“Loving Kids and Sharing Jesus at the James Project”

Here is our Lenexa Baptist team under the big ceiba tree at the James Project. In the center are Brian and Tiffany Applegate, the directors. Standing left to right are Erwin Rodriguez, Darren Oglesbee, Heidi Rodriguez, Ryan Hutsell, Amy Stewart, Elise Biller, Wilson Velasquez, Faith Stafford, Brian Applegate, Tiffany Applegate, Amanda Russell, Olivia James, Jack James, Michael Ludlum, Jason Neland, Evie Neland, me, and Jon Koch.

Good morning from Guatemala! 

As I write this, I am between the two projects we shared with you a little over a week ago. So I’d like to share a few highlights from our Lenexa Baptist team serving at the James Project children’s home in Monjas, Guatemala. And I must admit that we had a great time and the team gelled quickly and worked really well together. A special shout-out goes to Jack James, who led the team and kept us all going in the same direction.

Loving Kids and Sharing Jesus

Amanda receives some love from this little one.

The overall plan for the week was pretty simple. We would do various activities with the children, help with some food distribution, do some music training, paint the stage area in the gym, and serve a meal for a local senior center.

One evening, our team joined the children for devotions in each of their houses. This group held theirs outside under a beautiful sunset.

Below my signature line, you’ll find more pictures of the team in action. But before I show you those, I want to ask you to pray for our LifeQuest Church team arriving tomorrow.

Please Pray…

This team will be working with the Iglesia Damasco (Damascus Church) of Rinconcito. In our last update I highlighted how this church has already led over 150 people to Christ in preparation for our team coming!

Please pray that God will use our team to encourage the church, strengthen these new believers, and help us clearly share the hope we have in Christ.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

Love y'all!

Steve

Now more Pics!

PS…If you would like to invest in this ministry, you can give through the link below or send checks to:

Daybreak International, 11628 Oakmont St., Overland Park, KS 66210

The first evening after arriving, the kids welcomed us out on the basketball court.

The first morning, Tiffany and Brian took us on a tour of the property. Here we are seeing part of the agricultural area. Their goal is to produce as much food as possible to help offset the cost of feeding around 120 children and adults. This aerial shot was taken by Jon’s drone.

Jon and his drone captured some of the most amazing and interesting views of our team in action.

Jack and Elise lead worship training for one of the groups of children.

Amy brought some “Go Fish” cards that were a big hit during playtime.

Evie shares the trampoline with this little girl.

Heidi gives one of the teen moms a break by holding this cute little guy.

Erwin learns a routine from this little girl.

Several times during the week we had some unstructured playtime with the kids.

This tire swing was almost always occupied by children wanting a push. Amanda jumped in to help with the spinning.

Olivia shares a moment with this little girl.

With kids playing all around them, Heidi listens as a young lady pours her heart out.

UNO was a big hit with these older girls.

Jack, Olivia, Elise, and Faith lead worship during the Sunday service.

Darren, pastor of Reach Church in Paola, shares a message while Erwin translates. Erwin was born and raised in Guatemala, so he and his wife, Heidi, were a tremendous help with translation throughout the week.

Jack, our fearless leader, shares with the kids through the interpretation of Wilson, who was born in the United States to parents from Guatemala.

Darren took some amazing pictures during the trip. Here he shows some of the boys what he captured.

One of the newest additions to the James Project is this group of houses for families who need a safe place to stay. Lenexa Baptist had a part in helping with this project last year.

Our team sprang into action to serve during a special 20th-anniversary celebration honoring one of their key leaders.

Each night, we had team devotions. This was our last night in Monjas, gathered at a restaurant with an outdoor gazebo.

Jason and Carlos, one of the house parents for a boys’ home, discovered that they share the same birthday. Jason was given a Guatemalan flag as a gift, which they proudly held up together.

On the last night, the girls performed a special dance for us.

At the senior center, Faith leads us in singing the Spanish version of “Goodness of God.”

Darren and Jason roll on the paint while Ryan holds the ladder for Darren.

Darren captured this shot as we were walking down the street. If you are thinking about going on a mission trip, the message is pretty clear. Let’s Go!

Two Teams, One Mission: Headed Back to Guatemala—Please Pray

Good morning, everyone! 

As you read this, I am likely on a plane headed to Guatemala for a three-week trip that will cover two different mission projects and consist of two different teams.

Lenexa Baptist Church Team in Monjas, Guatemala

The James Project children in Monjas, Guatemala, greeted us on their basketball court last year when our group arrived.

