Christmas Comes in Small Packages

I don't know where you plan to be for the holidays, but we are looking forward to a Kansas City Christmas with our Reed family! As I write these words I’m basking in another Chiefs win, texting the boys about our fantasy football league, and remembering I need to check the front porch for another delivery. 

All the while, Mrs. Claus (aka Nola Reed) is busy making preparations for our family Christmas get-together. She's making her list and checking it twice--not to consider who is naughty or nice, but to prepare for the pure chaos anticipated with 5 of our 6 grandchildren being two years old and under!

On a chilly day this fall, we had all six of our grandchildren together. As you can see, getting a picture with all smiling on cue was a challenge.

In spite of my scrooge-like tendencies, I am working at being more elf-like to help Nola in her grand scheme. More than that, I want to be prepared at a deep, personal level. I want to wrap my heart around the amazing reality that God put the greatest gift of all time into a small package—a little baby born to bring salvation to the world.

When we receive God’s gift of salvation, the life of the Manger Baby brings new life in us! Every time we help someone else discover this gift of salvation, it’s like a small re-enactment of the Christmas story, no matter what time of year that may be. 

Thank God that new life comes in small packages! May God use all of us to pass on His incredible gift to the world.

Merry Christmas!

Love y’all!

Steve

THANKS FOR GIVING GENEROUSLY

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From the Reed family to yours…Merry Christmas!!

You did it in 2019!

Your Giving, Praying, and Going Made a Difference in the Lives of Many in 2019. 

This week I began reviewing the past year of work we have done together. Soon it became obvious that God used you in a significant way! Here’s a short list of your accomplishments…

A team from FBC Benbrook, Texas, is ready for a day of hiking and ministry in the jungle of Guatemala.

• You supported eight different mission teams travel to Guatemala and Honduras this year.

• You helped start two new Christian Rancher groups in a new region for us in Honduras. 

• You financed three new pastor training events in the Guatemalan jungle.

• You partnered in three new church starts in the jungle in Guatemala through soccer evangelism. 

• You started one new group in a seniors center in Guatemala. 

• You supported and staffed two equine therapy training events in Guatemala to spawn two new Play. Story. Eat. groups. 

• You purchased the first horse for an equine therapy ministry in Guatemala. 

• You funded three new tin roofs for three new churches.

• You collaborated with three sister churches in Guatemala that are sending missionaries to other places in Guatemala. 

• You supported and received ministry partners Cesar and Elba Gonzalez in their Taste of Guatemala tour, visiting friends in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. 

• You enabled and promoted five Play. Story. Eat. training events in five states.   

• You created strategic partnerships with churches where we worked on mission training and partnership both at home and abroad. Honorable mention churches are Burwell Baptist, First Baptist of Benbrook, Northern Heights Baptist, Cross Creek Baptist Mission, LifeQuest, First Baptist of Avilla, and Valentine Baptist. These churches have made a huge difference both internationally and are taking their missionary responsibility seriously at home. Way to go!

A favorite staple of any Play. Story. Eat. training event is the wagon wheel drill. Designed to give participants training in initiating spiritual conversations, this exercise took place at Burwell Baptist in Burwell, Nebraska.

Along the way this year, we tried to keep you abreast of many of the stories of God's amazing grace in this past year. From passport snafus, to the story of a new church in the jungle getting started despite threats of violence, to a story of 15 bull riders coming to Christ, we saw God move in many ways this past year. 

This is the moment right before 15 bull riders near La Ceiba, Honduras, prayed to receive Christ.

And that leads me to “look directly” at you and say "thank you." Thank you for your friendship, your generosity, your love and encouragement that you have shared with the world this year. Whether you have mailed in a check, put one of us up in your home, fed us, supported a friend to go on a trip, helped buy a horse, or started a group, your heartfelt actions mean so much to me. 

So for all that, I want to say thank you! May your tribe increase! If you would like to talk to us about a strategic partnership with your church, please give us a call!  

Love y'all!

Steve  

Thanks for your Investment!

Retracing our Steps in Guatemala

With another Guatemala mission trip in the books, I’m home and ready to share a few stories and pictures from our trip! My original plan had me heading down a week before a team from LifeQuest Church in Belton, Missouri, was to arrive so that Cesar and I could go to the jungle for a soccer evangelism thrust with some friends in some of the newest villages. However, due to storms and a few cancelled flights in Dallas, I was delayed four days in getting to Guatemala!

That knocked the jungle plans out. So instead, Cesar and I worked on the beginnings of a book idea together and met with some of our cowboy and rancher friends the last couple of days before the LifeQuest team arrived. Once they came, we retraced the steps of two previous LifeQuest groups this past year to encourage some of the newer groups.

Where the Dog Bites…

On the first day, the LifeQuest team retraced our steps to the “dogbite” church. This is a place near Cesar Gonzalez’s home where a new church has begun and where a couple of years ago I had got bit by a dog! In front is Erica Whittington, following her is Sue Teegarden, then Corinne Daut, and Tim Goulet.

Tim Goulet, the worship and youth pastor of LifeQuest, tells a story with the use of some balloons. Note that this new congregation meets in a coffee field. Behind Tim is the back wall of their little building that they have begun constructing.

