Serving an Awesome God!

11 Jan Serving an Awesome God!

The last couple of months have definitely had their share of challenging and tough moments.  Having two young brothers from our youth group pass away is really hard.  But we have found peace in God, our Father, knowing that both boys were believers and we will meet them again in eternity.  The experience has also taught me to appreciate the time I get to spend with the boys even more.  It has led to a small prayer group with a number of the boys, where we pray for and ask God to interfere with the lives of those who are struggling with drugs, alcohol, gangs, sex or other influences.

Coach Don Ruben

BUT, not everything has been as tough.  There have also been many blessings and praises.  One such blessing is the incorporation of Don Ruben into our ministry.  He is a great Godly man (who also happens to be my future father in law), who is full of energy and has a ton of experience working with young adults.  He has coached soccer for several years and has taken over leadership of our Sparrow FC ministry.  He trains the team, but also disciples them.  He loves the boys and they love him, but more importantly, he loves GOD!  One exciting thing Coach Ruben has already started is a new soccer team for Senderos De Amor, which is a children’s home for about 30 boys aged 10 to 21.  It has been such a blessing to see God working and pouring out His love through Don Ruben.

Poyte at Graduation

Another praise is the spiritual and personal growth I get the opportunity to witness in many of the boys.  One example is a young man named Luis.  We call him “Poyte” and many of you know him for his amazing soccer skills.  The year of 2015 was a huge year from Poyte!  He became the first of our boys in the youth group to finish his High School degree and he is getting ready to start at the local university.  Watching him walk across that stage was a dream come true for both of us.  But God’s dream for Luis is much bigger and it began with Poyte’s decision to accept Christ and get baptized earlier in the year.    I can’t wait to see what God has in store for him!

God is good all the time!  Even when I may not be sure about it!  For instance, I get to play soccer with the boys one night each week.   It’s generally late when the games end, so I drive the boys home and drop them off.  But a few weeks ago, my car broke down and it was too late to look for help so some of the boys offered to let me stay at their house.  I have to admit I was a bit (okay pretty) nervous about sleeping in the community, but to my surprise, all the boys decided to stay right there with me. We ended up staying up all night telling stories, talking about life and how we see God in our lives.  We prayed with the sunrise and it was just an amazing experience that I will keep in my heart forever. 

We finished the year of 2015 with more praises!  We hosted a soccer tournament to honor and celebrate the lives of our brothers that had passed away.  We had four teams that consisted of boys from the Bordos and it was a great day of fun.   The name of the tournament was “Sparrow United” because we wanted to emphasize that God’s desire is unity in Him.  Shortly after the tournament, we were blown away when three boys decided to join God’s family and get baptized!  We rang the New Year in by baptizing Freddy (22), Ricky (17), and Luisito (15) and celebrating their obedience in Christ.

Outside the Bordos, we have a lot of exciting thing happening as well.  Ministry at Ministerio Vida continues to go well and my brother Reynaldo, who serves as our carpenter in the workshop, has been very strong in his faith.  I can see him seeking more and more from God and he is a great example for his brothers at Vida and a better father to his son and daughter.   The Sparrow Academy is also something we are all very excited about and it is amazing to see God connect our ministries together.  Reynaldo, and the guys from Vida, are a crucial part of the Academy, helping make all the desks and chairs for the Academy.  It has been humbling to see God unite boys from the Bordos with men at Vida all working together for this vision.

I just can’t say the word awesome enough for everything that’s happening, but I know that its all because we serve an awesome God.  I ask each of you to keep praying for each of the boys, kids, and men that God has blessed us with.  My prayer is God will continue to touch their hearts, molding their lives, and through Him they overcome any addiction, temptation and bad influences in their life. And personally, I ask you to pray for strength, wisdom and guidance for me as I disciple and lead.

Thank you for all the prayers as one body of Christ, because I believe that there is a powerful prayer behind every amazing testimony.

God bless you all!  Cris