Hello friends and family, from our (mostly) established residence in Mazatlán, México! Of all the house moves—and we’ve made many—this one, as you can imagine, has been the most extreme and involved logistically. Thank you for your prayers! We have safely arrived and are thrilled to get started serving with Shoulder to Shoulder.

Visiting Pennsylvania and Ohio

We had a good visit to see both our families in Pennsylvania around Christmas and so many friends around northeast Ohio in January. We had a lot of fun with the kids, and they had a blast with cousins and grandparents. In mid-January, they dove into the snowstorm that struck the great north, creating igloo homes and snowmen and enjoying the last snow they may see for a long time. Thank you to everyone who was able to meet with us to share stories and hear how God used this last year of our lives in Texas. We’ll see you all again soon, primero Dios!

Road Trip!

Big thanks to these excellent friends / work crew (and others unpictured)

In early February, Bryan flew down to Edinburg, Texas, and with the help of some wonderful friends, packed up all our belongings into a small U-Haul truck, slung the minivan on a trailer, and tamed the wild highways alone all the way to El Paso to start the long trek to Mazatlán. Other than a small detour for a problematic spark plug repair, he made it from the Rio Grande river valley to the bluffs and mesas of western Texas in great time. Upon arrival, UIM aviation missionaries helped transfer the load to a trailer and hitch it to a pickup. The next day, 3 of those missionaries bound for Tepic joined with him and together, van and truck, crossed at Juarez, stopped at Chihuahua and Durango, and arrived safely in Mazatlán. So many beautiful sights through Northern Mexico, and God provided so thoroughly for the details and new friendships along the way.

Huge thanks to Simeon, Kevin, and Jasson from UIM aviation (feat. Mexican Superbowl party)

Reunited in Mexico

Erin and the kids flew down with no issues to join Bryan the day after he arrived, and the following week became a flurry of unpacking and organizing in the new apartment here in the STS base. We have taken on important missions like buying mattresses and basic groceries, and have now moved on to less pressing tasks, but still live in a bit of relative chaos that we continue to improve daily.

All Hands on Deck

We immediately got down to business as a women's mission trip came 2 days after our arrival, featuring a large event at the base (in our garage?) for all pastors’ wives. Erin helped with the event and was very impacted by the teaching topic— Sabbath and Rest! What an excellent discipline to remember as we start our new “normal” of full-time ministry. The retreat was incredibly encouraging to the pastors’ wives here in Mazatlán, many of who single-handedly run almost every ministry in their churches other than preaching.

We also are hosting a vision trip this week and having a team of 12 next week, all closely following the city-wide wild Carnaval (Mardi Gras) celebration that filled the streets outside our door. We definitely hit the ground running!

Answers to prayer

Thank God for an excellent visit with family and friends in OH and PA this winter after finishing language school.
Thank God for a safe and rewarding road trip with other missionaries
Thank God for a safe flight for Erin and the kids
Thank God for sending us so much care and assistance from the STS team

Prayer requests

Upcoming Visa meeting to get official temporary residency cards
Adjustment to new roles on the team: to be diligent and faithful
Adjustment to life in Mazatlán

We are truly just beginning our missions journey in a new way and have a lot to learn, but we want to lay this Ebenezer as a reminder of God’s faithfulness to accomplish His will. He gave us a vision for Latin American missions in 2022, introduced us to STS in 2023, transformed our lives in 2024, prepared us with language and culture in 2025, and carried us to Mexico in 2026. May goers and senders alike praise His name!

Grace and Peace

The Josephs

We Made It!