PSE Road Trips and Summer Fun

As we count down the last days of May, we realize that this summer will be a lot different than last. For one, we will be hitting the road quite a bit and not be as limited in our travels!

Here are a few pics that give a glimpse into what we are looking at doing.

Connection with Northern Heights Baptist in Norfolk, Nebraska

In the past couple of years, we have had a part in the training of Hispanic leaders of Northern Heights Baptist Church of Norfolk, Nebraska. David Martinez, far right, leads the Spanish congregation and has been training about a dozen lay leaders in their Instituto Biblico (Biblical Institute). Here, Bill prayed at the beginning of a meeting before we split into English and Spanish groups where we talked about how to use the Play. Story. Eat. method in starting new groups. Since that time, 5 groups have been established by these folks!

On Sunday, May 30th, Nola and I will get to be present for a graduation ceremony at Northern Heights Baptist Church. This team is also exploring the logistics of getting their graduates to go to Guatemala in an evangelism project next February. Stay tuned!

June Pastor-to-Pastor Connections in Nebraska

Bill, Nola, and I will be spending 10 days in Nebraska meeting with pastors and church leaders to see how we might help these folks and their churches.

Last year, we enjoyed the best steak of our lives with Rex and Deb Kelly of Ord, Nebraska. We will definitely be back there!

Also last year, we sat down to eat with the Olsons of Ord, Nebraska. Here, I made Doug, on the left, say a greeting for a Rancheros Cristianos video. We will be back at their church at the Evangelical Free Church of Ord.

Last year Bill did a session on a Disciple’s Leverage for a men’s lunch group at Burwell Baptist. We anticipate another gathering like this one as we continue our discussions about how to have life-giving conversations with Jesus and others.

July Visit From Cesar and Elba

In our latest trip to Guatemala, Cesar and Elba posed for a picture in Chiquimula, Guatemala, with Ray Gurney, pastor of Cross Creek Baptist Mission. Hopefully, all our buggies will be ready to roll when they come to visit!

Shortly after we celebrate our fourth of July, Cesar and Elba plan to come spend a few weeks with us. Right now, we have them visiting churches in Kansas City, running up to Nebraska for some connections, and spending a couple days near Carthage, Missouri. If you would like them to swing by to see you, let me know, and we will see if we can make that happen.

Justin Moving to an Engineering Internship

Justin Jacobson helped us in many different ways this past year as we got further into making video and audio recordings. This picture was taken on a day we were brainstorming together.

Justin will be taking on an internship with a local engineering company here in Kansas City. Since this is a part of his long term planning as he goes through his training at the University of Missouri Kansas City, we will be losing his help starting in June.

Thanks, Justin, for your work this year and last! We wish you the best in your internship and the pursuit of your career. My God bless you as you go!

10:02 PRAYER

Pray that all our comings and goings will foster more and more leaders multiplying disciple-makers who love like Jesus. Pray for the traveling logistics and safety for Cesar and Elba as they prepare to come.

Thank God for Justin and his help this past year. Also pray that God sends us the right person to take his place.

ENGAGE

If you are interested in having us visit you, let us know! Note that Bill will be starting some pastor-to-pastor calls during this summer. If you or your pastor might be interested, let us know that too!

INVEST

Thank you for your investment in this ministry. Keep those cards and letters coming!

CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY WAY TO INVEST.

We hope you are doing well. If we could pray for you in any way, let us know.

Love y’all!

Steve

Guatemala Trip Wrap-up tOP 10

I’ve been home for a few days now, and I thought I’d do a quick wrap-up of the recent Guatemala trip by doing a top 10 list from our evaluations we took from the trip.

10. In the new realities of a post Covid-19 world, it will be a while before we do any big events to attract large numbers of people.

Through the years we have become known in some places for doing fun events that can attract hundreds of people—whether it is cowboy events, or sports events like soccer, or children’s festivals, etc. However, now it is both unpractical and ill advised given the Covid-19 realities. And since most Guatemalans have not had access to a vaccine yet, this leads to our next reality.

9. Social distancing, mask wearing, and groups under 10 people will be the norm.

While most Guatemalans are going about their work and their livelihoods as before, group gatherings and church attendance are much more limited than what seems to be happening in the U.S. Groups under 10 can go under the radar, but over that, it is still frowned upon.

Here is a group of administrators for the department of transportation in Jutiapa, Guatemala, meeting under a tree with us during their lunch break.

When I think biblically, I wonder if Jesus is helping us be more effective. Remember that Jesus’ ministry strategy changed during His earthly ministry. Jesus at times gathered large crowds to teach, feed, or heal, but he discipled in smaller numbers, and it was from the multiplication of disciples that He commissioned the church (“Go and make disciples of all nations”…Matthew 28:18-10), and the number of disciples grew.

So we wonder if God is helping us focus more on smaller groups and on discipling of leaders who make disciples who make disciples.

8. Zoom meetings will be both a blessing and a curse.

After our first week of activities when we traveled extensively, the second week Cesar and I averaged a couple of Zoom meetings a day to follow up. As we were visiting, I realized that I can touch base with these same leaders from the U.S. as effectively as we were doing there in Guatemala.

A typical Zoom meeting with Cesar, me, and a leader of a cattlemen’s association in Raxruja, Guatemala.

The down side is that it does require a time commitment, and with the technology, we miss the contact and the blessing of walking with a leader, eating with them, etc.

7. Our Play. Story. Eat. methodology works but requires new thinking.

Our “play” activities have to be adjusted to what is safe and helpful for the group of people gathering and how they are able to gather.

As you PSE practitioners know, “play” is any activity that we do that opens up people for hearing a story—especially a God story. One good example on this trip comes from our friend, Luis Cuellar, of Chiquimula. One day after we left him, he got a handful of friends together to bike up a mountain, and then they stopped to have a group time to talk. (What we call “story.”) As they talked, they ate a snack together. And that leads us to the next one on our list.

A first meeting of a group near Chiquimula, Guatemala.

