He continued to come to basketball practices, games, and other fun activities we hosted. This last summer, he was a volunteer leader and was very involved. When it ended, he was interviewed by another missionary living in La Paz as part of an attempt to produce some videos about the Transformados ministry. When I talked to the missionary later, he seemed to think that Jose was a Christian.
So the next time I talked to Jose, I started to ask some probing questions. He smiled and told me that he had become a Christian 2 weeks ago. He hadn't told anyone because he wanted to see if it was real first. He was certain now, was experiencing peace and joy that was from the Lord. What had made the difference was spending a lot of time with our ministry, playing games, hanging out and feeling loved and accepted. He also was reading a book by Lee Stroebel that was given to him by the Eagers, our missionary partners. It had helped him get past the scientific doubts he had.
Mateo* is a bit younger. He has been a part of Transformados through basketball , but would come for a few months, then disappear for almost a year other than saying hi here and there. This summer, he started coming very regularly, and dropping in at our house too. He showed up one day with a big grin, and told us that he was now a believer. He had been an atheist as well, due to science classes as well. What had made the difference for him was a dream that he had. We were so glad to hear his big turn around. We are hoping to disciple both these young men and have started to try to meet weekly, and keep them involved as much as possible. For Jose, this means connecting him with missionaries we know in his new city. For Matteo, it is finding time in our schedules to meet here.
In all this, we are blessed to see God moving and drawing youth to himself, and that in some way, we are able to be a part of this. Praise God! And in some way, you may be a part of this too, and for this we thank you! *Names have been changed to protect the privacy of each person.
