Hey friends!

It’s hard to believe we’ve already been in Mazatlán for nearly three months. Somewhere between unpacking furniture, learning the rhythms of city life, hosting mission teams, and figuring out which grocery store has the least confusing checkout process, life here has started to feel a little less like “transition” and a little more like home.

Looking back already, we’ve made a lot of sweet memories, met many wonderful people, and seen God faithfully carry us through the beautiful chaos of settling in. We’ve got lots of good updates, so stick around!

Life with Missions Teams

One of the biggest parts of this season has been helping host missions teams—and we just finished our fifth team this past week.

Each group has brought something unique, and it has been genuinely encouraging to watch people come ready to serve, sacrifice comfort, and grow closer to Christ through it all.

Grace Church Bath brought an all-women’s team that helped host a large pastor’s wives event here at the base—a sweet time of encouragement for women who are often pouring out constantly for others.

Lifepoint Church from Columbus came ready to work, helping run a VBS and tackle construction needs at Iglesia de Dios. Steel Creek Church from Charlotte partnered with Monte de Los Olivos, a young and vibrant church beginning updates on their “new” building—which is very old and full of potential.

Elevate Church from Erie traveled with us down to El Rosario to help an amazing young pastoral couple serving at La Hermosa, where they are literally building walls around what is currently still an open-air church. And Vista Missions Group came to serve at Casa de Oración on the outskirts of the city, putting on a vision clinic and dental clinic that blessed many families in practical and tangible ways.

Every one of these trips has reminded us why this ministry matters. It’s rewarding to watch team members leave a real impact while also being deeply impacted themselves. Service has a funny way of doing that.

Building Routine (and Building Maintenance)

Outside of team hosting, Bryan has taken on the task of helping maintain the ministry base—and he has loved it. There’s something satisfying about learning how a place works from the inside out: meeting with contractors, figuring out systems, solving problems, and coordinating some larger improvement projects. It feels like a good blend of ministry, logistics, and the kind of practical work he naturally enjoys.

At home, life has started to settle into more routine too. We finally have all our furniture (praise the Lord and the delivery truck), and the kids jumped right back into homeschooling and are now nearly finished with the school year.

One of the unexpected blessings of this season has been receiving teams and visitors directly into our “home”. We’ve been able to stay and share most evening dinners with the teams, and it has made getting to know people so much richer than quick conversations between ministry projects.

We’ve also been trying to intentionally grow community outside of Shoulder to Shoulder. Bryan has been exploring hiking/outdoors groups, pickleball, and chess circles—basically trying to determine which hobby makes him look the least like a middle-aged man in a sitcom. Erin has been connecting with a few homeschooling expat moms nearby, which has been a huge encouragement too.

Church, Community, and New Roots

We’re thankful to say we’ve found a church home here.

We’ve started attending Iglesia Presbiteriana Sion, a small conservative church about 12 minutes away, and we’ve already gotten to know most of the congregation. It has been a huge answer to prayer.

The kids are settling in there beautifully. Sophia has started taking violin lessons from the pastor’s daughter, which has been such a fun connection, and Elia has been invited to sing solos a few times for postludes and special music—something she absolutely loves.

Bryan also had the opportunity to share a devotional during the Good Friday service, which was meaningful and a great first experience in a comfortable setting. There’s something special about worshiping, serving, and opening God’s Word in another language and realizing that the gospel feels just as powerful there too.

Earlier in April, we also hosted a pastors’ breakfast here at the base, filling the space with pastors from all over the region. It was a rich morning of fellowship and teaching focused on the importance of faithfully preaching God’s Word, and a great opportunity to meet many new pastors we’ve worked with. Seeing local shepherds encouraged and strengthened is always worth waking up early to make loads of coffee.

Staff Training and Looking Ahead

A few weeks ago, our whole staff team traveled to Lake Chapala for a training retreat, and it was excellent.

We stayed at a retreat center there and spent the week diving into team values, team dynamics, ministry philosophy, and how to serve well together for the long haul. It was helpful, challenging, and honestly just refreshing to have focused time for team bonding over some exceptionally good food.

Missionaries + a few visitors and possibly future missionaries!

Those moments matter. Ministry is always better when the people serving alongside you actually know each other, trust each other, and laugh together.

We’re still very much learning what long-term life here looks like, but we’re grateful for how God has been shaping this beginning.

Answers to Prayer

God has been kind in so many ways already.

-We have our one-year temporary visas! Huge answer to prayer. After many appointments, paperwork, and the general mystery that is immigration bureaucracy, we officially have our temporary residency visas and are legal for the next year. We’ll return next February to begin renewal.

-We found a church home: Finding a healthy local church was one of our biggest early prayers, and we’re so thankful for Iglesia Presbiteriana Sion and the ways we’re already beginning to serve and belong there.

-Spanish keeps getting better: We’re feeling much more comfortable navigating everyday conversations, ministry situations, and all the random unexpected moments life throws at you. We’ve even been told we’re becoming more “mazatleco” with each passing day, which we are choosing to take as a compliment.

Prayer Requests

-For Bryan to master driving the big mission vans: These large manual-transmission team vans are…an experience. Please pray for confidence, skill, and eventually getting the proper license without accidentally taking out any street vendors.

-For our kids to make strong friendships: They’re adjusting well, but deep friendships take time. Please pray for meaningful relationships and joyful community for each of them.

-For the next four missions teams: We have four more teams coming soon. Pray that they would come hungry for Jesus, ready to serve humbly, and that they would be a real encouragement and help to the churches here in Mazatlán.

-For missionaries who are in the process of or considering joining our team, that God would grant them perspective, wisdom, and clarity.

Thank you all for praying, encouraging, and standing with us in this season. We feel your support often, and we’re grateful for every part of it.

Grace and Peace,

The Josephs

Hitting the Ground Running