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!