“GROWING IN FAITH”

By: Michael J Miller Jr.

“The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.”

Hebrews 11:1-2 Message Paraphrase

As I sit and write this testimony in what God is doing with these young men I start to think back when we started this youth group and have watched young men come and go for various reasons. I reflect in how they have come to a relationship with Jesus Christ and have been baptized into the family of God. I have witnessed the growth this year in how these young men monthly have taken the Gospel to children, youth, and adults in the size of 200 plus people. Even those who have left the group still ask for counsel from the boys who remain in the group and pass messages to us in saying they wish they could return or wish they could escape the problems they have. We are working on this as a group in trying to rescue the lost and sick. We are doing this in the Barrio or in the mountains of La Tigre Park. In the top photo is Cristian with his guitar singing a couple songs to the children while the rest of the boys prep the field for their drama. Cristian was nervous because he just started playing the guitar about 2yrs ago to quit smoking cigarettes. The kids responded well and sang a song to all the boys. In the 3^rd photos you are seeing the drama of the “Good Samaritan”. After the drama Christian as seen in the 3^rd photo in the dark blue shirt preached to the teenagers and adults on the same theme. With these sermons the boys are learning how to testify to others about the Gospel and learn how people react to it, learn how to grow from each preaching, and use it in other ways. 1Peter 3:15 “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” In the last photo is one of the activities that the boys put on for the children.

One of the areas I stress to our youth group is spending time with the children. I reminded them when they use to come to our Saturday youth program when they were little they used to run in and receive hugs and we played with them and spent time making projects with them. So the boys have taken the same stance and made 3 groups to make 3 different types of projects. All of these projects had a message of God’s love and acceptance. The children are forming strong relationships with our youth. You can see this in the 4 photos. They made crosses, bookmarks, and Noah’s ark. Many of the children love to have their faces painted like the young boy in the 3^rd photo. This time I brought a book of ideas so the boys could copy them and painted lions, tigers, angels, and so much more. The last photo is the boys making with the children a bunny our of paper plates. The kids loved this project. Our last witness for this letter is seeing the growth in so many and the lives that are impacted. The children don’t know where we are from, the name of the ministry, nor the complete names of the group. We come we told one woman who asked in the name of Jesus. That is all is needed, IN THE NAME OF JESUS.

We are now taking some of our older youth into the La Paz Prison to come and witness the work of the Lord in the prisons. We have taken Carlos and Oscar so far. And they have gone back and testified that God is there as well and now many more of our youth want to serve Jesus inside the prisons. This is Disciples in the making. Our prayer is that the seeds that are planted deep into the hearts of these young men will produce fruit for generations to come. Many thanks to all of you in supporting this ministry and allowing us to share the Love of Jesus Christ and His Great Commission.