The first team is from Lenexa Baptist Church in Lenexa, Kansas, and will be in Monjas, Guatemala, September 12–19, working with the James Project children’s home. We plan to do activities with the children, complete some service projects, and participate in outreach in the community.

Because the team is led by Jack James, one of the worship leaders at Lenexa Baptist, some of our more musical team members will also work with him to provide music training for the children.

LifeQuest Church Team in Rinconcito, Guatemala

Cesar Gonzalez and I share a moment with last year’s LifeQuest team, which is coming back to help with an amazing project at Iglesia Damasco in Rinconcito, Guatemala. From left to right: Cesar, me, Tim Goulet, Marie Weber, Jimmy Mitchell, and Jolene Mitchell.

The second team will be in Guatemala from September 25th to October 3rd. This team comes from LifeQuest Church in Belton, Missouri, and they will work with Iglesia Damasco (Damascus Church) of Rinconcito.

Last September, during a worship service, Pastor Eddie Gonzalez introduced Tim Goulet before Tim sang a song with their band. During his comments, Pastor Eddie invited Tim and the team to come back the following year to celebrate with them.

That same day, the church committed to a year-long project with Cesar. They would pray for lost friends and family members and prepare for a great harvest of souls throughout the year. Tim agreed on the spot to come back.

If you have been keeping score at home, Iglesia Damasco is the church I was working with in June when we did the school project I highlighted in my last update. It is also the same church that held a big Friendship Fair back in April, when about 400 people showed up for a morning of fun in a field filled with tents and carnival-type games.

Beyond that, Cesar has been training the church to share their faith.

The plan since last year has been for the LifeQuest team to come down and make home visits with church members. Our team members would share their testimonies and invite people to pray to receive Christ for salvation.

Well, there has been a slight change in plans!

About three Sundays ago, the church held a Friendship Day and invited friends and family to hear about dealing with problems in the family. More than 400 guests showed up. At the conclusion of a special dramatic gospel presentation they had produced, Pastor Eddie shared a short message and invited people to pray to receive Christ. 150 people responded and prayed to receive Christ!

Pastor Eddie steps forward as the drama team freezes to share the gospel message and invitation.

So, with all that happening, our team will be called on not only to share our testimonies about how we came to know Jesus, but also to share with these new Christians what helped us get started in our own faith after coming to Christ.

So stay tuned—and please be praying for this team as well!

I think that’s all for now. I hope you have had a great summer!

Bill and I spent a good part of ours working on a construction project at my house. We added a shop for me onto the back of the garage and a walk-in closet for Nola on the second floor. Down below, you can see a little of the before-and-after progress.

I had hoped to get it completely finished before this trip, but I guess that’s the story of my life!

Ready or not, back to Guatemala!

Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

Love y'all!

Steve

PS…If you would like to invest in this ministry, you can give through the link below or send checks to:

Daybreak International, 11628 Oakmont St., Overland Park, KS 66210

July 14: This is where we were—trying to get the roof framed.

August 5

August 18: Since getting the exterior close to done, I’ve been working on the inside. When I get back from Guatemala I hope to finish it and have a big celebration!

Guatemala School Project and the World Soccer Cup!

Good morning, everyone! 

And happy 250th! Time seems to be flying by as I have been back home for a little over a week from my recent Guatemala trip. Since getting home we have been involved in some World Soccer Cup Outreach with our church here in Kansas City, working on some future training events in Guatemala, and preparing to celebrate the 4th later this week!

Thanks for your Prayers!

As you might recall from my last update, I asked you to pray about our school project featuring our partnership with youth and adults from Iglesia Damasco (Damascus Church) of Rinconcito, Guatemala. The project went really well, and the church plans to continue working in the three schools where we held events. Here are a few pics.

Pastor Eddy Gonzalez tells the story of David and Goliath with help from a small boy playing David.

Lis Gonzalez, center, prepares two teams in a school near Amberes, Guatemala, to face off in a challenge for one of the games.

In each school, we played with the kids, told Bible stories, and ate with the children and teachers. In addition, in two of the schools we were able to give away New Testaments to the students.

Before handing out New Testaments to a class in a school near Santa Cruz Narranjo, Jocelyn talks about how the Bible is a light to our path to guide us in how to live.

The children listen to Jocelyn as she tells them about the New Testaments that they just received.

For Cesar and me, our biggest concern was to see if the leadership at each school would relate well to our Guatemala friends, since in the past we have had North Americans with us. After seeing the skill and winsomeness of the Guatemala team, every school invited them to come back!

