​School Ministry
Our work in the schools continues to go well. Maria is greatly improving in her English teaching (and her personal English as well!). The kids love her, too! She has also been able to speak into the lives of her students and guide them spiritually. As of now, she is not planning on returning for the second half of this year. My work in the Barrio 17 elementary school continues to go great! A bunch of kids from the school are now attending our Saturday events and basketball practices. I have been able to pray for healing for some kids and also have some conversations about God (it’s a public school). I also share a Bible verse/biblical principle at the beginning of each PE class.
 
In Jireh, my work continues to go well but is very challenging at times. I am praying for God to renew my vision for working there. It has been encouraging to see and hear how some kids have been changing and growing in their relationship with God. One student in 5th grade recognized that what was happening in a movie we were watching was spiritual warfare without me saying anything. I also took the 4th graders to do evangelism in the neighborhood (their first time). I was encouraged to see a few students’ desire to share God with the people. I am currently teaching ultimate Frisbee and handball in PE.
 
Enciende El Fuego – Barrio 17 de Diciembre
Our ministry in Barrio 17 is slowly taking shape and growing. Right now we are building the “foundation” and doing all the small details. We hope to open a bank account for the foundation this week and start receiving donations. Maria’s twin sister will be doing an internship with us through her college and will be working in fundraising, contacting businesses for donations, communication, etc. We are so thankful for the staff God has given us and we are excited how He will continue to grow it. Our baseball project has had some complications, and we aren’t sure at this point what will come of it. This past Saturday we celebrated Día del Niño (Kids’ Day) with competitions, food, awards, and a message/activities from Ministerio Siloé, a ministry from our church. There is a girl from the ministry named Elizabeth that has been in the hospital with a serious condition, so we are hoping and praying for her restoration.
 
We believe that God has great things prepared for this ministry. Right now we feel a little “stuck in the mud” as we weigh different opportunities that have arisen and are expanding our vision. We only have to be obedient and walk by faith and God does the rest. We are planning and looking for ways to involve people from our church, community where we live, and other ministries in the foundation. There is a group from our church called Exploradores del Rey (like a Christian boy scouts or Royal Rangers) that want to start a program in Barrio 17 with the kids and do Bible studies (which would be an answer to our prayers). They plan on visiting this coming Saturday. We are also open to receiving volunteers.
 
Life and Marriage
We are blessed to have celebrated our one-year anniversary on April 13. God has done in ton of work in us and through us in this past year. We are so thankful for all He is doing. We celebrated with a dinner and walk by the harbor in downtown Santa Marta. On April 21-22, we took a tour to La Guajira, the desert region of Colombia. Someone had gifted me a trip, so we decided to go and we were blown away by the beauty and serenity of that region where the desert meets the ocean. We are enjoying God’s favor and blessing in our lives and are excited and thankful for all He has planned for us in the future and for what He’s doing right now – even the many things we can’t see. Our goal is to gain heavenly treasures and expand His Kingdom here in Santa Marta and beyond!
 
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” – Colossians 3:23-24
 
En Cristo,
María y Jonathan

Enciende El Fuego Ministry
We continue to keep moving forward in God’s calling for us in Santa Marta. Now that we have become an official foundation, we are taking the steps to expand, look for volunteers, and receive donations. We had begun the process to start a baseball program with the Barrio 17 kids with Little Leagues of Colombia, but we recently found out that we can’t use the field close-by that we had planned to use. We are praying that God changes the minds of those in-charge and moves the other events out. We are also in the process of submitting letters to local businesses to request donations for snacks, sporting equipment, clothing, shoes, etc. We are also contacting several churches and organizations in Bogotá and possibly other cities to see if they would support our foundation as a missions opportunity.
 
God has blessed the ministry with awesome volunteers to come alongside us in the work. There are now six of us involved on a regular basis. We were recently able to bless the volunteers with a gift to show our apreciation, and we also made staff “Enciende El Fuego” shirts. Each Saturday we are teaching the kids a different story from the Old Testament after starting with Adam and Eve, and we will go through the New Testament after. The growth process seems slow now, but we know God is doing way more than we can see or understand. In the culture here, the parents are hardly involved with their kids, and sadly we don’t know very many of the kids’ parents. We are praying for wisdom for how to reach the families of Barrio 17 as well.
 
