After a couple of months hiatus from updating you, I’ve got a lot of catching up to do! Since my trip to Guatemala at the end of July, Nola and I have celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary, 3 grandkids’ birthdays, and Nola’s mother’s 90th birthday!
On the ministry side, at the end of August and in part of September, Bill Burrows and I spent some time in Nebraska doing Play. Story. Eat. training and speaking in churches. For the past several years, we have said that we believe that everything we do in Guatemala can be done here in the U.S. After some time with our friends in Valentine, Burwell, Ord, and Norfolk, we see how the missions boomerang we threw down to Guatemala to reach cowboys has come back to serve us here with many different types of people. Here are a few pictures highlighting our time in Nebraska.
Valentine, Nebraska
You can’t go to Valentine without checking out the livestock auction at the sale barn! From time to time, Lawrence Turner and his friends have had cowboy church here.
A few of our friends in our PSE training at First Baptist Valentine took a picture with Bill Burrows (black shirt in back). Johnathon Moore (kneeling) is pastor. Lawrence Turner is on the far right.
During one of the training sessions at FBC Valentine, partners practiced sharing their current reality stories. A current reality story is one where we tell what God is doing right now in our lives. On the right is Scott McClellen, pastor of the Valentine Berean Fellowship Church.
Special thanks go out to Lawrence Turner for putting us up for a few days. While at Lawrence’s, I spent a morning moving cows on horseback. I can’t help it that I still want to be a cowboy when I grow up!
It sure is peaceful out on Turner ranch near Sparks, Nebraska.
Burwell, Nebraska
A few months ago when we scheduled our time to be in Burwell we didn’t realize that we would be going during the first couple of weeks of our good friend, Joel Wentworth, becoming Burwell Baptist’s new pastor! Joel is the coordinator for the Sandhills Baptist Association, and he will continue in that role. But now instead of pastoring two congregations, he will be down to one—Burwell.
During our week in Burwell, we spent time with just about every group in the church. In each case, people loved how simple and refreshing our PSE process is. Special thanks go to Dave & Sandy Gideon and Rex & Deb Kelley for putting us up during those days.
By the way, also during our time in Burwell, we participated in Joel’s Rural Church Workers training done for leaders in the region. And we spent a couple of days with Doug Olsen and friends at the Evangelical Free Church in Ord. Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures on the days in Ord and for the Rural Church training! At any rate, here are some other pics from our Burwell stay.
The Burwell Baptist Junior High group invited us to talk to them about our PSE method. Here, they try their hand at a new teamwork game that one of their youth leaders invented.
Marty Archibeque, a Burwell veterinarian, shows how he made his game. He still hasn’t come up with a name yet! But whatever it is, I am planning to take this idea to Guatemala this year and test it out!
In the PSE training, participants play using Marty’s game. The goal is to move blocks to designated spots in the circle.
In the PSE training, the wagon train drill offers a quick and effective way to practice initiating spiritual conversations.
Lynch, Nebraska
On the Saturday afternoon after our training in Burwell, Joel Wentworth took me to Lynch, Nebraska, where crews are still working to rebuild after the unprecedented flooding that took place last March. I worked for a few hours helping a team sheet-rock a home before getting a ride to Norfolk.
On the Niobrara river near Lynch, Nebraska, Joel Wentworth surveys the remnants of the dam that got washed out in the March flood.
Joel surveys the progress on the rebuilding of the home of Jim McBride, the fire chief for the town of Lynch. Jim had been instrumental in saving many in the town during the flood. But his home was flooded as well. Now, people from the community along with friends from Northern Heights Baptist Church of Norfolk and disaster relief workers with the Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists have returned to bless him.
Norfolk, Nebraska
In Norfolk, I spoke at the Spanish service at Northern Heights on a Sunday, and the next day we did PSE training in both English and Spanish. David Martinez, the Spanish speaking pastor, leads a Monday night training of leaders he calls “El Instituto Biblico,” The Bible Institute. Though it is a Spanish program, when word got out that we would be at the training, a few of the leaders on the English side wanted to get in on it. So Bill took the English speakers and I took the Spanish speakers, and we did simultaneous training.
David Martinez introduces me to the Spanish speaking church at Northern Heights shortly before speaking.
At the Monday training, we prayed before dividing the group up into English speakers and Spanish.
By the way, David has been commissioned by the KNCSB to help train and coordinate the Spanish work in the convention, and he is having me speak to a Spanish breakout session this coming Monday, October 14th, in Lexington, Nebraska, for the KNCSB annual meeting.
10:02 PRAYER
And that leads me to ask for your prayers as I go to speak at the convention meeting and prepare for another trip to Guatemala at the end of this month. Continue to pray that the Lord of the harvest will send forth laborers into his fields in Nebraska. Pray that every person in Nebraska will have a friend who loves Jesus!
ENGAGE
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INVEST
As we head down the stretch on 2019, your end of the year investment in this ministry is vital to our collective work—especially as we head into 2020. We are grateful for your partnership in helping us travel and make disciples PSE style. May your tribe increase!
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In a few days I hope to update you on the new developments in Guateamala.
Thanks again for all your prayers and support. Love y’all!
Steve
P.S. Here is one of my favorite pics from all the recent birthdays!
Landon, our number 5 grand child, gets a taste of what being one is all about!