The Fosters, Karlene's parents, were here for Chrismtas. One day they decided to go for a walk with our kids (we don't have coffee in our house:). A lady stopped to talk to them when she saw that the kids were riding bmx bikes. She spoke english well as she is a teacher. After some visiting, she told them of a ministry she had started when she realised her son was spending many late hours riding all over the city with his friends, with little purpose to his activities. She wanted to stay close to her son, protect him from bad influences and help him pursue something he loved.
This led to the start of a non-profit organisation for youth and she has been running it for 6 years. She came to our house and asked me to get involved, either teaching classes or helping with asking the government to build a park for the bikers. They don't have a place to practice, as all the parks built are for skateboarders, and specifically have banned bikers. I met her son and they showed me videos, folders of papers and plans for parks. What she needs are focus, teachers/leaders and funds. She is very open to a missionary becoming a leader in this little organisation called bici o vici, which translated means bikes not vices.
Josiah could hardly contain himself, and had already promised her that I would do it. He kept saying, you can do this Dad, you can do this! He loves to ride his bike and had tried some stuff in a bike park when we lived in Guadalajara. But I am not much of a bike person. I can ride, but am too old to try learning any tricks, and can't even do a good job of maintaining my bikes, let alone teach others.
So I am filled with fear and doubts about if/how I can help.
I am praying though, as it seems that God may have placed me here for this very purpose. We don't want to assume it, but it is pretty neat how someone who has a passion for reaching youth crossed my path so soon after we settled into a house in La Paz.
To discern is to be able to separate the gold from the dross, to pull the wheat from the chaff, to hear God's voice among all the competing noises. As a new year begins, so does another opportunity. In fact this doesn't come only when a new year turns, but every morning is a new day, a gift from God.
As we are becoming more acquainted with La Paz, El Faro church and TEAM members, we are seeing different needs, opportunities and choices. This is exciting but also difficult. Our prayer is that God gives us finely tuned ears to listen to Him, as we need guidance and wisdom. To give you an idea, I will list some of the neat opportunities that may be ahead:
- youth group leaders (this is our main assignment, and we are embracing it! we already are having the youth to our house on Saturday)
- young adult group leaders
- basketball camps
- coaching at a school, or maybe even a college
- teaching English to individuals or at a school
- kayak ministry
- bmx/stuntbike ministry
- leading/hosting a cell group
- mentoring youth and young men
- marriage/couples ministry
- prison ministry
- teaching music/voice lessons (Karlene only I am sure!)
- fighting against human trafficking
- radio ministry (our pastor has had this on his heart for some time, Karlene has experience with radio)
What is neat and exciting is that this is a quick brainstorm of things mostly mentioned to us by others. This isn't what we have thought of ourselves. So you can see there isn't much shortage of ideas, but more a shortage of time and energy. There are many needs. So it is important to seek God, to follow His lead. It is easy to get caught up doing and doing, and in the end, there will have been much done, but possibly nothing eternal. We pray for God's amazing leading in this discernment of many voices.
Please be in prayer for us, that God would graciously open and close doors according to His will.
Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, createdin Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
