JASON AND NICOLE FITZPATRICK
In 1992, Jason married Nicole, who had also lived for many years on the mission field in Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru. Nicole fell in love with her husband twice: the first time was before they were married, the second time was a year later, after Nicole was thrown through a windshield and landed over 80 feet from her crashed vehicle. Her back was badly broken. Her liver and spleen were ruptured and both lungs collapsed. She had to be shocked back to life 5 times on the helicopter flight to the hospital.
When she awoke from her coma 10 days later, she couldn’t remember Jason, or much of anything else. Eventually, Nicole’s parents were able to convince her that she was a married woman, but her husband remained a stranger. He went to work to win her heart a second time… and succeeded.
Jason and Nicole aren’t strangers to overcoming enormous obstacles. After her accident, Nicole was told that she would never bear children.
The Fitzpatricks pioneered a work among the poor, marginalized descendants of the Aztec Indians. Jason spread the Good News in remote villages where Christ had never been preached. Most of the people practice a mixture of folk spiritism and Roman Catholicism, the fruit of which is rampant immorality, incest, drunkenness, grinding poverty, and broken lives. The Gospel, confirmed by the Holy Spirit through miraculous healing, has proven to be the cure. Jason has pioneered dozens upon dozens of house churches in 5 states in south-central Mexico over the past 28 years.
In 2004, Nicole answered her heart’s call and began taking in abandoned, abused, and orphaned children. That was when she became aware of the atrocities of human trafficking, exploitation and child sex-trafficking at its worse. They soon purchased 6 acres of land in the Puebla mountains and started The Village Children’s Home (Village 1), a Christian community that welcomes any rescued, homeless, or at-risk child. It is a home where they live and grow, receive education and family love, learn of their Father’s great love, and can live protected. Over 500 children have called Village 1 their home since it’s opening in 2009. The Village has helped many of these children in various ways: to be restored to distant family members, get jobs and become self-supporting, attend college, marry national pastors or missionaries. Some have even become staff, and over 40 others live at The Village Children’s Home.
The Village Drug and Alcohol Rehab (Village 2), located in Tulancingo, Hidalgo, was started soon after and has also served hundreds of youth and men. Men, who arrive in unbelievable mental and physical conditions due to horrible drug and alcohol addictions, are detoxed and discipled, graduate as new creations, and are restored to their families.
The Fitzpatrick’s ministry, The Village Global, also run house churches, a drug rehab, and a street ministry in the state of Mexico, along with a growing children’s street ministry and house churches in the state of Morelos. Jason has raised up national leadership in each location.
Jason and Nicole are Mom and Dad to all the precious Village children, and they shower the churches, rehabs, schools, and children in all four states with the love of Jesus. They continue to help feed and clothe the residents of The Villages, minister to the many churches, care for over 40 widows, and provide basic medical care for residents and the poor in surrounding areas.
Britt and Audrey Hancock, founders of Mountain Gateway, have been friends and mission coworkers with the Fitzpatricks since 1989. They met Jason when he was 15 and met Nicole when she was a teenager in language school with her parents. Britt went to Peru with Nicole’s dad when he was praying about where God wanted his family to start a mission work; they went to the hospital to pray for Nicole when she was in a coma and to comfort Jason; they worked as a part of the same ministry planting churches from 1996-2009. Audrey was honored to be in the delivery room when Jasmine was born. Years of history. They look forward to many more years of ministry together since Jason and Nicole joined The Village Global with Mountain Gateway in March 2019.