DRINK IN

For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:13

Christ wants His Church to be so saturated and full of the Holy Spirit that He is what satisfies, motivates, and guides each and every member of the body. Without drinking in this divine draft, the Church will be a dry and desolate desert. But with it, the Church suddenly becomes an oasis for fruitful ministry.

Drinking in the Spirit will produce the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit serves to guide us in the way we are to minister. God wants our works of service to be covered with love, abounding in joy, performed in peace, long on longsuffering, couched in kindness, overflowing with goodness, filled with faithfulness, rich in gentleness, and steeped in self-control (Galatians 5:22–23). All of this occurs as we drink in the Spirit. As God's Spirit inhabits each of our bodies, we'll find that His body will function the way that it was always intended to. – www.purposedrivenlife.com
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PRAYER

Praise God for:
- The response so far from the other churches, even if we don’t start right away with them, that this can be a door for more opportunities
- My family and their support, the opportunity to love on them and how God is touching their hearts
- The privilege of sharing Christ in such an open way here, may we truly make the most of that!

Please Pray for:
- Provision for the volunteers and kids for the camp, as well as the financial aspect of it all
- The churches, that God continues to pave the way opening other doors for more ministry with them
- Fast healing on my foot so I can get back on the field! And for God to guide me in His will!

November in Guatemala!

Hello!!! How are you all my incredible family in Christ!!


As some of you know, I broke my right foot!! I’ve been in crutches for the past 3 weeks! It definitely has been a learning process of being still and knowing that He is God and He is in control! God slowed down my pace and I noticed I wasn’t drinking in the Spirit. Things will collapse if we pretend we can do it on our strength. I love how God won’t let us get too ahead of ourselves! So our Saturday get-togethers are on hold, as well as my soccer team, but I still remain in contact with them, so it’s just a different side of the ministry. This has allowed me to focus more on the soccer camp, to contact other churches so we can plan more work with them.


Like I told you, we are planning a soccer camp the second week of December, things got stuck a little bit with the church we were doing this with, and now they asked us if we could still do it but around April next year. I was tempted to get discouraged, but I was in so much peace, and something in me urged me to still do something even if it wasn’t with that church. The missionary couple felt the same way, so we are still not completely clear on how exactly it will all turn out. It’s hard not to get frustrated because we only have a week to organize this, but we trust that God has it all under his perfect time!


Please pray for guidance on this, and for God to place the right people, and that we are able to minister to whoever He chooses! One of the ideas that I am very excited to do, is to bring the kids from an orphanage and do the camp for them. I would absolutely love to do this! So we shall see all the details for that to take place, like the provision of money and volunteers and transportation of all the kids from the orphanage! It was a complete answer to prayer that we got 3 soccer fields for free, so we definitely want to use them!


Another idea is to do it with a different church, but since time is not our friend right now, it’s hard for a church to jump in the project with so little time. The good side of this, is that even if we don’t get a church involved for the second week of December, one of my goals is to start preparing the people, the Ambassadors team that can continue to do this ministry in the future with the other churches.



This month has been such a blessing, it’s amazing to see how God can use even a broken foot for his glory. It’s been a great excuse for people to come visit me, so I’ve had more opportunities to love on people. I’ve spent more time here in my house, loving on my family, which has been amazing! Not to mention the great lesson of receiving! It’s been such a humbling process, to learn to receive, and to see how people feel blessed to give!


Thank you so much for your prayers and your constant support! I can see God’s hand preparing me in so many levels for Spain, the more I spent time with my family and friends, and how open and free it is here to talk about God and minister to people, the more I feel a burden to bring that to Spain, that they can see truly see and know our beautiful Lord!

Busy life!

Jesus said "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' Luke 10:30-34

So many times we hang a ‘do not disturb me’ sign in our chest. We might get so consumed by our problems or our tasks, that we miss out on who God places on our way. We might even be to busy “serving God” we miss out on who he wants us to serve. Jesus places these situations in our lives to reveal to us what is truly in our hearts. Are we full of God or full of ourselves?

