I want to start off by saying "thank you" to everyone who was praying for me and the AAI SEW (Spiritual Emphasis Week) last week. It was a long, but fruitful week. Here is a quick overview of SEW:
Sometime last year I heard a series by Andy Stanley called, "Who Needs God", addressing some key areas why people are walking away from God. I was really excited about doing this series with my students because the vast majority want nothing to do with God and my prayer was that the mix of apologetics and the gospel would open their eyes and hearts to the truth of God, Jesus and His Word. I loved his approach and some of his content, thus I decided to take some of his ideas and make it my own. The really tough part was that I had never prepared nor preached for a whole week. That's pretty much all I did for the 2-3 weeks prior. I was also in charge of worship & the follow up discussion questions, so it was a lot of fun, but also a very crazy few weeks.
Daily Topics:
Day 1:
Atheism 2.0- an update on what atheism believes and teaches. The big idea was "you can't walk away from something (ie, God) without walking towards something else (ie, atheism)."
Day 2:
For the Bible Tells Me So- The big question was "do we believe or not believe just because the Bible tells us so?" I explained that it's both. I explained that Christianity doesn't exist because of the Bible any more than we exist because of our birth certificate. The Bible was the result of something that happened. I also shared with them some key apologetics and why we can rely on the Bible as truth and as the inspired word of God.
Day 3:
gods of the no-testament- People walk away from God or don't believe because of wrong thinking and wrong understanding of who God is. I addressed aspects of God's nature and character that just are not accurate, like "If God exists, then good people should not suffer." I asked them, "Where did you get that idea? Who told you that? Because that's not in the Bible." I also shared key scriptures and testimonies of who God really is.
Day 4:
Good or God- I showed a short message by John Bevere addressing how there are things deemed good in the world's culture that are bad/sin to God and God's Kingdom Culture. The message is a "recalibration" message of turning our hearts back to God. (if you'd like to watch his message: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH8a_MShSTA&t=2s
I gave an altar call at the end and about 30 students came up wanting to completely dedicate their lives to the Lord.
Day 5:
Testimonies & Final Discussion followed up by a big Ice Cream Social. (I bought tons of ice cream and toppings to make ice cream sundaes. It was a fun way to close out SEW.)
The amazing part of this week was not seeing incredible transformations from atheism to being sold out for Jesus, but seeing and hearing testimonies of students who were heading towards atheism and now are heading towards faith in God. There were so many who doubted God's existence and the Bible's validity day 1, but by the end they had made a turn towards God. My prayer is that the work that God began in their hearts will continue to grow & develop.
Please keep praying for these students. You don't know them and I honestly don't know all who were touched by the Lord, but He does. Pray that the seeds planted will grow deep into their hearts, leading them to surrender their lives and put their complete faith in Christ Jesus.
For us as a family, we're doing really well. The school year ends at the end of June, so everyone is anxious for the year to be over. It's been a really hard rainy winter, so much so that the school has flooded a few times. That was not fun! It's only been in the last few days that we haven't had a daily downpour. Praying that "El Nino" has come to an end.
Well, that's about it for now. Here are a few prayer requests:
1. Hunger and desire for more of God's presence. Ministry is not a replacement for intimacy with Christ. Complacency has had its way and it's time for that to end. We need Him and everyone at the school needs Him.
2. Family & Marriage! The enemy is always looking to infiltrate and destroy marriages & families. Please pray for us and the families at AAI. We need God's covering, strength and protection.
3. Physical Injuries! Carolina has really hurt her shoulder playing volleyball and needs to get checked out. I have a partially torn meniscus in my left knee that apparently needs surgery. I also slipped and fell recently and really hurt my right knee and ankle. I need to get an MRI on that knee now because I'm in a lot of pain. It even hurts when I drive. So, please pray for our healing and if we need surgery, that God will provide the finances to cover that.
4. Finances! God is blessing us and meeting all our needs, but we are just getting by. God is faithful and we know He is our provider. We also know God uses the body of Christ to fulfill His purposes. Please prayerfully consider partnering with us both financially and in prayer.
We want to give a huge 'THANK YOU' to everyone who already supports us financially and/or in prayer. We are so blessed and grateful. You are a big part in enabling us to stay on the mission field. May the Lord richly bless you all!!!
Love to you all,
Caleb, Carolina, Joaquin & Milena 