New Christian Rancher Groups…

In a beautiful setting at Pastor Valentin Solares’ home, we got to be a part of a new group at his ranch. Valentin is a bi-vocational pastor of a church in Nueva Santa Rosa that has more than 200 members.

Valentin Solares shows us a pacaya that was growing wild on his ranch as Tim looks on. He explains that if you were in the jungle and needed something to eat, you could survive on this plant.

For the past several years, Valentin has felt a burden for the cowboys and ranchers that he knows who would never darken the doors of his church building in town. With Cesar’s encouragement, Valentin has decided to start a new group at his ranch, and he has invited mostly non-believers to the group. On a Saturday night we joined him and his wife, Mari, for a Guatemalan style barbecue that drew a good group for only its second time to meet.

A new Christian Rancher group gathers at the home of Valentin and Mari Solares near Chiapas, Guatemala.

At the end of the evening, Cesar and Valentin invite those who would like to, to pray a prayer to receive Christ. Several did so.

Equine Therapy News…

In the past several trips, we have been checking in with Humberto Solares about his ongoing desire to get an equine therapy ministry going. In the meantime, he and his family continue to lead two groups for adults and one for youth. His latest group is a music-oriented group that plays ranchero music (Guatemala’s version of country music). An avid musician himself, Humberto decided to invite some friends to come over and jam together on some of their favorite songs. Already the group has met a couple of times and is spurring numerous spiritual conversations.

Here Humberto talks about the progress being made with the horse that we bought this year for the equine therapy program.

Corinne gets licked by Bambino, the equine therapy horse.

Humberto does a practice run with Bambino and some volunteers.

Before the equine therapy talk, someone got the group playing with a balloon.

Oliver, a new friend attending Humberto’s group that jams together, plays a social action song for us.

Senior Citizen Groups…

During the week, we went back to two different Senior Citizen groups. One was near Quesada and the other in Santa Cruz Narranjo.

Cesar translates Tim’s story to the seniors near Quesada, Guatemala.

Sue (left) and Corinne (right) help the staff deliver the meals to the seniors in Quesada.

Erica prepares to hand out balloon bouquets to several of the ladies.

Tim helps the director of the center to move the pinata as one lady prepares to take a swing with her cane.

At the senior center in Santa Cruz Narranjo, the team takes turns dancing to some of their favorite songs.

At the seniors center, this lady shares how she is grateful to God for helping her battle cancer, and she wanted to sing a song that praises God in the good times and the hard times.

Fun Times…

Throughout the week, our team enjoyed having fun with our new friends.

Corinne shows how to make a balloon dog to a church group in Chiapas. This group is branching out to use the PSE method to start new groups.

In a balloon inflating competition, the girl on the right whoops her older and bigger competition!

Here a couple of boys play a game called Score Four that Delbert Wagner, a Nebraska friend, invented and constructed to send on this trip. Delbert, they loved it!

Sue enjoys a moment with a mother and her girls.

10:02 PRAYER

Thanks for your prayers for us the past few weeks. Please pray for Cesar and our friends who will be following up with those who are coming to Christ. Pray too for Ray Gurney of Grain Valley, Missouri, this week as he travels with Cesar. And then pray for Cesar as he heads to the jungle the week after next. Pray that every new group continues to grow and that they reach more and more of their friends with the good news of Jesus.

ENGAGE

As we head towards the Thanksgiving and Christmas season, stop and consider how you could enjoy this time with friends using our Play. Story. Eat. method. As always, we’d love to hear of your creative ideas to reach out to others this holiday season. If you have something that is working, give us a call! We’d love to hear about it.

INVEST

Your end of the year investment in this ministry is extraordinarily vital as we head into 2020. Thanks for your continued partnership!

CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY BUTTON TO INVEST.

May our Thanksgiving week be a catalyst to us having hearts full of gratitude to God for His incredible blessings.

I’m grateful for you and your prayers and support.

Love y’all!

Steve

Missions Boomerang Comes Back to Nebraska!

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

If your church could use a boost of creativity and renewal in reaching out to your community, give us a call! We would love to collaborate with you on your mission field.

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!

CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY BUTTON TO INVEST.

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!

Never too Young, Never too Old--Belton, Missouri, Team Falls in Love in Guatemala!

Hi all!

I’m back home after another fantastic trip to Guatemala—this time with a team from LifeQuest Church in Belton, Missouri. This team worked with a wide range of people from senior citizens to school children. The agenda was simple. At each place, we played, shared stories, and ate with new friends and acquaintances. As a result, two new PSE groups are getting started, and a couple of churches will be sending their own teams to other parts of Guatemala to do the same. Here are a few pictures of our week together.

On our first day, we met with the seniors center of Santa Cruz Naranjo. Here our team posed with a dear lady from the center. From left to right is Dawn Farrill, her husband George, 16-year-old Alexandra “Alex” Catron, Belinda Burkhardt, and me.

On our last day, we spent the morning with a group of school children. Here, George holds a target as the children take turns throwing balls at it.

At a seniors center near Quesada, Guatemala, we were called upon to dance with the men and women as Cesar served as the DJ—playing some of their favorite songs from their youth.

