Amazing Harvest in Guatemala Soccer Project!!!

Good morning everyone!

I just got back from a two-week trip to Guatemala, and wow! I have a lot to share with you about our soccer evangelism project.

Thankfully, God blessed us beyond expectation:

  • 633 people prayed to receive Christ and filled out contact cards!

  • 74 total volunteers: 52 Guatemalan friends, 13 from Project Hope of Nicaragua, 9 from Lenexa Baptist Church

  • 6 soccer tournaments in 4 towns in 7 days touching more than 1,500 people!

  • 2 public school assemblies - over 200 decisions for Christ

  • 1 broken leg (see pictures)

    Check out the pictures with more exciting info below!

10:02 PRAYER

(Pray Luke 10:2 each day at 10:02 am or pm that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into his harvest fields.)

  1. Ask God to send workers into the places that are ripe unto harvest.

  2. Ask God to empower Cesar as he follows up with the event contacts to organize all these new believers into new discipleship groups.

  3. Pray for Sam Swift, Selvinth Maldonado, and me as we produce soccer-related discipleship videos for these groups.

ENGAGE

If you know of a Christian soccer coach or player who might be a good interview for us in our videos, please let me know. We need help in filming soccer-related drills and getting testimonies.

INVEST

Thank you so much for your continued support. You have made a BIG difference this month in our ability to follow Jesus in this soccer project. Muchas gracias!

Please let us know of any of your prayer needs.

Love y’all!

Steve

And now….Here are some pictures and stories that highlight our experience and provide a glimpse of the overwhelming response to the gospel that we witnessed!

Meet Our LBC and Nicaraguan Team

We captured a shot of the Lenexa Baptist team in the airport in Miami during the first few minutes of a nine hour layover! From left to right are Tony Shay, Titus Shay, Claudi Duffy, Sam Swift, Nola Reed, Steve Reed, Selvinth Maldonado, Randy Schmidt, and John Maldonado.

The Nicaraguan team took a 16 hour bus ride of about 500 miles to get to Guatemala. In spite of the lack of sleep, the first morning the guys got up ready to go to work! From left to right are Genaro, Sam (of the Lenexa team), Nelson, Eyner, Noel, Eduardo, Manuel, Ramon, Eliezer, and (in front) Raciel.

Three of the four Nicaraguan women team members are pictured here on that first morning. From left to right are Scarlet, Aura, and Anna Maria. Not pictured yet is Mercedes.

Day 1 – Morning in Amberes 

The first morning we walked up the street from Cesar’s compound in Amberes to the soccer field where we met some of our friends that we have done soccer stuff with in the past year. We wanted to practice the basic elements of the gospel presentation we would do at each tournament and play a friendly game of soccer. To get us warmed up, Eduardo showed us some illusions, then we performed the drama, and after that a message by Eyner, one of the Nicaraguans. In this small gathering, 20 prayed to receive Christ!   

Eduardo does some amazing tricks that always grab people’s attention.

Eyner led the young men in a prayer of salvation.

Randy is writing down names of those who responded.

Afterwards a mix of our team and the Nicaraguan team played a soccer game against the Amberes team.    

This is a pic of all who played soccer together in a friendly competition in Amberes.

Before the game, everyone stretched together.

Along with the stretching, Genaro got everyone doing some crazy get-acquainted drills!

The Amberes team played against the Nicaraguan and Gringo team.

At the end of the game, the Amberes boys wanted a picture with “Haaland.” That’s what they called Titus. They thought he looked like Erling Haaland, a famous Norwegian soccer player!

Day 1 - Afternoon in Don Gregorio 

After taking a break for lunch, we traveled about 20 minutes to Don Gregorio, near the larger town of Santa Cruz Naranjo. Because the teams arrived at different times, those present first spent more time playing friendly games. Eventually we repeated all the elements we had done in the morning and got 23 cards from those who prayed to receive Christ!  

Nola, Aura, Mercedes, Claudi, and Scarlet put the sandwiches together in anticipation of the snack time for the players.

It was a beautiful place to play. Because of the smaller number of participants, our team got a chance to get acquainted with every player during the play time.

Here Sam makes a move on Raciel as Genaro, Tony, and Eduardo look on. Sam played some college soccer, and he showed his stuff! He is also on staff at Lenexa Baptist on the tech team. He will be working with me and several others to create videos to send to the soccer players who responded this week.

Children love playing soccer with Eduardo, a former professional soccer player in Nicaragua.

Eduardo holds his listeners spellbound as he prepares them for one of his illusions.

“Is this rope real?” Eduardo asks.

Eduardo has two volunteers tie him up for an escape trick.

In the drama, Mercedes is not escaping from evil forces who have chained her up.

As evil seems to be winning, Jesus (Noel) shows up.

There is a tug of war.

But Jesus gains the victory and sets Mercedes free.

Eduardo, Randy, and Sam share a moment after the last event finished that first day.

In addition to the players and adults who came to know Jesus at the event, Randy was instrumental in leading our two bus drivers to Christ during this first day!  

A few days later, Randy presented Bibles to those two bus drivers, Antonio and Luis. Randy is a retired missionary from Argentina, so he speaks Spanish fluently.

 Day 2 - Tournament in Pueblo Nuevo Viñas  

The team had to leave Cesar’s house at 5am to drive an hour and a half to Pueblo Nuevo Viñas. When we stopped to eat breakfast, we met Obdulio, a guy who works for Conjuve, a department of the government dedicated to youth issues and problems in the country. With him was Marcos, the national head of that department. During breakfast Marcos asked if we would come to a small town in the mountains to evaluate doing a tournament there. He was concerned because the youth were succumbing to drugs and alcoholism. Cesar and I agreed to meet him the week after our teams left for home. (Stay tuned next time for that!) 

Obdulio, on the left, is the one who had arranged for the tournament to be held in Pueblo Nuevo Viñas. His boss Marcos, on the right, came in from Guatemala City to see it first-hand.

The announcer is ready to start the program in a school auditorium in Pueblo Nuevo Viñas. Our whole team is sitting on the platform with other dignitaries.

Marcos was one of about a half dozen individuals who gave greetings.

Cesar gave a greeting on behalf of our team.

Once the music started for the drama, the whole mood shifted.

Eduardo followed the drama with a passionate call to come to Jesus.

The response was tremendous. We thought having 150 decision cards on hand would be plenty going into the morning. This was the day we realized we better have more cards! I was so proud of our team for their flexibility and can-do attitude.  By the end of the day, we had a hodgepodge of names on cards and scraps of paper indicating that 197 people had given us their contact info declaring that they had prayed to receive Christ. Among them was Marcos, the head of Conjuve, who you see here with his hand held up.

Nola and Claudi pray with a girl after the program ended.

It took us a while to finish talking with people after the program. Eventually we had to get to the soccer part, and this was a full-blown tournament with about 20 teams and upwards of 300 kids participating.

The games all went well, and our team continued to work the crowd, and there were several salvation decisions among the bystanders. John and Titus, our two 16-year-olds, were a hit. Many of the girls' teams wanted pictures with them!  

John (left) and Titus (right) were a big hit for pictures during the day!

The big field was subdivided into four smaller fields.

This girl’s team celebrates after winning their first game.

I roamed the sidelines taking pictures of the games and enjoyed getting a chance to meet players and coaches.

Several of the games came down to penalty kicks to decide the winners.

Dr. Noel Merlo, our team member from Nicaragua, is a medical doctor and is assisting a nurse as they attend to a girl who fainted during one of the games.

Before this picture was taken, a member of this girls team broke her leg in a really bad way. Anna Maria, a psychologist working with youth at risk in Nicaragua, takes a moment to pray for the girl who broke her leg and for her concerned teammates. Later we donated some money for medical expenses to the girl’s family. A week later, the mother sent a message to Cesar to thank us for our prayers and concern. In the surgery to place a rod in the leg, they found a tumor, and the surgeon was able to remove the tumor before fixing the leg. The mother was grateful to God that they had discovered this and said that, according to the doctors, the broken leg might have saved her daughter’s life!

The last game of the day came down to penalty kicks!

Even though the girls were still concerned about their teammate, they were proud that they had finished the game and won their division in the tournament.

 Day 3 - Country School outside of Monjas 

Unfortunately for our team, we had to leave again at 5am to drive the 3 hours to Monjas. This time we were doing an event in a small school outside of Monjas. One of the main teachers is the wife of one of our Christian Rancher group friends. No soccer was involved, but Eduardo did illusions and fun kid songs, the team performed the drama, and Ramon presented the gospel to the children. 62 responded, including a few teachers. The principal, a dedicated follower of Jesus, was ecstatic about the whole thing.  

When we got to the school, Marcia (right), a long-time friend and teacher in this school, introduced us to the principal.

Selvinth and Randy share a moment with the principal shortly before beginning the program.

Eduardo got all of us doing the most comical contortions imaginable!

Nola has been a children’s worker a little too long!

Eduardo performed an amazing assortment of illusions, including this one with a balloon.

Eduardo grabs some color off the hair of a volunteer to place in his book.

The drama made it’s impact yet again.

Ramon shared the gospel message.

And the children responded.

Eyner talks with a boy as he hands out a card to be filled out.