So again we say, “The harvest truly is plentiful!” Pray for more workers to keep following up on these wide open doors in the schools.

After our last day in this school in Amberes, Cesar and I sat down to chat with the principal and the teachers after the Guatemala team left to go to another outreach for their church. As has always been the case for us, these teachers were very appreciative of the time we spent with their school.

World Soccer Cup Outreach

While I was in Guatemala, the World Soccer Cup had just begun, and predictably, many were following the games with great interest.

I shared a moment with my friend, Micky Armas, who translates my daily Scripture MAPS for 30 young people in their youth group in Santa Rosa de Lima, Guatemala. That day that I was with their group, I was sporting my USA shirt to invite others to root for our US soccer team!

Lenexa Baptist Church Hands out MAPS

While in Guatemala, I found out from some of my Lenexa Baptist friends about an outreach project to visitors of the World Cup here in Kansas City.

On Friday, June 26th and Saturday, June 27th, a Lenexa team of about 200 handed out over 4,000 pictorial maps that included discounts at about a dozen restaurants and on the back included a selfie scavenger hunt for 11 iconic Kansas City locations. If people showed up to church services at LBC with proof of their pics, they would receive an official World Cup soccer ball! While handing out maps, it gave us an opportunity to talk with people coming from all over the world.

I took this picture of our Lenexa team as we got off one of the buses before walking over to Union Station to hand out the maps.

Once we got into position, there were many people to talk to! Unfortunately, I didn’t get a single picture of our team handing out maps!

I did get a pic of this little girl. I think she was from Austria. She used the stickers in our map to decorate her arms!

Nola looks at a display in Union Station. Our city has definitely gone all out to promote Kansas City!

As of this writing, we know of 7 people who came to church on Saturday night to claim balls! I haven’t heard of the count on Sunday. More importantly, on the Friday team that Nola and I helped with, one of the guys on our team led two people to Christ in the process!

Pray for Training Events in Guatemala

One of the goals of my trip to Guatemala was to work with Cesar in prepping for some training of small group leaders. While we have felt this to be a very strategic thing to do, we have had some difficulty figuring out how to deliver the training to our friends who are spread out across the country. Please pray for wisdom in preparing and scheduling this.

I think that’s all for now. Hope you have a wonderful 4th of July! I pray that as we celebrate our nation’s Independence Day many of us will also declare our personal dependence on God.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

Love y'all!

Steve

PS…If you would like to invest in this ministry, you can give through the link below or send checks to:

Daybreak International, 11628 Oakmont St., Overland Park, KS 66210

One of the first days after I returned home, Nola and I got to enjoy the US soccer team victory over Australia with granddaughters Addie and Bridget (huge soccer fans!) and Ryan, their dad!

From South Dakota to Guatemala!

Good morning, everyone! 

Nola and I have just gotten back from Colome, South Dakota, where we had the privilege of being the missionaries for the week at Calvary Chapel’s annual Vacation Bible School. Tomorrow I head for Guatemala for another school project in Amberes, Guatemala. More on that in a minute.

The South Dakota VBS Experience

This was the first project with Nola since she retired, and it was great having her available to do the whole VBS experience. Since children’s work has been a big part of Nola’s ministry through the years, she felt right at home working with our good friends from many years, Keith and Judy Moody. Keith has pastored at Calvary Chapel for many years, and we have been invited multiple times to partner with the church in mission endeavors. So it always feels great to reconnect with the Moodys and quite a few from the church.

On the last day of VBS, Keith Moody and his wife Judy posed for a picture with Nola and me (with our VBS t-shirts!).

The Lord is My Shepherd…

The theme for the week centered around the life of David as a shepherd and Psalm 23. In our missions moments with the kids, we highlighted stories we’ve had with cowboys, the Kekchi Indians in the jungle, soccer evangelism, school projects, and women’s ministry. The kids were very attentive and learned how to “ride bulls” of commitment and initiate spiritual conversations with a couple of key questions we ask in our groups. Here are a few pics from last week.

This boy rang the church bell to signal to all the kids that it was time to line up and start the day together.

Here the kids lined up to head into the church building to start the first day of VBS.

Besides being an expert horse trainer, Keith sheared sheep for many years and had some dogs who knew how to round up sheep by responding to his voice. Here, he shows a video to illustrate how sheep reacted to his dog moving to his command.

These two friends prayed for each other in response to one of our mission stories of kids praying for each other in Guatemala.

Nola divides a group for an activity before doing a missions story.