At a youth group gathering of Iglesia Mision Damasco (Damascus Mission Church) in Rinconcito, Guatemala, Dawn delicately placed her piece on the top of the Jenga tower as her team looked on. This youth group is planning a trip to the jungle this year to help with our work there.

All enjoyed the Jenga challenge!

At Iglesia Damasco in Rinconcito, this man shared what he is grateful for. He lost his leg in an accident falling from the top of a train in Mexico last year while trying to get to the United States. He is grateful for his life, his church, and his friends.

In Santa Cruz, Alex placed bead necklaces around each neck of the senior ladies.

Dancing with the seniors in Santa Cruz Naranjo

Making balloon figures was a hit at several places. Here, Alex showed some children how to make a dog.

To this group of 2nd and 3rd graders, Alex shared how when she was about their age, her parents divorced, and it forced her to grow up quicker than she wanted to. About three years ago, she came to faith in Christ and now loves going on mission trips.

We spent one day with Humberto Solares. Some of you may remember that a team from Open Range Fellowship in Lone Jack, Missouri helped him purchase this horse (named Bambino) for the beginning of an equine therapy program for special needs children. Here, Humberto leads Bambino as Clarissa, an expert in ET from San Jose Pinula, Guatemala, tests the horse’s abilities and points some things out to the group gathered for the orientation.

When we stopped to eat after the training, Bambino stuck his head in the window to see what we were eating!

At the first meeting of a new Christian Rancher group in Chiapas, Guatemala, Valentin Solares, a local pastor, makes a point as he welcomes his friends to a Guatemalan style barbecue.

At the Jesus Viene (meaning Jesus is Coming) Church in Chiapas, Guatemala, George told the biblical story of Matthew 20 where a vineyard owner pays all the workers the same daily wage—even to those who only worked an hour. As a manager of a landscaping company, he shared how crazy it would be for him to do the same thing—highlighting God’s amazing grace to all, even to those who come to Christ at the last hour. As a Christian since 2017, George feels grateful that God gives him the same claim to eternal life that long-time believers get.

A trio sang for a PSE Sunday morning gathering with the Jesus Viene Church in Chiapas. On the left is Carlos Chavaria, the pastor and long-time friend. Later this year, Carlos plans to take a team to the jungle to partner in our mission work there.

During the trip, each member of the team had at least one opportunity to share their faith story. I wish I had time to highlight each one, but in every case, the stories really connected. In several places, people prayed to receive Christ.

10:02 PRAYER

Pray for the Iglesia Damasco Church in Rinconcito and the Jesus Viene Church in Chiapas as they reach out to youth and unchurched people in their respective areas. Pray also that they will be able to join us on a mission trip to the jungle this year.

Pray for the new Christian Rancher group getting started with our friend Valentin Solares and for the ongoing efforts of Humberto Solares’ group that is leading the way in starting the Equine Therapy ministry. Pray that Linda Wright, a horse training specialist in ET, will be able to raise the funds for her to go down soon to begin training Bambino.

ENGAGE

Word is getting out that Bill Burrows and I will be storming through Nebraska a couple of weeks in August and September. August 21-25 we plan to be in the Valentine, Nebraska, and on Saturday, August 24th, from 9am to 3pm, we will be at First Baptist Church in Valentine for a PSE training camp. The cost is $20, lunch and snacks included. To sign up, contact Pastor Johnathon Moore at fbcvalentine@yahoo.com or call (402) 389-1757.

We plan to be in Nebraska again from September 6-15. On Saturday, September 7th, from 8:45am to 4:30pm, we will be at Cedar Creek Bible Church near Burwell, Nebraska, for a Rural Christian Worker's Conference. We will be leading one of the 5 breakout sessions. To sign up, contact Joel Wentworth at joelwent@hotmail.com or call (402) 340-3370.

On Saturday, September 14th, from 9am to 3pm, we will be at Burwell Baptist for another PSE training camp. The cost is $20, lunch and snacks included. To sign up, contact Joel Wentworth at joelwent@hotmail.com or call (402) 340-3370.

INVEST

Thanks for investing in this ministry. We have seen a lot happen during this summer, and your gifts have made it possible. Your continued partnership has carried us big time. Keep it up!

CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY BUTTON TO INVEST.

One last note before I sign off. While we were in Guatemala, the funeral service for our good friend and partner, Frank Slaughter, took place. Frank was pastor of Open Range Fellowship in Lone Jack, Missouri, and so wanted to come to Guatemala on a mission trip but never was able to. In his last days, he modeled how to make every day count as he battled cancer head on for two grueling years. Our prayers go out to his family, including his wife Brenda and his daughter Laura, who has been with us on a couple of mission trips to Guatemala.

Thanks again for all your prayers and support. Love y’all!

Steve

PS…Below are more pics…Thanks again LifeQuest for your partnership!

At the seniors center in Quesada, these ladies made a sign to welcome us. It says, “Welcome American Brothers.”

Belinda and Alex tying off balloons

This little lady suffers from dementia but dances out of pure joy!

George played Connect Four with a new friend in Chiapas, Guatemala.

Alex shakes hands with her opponent.

Dawn gave a prize to Elizabeth Chavaria, the pastor’s wife in Chiapas, after playing Connect Four together. After the trip, Dawn wrote her friends on Facebook to say, “This trip was life changing!”

