Growth (Mar/Apr 2021 Update)

Slowly but surely, we've been growing these past couple months now that a lot of the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifting: spiritually, mentally, and physically!! I can't thank God enough for it.

I had the great privilege of co-preaching at a teens camp in the beginning of April with the church La Rosa de Sarón, and it was so amazing to be a part of the growth that God did in these teens!! A few of them accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, and the change in them showed during the camp!! Please keep these kids and teens in your prayers for God to continue to do the growing in them!!

Every Wednesday for two and a half years, I've been visiting Ricardo and Brandon, teaching them basic reading, writing, and math since they are so behind in school. For the first time in March, Ricardo read words all by himself!! It was such a huge step for him, and I'm so proud of him!! His little brother, Brandon, finally learned how to write his name all by himself (although he does miss a letter, but it's huge progress!!) Please keep them in your prayers, as this has been a tough challenge for them and for me, and it's no where near over. Pray that they continue to understand and remember what we learn, and pray for me to have more patience and more ideas on how to creatively teach them.

We now have a bunch more kids coming out to play soccer during the week, as well as to our kids church on Saturdays!! Last week, we had 16 kids out for soccer, and 25 kids to our Saturday church!! With a huge event for the kids very soon, we'll be expecting even more kids!! My prayer is that they just don't grow in number, but that they grow spiritually even more, and that they truly see God for who He truly is. Many of the kids that are coming out come by themselves, and their parents don't come to church. They learn amazing things at church, but then their parents at home don't reinforce it or teach something contrary to what they learned, and the kids fall back right to where they started. Please pray that they truly remember and understand what they learn each week and that they apply it to their lives. Pray for their parents, too, that God truly shows up to them and shows them as well who He truly is.

I am still blown away by the goodness of you all and the goodness and faithfulness of my amazing God this year. Every time I think about it, I'm truly speechless. Literally just now as I was writing this, I didn't even know what to type, and I just sat in my chair, completely blown away by it all. Thank you all so much for allowing me to be able to reach these kids' lives with the amazing love of God each and every day. Thank you.