Craft time is a huge part of VBS at Calvary Chapel as they have a tradition of making nativity figures each year. If a child hits three or four years in a row, they will have made all the figurines for a nativity set.

Here is a presentation of the nativity set that the kids worked on for the week.

On the last day, the kids sang for their parents and shared what they learned during the week.

Nola and I stayed out at the ranch of Randy and Jen Shippy. Randy (pictured praying on the right) raises professional rodeo bulls, and two of his sons are now professional bull riders. So one night we got to see them practice in their arena!

Riggin Shippy rides a bull and gets encouragement from his dad and his brother (Riley) and a couple of other bull rider friends.

Prayer Requests for Our Team in Guatemala

As you read this update, I am likely traveling to Guatemala. I will be joining youth and adults from Iglesia Damasco (Damascus Church) of Rinconcito, Guatemala, to minister to children in four schools in the Santa Rosa region. Originally I had planned to have a team from Kansas City go with me, but because of unforeseen calendar challenges, none were able to go this week.

While all of us were a little disappointed, we realized that God is likely raising up some leaders to follow up on the open doors we have in the schools in Guatemala. Currently, we have permission to go to 75 schools in the department of Santa Rosa and would be hard pressed to take North American teams to even a third of those in a year. So we believe God is raising up young people with a passion to take this ministry on.

Please pray for us this week. We sense God is up to something good. And I hope to share how it goes when I get back home.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

Love y'all!

Steve

PS…If you would like to invest in this ministry, you can give through the link below or send checks to:

Daybreak International, 11628 Oakmont St., Overland Park, KS 66210

On the last day, I thanked the church for inviting us and for supporting us. I shared how they could partner with us and continue to pray for us in the coming days.

Update From Guatemala!

Good morning, everyone! 

As I write this, I am still in Guatemala! I have a couple of days left before flying home, so I thought I´d write you a quick update of what we have been doing the last couple of weeks. Then I will tell you about a project that is coming up soon!

Reed Family Update and Guatemala Scout Trip

Good morning everyone! 

Much has been happening behind the scenes in the past couple of months in our lives and in ministry. Perhaps the biggest changes have been taking place in the Reed family! So here’s a quick update and a request for your prayers as I leave this coming Friday, April 10th, on a two-week trip to Guatemala.

On Nola’s last official day of work, her department at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners threw a big send-off party for her and a co-worker who also retired in March.

Nola Has Retired!

As of March 2nd, Nola has retired from her job of 33 years! I was grateful that her co-workers invited me to come to a big retirement party they threw for her. For several hours I heard person after person share how much Nola made a difference in the company and how much they will miss her. What a privilege it was for me to hear those testimonies first hand!

Now Nola is trying to figure out how this next chapter of life will unfold. She looks forward to having more time for investing in the grandkids and for shared ministry both locally and in being able to go on more mission trips with me to other places.

One of the first things we did after Nola’s retirement was to take a trip with our Omaha family to Washington DC. Here we are on the balcony of the Capitol building at night. Seeing many of the historical sights was great, but it was even better doing it with part of our family. As you might recall, Kolanya (pictured with the smiley face) is our newest granddaughter, who arrived from Thailand on Christmas day! She is adapting well to our family, learning English quickly, and we are enjoying getting to know and love her. According to the adoption protocol, once the six month mark arrives, we can reveal her face. Pictured here from left to right are Josh, Kolanya, Kristin, Landon, Brayden, Nola and me.

Scouting Trip Planned with Cesar and Eduardo in Guatemala

Eduardo Mejia and I shared a moment last year when he was at Lenexa Baptist to connect with many of us who have gone to Nicaragua on projects related to Project Hope in Nicaragua.

On the ministry front, a couple of my trips scheduled for January and for the spring had to be rescheduled, so during the past couple of months, Cesar Gonzalez has been continuing to follow up with our groups and leaders in various parts of Guatemala. I am thankful that this weekend I will be meeting Eduardo Mejia (our great friend from Nicaragua) in Guatemala to make the rounds with Cesar to prepare for several of our upcoming projects. One of those projects is prepping for another big soccer tournament in Guatemala. You might recall that Eduardo leads a ministry in Nicaragua that has organized evangelistic soccer tournaments. Two years ago, we did one in Guatemala that was a huge success. So we hope to be ready to do another one this year.

Beyond the soccer ministry, we plan to touch base with some of our cowboy friends and leaders in several public schools, then take a few days to go to the jungle and personally visit some of our Kekchi friends who are starting churches in several remote locations. When I go on a trip like this, Cesar likes to use the time for us to encourage and prepare for the future teams that we plan to bring. If things go as planned, the rest of the year will be very busy as we have a June public school project, a potential group leader training project in July, and a church to church project in September.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support! We couldn’t do it without you!