As a former barrel racer and self-avowed horse lover, Alex couldn’t wait to ride Bambino.

Taking Bambino for a spin

Belinda gets a selfie with a couple of school girls.

The last day, the group posed for a picture with a class of school children near Amberes, Guatemala.

Despite Persecution, One New Jungle Church Starts in a Tough to Reach Place

Hi everyone!

I’m back in the U S of A, having gotten home from Guatemala in time to enjoy the 4th of July with family. Hope you had a wonderful time celebrating our nation’s birth with friends and family as well. Now that I’ve been home a week, I better get with the program and share some of the highlights from our latest trip to the jungle with a team from First Baptist Benbrook, Texas. I’d like to share one story and several pictures that capture a few snapshots of our time there.

From left to right, the Benbrook team consists of Cody Lawrence, Joe Velasquez, Tim Tucker, and Pastor Todd Pylant. Leading the way is German Tzi, the director of missions for a Kekchi Baptist Association of churches. This week, we hiked to four out-of-the-way places to encourage new believers in the start-up of new churches. On our first day, German took us to a mountain village called Volcan Semux.

After about an hour and a half hike, we got to the village and learned that in March, four families came together to start a church there. However, a couple of people in the community vowed to burn their houses down if they proceeded to start the church. Read the rest of the story below. Here, German makes introductions and shares what we would like to do together with them. Note that they have worked on building their meeting space out of lumber they cut from the jungle with chain saws.

To break up the story-telling time, we paused to play. Realizing that our original plan to play soccer was not practical because of their mountainside location, we improvised. (Ever chased a ball down a mountain?) So we decided to run relay races up and down part of a trail. Here the children showed the adults how it was done. Later the women and men took their turns!

With squeals of laughter, the ladies ran to hand off of their hankies to their teammates! Even with their long skirts, these ladies ran fast!

Tim and Joe gut it out on the trail as the red team holds their lead!

After sharing faith stories, this young man asked if someone would help him become a follower of Jesus like the others in this new church. Here, German is leading him in a prayer of salvation as we prayed together with him.

Before leaving the church at Volcan Semux, a couple of people asked if we had any medicine for some cuts and burns. Here Tim and Joe are pulling out some band-aids and antibiotic ointment to put on several wounds. Every village we visited asked us if we had any medicine or medical supplies on us. We felt helpless seeing how, in these more remote places, small ailments and wounds can turn into a big deal when not adequately treated.

“If you don’t stop building this church, we will burn your house down!”

Two months ago, those were the words yelled by two Catholic men to the four-family church that was meeting in one of the huts of one of those families. Without rehearsing or consulting, the church stood together as one outside the door. One of the men spoke. “If you do that, you will have to burn all of us together. We will not fight with you. However, we feel compelled by God to continue.”

Witnessing the situation, several Catholic people who knew the agitators came alongside and stood with the church. “If you are going to burn them, you will have to burn us too,” they said with conviction. “You know that our church does not teach this.” With that, the self-appointed accusers turned and went home.

Reluctant to say much, this man listens as German told me how these new believers stood firm in the middle of persecution.

Play. Story. Eat. In Action

Thankfully, since that incident, there have been no further threats. And German wanted us to share with the new believers how out of a glad and open heart, the congregation could play, share stories, and eat with people in the community to win them to Christ.

We talked about how we liked to do something fun to open us up to hear stories about one another and about God. Not knowing who was a part of the church and who wasn’t, we didn’t realize that we had engaged several outside of the church in our relay races and by the time we got to sharing our stories, about half a dozen ladies and several men joined us in our discussions.

While sitting around to hear the stories, one woman hung her baby from a beam to rock her to sleep.

Todd shared the biblical story Jesus told of the four different soils where gospel seed was sown. To communicate, I translated Todd’s English to Spanish. Then German translated it from Spanish to Kekchi. I was amazed at how patient the people were to listen. Fortunately, the story resonated well. Their whole existence depends on planting good seed in fertile soil to produce their crops of corn and beans and other vegetables to survive. Soon they peppered German with comments and questions. At the end when we talked about how we ride bulls of commitment to God after hearing God speak to us, we shared our commitments. The general commitment from the people was that they wanted to be fertile soil that God might use to plant seeds of faith that would sprout and multiply. They asked us to pray for them, that they would be a church of “chabil choch”—fertile soil. I made my commitment that when I got home, I would ask my prayer partners to pray that very prayer for them—that they would be fertile soil and that God would multiply mightily through them all over this mountain.

10:02 PRAYER

Please pray for the new church in Volcan Semux. Pray that they would joyfully multiply as they live out their faith in their village. As you see other pictures below, please pray that gospel seeds in the other places we went would find fertile soil too and that many would come to know Christ through the spiritual friendship and witness of our friends.

ENGAGE

I made a promise that I would tell the story of this new church in Volcan Semux and invite you to pray for them. Would you pass the word on to ask for others to pray with us? If you haven’t already done so, set your phone alarm to go off at 10:02 am or pm and remember to pray Luke 10:2…that the Lord of the harvest would send forth laborers into his fields that are ready to be harvested.

