Life in Mexico
In the World Missions blog, Rachel Hartman, wife to Missionary Mike Hartman who serves in Torreón, Mexico, shares what is going on in the Evangelical Lutheran Confessional Church as well as what it is like living in Mexico.

Excerpt from July 21 blog
The convention last week was one of the best ones in the history of the Mexican Lutheran Church. Excitement filled the air as pastors shared statistics from their congregations. They tallied up the numbers, and realized that the Mexican Lutheran Church has grown significantly during the last year . . .

What’s the reason for the growth? We have more Mexican pastors than ever before, so the increase in manpower has helped get the message out. Many of our pastors are very evangelism-minded. But most of all, it is evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work in our congregations.

The pastors left the convention feeling recharged. They are eager to get back to work spreading the gospel!

Excerpt from July 9 blog
Last week we had a great break from the hot Torreón sun. On Wednesday afternoon and evening, they sky grew cloudy and the wind picked up. Then it started raining! It rained on and off for the next three days. The temperature cooled down considerably with the rain.
This was the first time it had rained for a long stretch of time since October. Needless to say, we ere extremely excited.
Torreón is not well equipped to handle rain, so some of the streets by our house flooded. A good chunk of the plaster on our ceiling fell off, too, which it usually does when it rains. But all of this was well worth getting to watch the rain and enjoy the cool weather. Trinity [the Hartmans’ daughter] liked it so much she sat right down in a puddle to play!
Read more of Rachel’s updates as well as those from other missionaries around the world at http://missions.wels.net.

Facts about Mexico
Population: Almost 109 million
Number of states: 31 states and 1 federal district
Approximate geographical area: 1/5 of the size of the United States, or three times the size of Texas.
Capital city: Mexico City
Languages: Mexico has no “official” language. Spanish is the most common language spoken. Additionally, more than 60 other languages, mostly indigenous, are spoken.
Religious affiliations:Roman Catholic – 76.5% Protestant – 6.3%Unspecified – 13.8%  None – 3.1%