Love y'all!

Steve

PS…I have really enjoyed the “MAPS” process that Bill Burrows created for 2026. I’ve especially liked the way the online version works, allowing me to do my daily scripture commitment with ease. If you are interested in trying it, click here.

PSS…If you would like to invest in this ministry, you can give through the link below or send checks to:

Daybreak International, 11628 Oakmont St., Overland Park, KS 66210

2025 Giving/Thank You Statements

Good morning everyone! 

As we get into the new year, I want to send a quick note about a change in our procedures in sending out what I call our annual “Thank You” statements. They are more commonly called “Giving Statements.” But we want you to know that with every giving statement comes a huge “Thank You” from all of us at Daybreak International and Play.Story.Eat. Ministries.

As of this year, we are sending out our giving statements by email. For a few of our supporters, we don’t have an email address in our bookkeeping, so we will send those statements through the mail.

If you are expecting a 2025 Giving Statement, check your email(s) to see if you received something from us on Tuesday, January 27th, from playstoryeat@gmail.com. (You may need to check your spam folder, too.)

If you didn’t get one, let us know and we will gladly send it to a different email or by regular mail.

Thank you again for your generosity in 2025! You made a big difference, and we are grateful.

Love y'all!

Steve

PS…Stay tuned for upcoming updates on a couple of spring mission trips and other happenings!

PSS…If you would like to invest in this ministry, you can give through the link below or send checks to:

Daybreak International, 11628 Oakmont St., Overland Park, KS 66210

Reed Adoption News! and 2025 Play.Story.Eat. Recap

Good morning everyone! 

I hope you had a very Merry Christmas! We sure did. The biggest Christmas news in our Reed extended family is that on Christmas day, our son Josh and his wife Kristin, (along with grandsons Brayden and Landon) came home from Thailand with our newly adopted eight and a half year old granddaughter! In keeping with the rules for this adoption, we can’t post her name or any pictures of her face yet, but here is a family picture they took last week in Thailand together.

From left to right is Kristin, Landon, our new granddaughter, Brayden, and Josh

On the ministry side of things, we have so much to be grateful for as well. After we sent out our November letter to our donors, we realized that we hadn’t shared some of these highlights from 2025 on this update. So here is a short recap of the year with a few pictures.

January/February Scout Trips in Guatemala

In January and February, several of us made a couple of exploratory trips to Guatemala to set up future ministry. The most notable is in a partnership with the James Project Children's Home in Monjas, Guatemala. Expect to hear more in 2026!

I got to join into a group pic the kids at the James Project Children’s home in Monjas, Guatemala on a day we did cowboy activities with the kids.

April 2025 Rio Blanco, Nicaragua

In April a team of nine of us from Lenexa Baptist Church teamed up with about 25 Nicaraguan friends associated with Project Hope in Nicaragua to do a soccer tournament in Rio Blanco. Over those few days there, 336 people prayed to receive Christ! Stay tuned for more info about another soccer evangelism trip in 2026!

On the first day of our soccer tournament in Rio Blanco, Nicaragua, this is one of the first games played after an evangelistic introduction to the day invited hundreds of players and coaches into praying to receive Christ and stepping forward to let our team know of their decision!

September 2025 Amberes, Guatemala

In September, a team of four from LifeQuest Church in Belton, Missouri joined us in a school evangelism project near Amberes, Guatemala. Going class to class in several schools, we saw 349 children and adults accept Christ! Cesar Gonzalez is working on the follow up to this amazing response.

Here, our team poses for a picture with a teacher and her class in a small rural school near Amberes, Guatemala.

Church to Church Partnerships

New partnerships are in the works between U.S. and Guatemalan churches for evangelism and discipleship. The first one for the year will connect Samaria Church of Rinconcito, Guatemala with LifeQuest Church of Belton, Missouri. In September of 2026 a celebration is being planned for these churches in Guatemala!

Here, pastor Eddie Gonzalez, of Samaria Church In Rinconcito, Guatemala, speaks with his uncle, Cesar Gonzalez about the desire for their church to receive evangelism training from Cesar in 2026, and then to have a mission team come to culminate their year of evangelism with a a church from the United States. Those on the left in the picture are the team from Lifequest Church in Belton, Missouri. Stay tuned for more info!

Rural Church Partnerships

We plan to continue several partnerships with rural midwest churches in "Be-the-Church" and Disciple Multiplication Movement training.