6. Eating is a challenge! But it can be done in open air settings.

Greater care than ever has to come with our eating, but done thoughtfully and simply, it can be done safely. Fortunately, most of our groups can meet outside and not in closed rooms.

It seems that when we eat together now, after having been isolated much of this past year, that action alone means even more.

5. We need to focus our efforts on reproducing and encouraging leaders.

Since we are limiting the numbers we can meet in person, we need to focus more time and attention to leaders—whether helping a mayor and his team, or leaders of groups, or a leader of a single group.

Here, Ray Gurney, Cesar, and good friend, Humberto Solares, talk about one of Humberto’s groups meeting via Zoom these days.

4. We have to model more than ever how to “Be the Church,” especially when going to church is either not an option or is severely limited.

While we were in Guatemala, the president had asked churches not to meet until further notice. Covid-19 cases had jumped up after Easter week. In fact, Cesar and I know of three pastor friends who died of Covid in the past two weeks.

No one knows the long term ramifications of this, but in the meantime, we believe that this reality does not stop us from “being the church” and having amazing spiritual conversations with both other disciples and not-yet disciples.

Please note that our “Be the Church” videos are designed with this in mind. And that leads us to the next item.

3. Use Technology more effectively than ever.

Our “Be the Church” videos, websites, Rancheros Cristianos videos, Zoom calls, and other technologies can help us stay in touch and get out the message more than ever.

Justin does a sound check for Bill before recording for a future podcast.

For me, I realize that I must spend more time sharpening my skills and being disciplined in the use of available tools to help make disciples who make disciples.

2. Protect Cesar and Elba by getting them Vaccinated.

Since the quality of the vaccines available right now in Guatemala are not as trusted as ones we are getting in the U.S., we are planning a trip for Cesar and Elba to come to visit us during the month of July so that they can get one of the two-dose vaccines available here. We believe that this will help protect them as much as possible while Guatemala fights their own Covid-19 realities.

Cesar and Elba share a moment before a meal with their daughter Mirna Elizabeth on this last trip.

1. Keep Our Conversation-with-God Streaks Alive.

One goal of mine on this trip was keeping my 2021 commitment to have an hour-long conversation with God every day. I knew that changing my routine in travel can sometimes make this a challenge. So I was a little concerned about it. Did I keep the streak alive?

My hen scratching from a recent session of the “SALTY” process that I use in daily conversation with God.

Before I answer, let me say that I am discovering how much grace I am receiving in this process from the Lord. Every day during this trip, though I was not always aware of it in the time spent with God, I found that I got exactly what I needed for the day in terms of a personal word, a story, a biblical concept, etc. I could talk on and on about this. So the answer is “yes!” My streak is still alive!

Over the next year, I’d like to keep the streak going and maybe even recruit a few others to try this out as well.

10:02 PRAYER

Pray for continued health and protection for all of us—especially Cesar and Elba. Pray too that all will work out for their trip in July.

Pray for Bill, Cesar, Justin, and me in our continued use of technology to share with the world and to stay in touch with leaders. Pray for wisdom and discipline in using the tools to the best of our abilities.

Pray that all who were touched on this trip will be motivated to follow Jesus more wholeheartedly and be contagious in sharing with others. We long to see the multiplication of more friends and followers of Jesus.

ENGAGE

If you are interested in having us visit you this summer and perhaps being on the short list for Cesar and Elba to visit in July, let us know!

INVEST

Thank you so much for your investment in this ministry and your notes of encouragement these past few weeks.

CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY WAY TO INVEST.

And as always, thanks for your prayers.

Love y’all!

Steve

Kids ask me all the time if I see monkeys a lot in the jungle. The true answer is not very often. But here is a monkey that our hotel in Chiquimula had as a mascot!

And there was a water buffalo at the hotel too!

The Latest from Guatemala!

As I write this update, Ray Gurney, my partner for 10 days here in Guatemala, is traveling back to Kansas City. For me, I still have a week left to be with Cesar and Elba and a few more of our friends. As you might imagine, with this being our first trip to Guatemala since the pandemic, we were wondering how everything was going to work.

Cesar with his spray bottles that he used for all of this trip. Here at Cesar’s home in Amberes, Guatemala, he is ready to spray anyone who comes close to him! This alcohol-based solution was used to spray our hands or even our whole bodies before and after being with people or touching susceptible surfaces. From my experience I would say Cesar had the quickest draw!

When Ray and I got off the plane and met Cesar outside of the airport terminal, we got our first shot of Cesar’s spray solution! And immediately he told us that after Easter, the Covid-19 cases had increased dramatically and that the president of Guatemala had declared that starting Monday, April 12th, (the day we arrived), meetings of more than 10 people were prohibited. Specifically mentioned in his orders were that churches should not meet. So right off the plane we had a huge question mark presented to us as to what we would be able to do and where we could go.

The Devotion that Gave Us Direction

The following morning, Ray shared a devotion from Psalm 46 that he had received from his brother Bob that morning. Here are a few of the key phrases from that passage:

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging… Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; He lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; The God of Jacob is our fortress… He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the shields with fire. He says, "Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth." The Lord Almighty is with us…Psalm 46

The message Ray got from this passage was that with all our uncertainty about whether we were going to be able to travel and if the president of Guatemala was going to shut down or restrict travel, God had called us, and if He had called us here at this time, He would move mountains, open up roads, and pave the way for us to go everywhere He wants us to go. We needed to proceed with plan A with no fear and let God do what He wants to do. If we needed to adjust the plan, we would.

Ray also mentioned that in Mark 6:7-8 when Jesus sent the disciples out 2 by 2, God prepared the way for them and provided for them. They had to go in faith, and it was evident that we must as well.

Our Commitment

We all agreed that we would take precautions, but that we would go everywhere we had planned until it was obvious that we couldn’t. I made a commitment from that passage that I would be still and rest with no fear or worries about our plans. As you know, I was super tired from the weeks prior to the trip with Nola’s mom’s illness and passing.

We took one day to rest and one day to visit with friends close to Cesar’s place in Amberes before proceeding with our travels and a heavier schedule.

