Two new stakes were organized in Mexico on December 2nd.The Mexico City Los Heroes Tecamac Stake was organized from the Mexico City Tecamac Stake. The new stake includes the following six wards and one branch: the Bosques 1st, Bosques 2nd, Los Heroes 1st, Los Heroes 2nd, Montes, and Venta de Carpio Wards, and the Jardines de Morelos Branch.The Tizayuca Mexico Stake was organized from the Mexico City Tecamac Stake and the Pachuca Mexico South Stake. The new stake includes the following five wards: the Plazas Tizayuca, Tizayuca 1st, Tizayuca 2nd, Zumpango 1st, and Zumpango 2nd Wards.Two new districts were organized in northeastern Mexico City.The Mexico City Chimalhuacan District was organized from the Mexico City La Perla Stake. The new stake includes the following four branches (which used to be wards): Arboleda, Ciudad Alegre, Plateros, and Xochitenco Branches.The Texcoco Mexico District was organized from the Mexico City Los Reyes Stake. The new district includes the following four branches: the Chapingo, Chiautla, Coatlinchan, and Texcoco Branches. Of the four branches in the new district, two of the branches were organized when the district was created.One stake was discontinued in Mexico City.The Mexico City Centenario Stake was recently discontinued. Retained congregations were reassigned to the Mexico City Industrial Stake or the Mexico City Madero Stake. The Mexico City Centenario Stake was originally organized in 1997.There may be additional discontinued stakes or created stakes as part of a major restructuring of the Church's congregations in Mexico City. Thus far, there have been approximately 80 wards and branches discontinued, and approximately one dozen new wards and branches organized. Three stakes have been discontinued, and two new stakes and two new districts have been organized. I will provide more updates once I obtain additional information.There are now 220 stakes and 47 districts in Mexico. There has been a net decrease of 139 congregations (7.0% annual decrease) in Mexico thus far in 2018 - the largest decrease in the number of wards/branches ever reported by the Church in Mexico, and the largest annual decrease in the number of wards/branches ever reported in a single country in the history of the Church. Although this may sound alarming, similar and even more drastic ward/branch consolidations have occurred in the Church in the past two decades in other countries with low member activity rates when one looks at percentage decrease in the number of congregations. For example, the Church reported a net decrease of 137 congregations (16.1% annual decrease) in Chile in the year 2002. There was a net decrease of 121 congregations (9.8% annual decrease) in the Philippines in 2003, a net decrease of 116 congregations (6.2% annual decrease) in Brazil in 2000, and a net decrease of 82 congregations (9.8% annual decrease) in Peru in 2000. Ward/branch consolidations in 2018 in Mexico mark the first widespread efforts in Mexico to establish congregations with larger numbers of active members. In contrast, nearly all other Latin American countries underwent similar congregation consolidations primarily during the early to mid 2000s. Thus, these current changes in Mexico have occurred much later than in most countries in the region.The outlook for future growth after such dramatic unit consolidations is mixed. For example, the Church in Brazil quickly reversed net decreases in the number of congregations by the mid-2010s (bottoming out at 1,668 congregations) and currently reaches new all-time highs for the number of wards and branches (currently over 2,100), whereas the Church in Chile continues to report decreases in the number of wards and branches (currently less than 600). Time will tell whether these ward/branch realignments and consolidations will reverse recent stagnant growth trends in Mexico. However, returned missionaries report a severe disconnect between members and missionaries, especially in Mexico City, and dangerous proselytism conditions in many areas of the country. Thus, any major turnaround in growth rates appears unlikely for at least several more years.A new stake was organized in Ecuador. The Machala Ecuador Puerto Bolivar Stake was organized from the Machala Ecuador Stake. The new stake includes the following five wards: the Dieciocho de Octubre, Florida, La Paz, Los Esteros, and Puerto Bolivar Wards. The original Machala Ecuador Stake was organized in 1992. Machala becomes the first city in southern Ecuador to have more than one stake after the Guayaquil metropolitan area. I have received conflicting information for the date the new stake was organized. The two dates I have received are December 2nd and September 23rd.There are now 42 stakes and 8 districts in EcuadorA new stake was organized in southern Texas on December 2nd. The Laredo Texas Stake was organized from the Laredo Texas District. Currently, the Church reports the following four wards and one branch in the new stake: the Laredo 1st, Laredo 2nd (Spanish), Laredo 4th, and Laredo 5th (Spanish) Wards, and the Laredo 6th Branch (Spanish). It is likely that the Laredo 6th Branch (Spanish) was also upgraded to a ward but that this information has not been published yet given new stakes usually have a minimum of five new wards. The original Laredo Texas District was organized in 1995.There are now 75 stakes and 2 districts in Texas. There are now only six districts left in the entire United States.