"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." Luke 10:35-37

When we start to do life God’s way, we realize that it goes against our nature in so many ways, we have to get ourselves off of our mind, we must give to be full, we must die to live, to deny our self, and focus loving God by loving others. Let God interrupt your life and take those opportunities to put others first, only then can we experience that abundant life God wants for you.
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PRAYER

Praise God for:
- The response so far from the church for the soccer camp, and all the people encouraged and involved in the soccer camp
- The Saturday soccer group, and His hand in it! Especially in my nephew Christian.
- How He’s moving in the school and in my family


Please Pray for:
- All who are trying to put together the soccer camp. For guidance, strength and joy so we can be contagious as we share to others about it
- Ivan as he is taking some very important decisions seeking God, and may this bring so much joy, love and unity in his house
- Victor and Alberdieina’s provision for their daily needs and for them to grow in the ministry.

October in Guatemala!

Helloooo!! How are youuu? Yes, I’m here in Guatemala!!
Im doing really good, eating delicious!! Finally I got my beans!! Jejeje
My family is very good, It’s been a challenge but so much joy to know that I get to be light here, and really pray that I am a good testimony, one that stirs hunger for God in my family!


There is a missionary couple here, Victor and Alberdiena, he is from Guatemala and she is from Holand, they work with Ambassadors In Sport as well, so we are planning to have our first soccer camp the second week of December. Please we need showers of prayers!! There is so much to be done, but I am so excited, this is going to be an amazing start of so many things! Especially with the church!!


On Saturdays we are still having soccer matches with some teens and young adults. It’s so much fun! God is using my nephew Christian to encourage his friends and other cousins to come also. We try to have a good time, and after the game, we hang out, share a bit, and have a short prayer time. It’s awesome how a simple game can bring people together, giving us a platform so we can shine for Him!



My Spain process is kinda on standby, it’s been truly a challenge to leave that on God’s hands and rest, make me rest, because I want to see the progress, to see the work, to see, TO SEE! Jeje but that’s exactly the point, I have to focus on believing and listening, following where he wants my focus on now… don’t get me wrong, I definitely still have Spain in my plans, but it’s amazing how we really don’t have anything under control, we only think we do, it’s a mind thing, so now I need to cling to the truth, that even though I don’t see it, I trust that God has control over all, and He brought me this far, and He will continue.



I'm also playing with a team, I've played with some of them before, even before I was a christian, so I do pray that they see a difference, and that I can reflect His ways in and out of the field.
I miss you all, I can’t thank you enough for your support!!! God is using you as an amazing tool for encouragement and energy! You pomp me, to know that you trust that piece of your heart to me, that I will continue in obedience doing all that God would guide me to do! It’s really a privilege and responsibility! You are in my prayers, and please do write to me for praise reports, any prayer requests or anything, I love e-mails! Jeje


Finally I just wanted to share this story with you all. The last time I was here, I was working in a school, where several of my family members work or study. To my joy I went to visit and met the new guy, Rodrigo, who is working there now. He is completely on fire for the Lord!! This is such an answer to prayer! Then Ivan, who works there as well, he’s married and with a little boy, asked me to share with him my testimony, that he wants to change his life around, that he wants to fill that emptiness. Wow! Wouldn’t we all love for more people to be that open! So it was awesome to share with him and to see fruit in the school. Please pray for him!

Scranton Road, "Fighting the Enemy"!

We had such a fun time acting out very important lessons, how The King can always hear us, how our biggest strongest weapon is the bible, how sin is heavy and slows us down, how it's not about our strength but to follow The King who has the strength, and the power of prayer.
So in this skit we have seen how the soldiers are not the stronger or the fittest but through following the King, using our weapon (the bible) and through prayer the good guys defeated the enemy!

PRAYER

Praise God for:
- All the kids that have heard the gospel and decided to follow Jesus!
- All the coaches, for their light and the impact God allowed us to have in all the tour.
- All churches that partnered with AIS and their heart to follow up on the kids and even their families!

Pray for:
- God to make himself known in such a real way to the kids, strengthening their faith in such a way that impacts their families.
- Strength and guidance for the next step in all the coaches, that we can stay strong in Him, keep shinning, impacting either home or wherever we are!
- God's financial provision to start the visa process to go to Spain

Thank you for being part of this ministry, you are making an impact for His Kingdom!
God bless you!!!!

THIRD CAMP (Manteca, California - Last week of july)


This camp was so amazing! It was more laid back in schedule because of the heat (4pm-8pm) but I think God was trying to tell us not to get over-confident because the kids were still challenging (I can say Scranton Road prepared me well for this! Jeje) but overall it was great! I felt that we bonded more with the coaches, helping each other out to make it more fun for the kids, and I think the kids sensed that unity in the end.