On one of our first days, we spent the morning visiting with Humberto Solares, a friend who has started several groups and is interested in using “Bambino,” the horse pictured above, in equine therapy for children.

The Day God Paved the Way

On Thursday, April 15th, we got up before the crack of dawn to drive two hours to Jutiapa for a meeting with Luis Gabriel Rosales, the mayor. The last time I was in Guatemala, I had attended his inauguration on January 15th of 2020.

Luis, a veterinarian by trade, has worked with us on several different projects through the years. About 7 or 8 years ago, he partnered with Tom Huffman, of Burwel, Nebraska, on an artificial insemination training.

In January of 2014, in an artificial insemination training, Luis holds the mike for a participant who is learning how to use the probe. Not pictured is Tom Huffman. Unfortunately, every time Tom spoke, I was translating and didn’t get a picture of Tom in action!

Flashbacks

I will never forget that day. At the training, Cesar led over 50 people to pray to receive Christ after Tom shared his testimony! And out of that group we received invitations to go to other places. Doors opened up to work with other cattlemen’s associations, a women’s leadership group, and several youth groups. And speaking of youth, we worked with Luis on a project getting scholarships for Guatemalan students to attend the National University of Agriculture in Catacamas, Honduras, where our friends there trusted our recommendations.

Never in our wildest dreams would we have thought that Luis would be the mayor of over 162,000 people in this department of Guatemala! Last year he had said that it was God that called him and I believe that in this situation, only God could have orchestrated for a political outsider not connected with the moneyed-up group to win.

Our Doubts

As we drove, we had our doubts that Luis would be able to meet with us. This year he got elected to be the president of the mayors association for the country. So we figured he’d have to change his plans with the president’s declaration. But Luis was in his office and received us with open arms. When we were walking past his secretary, two reporters were about to leave, and then Luis said to them, “Wait! I want you to meet these men. You need to do a story on them.”

Ray took this picture of me with Luis as the reporters were hooking up a lapel mike on me and testing the sound. As you can see from my face, I was going to have to think quickly!

Fortunately, they asked questions that Cesar and I have answered hundreds of times through the years. And Luis made it even easier, because he vouched for us at several key points.

During that visit, Luis offered us access any time to the city municipal building and grounds at the sale barn area. He would put up sound equipment and chairs or anything we needed. This is a huge offer that we feel we should follow up on in some way.

From there, Luis invited us to attend a meeting with him on helping families with basic needs to build vegetable gardens. I rode with Luis in his car with a couple of bodyguards and another friend. Another bodyguard rode with Cesar to direct him to our next location across town.

Luis stops to encourage some volunteer artists painting a mural at the city building we were about to enter.

Here Luis and his team are getting ready for their meeting to discuss a program for helping the poor to plant gardens. As a farmer and rancher himself, Luis was in his element as he and others were discussing how the program has worked so far. We stayed only a short while and then had to leave for our next meeting.

Friends From Caminos—The Department of Transportation

From the mayor meeting, we hustled over to meet Juventino Najera, a friend who works in the Jutiapa department of transportation called Caminos (meaning roads). He wanted us to come meet some of his co-workers and leaders. “Tino”, as we call him, has been a part of a lot of our events in the past few years with the Jutiapa Cattlemen’s Association.

Tino introduces us to his friends and co-workers at our Jutiapa DOT meeting.

At that meeting was Rodrigo, Tino´s boss, and about 10 others. The discussion went even better than we expected, and we got word later that all enjoyed the meeting. We believe they will continue to meet like this at least once a month. Fortunately, with Zoom, we can touch base with several of them.

After a socially distanced lunch with our friends, we headed out to let them get back to work. As we drove off, we felt like our Psalm 46 message was coming true. Everything we had hoped we could do had happened so far. And truth be told, it was even better than any of us expected.

Chiquimula, a Covid Hotspot

From Jutiapa, we drove a couple hours further to Chiquimula. Because of a big soccer game during Easter week, where many did not social distance, Covid cases had skyrocketed, and the president had mentioned that he might limit travel to certain areas of the country like Chiquimula. Our fear was that we might have to cancel this part of our trip.

Our assignment was to meet with Luis Cuellar (yes, another Luis!), a horse enthusiast, entrepreneur, and rancher who Cesar met back in February when Cesar was traveling through Chiquimula on his way to the jungle. When Cesar saw the restaurant called “La Ranchería,” he decided to stop. “This would make a great place to have a Rancheros Cristianos group,” Cesar said out loud to his wife Elba.

Here is a pic of Luis the first time I met him on a Zoom call with Cesar. Luis was telling us about how this horse of his had great potential but needed a good trainer. Later he said, “I think I have a lot in common with this horse! I want to be better trained for God to use me.”

Soon he met Luis, the owner, and when he talked about Rancheros Cristianos, Luis stopped everything and sat down with Cesar. He was immediately captured by the idea of reaching cowboys and ranchers who don’t go to any church. Having come to Christ while he was in Houston, Texas, a decade ago, he admitted he was not attending church like his wife, but said that he felt like he needed to help his friends find Jesus. On the spot, they decided to meet again when Cesar came back out of the jungle a few days later. That time, Cesar Zoomed me to introduce me to Luis, and we had a great first meeting.

A Man of Peace

After we checked into our hotel, we headed over to Luis´ restaurant. Luis rolled out the red carpet, and we ate and watched as he had his assistant bring horses over for us to see.

Here Luis shares more of his story as his assistant shows us his prized paint horse.

It didn’t take long for Luis to talk about how he wanted us to meet many of his friends, but because of Covid, he was nervous about it. We reassured him that two or three guys would be fine. We agreed to meet again the next morning to talk more. Driving back to the hotel, we were all exhausted but convinced that God was up to something.

Here Ray prays a prayer of blessing over Luis and his wife Grecia (which means Greece in Spanish). Luis is also a bicycle enthusiast, and this morning he rode his bike to our breakfast.

