In early July, Hurricane Alex roared ashore on the gulf coast of Mexico east of Monterrey, Mexico. After 24 inches of rain, and untold physical damage to much of the area, the city and region are finally beginning to recover. It will take years to

repair the incredible damage wreaked by this storm. Our team in Monterrey is working closely with other ministries to help affect this repair. What is, however, more devastating is the ongoing damage and instability caused by the drug cartels. A once peaceful and friendly city, Monterrey has developed a bunker mentality. Stores and restaurants that once bustled with a vibrant night life stand idle as testimony to the anxiety that now pervades Monterrey. Pray that God will be merciful to Monterrey and all of Mexico by awakening the hearts of her people to the great goodness and unending affection that the Triune God has for his people.

Monterrey: Ciudad de Desastre

The L

ees

MTW

MÉX

ICO

Slow of speech and tongueIn Exodus 3, God calls Moses to

deliver Israel from the oppression of the Egyptians. In the following chapter Moses confesses his weakness and inability for the task to which God has called him. He says, “I am slow of speech and of tongue.” Mosesʼ admission of inability may have been an honest assessment of his disabilities, however Godʼs response indicates there was more than just disability at play. Moses was looking for an excuse not to go. So in return, Godʼs anger burned against Mosesʼ obstinacy.

Though my affection for México and her people runs deeply, and my desire to go to México to assist in her deliverance burns as deeply as ever, I can definitely empathize with Moses.

Our first class in the morning is

fonética. The main thrust of this class is to train our tongues in how to rightly pronounce the sounds of the spanish language. Moses, I know how you feel. I am astonished at how challenging it is to make our tongues produce simple sounds in spanish. We practice making these sounds a lot, and laugh even more.

Then there is lenguaje. The purpose of this class is to encourage our speaking. Do you recall 3rd grade? Thatʼs what I feel like most days. Weʼre given copies of picture books. Then we have to say all the words. Every Thursday we have a spelling test and oral exam. The oral exams are the toughest thing I have to do.

Last is gramática. Thankfully, this makes more sense to my brain. And though Iʼm doing reasonably well in all my

classes, Iʼm having more success with grammar.

Being here is a dream come true. And though every day is a challenge, I get to wake up every morning in Costa Rica and learn Spanish. Wow! What a blessing. Thank you all!

Peace & Grace, Michael Lee

Summer 2010

The Lees all together for Amber’s graduation

Worship at our church in San Felipe, Costa Rica.

Prayer Requests“I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints.” Romans 15:30-31

1. Pray For México. Though the safety of most ordinary people is not immediately threatened, the power and influence of evil is on the increase. There is only one solution to the world’s problems, including México's , and that is Jesus Christ and the application of His Holy Spirit through the unashamed proclamation of the gospel. Pray that God will see fit to pour His Spirit out on this land.

2. Pray For The Lees.We give thanks to God for His abundant grace and mercy as he has provided for the upcoming sale of our home, allowed Tricia to go home to see her mother one last time, and also in protecting and keeping us all as we have traveled to and from Clover for Amber’s graduation. In addition, God has graciously allowed us to study spanish at such a fantastic institution as ILE. Pray for our teachers, and pray that we will be able to learn all that we need to do all His holy will in México.

When I realize that weʼve been in Costa Rica almost 5 months, I canʼt believe how quickly the time has passed. The last few months have been very busy with learning a new language and figuring out the how toʼs of life as a missionary in a foreign land. We began our first “official” trimester of Spanish in April after having taken a 1 month intensive course in March. Iʼm truly grateful for the opportunity to have taken the intensive course as it prepared me for what was ahead. Language learning is challenging but also fun! Iʼve already made a few of those “mistakes” that you hear everyone laugh about, but I try to laugh and keep going! Itʼs really comical to hear me try to pronounce words in Spanish with my southern accent. My fonética teacher enjoys it as well!

Summer has been busy in our home. We have had several visitors which kept us quite active. As you can see from the picture above, we had Lisset Garza (daughter of Andres Garza) here with us for 6 weeks and then a quite a few friends of our kids. At one time we had 4 plus the 5 of us. Letʼs see.... that makes 9 total!! I have to say, we loved it!! I actually now find it harder to only cook dinner for just the 4 of us. Iʼm thankful, though, that God has given us the opportunity to minister through the opening up of our home to friends and several college aged kids here in Costa Rica. .

We thank you for your constant prayers. Knowing that, please pray for Hannah as she prepares to return to South Carolina in August to finish her studies at Winthrop University. Please pray for her protection. Pray also for Amber as she is making decisions about college and hoping to return to South Carolina in January to begin her studies. Pray for Jacob as he will begin his junior year of high school here in Costa Rica. Pray that God will send him new friends. One of the challenges he faces here is that many of the friends that he makes soon leave to begin ministry in the place that God has called them. This is a very real challenge for Jacob.

Thank you to so many of you who prayed, called, sent e-mails or notes of encouragement during the recent illness and death of my mother. It was very comforting to me to know that there were so many of you praying.

In Closing, we do want to thank you for your continued financial support. We remain so humbled by your love and faithfulness to us through your giving and your prayers. We look forward to finishing our language studies and then moving to Monterrey to join our team where we will co-labour together in the advancement of the Gospel in Northern Mexico.

We love hearing from you all! Please write us when you can and let us know how we can pray for you.

Love In Christ, Tricia

Michael & Tricia LeeMTW Missionaries to México

MTW #14461

Instituto de Lengua EspañolaApartado 100-2350San José, Costa Rica803.222-5733Michael: re4merz@gmail.comTricia: mercgivr@gmail.com

www.bethelpresbyterian.org/NoMex

Donations AddressMission to the WorldPO Box 116284Atlanta, GA 30368For e-donations call:1.866.373.6133

A recent visit to Manuel Antonio Nature Preserve. (l to r) Lisset Garza, Amber Lee, Zack Smith, Max Ames, Jacob Lee, and Hannah Lee

Notes from Tricia