The families that housed us were amazing! The family I stayed with was such an example of hospitality, all the coaches would meet there every day, and just the way they were so loving and caring, that truly encouraged me. They took me to the beach, then to some roller coasters by the beach and to top it off, they even cooked beans for me, talk about God spoiling me over here!! Jeje



It’s just overwhelming the impact we can make on these kids, we don’t fully grasp the importance of that, the privilege and above all, the responsibility this brings. It really keeps me so dependant on God, and He was so good showing us His hand in these kids.



My age group was Juniors again 5-7 yrs old, and so many of my team here opened their heart to the Lord, with such pure hearts, it was so beautiful! The more I spend time with kids, the more I see why God wants us to become like children, and fully embrace Him with our all!



I just truly feel God’s pleasure in these camps.





FOURTH AND LAST CAMP (Denver, Colorado - First week of August)


We flew here really late, so it was very dark, and we spent the night in the church, and when we woke up next day, what an inspiring view, The Rocky Mountains! Such a message from God, encouraging us to keep going in spite of the tiredness and to be with the same or more energy like in the first camp.




The kids here were amazing, such a great group, they would participate a lot and have such great challenging questions for us, it was awesome! I really felt that we were able to challenge them in their walk with the Lord, and to draw closer! And here there were two kids in my team that accepted the Lord, praise God, and it was great to see the others who were already Christians sharing with them as well! It’s just such an honor to be part of this, the harvest is plentiful indeed!


Then it got very sad also, because we had to say goodbye to this loving family we had built. It was really such a great group to work with. I know I got stretched and challenged thanks to their example, and their passion to follow Christ. Even though it’s sad, I’m so overjoyed to have met so many amazing friends. They really impacted my life in a very positive way.

What are you eating?

" So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
John 13:34-35

What a hi calling, I know I definitly don't love others the way He loves me, I mean I can try to love like I love myself, because I don't like me sometimes, and I can be pretty mean to me, jeje, but to love others the way He loves me, giving all of myself, in such a pure way, not expecting anything in return, not because it's a deserved love, but to bring glory to our Father! To prove to the world that we are disciples of Jesus! Wow I want to strive for that!


I love to think about it this way, In any situation when you just want to explode, just call on God and say to whatever the circumstance is "In your face! (en tu cara jeje) I will not allow this to break mem and I will choose to love! I won't allow the enemy to hurt me or distract me form God's purpose in this, I'm going to love and that is final!" jeje when we realize that love is the biggest strongest weapon, it can break any stronghold, it can tear down any wall, it's so amazing, but definitly cannot be done in our own strength, it's not a love that we can produce from ourselves, it does not come naturally to us, AT ALL!


So let's just remember to examine ourselves, with our attitudes, with our reactions, with our words and actions, what is coming out of us? are we allowing God to fill us up, or what is filling us up?

"For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." or like it says in another translation "What you say flows from what is in your heart." Luke 6:45b / Mathew 12:33b

So just keep in check your spiritual, mental and emotional diet! You really are what you eat, let's feast on what God has in store for us!!!

PRAYER

Praise God for:
- All the kids that have heard the gospel and decided to follow Jesus!
- All the coaches, their energy, harmony and love in spite of tiredness.
- All the host families, for their care and willing heart to take us an as part of their family!

Pray for:
- God to keep touching the kids and impacting these communities
- Refreshment and strength for all the coaches to finish this tour with the same enthusiasm or more that how we started
- God's continual provision and guidence on the next steps leading to the Spain ministry

SMTC - TRAINNING (First week of July)




Coaches from all over the world flew into Cleveland, to do this trainning on soccer, to be able to do the soccer camps, we prepare mentally, and put it on practice coaching each other, but most importantly we prepare spiritually. Keeping in mind that God is the only one that can move the hearts of the kids and the families we are going to meet and have the privilege to love on and share the gospel with.


It's been incredible to see how our attitudes and actions have such a huge impact, it's not only about saying the right things and hoping for opportunitites to talk about God, but showing ture love. God's love goes so much beyond that, it's in the little things and the big things, they are all watching and will notice what's coming out of you, so we have to make sure we are getting filled with things of the Spirit, so we can pour that out.


So that first week we got to know each other and was such a great bond and harmony in the group.


