Crystal Pierce serving in Mexico 
He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
:: Micah 6.8
September – Louisiana Trip
In September, Amy & I took a trip to the States for almost two weeks. I had an airline voucher to use before Oct. 1st, so I thought it would be a good time to take a trip to Louisiana. Near Baton Rouge, I have a great aunt & a lot of cousins, plus Erwinville Baptist Church is one of my sending churches! While I was in Louisiana, Amy took a trip to visit her family in Florida.
It was such a nice time with my Aunt Rosie & all of my cousins. I even surprised my aunt, by having her sister (my grandma) fly out to visit for two weeks! And I was also able to share with the wonderful people at Erwinville Baptist Church what’s been happening in my life in Mexico since I last saw them two years ago!
My Future in Mexico
Now let’s talk about my future. In my last prayer letter I sent you in September, I let you know that I had finished my Spanish study! And that I was waiting for a ministry with NTM to help out with for the next few years. After the quick trip to the States, I met with the staff that work at Rancho Siloe, it is where we have the Missionary Training for Mexicans. This year there are three missionary couples that are working out there, but there is too much work for them. I first heard about this option/opportunity back in July when I spoke with one of the staff ladies about the jobs that they needed done. But I wasn’t able to make any decisions then because I was waiting to find out about my Spanish interview. Before I left for my trip to Louisiana, I met with the staff and share my testimony, and answered a lot of questions! I’ve really been praying a long time about the opportunity to work out at the Ranch, one of the biggest reasons is because I felt that it would be a good use of my gifts and the types of jobs I like to do. And if it wasn’t what the Lord wanted for me, then He would provide another ministry opportunity.
Two weeks ago, I met with the staff at the Ranch, and they invited me to come join the team! So that weekend I started working on packing up my house in Chihuahua and moving my things out to the Ranch. And last Wednesday I was all moved out, and had finished everything for the old apartment in the city. All done in less than a week! I always feel that this is the way that God works in my life. I pray about what might be my future and my options, and then I have to wait until He is ready. Then He shocks me and says: “Okay. Obey. This is what I have for you. Now go!” It’s like when I came to Mexico I only had three weeks to get ready to go, and then with this move, it was in like a half hour that I got the permission to join the team! And I’m starting to love that God works that way in my life!
Amy’s New Ministry
Currently Amy’s ministry for the next two months is teaching English to missionary kids that are from Mexico or Colombia. She is living in the Guest House on the NTM Property in the city. Amy is still seriously dating Hector & they are working on getting his application finished for the Missionary Training Center in Missouri. They would like to be able to head up to the States for Christmas, and then in January, Hector would like to start the missionary training. We have amicably parted ways. There are no hurt feelings for either one of us. The time has just come for Amy to make plans with Hector, and for me to make my own plans. We are still involved in the English ministry with the ladies at our church on Wednesday & Friday mornings, we also attend the Jovenes meetings on Saturday and we go to Sunday school together, so we still see each other a lot!
My Ministry at the Ranch
Some of the jobs that I will have out here include: helping plan socials for the staff & students, cleaning & scheduling the guest rooms, checking the work that the students do (work detail checker), helping out with the work groups that come, help with discipling the girl students, being a friend to the students, give the students a ride to the city, teaching some life skills, & helping out with any extra work that comes up! I’m really enjoying my time here, and the opportunity to encourage the students as they are working through tons of things in their lives.
The next year or two will also give me a good opportunity to work on a team with missionaries from a different culture, I’ll get to keep working on building my Spanish, and possibly find a co-worker! There are currently three single girls here, so maybe one of them would like a co-worker. We’ll see what God does! I’m still praying for a future ministry working in a tribe in Mexico, but I currently want to be open to what the Lord has for me here in Chihuahua at Rancho Siloe.
Dios con Nosotros
My church here continues to be a blessing to me. There were some guys from the church that came to help move the fridge and washing machine out to the Ranch for me! And Amy & I are still involved with the English ministry with the ladies from the neighborhood. We just finished the 50th lesson in the Chronological Bible Teaching and had a celebration party! We are going to keep going with this ministry, and review the Bible lessons for the ladies that have missed some of the teaching. The ladies have been such a blessing in my life, and I look forward to how the Lord will continue to work through their lives: Yadira, Lily, Susanna, and Teresa.
With my family
I had a wonderful time with my cousins & enjoyed all the fellowship time with them. After some difficult weeks in Mexico, it was nice to just hang out with family & get spoiled with some amazing German food, BBQ, & sweet tea!
Prayer Requests & Praises
:: For the amazing trip to Louisiana & refreshing time I had with my grandma, cousins, aunt, & Erwinville Baptist Church
:: For the ministry I have out at the Ranch with the students & staff. Please pray I can be a blessing & an encouragement to all!
:: For the ladies in the English ministry – that as they continue to hear truths from God’s word, they would begin to understand Him more & their need for a Savior. It’s a very new way of thinking for them.
:: Praise God for a sale on plane tickets & savings, ’cause I’m going home for Christmas! 
:: Pray for Amy & Hector as they are making plans for “their” future!
Jovenes
In last few months, Amy & I, along with a few others have taken on the responsibility of overseeing the Jovenes group in our church. When Amy & I first came to Mexico, this group was around 20-30 young adults, and we are currently down to less than 10. Please be praying that these numbers wouldn’t discourage us, but that we would find our security in our walks with Christ. We have also started a Bible study for the girls!
I did have a great Christmas break in Oregon with my family & friends! On January 4th I flew back to El Paso, TX and met up with Amy. Then we spent a day buying supplies for the year, we picked up a friend from the airport to take with us into Mexico, & we had to spend an extra day in El Paso to have new tires put on the car. And then we were finally ready to head back to Mexico & when we arrived home we hit the ground running! We started in on Spanish study again, spent time visiting our friends at church & in the city, and we got back into our regular crazy schedule including English class & visiting the Casa Hogar. I also started learning Spanish with a new friend – Ana, and she is a great teacher.
It’s currently in the US getting fixed, because we don’t have any computer support here this year.
