On Your Knees [OYK] March 2011

Beloved friends and partners,

I´m writing you from Colorado Springs, where spring has come with great variety of temperature. Yesterday, sunny and hail. Today a dusting of snow then a bit of sun to send it away, much to the earth's enjoyment.

Lidia, Samuel, Josué and Lucía send their love. Lidia is exhausted after each day but is a happy and radient wife and mother. Samuel is finishing up his last year of preschool. He turns 5 in December. He discovered a passion for basketball like his parents in Basketball School (Escuela de Baloncesto) that we've restarted in church. Josué really enjoys kindergarten and is already a young man. He turns three in August. Lucía is constantly learning and soaking up things from her brothers. She chases them and tries to emulate them during play time. She crawls around and loves to be on her feet; whether with a guiding hand or all by herself. Her strength and long dark hair makes it hard to believe that she just turned 9 months.


I enjoy this precious family that God has entrusted to me and I keep seeking to depend on Him every day to honor Him in everything. It's not always easy, is it?

The Lord has blessed us these past few months with what appears to be the beginning of a team effort for the work of AIA in Málaga and for Spain as a whole, with the calling of "men and women of Macedonia" from all of Europe. 

Between January and February, I was able to visit Giannis Anastasiou and family in Thesolanica, as well as James and Alexandra and family in London. I was also able to meet up with Jacques Iyizire of Oslo, Javier García of Barcelona and have been in communication with Ross Stowers of Agape Italy. All have been making deliberate moves to join with AIA/Agape and lay the foundation for the development of ministry in their countries. Thanks for praying for them and for God's protection and direction for their lives and faith projects. Include Gunita and Arturs an Riga, Renata in Vilnius and Riina in Tallinn in your prayers as well.

From Feb. 7-10 I was able to set up a training for trainers of CRM, to be able to officially give a coaching seminar directed toward those that want to use tools and skills of coaching. Up until now I continue coaching with various people, some of whom are from the sports world. Pray that I might be able to grow my skills and experiences as well as serve as a means to help people open doors to the sports world.

From February 20 through March 5 we've did a pioneer project that we're just thrilled about. We believe that is a window to the future so we press on with faith and hope. As a result of their positive experience with the European Campus of high performers last year in Barcelona, the Dutch federation has requested that help their young female talent program to come on tour to Spain. We, as well as CTO Amsterdam, the federation and the distinct individuals that have received them are all very grateful. We've had many wonderful opportunities to sow seeds and share. 

From March 5-11 I was in Yaoundé, Camaroon with the global leadership of Athletes in Action (AIA GLC), of which I form a part as the Western Europe Coordinator. I was a wonderful time not of prayer, sharing and continuing to define the vision and future of AIA, but also of sharing with young leaders of the area (Mali, Togo, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Liberia, Chad, Ethiopia and Camaroon) to encourage and support them.

We were able to accompany Silas and the AIA Camaroon team with the introduction of projects in collaboration with the National Institute of Teachers and Coaches Training and the Ministry of Sports in that country. Larry Amundson was able to give a talk on sports and character to more than 1200 students in which he shared the gospel in a relevant way. His message was well-received. Among other things, I was able to give a basketball clinic to 60 of some of the best coaches and students of physical education and basketball in Camaroon. This clinic has opened door to do much more with them. Thanks to Raúl and Eduardo de Pablo we were able to take along Lining gear from the Spanish Olympic Committee that we left with certain clubs and institutions.

After a long trip and several adventures, and after just a few hours sleep, I was able to officiate the wedding of Fran and María. Fran is the younger brother of Lydia, who has collaborated and participated in several projects of AIA. María has helped many years in youth work of Agape as well. You can see how gorgeous Lydia and the kids are. It was a joy to be with the couple, and the whole family.