FIRST CAMP (Parkside Church - second week of July)


It was awesome to be all together, these kids were so amazing. Most of them have heard the gospel, but it's so good to see the impact it makes in their heart for them to see it lived out, for them to know it doesn't stay only on theory and that following Christ is exciting, real, challenging but very rewarding, and the top reward, to know our amazing God!


My kids were so good, ages 6-8, they all said they had Jesus in their hearts, and we had such good opportunities to share about how we can practically follow Christ, what does that mean on a daily basis. It's so cool, I can't help but wonder if these are going to be future missionaries, pastors, or just strong christians sharing their faith and shinning for God.


SECOND CAMP (Scraton Road Bible Church - third week of July)



This week the coaches split in different directions, it was sad to leave, it just started to feel like a family, and I guess we still are, just spread out. My group went to the inner city, still in Cleveland. Most of these kids have been abused in some form, and come from broken homes, which I relate to, also there are a lot of spanish speaking kids, so it's great to connect with them in their language also.





On last year's tour, this was my favorite camp, it's very special. The church that we partner in this camp, Scranton Road Bible Church, has such a heart for this neighborhood. When you come in to this church they just make you feel so welcomed and like if you were home, it's such a warm feeling.




I had a very challenging group, ages from 5 to 8, and most of them with no soccer experience. Our focus is more to love them, be able to connect with them and somehow introduce Him who can really make a difference in their lives. And what a week it was! I had 9 kids, and it was so good, it was hard to keep their attention and at the end of the day, just when you feel like a failure, thinking they didn't really feel your love because you kept disciplining them, or thinking that they weren't listening at all, they run to you, give you a huge warm hug, and tell you they are excited about coming tomorrow!!




Also, during the camp, when you are so close to pulling your hair, we stop and pray, I ask if any of them wants to pray, and this little girl does, and thanks God in such a sincere way, in how she is having so much fun and is loving being here. It just reminded me that this might be the only week when they truly feel loved, valued and someone paying attention to them, getting encouragement, etc.


This camp is probably the most rewarding, we get to see a more noticeable inmediate impact in these kids than in the others were they have a more stable environment at home. And I loved that I got to see a few kids from last year, and show them a little consistency!

PRAYER

Praise God for:

- Carol's family and their loving heart
- His amazing revival through AIS in the world
- This upcoming week, SMTC (Sports Ministry Trainning Course), where we can spiritually grow and get wisdom and skills for ministry.


Pray for:

- Safety as coaches all over the world travel here for the camps
- God to equip the coaches during SMTC, and keep them focused on Him
- Open hearts of the kids that will be going to the camps
- God's continual provision for the Spain ministry

God's love through it all

So I'm officially in Cleveland!!
Took me like a week to land in my mind!

It's exciting to see what God has been doing this week, the family I'm living with is just incredible! God has openned great opportunities to love on them in words and in actions, and to also challenge them and talk more about faith which has been great! I've learned so much from them too!

Last weekend, I went with my host family to help their son Adam and his wife Erica move. It openned great opportunities, they just didn't get how a Guatemalan had come there to help them move, jeje, but it was awesome that I got to share my testimony with them! God really uses everything if we have a willing heart!

And the weekend before that, my host mom, Nancy, came to church with me, and she liked it very much, she even mentioned that she might keep coming with me, I was just blown away!! I know how this is also not only encouraging to me but also so encouraging for the rest of the family.

It's just incredible to see God at work! Here I am feeling so blessed to be living with them, how they just openned their home for me, are housing me and feeding me and taking care of me like I'm part of the family, and then how they turn back and tell me how they feel blessed to have me there, and how God is using me to get them closer to Him, it just points out again how is so not about me but all about Him!

It's also so incredible to see how much God is doing through this ministry Ambassadors In Sport, and It's such a privilege to be a part of this. We got together to pray for all the work around the world, and I was so amazed. There is such a revival going on in South Africa, Brazil, Haiti, Czech Republic, Guatemala, Spain and I can just keep going, they are ministring in so many other countries, but overall it's just amazing to be part of that, and you made this posible, because God used you to either strengthen me, sharpen me, encourage me, guide me, love me, maybe even more!! God has so graciously surrounded me with such godly people and I'm so blessed he put you in my path!

So I really want to thank you in advance for your continual prayers and support! I pray that reading this can somehow encourage you and strengthen your faith!
God bless you!