Day 4 - Tournament in Monjas day one 

The refs and setup team hit the fields at 5:30am to get all the striping done and set up the sound. The rest of us got there at 8am. By about 9am, the event officially started, and we did the whole tournament routine with welcomes and greetings from leaders.  There were about 25-30 teams present from the local school and included children ages 6-16. The response was tremendous. We collected 179 decision cards. The games went great. Our team did well working the stands and connecting with people.  

Setting up the sound tent

Sam, Raciel, and Genaro snap the roof in place.

Gloria, the president of the Lions Club, introduces those who were there to serve, including the fire department and Lions Club members.

Back home, Selvinth is the chaplain for the Spanish speaking players of the Kansas City Royals. Here, he is sharing a greeting before praying an invocation at the beginning of the event.

The drama set the tone again.

Eduardo gave another passionate call to Christ.

These kids prayed to receive Christ with such enthusiasm.

Aura and Mercedes organize and copy the names and contact info into a notebook. This proved to be a huge job for the entire week.

Once the message was over, it was time to play!

This eager team took to stretching with Eduardo.

Let the games begin!

This team of youngsters won their division, and Eduardo led them in a prayer of thanksgiving.

This little girl was voted the most valuable player for her age division, and Eduardo asked her, “How long have you been playing soccer?” “Since I was six,” she responded. “How old are you?” Eduardo asked. “Six,” she said!

Nola had the privilege of giving this girl her Most Valuable Player trophy, and they are holding the team trophy as well.

After the last games were played, Tony, Sam and John helped carry off the goals.

Ferdynand (a former professional soccer player and now one of the leading soccer coaches along with his father for the Academy of soccer in Monjas) is pleased with the first day of the tournament and shares with Selvinth how grateful he was for our team being there.

Day 5 - Tournament in Monjas Day Two 

We did the same drill as Friday (day 4), only with upper aged youth and adults. We expected more teams than Friday, but we actually had less - maybe 15-20. But we didn’t complain, because it meant we would get done faster! Even so, we had 150 decisions for Christ!

In front of the Monjas city sign just outside the soccer fields, we stopped to take this picture on the last day.

On day 2 of our Monjas tournament, Gloria introduced the entire team and the Lions Club team members.

After the drama and message, the response was amazing again. 150 people gave us their decision cards.

Our friends from the Lions Club were great! On the far left is Marcia, our long-time friend who has been a part of a Christian Rancher group for many years, and the teacher from the school that we went to the first day in Monjas.

The Lions Club had their National Queen present, who is from nearby Jalapa.

The drama crew was ready to scare anyone they came in contact with!

John got a yellow card from Genaro before the games even got started!

Since there were a smaller number of men’s teams, our guys got to field a team. Here John saves a goal and then flips the ball out for a fast break.

Titus shows some creativity as he steps over the ball to pass it behind him to one of his teammates.

Before the final game, Manuel shares with the boys a few of the rule differences for the 5 on 5 format.

Our Nicaraguan team of officials did a great job all week with keeping the games fair and fun. But they did give me a red card for taking their picture! From left to right are Manuel, Genaro, Eliezer, and Raciel.

These Lions Club members prepare for the trophy presentations.

Ferdynand Sr. announces the winners of the last day’s games.

Randy and Cesar share in the trophy presentation to this team.

At the end of the last day, the Lions Club gave all our lady team members a sunflower in recognition for working alongside them. Mario, one of our Christian Rancher group friends, didn’t get the memo and photo bombed the ladies!

 Day 6 - Day of Worship and Evaluations 

The last full day of the trip, we did a group worship service at Cesar’s. What a time it was. We first traded singing songs in Spanish and in English. Eyner led in a message about going back to our first love. Then we personalized our commitment by saying what our individual “goal” might be to be obedient to God’s word. To culminate everything, our North American team led in a foot washing of the feet of the Guatemalans and Nicaraguans.   

Here, Selvinth washes Eyner’s feet as Eyner holds back tears.

Sam washes Raciel’s feet.

Nola and Claudi washed Elba’s feet.

congratulations! You made it to the End of the Pictures!

Now I’ll really sign off! Thanks again for your prayers!

Love y’all!

Steve

PS…Next time we’ll share how God kept opening doors and giving us favor in high places—even after the teams left!

“Be the Church” Training With Both Baptists and Cowboys

Good morning everyone!

Bill Burrows and I have enjoyed conducting a couple of “Be the Church” events this past month. The first week of March, my wife Nola, Bill, and I were at First Baptist Church of Mountain Home, Arkansas, to lead a 4-day “Be the Church” Conference. And then just this past weekend, Bill and I went to Western Way Cowboy Church in Altamont, Kansas, for a “Be the Church” Men’s Retreat. To those of you from Western Way who are joining us for the first time on our updates, “Welcome!”

I imagine that some of you who have never been to one of our “Be the Church” events might be curious as to what we do. So before I share about our trips to Arkansas and Kansas, I’d like to summarize what we do when we train. In these events we attempt to answer these questions:

  • What activity gives us the most leverage to grow our love for God?

  • What habits will empower us to expand our love for all people?

  • What simple activity would make our mission to make disciples doable for every believer?

In a “Be the Church” event, we focus on relational connections. We train and equip followers to engage in:

  1. Daily life-giving conversations with Jesus

  2. Weekly soul-connecting conversations with other disciples

  3. Weekly soul-connecting conversations with non-disciples

If you boil it all down, we want to help people have these three spiritual conversations, and by doing so consistently, we fulfill the essence of what we are to be as the church.

“We believe that there are way too many people just going to church and a shortage of men and women BEING the church.” (Bill Burrows quote at a “Be the Church” training).

“Be the Church” Conference in Mountain Home

To talk about our time in Arkansas, let me start by telling you how we connected with Tad Rogers and First Baptist Church of Mountain Home. It was a little over one year ago, on March 12, 2022, when Pastor Tad and I stood together on a frigid snowy morning to officiate at the graveside service of my Aunt Willie Duprima, who was a member at First Baptist for many years. Tad and I hit it off and wondered aloud if maybe we could do something together. Once I introduced him to Bill, everything just clicked for us to do a “Be the Church” conference. Now that it’s done, I can’t tell you how wonderful it was for me. My only regret was that I wish Aunt Willie could have experienced the fun we had with the folks from her home church!

Tad Rogers, pastor of First Baptist Church of Mountain Home, Arkansas, introduced us at the Sunday morning service by sharing how we met and how Ms. Edith Mitchel, one of their long-time members, had been praying for our family since Mom and Dad went to be missionaries many years ago.

This is Ms. Edith Mitchel. She is 101 years old and one of the most vibrant prayer warriors I have ever met. Besides praying for my parents for many years, she was a great friend to my Aunt Willie. Ms. Edith is such an encouragement to all and is still going strong! She attended every one of our training sessions and delighted us all with her comments.

For the Sunday morning service, Bill and I did a tag team approach to the message and prepped folks for what we planned to do in the coming week.

The first night of the training, people were a little unsure of the seemingly chaotic placement of the chairs in the gym. We call it the “wagon wheel” process, and participants sit in a cluster of chairs that face each other. They practice short, minute drills of having conversations with a partner before rotating to get a new partner.

Inevitably, once people get started talking with one another, many begin to enjoy the interactions.

Between drills, we teach different concepts before we practice again. Here I’m talking about how we can treat people as objects and not as people. Bill thought I was taking a little too long to make my point!

After getting up from the floor, Bill seemed to take his abuse fairly well! He talked more on how we can see the value of all persons and avoid being at war in our hearts—even when we have different interests, opinions, concerns, and expectations.

Besides making some great friends in Mountain Home, since being down there, we have been thrilled to hear reports that many who went through the training are using several of our conversation starters on Facebook and with their small groups. I must admit that the week together was very meaningful to us as well, and we look forward to going back to have some fun and maybe even hit the White River for some world class fishing!

Western Way Cowboy Church Men’s Retreat

Western Way has been a generous partner through the years for our ministry outreach to cowboys in Guatemala. So it was good for us to have a chance to return the favor and serve them a bit this weekend. Again, we made some great friends and had a fantastic time. Bill and I also spoke to the church on Sunday and were impressed by their winsome witness in that region of Southeast Kansas.

As you can see, we got the guys doing the conversation drills.

Even some of the jokes they had to tell one another got a few laughs!

On Saturday, for a fun break from the action, Bob Courtney (far right) got the guys doing a golf cart race through an obstacle course. The driver was blindfolded, and the partner had to call out directions from the microphone. There were some near disasters in the process, but thankfully no insurance claims had to be filed!

Folks gathered for the Sunday morning service.

Pastor Les Green (center) leads the congregation in a few songs.

During the weekend, we teamed up with Bob and Alta Courtney. Here they are singing a special song for the Sunday service that they plan to record on their next album. During the retreat they also gave us lots of laughs from their music and comedy routine.

To commemorate our time with Western Way, we gave this plaque to the church to thank them for inviting us and to serve as a reminder to pray for us and our other friends in ministry all over the world.

Thanks so much to all of you at both Western Way and Mountain Home. What a joy it is to partner with you!

Coming up, I’m preparing to head out to Norfolk, Nebraska, and then to Guatemala with a team from Lenexa Baptist for the soccer tournament that I described in the last update. Stay tuned!

10:02 PRAYER

(Pray Luke 10:2 each day at 10:02 am or pm that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into his harvest fields.)

Please pray for our friends in both Mountain Home, Arkansas, and Altamont, Kansas. Pray that God will continue to use them in great ways to “Be the Church” in their necks of the woods.