Joel Wentworth, pastor of Burwell Baptist Church in Burwell, Nebraska, opens up the meeting of a Rural Church Leadership meeting in October.

Year-round Mentoring of Leaders

We will continue to work behind the scenes in serving local churches through conferences, coaching, leadership development, and the PSE prayer team. And note that in Guatemala, Cesar Gonzalez will continue to travel the country to mentor and encourage leaders among soccer players, bull riders, ranchers, and Kekchi pastors.

Here, Cesar speaks to an agriculture class studying the best practices in coffee production. This particular day Cesar spoke on Romans 12:1 and having your mind transformed by God.

Continuation of Scripture M.A.P.S. in 2026!

Bill Burrows gave us a complete year of scripture “MAPS” in 2025 and is proving one based on the Habits of Replicating Disciple Makers for the new year! 2026 Scripture MAPS - Daily direction from God for Replicating Disciple Makers.

This is the menu board at the “MAPS” coffee shop in Lenexa, Kansas! No relation to us at all! But a great place to drink coffee and look at maps from all over the world!

Please know that without your prayer and financial support this past year, much of this would not have happened. Thank you! God has been incredibly gracious to us and a big part of that comes in having such great friends like you walking alongside us.

Let us know what God is doing in your world these days. As always, we love hearing from you, so keep those cards and letters coming!

Love y'all!

Steve

PS…If you are wanting to get a final end of year gift to us, remember that anything postmarked by December 31st counts towards 2025 giving.

You can give through the link below, or checks can be sent to:

Daybreak International, 11628 Oakmont St., Overland Park, KS 66210

Guatemala School Evangelism Update

Cesar Gonzalez and I share a mountain view near a village called Buena Vista (Good View) with our LifeQuest mission team. From left to right are Cesar, me, Tim Goulet, Mari Edmonds, Jimmy Mitchell, and Jolene Mitchell.

Good morning everyone! 

I just got back from a mission trip with a team from LifeQuest Church in Belton, Missouri. And what a trip! For me, it almost didn’t happen because of a “trip” I took down the stairs a few days before flying to Guatemala that left my knee wrenched and me trying to figure out which end was up!

But by God’s grace I was able to go and hobble along. And during our time together, we ministered to five schools in seven days, and saw 349 children and adults pray to receive Christ!

While we had prepared to do more discipleship talks and follow-up on the relationships with kids and teachers in the schools we were in a year ago, due to some logistical issues, Cesar decided to schedule us to go to several smaller schools near Amberes, Guatemala, that we had not been to with a group. So, we adapted our plans and shared the gospel with the kids, parents, and teachers of each school. And their response blew us away!

Are These Numbers for Real?

If you are like me, it’s hard to believe that so many would respond with a “yes” to the gospel in such a short time. Maybe you are asking, “How can this be so easy? Are we just making converts and not helping them become disciples?” These are good questions.

While I don’t want to pretend that we are experts or that we have all the answers to how to do this, I will say that I have been involved in projects like this for over 25 years now, and I can say that Jesus’ words recorded in John 4:35 ring truer now than ever. When the disciples asked Jesus about food after he had had an amazing spiritual conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus said,

“Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest!”

God is Doing a New Thing…

Guatemalans have been very receptive through the years, but to me it seems like their receptivity has gone to an even higher level in recent days. And as so many are responding, we know that the only thing holding the harvest back is the laborers to bring it in and to help new believers grow in their new faith. Jesus also said,

“the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Pray that the Lord of the harvest will send forth laborers into His harvest fields” Luke 10:2.

Trusting God as We Play.Story.Eat.

Our strategy was very simple. In every school we visited, we played, we told stories, and we ate with the kids, parents, and teachers. Typically we would start in the classrooms at about 8am each weekday. Cesar would take two of our team members, and I’d take the other two, and we’d each spend at least an hour and a half with a particular class.

Testimony Times Really Connected…

While we usually did something fun to break the ice, when we got to the testimony times, because of the kids’ attentiveness, we spent most of the classroom time sharing our stories and talking about how we can each receive God’s gift of salvation through faith and trust in Jesus. We talked about sin. We talked about how we all deserve hell because of our sins. And we talked about how Jesus forgives and offers eternal life to all, not forcing anyone to receive His gift, but giving us a choice to receive it or not.

