Youth Scholarship Fund

One of the most exciting things about working with youth, especially in a small ranching community, is to see their hunger and thirst grow for Christ. We have a number of students who have expressed interest in furthering their education in Bible Schools, Discipleship Training Schools (YWAM), studying music, and what few students here have the opportunity to do…go to university.

Our desire as a staff is to help these students in any way we can to fulfill their dreams of being pastors, worship leaders, missionaries, and strong Christians in the community they live in. We believe that by investing in a Scholarship Fund for these students is one way that you can help as well.

There are currently two students who are pursuing furthered education in a DTS with YWAM. Jose Luis and Ricardo are young adults who have a huge need before them. They both need to raise individually a minimum of $2500usd for the YWAM DTS by September. As you read their profiles below, please pray and consider what donation you can make towards this Scholarship Fund.

José Luís

José Luís describes his life before Christ as “totally lost in the world”. Feeling abandoned, unloved, and completely alone, he pursued anything he thought would help him forget the pain and emptiness he felt deep inside. Then one night, a friend invited him to a youth event where he met Christ for the first time. Life has not been easy since becoming a Christian, but through the ups and downs God has made it clear to Jose Luis that he is never alone and that the He has a plan for his life. Now, this young man is a committed drummer in the worship band, is working toward completing the four-level discipleship course, is growing as a leader among the youth, and even finds ways to minister to and share Christ with his family. The Discipleship Training School will provide José Luís with the knowledge and tools to grow in Biblical leadership and equip him to fulfill the call he believes the Lord has placed on his life.

José Luís says: “I would like to go to the YWAM School because I know that God has a plan for me. I believe that plan is to learn more about his Word and to have a stronger relationship with Him. I believe God wants me to grow in His Word and to be a pastor, preaching His Word to the world. I believe God has called me to serve HIM instead of pleasing the rest of the world, and that He has a plan and purpose for me because I was made for Him.”

Ricardo

Ricardo is the second son of our local head pastor, Gregorio. He does not have a complicated testimony, yet it is packed with the power of Christ to change a life. Unlike his younger brothers, Ricardo spent a good portion of his childhood in a non-Christian home. His father was the first to accept Christ, and eventually his mother did as well. Once they started attending church, Ricardo went out of obligation. However, shortly after joining the youth group, he attended a special youth service hosted by some missionaries. It was then that Ricardo realized that he too needed Christ and finally surrendered his heart. He has continued to grow and mature through the years, not just as a young man, but as a young man committed to living for the Lord. He has been part of the worship band for over 3 years playing acoustic and electric guitars, he is working toward completing a four-level discipleship course and is growing in leadership among the youth. We believe that the Discipleship Training School will provide Ricardo with the tools he needs to continue to grow in the purposes for which Christ has called him.

Ricardo says, “Since the day I surrendered my life to Christ, my life changed. Now, I go to church, not just out of obedience to my parents, but because I need to be in the presence of God. I would like to attend the YWAM School because I desire to have even more communion with God and to learn how to minister God’s Word to other people, specifically to youth, not only in my own town but also in other towns in the area.”


How can I help?

Each of the guys will need to raise at least $2500 to cover the cost of tuition and the outreach phase. If you would like to partner with us financially by donating to the Youth Scholarship Fund there are a couple of ways that can be done.

· Send a check made out to Alternative Missions and designate for "Cofradia Youth Scholarship Fund" by adding a Post It note.. Mail the check to: Alternative Missions, P.O.Box 5835, Goodyear, AZ 85338.
· Donate online. Your donation is secure, consistent and automatic. Just click on the link: https://www.egivingsystems.org/support/42705

BLESSED!

Rain...Inside and Out

I just realized I never wrote about what happened. As I wrote the last post, it was raining like crazy...inside the house and outside. The monsoon rain lasted a little more than an hour soaking the dry barren ground creating rivers in places were they were not supposed to be. We definately found the leaks in the house. Water was coming in, in every room. In some rooms it was dripping so fast it was almost a pour. We had the roof fixed like everyone does every year hear; putting a liquidy coat of cement on the roof in order for it to seep into the cracks and harden up. We haven't had another hard rain yet in a couple of days, but it will be interesting to see how the house will "weather" next time. Life is interesting.

Our First Rain

We are in the middle of our first rain of the year. All of the sudden, it just starts to pour down rain. It's an exciting time when this happens, the thunder, the rain monsooning down, the streets filling up with water turning into rivers. It's crazy! Now we need to check the house for leaks, something else that comes with the first rain, evidence of the cracks in the roof. Got some work to do tomorrow:) I think I better go, it's getting pretty bad!

STUDENT LEADERSHIP RETREAT REPORT

I cannot explain to you how pleased I am about how everything went on the retreat. Thank you so much for praying for the success and that God would be glorified and continue to be glorified in the students. Everything we did flowed very nicely.

We started out on Wednesday morning leaving for Mazatlán. In the van, we put the students to work right away having them answer the questions, “What are the problems I see in the world, country, town, church in general, local church, our youth group, and themselves?” This was to get them thinking along the lines that there are problems all over just like Nehemiah saw the problem with Jerusalem not having walls. Nehemiah didn’t just sit around; he did something about it (to make a long story short).

We went right in to the first study about Nehemiah’s devotional life once we got to the Hotel after breakfast. The first thing that Nehemiah did before he did anything, throughout the book, was pray. Our next study was about how he put his burden into action. We then had some activities on the beach and hiked up to what is now the highest functioning lighthouse in the world. We talked about the opposition that Nehemiah faced throughout his journey, even before he started and all the way to finishing the walls. The next day we talked about the completion of the walls and how Nehemiah did some follow-up as we see in the final chapters.

In the end, as we were tying everything together, we looked at how Nehemiah’s burden was really the people who had no wall around their city. Nehemiah saw a need, did something for the people, and then was able to speak into their lives. With that in mind, we have challenged these four students to put together a day camp for the new 7th grade students (about 10 of them) who will be entering the youth group this summer. As we were discussing this, I was really impressed to see that they understood the vision, saw the need, and got excited about it. There was a little bit of nervousness, but they are charging forward and it’s a lot of fun to see happen.

It was a great two days and we all wish we could do it again next week! We had absolutely no free time until we finished with our activities and studies on Thursday afternoon. Before heading back to Cofradía we spent a few hours at a big water park to have some fun.

Thanks again for your prayers; it was a great success because the hand of the Lord was upon us.

Here are some pictures of the retreat:

Planning time during a group activity.

Blindfolded, they had to make a square with the rope. This attracted the attention of people as they walked by. Some would stay for a few minutes and watch; vendors, tourists, etc.

Finished! Great job!

The World's highest functioning lighthouse. We hiked up the hill for our third study; Opposition.

Hiking up the hill. It was a great tangible experience of overcoming opposition!

At the top...finally!

The only picture of an actual study.

It's been a few days now since we've returned. It is amazing to me to see the difference in these students! They are really working hard on their project and are stepping up as strong leaders in the youth group. I've had a chance to talk with them individually and they all say that this is something they needed and it was time for them to take another step in their walk with God.

Praise God, to Him be the glory! This is so exciting!