Over the last year we have been discerning our call as a couple through lots of prayer and conversation with International Ministries, it became clear to us that God was leading us not back to Bolivia, but elsewhere. We continued to pray, and we felt that God was calling us to serve in Mexico. Luis has been officially Endorsed! Woo hoo!!

We had many conversations with our Area Director (AD) about where our skills and gifts could be used in Mexico. At the end of April, we went with our AD and met with International Ministries’ partners in Mexico. We heard about their ministries, their dreams, and their hope for us to partner in ministry with them. After a lot of prayer and conversations, we have answered God’s call to serve in Mexico.

The next steps for us will be for Luis and I to attend the trainings; as well as visiting churches and individuals to invite them to join in what God is doing in Mexico. Luis and I would love to share our call story with you! We invited you to join us and help us raise the remaining support we need to serve together in Mexico.

We praise God for my faithful supporters in ministry the last four years! Because of your ongoing support, Luis and I only have 5% more to raise to reach 100% and raise support that is needed to cover travel costs to Mexico, visas, and trainings. We prayerfully ask you to consider either joining us as a new partner or if you are able to increase your giving be even just $5 more a month that will help out greatly to push us over the 100% needed to be sent to Mexico! When is the best time to start giving or increasing your monthly donation? On June 1st, International Ministries is launching their Match Campaign. Which means your new donation will be doubled for an entire year! If you would like to be a part of the Match and you already give monthly, your increased amount will be matched for an entire year as well!

Click here to find out more about the NexGen Match Campaign.

And click here on June 1st, starting at 8am EDT, to give directly to our ministry and have your donation be doubled.

We had two goals in mind while we were in Bolivia. One was to discern our call together as a couple, and two was to promote the Talita Cumi Girls Club program to the Bolivian Baptist leaders in Santa Cruz. I met with the local women, introduced the curriculum to them, and asked if they were interested in recruiting women in their churches to be mentors. I was encouraged to find they were thrilled about the program. They saw the need for young girls in their city, between 8-12 years old. They recently told me that if they had had a girls’ club in their pre-adolescent years their teenage/young adult life would have probably been better.

In January, we had the Zoom training for all the program coordinators that were part of the pilot project in their respective countries (eight Spanish speaking countries were represented). My colleague Barbara Bolick (author of the curriculum) led the training and asked me to lead a session on the role of creativity within the curriculum. It was an amazing thing to be a part of and to see the project at this stage since having spent the last two years getting the new curriculum books together with Barbara Bolick, Adalia Gutierrez-Lee, and Melissa Schellinger Gutierrez. After our training I met via video calls and texts with the two Bolivian program coordinators frequently to support them in getting churches and mentors for the program.

In February, I went back to Bolivia to help train the mentors and get the pilot project ready to launch in March 2022. However, God had other plans for me on this trip. Within a couple days upon arrival, I was told that there weren’t mentors to be a part of the program that year. This was all around the time Omicron was spiking and many churches in Bolivia had to close again because of all the outbreaks, therefore, when I arrived, they were just getting back to in person worship and ministry. We were coming up on the deadline where we needed to have had all the mentors trained and since there were none, I had to trust that it wasn’t God’s timing. But God was still working! Ministry was still happening, just not the launching of the girls’ clubs in Bolivia. Will there be an opportunity for clubs in the future? Certainly! If God provides the mentors to lead the clubs, the program coordinators are ready to train mentors and have received all the training to do so.

Even though my plan for being on the ground for a few weeks was to help with training, God had other plans for me. I was able to sit with my friend who was grieving the loss of her father, prayed with her, cried together, and shared stories. I spent time reconnecting with pastors and breaking bread together. I spent time in Cochabamba at the House of Hope with Carmen, Richard, and their girls. There were two mobile clinics (medical and dental). At the dental clinic, Carmen asked me if I could teach dental prevention and oral hygiene while the children and parents waited to be seen by the dentists. While I was there, there was filming for the World Mission Offering 2022. Keep a look out in the Fall for videos to share with your church!

• Luis is now an Endorsed Global Servant!

• Pray for us as we reconnect with current faithful financial partners as we continue to build our network of supporters.

• Sarah will continue to be heavily involved with Talita Cumi Girls Club program alongside Barbara Bolick and will be helping with the clubs in Mexico and training more women for new clubs next year.

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