Continue to pray for the upcoming soccer trip April 10-17 with our Lenexa Baptist team. Currently, we plan to be in three towns, and as of today, they say that there are 90 teams scheduled to play! Pray that the logistics of our travel and ministry will go smoothly and that many will come to know Jesus as their personal savior during this time.

ENGAGE

This Friday, March 30th, I will be speaking at the Spanish Bible Institute at Northern Heights Baptist in Norfolk, Nebraska. Then Sunday, April 2nd, I’ll be speaking to the whole church. If you are nearby, I’d love to see you!

INVEST

We continue to be blessed by your partnership with us. Thanks to you, we have been able to do more than we could have imagined even a few months ago. From the bottom of our hearts we want to say, “Thank You!”

Please keep us informed of your prayer needs.

Love y’all!

Steve

PS…If you like hiking in beautiful places and having great conversations, you would love the Ozark Mountains, a short driving distance from Mountain Home, Arkansas. Here are a couple of pics from a day we got to hike near there.

One day our friend Kevin Adkins took us hiking to a beautiful waterfall near Jasper, Arkansas, and the Buffalo River.

According to some archaeologists, this big cavern near the river was once the home of some indigenous Indians about 2000 years ago!

update on Guatemala Part 2—The Soccer Project

Good morning everyone!

So much has been happening since I last wrote to you. This update will focus on the second part of my trip to Guatemala several weeks ago. In the meantime, more great things have been happening! Just this past week, my wife Nola, Bill Burrows, and I were at First Baptist Church of Mountain Home, Arkansas, to lead a 4-day “Be the Church” Conference. We had an amazing time with them and hope to share more about that in our next update. To those of you from Mountain Home joining us for the first time, welcome!

Also, more has been going on in preparations for our upcoming mission trip and soccer tournament in April. So without further ado, I want to highlight the week I spent in Guatemala with a team of five people from Nicaragua who had come to help us get the ball rolling! (Bad pun intended!)

Here is our group with some leaders at the mayor’s office on our first day together in Santa Cruz Naranjo. I’m kneeling with the mayor, Carlos Salvador Rodriguez. From left to right are the soccer director for the region and Cesar Gonzalez, then the next five are a team from Nicaragua that came to help us organize: Mercedes Guerrero, Eduardo Mejia, Arnulfo Bonilla, Ramon Mondragon, and Eyner Garcia. On the right are Josue Gonzalez (Cesar’s grandson) and Maria Pineda, a teacher and soccer coach who did much of the legwork in recruiting several teams for our games in Santa Cruz Naranjo.

Preparations in Santa Cruz Naranjo

The first day after our Nicaraguan team arrived, we began a series of meetings with leaders in the mayor’s office of Santa Cruz Naranjo and with soccer coaches in the Department of Santa Rosa. We also did a couple of warm-up soccer events in Santa Cruz, and the Nicaraguan team modeled for everyone how we wanted to do the big tournament in April—especially how to integrate the message of salvation in the process. Everywhere we went, folks were very receptive. During the days together, we saw 35 people pray to receive Christ! Several of those are leaders who are helping us with the tournament in April. Here are a few pictures that tell a bit of the story of our time in Santa Cruz.

Eduardo Mejia, a former professional soccer player in Nicaragua and the primary leader of Furia Santa soccer tournaments in Nicaragua, presents the soccer project to the leadership of the Santa Cruz Naranjo City Hall.

Eduardo can captivate an audience quickly with some of his ball handling tricks.

Mercedes struggles against evil forces in a drama the team performed before starting the soccer event in Santa Cruz Naranjo.

Jesus comes to rescue Mercedes.

Eduardo takes off his mask and speaks about the spiritual realities of dark forces wanting to take us out.

Through the colored soccer ball that Cesar is holding, Ramon shared how Jesus paid the price for all of us to have salvation. At this particular event, many made decisions for Christ.

Before starting one of the games, Eduardo leads them in a prayer. Several of these players had already prayed to receive Christ before the game.

Before each game, Arnulfo spoke to the teams about good sportsmanship and how he wanted everyone to enjoy playing the game. In these tournaments, Arnulfo helps train referees to remember that they can set the tone to make fair play and fun a priority.

It was a beautiful day in January for a soccer game. I was particularly grateful this day that I was avoiding the cold weather back home!

Before the game, the teams lined up for photos.

Maria Pineda preps her team from Amberes. Earlier in the day, she prayed to receive Christ.

On the sidelines during one of the games, Eduardo speaks with several girls from a team in Santa Cruz who also prayed to receive Christ.

At every soccer event, we provided sandwiches to the players. Here Mercedes serves with Maria (center), one of our helpers. The day before, she had prayed to receive Christ and was excited to be with us each day in Santa Cruz.

The trophy was presented to the girls team that won in Santa Cruz.

The winning boys team excitedly received their trophy.

Preparations in Monjas

Back in November, Cesar met Ferdynand Morales Senior and Junior, a father and son duo from Monjas, a town where we have done cowboy stuff through the years. Both of these men were professional soccer players in Guatemala, and together they have been running a soccer academy for children and youth in Monjas. When they met Cesar, they begged him to come with our team to Monjas. So on Saturday, January 28th, we spent a day with their teams and their academy. As a result, we had an amazing response from the city, the players and their parents, and long time friends we have worked with in the past.

Ferdynand Senior and Junior listen to Cesar as we meet up for a day of soccer with their academy. Looking on is Eduardo.

The last time I had been in Monjas was before the pandemic. So it was great reconnecting with Manfredo, a friend who is an associate pastor and counselor for a Christian children’s home located in Monjas. His father is a dairy farmer in the area, and we have partnered in starting a Christian Rancher group. The shirt he is wearing is of Oklahoma State University, my alma mater! When I asked him where he got it, he said it came from a store that sells secondhand American clothes!

Ferdynand Senior preps the teams before playing their games.

Eduardo shares his testimony to the children in Monjas before the games begin.

The last game of the morning required penalty shots to determine the winner.

After the games, Ferdynand Senior, a former disc jockey for a national radio program, announces the winners for one of the team divisions.

The drama was a hit in Monjas as well.

As the children listen to the message of the colored soccer ball, Cesar talks about the message with the president of the local Lions club who was there with a team of people to help run the refreshment and snack table for the event.

10:02 PRAYER

(Pray Luke 10:2 each day at 10:02 am or pm that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into his harvest fields.)

Please pray for us as we prepare the missionary teams for our soccer trip April 10-17. We have 9 people from Lenexa Baptist Church slated to go. We also have 13 Nicaraguans meeting us in Guatemala for that week. Pray that the logistics of our travel will go smoothly and that many will come to know Jesus as their personal savior during this time. Pray too for me as I am writing up some new discipleship material for soccer enthusiasts that we will use to make videos for follow-up with those who come to Christ.

ENGAGE

Bill and I will be leading a men’s retreat March 24-26 for the Western Way Cowboy Church in Altamont, Kansas. Then March 30th I will be in Norfolk, Nebraska, to teach at the Spanish Bible Institute at Northern Heights Baptist. If you are near those places, we’d love to see you! Let us know if you need more specifics.

INVEST

We are so grateful for your continued partnership with us. Thanks to you, we have been able to move freely between our “Be the Church” events and our ongoing mission projects in Central America. As we prepare for our first soccer tournaments, you have been strategic in making that possible. We will keep you posted as we go along.

Please keep us informed of your prayer needs.

CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY WAY TO INVEST.

Love y’all!

Steve

PS…I have recruited some new fans of the Kansas City Chiefs! I think their loyalty will last for as long as I buy the hamburgers!

A couple days before I came home, the Chiefs were playing in the AFC Championship game against the Bengals. The three young men who went to the jungle with us (that you met in the last update) said that they would pray that the Chiefs would win, and if they won, I’d owe each of them a hamburger! So the last night I was in Guatemala, I paid up at this restaurant in Amberes that is called “El Jefe,” which means “the Chief!” And yes, now that the Chiefs have won the Super Bowl, they expect more hamburgers when I go back!

update on Guatemala Part 1—The Jungle

Good morning everyone!

I just got back from Guatemala, and I have a lot to share with you. My time there was split between the jungle and Amberes, where Cesar Gonzales lives. The first week we made the rounds in the jungle with Cesar and four young men. The second week we went back to Cesar’s home, where, along with Eduardo Mejia and a team of four other people from Nicaragua, we began laying down preparations for a big soccer tournament in April.

While I was in Guatemala, Bill Burrows spent a few days in Burwell, Nebraska, challenging and encouraging several groups of pastors and church leaders. So we have been busy travelers in the last few weeks!

Though I am tempted to try and tell you about everything now, I think it would be less overwhelming if I share this in at least two parts. So this update will focus on the jungle portion of my trip. Then next week we will go more in depth about the incredible response we got working with the Nicaragua soccer team.

Our Jungle Team

After about 10 hours of driving, we arrived at our base camp in Por Venir, Guatemala. From left to right are Stiven (a 17 year old soccer player from Amberes), Cesar, Anibal (a pastor from a nearby village), Brandon (a 15 year old soccer player also from Amberes), Pablo (a 16 year old soccer player also from Amberes), and Josue (a 20 year old grandson of Cesar). Our team’s goal for the week was to fix a water system in Sepoc and play soccer in a couple of villages with the men and boys from the region.