INVEST

Several of you have given sacrificially of late and greatly encouraged us. Thank you so much! Your continued partnership keeps us going. Keep those cards and letters coming!

CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY BUTTON TO INVEST.

By the way, next week, July 18-25, we have a team from LifeQuest Church in Belton, Missouri, heading to Guatemala to work with several of our PSE groups in the Santa Rosa de Lima region. Stay tuned for more news.

Love y’all!

Steve

PS…check out more pics below! These guys from Benbrook were great!

In this village in Raxaha, Todd and Cesar turn the rope while Joe and a Kekchi boy try to jump together.

Lorenzo, the pastor of the church at Ochul Choch meets us on the path to head up the mountain to his church. The village has about 15 families and all but one has been won to Christ. Even with that success in their village, they are not sitting on the job. In the past couple years they have started 3 other churches.

After a hard day of hiking to Ochul Choch, the team shares in a worship service. Here, Joe shares his testimony while Lorenzo translates it to Kekchi.

In Ochul Choch, Pedro and his family share a meal of the spicy chili soup with us.

Pedro and some of his friends and family join together outside Pedro’s hut for this picture.

Here’s how we set up to sleep in a couple of villages. This is the fellowship hall of the Ochul Choch church.

In the village of Ferial, we get ready to play soccer with a group of men and boys. After the game we sat on the field and shared stories. This opened up a whole group of unbelievers to the church that we were working with on that day.

After playing soccer in Raxaha, we agreed to bring a team in the future for a four-team tournament. Here Cesar presents a ball to the organizer of the village’s soccer teams.

One evening, Cesar and German had a group of pastors meet us so that they could meet Todd and hear more of our Play. Story. Eat. methodology. Todd spoke to the men from 2 Corinthians 3:4-6 when Paul speaks about how our competence comes not from ourselves, but from God.

Here Cesar and German are speaking of the levels we work at when starting churches.

During the time with the pastors, we taught them to play the game of Connect Four as a way to highlight how they could use play in ministry. Here Todd shows them how to play. Since several pastors came from a long distance, they spent the night at the association so they could travel by day the next morning. We left at about 10pm. German later told us that the ones who stayed got so hooked on the game that they played until 1am!

After playing soccer in Raxaha, the church ladies fixed us a meal of beans and eggs and tortillas. With no utensils, the custom is to use the tortillas to scoop the food into your mouth. Here Todd is getting another tortilla to help in his efforts!

The last day we had to hike in the rain.

Part of the trail went nearly straight up and over a mountain.

Here we made it to Sepoc, our final destination.

How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news! Romans 10:15

Before leaving the jungle, we took a moment to wash away the mud and the sweat from the morning hike and enjoy the waterfalls of Las Conchas.

Passport Snafu Demonstrates God's Protection

Hi everyone!

As I write this, I’m in Guatemala by the grace of God waiting to pick up our First Baptist Benbrook team at the airport. In my last update I asked for prayer in getting a new passport. Well, you won’t believe how your prayers were answered!

After multiple delays and frustrations, I got a passport at 2:30pm Wednesday afternoon in Dallas, Texas, and then at 6:45pm was on a plane to Guatemala! But it wasn’t really that simple…

Last Thursday, I had just gotten home dog tired after painting a house in Overland Park, Kansas, with Bill Burrows and Bruce Dalman, and the phone rang. It was Tom Jones, my friend who has helped me fly with American Airlines on standby for many years.

“Your passport is no good for this trip,” Tom said after a short conversation.

“What?” I questioned. “I thought I had about six months left on it.”

“Guatemala requires at least six months on a passport to get in, and you are under that by a week,” Tom informed me.

With only four days before my flight, I learned that to get a passport expedited that quickly by mail was about $500! But if I went to a regional office, it could be done in one day for $170. I learned that Kansas City had no such office, but that Dallas did, and it wasn’t too far from a friend’s, home in Dallas. Francisco Nunez has worked with Cesar and me through the years and was instrumental in us becoming friends in Costa Rica almost 20 years ago. After a few phone calls, the plan unfolded for me to fly down Sunday evening and then get in line Monday morning before the passport office opened to have the whole day to get the passport. Tuesday would be a backup day and one to go see the Benbrook team in Fort Worth, along with a couple of other friends.

Sunday, because of weather in Dallas, my flight got canceled, and I tried to get on two other flights to no avail. That blew plan A, but if I got on the Monday flight at 6am, I could be in Dallas at the passport office by around 9am.

Because of the backlog of customers that didn’t get on their flights on Sunday, plan B failed. Monday was worse. I didn’t get on the 6am nor the 11am. Now, plan C. If I couldn’t get to Dallas by plane, what about bus? I found that if I jumped on a Greyhound bus at 1pm, I could be in Dallas by 1am. Francisco was willing to pick me up at that hour and then help me get to the passport office at 7am on Tuesday morning. I’d still have a day to get it all done before flying out on Wednesday.

On the bus somewhere in Southern Kansas, I get a call from Tim Tucker, the organizer of the Benbrook team. “I just got on the Dallas passport office website, and it says that it’s closed on Tuesday.”

“You’ve got to be kidding!” I replied, trying not to cry. “What in the world would cause them to close an office like that? If I had known this, I wouldn’t have broken my neck to ride the bus.”

