James' Family Special Prayer Request -

Please pray for our close friend Jim Bratt, former SIM La Paz teammate, and close friends of ours. Four days ago his wife Cheryl (age 50) got a cold, which went into pneumonia, and then she got some sort of virus. She died this morning.

Please pray for Jim and their kids (Peter 21, Cristi 19 and Jonny 15). They have been living in Lynden,WA for the past 2 years. They lost their 3rd child as an 18 month old due to respiratory problems when they lived in La Paz. Some of the early Parkside teams spent time with Jim and Cheryl.

James' Family March 2011 Prayer and Praise

• Please pray for ESI Expansion as we make plans to start ESI in different places around Bolivia and South America. We are sending Javier and Gladys Soliz to Santa Cruz the first week of March to start ESI there. We plan send PA Tomas Diaz and his wife Nancy and their 2 children to Loja, Ecuador in June, 2011. Please pray that Kep and Debbie’s dual citizenship process will finish soon – our passports are in the Bolivian government system, so until this process finishes we can’t travel. This is critical since Kep needs to visit places outside Bolivia to oversee and set up ESI Expansion: set up Loja, Ecuador, oversee our ESI groups in Oaxaca, Mexico.

 • Pray for Pepe Rocha that God will grant him wisdom as carries a heavy load pastoring the ILC Church. Pray for much fruit that remains, as he devotes himself to teaching and preaching God’s Word.

James' Family Special Prayer Requests

Hello from Bolivia! Thank you for praying for us and the work here. If you could stop and pray for a few specific concerns, we'd appreciate it!

1. For the 4000 people in La Paz left homeless when a landslide from heavy rains 3:00 on Sunday morning leveled 400 homes very close to our house. A number of families in our church were affected. One of our ESI (Equipping Servants) pastors lost everything, escaping with his family only with the clothes on their back. Pray for our church mobilizing right now helping move many to safety, and providing food, clothing and encouragement for many in this devastating situation.

2. For Javier and Gladys Soliz, who moved last Saturday to Santa Cruz to launch ESI (Eqipping Servants) ministry in Bolivia's second most important city. Pepe Rocha was with them on Sunday in the local church where they will be involved, and the church received them with open arms. Pray as they establish contacts with pastors and key church leaders, as they hope to start their first ESI groups in June.

James' Family February 2011 Prayer Update

• Pray for the ESI (Equipping Servants Internship) participants throughout Bolivia and in Oaxaca, Mexico. Currently we have 600 active participants involved in weekly training, and 350 graduates since we started ESI in 2002. Please pray that many churches will be transformed as pastors and church leaders learn to honor Christ by being true to His Scriptures as they dedicate time to study God’s Word.

• Please pray for ESI Expansion as we desire to start ESI in different places around Bolivia and South America. We are planning to start ESI in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz mid 2011, and to send PA Tomas Diaz and his wife Nancy and their 2 children to Loja, Ecuador in June, 2011.

• Pray for our Pastoral Assistant (PA) training program in the ILC and IBM churches in La Paz as we train 16 pastors learn to think and live Biblically.

Debbie's New Year Letter

Dear Family and Friends,

Today I celebrate 39 years as a Christian! God touched my life so unforgettably- in the aftermath of Christmas and thinking about what it really means that Jesus is Emmanuel- God with us. In the aftermath of New Year’s too- wondering in my adolescent mind if I really wanted to continue living as I was, and if the things I valued were really the most important things- or if I was missing out on the Most Important Thing.

And then it happened- a challenge by a soft-spoken Indian pastor in a tiny inner-city church in Rochester, New York- and I felt God Himself calling to me, confronting me with my sin, calling me to know His forgiveness, calling me to be part of His family. It has changed my life forever!

James' Family January 2011 Letter

Download this letter with photos here.

We are grateful to God for the partnership in the gospel He has given us with deeply committed Bolivian pastors and church leaders. In Latin America the harvest is plentiful but true workers in fact are very few. Would you pray with us that the Lord of the harvest will sent out workers into His harvest field? (Luke 10:2)

We’re planning to send Bolivian pastors to 5 new countries in the next 5 years to launch ESI (which is short for Equipando SIervos in Spanish - Equipping Servants), and at the same time expand ESI inside Bolivia.

Bolivian Pastors Carry the Baton

I wish you could meet Pastor Jaime Cruz in person. My first impression was that Jaime was quiet and reserved. Getting to know him, however, it surprised me to learn how this deeply committed servant of God impacts literally thousands of Bolivians.

James' Family January 2011 Prayer and Praise

• Pray for the ESI (Equipping Servants Internship) participants throughout Bolivia and in Oaxaca, Mexico. Currently we have 523 active participants involved in weekly training, and 325 graduates since we started ESI in 2002. Please pray that many churches will be transformed as pastors and church leaders learn to honor Christ by being true to His Scriptures as they dedicate time to study God’s Word.

• Pray for ESI Expansion as we pray and work toward starting ESI in different places around Bolivia and South America. We are hoping to start ESI in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz soon, and are planning to send PA Tomas Diaz and his wife Nancy and their 2 children to Loja, Ecuador in 2011.

• Pray for our Pastoral Assistant (PA) training program in the ILC and IBM churches in La Paz as we train 16 pastors learn to think and live Biblically.

James' December 2010 Update

Dear Parkside,

We are very thankful to God for our partnership in the gospel together with you. We’d like to ask you to pray for our new Bolivian friend Mary.

About 4 months ago God put her in contact with Debbie through a mutual friend involved in ESI (Equipping Servants – our pastoral / church leader training process here in Bolivia). Mary was facing some insurmountable challenges in her marriage, and was looking for help.

When Debbie met with her for the first time and shared the good news, the BEST news, of the rescue operation God provided in Christ to save us from our sins and from God’s wrath through Jesus’ death on the cross, Mary was all ears. Within the first few weeks she understood the implications of the gospel, her sin, and her need to trust Christ alone for her salvation. She made a clear profession of faith.

James' Family Thanksgiving 2010 Letter

Download a PDF of this letter including photos here.

Dear Family and Friends -

I only have time for a short letter- like many of you, I have pies to bake, last minute things to pick up at the store, a turkey to fix, and LOTS of details to work out! Still, I just wanted to take time to write a short note to tell you just a few of the MANY things that I am thankful for:

*I am very thankful that God has given me a new son-in law! Sami and Heather (Ross) were married in July, and are happily living in Santa Cruz. Sami is a very kind and thoughtful man, and I truly think of him as a second son. I thank God for his life, and for all of the joy and happiness that he brings to Heather’s life!

*I am very, VERY thankful to be a grandma! Nicole is a sweet baby, and it just amazes me to see such a perfectly formed person in miniature! It is also pretty cool to see your kids become parents! Angie and Andrew are very loving parents and are responding amazingly well to all of the adjustments that the adventure of parenthood brings. I asked Andrew the other day if he enjoyed being a Dad, and he said, “Well, I definitely sleep a lot less, but yes, it is very cool.”

James' Special Prayer Request Update

Hello from Bolivia.

Yesterday our La Paz SIM teammates and good friends Scotty and Lisa Miser lost their baby. I wrote you 2 weeks ago explaining that he was born preemie -- 30 weeks, and around 3lbs. After struggling with infections and breathing complications for 19 days, his body couldn't resist the strain. Scotty and Lisa are mourning -- please pray for them during these difficult days. Yesterday they held a funeral service, and it was deep testimony to their neighbors and unbelieving friends of the hope we have in Christ.

Thank you for your prayers,

Kep