Also welcoming us to our base camp was this lizard. He kept me company every night the entire week!

The first night in the jungle, we spoke at the Embajadores de Cristo Church (Ambassadors of Christ) in Setal, Guatemala. Here, Cesar greets everyone. Looking on in the background is the church’s pastor. This church is located on a main road that has the availability of electricity.

Most of the Kekchi-language churches love to praise the Lord with heartfelt songs in their own language.

Water-borne Diseases Plague Our Friends

Throughout the years in our church planting partnership with our Kekchi friends, we have had an ongoing battle to help villages access clean drinking water. Five or six years ago, some compassionate individuals gave us money to deworm the village of Sepoc, where most were infected by parasites. But before buying the medicine, Cesar stopped us to consider that, although the medicine would get rid of the parasites and give about six months of relief, the parasites would soon plague them again. That is because the root problem was in their drinking water, which came from a polluted well. During the rainy season, waste from both pigs and people would wash into the well.

Cesar and our team inspected the water well in the village of Sepoc along with Jose, pastor of the church there. Several years ago, we helped them obtain a pump and tubes to bring water from a nearby spring down into the village for clean water. But during the pandemic, the pump broke and they had gone back to using the water from this well—water that is undoubtedly causing more stomach problems again.

So, we worked with a local mayor and the church in Sepoc to provide a water system that pumped water from a spring up to a couple of containers on a hill. Then that clean water could drop by gravity straight down into the village. It worked great, and the people got healthier drinking clean water.

Spring Up Oh Well…

However, about a year and a half ago, the pump quit working, and many in the village went back to drinking unclean water from the polluted well. Naturally, the village has suffered again from parasites. So on this trip, Cesar was bound and determined to get the pump working again.

Clean water is an issue all over the region. These women are from a village near San Manzanila and hike about a mile back to their huts after fetching water from a spring. They had a good water system a few years ago, but recently their system broke down, and leaders from the community are in the process of making repairs.

Here we evaluated the condition of the tubes that come from the spring, which is a more reliable and clean source of water for the village of Sepoc.

In November, Cesar had taken the old pump to his shop in Amberes to repair. Now it was time to re-install it and see if it would work. Here, Pablo and Stiven are doing the heavy lifting.

Before hooking up the pipes, Pablo and Cesar performed a test, and it worked!

The pump takes water that is down in the spring and pumps it up to large plastic containers on a hill. Then the water can drop down from there by gravity into the village. Here we tested the power of the pump, and it was getting the water up to where it needed to go.

Pablo smiled after seeing that the tanks were ready to receive water again.

After a job well done, our boys from Amberes got their first taste of Kakik, a spicy soup that is made by the Kekchi women for special occasions. As Brandon takes his first spoonful, Pastor Jose enjoys watching the reactions of the others. Fortunately for them, it was milder than usual!

The Soccer Connection in the Jungle

Besides working on the Sepoc water system, we went to a couple of villages to play soccer. For the past several years, our friends have played soccer in villages where new churches need to be established. On this trip, we were just playing friendly games. Later they would do a four village tournament and share the gospel between games.

At the end of our second day in the jungle, players from San Manzanila played a game with a mix of players from their village. Originally, another village was supposed to show up with a team, but they weren’t able to come because of the harvest of cardomum (a plant that produces a fruit that is used primarily for perfumes).

Cesar talked to this group of children about the gospel using the colors of the soccer ball. The children didn’t speak very much Spanish, so it was a little challenging for Cesar to convey the message. Later one of our Kekchi friends helped translate.

The two San Manzanilan teams ended up tied and used penalty shots to determine the winner. Here, Pablo is taking his turn. While this was not a big event, it allowed us to continue to have positive interactions with many in the village. And these good relations have made it easier for our friends there to openly share their faith about Jesus.

New Church Start in Chaky Gracia

The last day in the jungle we made a day trip to a village on the other side of a palm plantation. With the help of a guide, we were able to drive through the maze of palm trees to within a short walking distance of the home where the church is getting started.

Every Thursday, vendors set up a makeshift market in designated locations in the palm oil plantation.

Once we drove to the other side of the plantation, we were able to walk to the hut of a layman who wants to start a new church. Note that tree bridges are very prevalent in this region of the jungle.

Also prevalent along the pathway is cacao. This is the plant and fruit that chocolate comes from. Here, Josue is showing off what he just picked.

Fortunately, this bridge made access to Chaky Gracia much easier. Several from the church at Ochul Choch accompanied us to the home of one of their members.

A family that is a member of the Ochul Choch church has been hiking an hour and a half one way for church services. Now they are wondering if they can start a church in their home.

Here is the home in Chaky Gracia where the Ochul Choch church wants to help start a new church.

The owner of the home (in the background with the blue shirt) constructs these kinds of homes for his livelihood. He recently built his home to be spacious enough for a group to meet.

Lorenzo (standing) is the pastor of the Ochul Choch church and joined us that day as we prayed and encouraged the nucleus in Chaky Gracia to start meeting together.

As we met that day, I flashed back to the first time I met with Lorenzo at his hut nearly 20 years ago. Back then he was saying the same thing about hiking an hour and a half to Sepoc with his family to attend church and wondering if it was okay to start a new church in their village. Now here he is, the veteran pastor who has helped several churches get started by those who are like he was. I couldn’t help but have moist eyes while I observed what was happening. Please pray for their continued establishment of a new church in Chaky Gracia and that these churches would continue to multiply.

10:02 PRAYER

(Pray Luke 10:2 each day at 10:02 am or pm that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into his harvest fields.)

Please pray for this new church start in Chaky Gracia. Pray that the pastors of the existing churches, like Lorenzo, will keep their focus on multiplying disciples and new groups throughout their region in the jungle. Pray that the churches will continue to be generous in helping their villages have clean drinking water for all and that this testimony would lead many to drink of the living water that Jesus provides to all.

ENGAGE

Bill and I will be at the First Baptist Church of Mountain Home, Arkansas, for a “Be the Church” Conference March 4-8. Then March 24-26 we will be doing a men’s retreat for the Western Way Cowboy Church in Altamont, Kansas. If you are near those places, we’d love to see you! Let us know if you need more specifics.

A couple of weeks ago in Burwell, Nebraska, Bill facilitated a group of pastors and their wives in a discussion about their prayer lives that led to renewed commitment to pray.

INVEST

Thanks to you, we were able to accomplish so much this past month—training churches and helping our friends plant churches in Guatemala. Thanks, too, for your help with our soccer project. I will talk more about that in the next update.

Please keep us informed of your prayer needs.

CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY WAY TO INVEST.

Love y’all!

Steve

On our last day in the jungle we stopped by Las Conchas, one of the most spectacular series of waterfalls in the region. These young men had never been to this part of their country and were blown away by the experience. Note that in the next update you will see them again. Cesar has been preparing them to be leaders to invite youth near their homes to come to our upcoming soccer events in Santa Cruz Narranjo. Stay tuned for that report next time!

End of Year Wrap-up and a Sneak Peak Into 2023

In November, Luis Carlos, in the white shirt, shared a message using the colored soccer ball at a gathering of several boys and girls soccer teams in Santa Cruz Narranjo, Guatemala. About 50 prayed to receive Christ as a result!

Good morning everyone!  

I hope you had a Merry Christmas and that you were not chattering your teeth too much in the deep freeze that hit us here in the Midwest!

I am enjoying a slower pace this week and warmer weather as Nola is off work and we are home this year for the holidays.

Before I brief you on what is coming up, let me say thank you for your prayers and your generosity in 2022. Please note that if you are mailing a check, anything postmarked by December 31st will count for your giving record in 2022.

Project Hope team of Nicaragua prepares the props to take a picture of the winning team in San Ramon, Nicaragua. Eduardo Mejia (black shirt holding a microphone) will be bringing 4 of his leaders to Guatemala January 23-29 to help train a Guatemalan team in soccer evangelism.

Primary Projects in the First Months of 2023

  • Jungle trip January 17-22: Steve will fly down January 16th and then team up with Cesar Gonzalez and several other Guatemalan friends to go play soccer in several villages and hike to two remote villages that do not have a church yet.

  • Soccer Evangelism Training in Santa Cruz Narranjo, January 23-30: Eduardo Mejia and his team from Project Hope of Nicaragua will meet Steve and other Guatemalans for a few days of training for the big event in April.

  • Be the Church Conference at First Baptist Mountain Home, Arkansas, March 4-8: Steve and Bill will be working with Pastor Tad Rogers to offer four days of Be-the-Church training.

  • Spring Roundup at Bar None Cowboy Church of Midway, Arkansas, March 9-12: Steve and Bill will be working with Pastor Dusty Stanford to offer training in having spiritual conversations with both believers and non-believers.

  • Men’s Fellowship for Western Way Cowboy Church of Altamont, Kansas, March 25: We will equip and encourage men to “Be the Church.”

  • Soccer Tournament in Guatemala April 10-17: Preparations are being made with Lenexa Baptist Church and with Project Hope of Nicaragua to send missionaries to help.

Dusty Stanford, pastor of Bar None Cowboy Church of Midway, Arkansas, speaks at a Tuesday night “Church in the Dirt” gathering. In March we will be partnering with them in a “Spring Roundup” to help prepare the church to have soul-connecting spiritual conversations with both believers and non-believers.