When I finally got to Dallas, all around the bus stop there were barricades and police. I called Francisco, “Donde estas? (Where are you?)” I asked in Spanish.

“About half a block away,” he replied. “Walk this way and I will tell you what is going on.” As I jumped in the car, Francisco pointed up the street. “That’s the passport office right there. And yesterday morning, a 22-year-old former military guy went berserk and shot the front door with a machine gun. That’s why they are shut down. The police and FBI are doing their investigation.”

“I guess that explains the Tuesday closing. What about Wednesday?” I asked.

“No one knows,” Francisco replied.

That night we checked out the Dallas news and got the details. At 8:40am, the gunman was shooting, and police reacted quickly and shot him dead before anyone got hurt. Here is a link to a news report.

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/18/us/dallas-gunman-photo-trnd/index.html

Brian Isaac Clyde is about to turn around and shoot at an entry to the Federal Building in Dallas, Texas. Dallas Morning News photographer, Tom Fox, shot this picture as he was about to enter the building to cover a court case.

Tuesday I did my errands and got to see the folks I needed to see. Everyone I saw took a moment to pray that I would have success on Wednesday and get to Guatemala as scheduled.

On Wednesday morning this was the line to get into the Federal building. Due to extra security, it took a while to get in.

Wednesday morning, as I slid into the passport line, people were sharing stories. One couple told me that they had gotten there at 7:30am on Monday and were processed and told to come back at 1pm to get their passport. They were overjoyed, because they be able to make their flight that evening to Australia. They had just walked out the door and gotten into their car when they heard shots. They didn’t stick around but pulled out and drove off. Needless to say, there was no passport waiting for them that afternoon and Wednesday it was like they were starting over.

Another guy told me he had been in line on Monday, and when the gunman did his thing, they were escorted to a room, and no one gave them any reason for a couple of hours. He got more info by phone from his wife on the outside, but still news was sketchy. When the passport people took them back to start processing passports, a police officer came in and announced, “Everyone must leave!” When this man went out to get in his car, they told him that he could not take it. The whole building and parking lot were a crime scene. He had to call an Uber to get a ride home.

In that moment, I teared up. I realized how God had spared me. My plan A would have had me there at 7:30am that Monday morning like my new friends going to Australia. Plan B would have had me there by 9:30am, right after the shooting. Plan C for Tuesday was shot, by no opening of the office, but instead I had a wonderful day with my ministry friends in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. On Wednesday, though it was an exhausting wait of 6 hours, I got my passport about an hour after my new friends who would have gotten theirs on Monday. An hour later I was at my gate at the airport as if nothing happened!

As I reflect on all of these happenings and a few I didn’t mention here, I am grateful. Not only was I spared any potential harm, but God allowed me to make important connections and still be ready for the team to show up Friday night! God is good!

10:02 PRAYER

Thank God for His amazing protection and provision for me. Our team from Benbrook would appreciate your prayers this week as we head to the jungle for some days of hiking to some new villages and working with some new pastors.

ENGAGE

What are you grateful for today? Thank Him for your “snafus”. He may be setting you up for a miracle!

INVEST

Thanks for your continued investment in this ministry! Any gift of any size means a lot to us. Muchas gracias!

CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY BUTTON TO INVEST.

We hope to share more when we get back from the jungle.

Love y’all!

Steve

New PSE Bull Riding Group in Honduras!

Hi everybody!

I’ve been home for a few days and have been a little slow in getting the rest of the story told of our recent trip to Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. Before I get into that, I’m excited that I got home with a few days to spare to welcome our 6th grandchild (and second grand-daughter!) into this world! See the cute pic at the end of this update!

10:02 PRAYER

Pray for our friends and students starting groups near La Ceiba. Pray that God will continue to draw others into the groups and that many spiritual conversations and friendships will form to make this a place where the gospel moves rapidly to other places in the region. Also pray during the week of June 21-29 for a First Baptist Benbrook, Texas, team of four going to the jungle. Pastor Todd Pylant and worship leader Tim Tucker will be part of that group. This team will be hiking in some remote areas where new churches are starting. We expect it to be quite an adventure! Please pray.

ENGAGE

Note that on Saturday, June 22nd, there is a PSE training event being held at LifeQuest Church in Belton, Missouri. All in the Kansas City region are welcome to attend. Just let us know if you are coming by replying to this email if you are not part of the LifeQuest group signup process.

INVEST

Bill Burrows and I have been painting houses lately to make ends meet on the ministry front. Please know that our travel expenses are growing with all the new movements and places. Thanks for your continued partnership!

CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY BUTTON TO INVEST.

Today I want to share a little of what happened in La Ceiba, Honduras. As you might recall from our last update, Cesar Gonzalez, Frank Molano, and I had just come out of the jungle in Guatemala for a pastors PSE training and had headed to the Atlantic coastal town of La Ceiba.

Frank Molano, of Fort Worth Texas, shares a story with some students of the John F. Kennedy School of Agriculture near La Ceiba, Honduras. Frank invested 18 years in ministry working as a chaplain to high school rodeo families in Texas and was part of the first cowboy church started in Texas. Frank’s stories really connected with this group.