School Ministry
God continues to bless our work in the schools. We have enjoyed a mini vacation as the schools have off for Holy Week (from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday). Maria has been stretched and blessed in her teaching English at El Shadai. She has been blessed to be able to teach the kids English and also greatly improve her English at the same time. She only plans to work there through June for the first semester. Jonathan has been blessed in his work in the schools as well. He has been able to build relationships with many kids in Barrio 17 through his work in the public school. He has been able to share a biblical verse/principle with the kids before each PE class and show much-needed love and light to them.
 
Two weeks ago, the 5th and 6th graders at Jireh evangelized in the neighborhood during religion class, and many persons were blessed by them. It has been really cool seeing their growth and boldness from last year. Outside of school, we were blessed with the opportunity to do a kids’ event in a neighborhood where a church friend has a kids’ ministry. We did games with them and also talked about the importance of guarding their heart and loving God. We’ve also been able to share the gospel message a few times during this Holy Week. We are blessed to have the opportunity to go on a two-day trip to La Guajira (the desert region of Colombia) and visit where the desert meets the ocean.
 
Growing in the Lord
We are excited for all God has done, is doing, and will continue to do. We are challenged to continually see people and situations from God’s perspective and focus on accumulating heavenly treasures here in Santa Marta. Maria is learning to be more dynamic in her teaching and to see her students as God sees them. Jonathan is learning how to declare/pray prophetically and is asking for more of God and His presence, power, and gifts. He is challenged not to feel guilty to ask for “too much” from God, but rather to boldly ask God in faith.
 
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” – 2 Corinthians 5:7
 
In Christ,
María and Jonathan

​School Ministry
Our school ministry continues to go well. Maria is teaching English at a Christian school (El Shadai) three days a week and Jonathan is teaching at Jireh three days a week and Barrio 17 public elementary school two days a week. Teaching English has been a good challenge for Maria, but most students are eager to learn and are blessed to have Maria as a teacher. Jonathan is teaching religion and physical education to 3rd-6th grade at Jireh and physical education to 2nd-5th grade at Barrio 17. Working at the school right next door to where we do ministry each Saturday has been a blessing. Jonathan has been inviting the kids to basketball training and to our Saturday events and our numbers have grown. He is being a light to the kids there as it is a public school and is praying about how to creatively share Christ.
 
Enciende El Fuego
We are very pleased to announce that Enciende El Fuego is now a legal and official foundation as of last week! We knew we needed to take the next step and trust God to open the doors for more opportunities, donations, and support. God has been bringing us the right people in His timing, and there are now five of us regularly there with the kids each Saturday. In addition, we have an official soccer trainer that will probably be working with the kids in the near future as well as a baseball trainer who works for the city and wants to be a part of the ministry. Both are from our church.
 
We continue to have the full support of the Barrio 17 community president (whom God is drawing back to Him) and more and more people are noticing us and trust is growing. We know someday soon we will have a lot more kids that will be part of the ministry. This is all new for us, but we are trusting God to put everything together because it’s His ministry, heart, and plan. It’s not always easy as we have seen two fist fights break out and had a sports pinny stolen, but we have also seen changed hearts and a hunger for God.
 
Testimonies
Jonathan got to share the gospel with a 13-year-old boy from Venezuela at a park during a PE class and gave him a Bible. He is praying that God reveals Himself to him. It was a joy to see the 4th graders at Jireh be so excited to receive their Bibles that were donated by the Gideons of Santa Marta. Another awesome testimony of God using us happened last year when we did a kids’ event at a friends’ house group. There was a boy who came who had ugly skin spots over his whole body. We prayed healing over him before leaving that day. That friend just informed us recently that God restored (last year) the skin of that boy and now doesn’t have one single blemish!
 
Lessons Learned
God is always teaching us something. We have been especially challenged to have a thankful heart in all that we do, for all that He is, and all He has done and is doing. We have been encouraged that God is always doing way more than what we can visible see and also that our work in the Lord is never in vain and that we are reaping a harvest. Our job is to preach and live in holiness, not save people. With many opinions and voices out there, we are challenged to seek God’s voice and nothing more.
 
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” – Galatians 6:9
 
“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” – 1 Corinthians 15:58
 
En Cristo,
María y Jonathan