The next morning, we heard that the president was not going to shut the country down. In our devotion for the morning, I mentioned that Jesus told the disciples that when they found a “man of peace” who was receptive in a community, they should stay with him and not move around. So we decided to stay the whole day in Chiquimula so that we could keep the conversation going with Luis. He set up a lunch meeting and then a meeting with some friends near a lake outside of the city.

Here Ray greets Boris, a friend of Luis, who met us for lunch at Luis’ restaurant.

Luis walks us over to a meeting spot near a beautiful lake in a mountain setting above Chiquimula.

This group of guys met with us in an area filled with hammocks and benches. The men were intrigued by the idea of a group for those who don’t go to church. All of them admitted to believing in God but not attending any church. The day after we left Luis was a Sunday, and we heard later that he rode his bike back up to them with a group of bike friends, and these guys all showed up again!

Since we have gotten back to Cesar’s in Amberes, we have Zoomed a couple of times with Luis, and he introduced us to a professional bull rider who is a dedicated Christian and wants to be a part of what we are talking about! Stay tuned!

On to the Jungle with Cowboys and Our Kekchi Friends

One of the big priorities for us on this trip was to meet with a cattlemen’s association of Raxruhá and then do a training with pastors and leaders of the Kekchi Baptist Association. Both events went super well. Here are a few pics.

Here we met with the cattlemen’s association of Raxruhá. We had visited that group nine years ago, and recently Cesar reconnected with them. They were about to decide if they were going to continue as an organization. After initial talks with Cesar and a couple of Zoom meetings with them, they have determined to continue and to ask God to help them carry out a positive vision for their region. Here we are sitting under one of their structures for exhibiting animals. There are a couple of dedicated Christians among them, and we believe they can readily help lead the group in their devotions that they want to have before each meeting. They also want to continue to Zoom with Cesar and me occasionally.

Here one of the Kekchi pastors reads a scripture in the Kekchi Bible before the start of our training at the association headquarters in Fray Bartolome de las Casas, Guatemala.

Cesar speaks to the group with German Tzi, the director of missions for the association, translating into Kekchi.

Here Cesar is prepping volunteers to pray one minute prayers for themselves, the leaders of the crusade planning, and for their list of 10 friends who don´t have a relationship with Jesus yet. This association has over 80 churches, and if their combined efforts prove to be as fruitful as in other regions of Guatemala, they should see hundreds of people come to Christ this next year.

10:02 PRAYER

Thanks so much for your continued prayers. We have felt them during this trip. Pray that God will raise up laborers to bring in the harvest here in Guatemala. Pray for Luis Gabriel, the mayor of Jutiapa. Pray for his safety as well as wisdom. One of the last two mayors there was murdered.

Pray also for guys like Luis Cuellar and his wife Grecia. These are the kinds of people who can make a huge kingdom difference. Pray for wisdom for us as we evaluate how to best stay in touch during these crazy times.

Finally, pray for our Kekchi brothers and sisters who are combining their forces to evangelize thier region. And above all, continue to pray that this trip and continued follow-up will foster the multiplication of more friends and followers of Jesus.

ENGAGE

As the world opens back up, we believe incredible opportunities are coming to you to be on mission with God. Would you be willing to start a Play. Story. Eat. group or go on a mission trip? Pray about what God wants you to do, both where you are and wherever He is sending you.

INVEST

Thank you so much for your continued partnership in this ministry.

CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY WAY TO INVEST.

On behalf of myself, Ray, Cesar and Elba, we appreciate your prayers.

Love y’all!

Steve

After Ray left, we made a visit to a Senior Citizens center in Santa Cruz Narranjo. No longer able to have the folks come to them, they are taking food to the seniors. Here, they sprayed me down when Cesar and I went to see the leaders of this program. The ladies you see in this picture are forming their own Play. Story. Eat group among themselves and Cesar and I will be Zooming with them a couple of times a month.

Guatemala Bound with a Grateful but Heavy Heart

As you read this update, I will most likely be in the air flying to Guatemala.

Flying in or out of Guatemala during the day, you get a great view of the volcanoes that surround Guatemala City. This picture I shot a couple of years ago as I flew home.

As I fly today, I have Patsy Jones on my mind. For over 36 years, Patsy has been my favorite (and only!) mother-in-law. She has blessed me with her prayers, love, and concern for every one of those years. And after 91 years on this earth, on Easter Sunday, Patsy got her heavenly promotion.

I took this picture on August 31, 2019, just a few moments before the family gathered to celebrate Patsy’s 90th birthday.

Patsy loved family get-togethers, and with six kids and many grandkids and great-grandkids, her birthday party was a lively occasion!

The first time that I met Patsy was a little over 37 years ago. I had arranged to meet her and her husband, Allen, to ask for their blessing and for the hand of their daughter in marriage.

She and Allen seemed almost eager to give me their blessing—even on such a short introduction. In fact, Nola thought they were too eager! To Nola, it was like, “Sure, we’d love for you to take her off our hands!”

From that day forward, I felt secure that Patsy was on my team. She made me feel special. And I know that all the other brothers-in-law could say the same. As a dedicated person of prayer, she has prayed diligently for me in all the various ministry roles I’ve had. And for the past 21 years, she has prayed fervently for our ministry in Central America. She loved to hear reports from the many trips, and often prodded me when I was slow to report.

The Fall That Threatened Her LIfe

A couple of weeks ago, Patsy had fallen and gotten a knot on her head. Then she fell again a few days later, and this time needed some stitches. After stitching her up, the doctor noticed the knot. Further examination revealed that a blood clot had developed and if it moved to the brain, it would kill her instantly.

So, with Patsy’s consent, surgery was scheduled, and they went into the brain to remove the clot. The surgery seemed to be a success and Patsy came out of it very sore, but apparently okay. We were grateful that there appeared to be no brain damage or personality change.

Here’s Patsy with her five daughters on July 4, 2019. From left to right are Annis Sanders, Allena Gimlin, Patsy, Carmi Davis, Nola, and Marilyn Rogers.

