WOM NEWSLETTER Volume 2

WhitesOnMission
Jul 16
4 min read

📅 July 2025 Edition

Greetings from the mission field! Welcome to Volume 2 of The Whites On Mission Newsletter, where we share stories of God’s work across the nations.

Philippians 1:6 — “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

This verse speaks to our hearts this quarter as we look at what the Lord has done in our family and our mission to learn the Spanish language and how to learn and adapt to a new culture. It also reminds us to look forward to our ultimate calling: to proclaim His Glory to the nations. For us, this means giving thanks to God for the amazing things that He has done in each of our lives and in preparing us for our destination - Bogotá, Colombia, where we will serve as logistics support for the missionaries there.

Luisa* (not her real name) is one of the teachers at our language school. She is known as someone who isn’t overly extroverted or particularly friendly. As Kevin began a three- week conversational Spanish class with her, he shared with her transparently and openly about some of the challenges our family has faced from illness to school bullying. As she listened and corrected his Spanish, she, in turn, began to share about her family’s own struggles, including her teenage son’s depression and suicide attempts. Kevin was then able to share that our hope is not in this world, our own wisdom, or expectations of a perfect life, but in quite the opposite.

While she has not yet come to faith, her demeanor has noticeably changed. She has even begun asking probing questions, including about the role of spirits in our lives. Please pray for Luisa to continue seeking the one true God and for the Holy Spirit to guide other students to share not just their testimonies but their lives with her.

Over this past quarter, we have been deeply grateful for your continued prayers, texts, and thoughtful encouragement. Each day brings its own bumps in the road — sometimes funny, sometimes frustrating — and often in a language we're still not 100% confident in.

One humorous moment came when we were talking with someone about meeting for coffee or visiting for dinner. The correct response when receiving an invitation is to say, “¡Gracias! Muy amable,” which literally translates to “Thank you! That’s really kind of you.” Culturally it means, “Thank you! That’s really kind of you.” What it actually means is, “Thank you! I’ll be there” AND “Thank you! I can’t meet you.” So sometimes, we find ourselves enjoying coffee with friends—and other times, we end up with unexpected alone time and a few extra cookies!

Our focus during this year in Puebla is improving our Spanish language abilities so that we can hit the ground running when we shift to Bogota. We are eager to get there, but God is faithful in helping us learn. Our language classes are three weeks long for each level that builds on one another.

Kevin has passed his required exams and is now doing independent study to improve his technical and academic Spanish. Karen is progressing well, solidifying the basics and better understanding the Spanish she has picked up by ear. She recently completed a conversational class with two of our good friends. The boys just finished classes at their school, and without realizing it, are now using their Spanish at home and on the street effortlessly. We still have a ways to go, but it’s amazing to look back and see how far we've come!

Kevin is teaching at Wednesday services at our small church with a focus on syncretism. This is when believers mistakenly blend the Gospel with other teachings. This is sometimes local folk religion (seen in aloe plants placed at the entrances of businesses with red ribbons and patron saint prayer cards for protection and good luck), distortions of who Jesus truly is, or requiring books apart from the Bible.

Karen is diving in with several of the new families by helping them avoid some of the same pitfalls we found when we first arrived – how to ride the bus, where to find the best groceries, and knowing how to shop for the myriad of things that the boys need. Through it all, she uses her Spanish and is making friends with people throughout Puebla just as she did in Cucuta. She completed her first exam in May and did very well.

Benjamin has moved away from his after-school basketball classes, and has begun taking competitive tae kwon do at a local martial arts dojo. The classes are in both Spanish and Korean, so he is working on a third language! He is quite skilled at it, and is enjoying the personal combination of challenges of the techniques, coordination, and speed. At school he dominated the reading competition, having finished the English books through 9^th grade, and has turned his attention to reading the Spanish ones starting from first grade and reading up.

Andrew focused on fútbol rápido, which is like indoor soccer but played on a tennis court. He made several friends through it and was invited to several birthday parties with his friends. He made it to the eighth round (out of 10) in the school’s spelling bee, but was ultimately thwarted by “pancreas.” Well done, Andrew!

With a trip to Panama to meet more people from our team we are more encouraged than ever. Karen is doing well after two unexpected back surgeries that needed to be completed in Panama. One month later, we have returned to Mexico for the boys to finish their last two days of school.

We are grateful for your support through prayers and the Cooperative Program. Without your generosity as part of the Southern Baptist Convention, being on the field would be much more challenging.

Please let us know how we can connect and support you as well. We would love to share stories of how we see God working, what it means to be a missionary, etc. We are available via WhatsApp, Signal, and email.

And don’t forget to check out our photo button on our website to see the memories made the last three months from birthday celebrations to Spelling Bees.

Again, we thank you for joining us on this very exciting time in our lives. We would love to hear form you. Please email us at whitesonmission@gmail.com.

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