Child-like Responsiveness…

And in simple, child-like faith, they prayed to receive Jesus’ gift of salvation. Typically after the prayer time, we’d switch classes and repeat the process. Then around noon, when the kids would be leaving to go home, Cesar had arranged for us to eat together. In most cases, the teachers and a couple of parents would cook for everybody, and they’d invite us to help pat out some tortillas! Usually, by the time we got to eating, we’d connected so well that many were inclined to tell us their stories or want to keep talking about what we just experienced together.

The Blessings of a Rainy Season Pace…

Because it typically rains almost every afternoon at this time of year in Guatemala, Cesar didn’t schedule for us to go to any schools in the afternoons like we did last year with a Lenexa Baptist team in August 2024. This extra breathing room in the schedule allowed us to not have to leave a school in a hurry and to be able to have lingering conversations with the teachers and directors of the schools. I will highlight a few of those stories below.

Before I unload the pictures on you, let me mention a couple of upcoming events.

Upcoming Events…

This week, Bill Burrows and I will be traveling to Burwell, Nebraska, for the annual Rural Church Leaders Conference October 11th at Burwell Baptist Church. We will lead breakout sessions on The Habits of Replicating Disciple Makers.

Closer to home, Bill Burrows is practicing those disciple making habits in Avondale, MO, a town he moved to last year. It’s surrounded by Kansas City and has about 350 people. God has given him a team of people that prayer walk several times a week asking God to draw people to himself and to send more laborers to Avondale. If you would like to get better at making disciples, let us know or join us in Burwell.

10:02 PRAYER

(Pray Luke 10:2 each day at 10:02 am or pm that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into His harvest fields!)

Please pray for Cesar Gonzalez and the teachers and believers who will be continuing to impact and lead the children and adults in their new-found faith in Jesus.

Pray for our plans to return to follow up with another team from LifeQuest Church, Lenexa Baptist, and maybe even your church! If you are interested in participating in some aspect of this kind of a missions trip, or helping us schedule a new trip, now is the time to let me know!

Ask God to send workers to Avondale, MO, and to glorify himself there.

Love y'all!

Steve

PS…As always, thanks for your faithful support! We couldn’t do this without you.

You can give through the link below, or checks can be sent to:

Daybreak International, 11628 Oakmont St., Overland Park, KS 66210

Our Mission Trip in Pictures…We Played!

Our first day in the school in Buena Vista, Jimmy took on a whole class on the teeter totter!

Songs were always a hit.

The team was adept at shaping balloons for the kids.

Often, before shaping the balloons, Tim would have a competition to see who could actually blow up a balloon!

This game had a boy and a girl put their “face” on while blindfolded. Their partner had to coach them along the way!

This girl carefully pulls out a wooden piece in the game “Jenga” in this school near Santa Cruz Narranjo.

Tim makes a balloon dog for a little boy.

In the larger schools like this one in Santa Cruz Narranjo, making balloons at the end of the day was quite a production.

These four boys keep an eye on the three chairs in the last couple of rounds of a game of musical chairs.

We “Storied”… Sharing Testimonies…

Cesar talks to the kids about one of Jimmy’s stories while he was in the Navy before coming to know Jesus.

Cesar introduces Jimmy and Jolene before sharing their testimonies to this class in a school near Amberes.

Jimmy and Jolene’s faith story was a very rocky one. Just three years ago they were at the point of divorce. Because of a friend’s recommendation, they went to LifeQuest Church and not only found help to save their marriage, Jimmy found Jesus and friends to help him grow in his newfound faith. They now lead a small group in their home and are happily serving others in ministries through LifeQuest.

Here, Mari is patting out a tortilla. Mari’s story includes the pain of abuse and trauma that fueled a drug and alcohol addiction. Six years ago, she and her husband Matt came to LifeQuest for a Christmas program and within a month found Jesus. She has been sober since and grateful that she and Matt are both seeking to follow Jesus together and finding places to serve in the church.

Eddie Gonzalez, pastor of Samaria Church near Rinconcito, Guatemala, introduces Tim before he sings a song in both English and Spanish with their Sunday worship team. Tim is the youth and worship pastor at LifeQuest, and on this trip he had several opportunities to speak and lead in music.

Here I’m talking about how a gift is not automatically ours just by believing all the correct things about the gift. It only becomes ours when we receive it and open it and enjoy it.

Here I’m leading the children in a prayer of salvation.

Cesar liked having me reenact my fall and share my verse of scripture that I memorized from Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, that “two are better than one…because if one falls, the other can pick him up.” Here the kids are helping pick me up off the floor after “falling.”

After my example, Cesar called for volunteers to fall and then have others pick them up!

