We’re Rebecca and Steve. Welcome to our Blog! 
Our first visit to Mazatlán was for vacation in 2005. Right away we knew we wanted to live there someday. Mazatlán is known as a colonial city on the beach with so many great features: a superb theater with an orchestra, ballet and modern dance companies, lots of live music, a pro baseball team, and a Malecón that stretches for 21km or 13 miles along the wide sandy beach. On cold winter days in Duluth, MN we would daydream about the day when our kids were grown and independent and we could spend our winters in Mazatlán. Our friends and family probably didn’t really believe that we’d ever do it.
In 2016 we made the move. Rebecca began serving as the guest pastor for an English Speaking Congregation hosted by a Mexican Church in Centro, known by the expat community as “The Blue Church.” Covid caused a one-year interruption in Worship. Then in 2022 we took a few years off to care for Rebecca’s father. Pastora Andrea Cano stepped in to lead the congregation in a new location, now known as “The New Blue Church.” English Speaking Worship is held from November through April at 9 am on Sundays. Offering from the English Speaking Congregation helps to support the full-time, year-round work of the Spanish Speaking Congregation.
Pastor Mauricio Alonso serves as the full-time, year-round pastor of Iglesia Nacional Presbiteriana “Sion” de Mazatlán, located on Playa Corumel #232. The congregation was founded in 1982 and is home to about 100 members, led by a team of 3 Elders and 5 Deacons, with groups for women, youth, and children. Their mission statement reads: “We are a church that is based on the Word of God, that preaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that is united, that cares for each other, and that serves and impacts the community.”
The Spanish Speaking Congregation’s programs include the following:
- Zona Segura: a program that offers children a safe place to encounter love, support, spiritual and physical food and the assurance that someone believes in them. Classes include: Bible, English, Music, Sports, Painting, Crafts and a healthy snack.
- Ruta 68: twice a month the congregation brings sandwiches and coffee to families facing urgent care in the hospital. Sharing the gospel and prayers are also offered.
- Regala Una Sonrisa: neighborhood children are invited to a pre-Christmas Fiesta with games, food, cake, and the bible.
- Nueva Iglesia: the congregation will be supporting a new church in the Colonia Salvador Allende.
- Desayuno para la Comunidad: once a month needy families are offered a breakfast at the church.
- Acción Social: the congregation gathers and dispenses food, medicine and other goods to the needy.
- Construcción: in 2025 the congregation hopes to begin construction for a pastoral home above the classrooms on site.