We wanted to follow up on our trip this past February when we received permission from a large cattlemen’s association in La Ceiba to use a spot on their premises to start a Christian Rancher group. In addition, we wanted to go back to the John F. Kennedy School of Agriculture to follow up there. It just so happened that the dates we chose to go back were the exact dates of the big annual fair for the association. Even though they were excited we were there for their biggest event of the year, most of that group was too preoccupied to do much with us.

On the Saturday of the week of the fair, about a mile stretch of downtown La Ceiba, Honduras, was lined with thousands of people gathering to celebrate the annual fair and rodeo.

So we turned our focus to the ag students. On that Friday, we spent the day with them at the university, and then they came to the fairgrounds on Saturday, and we continued our Play. Story. Eat. conversation in the spot where the association had given us permission to meet. On that first day, we introduced ourselves and did a quick Play. Story. Eat. sampling.

Two professors from the university convened a group of students that they thought might be interested in hearing our story of working with the National University of Agriculture in Catacamas, Honduras, and Christian Rancher groups.

After introductions, Cesar gets us organized to have a tug-of-war and then some other impromptu relays and games.

In playing and sharing stories together, we learned that most of this group were bull riders. When Cesar talked about how every time our groups gather, we ride a bull, they got excited! Before we could say that it was a phrase we use to make a commitment to do something about a scripture or Bible story, they had talked their professors into letting them round up some bulls and do a bull riding demonstration!

Cesar talks with the bull riders. They wanted to go get some Brahma bulls from the university’s herd and bring them to the campus arena for a bull riding.

Rounding up the herd to select the four or five bulls for riding

Now it’s show time!

This was the best ride of the day!

After toppling a rider, this bull is trying to see what one of our friends has in his hand.

Here’s the official photo of our first day together.

We had a great time that first day. While we were eating a baleada together (a Honduran burrito), Cesar talked the professors of the university into getting a bus the next day to bring the group to the fair. The students were stoked about that and left excited about meeting us the next day. In addition, we had arranged for Fernanda and Leonardo, two graduated former students who had been a part of a group we started several years ago at the National University of Agriculture in Catacamas, Honduras, to meet us there. They are agronomists now and have moved back to their hometown just down the road from this university. Along with them was our friend, Adonay, who is a dedicated Christian willing to start a Christian Rancher group with a handful of other guys from the Cattlemen’s Association.

From left to right is Fernanda, her fiance, Leonardo, Cesar, Frank, Adonay, and me. Adonay is the leader of the new Christian Rancher group that is getting started in this location at the fairgrounds of the La Ceiba Cattlemens Association. This group is committed to sponsoring the student group. Some of our Texas friends might remember Fernanda and Leonardo coming to Texas in 2015 with a group of bull riders for an exchange program at Texas Tech.

Amazingly, the second day with our bull rider friends from the JFK School of Agriculture went even better than the first! As we did more of the Play. Story. Eat. process, we all connected even more. A part of the fun included the brand skit we sometimes do. This version wound up with a prize winning bull being a part of the act! Even more amazing was that at the end of our time together, in a strong voice, every person prayed to receive Christ as Cesar and Frank led them in that time. Now they are committed to getting together to do the PSE process every week!

With some highly prized show animals nearby, Cesar talked the handler of this bull to come be a part of our brand skit! The point of the skit is to determine who your real owner is when you die.

Here is a rich and famous man in the skit. He has his fame as his brand.

But when he dies, his owner (the devil) takes him away!

This is my favorite picture. After the skit and the testimonies, it was time to pray, and here Cesar was tying it all together to invite those who wanted to do so, to pray to receive Christ and have His brand seared on their lives. A moment later, all eagerly did so as Frank led them phrase by phrase to pray a prayer of salvation. After hugs and high fives, we walked away understanding we were now family. Please pray for this new group of spiritual friends!

Please Remember to:

10:02 PRAY

Pray for our friends and students starting groups near La Ceiba. Pray that God will continue to draw others into the groups and that many spiritual conversations and friendships will form to make this a place where the gospel moves rapidly to other places in the region. Also pray during the week of June 21-29 for a First Baptist Benbrook, Texas, team of four going to the jungle. Pastor Todd Pylant and worship leader Tim Tucker will be part of that group. This team will be hiking in some remote areas where new churches are starting. We expect it to be quite an adventure! Please pray.

ENGAGE

Note that on Saturday, June 22nd, there is a PSE training event being held at LifeQuest Church in Belton, Missouri. All in the Kansas City region are welcome to attend. Just let us know if you are coming by replying to this email if you are not part of the LifeQuest group signup process.

INVEST

Bill Burrows and I have been painting houses lately to make ends meet on the ministry front. Please know that our travel expenses are growing with all the new movements and places. Thanks for your continued partnership!

CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY BUTTON TO INVEST.

Note too that I will be heading to Dallas by bus (long story) to expedite a passport renewal on Tuesday, June 18th, and Lord willing, I will fly to Guatemala on Wednesday, June 19th, for a couple of meetings before the FBC Benbrook team arrives on Friday. I’d appreciate your prayers on all this. Thanks!

Love y’all!

Steve

Our grand-daughter, Bridget, holds Adalyn, her new baby sister! Bobbi and Ryan Reed are the proud parents. All are doing well!

