SCCLC is Up and Running...

Classes started at the Learning Center on Monday, August 10. After the half-day at school, the seniors came over to have lunch together and spend some time catching up. They're a great class and I'm excited to be their sponsor. Remember them in prayer as the begin this adventure of their last year in school! They're pictured to the right...

I spoke from our theme verse, I Timothy 4:12, for our opening chapel on Wednesday. I will present 6 more chapels from that verse, interspersed throughout this semester, to challenge the students and staff to be Godly examples in all areas of life.

Friday the 14th, I opened up my house on Friday to all the high school to get together, fellowship and I was also able to share a challenge regarding chasing after temporal things...
Monday's Bible study this week with the high school went very well. Over 40 students attended as we began our study from the book Jesus Did It Anyway.

Tuesday, I hosted the junior high for their first outting. We had a Banana Split Bubble Bash. It was a fun time together with 21 7th and 8th graders...ah, to have 1/4 of their energy!
The semester is in full swing and I'm excited for what lies ahead. Please keep us in your prayers as we seek to minister to these young people and encourage them to minister to each other.

Blessings!

Another Week with Cody Kargus' Team and Ministry Preparations...

Last Monday, I hosted the team of 35 for dinner and fellowship. About 15 of our youth joined us for fellowship as well.
On Thursday evening, we gathered again with the team for a night of drama. The youth also played games and continued to get to know each other.
Then on Friday, we had an all day discipleship workshop. A dozen of our youth and about a dozen from the team were together for sessions on their Christian walk and also meaningful times of prayer.
Cody continued to challenge us from the Word throughout the day.

Wednesday morning, Cody and his team will head back to Wisconsin. It's been a blessing to have them minister here in Bolivia at several orphanages, churches and with our youth.

Next week, August 10, classes begin. This week, we're in the midst of orientation and preparing the campus for the new school year. There's still much to do, but things are falling in place.

Please pray for each of us that we would be physically and mentally ready for the challenges that lay ahead.

Blessings!

Time with Cody Kargus' team...

Last night, several of the SCCLC youth joined Cody's team for games and fellowship. It was a great time of hanging-out and Cody gave us a great spiritual challenge!
On Monday evening, the team of 36 will join me at my place for dinner and sharing. We've also invited the SCCLC youth back to enjoy some fellowship as well. Pray that it's a great evening together. Also, please continue to pray for the team as they minister in orphanages and churches in the area.

Senior Class Get-together...

Last night, 5 of the up-and-coming senior class came over to have dinner and a Bible study. Most of the class of 20 are not here in Bolivia or at least not in Santa Cruz, but those that are here wanted to have the chance to fellowship and requested a Bible study. I was very happy to oblige and enjoyed our time over dinner and then a study in Matthew 16.

The discussion focus was on our perception and how that many times affects our attitude and how we see God working in situations. Christ saw things from God's point of view and his disciples had a hard time getting connected with that. The challenge for me, and I pray these students, is to open up to seeing things from His point of view and back off from the small picture we see and allow God to reveal the big picture.

We also talked about our priorities for their senior year, and life in general; about what's really important. Finally, we closed with prayer for the year to come as they lifted up their classmates, the school and God's leading throughout.

At school, I'm still helping to oversee much of the construction going on. We're only 3 weeks away from classes beginning and there's still much to do. Here at the house, I've been working on my office, going through paperwork and getting to the new calendar for the year as well as other projects in preparation for the new year.

Next Wednesday, Cody Kargus will arrive with a team of 31 students who will be doing ministry as well as a discipleship "course". I will be available to help out and look forward to the times together. We will be incorporating events with our "kids" too, so it should be a busy, but fun, couple of weeks.

Thanks for all your prayers!

Staff Retreat & getting some youth together...

Right after my trip to the States, I was getting things in line for our annual missionary staff retreat. This is an opportunity for the missionary staff to get together, take a short break from ministry and be personally challenged spiritually. We were privileged to have special speaker Tommy Anderson and his wife Laverne come all the way from Ireland to minister to our group. The Lord used his messages and their open lives to bless each of us.

Our last session together was communion. Tommy led this special time of worship and prayer.

My role, as retreat director, was to coordinate all the activities, meals (I didn't cook), accommodations, etc. I also led one of our sessions entitled "Jesus Did it Anyway" based on a book by Kent Keith.

On of our Bolivian missionaries currently on educational leave at Asbury Seminay, Kelly Langdoc, came back to Bolivia to help with retreat by leading music and the youth sessions. It was great to have her back and we really appreciated her ministry to us. Kaylynn Lampen, one of our "MK's" helped by accompanying Kelly for the singing.

Laura Boyce, a missionary with South Amercia Mission, joined us at the retreat to lead the children's program. The kids had a great time and were always excited about going to their "classes."

It was a great week and I believe the Lord really blessed our time. Since it's winter, the weather can get a bit cold, but we had a very mild week.

Since retreat, I've been working at the house, getting things in order for the new school year. I also participated in our mission board meeting on Monday and have been at the school a few times to help oversee much of the work going on there.

Thursday afternoon, three of the graduates came over to visit over lunch. We had a great time of fellowhip and it was good to catch up on how things are going for them. They will all be leaving over the next several weeks to head to college. The transitions continue, but it's been exciting to see how God will be using these young lives.

Friday night, a dozen of the youth came over to eat pizza and hang out. Many of the young people are traveling over break, so they've had a hard time getting together. We enjoyed the fellowship and the games.

