It’s hard to believe the summer is about done and kids are heading back to school! For us, the past few months have been challenging.
For starters, Bill and I took on the painting of several houses and have been juggling to get those done. We have a couple more to do this fall, but are looking forward to getting back to our normal routines.
Beyond that, we had to slow down in more recent weeks for health reasons. And for this, we ask for prayer.
Bill had a cornea transplant done on his right eye on July 14, and it hasn’t healed up as well as he had hoped. The doctor seemed pleased with his work, but Bill’s vision in that eye is not clearer than it was before the surgery. At some point, Bill will need to decide if he will do the other eye, which is his “good” eye. Please pray for Bill’s eyes.
On June 6th, the day after Bill’s 60th birthday, he got a nifty pair of glasses for a surprise birthday celebration!
AS for me, I caught a very rare (for me) cold last week from Nola. Both of us have limited our contact with the outside world in order to not pass it on. To be safe, we did get tested for Covid, and thankfully, that came back negative.
Speaking of Covid, Cesar Gonzalez and our friends in Guatemala are dealing with another round of friends and family getting the virus. Guatemala has been on red alert for the past several months. In Guatemala City neighborhood where Cesar used to live, 5 former neighbors and one member of their home church died of Covid.
And closer to their home in Amberes, there have been more friends getting it. Humberto Solares, one of our best friends and leader of two groups, got it last week along with his wife, two grown daughters and their husbands, and two granddaughters.
In a recent Zoom call with Cesar Gonzalez and Humberto Solares, Cesar asked how Humberto was getting along since getting the Covid-19 virus. “Soy muy agradecido,” he said. “I’m very grateful that I am getting better.” Humberto went on to say that he and all of his family weren’t 100%, but they all were getting better.
That might lead you to ask, “Weren’t Cesar and Elba planning on coming this summer to the U.S. to get vaccinated and visit us?”
Well the answer is “yes.” They were supposed to come, but at the last minute, Cesar and Elba were able to get vaccinated down there with the first dose of a Russian vaccine. So they decided to stay and not travel to the U.S. after that. Admittedly, they were nervous about traveling internationally with so many cases in Guatemala and having taken only one of the two doses. So, right now, they hope to get the second dose in September and then see if traveling makes sense later.
After Cesar got the first shot, I asked him, “Any reactions to that first dose?”
“No, Esteban” he said, “I didn’t feel bad at all. But for some reason I can’t explain, I have this strong desire to vote for Putin!”
Recap of Our Nebraska Trip in June
On a positive note, the trip Bill and Nola and I took to Nebraska in June went extremely well. Special thanks goes to Rex and Deb Kelley of Ord, Nebraska, for putting us up. Also we are grateful to our friends at Burwell Baptist and Ord Evangelical Free for having us speak at their services and meet with several groups from their churches.
Here are a random set of pictures highlighting some of what we got to experience.
At Burwell Baptist Church in Burwell, Nebraska, pastor Joel Wentworth and his son, Emmet, built this prop for Bill’s presentation last year on how to “Be the Church.” Joel customized the triangle for their church and uses it to point out the three vital conversations for a growing disciple.
On the town square of Ord, Nebraska, Doug Olson, pastor of Ord Evangelical Free Church, greets folks at the Farmers Market, with his daughter Anna. Not pictured is Doug’s wife Janna, who bakes home-made bread that sells out quickly on this first day of the season. Jana also is the community coordinator for The Golden Husk, the theater in the background, that is a gathering place for family friendly shows for the community.
Jana Olson, far right, gives us a tour of The Golden Husk Theater. One of her favorite events of the past year was a community Christmas play that presented the gospel and served to energize their own church.
As the sun begins to set, Dave Gideon and a friend from Burwell, Nebraska, assess their progress on getting hay out of the field. Dave and many others in Nebraska have been prayer partners and participants in multiple mission trips through the years.
During the trip, we enjoyed reconnecting with friends from previous mission trips and had some really encouraging conversations about future mission opportunities. As a result of those conversations, we have three teams that are planning to go to Guatemala this year.
One team is preparing to do a Guatemalan version of a rodeo Bible camp for kids in November. Another team is looking to do a medical trip in January, and the third team plans to go to the jungle in February for an evangelism blitz with a Kekchi Baptist Association of churches.
Please pray that Covid doesn’t keep us from going and that all we do will be in God’s timing.
Here’s a pic from Rodeo Bible Camp in Johnstown, Nebraska. A team is praying for and preparing to do a version of this in Guatemala in November. Please pray!
Joel Wentworth shared with us that over 50 children prayed to receive Christ this year at the Johnstown Rodeo Bible Camp!
Thank you for your continued faithfulness to this ministry. We know many of you are dealing with big challenges where you are. We pray that for every challenge you face, God opens up a huge opportunity for you to shine for Him.
10:02 PRAYER
Pray for our health and energy to do all God has called us to do. Pray for God to prepare the way for our teams to go to Guatemala this year. Also pray that God uses all of us—both here and there—to make disciples who love like Jesus and multiply like crazy!
ENGAGE
If you are interested in joining one of our mission teams this year, let us know.
INVEST
Thank you for your investment in this ministry. You have made a huge difference for us this year!
CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY WAY TO INVEST.
If we could pray for you in any way, send us a note.
Love y’all!
Steve
This is one of the houses we painted this summer in Lenexa, Kansas. I took this pic the day we finished. We are thankful that in each house we have painted, we have had opportunities to do our Play.Story.Eat. process with each other and pray for the families in each home.