A few days ago at the airport in Malaga we were saying goodbye to a group of college athletes at Ohio University. Accompanied by Mark Heflin, AIA coordinator at the college, they had spent their spring break helping to serve and share Christ in schools, institutes and the University of Malaga. They had also been of great assistance to the projects of our Church Multipurpose Center in La Cala del Moral (mainly Basketball School, Fitness Center and Academy of English). Abraham (our intern from Barcelona in Malaga with us this year) and Lindsey (also with us from the USA for a year) also accompanied them and experienced their first challenge of running a project like this together in a team.

I commented that I'm writing from Colorado. From March 27 until April 13, will be here to visit various partners and present our ministry to different people.

Then off to Houston for various events in the College Basketball scene (NCAA I Men's Final 4). More than 5,000 coaches will meet there, many of whom collaborate with AIA projects in Europe and many others that we will encourage to do so. Two Spanish  coaches, three Dutch (Director of Talent programs, Entrepreneur and Director of Landstede in Zwolle) and three coaches from Poland, Croatia will be with Mike and I in one of the evangelistic events that AIA prepares here (Legends of the Hardwood Award Breakfast). It has become one of the biggest attractions of the Final 4.

Afterwards I'll be traveling to Puerto Rico and Michigan before returning home to visit friends and colleagues and to continue sharing with more people about the challenges and needs of our ministry in Spain and Europe.

Athletes in Action Global Leadership Council (GLC) . Yaounde (Cameroon) . March 5-12, 2011

I went to change Africa, but Africa changed me

Last year AIA's Global Leadership Council (GLC) decided that in order to better serve our country leaders and field staff, we would hold our regular leadership meetings on the front lines of movement building. Last year it was Guatemala and later this fall it will be South Korea. Here with the Global Leadership Council (GLC) are some of our African AIA leaders from Mali (Jean Pierre), Togo (Magloire), Chad (Marc), Ivory Coast (Assouman), Ethiopia (Tsegaye), Liberia (George) and our host country Cameroon (Silas).

Our purpose for gathering as the GLC is to seek God's direction for our future globally as an organization, to build leaders with accountability, to forge our operational principles, and to cast vision for AIA's global future. We have worked further to clarify Athletes in Action's part in the Great Commission, by seeing Christ-followers on every team in every sport in every nation. Thanks for your part in trusting the Lord with us to see this vision become a reality.

When we think about our vision and our mission of launching spiritual movements everywhere in the sport world so that everyone knows someone who truly follows Christ, we have had opportunities to see that in action this past week. Silas Ngong, the leader for AIA Cameroon, set up two strategic appointments that can lead to the AIA movement in Cameroon reaching the highest levels of sport in his country.

First, we met with the leaders of the Higher Institute of Youth and Sports, the premier institution that trains the future coaches and sport teachers in the country. Silas is formalizing a partnership with them and AIA that will allow us to minister to these men and women. After meeting with the directors, we had the opportunity to address the 1,200 students who are part of this institution, the future leaders of the world of sport in Cameroon. Then, we met the Cameroon Minister of Sports to present the first draft of a partnership at the national level.

Another day we visited a national youth development soccer team served by our staff here in Cameroon. Several of us had a chance to affirm Silas's work and tell these young men that there are others like them in many other countries seeking to honor God with their lives. And then typical to Africa, dancing broke out! (Notice the enjoyment of all!).

I had the chance of giving a clinic to 60 coaches and basketball students at the mentioned Institute. The best women's basketball team in Cameroon, the national head coach and the President of the Basketball Coaches Association were there as well. I addressed several of their questions on basketball tactical plan development and physical conditioning in-court, and encouraged them on topics relating to Character.

Thanks to the generosity of Eduardo de Pablo and Austral, we where able to distribute a full bag of sports equipment from the Spanish Olympic Team to teams. AIA Spain donated several high quality leader basketballs, and EMSI-Mision in Barcelona gave us toys and lollypops for an orphanage in Yaoundé as well.

Please join us in praying for Silas and their AIA team as they trust God for life-change throughout Cameroon. As we pray for them, let this be our prayer for each of the country leaders we serve in Western Europe as well, that God would use us to change our countries and the world through the sport world and the power of Jesus Christ.

Yours in Christ,

Rubén, Lidia, Samuel, Josué & Lucía