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Greetings!

If you have not heard by now, we wanted to let you know that on Tuesday night Pr. Fraser Venter was elected by Free Methodist delegates to replace retiring bishop, Kenny Martin. We are confident that Pr. Fraser is the right person for the job. He has the gifts and heart for the role and knows the US church and context very well. We are also content for the answer that God has given us and see it as confirmation of His calling on our lives. We know that His will is ALWAYS good, pleasing and perfect! 

Thank you for your prayers as we walked through this discernment process and for your continued prayers as we continue to serve the Free Methodist Church in Latin America. It is the ministry to which we have been called, and it is among people with whom we share mutual we love and respect. Until God calls us elsewhere, we will continue to participate with God in the restoration of Latin America by developing healthy leaders who multiply disciples, groups and churches and empower them for the holistic transformation of their communities. Will you continue to pray with us for God’s restoration in Latin America and beyond?

Since our last newsletter, we have had the privilege of learning from the past and the future as we toured Germany with the Awakening Project. The Awakening Project primarily serves Generation Z. It was a ministry that grew out of New Room and was a key steward of the Asbury Outpouring a few years ago. One of the key leaders of the movement is Rev. Dr. David Thomas, who has been a good friend and mentor since before he performed our marriage ceremony. (We first met up with him at the train station in Prague.)

In Herrnhut, Germany about 40 participants learned about the first Great Awakening…when a 22-year-old noble purchased property for religious refugees who had suffered generations of persecution. The residents became a community through a multiple day prayer meeting (in this yellow church) that not only led to 100 years of round-the clock prayer but also birthed the modern-day missionary movement. In fact, over one-third of the community was sent out the serve “the least among us” all over the world. We learned that the Moravian star, which has long been a part of my family's Christmas tradition, is a symbol of this as it points in 27 different directions.

This new community, called the Moravians, also had great influence on our Methodist movement. Not only was John Wesley’s heart strangely warmed in one of their meetings (after seeing their faith-in-action during a mid-Atlantic storm) but he also visited Herrnhut to learn from them.

From there we traveled to Munich to participate in Revive Connect. The conference’s goal was to create a network of friendships unified in a desire to see a move of God. Their website says, “Nothing gets us more excited than seeing emerging leaders equipped and empowered to host the presence of God in their local communities.” Most of the participants were from Germany and Europe. On the final day, scripture was read in probably 20 different languages…the first language of the participants. WOW! Those kids know how to worship God and are sold out for the Gospel! In fact, their worship spilled out onto the trains.

For the conference we hosted a delegation from Latin America. The Free Methodist Youth Ministry (JUMELI) coordinators, an18-year-old girl from Mexico, three young adults from Uruguay, our son Jonathan and his good friend from the USA. They will be part of the leadership team at the upcoming JUMELI Summit in Lima, Peru during Holy Week. We have 250 young people from 19 countries registered for this event which will also attempt to foster deeper encounters with God and stronger links within the community. 

One evening of Revival Connect, David Thomas interviewed Lucas, a 23-year-old pastor from Uruguay. Jonathan translated. What a powerful testimony of his calling! Then the primarily European crowd prayed for the restoration of Latin America.  (Due to internet issues, I was not able to upload the video today...but I will send it as soon as those issues are resolved because it is a great glimpse of what God is doing in Latin America.)

One of our great takeaways from these past ten days was the importance of being intentional about creating community. Indeed, it has been the focus our ministry for the past year as God has called us to move from being a ministry team to a community of discernment in Latin America. Community requires intentional investment in relationships…with God and with people who are a little further ahead of us on the journey, with our peers, and with the next generation. (Beth and one of her college roommates, Simone, who were reunited in Munich are a good example of lasting friendship.)

We are so excited to see what God has in store for this next chapter of ministry! In fact, we didn’t write yesterday because we spent the entire day flying to Costa Rica to preside over the annual meetings here!

Again, thank you for your prayers, your support and the many ways you have invested in us and our ministry! Our prayer is that everything we say, do and think will be pleasing to God and faithful to his call on our lives!

We are grateful for that call and the opportunity it gives us to partner with people such as you!

Many blessings,

Ricardo and Beth