in your prayers as you seek the Lord.  We serve an almighty God, and we know that He is in control.  We pray that this situation can be used for His glory, as the body of Christ unites.  We stand against the plans of the enemy to spread fear over the land and people of Mexico, and all nations with confirmed cases of the virus.  Thank you for standing with us in this time of uncertainty.  Remember, God remains in control, and He does hear our prayers.

In His service,

Lad, Aimee, Zane and Vanessa