“The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” Luke 10:2

Dear Friends and Family:

Thank you so much for your prayers! It’s such a joy to see God working in so many people’s lives, the harvest is great! And we have to continue working as a family, as a body, with one purpose, that being to glorify our Father, sharing of his love, living out his Word!

COACHING TOUR 2006

“But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and all this things will be given to you as well.” Mathew 6:33
It was impossible not no meditate on this verse every day during those 5 weeks of soccer camps, since the kids had to memorize it, meaning they would say it over and over again. I could only stay for two weeks, but God took care of it all by seeking Him first! Without saying a word a coach approached me and offered to support me for the rest of the weeks. Jesus sure knows how to make his Word come alive in our lives.

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2
What a great picture of the unity in the body of Christ! How are we to be salt and light? In the way we love one another, not only in words but also in actions. Someone is watching you always, and kids not only watch, but imitate, they embrace and follow, that’s why they are the example Jesus sets for us, by becoming like children. So it was amazing to see their joy increase and develop more Christ-like attitudes as a result of them knowing Jesus better and noticing the harmony in the coaches, and in the teams.

GUATEMALA 2007

After the coaching tour, I graduated from College in Fort Lauderdale and went home to Guatemala for a few months. I had been home about a month when I invited my 12 year old nephew, Chris (in picture), to go on a youth retreat. I wasn’t going on the retreat, so it was hard for him to decide to go by himself because he is shy. But praise God, at the very last minute he agreed, and there he received Jesus into his heart. God then laid it on my heart, and on one of my friend’s, to get together every Saturday to play soccer and invite my nephew to be involved. We invited others for friendly soccer games through which we were able to build relationships and share the love of Christ and pray with them. After the game on the second Saturday, we were hanging out and noticed that a play was happening at a nearby church. So I invited my 11 year old nephew Luis, his mom, my nephew Chris, and his 14 year old neighbor Jose to go. The play was about the life of Jesus, and though we were sitting on the second floor all the way in the back, when the pastor gave an invitation to those who wanted to receive Jesus to come to the front, Luis and Jose got up. Not quite sure of what they were doing, they walked down the stairs all the way to the front. I was so surprised! I couldn’t hold my tears as I saw God’s faithfulness and their willing hearts! The best part was to later hear Chris explain how they now have the Holy Spirit inside guiding them; he just kept sharing his testimony! I know that Chris’ faith was strengthened in a powerful way, and I know it has strengthened mine! We just obey God, He does the rest!


CLEVELAND AND SPAIN 2007

My upcoming plans are to move to Cleveland to do the coaching tour, get further training and head to Spain to work in full time ministry there! Can’t wait to start sending you all the wonderful and challenging things God will do now!


PRAYER

Praise God for:- All the kids that got saved during the coaching camp
- The salvation of Chris, Luis and Jose
- His faithfulness in using us, working in us and through us

Prayer for:- Those who got saved, for strength and guidance to continue their walk
- Open hearts in the next coaching tour
- Provision to go work in the ministry in Spain
- God to soften the hearts of the people in Spain

Jenna is the cute blond girl in the middle of this group picture, which was my first camp of the tour. One day, when we were in bible time she had all the kids attention when she began telling us all how there was this boy in her school that would steal her lunch every day, “I didn’t wanted to get the boy in trouble, so I just went home one day and asked Jesus what to do?” The next day she asked her mom to pack two lunches for her, mom didn’t ask why. At lunch time, before the boy could steal her, she went to him and said “Hey, I brought this lunch for you”, all the kids were dying to know the boy’s response, Jenna told us he was so surprised, then they began talking and became friends. Jenna says the boy asked her why she would bring him lunch after him treating her that way; she replied, “Jesus told me”.

Hay verdadera victoria y libertad cuando nos rendimos completamente ante Dios. Cuando renunciamos a nuestros deseos y pensamientos para conocer y seguir Sus deseos y pensamientos para nuestra vida, El sobrepasa nuestras expectativas, impactando tanto nuestro interior como nuestro alrededor. “Así, pues, cualquiera de vosotros que no renuncie a todo lo que posee, no puede ser mi discípulo.” Lucas 14:33
There is truly victory and freedom in our total surrender to God. When we give up our wants and thoughts in order to know and pursue His wants and thoughts for our life, He will certainly surpass all expectations, impacting you and your surroundings. “So you cannot become My disciple without giving up everything for my sake.” Luke 14:33