Trying to Wake Her Up

After a couple of days of recuperating in the hospital, she took a nap on a Saturday afternoon and unexpectedly went into a coma. For a week, each of her daughters took a turn in ICU to be with her and do things to try to wake her up. A week later, on Easter Sunday, Jesus woke her up when He called her home. Ironically, Patsy’s younger sister died 5 years ago on Easter Sunday as well.

The last time I talked with her, she had sent me a birthday card and wanted to make sure I had gotten it. In past years she liked to send gifts of chickens or water filters to a ministry that gave them to help the poor in various countries. Her cards would say that she gave in the name of a birthday person, whatever the donation was. This time she wanted to make sure that I didn’t miss her check by thinking she was going to send me chickens for my birthday!

She knew how important this trip was to me after a long year of being unable to travel to Guatemala, so she had decided to send extra money for the trip that I am on right now.

Patsy’s Legacy

I don’t believe I could have ever written an update on Patsy while she was living—not that I wouldn’t have wanted to—but because she was the kind of person who enjoyed working in the background. For over 60 years she taught two-year-olds at First Baptist Church of Stigler, Oklahoma. She baked her own special homemade bread for any visitors to her church. And she was always up-to-date in intercessory prayer for missionaries and family.

In fact, in my own recent commitment to have an hour-long conversation with Jesus every day of this year, I realized that Patsy had already been doing it for years with no fanfare. And that’s the way she liked it. So as I write this, I’m also dedicating myself to follow Patsy’s example of faithful prayer and daily conversation with Jesus.

Thankful for Your Prayers

Many of you have already expressed your desire to pray for our family. Thank you so much for that. It means more than you can know.

As Bill and I have continued to pray for many of you, we have been blessed by you with good reports of God’s work in your lives. Keep those cards and letters coming! You encourage us so much.

10:02 PRAYER

Please pray for me as well as Ray Gurney and Cesar Gonzalez on this trip. I hope to do at least one report to you while we are down there. Ray is scheduled to be there with us until April 22nd. I plan to come home April 29th. Pray for safety from any Covid-19 issues. More importantly, pray that this trip fosters the multiplication of more friends and followers of Jesus.

Also, pray for Bill Burrows as he holds down the fort while I am gone. We have gotten several “Be-the-Church” videos in both English and Spanish ready to be released. Pray that these are helpful and spur others on in following Jesus more wholeheartedly.

ENGAGE

We still have prayer magnets that we can send you. If you haven’t gotten one, we’d be happy to send it!

INVEST

Thank you so much for your continued partnership in this ministry.

CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY WAY TO INVEST.

Love y’all!

Steve

Gearing Up for Guatemala Trip—Finally!

The last time I wrote you an update, I mentioned that I was uncertain about when I would go back to Guatemala. As of this past week, it’s all coming together for me to go down for 17 days in April! Also slated to be with me is Ray Gurney, pastor of Cross Creek Baptist Mission of Oak Grove, Missouri.

Here I’m introducing Cesar before he speaks to our Rancheros Cristianos groups by way of a recorded Zoom video call. Cesar is excited about having the first mission team come visit him in Guatemala in over a year!

Because of Covid-19, we will have to get negative tests before flying, but both Ray and I have gotten our first vaccines and should be fully vaccinated before going down. For me, special thanks goes to Eudora Baptist Church of Eudora, Kansas, for letting Nola and me be part of their church vaccination day on March 6th. For years, their church has been a place for flu shots for senior adults, and this year they opened up the church for community Covid-19 shots. While the vaccine is not a requirement for flying, Guatemala has just started allowing proof of a vaccine to bypass getting tested before going down.

Encouraging Leaders to Multiply

Plans are for us to speak at the Kekchi Baptist Association meeting in the jungle, where we will spend a couple of days encouraging pastors and leaders in their efforts to have spiritual conversations with people in every hut in 80 different villages. They have already begun to pray for their lost friends and family, so this usually is an indicator that many people will come to Christ by the end of the year.

In January of 2019, we spoke to the Kekchi Baptist Association pastors group. Here Cesar shares how to use enjoyable play activities for evangelizing new villages. On the far right is Ray Gurney, pastor of Cross Creek Baptist in Oak Grove, Missouri. Next to him is Rex Kelly of Ord, Nebraska. Since that time this group of pastors and leaders have started several new churches.

German, the leader of the Kekchi Baptist Association, interprets Cesar’s talk from Spanish to Kekchi. For the past year, Cesar has traveled to the jungle to continue evangelism training for the pastors.

Also during this trip, we are scheduled to help in the initiation of a new Christian Rancher group in Chiquimula, Guatemala. In a recent Rancheros Cristianos video, I zoomed with Cesar and the new leader of that group, who raises prized horses who dance in the parades that Guatemalans enjoy each year.

Luis, a rancher and horse enthusiast from Chiquimula, Guatemala, shows me one of his problem horses in a recent Zoom video call. He would love to have one of our horse trainer friends come down and give him some pointers on what to do with this horse! But more importantly, he wants to get his friends together to start a Rancheros Cristianos group. In April, we plan to spend an entire day with him.

When we get closer to leaving on the trip, I hope to update you with more specific prayer concerns. In the meantime, pray that we get our hearts and minds ready.

Continued Production of “Be the Church” Videos

We’ve been updating our Be the Church blog and working to finish our full set of videos this year. Bill has been doing most of the English versions, and I have done the Spanish translations. As we continue to produce these, please pray that God will use them to equip all of us to be the church.

Praying For You as You Pray for us

At the beginning of 2021, Bill and I committed to praying for our faithful supporters by name once a week for the entire year. We then created a refrigerator magnet to remind us to pray and keep us accountable. The cool part of this magnet is that it also can be used for our faithful friends to remember to pray for us! If you haven’t gotten one and would like us to send it to you, please let us know! And if you have personal prayer concerns, we would love to pray with you over those requests.

Nola has a parrot looking at our magnet on our refrigerator!

10:02 PRAYER

Please pray for this next trip to Guatemala scheduled for April 12-29. Pray that this trip fosters the multiplication of more followers of Jesus. And continue to pray for Bill and me as we finish up the “Be the Church” videos in both English and Spanish.

