Dear Friends in Christ,
I just returned from Guatemala where I was checking on our children’s ministry there. I also got the chance to preach in the church of one of our ministry partners, Freddy Manrique. I also spoke at a Pastor and Leader conference along with some of our other partners, Arturo Castro of Nicaragua and Giovanni Mora of Costa Rica. However, the highlight for me of the conference was listening to one other speaker, Elena Vasquez of Cuba.
I have known Elena for 19 years from the first trip to Cuba that Jim Groen and I made in 1999. She worked for the Bishop of the Methodist Church and acted as a guide and translator for us. We have supported her in many ways since then and helped get her out of the country to Guatemala as a young student. She was one of the first women to graduate from the SETECA Seminary in Guatemala City and then was the first woman to teach at the seminary.
She is now 41 years old and a very impressive professor, teacher and speaker. She teaches Theology and Church History at the seminary. She also has a radio show every Saturday morning and she is asked to preach at churches all over Guatemala and Central America. As the mother of 2 children, she guards her family time and only preaches 2 times a month and takes the kids with her when she travels.
She spoke on leadership and I could not have been prouder of her. She is becoming a great leader in general and someone for women in Central America to model. She often teaches and preaches on struggles women have in today’s society and addresses publicly and privately the situations many women find themselves in with regard to marriage and family.
Here is a picture of our team for the conference. There were about 50-55 leaders and it was small enough that we were able to have a time of ministry to each person, with the Holy Spirit leading us as we prayed for each person and their ministry.
These are powerful times that build the body of Christ. It is always a special time for our associates from various countries to come together and get to minister together. We could not do it without your support and prayers.
God is pouring out His Spirit in these times we are living in and thanks be to Him, there is always more!
He gives His Spirit without limit the Scripture says. We are trying to be faithful and lift up the body of Christ to be all that it was meant to be. We are seeing more miracles and more of God’s grace poured out to change lives than ever before. Please continue to pray for God’s hand over all we do.
Blessings, joy and peace in abundance,
Cam