For the past 12 months we have been going through the process of support raising to go to Guadalajara. We are very grateful to the Lord for his faithful provision and grateful to you who have been praying for us, hosting us, encouraging us and supporting us financially. Many of you know that our whole process actually began many years ago. It was in the fall of 1994 that I felt the distinct call to go to Mexico as a career missionary. Thirteen years later (with a short-term stint in Mexico and seminary behind us), we are thrilled to announce to you that we are going to Mexico! Forgive us, please, for this extremely short notice - we are leaving Wednesday, July 11 (TOMORROW!). The last few weeks have been a whirlwind!

Please bear with this lengthy report as we try to catch you up on what the actual move to Mexico will be like, on how God has provided for us, on how we may be in need of some additional provision, and on how you can stay in touch with us even as we work to stay in touch with you.

I want to explain to you some of the things that have happened, but before I do that, let me tell what the current transition looks like. Lord willing this is our travel schedule:

• Wednesday, July 11, we drive from Duluth, GA to Scott, LA
• Thursday, July 12, we drive from Scott to Laredo, TX (on the US - Mexican Border)
• Friday, July 13, I plan to cross the border and register our vehicle (with Amy and the kids remaining in Laredo) and then take the rest of the day off in Laredo
• Saturday, July 14, if things go smoothly, we plan to drive all the way to Guadalajara - this will be a LONG drive - if things are not so smooth we will spend the night in Saltillo and go on to Guadalajara the following day

Once we are in Guadalajara, we will stay with some of our team members, the Trotters, for a few days as we set up our home

Our household goods should be arriving in 2-3 weeks. SHOULD is the operative word here. We’ve heard so many horror stories about shipments being tied up in customs for months on end that we are hesitant to expect a speedy delivery.

Here are some specific prayer requests regarding this trip:

• That our van would hold up over this long, difficult drive
• That we will clear customs smoothly and quickly on Saturday the 14th so that we can make it to Guadalajara that day
• That we will have good health and loving attitudes as we spend so much time in the car
• That our household items will clear customs quickly and that we will receive them in Guadalajara without much delay, loss or damage

Now here’s a review of the not-too-distant past.
Since the end of May, we’ve been to Williamsburg, Charlotte, St. Louis, Memphis, Columbia (TN), Guadalajara and Augusta. Throw in a round of strep for the whole family, visits to the Mexican Consulate, packing and a lot of goodbyes, and we’ve had a pretty busy time. It was in the midst of all this activity that we had our final paperwork session at the Mission to the World offices. It was at this meeting that we discovered two things: 1) our monthly pledge goal (the total per month we have been trying to raise) was slightly understated; 2) our one-time balance was overstated as some insurance and payroll deductions had not yet been processed out of the account. Those discoveries prompted the somewhat panic-stricken email many of you received 2 weeks ago saying that we needed more monthly support and more one-time contributions. We were sorry to hit you with that; it was just the quickest way to address those needs.

The Lord has been very gracious (it is part of his nature), and so many of you have responded to help us on our way. Thank you so much. To date, we believe that we have (just barely) the resources that we need to go. We have a slight excess in one-time giving that may just cover a slight deficiency in monthly support. Any unexpected expenses, however, would deplete the one-time excess and leave us in a less-solid position. If the Lord has been leading you to give, there are still needs we would like to address. Payments can be sent to MTW, PO Box 116284, Atlanta, GA 30368-6284. In the memo field, mark ‘Robertson 016521’.

Another big praise is that our visas came through with relatively little hassle. We are now “documented guest workers” going to Mexico.

Staying in touch with all of you is a high priority for us. Here are several ways to communicate with us and to stay up to date on our activities:

Phone:
For the next 3 days you can reach us via cell phone: 314-229-3147 or 314-651-0354.
We don’t have a Mexican landline yet, but we’ll distribute that as soon as we have one.

Mail:
Our Mexican address for letters only (NO PACKAGES OR ANYTHING OF VALUE):
Col. Loma Bonita
Abulon #3668
Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico 45086

The Mexican mail system is pretty unreliable, so don’t send anything you wouldn’t want to have lost. The better option, even for letters, is to send them care of my parents,
John and Ann Robertson:
3510 Miller Farms Lane
Duluth, GA 30096

Email:
Our email will NOT change: steveamymexico@sbcglobal.net is our main email.
srobertson@mtwla.org is also an email for us (the address we’re sending from right now). Both of these work fine.

Web Options:
We now have a webpage on MTW’s Latin America site. So far, it is only a compilation of prayer letters: http://www.mtwla.org/people/srobertson.htm. We hope to upload a lot more information in the near future.
For those of you in the know, we are also on Facebook, listed as Steve Amy Robertson - if you add us as “Friends” you can get a couple of mini-updates a week as we update our status.

You can also go to onesuite.com and get a pre-paid calling card that allows you to call Guadalajara for 2.5 cents per minute with no other fees.

Please rejoice with us as we go to Guadalajara. We know that it will not be easy and that there will be plenty of ups downs along the way. Yet, we are certain that we are obeying the call to go there, and we are confident that the Lord will glorify himself by spreading his church through Guadalajara. We desire your prayers as we go. Once we are there, we will email out new prayer requests as specific needs arise. Until then, please pray for the needs mentioned, for the growth of Christ’s kingdom in Mexico and for the gospel to continue to penetrate our own hearts so that we will be faithful servants.

In His Grace,

Steve (for all the Robertsons)
steveamymexico@sbcglobal.net