"Summer" (it's winter here) break from classes is a great time to get caught up and even ahead on some the plans for the coming school year. Pray that I will be able to get as much done as possible before Cody Kargus' team arrives on July 22. I'm looking forward to working with this team as much as possible, but will continue prepare at school and here at the house to be ready for our first day of classes on August 10.

Blessings!

Taking a Short Break ... Vacation ...

During the last week of school and the first week after classes, I had the privilege of having a former student and friend, David Lotz, as a house guest. He was able to visit his friends and also helped me a ton with preparations for all the closing events at school. I left the same day as David, May 30, to head to the US for a few weeks of vacation. I was able to use the time to spend with family, visit with friends, have a brief meeting at the mission, speak in one of my supporting churches and visit another.

The end of the year is always an extremely busy time and emotionally, as well as physically draining. This short break was a great way to recoup and get refreshed for another year of ministry. Below are a few pictures from the time there:

My aunt and uncle, John & Gail, spent a week with us. We were able to hang out a lot and spend some quality time together. Isaac, my nephew, turned 3 in May and he's developed quite a personality. He was fun to get to know a little more and even took to uncle John.
Brook, my niece, turned 5 the week I arrived. She's quite a character as well. We had fun and she did her best to try to keep me in line.
Cindy Haren, her niece and nephew, Ashley & Bryant, and I had the privilege to spend the day in Northern Kentucky at the Creation Museum. It was a great experience. I learned a lot and was able to find quite a few resources. Ken Ham, the museum's founder, gave a presentation that day and it was a very challenging session.

My family: Steve, Warren, Diane, me & David

As always, it's a great joy to spend time with my family. My brothers, parents and I were able to meet for lunch just prior to my departure. Throughout my time in the States, we had several opportunities to catch up and be together. My sisters-in-law, sorry they aren't pictured here, Nina and Karla are fantastic hosts and always make me feel so much at home!

I had three former students and good friends, Nathan, David & Kyle, come to visit during my time there. They try to keep me young, so their visits were great fun. My family seems to always enjoy when the young people come through. It gives them a chance to find out the scoop on my life here in Bolivia!

It was a great time of rest and renewal. When I arrived back in Santa Cruz I hit the ground running, but my time away gave me the energy I needed!

May is History...

It's hard to imagine how fast one month can pass by; however, May was such a month. After the Junior Senior Banquet on April 25, the hour hands on all my clocks seemed to speed up leaving me little time to update this site or even sleep at times.

The juniors did a fantastic job of putting together this banquet to honor the seniors...plus they looked mighty sharp in suits!!!

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God is faithful and I praise Him for continuing to supply strength and health during these busy days, but also for all the blessings of being involved in His ministry to the youth in Bolivia.

Graduation planning, preparations and activities occupied much of my "off" time from normal youth activities. Yet, the ministry did continue and I'd like to share a little of what went on throughout the last several weeks of activities...

A week before all of the end of year events, Liz Morriss and I had a dinner with the senior class. It was a great time of fellowship and fun before life got too busy!

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Our last Bible study wound up the series on how our perception of God greatly affects our relationship with Him. The youth stayed very invovled and I believe that God used these times not only to strengthen their relationships with the Lord, but also with each other.

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Our junior high end-of-the-year cookout was a great time of fellowship and activities. As usual, Bill and Bev Smith hosted this event and did a fantistic job of preparing the meal and opening their home to some 30 junior high kids.

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The following day, the Smiths hosted the high school cookout. It was a great group that came together to celebrate a wonderful year. The youth also honored Liz Morriss, Chad & Emily Jackson and Steve & Becky Swope for their leadership and involvement over the past several years.

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Our last chapel was specifically focused on our seniors. It was such a blessing to have Whitney Belovicz and Alejandro Garcia, two of our seniors, share their testimonies and challenges to the student body. God really spoke through their lives!

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Graduation activities (besides the weeks of preparation) began with a "walk-through" rehearsal in the school chapel.

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Later that evening the senior class, Liz Morriss and I hosted the seniors and their parents for a dinner out. We talked about the graduation and had opportunities to share our thanks with the parents for their support and the privilege to be a part of their childrens' lives.

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If it weren't for the junior class' help, I don't think the graduation ceremony would have gone as well. They did a great job making sure everyone found a seat, bringing in extra chairs as more and more people showed up, passing out the programs and escorting in the parents of the seniors. Susan and Maryodette, pictured on the far left of the group of junior girls here, sang a beautiful arrangement of In Christ Alone.

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Graduation, held on May 23, was a great celebration for the class of 2009. It was such an honor to work with this class over the last six years. It's been fun to see them grow up and mature...well, somewhat...and I pray that God will continue to use them wherever they go.

Thank you too for your prayers during these busy days!

The end of the year is very difficult because of all that is going on, but mostly because of all the goodbyes. Only two of our twenty-one graduates will remain in Bolivia. The rest are spreading throughout the world. It's like saying goodbye to "my children" except we may never see each other again.

As I said, and firmly believe, God continues to provide peace and supply what's needed to prepare for another year. I'm excited for the next school year will bring, so pray with me that the coming weeks of preparation for 2009-2010 will go well.

I'll also be directing our annual missionary retreat with speaker, Tommy Anderson. Pray these days away will be the renewal we need spiritually and physically to continue the work to which God has called each of us.

Blessings on You!