Joyce Burrows Steps Into a New Role

As we enter into 2023, Joyce Burrows, wife of Bill Burrows, will be stepping into an even greater role in helping us administratively in our ministry. For years she has kept our books and helped out on many behind the scenes projects and events. Because of the anticipated increase in activity in 2023, Joyce has agreed to let us increase her hours and take on other administrative duties. Thanks Joyce for all your help!

Here, Bill and Joyce Burrows are standing in front of Lake Calymus near Burwell, Nebraska, during our October trip.

As we anticipate and prepare for 2023, we pray that God will use us in any way He wants for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Thanks again for your prayers and your partnership with us. Keep us posted on what is happening in your world. God is using so many of you in amazing ways.

Happy New Year!  

Steve

PS…Thanks for your well wishes for Nola and me as we enjoyed a trip to Hawaii last month! Nola’s work took her there for a week of unveiling a new software product for Hawaii’s insurance commissioners. I tagged along, and we added a week of vacation to take advantage of the opportunity.

Nola and I enjoyed seeing the sights on the big island. Here we are near the southernmost point of the United States.

Soccer Evangelism Opportunity

Ray Gurney, pastor of Cross Creek Baptist Mission, gives thanks last year in a jungle village in Guatemala.

Good morning everyone!  

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Nola and I sure did.

I have been reminded that today is what many non-profits have dubbed “Giving Tuesday.” This year, God has graciously brought all of us together to give our time, energy, and resources to His mission of making disciples and building up His church. 

We are truly grateful for:

  • Friends like you who are partners in this ministry through prayer, service, and financial investments in the Kingdom of God.

  • Opportunities to encourage rural pastors and churches all over the Midwest.

  • An upcoming collaborative Guatemalan & Nicaraguan Evangelistic Soccer Tournament in Santa Cruz Naranjo, Guatemala, in April of 2023. 

A soccer team in San Ramon, Nicaragua, spontaneously drop to their knees to give thanks after playing in a tournament last September. Looking on in the distance is Eduardo Mejia, the leader of the project in Nicaragua.

For a quick back story, in September, because of your faithfulness to this ministry, I was able to connect a small Guatemalan delegation with a large team from Project Hope, a ministry in Nicaragua, to serve in a regional soccer tournament in San Ramon, Nicaragua. There were over 700 players and more than 150 people prayed to receive Christ. A local follow-up team is working to connect these new believers with churches in their area.

We are now committed to doing the same thing in Guatemala, and the team from Nicaragua, whose help we really need, feels called by God to help. Of course in order to accomplish this goal, it will require money.

I promised that I would ask my friends to help meet these needs:   

  • Fund the leadership team from Project Hope to train the Guatemalan team in January. Travel, food, and lodging are $1600.

  • Fund 20 Nicaraguans to serve at the tournament in Santa Cruz Naranjo, Guatemala, in April. Travel, food, and lodging are $6000. 

Getting the Nicaraguans there will fast track the Guatemalans’ ability to have a large-scale tournament in April and give us the know-how to do it again with Guatemalans in the future. These Nicaraguan disciples would gladly pay for their own expenses, but their resources are limited by the economic realities in their country.  

A Vision Worth Supporting

We believe that our friends all over Central America will catch a vision for this kind of soccer evangelism and need training and coaching to replicate it in other places. So, would you help us fund this project? When you give, indicate in the memo of your check or in the description online that it is for the Soccer Project.

Thank you for your partnership. Keep us posted on what is happening in your world. We love hearing from you. 

Gratefully,

Steve & Bill

The Play. Story. Eat. Good Life Tour

Good morning everyone!

If you’ve never experienced “The Good Life” in Nebraska, you’ve missed out! During our 9 days in the Sandhills, we spoke several times on the topic “What is the Good Life?”

Joining us for this update are many new friends in the Sandhills of Nebraska and Western Way Cowboy Church in Altamont, Kansas. Welcome everybody! Today I want to highlight the ministries and churches of some of our friends in both Nebraska and Kansas.

The Good Life Tour

For this trip, I joined Bill and Joyce Burrows, and good friends John and Suzy Gragg for a week of Be-the-Church training and activities in the Sandhills of Nebraska. Bill, Joyce, and I enjoyed having the Graggs along with us as they and Joyce Burrows served behind the scenes at each of our events.

Here I am with Bill, Joyce, John, and Suzy as the sun was setting at the end of our first day in Nebraska. With good friends, life is good!

To kick off the week, we went to Burwell Baptist Church on Sunday morning, October 2nd, to update the church on our recent Guatemala/Nicaragua mission projects, and for Bill and I to do a tag team message in their service on “The Good Life!”

Joel Wentworth, pastor of Burwell Baptist Church and also the coordinator for the Sandhills Church Network, invited us to come be a part of their annual Rural Christian Workers Conference.

That Sunday evening we were in Loup City for the annual Sandhills Church Network meeting. Then during the week we met with pastors and leaders to talk mission projects, speak at a youth event in Burwell with the combined youth groups of four churches, and see how we could help pastors and leaders in their churches. At the end of the week we were a part of the Rural Christian Workers Conference hosted by Joel Wentworth, the Sandhills Network, and Burwell Baptist Church.

Mike Johnson, pastor of Ridgeview Bible Church in Chadron, Nebraska, presents his first of three sessions for the Rural Christian Workers Conference.

After introducing Bill, Joel walks offstage with his shepherd’s staff, a tool that he is known to use if anyone gets too long winded in their presentation!

Joel’s wife, Linda(left), and Dana Plugge, the administrative assistant for Burwell Baptist, are ready to serve at one of the break times.

There were several groups that had tables for more information at the Rural Christian Workers Conference.

In our breakout session, I shared about how our ministry began and introduced Bill.

Here’s Bill teaching in our breakout session of the Rural Christian Workers Conference.

Bill taught at the Sandhills Church Network meeting at Grace Bible Church in Loup City, Nebraska.

One of the things that impresses us about Joel Wentworth and his ministry is the way God is using him to bring together leaders and pastors of other churches in Burwell and in the Sandhills region.

During this trip we got to see first hand how this is leading to a positive witness in the town and in the region. I wish you could have been with us at a prayer meeting Joel invited us to one morning at 6am where other pastors and leaders of other denominations gathered for their weekly time of prayer. We could see how that gathering was fostering more collaboration between the churches. The week we were there, Joel had Bill speak to 4 combined youth groups, and the gospel was presented in a winsome and relevant way to those young people.

The youth were divided into teams to have a “table surfing” contest!

Here Bill introduced the topic “Life or Death” to the kids.

Bill challenged the youth to trust God and experience life as He created us to live it.

The Drought in Nebraska

Besides the official meetings, we enjoyed a few hikes with Joel at the Calamus Lake area near Burwell. This year, because of the drought, the sandy banks were more pronounced and gave us a strange wonderful retreat that resembled an oceanside beach.

Left to right are Joel Wentworth, Bill, Suzy Gragg, and Joyce Burrows. Until seeing it for ourselves, we had no idea what Joel was talking about in mentioning the drought effect on lake Calamus.

The banks were at record lows when we were there.

On another day, Bill and Joel admired the tracks of a turtle that evidently had to work hard to get down to the water.

Visiting the Workplaces of Our Friends

We also made some visits to see several of our friends working in other occupations and livelihoods.

Good friend Rex Kelley of Ord, Nebraska, shows Suzy the cockpit of his plane he uses to spray crops. Incidentally, Rex and his wife, Debbie, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary while we were there!

Suzy Gragg and Cory Johnson, a farmer near Burwell, posed for a picture right before Cory took Suzy out for a couple rounds of harvesting corn on his big rig.

The Good Life Tour Ends

To conclude the week in Nebraska, on Sunday, October 9th, we were at Ord Evangelical Free Church to do our last presentation for the week on The Good Life. Doug Olson and his wife Janna, have been in Ord for about 10 years now, but they were missionaries to Hungary for a few years before that. Doug, a native Nebraskan, and Janna have dedicated themselves and their family to reaching non-Christians near Ord in both friendship and witness.

Between Bill and I are our good friends, Janna and Doug Olson. Doug is pastor of the Ord Evangelical Free Church. Janna leads out as a coordinator and administrator for a local theater that does a variety of live performances. In addition, she makes some of the most amazing and delicious organic breads, which she sells at the local farmers market.

In our tag team presentation, I took a few moments to describe the worst, best day of my life! To conclude the message we described that regardless of our circumstances, we have a choice to enjoy Jesus or not. And only a life lived with Jesus in charge gives us the opportunity to truly live the “good” life.

A Great Night with Western Way Cowboy Church

A little over a week after being in Nebraska, Bill and I headed to Southeast Kansas to get better acquainted with pastor Les Green and the Western Way Cowboy Church of Altamont, Kansas. The church was started in 2011, and Les and his team have done an amazing job in reaching out to the region. I am amazed that even after dealing with Covid, the church has more than 200 people showing up each Sunday and more than 100 that show up on Thursday nights.

Bill and I were impressed by the joy and the energy they had as we joined them on a Thursday night gathering to talk about what we are doing in our mission work—especially with cowboys and our upcoming soccer projects. After the service, people hung around for a pot luck meal and further visiting. Bill and I couldn’t have felt more welcomed.

Les Green (blue shirt), pastor of Western Way Cowboy Church, leads worship with several musicians and singers on Thursday night, October 20th.