I winced thinking about how these boys were “helping” pick up one of their friends by the legs and arms!

We Ate! … A lot!

At the school in Buena Vista, the team gets their first taste of “Chuchitos” (meaning “little dogs”) a Guatemalan version of a tamale that was made especially for us.

At Cesar and Elba’s place in Amberes, Elba fed us like kings.

Linda, one of the school teachers at La Linea, a school near Amberes, was adept at grilling one of the most delicious meals we had all week.

Jolene makes her first tortilla!

Tim got the prize for the best gringo-made tortilla!

Here, the entire school ate together with the parents.

Jimmy and Jolene scoop out the beans and the noodle salad for our last school of the week.

We Made Some Great Friends!

At the end of each day, the kids were quick to share a hug with the team.

Kendi (bottom left), the teacher of this classroom, and the acting director of this small school, was one of our favorites. Her love and dedication for the children went above and beyond her job.

Tim and Mari pose for a group picture with one of their classes in Buena Vista.

Marisela (center), the principal of the school in Buena Vista, wanted us to see the view from this spot near the cabin that she and her husband built. A couple of days later we met her husband and daughter there to see the sunrise.

Awaiting the sunrise on the porch of Marisela’s cabin. In the middle is her husband Danilo and Briana, their daughter. They offered us the use of the cabin anytime we wanted for meetings or retreats. Danilo said that they want their cabin to be used as a place for people to find God.

The clouds did give way for Danilo to snap this brief glimpse of the sunrise.

Thanks for reading this to the end! And thanks again for your prayers and support!

Love y’all!

Steve

While in Guatemala, we enjoyed the opportunity to see the Chiefs get a win!

Play.Story.Eat. Summer Update

Good morning everyone! 

The last time I sent you an update (at the end of April), we were coming off a huge evangelistic soccer tournament in Rio Blanco, Nicaragua. Since then, several noteworthy things have happened. So this is my attempt to share some of those happenings and highlight how God has continued to bless.

Pastor’s Discipleship Retreat

In late May in Parkville, Missouri, we did a small retreat to help pastors and discipleship leaders collaborate on how to sharpen their effectiveness in making disciples in their various ministry settings.

Almost everyone on the retreat has been on regular Zoom calls with Bill and me for more than two years. This was the first time to be all together in person. As a result of that retreat, several partnerships were formed for facilitating more training on Disciple Making Movements (DMMs). Stay tuned for more news about that in the future!

Guatemala Soccer Followup

Ever since our big Guatemala soccer evangelism trip of 2022, we have been trying to encourage follow-up to the many decisions made. Much of our efforts have focused on Monjas, Guatemala, where we have a mixture of friends doing cowboy ministry, soccer, a children’s home, and several churches that we have partnered with on various projects.

The week of July 2-10, we funded Eduardo Mejia and Eyner Garcia, of Nicaragua, to spend a week with Cesar Gonzalez, connecting the dots in various projects in Monjas. I wasn’t able to be with them because of a long anticipated trip with Nola and 11 of her family members to Spain. (More on that in a minute!)

Since both Eduardo and Eyner were instrumental team members with us in the preparations for the tournament we did there in Monjas two years ago, they were perfect for tagging along with Cesar and speaking from time to time to players and coaches. Since Eduardo is a key leader of Project Hope in Nicaragua, an added bonus was for him to meet some of the key Guatemalan leaders at the James Project Children’s Home in Monjas where we have begun partnering in the last few months. Here’s a few pics of theirs.

Family cruise from Spain To Italy and France!

From July 9-19, Nola and I had the privilege of traveling with 11 of her family members to Spain, where we got on a cruise that made stops along the Mediterranean Sea in Italy and France. Our trip started off in jeopardy due to the cancellation of our main flight to Spain from Dallas. In spite of the 24 hour delay and multiple traveling mishaps in Spain (including getting on the wrong train and one of Nola’s sisters getting pickpocketed of all cash and credit cards!), we still managed to get to our ship with 5 minutes to spare!

I am grateful that our family handled all the traveling curveballs with grace and good humor. Fortunately it did get better! It certainly was a trip that none of us will ever forget!

Hope you are doing well this summer. Let us know what God is doing in your neck of the woods and how we might join you in prayer.

Love y'all!

Steve

PS…Thanks for your faithful support! Even without communicating ahead of time for funding Eduardo and Eyner in Guatemala with Cesar, your steady generosity made it happen! Muchas gracias!

You can give through the link below, or checks can be sent to:

Daybreak International, 11628 Oakmont St., Overland Park, KS 66210