NTM

 the Mexicanero Team!
Yes, I did say Team!

We are proud to officially say that we are apart of the Mexicanero Tribal Team!

Our partners are: Ron and Tasha Davis and Tom and Teresa Elkins.

Ron and Tasha serve with New Tribes Mission and Tom and Teresa serve with Ameritribes.
This team is a joint effort between two organizations to see a people group here in Mexico reached with the gospel of Christ.

The Elkins have served here in Mexico for many years. They bring a lot of experience and guidance to our team!
Tom is an MK (from the Philippines), something that Dan and I relate to very well. This means our team is made up of 50% MKs and 50% Sanity!
The Elkins have been praying for the Mexicaneros to be reached for fifteen years now, and are so excited to see the Lord working, answering their prayers!
You, our prayer partners and supporters are all part of their answered prayers!

The Davis family: Ron, Tasha and their four children, have been serving here in Mexico for two years and two years in Venezuela before that. We have enjoyed getting to know this family this past year over many "Settlers Of Catan" game nights and lots of cups of coffee. The funny thing is, we met the Davis family in Mo. at the New Tribes Refresher Course three years ago when we were headed to Venezuela! Never did we think that we would serve together on a team in Mexico!

Now that you have met the team, I would like to tell you what we have been up to.
For the past week, we have been in meetings led by the Mexico field’s tribal consultant, Jonathan Willcock. He has been helping us as a team, form a team strategy statement. This means we worked through who would do what on the team, when we aim to move into the tribe and how, and so much more. It was a great week but very tiring as there is much to discus and think through. It was also exciting to sit and hear the history behind this work and how the Lord has used the Elkins over the past fifteen years to plant seeds and establish relationships among the Meshikaneros, all of which has prepared the way for our team to be able to move in and begin working among this people group!

Now it is time to put action to all of our discussion!
For all of this to happen there is much that has to begin to fall into place:
-Dan and I need to finish our national language.
- Permission to move in needs to be asked of the tribal leaders and government officials.
-Once permission is given ….
we need to begin building our homes.
This leads to…
- lots of trips in and out of the village.
(that is a one day drive plus one hour flight or a three day drive )
Just one way!
-Building materials to be purchased.
hiring men in the village to begin making the adobe bricks for our homes
etc. etc.etc.
This only scratches the surface and we are already overwhelmed.
We need your prayers.

Over the next week, we will begin to compile a needs list . If any of you are interested in receiving information on how you can help, we would be glad to keep you in the loop as we begin to put these things in place.

Our e-mail is: dan_alkire@ntm.org

Thank you for standing before the throne with us!
Dan, Sarah and Josiah Alkire

Follow this link to see pics from Dan’s trip back in March to the Mexicanero tribe where we will be serving! 
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=32810&l=10ef9&id=805322924

”We have prayed asking the Lord to bring all things together in His timing……now in faith we are looking forward to the “Mission Possible”!
Will you prepare with us?”

These were the words we wrote you in the closing of our last e-mail. Do you remember?

Some of you have risen to the challenge! 

Now we look forward to taking you on the road with us via e-mail and pictures!
So pack your bags and buckle up as we bring you up to speed with our travels.

We hit the road for the sunny and windy plains of  IL, arriving safely at my brother’s home. While here, life has been anything but plain! 

 The first two days we completely stripped out the remnants of last years garden and proceeded to put in the new and improved garden (the Eighth Wonder of the World I might add), complete with raised beds, five arching trellises, and fifteen different kinds of Veggies! The third day here, we spent shopping for curtain fabrics for our home in Mexico. The remaining four days were spent catching up on paperwork, vegging out to our favorite TV shows, playing way to many video games, and eating to much good food! But we will be saying good-bye to my brother and his family and leaving  for our old stomping grounds, Peoria, IL, the second stop on our two month trek to Mexico! While in Peoria we will be visiting family and supporters to say our good-byes.

As we continue to head south, we ask you to be praying for our support to “head north”! We are currently at 50% of the recommended amount. Our goal is to have the remainder needed by July 1st!

Dan and I want to thank you for your prayers and support as we packed and traveled to our first stop along our route to Mexico. Please continue to pray for us as we put many miles on our JEEP and backsides over the next two months!

See you at our next stop!
Dan and Sarah Alkire