The next morning we had breakfast with Les and Debbie Green and a few other leaders. As a result, we have some plans brewing for future collaboration. Stay tuned for more as this unfolds!

10:02 PRAYER

(Pray Luke 10:2 each day at 10:02 am or pm that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into his harvest fields.)

Please pray for our friends like Joel, Linda, Doug, Janna, and Les and their rural churches. Pray that they continue to win people to Christ, disciple them, and raise them up to help bring in a harvest of others. Pray that we can work in harmony with several of them as we look at doing more partnering in both local and international projects.

ENGAGE

If you would be interested in Bill and me coming to your neck of the woods, let us know!

INVEST

Thanks for your continued generosity. You are making a difference in what we are able to do.

Please keep us informed of your prayer needs.

CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY WAY TO INVEST.

Love y’all!

Steve

PS…As you read this update, Nola and I just might be on a business trip to Hawaii! Amazingly, Nola’s work is sending her there for a week of presentations and answering questions about the software product they provide for the insurance commissioners in Hawaii. I’m going along so she isn’t lonely!

At a recent wedding reception of some friends, Nola and I were given some battery powered, flashing cowboy hats! Maybe we need to take these to Hawaii!

Guatemala/Nicaragua Soccer Update

Good morning everyone!

Since the last time I updated you, I have been to Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Nebraska! There are so many things to share. In this update I will focus on the Guatemala/Nicaragua soccer connection, where over 75 teams participated, over 700 players played, and over 150 people prayed to receive Christ! In a future update I will report on a fantastic trip we had to the Sandhills of Nebraska.

Thanks for Your Generosity for Cesar And Elba’s Medical Issues

Before I jump into the soccer update, Cesar and Elba Gonzalez, our partners in ministry in Guatemala, would want me to say “Muchas Gracias” for your prayers and financial gifts for their medical expenses from July and August. Many of you sent cards and money, and I was able to deliver those gifts on this trip. Thankfully they are doing well. Elba is no longer dealing with the respiratory issues related to a bacterial infection. And Cesar is beginning to drive and travel some, though he did not travel to Nicaragua with me on this last trip. He and I did make some visits to a couple of Christian Rancher group leaders near Chiquimula, Guatemala.

This is a recent pic of Cesar and Elba Gonzalez near their home in Amberes, Guatemala.

Driving From Guatemala to Nicaragua

On September 4th, I flew into Guatemala, and then a couple days later I hopped into a truck with Dr. Esteban Polanco, Pastor Juan Carlos Lopez, and Luis Carlos Puac. We drove two days from Guatemala, through Honduras, into Nicaragua. Despite dealing with some delays at the borders, we arrived ready to learn and participate in a soccer tournament in San Ramón, Nicaragua.

Here is our Guatemala team enjoying a good meal in Honduras en route to Nicaragua. From left to right is Juan Carlos, Luis Carlos, Dr. Esteban, and me.

Preparations with the Nicaraguan Team

For two days prior to the tournament, we made the rounds with Eduardo Mejia and his advance team from Project Hope, a ministry in Nicaragua that I connected with for the first time back in March.

Eduardo Mejia, a former professional soccer player in Nicaragua, is being interviewed in the San Ramón city square by a local television crew. During the interview, Eduardo invited boys, girls, men, and women to sign up their teams online or in person.

Here, our Guatemala team carries a couple of the trophies out to put them in the back of pickups. Before the tournaments, Eduardo and his team drive through the streets inviting kids to sign up so that they could win one of these!

The night before the first day of the tournament, Eduardo instructs our group and key leaders from the city of San Ramón about the schedule for the following day. You can see by the picture on the wall that we were not in Kansas! Seated behind Eduardo is the Vice-Mayor, who later greeted our group.

The Project Hope team often transports their own soccer goals to the tournaments.

Getting the fields ready for play, the team divided the large soccer field into eight smaller fields so that more games could take place simultaneously.

The sound team sets up and tests the equipment before the tournament begins.

They had me hold the sign with the name and logo of the tournament. “Furia Santa” means “Holy Fury”.

A group picture of our combined logistics team from Nicaragua, Guatemala, and the San Ramón city hall leadership group.

The Evangelism Process

One of the things I wanted our Guatemala team to learn from Eduardo and his team of 35 people was the way that they share the salvation message during the tournament. I was impressed by their winsomeness and their coordinated effort in doing it. Each day there were many who prayed to receive Christ as their savior.

The day started at about 8:30am when all the teams were required to be ready in the stands.

The Vice-Mayor of the city of San Ramón welcomes the players and spectators to the first day.

After the initial greeting, the Project Hope drama team performs a mime set to music. During the drama, a hapless woman gets chained by dark forces. While they are working their evil, Jesus walks toward them.

Jesus blows away the demonic forces to free the woman from their clutches.

After the skit, Eduardo approaches to deliver a message using a colored soccer ball.

Each color of the ball represents a key part of the gospel message.

After explaining the gospel, Eduardo leads the crowd in a prayer of salvation. Then he invites those who prayed to come forward out on the field.

As people respond, the evangelism team writes down the names and contact information of those who came down. They take a picture of the person and collect all the info for a future follow-up team of people from the region who will call them and continue to stay in touch with them.

After the initial group came on the field, others on the team comb the stands to have spiritual conversations with those who may not have come to the field.

Here, Luis, a pastor from Managua, converses with several spectators in the stands.

Two Fun Days of Soccer!

After the presentation of the gospel message, teams were called from the stands to begin playing their five-on-five player games. Each game lasted about 10 minutes, so the games moved quickly and even with a total of 50 teams the first day, they were able to be playing the championship games by about noon.

You can see several games of boys taking place across the big field.

Here, two men’s teams play in a semi-final game. Though we never had rain during our tournament, it rained every day before and after it. So the fields were muddy and a challenge to the players.

The girls had a division to play as well.

The play of the men’s division was very competitive.

In one of the women’s games, it came down to penalty shots to determine the winner.

The Project Hope team did a fabulous job keeping our team hydrated and taken care of at the tent of operations.

One of the men’s teams gathered to pray before their final game.

With the two teams in the final, the referee gathers the teams for instructions before the game.

Here are the winners of the men’s division.

Luis Carlos, of our Guatemala team, congratulates the most valuable player of the tournament. Luis Carlos is a customer service trainer for a major bank in Guatemala but also works with a non-profit soccer organization. Since coming back from the trip, he has worked closely with Cesar Gonzalez in continuing the project in Guatemala, and he will be our leader of logistics for the next few events in Guatemala.

Eduardo gives a recognition to the Vice-Mayor and his leadership group for their support of the tournament.

The Night We All Came Together

When I started trying to connect the Guatemalans and the Nicaraguans with this soccer project, I felt like I was setting up two friends on a blind date! I wanted so badly for them to really click together and for the friendships to bud into something special for the future. Thankfully, it happened.

The night after our first day of the tournament, before cutting the lights out in our big room where all were sleeping on cots and mats, Eduardo led a devotion. After that, Dr. Esteban Polanco spontaneously shared from his heart about how he wanted to be different when he went back to Guatemala. Then Juan Carlos, our pastor from Guatemala, chimed in. “I believe someone needs to get saved tonight.”

Eduardo had shared with me earlier that several of the referees that worked closely with us were not believers yet. Juan Carlos looked over at several of them and asked, “Would you like to pray right now?” Soon, 5 of the referees prayed prayers of salvation. Afterwards the Nicaraguans and the Guatemalans were hugging and crying and praising God together.

Pastor Juan Carlos, with arms stretched out, led in prayer as several referees on our team prayed to receive Christ.

The Nicaragua/Guatemala Connection Continues

As the tournament was winding down, I asked Eduardo if he thought any of the Project Hope team would want to come to Guatemala to help us put on a similar tournament there.

“They all want to go,” Eduardo said.

“How many is ‘all’?” I asked for clarification.

“Everybody!” he answered. “All 35 of our team have told me they would like to come.”

“Okay!” I said, surprised. “Let’s work with that!”

Before I left Guatemala, Cesar and I were able to get the city of Santa Cruz Narranjo on board to host a tournament in Guatemala. Since then, we have made plans for a team of 5 to come with Eduardo between January 22-29,2023, to train our team in Guatemala. Then in April, the week after Easter, we plan to have the whole group for a big tournament in Santa Cruz Narranjo.

Currently, I am working with Lenexa Baptist Church here in the Kansas City area to help anchor this project and recruit some people to go down there. If you have a desire to help out in any way, please let me know! Stay tuned for further developments!

Cesar and I got to speak personally with Salvador Rodriguez, the mayor of Santa Cruz Narranjo, about the soccer tournament idea. Since we have already done multiple projects with him and his administration, he agreed on the spot. In the past few weeks since this initial meeting, Cesar has worked with their sports/soccer liaison with the city on obtaining the fields and connecting with the soccer teams in the region.

10:02 PRAYER

(Pray Luke 10:2 each day at 10:02 am or pm that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into his harvest fields.)

Please pray for Cesar and Elba and their continued good health. Pray that the logistics for this soccer tournament in Guatemala will come to pass. Pray too for the resources to fund the teams going to Guatemala—especially the Nicaraguan teams. And most importantly, pray that many come to know Christ through this project.

