It’s hard to believe that 2012 is coming to a close! We are grateful to God for all the good things He has done during this year of ministry. This newsletter is dedicated to appreciating 2012 and anticipating the future of youth ministry training in Latin America.
A Few of the Stories We Appreciate From 2012
- Juan, who graduated in 2011, and returned to his home state of Oaxaca, took the initiative to begin 2 certificate in youth ministry programs. He has walked with and trained more than 30 other youth worker and seen God double the size of his own local church youth group.
- Josue and Kareny graduated in June 2012 and went to their hometown of Monterrey in the north of Mexico. They started a group to train youth leaders in their region and have seen it grow to around 80 people. They held their first training conference in November and are negotiating with a local Seminary to begin a certificate program in January.
- The Mexican Baptist Theological Seminary has agreed to host a professorial program similar to the ministry we did in Cuba and will train youth ministry professors at the Master’s level in order to open as many as 5 Centers for Youth Ministry in Mexico in the next 3 years. We are moving forward with these plans for 2013.
- We have also seen God add to our team of trainers, bringing us Chris and Hannah Bond (who are raising support) and Maykel who is helping part time from Miami.
- Other things we appreciate are: FBC Ozona and their mission house to stay in while stateside, our faithful team of prayer supporters who especially joined with us while Nathan was in the hospital, and those who have sustained the ministry financially during the last year.
Thank you for being part of our life and ministry in 2012. We are anticipating 2013.
We took a trip to Tallahassee this week to share at Wakulla Springs Baptist Church. One of our old youth group members attends this church and invited us to come share what God has been doing in our lives.
You can hear what we shared about by clicking here.
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We spent last Sunday at two services at Grace Bible Church. Grace has a special place in our hearts. I went to school there from second grade to graduation. I played basketball, soccer, and volleyball there. It’s where I learned most of what I know. We have some very good friends there.
One summer while I was in college I did an internship at Grace. Janell and I worked with the youth group during the summer, and it’s where we got one of our first chances to do ministry.
Janell and I also got married at Grace. I remember staring down the aisle from the front of the church to see my bride meet me at the altar.
Our oldest son went to Kindergarten at Grace, too. As we got out of the van this Sunday, he whispered in my ear, “It’s weird to go back to where you used to go to school.” I replied, “I know exactly how you feel.”
Grace has also been a supporting church for many years. It is great to have them as part of our team.
It’s fun to go back and relive memories while sharing about what we are trusting God for in the future. God has used the people of Grace for many years to influence our lives, and we are happy to have had the chance to see many of them this past week.
As we go to churches this fall we are sharing this video of our ministry for 2012. Here’s what we do in Latin America:
Although our normal life is in Mexico City, we will be spending the rest of 2012 in Florida.
The purpose of our trip is to share about the ministry with people who don’t know what we do and to share the vision for the future with our current support team.
We’ll be sharing in churches all throughout Florida, and we’ll also be taking time to talk with people on an individual basis. We are going to be busy!
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Since I was going for the graduation of the Certificate program, I asked the Seminary to make my reservation for my recent trip to Puerto Escondido. I told them the exact dates that I wanted to fly out and when I needed to return to Mexico City. They confirmed the reservation, printed out my confirmation, and handed it to me. Without thinking much about it, I took it from the dean, put it in my bag, and went back to work.
Thursday came, and, after an interesting taxi ride, I made it to the coast. I had to spend Thursday night and Friday during the day at the beach (the family I was staying with wanted to show me the beach, so I had to oblige). Friday night and Saturday was a youth leaders’ conference, and Saturday night we finished with the graduation. But Sunday was really the most interesting day.
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