ENGAGE

Don’t forget to request, receive, and use our prayer magnet! And let us know how we can pray for you!

INVEST

Thank you so much for your continued partnership in this ministry. You encourage me so much.

CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY WAY TO INVEST.

Love y’all!

Steve

During that cold spell in February, I showed my friends in Central America what we were dealing with in the Midwest during several weeks of extreme cold. After such a cold winter, I’m looking forward to heading south!

I told Cesar he better be loaded and ready for “bear” when we come!

Thankful to God for His Provision...and for You!

Toward the end of this update, I want to say “Thank you.” But right now, I feel like I’m having an out-of-body experience! It’s January of 2021. And I’m in Kansas, Dorothy—not Guatemala!

For the past 20 years, I have spent at least a week or two each January in Guatemala or another Central American country. But today I’m home. Weird! The other day when I put away the Christmas tree, I saw my luggage over in the corner of our storage room. I couldn’t help myself and puckered my lips. “Wheeeewwww!” I blew off a layer of dust and then coughed as it came up into my face!

Dusty Luggage, Grateful Heart…

Thoughts flooded my mind. I began to think about this past year. And what seems more amazing than having dust on my luggage, is that in spite of being grounded for this past year, I have been as busy as ever connecting with my friends down south. This entire year has been a giant learning experience for me in how to use various technologies to stay in touch.

Here I am “Zooming” for the first time with some pastor friends from the jungle! Twenty years ago, in this same area, I could take a digital camera and snap pictures of them and then flip the camera around for them to see the first picture they would have ever seen of themselves! My, how times change!

Cesar Gonzalez shares a message for one of our weekly Rancheros Cristianos videos.

For Christmas, I got some of the singers in my family to sing “Feliz Navidad” to our Rancheros Cristianos friends!

Staying in Touch…

As you know, we have been working all year on producing videos and materials to send to our friends in many places. In September we began an experiment of doing a weekly Rancheros Cristianos video that we have continued producing all the way to the present. Using the technologies of Zoom, I have “visited” multiple locations—even with some friends in a place in the jungle where 15 years ago was totally inaccessible to any communications. Just two days ago, we were “present” through one of our videos presented at the Kekchi Baptist Association meeting in Fray Bartolome de las Casas, Guatemala. Thankfully Cesar was able to go and deliver a message to them in person.

As if on cue, while writing these words, I got interrupted by a call from Cesar in Chahal, Guatemala! He had two pastors who wanted to say “hi.” Using video, I could see Jose and Lorenzo, two of my dear friends who are pastors in the jungle. Anival, a newer pastor who I don’t know as well, was also with them. “Hermano Esteban, when are you coming back?” Lorenzo asked.

When do I go back?

Almost everything inside of me wants to say, “I’ll be there in February.” But I believe that it’s not quite time for me to go yet. Some of that relates to Covid-19, but it seems deeper than just that. What we are doing right now with our videos and creation of Be-the-Church materials in both English and Spanish needs to get done. I believe that we need to make it easy for our friends to make 2 Timothy 2:2 happen. In this verse, Paul says to Timothy,

“And the things you have heard me say before many witnesses, entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.”

We believe that our priority is to help believers in both the U.S. and in Central America be able to reproduce their faith in simple, 2 Timothy 2:2 fashion—passing on Jesus’ teachings in faithful obedience to others who can then pass them on to others who will pass them on to others, etc. While for us this involves production of videos, ultimately it’s not just about passing on information. We have to live it and pass it on to others—person to person.

Here Bill Burrows and I do a video on how to have a soul-connecting conversation with another disciple of Jesus.

Tools for Being the Church…

So for me to go back, I believe that I need to have some of these new tools ready, and I want some time for my friends down south to be in the first phases of person-to-person reproduction.

One of those things we want to pass on this year is how to have a daily, life-giving conversation with God. For me, 2020 was a year to grow in that department. Bill Burrows and I spent quite a bit of time thinking through how to make this doable for every Jesus follower—no matter their culture or circumstances. Looking to 2021, I am excited about how that conversation will fuel my conversations with other disciples and those who are not yet disciples. Be ready to receive some of this as we begin to share it in the coming days.

Thanks to God and to You…

In preparing to write this update, I took some time to look at the updates from this time last year, and it is truly amazing to me to see what God has done. For one thing, God blessed us financially during this pandemic year far above our expectations. Giving for the year was up significantly over 2019. And that allowed us to bring on Justin Jacobson to help us do more video production.

Also, your giving for the hurricane disaster relief was a huge blessing. Cesar was able to help several of our friends and groups to replace roofs that blew off. And, those people in turn helped Cesar with the labor to put up a couple of roofs for new groups in the jungle. In addition, Cesar gave out medicines. Several of our pastors have had health problems. Jose, the pastor I mentioned above who just spoke to me on that video call, is contemplating going back with Cesar to see his doctor. Jose has been sick for over a year and nothing has seemed to help him get completely well. So thank you on behalf of Jose and others for your help. Cesar is using those funds you generously donated to love on our friends and help them as they help their people.

10:02 PRAYER

Please pray for Cesar and our friends in Central America. And pray for wisdom for me in knowing precisely when I should return in person. Pray for Bill and me as we finish up the Be-the-Church videos in both English and Spanish.

ENGAGE

Bill and I are praying that many of you will want to join us when we unveil our “30-day Guide to Having a Life-Giving Conversation with God.” Get ready for us to ask everyone and their dog to try it! For now, pray for us as we complete it along with our last Be-the-Church videos.

INVEST

Thank you so much for your investment this past year. I am truly grateful for you!

CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY WAY TO INVEST.

Love y’all!

Steve

Urgent Request: "Giving Tuesday" Opportunity to Help in Disaster Relief

Hi Everyone!

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know it’s been a rough year for so many on so many different fronts. As for me and my family, we have so many things to be grateful for. Yet others are not so fortunate.

Hurricanes in Central America…

On this Giving Tuesday, I want to make you aware of some of the needs of our friends in Guatemala and Honduras. As you may know, they have had Eta and Iota, two major hurricanes, come barreling one right after the other through that region of the world.