ENGAGE

Bill and I had a great trip to Nebraska last week and look forward to sharing more about that. We are scheduled to be at the Western Way Cowboy Church in Altamont, Kansas, on Thursday, October 20th for their Thursday night gathering. If you are in that area, let us know so we can keep you informed and maybe even connect with you!

INVEST

Thanks to you, this soccer project is becoming a reality, and your investment makes it possible for us to keep moving and connecting with folks all over the map!

Please keep us informed of your prayer needs.

CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY WAY TO INVEST.

Love y’all!

Steve

PS…As I was writing this update, we were blessed to have Zion, our newest grandson, arrive, weighing in at 9 lbs. 2 oz.!

From left to right is Zai, Zac, Zion, Liz, and Zeke!

Summertime Highlights and Upcoming Soccer Projects


Hi Everybody!

It’s been a while since I last updated you, and there has been a lot of life and stuff going on for us. I’m sure many of you have been through a lot this summer as well. I’ll share a few of the highlights (and one lowlight!) from the past couple of months. Then I want to share a major prayer concern for a soccer trip in September that involves friends from both Guatemala and Nicaragua.

ReConnecting in Valentine, Nebraska

When I last communicated with you, I’d just gotten back from Guatemala and was headed to Nebraska and South Dakota for a week of ministry. Bill Burrows was planning on going too, but right before that trip he had gotten Covid. Fortunately, it was a mild case and he was back to working within a few days. But it meant I did the trip solo. First I stopped in Valentine, Nebraska, for a Sunday morning service at First Baptist, and that evening I spoke at the Cowboy Church at the sale barn in Valentine. Special thanks goes to Lawrence Turner for putting me up and cooking me great burgers with his home grown beef!

I should have taken pictures, but because it felt like being at home with those guys, I didn’t even think about it until I was driving to South Dakota!

VBS in South Dakota

After speaking at the Cowboy Church, I crossed the nearby border that same evening to head to Keith and Judy Moody’s place near Colome, South Dakota. For the following five days I was the missionary story teller at their church, Calvary Chapel, for their annual Vacation Bible School. Their theme, “Zoomerang”, took them to Australia and taught the children about how God so marvelously created the world and people and how God offers us a way to be in relationship with Him. Having never been to Australia, it was a little bit of a stretch for me to talk about Guatemala and Central America, but the kids were great and engaged in the process really well.

Each day I changed personalities and shared stories—one day as a cowboy, then as a jungle adventurer, the third day as a soccer player, and finally the last day as a bull rider! And no, I’ve never ridden a bull before! But I had Riley Shippy, a bull rider from Colome and fellow helper in the VBS, to help me talk about our ministry to bull riders. Here are a few pics of those days.

The kids gathered outside getting ready to march into the church building at Calvary Chapel.

The children lined up in their groups and entered together.

Each day we started with a large group. Over 67 children came, and I have to admit that their excitement was contagious!

As has been done for many years, Pastor Keith Moody introduced the pledges of allegiance of both the American and the Christian flags. Then the rest of the week, selected children led out in this time.

Songs are always a big part of VBS, and here, Betsy Shippy teaches the kids a “Stop” and “Go” song.

The first day I talked about cowboy ministries in Guatemala, and how it all got started.

In this part of South Dakota, cowboys show up for VBS!

The second day, I wore a backpack and my hiking boots and talked about our jungle projects. The kids engaged in asking great questions!

On the fourth day, Riley Shippy helped me talk about bull riding. In our cowboy groups and our bull riding groups, we always ask, “What bull are you going to ride as a result of this Bible story?” Afterwards, I told the kids what bull I needed to ride as a result of being with them. So the next time I see them, they are supposed to ask me if I did my commitment!

Riley showed his gear for riding bulls and shared why he wears each item and what it does for a bull rider.

Each year for one of the crafts, the children make different pieces of a Nativity set. If they come to VBS every year, by the time they “graduate”, they have all the pieces for their own nativity set. Here the children are painting their manger characters.

This group painted their mangers.

One of the songs the children sang was about getting on a big boat (the ark) and so here one little boy shares his picture of his big boat.

The weather was perfect in June, and the kids enjoyed playing outside.

The last day the parents were invited for a cookout and for the children to sing and share about their week.

Perfect day for a weenie roast!

After the cookout, we all went inside for the kids to share with their friends and family what they learned.

Singing the theme song

Here, Keith awards the children for the memory verses learned during the week.

After my experience with VBS this year, I think I realized more than ever how vital that ministry can be for teaching children (and adults!) the basic truths about God and how we can become rightly related to Him through Jesus. If your church does VBS, I applaud you. You are making a great impact on the lives of children and families in your area.

Special thanks for the week goes to our good friends, Keith and Judy Moody, for putting me up. When I’m with them, I feel like I’m at home. Judy always feeds us with such tasty home grown meals from their garden, too.

Honorable mention goes to Randy and Jen Shippy. Jen was VBS director this year, and several of the pictures came from her. And Randy cooked me up a steak one evening that was incredible! I’ve mentioned Randy before in other updates. He raises professional bulls and is always a phone call away when I’m connecting to other bull riders.

Update on Soccer Strategy

As you might recall, when I was in Nicaragua in March, I met Eduardo Mejia, a former professional soccer player who had led a team to put on soccer tournaments in Nicaragua, where last year over 700 people came to Christ.

September 4-16, I will be in Guatemala and Nicaragua. I’ll fly to Guatemala on the 4th, and then drive with 3 other Guatemalan soccer enthusiasts to Nicaragua. Lord willing, from September 6th to 11th we will be in San Ramon, Nicaragua, for a soccer tournament.

Please pray for us. Travel is opening up in these post-pandemic days, but crossing borders can be tricky, and we will be crossing three borders to get to Nicaragua.

This is Dr. Esteban Polanco, a physician in Jalpatagua. He will be our driver. With him will be two other men. I hope to introduce them to you when I get back!

Concerns for our Partners, Cesar and Elba Gonzalez

At the beginning I mentioned a “lowlight” that I needed to share. A few weeks ago, Cesar had emergency prostate surgery. It went well, and he is doing much better. At the same time, Elba had an unusual respiratory problem (that wasn’t Covid) from a strange bacteria that sidelined her for several weeks. Thankfully, she is now doing much better as well.

In light of that, Cesar had to spend about $5,000 of unexpected expenses for both of them. Thankfully, Cesar’s son and one daughter loaned him some of the money to cover it all. If you would like to help offset some of that burden for Cesar, let me know. I plan to take an offering with me when I travel September 4th.

10:02 PRAYER

(Pray Luke 10:2 each day at 10:02 am or pm that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into his harvest fields.)

Please pray for Cesar and Elba and their health. Also pray for our soccer team traveling to Nicaragua. Pray that we make it there and back safely, and pray that through this time we can strategize on multiplying this kind of ministry in Guatemala. Most importantly, pray that many players come to know Christ in the project.

ENGAGE

Coming up in early October, Bill and I are scheduled to go back to Burwell and Ord, Nebraska. And then later in October we plan to spend a Thursday evening at the Western Way Cowboy Church in Altamont, Kansas. If you are in those areas, let us know so we can keep you informed and maybe even connect with you!

INVEST

Thank you for your generosity each month! Thanks to you, this soccer project is becoming a reality and you make it possible for us to keep moving and keep connecting with folks all over the map!

Please keep us informed of your prayer needs.

CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY WAY TO INVEST.

Love y’all!

Steve

Here was our whole VBS crew on the last day.

All Wet and All Blessed in Guatemala!

Hi Everybody!

I just got back from my trip to Guatemala on Tuesday, and words are inadequate for me to describe what I witnessed these past two weeks. This trip was like 3 trips in one. So bear with me in reporting this; there’s a lot! For an overview, we wanted to touch base with several of our Christian Rancher groups—especially our bull rider group in Chiquimula, and we wanted to recruit leaders for a big soccer emphasis this next year. Then, as a bonus, I was signed up to go on a men’s retreat with Juan Carlos Lopez, a pastor friend from Ipala, Guatemala. I thought I was ready. But after hiking and surviving the rain and the elements for three straight days with 215 other men, I realized how overconfident I was and how much I needed help to survive one of the hardest and most exhilarating experiences of my life. Here are a few pictures that reflect some of the highlights from the trip.

It rained almost every day on this trip, so there was an abundance of water. Here’s a shot of a waterfall that is not too far from Cesar’s house in Amberes.

Touching Base with Leaders

During the first few days, we made the rounds within easy driving distance from Amberes. We touched base with leaders in Santa Cruz Narranjo, Barberena, Quesada, San Pedro Alvarado, Moyuta, Jalpatagua, and Agua Blanca.

Every place of contact went super well, and we enjoyed seeing so many face to face.

Here is a typical group meeting of our friends in San Pedro Alvarado, Guatemala, near the border of El Salvador.

On the only day that we had a cancelation of a group due to a mix-up in communication, we visited this family near Cesar’s house. Eddie, the man sitting on the right, is a construction worker who has worked for Cesar on all his remodeling projects. A couple of months ago, he nearly died from pancreatitis induced by heavy drinking. On this day, he, his wife, and three daughters prayed to receive Christ.

The same day that Eddie and his family came to Christ, a couple of hours later we visited with his 88 year old grandmother and an aunt. And both of them prayed to receive Christ! We got word that they all got together later and celebrated their decision to follow Jesus. Here, Eddie’s grandmother is showing off her bracelet that Cesar had her make while we were visiting together.

