Training em' up & sendin' em' out

Mrs. Patty Morehead has been on the move the past few weeks. She has just been part of a 3 day training workshop, with a ministry called the International Sports Coalition here just outside of Santa Cruz.

The vision of this ministry is to use sports as a means of spreading the gospel & extending the Kingdom of God. Patty helped give some of the training herself, but also invited speakers from Argentina & Columbia to help kick-start the ministry here in Bolivia & prepare other national leaders with a heart for this ministry. Representatives from churches, from all over the country came to receive the workshops, to later apply them in their communities. Some of the themes taught were: 'Athletics & the Bible,' 'Forming Effective Teams,' & 'Explaining the Gospel.'

The 2nd week of December we will be putting on the 4th annual Kids' Games competition between churches, orphanages, & restorative homes here in Santa Cruz. This event has been a huge success here in the past, enabling hundreds of kids to hear about God's redemptive plan for their life, and really think about how they compete & why God has given us this desire to strive for excellence, persevere, work in a team, overcome obstacles & triumph!

Let the Games Begin!

Patty has recently returned from Sucre (the official capital of Bolivia), where she & a few colleagues were helping to plant a new ministry that uses sports ministry to evangelize & teach Kingdom principles. The idea of sports ministry is to mobilize the local church in using athletics as a bridge to reach out to children & youth who wouldn't accept an invitation to attend church but would participate in an athletic competition if invited. How many kids do you know that love sports?

Partnering with the local church, the competitive events are combined w/ biblical teachings and testimonies from Christian athletes. The ministry also helps teach the local church how to work as a team, have fun, get more involved in the community, be around unbelievers, think outside the box about evangelism & extend the Kingdom. There is actually a global coalition of sports ministries which uses sports around the world to evangelize & disciple. In Bolivia so far, we have held yearly events such as Kids Games, Teen Games & as of last year Family Games in Santa Cruz. For the 1st time now, in the city of Sucre, the Kids Games event was held this year & looks to continue inviting more churches to participate in the coming year! Pics above are from the event.

The Kids' Games event coincided with the South American championships, the Bolivarian Games, which this year was held in Sucre. The Sports ministry team took the chance to street evangelize near the stadium & hand out tracks to spectators.

Military men ... almost out the door

Enrique (left) & Humberto (right), our 2 oldest boys from the boys' restoration home 'El Camino,' have now finished their military service to the nation of Bolivia & are about to graduate high school! It has been a long journey for both of them, they've both been at the home for over 5 years now, & are now getting ready to move on to another phase of life.

Enrique is one of the boys who's blessed & challenged us the most in his time at the home. He is one of the boys that few forget when they meet him. Jesus Christ has done an amazing work of redemption & transformation in his life & he has impacted & helped encourage many a struggling lad at the home over the years. His testimony will blow you away, but unfortunately is a bit long to tell here. Personable, charming, & endearing, visitors to the home have mistaken him for staff on occasion. His heart is to study political science & go into politics - SO HE FOR SURE NEEDS YOUR PRAYERS.

Humberto has always been one of the more quiet boys at the home. He hails from northern Bolivia in the Beni province. Humberto has had to work harder at school than most, but in that has developed a healthy determination that's helped him overcome drugs & many other obstacles in his life. Humberto is not sure what he wants to do with the rest of his life or what he wants to study, so please pray the Lord will guide the direction of his life.

Back from Uruguay!

Patty & the missions team from Aposento Alto church here in Bolivia got back a few days ago from their 09' missions trip to the country of Uruguay! In Uruguay, the team partnered w/ a Mennonite church of about 150 members (a large congregation for Uruguayan evangelical standards) .

Upon arrival, they jumped right into some pretty intense ministry right off the bat, ministering to women & teens battling depression & even suicide. God impressed upon the team that a common thread w/ many of the women & teens was the need to forgive & were able to help many take steps of forgiveness in letting go of hurts from the past.

The team also engaged in prayer walks in the neighborhoods close to the church, organized an alternative halloween event w/ sports, games & prizes w/ the kids, & shared dynamic bible teachings w/ the kids.

As in pretty much all previous trips the team also greatly encouraged the church to accept it's part in the Great Commission and to get involved in what God's doing not only in their community but around the world. Through the seeds that were planted, the church began praying about taking a team to Africa in the future.

The trip ended w/ a Sunday night invitation for those who wanted to give their lives in service to missions & several folks, young & old offered their lives to serve in missions - so we'll see how the Lord uses Uruguay to bless the Nations in the coming months & years!