Across Guatemala, hundreds of bridges like this one have been washed out. The same is true in Honduras and Nicaragua.

This is a river near Zacapa, Guatemala. Its bridge was washed away with the raging waters.

Cesar is being inundated with requests for help dealing with blown-off roofs and damage to the homes and locations where several of our churches and groups meet.

Already, Cross Creek Baptist Mission of Oak Grove, Missouri, has stepped up to send $1000 to Cesar to use for disaster relief efforts. Perhaps you might like to join them in helping.

While you could give online and make a note on your gift that it is for disaster relief, it would probably get to us faster if you mail a check directly to us at:

Daybreak International

11628 Oakmont St.

Overland Park, KS 66210

This young boy is telling of his house and community near Campuro, Guatemala, being flooded and washed away by the rising waters. In an interview after fleeing for safety, he talked about how he doesn’t blame God for his plight.

Beyond the concerns for our friends dealing with the hurricanes, there are still Covid-19 problems.

Safety Concerns for Cesar…

Two weeks ago, Manuel and Alba Campos, two friends of ours in Amberes, Guatemala, died of Covid-19. Alba had some health issues and died first. But incredibly, the private hospital where she died didn’t tell the family that she had Covid-19. They even signed the certificate that she didn’t have it, giving the family the permission they needed to do the traditional burial practices.

So they had the wake where the whole family and many friends sat around with the body for a whole night. Friends and family ate together and supported one another in close proximity. Then they buried her the next day. Soon her husband Manuel, several family members, and even some friends got sick. Several got tested and, sure enough, it was the dreaded Covid-19 virus. Within a week, Manuel died and other family members and friends also got sick. One of the adult children who flew in from the United States caught the virus and will be stuck in Guatemala to recuperate before being able to go back.

In this picture taken last year on November 1, 2019, a team from LifeQuest Church of Belton Missouri experience the cultural flavor of the Day of the Dead celebration. That day, Manuel Campos (second from the left) wanted me to take a picture of him with the team in front of his family cemetery plot near Nueva Santa Rosa, Guatemala. Little did I know that this would be the last picture I have of Manuel.

Thankfully, though invited, Cesar and Elba Gonzalez did not attend the wake or burial activities and are not affected. Cesar had expressed his condolences by phone, but anticipated that attending that kind of gathering would not be wise.

10:02 PRAYER

Please pray for Cesar and our friends in Central America. Besides the pandemic concerns and hurricane disasters, they have had major political unrest with accusations of the president of Guatemala stealing from funds for Covid-19 relief and disaster relief. Cesar is preparing to go to the jungle soon to help some of our friends hardest hit by mudslides and flooding. He has already sent some money to friends in Honduras whose roof blew off.

ENGAGE

On this Giving Tuesday, whatever amount you give would be a blessing. Please give as God directs you.

INVEST

Thank you for your continued faithfulness to this ministry. I am truly grateful for you!

CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY WAY TO INVEST.

Love y’all!

Steve

From KC to Nebraska and Back Literally and to Guatemala and Back Virtually!

Hi Everybody!

Since our last update, two big things have happened for us. One was the launch of weekly Rancheros Cristianos videos. The other was a trip in early October to connect with friends in Nebraska. Here’s the lowdown!

Joel Wentworth greets our Rancheros Cristianos on a recent Sunday with his congregation in Burwell, Nebraska.

Launch of Rancheros Cristianos Internacionales!

On September 20th, we launched the first of weekly videos to our Christian Rancher groups in Central America! The idea came from Cesar Gonzales, who asked if we could use what we have learned in creating training videos to start doing videos for our cowboys and ranchers in Central America. After kicking the idea around, we determined that we wanted it to be a discussion starter for groups and individuals to connect with scripture and offer a platform for them to experience a sense of community with others doing similar groups all over the world.

On September 20th, Nola and I welcomed viewers onto our back porch for our first ever virtual meeting of Rancheros Cristianos!

A typical video has a greeting from one of our friends, like the one Joel Wentworth did in the above picture. That particular day, Joel greeted the Guatemalans and Cesar greeted the Nebraskans!

Cesar offers a greeting to the folks in Burwell, Nebraska, from his home in Amberes, Guatemala.

In addition, we usually include someone singing a song, and then someone will give a short devotional thought. At the end, we model what we call “riding the bull”—making a tangible, personal commitment to do something this next week as a result of the scripture for the day. To date, we have done five videos and plan to continue until at least the end of the year.

Humberto Solares, of Santa Rosa de Lima, Guatemala, sings the Spanish version of “One Day at a Time” for one of the Rancheros Cristianos videos.

Here, Lawrence Turner is inviting the Guatemalan ranchers to come up and buy some of his cows he’s just taken to the sale barn in Valentine, Nebraska! He also committed to pray for the Guatemalans and asked them to pray for us and our nation as well.

Gaining Spiritual Leverage in Nebraska

For our first trip since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, we spent 10 days with friends in Nebraska. Bill and I were privileged to have our wives, Joyce and Nola, join us as well.

Rex and Deb Kelley hosted us at their bed and breakfast in Ord, Nebraska. Here they spoiled us with the best Nebraska steak I have had in my life! I took this picture and sent it to Cesar to make him jealous! Seated from left to right is Nola, Rex, Joyce, Bill, and Deb.

During that time, Bill and I had the opportunity to speak at four different churches, the Sandhills Baptist Association meeting, and Bill got to unveil the first showings of his Spiritual Leverage demonstrations that highlight the difference between just going to church and actually “being” the church.

Bill gets a volunteer to help him in getting spiritual leverage at the Sandhills Association gathering.

Bill also did the same presentation with the youth at Burwell Baptist.

Between the two weekends we spent in Nebraska, Bill and I also painted the house of our friends, Tom and Joyce Huffman. When we arrived, Tom was not feeling well, and in light of Covid-19 suspicions, we didn’t go into their house and kept our distance. As it turned out, both Tom and Joyce did test positive for the virus. Tom had to go to the hospital for a few days. Thankfully both are at home recuperating now and doing better.

