Next school year @Fuller

Would you join us in prayer and support?

We wanted to share some great news and its pledge related with you. I have wanted to affirm and expand my Biblical and Theological formation for years. You know some, and many of the people who do as well encourage me to consolidate what could strengthen my gifts and in the meantime affirm and credit so I add value to what can help others understand and welcome our labour and service.

There is a brilliant opportunity to do this without a major challenge to our call and role today. Friends of us and Doctors at Fuller Seminary are guiding and supporting us for the possibility of taken a Masters of Arts in Theology and Ministry there at Pasadena. The idea is to do this as a growth opportunity for the family as well. 

Main part of this venture is to help our family grow. Lidia is fully on board of this, and if you know her a bit, certainly you'll understand how much that means. Larry Thompson (AIA Intl.), Javier García & Agape Europe Leadership and Nacho Marques (Agape Spain) are up to speed with this and highly encouraging about it.

We would have to take just one school year there starting next August, and then, back home I'd just need one full day a week to focus on finishing the Master on Theology & Ministry back home on a second year.

You know our leadership for AIA Europe has been and will be focused on empowering the national leaders and local teams to own beyond their scope and journey together. I don't run an office or a stint/interns team, and I empower, engage, connect, support, plan, communicate with AIA troops as much as we are allowed and welcomed by local Agape/AIA, and most of that wouldn't stop even as we would be allowed to take this opportunity.

Major projects like Baku European Games, UTC, ESLT trainings, ECSU... Are all led by European leaders and backed up with intl. AIA leaders as well. No fire we have started should be extinguished (if The Lord confirms we need to stay doing it of course). You know  that from last month, AIA Spain in under Abraham Crespo and an awesome new team we belong too as well.

Some classes of Sport Chaplaincy studies from Baylor on distance, Urban L.A. PROJECT From AIA in Los Angeles and volunteer internship coaching for NBA or NCAA team are opportunities, which if possible would add thrilling mission and experience value (always if I could do that as practices or in free time from Fuller studies.

Rob and Cathy Johnstone, Doctors in Fuller and dear friends are fully behind us and they say there's a good chance we would only have to cover 25% of tuition with help of scholarship and foundation support. There's a residence near the campus where we would pay less than $1000 per month (a third of most hosting solutions in the area) for house and utilities. This place would allow me to go to classes with a bike and avoid a second car.

We will certainly need a push and boost to sort finances out. Trusting the Lord with peace of mind and heart about it and all the related questions around it. There’s a foundation which has offered to help us with $15,000 if we raise another equal amount. Would you please consider contributing to our need in this?

Looking forward to hearing from you asap. Let us know any questions this email may have not clarified. Below you have details on how to send your support directly for this need (it would count 100% this way). If you need or rather prefer to send it through CRU, that’s ok as well (cru.org/give. Our account: #2394818).

Thanks a lot,

Ruben, Lidia, Samuel, Josué, Lucía y David Azarías

Transfers:

Bank of the West

180 Montgomery St.

San Francisco, CA

Swift Code: BWSTU566

Phone: +1 (800) 767 8442

Routing No: 121100782

Account No: 673025730

Reference: Fund 2940 for Ruben Fernández.

Checks or 

https://www.peertransfer.com/:

Fuller Theological Seminary

135 N. Oakland Ave.

Pasadena, CA 91182

Reference: Fund 2940 for Ruben Fernández.

March OYK

Dear prayer warriors,

Pray for Lidia and the kids I left again home for a full week. Thanks the Lord they are coming out from being sick and really down Lucia and Azarias suffered the worst. They have school holiday this week and it will be triple work for Lidia with me away and them home.

Pray for Zoe, Emi and Alexander. For them to be protected and fully restored in Jesus individually and as a family.

Praise the Lord for a great week visiting 7 cities of England in 6 days. Pray for wisdom and good follow through of the potential collaboration we are discussing.

Praise the Lord for great projects in Tenerife with a first Cycling Camp organized by Total Athlete AIA NL with riders from Belgium and Netherlands, and a new European Ultimate Training Camp at Gran Canaria with Dave Johns from Canada and participants from Germany, Latvia and Spain.

Pray for great groups and L1 and L2 participants at ESLT trainings in Tenerife and then Malaga coming next in March.

Pray for my trip with Greg Morgan to Portugal as part of the ECSU board next March. We will visit pastors and key leaders to cast vision and build trust and network to see Sport  ministry more developed.

Pray for Spanish and Polish coaches going to NCAA Final 4 events with Ruben and Papi, as they will be exposed to networking with other Christian coaches and great outreaches like Legends of the Hardwood Breakfast and our Coaches Forum.

Pray for the churches training in Madrid for churches from all over Spain in April. we hope to serve well and see many more churches reaching and serving in and through sport at their communities as we have seen happen in Barcelona.

Pray for the recruitment and preparations for our camps and tours this summer all over Europe and beyond.

Pray for me and Jessie Starrenburg, the 2 Europeans part of an international team who is coaching and training invited by government hundreds of the best athletes of one of the most closed countries in South East Asia. 

Pray for Abraham Crespo and Dan Fernandez as they will be the same month of May and country, initiating a partnership with a local football project and community.

Pray for our prep and support development to go to Fuller next school year. A foundation offered $15,000 if we raised another equal amount. Praised the Lord, thanks to God and a number of you we are half way though the goal. Pray for us to complete the goal. If you want to contribute some for this, as you hear, your support will be doubled. Let us know and we will send you details on how to send your support.

Thanks for your faithful engagement, prayers and work in Europe for Jesus' followers in every team, sport, city and nation,

Ruben, Lidia, Samuel, Josue, Lucia and Azarias

February OYK

Dear Prayer warriors,

This week we have experienced as a family, and it’s far from being over yet, hopefully the beginning of break through and deliverance for a family from our church. One parent is in jail and the other and 2 kids have stayed at home with us several days. They are now hosted in a different place but we are still helping the church leadership with their support and care.

From next Sunday 8 to Saturday 14 I will be in England, traveling with our AIA Global Director Larry Thompson to different cities and events. WE are discussing and considering a potential partnership with another agency. Please, pray for safety and wisdom. Pray for Lidia as she guards the fort here (Lucia is with fewer today, Samuel with a cold). Even in good health is already a militar maneuver to deal with our 4 musketeers as you can imagine.

These coming weeks are named after Canary Islands this 2015 for us. Feb 19-22 our AIA Netherlands Total Athlete team are holding a new European Cycling Camp in Tenerife with riders from several countries, where they’ll train on wheels and our Principles for Life and Competition. Thursday 26 through Monday 1st, we have Ultimate Training Camp Europe 2015 at Gran Canaria with Dave Johns from Canada and participants from all over Europe and beyond. And then, the next weekend we’ll have a new European Sport Leadership Training (ESLT) at Tenerife again. Don’t worry we are not moving to the Fortuned Islands (unfortunately ;-). I will be a whole week there for UTC, but Abraham Crespo and other partners and local volunteers are doing an excellent work for all this. Please, keep us in your prayers.

Talking about moves. Our family will be in California from next September for a full school season. Surprised? I am starting a Masters on Theology and Ministry at Fuller Seminary and the family will be finally living as true overseas missionary family :-). There’s lots to share with you about this, and we truly need and count with your prayers and support as this is indeed a faith leap we’ll need you for. More in our next communication.

We love you and are very thankful for your friendship and kind support. In Jesus and until the nets are full,

Rubén, Lidia, Samuel, Josué, Lucía & David Azarías