Hi Everybody!
It’s been a while since I last updated you, and there has been a lot of life and stuff going on for us. I’m sure many of you have been through a lot this summer as well. I’ll share a few of the highlights (and one lowlight!) from the past couple of months. Then I want to share a major prayer concern for a soccer trip in September that involves friends from both Guatemala and Nicaragua.
ReConnecting in Valentine, Nebraska
When I last communicated with you, I’d just gotten back from Guatemala and was headed to Nebraska and South Dakota for a week of ministry. Bill Burrows was planning on going too, but right before that trip he had gotten Covid. Fortunately, it was a mild case and he was back to working within a few days. But it meant I did the trip solo. First I stopped in Valentine, Nebraska, for a Sunday morning service at First Baptist, and that evening I spoke at the Cowboy Church at the sale barn in Valentine. Special thanks goes to Lawrence Turner for putting me up and cooking me great burgers with his home grown beef!
I should have taken pictures, but because it felt like being at home with those guys, I didn’t even think about it until I was driving to South Dakota!
VBS in South Dakota
After speaking at the Cowboy Church, I crossed the nearby border that same evening to head to Keith and Judy Moody’s place near Colome, South Dakota. For the following five days I was the missionary story teller at their church, Calvary Chapel, for their annual Vacation Bible School. Their theme, “Zoomerang”, took them to Australia and taught the children about how God so marvelously created the world and people and how God offers us a way to be in relationship with Him. Having never been to Australia, it was a little bit of a stretch for me to talk about Guatemala and Central America, but the kids were great and engaged in the process really well.
Each day I changed personalities and shared stories—one day as a cowboy, then as a jungle adventurer, the third day as a soccer player, and finally the last day as a bull rider! And no, I’ve never ridden a bull before! But I had Riley Shippy, a bull rider from Colome and fellow helper in the VBS, to help me talk about our ministry to bull riders. Here are a few pics of those days.
The kids gathered outside getting ready to march into the church building at Calvary Chapel.
The children lined up in their groups and entered together.
Each day we started with a large group. Over 67 children came, and I have to admit that their excitement was contagious!
As has been done for many years, Pastor Keith Moody introduced the pledges of allegiance of both the American and the Christian flags. Then the rest of the week, selected children led out in this time.
Songs are always a big part of VBS, and here, Betsy Shippy teaches the kids a “Stop” and “Go” song.
The first day I talked about cowboy ministries in Guatemala, and how it all got started.
In this part of South Dakota, cowboys show up for VBS!
The second day, I wore a backpack and my hiking boots and talked about our jungle projects. The kids engaged in asking great questions!
On the fourth day, Riley Shippy helped me talk about bull riding. In our cowboy groups and our bull riding groups, we always ask, “What bull are you going to ride as a result of this Bible story?” Afterwards, I told the kids what bull I needed to ride as a result of being with them. So the next time I see them, they are supposed to ask me if I did my commitment!
Riley showed his gear for riding bulls and shared why he wears each item and what it does for a bull rider.
Each year for one of the crafts, the children make different pieces of a Nativity set. If they come to VBS every year, by the time they “graduate”, they have all the pieces for their own nativity set. Here the children are painting their manger characters.
This group painted their mangers.
One of the songs the children sang was about getting on a big boat (the ark) and so here one little boy shares his picture of his big boat.
The weather was perfect in June, and the kids enjoyed playing outside.
The last day the parents were invited for a cookout and for the children to sing and share about their week.
Perfect day for a weenie roast!
After the cookout, we all went inside for the kids to share with their friends and family what they learned.
Singing the theme song
Here, Keith awards the children for the memory verses learned during the week.
After my experience with VBS this year, I think I realized more than ever how vital that ministry can be for teaching children (and adults!) the basic truths about God and how we can become rightly related to Him through Jesus. If your church does VBS, I applaud you. You are making a great impact on the lives of children and families in your area.
Special thanks for the week goes to our good friends, Keith and Judy Moody, for putting me up. When I’m with them, I feel like I’m at home. Judy always feeds us with such tasty home grown meals from their garden, too.
Honorable mention goes to Randy and Jen Shippy. Jen was VBS director this year, and several of the pictures came from her. And Randy cooked me up a steak one evening that was incredible! I’ve mentioned Randy before in other updates. He raises professional bulls and is always a phone call away when I’m connecting to other bull riders.
Update on Soccer Strategy
As you might recall, when I was in Nicaragua in March, I met Eduardo Mejia, a former professional soccer player who had led a team to put on soccer tournaments in Nicaragua, where last year over 700 people came to Christ.
September 4-16, I will be in Guatemala and Nicaragua. I’ll fly to Guatemala on the 4th, and then drive with 3 other Guatemalan soccer enthusiasts to Nicaragua. Lord willing, from September 6th to 11th we will be in San Ramon, Nicaragua, for a soccer tournament.
Please pray for us. Travel is opening up in these post-pandemic days, but crossing borders can be tricky, and we will be crossing three borders to get to Nicaragua.
This is Dr. Esteban Polanco, a physician in Jalpatagua. He will be our driver. With him will be two other men. I hope to introduce them to you when I get back!
Concerns for our Partners, Cesar and Elba Gonzalez
At the beginning I mentioned a “lowlight” that I needed to share. A few weeks ago, Cesar had emergency prostate surgery. It went well, and he is doing much better. At the same time, Elba had an unusual respiratory problem (that wasn’t Covid) from a strange bacteria that sidelined her for several weeks. Thankfully, she is now doing much better as well.
In light of that, Cesar had to spend about $5,000 of unexpected expenses for both of them. Thankfully, Cesar’s son and one daughter loaned him some of the money to cover it all. If you would like to help offset some of that burden for Cesar, let me know. I plan to take an offering with me when I travel September 4th.
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 and Elba and their health. Also pray for our soccer team traveling to Nicaragua. Pray that we make it there and back safely, and pray that through this time we can strategize on multiplying this kind of ministry in Guatemala. Most importantly, pray that many players come to know Christ in the project.
ENGAGE
Coming up in early October, Bill and I are scheduled to go back to Burwell and Ord, Nebraska. And then later in October we plan to spend a Thursday evening at the Western Way Cowboy Church in Altamont, Kansas. If you are in those areas, let us know so we can keep you informed and maybe even connect with you!
INVEST
Thank you for your generosity each month! Thanks to you, this soccer project is becoming a reality and you make it possible for us to keep moving and keep connecting with folks all over the map!
Please keep us informed of your prayer needs.
CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY WAY TO INVEST.
Love y’all!
Steve
Here was our whole VBS crew on the last day.