Bull Riders and Horse Trainers

After a week of visits we made our way to Chiquimula to meet with our bull rider friend (and horse trainer) Alfredo Barrantes. Alfredo has been the leader of a WhatsApp group on Monday nights where now over a dozen bull riders and friends are joining in a call to do our group process.

When we got there, all of the bull riders who he had hoped to be there were gone because of a last minute shift in date of a rodeo for their company of bull riders. So we spent the day with Alfredo as he worked horses. During that day he introduced us to some other horse trainers who had come to Guatemala from Nicaragua. Both Cesar and I are amazed at how much Alfredo is doing to share his faith with anyone and everyone. About every week we have a new guy on our Monday calls.

When we first caught up with Alfredo, he was in a training session with a horse that he had made good progress with. Most of the horses that he works with are horses with major problems, and their owners are coming to him as a last resort.

Here Alfredo introduces us to two horse trainers from Nicaragua. Later that day, Edubije, the guy in the center, and one other guy from Nicaragua prayed to receive Christ and are now in our Monday group.

When we got to Alfredo’s house, he showed us his pack of blue heeler dogs and pups. He has trained them to work the rodeo bulls and help distract the bulls when a rider is down or in danger. The pups are also trained and sold to other ranchers for working their cattle. Alfredo jokes that at most rodeos they make more money than he does!

Alfredo is bringing out a new horse that has been assigned to him for rehabilitation. Several years ago, Alfredo was left almost completely blind in his left eye from a bull-riding mishap. He attributes much of his pain and suffering as a help in dealing with both horses and people.

Alfredo tells us that this horse is a lot like some of the guys he works with who have trust issues.

About that time, this horse broke the line! Alfredo says that his faith is what he relies on when dealing with horses like this and with friends who are making bad decisions. In both cases, God has given him success. Many bull riders have stayed with Alfredo and gotten squared away with positive life changes.

Update on Soccer Strategy

As you might recall, when I was in Nicaragua in March, I met Eduardo Mejia, a former professional soccer player who had led a team to put on soccer tournaments in Nicaragua, where last year over 700 people came to Christ. When I asked if he would help us in Guatemala, he enthusiastically agreed.

So, in September I plan to take a U.S. team from Lenexa Baptist Church to Nicaragua to participate in one of Eduardo’s tournaments, and to learn as much as we can about how he does it. In faith, I have been operating with the idea of having some Guatemalans meet us there who will help us carry the torch to Guatemala.

On this trip, my aim was to recruit at least one leader who would be willing to meet us in Nicaragua. And God blessed us with three high caliber soccer enthusiasts who are excited about doing just that. I will introduce them one by one.

This is Dr. Esteban Polanco, a physician in Jalpatagua. On one of the days we were in Moyuta, Guatemala, we mentioned to Dario, a coffee grower friend, what we were planning on doing with soccer. Dario immediately said, “You need to talk to this doctor who has started a soccer school for children.” He pulled out his phone and called the doctor directly and asked if he could meet us right then. Thirty minutes later we were sitting in his exam room. Dr. Polanco did his medical training in Cuba, and while there, he was told to keep his religion to himself. But as a bold believer he evangelized by simply reading the Bible out loud in parks! People came to faith by the hundreds. One day I hope to share his story. By the time we explained our idea, he jumped at the chance to meet me in Nicaragua!

On my last day in Guatemala, we had a coffee meeting with Alfredo Mendoza, a relative of some friends in Madison, Nebraska. (Julieta, a sister-in-law, sat next to me on a plane ride from Guatemala to Dallas about five or six years ago!) In April, when I was at Calvary Community Church in Madison and Northern Heights Baptist in Norfolk, they heard of how I needed help with this soccer project. They called Alfredo in Guatemala and told him about it and urged him to contact me. Alfredo is an administrator in a university in Guatemala City. When he called me, I learned that he had started a non-profit that helps children of lower economic means to have uniforms and shoes to play soccer. Also a dedicated believer, he loved the way we use the colored soccer balls to share the gospel. And because of his family’s strong endorsement, he told me that he would consider it an honor to help in any way he could!

And last but not least, we met with Flori Salguero, the president of a girls soccer federation. About five years ago, we met her when she was working with the President’s wife on a project for senior citizens. It just so happened on that day that we were there and she was visiting that group. She loved what we did and wanted to stay in touch. As an aside she mentioned her role as a volunteer in the federation for women’s soccer. Little did we know that she later became the president! This day as we shared with her our project, she immediately agreed to be a part of our team. She also asked if we could make sure we not only bring boys, but girls to come play soccer! So ready or not, this thing is rolling!

Cold and Wet in the Jungle

When I agreed to go on this men’s retreat with Juan Carlos, I knew it would be rough, but I didn’t realize that it was truly boot camp tough. Having run a half marathon a few weeks before the trip, and having my experience in the jungle before, I thought I’d be just fine.

This was our last meal before getting on a bus that would take us to the main starting point in Jutiapa. Juan Carlos, my pastor buddy, is on the far right.

Once we got to Jutiapa, all of us first timers were assigned to tribes and called to line up military style with our backpacks on. Shortly after I took this picture, they came and collected all our cell phones, our watches, and our money! So for the rest of the retreat, I could not take my own pictures! (There were photographers taking pictures as we went, so shortly before sending this to you, I got access to some of those!) As they took our stuff, it started to pour down rain. Normally, I have a cover for my backpack, but it was buried inside my pack. And the leaders immediately started running us through drills in the rain! For the next three days, I was mostly wet! And that was way harder for me than the actual hikes. Each day we hiked about half the day. Periodically they would stop us for a message on building character and listening to Jesus and the like. While at first it was hard and grueling, once we started getting into a groove as a tribe, and started having amazing conversations with each other and with Jesus, we could feel something change in each one of us.

This men’s ministry is called “Legendarios” or Legendaries. The theme comes from “Legendary #1” who is Jesus, and He calls us to follow Him, to be legendary men in our homes, at work, in our churches, and in making disciples.

Here we were waiting for instructions for a competition.

Because we were thrown into competitions without much of an introduction other than our name and where we were from, we had a hard time remembering everyone by name. For me, they caught that I was from Kansas. So that became my name—“Consas” (Which is how they say “Kansas!”) The guy in the blue shirt behind me is named Edin. He was an amazing guy who kept our tribe together. And he wants to travel with me anywhere I go whenever I am in Guatemala. He is a gifted communicator, and lives only about 3 hours from the jungle. So pray that I get more time with him.

All the tribes lined up at the beginning of day 2 awaiting instructions before hiking.

The beauty was amazing.

On day 3, I was asked to speak to the larger group on behalf of my tribe. Here I’m sharing a little of my story and how I realized that I was in way over my head! I hadn’t gone on the retreat with the idea of recruiting guys to go to the jungle with me on one of our projects, but in this moment, it dawned on me that these guys were built for the challenge. So I threw it out there for the entire group. Now, I have dozens of guys who tell me that they are ready to go with me to other jungle places to evangelize! I can’t tell you how much that encourages me as I think about the future.

On the next to last day, Juan Carlos, who was serving for the event (and who had a cell phone since he was not a newbie!) got this picture with me. At this point I was wearing the only clothes I had that were dry! Shortly thereafter, even these were soaked!

During our last group time as a tribe we talked about what each one of us was going to do about our time in the mountains. Here I was sharing what I felt like I needed to do.

Here’s my tribe on the day we earned our orange Legendary shirts and took our official tribe picture.

When Cesar dropped me off at the airport in Guatemala City, my heart was so full, and since I had several hours before my flight, I wrote page upon page of notes trying to capture the nuggets of personal and ministry insights from the trip. On my flight to Dallas, I wrote. And even on the way home to Kansas City. I’m still sorting it all out, but this one thing I know. I am truly grateful to God for His sustaining grace through the most difficult hours. And I have new ministry partners and friends who have my back and are ready to go the next leg of the journey with me. Maybe when I sort out some of this, I may be able to share more.

10:02 PRAYER

(Praying Luke 10:2 each day at 10:02 am or pm that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into his harvest fields.)

Please pray that our friends who prayed to receive Christ on this trip will get solid in one of our groups. Pray for Alfredo and his bull riders and fellow horse trainers as they meet on Mondays. Pray for the continued development of the soccer leadership team in Guatemala and the next steps of planning for the Nicaragua/Guatemala connection. Pray that soon we can have a strong team ready to hit the trails to evangelize in some remote places in Guatemala!

ENGAGE

I am heading out Saturday, June 4th, to spend time in Valentine, Nebraska, for Sunday services June 5th at First Baptist Valentine in the morning and at the Cowboy Church Sunday night at the sale barn. Come see us if you can!

Then Monday through Friday I am scheduled to be with the Calvary Chapel Vacation Bible School in Colome, South Dakota. Please pray for my ministry partner, Bill Burrows, who was planning to go with me. He and his wife Joyce caught a case of Covid while I was in Guatemala. So he will not be able to be with me on this trip.

INVEST

Thank you for your generosity to keep us moving and going. While I was in Guatemala, Cesar asked me to thank as many of you personally for your prayers and support as well. Muchas gracias!

CLICK HERE FOR THE EASY WAY TO INVEST.

Love y’all!

Steve

After we got up in the air on my return flight, I had this view, and I opened up my Bible to Hebrews 12:1-3, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”