by Kristen Sosebee/IMB
MEXICO (IMB) – International Mission Board missionary Tammy Richardson knelt beside the river with her phone.
Her husband, Clay, and their local pastor stood in the river, preparing to baptize Leana – the first Zoque believer to make a public confession of faith in more than a decade of ministry in southern Mexico.
As she got ready to capture the moment of Leana’s immersion, suddenly, her IMB teammate Serena Tail leaned down and said, “There’s one more.”
Richardson glanced up in surprise. A moment later, tears flowed unchecked down her face.
Over the last 12 years, in raw moments of prayer, Richardson has wrestled with questions like ‘Should we go somewhere else?’ and ‘Is this ground just too hard?’
The Richardson family (Clay, Tammy, Ryan, Ellie, Levi, and Matthew) has spent more than a decade serving as IMB missionaries in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas. The work has been slow and painstaking, and the Richardsons have wrestled with questions like ‘Should we go somewhere else?’ and ‘Is this ground just too hard?’ IMB Photo
When they moved to Mexico in 2013, the Richardsons were not prepared for how long it would take to see gospel transformation among the Zoque people. Or, that it would all begin with an unexpected relationship, right under their very own roof.
Soon after their arrival, Nancy, a 10-year-old Zoque girl, knocked on their door to play with their kids. She came every day. Richardson recalled weary days when she struggled to say yes.
At first, much of her family’s time was spent in survival mode as they learned how to manage daily life in the village, homeschooled their four young children and studied the Zoque language.
“I was very much still in the mentality of ‘my kingdom’,” said Richardson, explaining her struggle to establish boundaries between work and ministry. “Like, I will do ministry outside my home, but my home is my kingdom and it’s where I rest.”
It wasn’t long before the Lord gently changed her mind about welcoming Nancy into their home, and those daily knocks on the door became an opportunity to say ‘yes, Lord.’
Nancy quickly integrated into the Richardson family’s daily rhythms, doing household chores alongside their kids, tagging along on ministry outings and, by default, being exposed to the gospel message over and over.
One afternoon when she was in the 8th grade, Nancy was doing her homework at the Richardsons’ kitchen table as she often did. She brought up a conversation she’d had with her classmates at the local Catholic school about the gospel.
“She was able to explain who Mary is biblically versus who Mary is in the Catholic church. And how we don’t pray to the saints because Christ is our mediator,” Richardson recalled. “When she got done talking, I said, ‘Did you hear yourself?’”
Missionary kid Ellie Richardson looks out over the Zoque community where her family has lived and shared the gospel for the last 12 years. IMB Photo
While she expressed faith in Christ, Nancy told Richardson she wasn’t ready to be baptized.
Later, in high school, Nancy started sharing the gospel with her Zoque friend, Leana. When Leana opened up to Nancy about her difficult home life, Nancy told her stories from the Bible and looked for verses from Scripture to comfort her.
After the Richardsons moved to San Cristobal, Nancy called one day with a question. Could her friend Leana live with them while attending college in the city? Instead, Richardson suggested Leana live with their IMB teammates, John and Serena Tail, who had an extra bedroom.
“It turned into daily, life-on-life discipleship,” Richardson said. “Serena would be sitting at the kitchen table with her Bible in the evening, reading, doing her devotionals. And Leana would come out and bring her Bible too, and they would talk about Scripture.”
Then, on a Sunday morning about a year and a half ago, Nancy and Leana joined the Richardsons at a baptism service. It was the first baptism Leana had ever seen.
After the service, Richardson and her husband felt led to share the gospel with Leana. Leana put her faith in Christ without hesitation. Since they were already at the river, Richardson asked if she wanted to be baptized, but Leana decided to wait.
The Richardsons and their teammates spent the next few months traveling to the village and discipling both Leana and Nancy. Still, the young women did not make a public confession of their faith.
Finally, last fall, Richardson brought it up again, and this time Leana was ready. They excitedly set the date for her baptism in November. Nancy chose not to join her, but she still came to the river to witness Leana’s step of faith.
As Richardson knelt beside the river to capture Leana’s immersion on her phone, she heard Serena say, “There’s one more.”
It was Nancy.
Richardson’s voice was choked with emotion as she recalled the tender moment.
“My husband and I just bawled as she got ready,” Richardson said.
“To go 12 years and not see any physical fruit is really hard,” she continued. “Sometimes you wonder why you’re even there.”
Since her profession of faith, Nancy graduated from college and continues to grow in her faith.
Recently, Richardson listened with gratefulness to God as Leana boldly shared her testimony with a small group of people gathered to worship. She said Leana has begun joining them in their outreach to the Zoque community, where she tirelessly shares the gospel among her people.
Learn more about missions among South Americans.
Kristen Sosebee writes for the IMB.
Some names have been changed for security.
The work of the IMB is sustained through faithful giving of Southern Baptists through the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering®.