Jungle PSE Training

Hi Everybody!

Cesar Gonzalez, Frank Molano, and I have been burning up the roads from Cesar’s home in Amberes, Guatemala, to the jungle near Fray Bartolome de las Casas, Guatemala, to La Ceiba, Honduras, and back to Cesar’s. As I write this from Amberes, I am more than just grateful for a productive trip, I am grateful that God is doing way more than we could have imagined or conjured up ourselves. To recount all the stories you´d have to pack a lunch! So let me show you a few pictures of our jungle training. Next time I will fill you in on our Honduras cowboy trip.

In Fray, we spent two days with pastors from a Kekchi Baptist Association. The first day we trained 12 men. Then the second day those 12 repeated the training they got with 40 other pastors in their Kekchi language. While we didn´t even come close to doing a full training, we did get in the basics of the PSE process. We believe that this method of giving the training in small doses and then allowing time to practice will produce better long term results. In June we will have a team from Benbrook, Texas, come down for some days of practice in three remote villages where new churches are being started.

German Tzi, mission director for a Kekchi Baptist Association based in Fray de las Casas, Guatemala, shares how the 70 churches in their association need to learn how to be more intentional in evangelism and church planting.

Cesar begins the Play.Story.Eat. training with the story of why we have come.

Nothing like jumping rope to get the blood pumping!

Frank shares the biblical story of the great banquet and how God often goes to the overlooked places in the world to call people to Himself. Frank kept the pastors engaged in his story of being reached by a cowboy church in Fort Worth, Texas, that then helped him go out to reach kids in high school rodeos.

Sitting down to eat with the pastors, they had no problems with this part of the training!

In our training we always talk about laying down our shields and our weapons to be open hearted with God and others. This pastor shares the concept in the Kekchi language on the second day with the pastors who were hearing the concept for the first time.

This pastor repeats Cesar’s teaching from the day before about being fishers of men.

10:02 PRAYER

Pray for German Tzi and the pastors near Fray, Guatemala, that they will prepare their churches to be effective witnesses in their region and that this year every church will grow and reproduce.

ENGAGE

Would you consider forwarding this update to those who might be interested? Note too that I have posted more pics on Facebook.

INVEST

Your gifts make all the difference in the world! Thanks for continuing to partner with us!

CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY BUTTON TO INVEST.

I can hardly wait to share with you what happened in Honduras. Stay tuned for more!

Love y’all!

Steve

Guatemala Equine Therapy and PSE Happenings!

Hi all,

We have been in Guatemala for almost a week now with a fantastic team from Open Range Fellowship of Lone Jack, Missouri, and Frank Milano of Fort Worth, Texas. Our friends from Open Range consists of Sam Anderson, Linda Wright, and Mike Crutchfield. Each one has experience in training horses and in equine therapy programs. Frank is a retired cowboy who worked with the Stockyards of Fort Worth and has a wealth of ministry experience in cowboy churches and high school rodeos in Texas.

This week, not only did this team help us locate a horse for the startup of the equine therapy program, but they were a great encouragement to new Christian Rancher groups, Play.Story.Eat. groups, and a brand new Christian Rancher group getting started in El Salvador!

Here are a few pics to highlight our time together so far.

Sam Anderson sizes up a horse in Guatemala with our equine therapy team in search of a horse to start a new program this year in Guatemala.

Linda Wright checks out the hooves of this horse.

Sam looks at another horse with Mike Crutchfield looking on.

Sam Anderson checks out a mare while her owner looks on.

Linda tests the walking pace of this horse.

Cesar Gonzalez hands the money over to the owner for the first horse to be trained for equine therapy while Humberto Solares looks on.

Humberto poses with our new horse!

Before I show you the rest of the pictures, I want ask for your prayers…

10:02 PRAYER

Pray for the folks we touched this week in Guatemala and El Salvador. Cesar, Frank, and I would appreciate your continued prayers as we head to Fray de las Casas Guatemala to train about 80 pastors from a Kekchi Association in Play.Story.Eat. methodolgy. And then from there we head to La Ceiba, Honduras for a training of a small group to start Christian Rancher groups in their region.

ENGAGE

Would you consider forwarding this update to those who might be interested? Note too that I have posted more pics on Facebook.

INVEST

Your gifts keep us moving. Thanks for continuing to partner with us!

CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY BUTTON TO INVEST.

I hope to send another note when we get back from Honduras. More pics are below…Until next time…

Love y’all!

Steve

Sam officially offers a saddle donated by Linda Grimmet of Lone Jack, Missouri for the equine therapy program.

Play.Story.Eat. training with pastors and leaders in Guatemala City.

In our PSE training, Mike tells his story while Cesar translates.

The first meeting of a Christian Rancher group in Ahuachapan, El Salvador.

Sam speaks to the group how horses can teach us about God.

These ladies are making Pupusas for the group. If you ever go to El Salvador, you must try them! They are delicioso!

Sam has fun with the kids in a Play.Story.Eat. group at Humberto´s house in Santa Rosa de Lima, Guatemala.

At a senior citizens program near Quesada, Guatemala, Cesar introduces our group.

Frank shares his story to a receptive group.