You know you need a break when your 5 year old comes to you and says, “I think I need some time on my own”. So why not help the little guy out. Such was the case last saturday for Drew, following a week where both he and Amber battled sinus colds came to his mother and asked for some alone time. Solution?
The Apartment is aliiiivvve with the sound of muuusssssiiiic! Amber has been taking this new piano by storm. She is for certain our focused determination machine. While her brothers tackle sports, Amber enjoys the arts. Now hey, she’s a speedy little irl and if there was a cross-country running team here I’m certain she would join. Playing the piano though now takes centre stage for hobbies. What we’d like to figure out however is find a way to help her express her emotions more openly.
Language Translator Alert! Carter vaulted to a whole new level of bi-lingualism this weekend. This morning as we entered church our good friend Luis Oscar approached and asked if I thought I knew enough Spanish to help him translate the sermon into English for our FM radio trasmission. Following a blank stare and slightly blushing face I pointed to Carter and told Luis Carter had become pretty capable linguistically. Minutes later Carter and Luis were on their way to the pastor’s office where Carter translated the scriptures used in the service from Spanish to English. Way to go buddy!
Did I mention he also turned 12 years old September 11th? His buddies provided the necessary “party hat” (which he wore all day), and mom showed up with uber ymmuy, homemade chocolate cupcakes to share with the guys.
Ministry Update… Everyone is finding opportunities to share a little bit of Jesus. The kids have each reached out to new students in their classes as friends and ‘mini-mentors’. Tracey continues to find teachable moments while she teaches. She has also been developing more relationships with middle and high school girls. One high school senior has grabbed her heart in particular. Very sweet and receptive to down to earth conversations. We’re praying for more opportunities to speak the truth of Jesus into her life and love on her 🙂 For myself, basketball season is under way and along my new assistant coach (Johnsa Phares – former Sheriff deputy from Texas), we’re spending three afternoons a week practicing and playing ball while drawing regular connections to scripture for life lessons.
The guys are passionate about basketball and winning. Being competitive is not a struggle for me either. For Johnsa and I however, our love for sport is the vehicle God is using to allow us the priviledge of spending uninterrupted time to share what has changed out lives…what motivates us…and what God is, can and will do in their lives when they follow Him as their Lord and saviour.
“Danilo is getting baptized?!” Following church this morning we had our second baptistm service in 3 weeks. Walking through the backdoor of our church to the baptism (aka 10 ft above ground pool on the cement pad which is our church backyard :), I looked to my left and saw Danilo, a 10th grade student I had taught bible to all last year. Very cool to see him at church and then it struck me…he looked like he was going swimming with his bathing suit & dry-fit shirt. Wait a Santiago minute…
“Danilo…are you getting baptized today?”. “Sure am Mr. I became a Christian last Sunday and asked the pastor shouldn’t I get baptized too?”
My heart jumped out of my chest as our family watch this young man who had been asking so many questions all last year now being baptized. Two young teenagers from the church invited him to youth group and the Lord worked through them over the summer. Danilo is a new creation in Christ now and his smile is evidence of it.
Please pray for Danilo. His mother came to church with him this morning was very supportive. He is learning so much and has a genuine heart for serving. Pray for Alfredo & Carlos, two young men who have spent a great deal of time building their friendship and sharing Christ with Danilo. What makes things more exciting is these guys didn’t do this out of “I have to”. They did this out of “I want to”.
Please pray for Carter, Amber & Drew and for their testimonies to their friends, most of whom are discovering the real Jesus of the bible at a young age. Also pray for Tracey and I to not only ask God for opportunities to care for students and share the truth of Christ, but to take each opportunity with excitement.
Spiritual condition of our students at Santiago Christian School is slowly becoming more evident…now in our 2nd year students trust us more and have been sharing more about their lives, their dreams and at times their hurts. The heart of a child and/or teenager is always in a state of flux so what is exciting today may be forgotten tomorrow.
God has placed in front of us over 600 precious lives who represent a much larger mass of people and influence when you consider siblings, parents and extended family. Daily small groups, chapels with some out-of-the-box creativity and retreats over the last 4 weeks provided so many face-to-face chats.
Pray for more and more doors to open. Trust is hard to come by from some of the students. They have seen alot of things that have created cynicism toward church and God in particular. We’re in no way frustrated by this. We expected it. What we desparately want to see are these students catch the reality of what it means to love and follow a living God. There is so much for them to discover.
Canadian Thanksgiving 2012!! How do a bunch of displaced Canadians celebrate the harvest and be thankful? Why…taking over tables at a local Cabarette beach restaurant, covering the table with Canadian flags, putting Canada stickers all over themselves, and wearing a goofy hat…that’s how 🙂