Bill shares a greeting to our friends after we finished painting the Huffman house.

10:02 PRAYER

Please pray that the Rancheros Cristianos videos will help us spur one another on (Hebrews 10:24-25) to making disciples more effectively both here and in Central America.

Pray for a speedy recovery for Tom and Joyce Huffman.

Also pray that we use the technologies effectively to connect with one another during these unprecedented days.

ENGAGE

If you would like to see Bill’s demonstration, or would like to have him do it live at your church, let us know! As we continue to send out our Be-the-Church videos, please take a look at them, and if they seem helpful to you, pass them on through email or social media!

INVEST

Thank you for your continued faithfulness to this ministry. You encourage us so much!

CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY WAY TO INVEST.

Love y’all!

Steve

Pardon Our Dust!

Hi Everyone!

It’s been a while since I sent what used to be a “normal” Play. Story. Eat. Update with just text and pictures to tell you about the latest in the ministry. In the past few months we have been working diligently to create videos and content for helping our friends “Be the Church” no matter where they are or what their COVID-19 restrictions. For me, it has been a big change of pace, because I have not traveled to Guatemala since right before the pandemic in February. And the longer I stay home, the more I get invited by my wife, friends, and family to participate in remodeling projects!

At the first stage of stay-at-home orders in March, Nola had me painting and then installing a new ceiling fan light.

One thing I’ve learned about doing home improvement, if you are averse to kicking up dust, you will never get anything done! And in a similar vein, I believe that is true in ministry. For those of us at Play. Story. Eat., we have been in a season of remodeling and preparing for the future - making a mess as we go!

Thank You for Your Patience!

From your perspective, you may have wondered why we are sending these “Be the Church” emails. Admittedly, they are different from what we used to send all the time. Without a whole lot of explanation, we just started sending you these things, hoping you would engage with them and that they would help you “be the church” with people in your neck of the woods. Some of you have given us feedback, and we are extraordinarily grateful for your help.

In the process, we have learned a lot. For one, we learned that when we send emails with three or four videos, NOBODY gets to the third or fourth one! It’s just too much dust to see through! So we have begun to try to scale back to one video of about 3 to 5 minutes and offer more small bites more often than our previous once every two or more weeks.

Another thing we are learning is that we need to give you more of a heads up on the content that is coming. We are putting what we believe are some gems out there, but we haven’t prepped people to know about it and have a reason to say, “That’s exactly what I need!” As we get some of this content up, we plan to package it into things like “A Seven Day Guide to Being the Church” or “30 Days of Life-Giving Conversations with God.” For now we believe we are getting the individual building blocks in place so that in next year there will be a prettier, finished product. So stay tuned as we kick up more dust!

Jesus is Inviting Us to a Personal Remodeling Project

In our last Be-the-Church blog, Bill shared from John 14:23 that Jesus wants to make His home in us. And the question is two-fold. Have you given Jesus the key to enter? And have you given Him the authority to make all the remodeling decisions? If you are like me, there might be a room that you are working on all by yourself, or you haven’t given Jesus the authority to call the remodeling shots. If we are true disciples of His, we must give Him the access and the authority to every part of our lives. What a challenge! Yet He is the One who can do more than we could ever hope or imagine. (Check out the story at the end for a final word on Jesus’ remodeling project!)

More kicking up dust! A couple of weeks ago, a roofing crew came over to my house and had to replace some deteriorating plywood before re-roofing the house. Amazingly a couple of the guys were from a town in Honduras that I have been to!

10:02 PRAYER

Cesar has asked me to consider a strategy to provide a Facebook Live broadcast to our cowboys and ranchers in Guatemala. We are praying through the implications and logistics of starting that and how often we can do it. Please pray for wisdom. Continue to pray that as we create the Be-the-Church content, our translated materials will be both understandable and helpful.

ENGAGE

As we send out more Be-the-Church videos, we appreciate your viewing and sharing these with others. Keep passing them on through email and/or social media! And thanks for your continued feedback.

INVEST

Keep those cards and letters coming! You are making a difference to us. Every penny you send means so much. Thank you!

CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY WAY TO INVEST.

Now one last thought…

You Are Jesus’ Remodeling Project

When we signed up to be a disciple of Jesus, whether we realized it or not, we were signing up to an ongoing remodeling project where Jesus would be our guide, and our lives would be His to do with as He wills.

Several years ago, I was at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, North Carolina. Buried there is Billy’s wife, Ruth. Before Ruth died, she and Billy drove through a construction zone. A sign read, “End of Construction—Thank you for your patience.”

“That’s what I want on my tombstone!” Ruth declared to Billy.

I snapped this picture outside of the Billy Graham Library. I love Ruth’s sense of humor!

Ruth, I believe, says it for all of us. If we follow our Lord, our very lives will be a remodeling project for Him until the day we die. So only on our tombstone can we truly say “End of Construction.—Thank you for your patience!”

May we be open to His daily transformation. And may we let the dust fly!

Love y’all!

Steve

Play. Story. Eat. Summer Update

Hi Everyone!

It has been a while since I took the time to update you on the Play. Story. Eat. ministry happenings. Today, Bill Burrows and I would like to try our hand at recording a short video to highlight how we are doing, what the current reality of ministry is for Cesar Gonzalez in Guatemala, and how we feel burdened to continue to provide videos and resources to our friends—whether in the jungles of Guatemala, the Sand Hills of Nebraska, or the suburbs of Kansas City.

Click on the video below!

10:02 PRAYER

Please pray for Cesar and our friends in Guatemala. Pray that we find ways to touch them using technology while social contact is so limited. Pray for us as we create the Be-the-Church content and that our translated materials will be both understandable and helpful.

Thanks for your continued prayers for us and for the funds to continue.

ENGAGE

As we send out our Be-the-Church videos, please take a look at them, and if they seem helpful to you, pass them on through email or social media!

INVEST

Thank you for your continued faithfulness to this ministry. You encourage us so much!

CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY WAY TO INVEST.

Love y’all!

Steve