january prayer note
Dear Friends,
As I mentioned in my quick e-mail earlier this week, our training camp in Nicaragua went incredibly well. Over the course of two 4-day camps we had almost 200 leaders and leaders-in-training from Nicaragua there, plus another 25+ leaders who came to be trained from Panama, Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Mexico. When we asked for feedback on what they had learned, the response was incredible. Many leaders talked about how the camp had refreshed them, renewed their faith, clarified their call, and better prepared them to work with teens in their neighborhoods. In short, it was a great place to see how God is working in the lives of teens and leaders throughout Central America.
One of our visitors was Josue Ortiz who I met last month in Monclova, Mexico and who is hoping to start Young Life ministry there soon. I asked him what he had thought of the training and he said one of his biggest problems was that he had brought along a Mexican Sombrero to give as a gift to a leader who really helped him grow, but he realized quickly he needed 170+ sombreros to thank the people there who were impacting him!
Josue later wrote-- “I give thanks to God and praise His name on the things that we have experienced at Nicaragua…..Monclova, Coahuila and (all) Mexico need to see this ministry as an example of how to reach youth for Jesus”. I would echo that thought. Thanks for helping us be able to plan and put on these training camps—it’s having a great impact on leaders and teens in Latin America.
Prayer updates:
Saraiah: Before leaving on my trip to Nicaragua, I had asked you to pray for my cousin and her husband and their baby girl Saraiah, who was born with some severe heart defects. The decision was made to take her off life support two weeks ago and her family was told she could live anywhere from four hours to a week, but Saraiah has defied those odds and is still doing well two weeks later. Her family is treasuring every hour with her and we’re still praying for a miracle. Please continue to lift up Saraiah and her family in prayer.
Haiti: We’ve had more contact with Chedrick and our team of leaders in Haiti this week and been able to send them a tent and some basic supplies. They are feeling that God really blessed them by saving the lives of their entire leadership team, but the earthquake and its aftermath have been very hard on them. In addition to the injured and lost, a short list from their leaders reporting damages shows 18 of their houses completely destroyed or beyond repair and another 10 with major damage, as well as the complete loss of a church and school that were connected to the ministry. Despite the enormous difficulties they face, Chedrick wrote this yesterday “I want to ensure all of you that we are more than ever decided to continue to work for God in Haiti in reaching the kids for Him….We were made for this! and with God we can!” (These are the taglines for YL in the US and Jenn Vi in Haiti). I’m blessed to see and hear of their great faith even as they deal with this tragedy. Please continue to pray for them.
As I mentioned in my quick e-mail earlier this week, our training camp in Nicaragua went incredibly well. Over the course of two 4-day camps we had almost 200 leaders and leaders-in-training from Nicaragua there, plus another 25+ leaders who came to be trained from Panama, Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Mexico. When we asked for feedback on what they had learned, the response was incredible. Many leaders talked about how the camp had refreshed them, renewed their faith, clarified their call, and better prepared them to work with teens in their neighborhoods. In short, it was a great place to see how God is working in the lives of teens and leaders throughout Central America.
One of our visitors was Josue Ortiz who I met last month in Monclova, Mexico and who is hoping to start Young Life ministry there soon. I asked him what he had thought of the training and he said one of his biggest problems was that he had brought along a Mexican Sombrero to give as a gift to a leader who really helped him grow, but he realized quickly he needed 170+ sombreros to thank the people there who were impacting him!
Josue later wrote-- “I give thanks to God and praise His name on the things that we have experienced at Nicaragua…..Monclova, Coahuila and (all) Mexico need to see this ministry as an example of how to reach youth for Jesus”. I would echo that thought. Thanks for helping us be able to plan and put on these training camps—it’s having a great impact on leaders and teens in Latin America.
Prayer updates:
Saraiah: Before leaving on my trip to Nicaragua, I had asked you to pray for my cousin and her husband and their baby girl Saraiah, who was born with some severe heart defects. The decision was made to take her off life support two weeks ago and her family was told she could live anywhere from four hours to a week, but Saraiah has defied those odds and is still doing well two weeks later. Her family is treasuring every hour with her and we’re still praying for a miracle. Please continue to lift up Saraiah and her family in prayer.
Haiti: We’ve had more contact with Chedrick and our team of leaders in Haiti this week and been able to send them a tent and some basic supplies. They are feeling that God really blessed them by saving the lives of their entire leadership team, but the earthquake and its aftermath have been very hard on them. In addition to the injured and lost, a short list from their leaders reporting damages shows 18 of their houses completely destroyed or beyond repair and another 10 with major damage, as well as the complete loss of a church and school that were connected to the ministry. Despite the enormous difficulties they face, Chedrick wrote this yesterday “I want to ensure all of you that we are more than ever decided to continue to work for God in Haiti in reaching the kids for Him….We were made for this! and with God we can!” (These are the taglines for YL in the US and Jenn Vi in Haiti). I’m blessed to see and hear of their great faith even as they deal with this tragedy. Please continue to pray for them.
never knew you had a blog :) You're so cool!
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