Every Athlete, Every Country

With Cesar Jimenez, at Agape conference

Dear prayer warriors,

Last week we had an incredible time during the Agape (CCC) Spain annual conference. We drove as a family from Malaga to Platja d’Aro, Girona, over 800 miles, stopping in Madrid to spend the night and say hello to the family.

The conference, under the theme: “Called”, gather not only staff at the different ministries with Agape including AIA, but associates and volunteers and friends from our movements. 

Abraham, Pablo & Noemi, Tony & Eli, Arnau, Gala, Cesar, Jessie, Michael... We had an owesome group of a new generation for Athletes in Action. It was neat to see them listen to speakers like Javier, Felix, Natan or Edi, all of them at national or area leadership roles with Agape, but former AIA leaders.

Jesus really ministered and touched our hearts and minds. You can celebrate and pray with us that some of them are confirming their call relating to serving the Lord with AIA different ways.

Today, Lidia, our children and my in laws left me at the airport in Madrid and hit then the road to Malaga. I travel to Orlando, to join 45 Athletes in Action leaders from around the world for our Global LIFE Summit and for the International Sports Coalition ACE Conference with 650 delegates from over 120 countries. 

I’m looking forward to our time together with our dear brothers and sisters.  In addition to our AIA leaders the first days, we will also have several ministry LIFE partners joining us as well.  These are men and women who God has led to join us by giving their Life, Influence, Finance & Expertise.  It will be a true joy to be with them.

• Please, pray for Lidia while I’m away:
• For strengh, wisdom and stamina to deal with our 3 little ones.
• For health and protection for all of them.

• Please pray for AIA corporately that God would lead us as we:
• Seek Him through extended times of prayer, sharing and time in His word
• Hear more about our global direction as a global family around our vision to see Christ-followers on every team, in every sport in every country
• Strategize around 3 key initiatives of country growth, our efforts surrounding the Olympics and how to effectively use our strategies such as sports teams to build local spiritual movements

• Please pray specifically for our ACE time too:
• God would give us a great time of being together during this awesome networking and strategic planning gathering.
• God would lead me as I lead and network with many others.
• Please pray for divine appointments and confirmation forward as relates to Road2London 2012 preparations.
• Pray for this time to be of great vision and encouragement to Chris Hughes from Oxford, Wouter and Jonathan from Holland and David & Ellen from Spain whom will be there as well from our area

Thanks so much for praying for us.  Lidia, Samuel, Josué, Lucia and I truly appreciate it. OneTeam with you in Jesus until the nets are full with Christ followers in every team, sport & nation,

Rubén, Lidia, Samuel, Josué & Lucía

To Seoul, Korea, tomorrow!

Dear prayer warriors,

Thanks so much for your prayers.  Lidia, me and West European family of Athletes in Action truly appreciate them.  Tomorrow, I will head to Korea, to meet with the Global Leadership Council of Athletes in Action.  This is the team that Lidia and I have the privilege of serving with as the group leads the strategic future of Athletes in Action.  We meet twice a year.

The focus of our time will be:

*   To seek God's face together for the future of our ministry.  We will be spending 2 days praying on the mountains of Korea, one of those days will be in the DMZ as we look into a closed country and seek God's face for what part He wants Athletes in Action to play in reaching closed countries.

   *   Please pray that we would seek God well together, we would hear His direction for us, and we would worship Him together in spirit and in truth.

*   Continue to refine our strategy to reach our vision of seeing, Christ-followers on every team, in every sport in every nation.  Our GLC has identified 30 countries that we will have an intentional focus on over the next 2 years.  We are hoping to come out of our time in Korea with a clearer sense of what we will need to do to reach these countries.

   *   Please pray for God's wisdom as His plans are beyond ours.  Pray that we would be willing to have our faith stretched and do the work of planning, preparing and implementing.

*   To be a blessing to the ministry in Korea, both AIA and CCC, and some of our leaders from other countries in the region.  We will have  a special time with the Taekwondo in Action team on Sunday, Seoul Campus team on Monday, and AIA leaders from East Asia, Mongolia and Singapore through out the week.

   *   Please pray for hearts to encourage and serve our dear brothers and sisters in the Lord.

In addition to these things I would ask that you would pray for Lidia and I personally.  As I leave tomorrow. Please pray for her as she takes care of the kids by herself while I am gone.  Please also pray for me that God would grant me wisdom as I seek the Lord and seek to implement His direction for us.

Lidia and I are so thankful that we can team up with you to serve this family in Europe and worldwide that we get to serve.  We are thankful for each of you that pray for us, encourage us and support us.  Thanks for praying.

Until the nets are full,

Rubén & Lidia

"The Coaching Workshop -How to Empower Others by Integrating Coaching Skills into Your Leadership Style-"

You may remember Ruben has taken some training to use Life Coaching with professional sports people as a way of serving them and engaging with their felt needs.

Life Coaching is a new concept for most people in general, but particularly in the world of sports and is working as a great means of what is our calling and longing as we seek to see transformation and Christ followers and spiritual movements everywhere.

Let me share a definition of Coaching from a Christian perspective by Keith E. Webb, that may help you understand more of what we mean and do with this: “Coaching is an on-going intentional conversation that empowers a person or group to fully live out God’s calling”.

Yesterday I led six hours of a seminar called "The Coaching Workshop -How to Empower Others by Integrating Coaching Skills into Your Leadership Style-" in Madrid in partnership with MEZZO music ministry with ten leaders from all over Spain who work with artists and musicians. Today we will finish with another six hours. Feedback yesterday night was excellent. Please join us on your knees for a journey of learning and praxis today that serves their needs and resources them ahead.

Lidia and the kids are doing great. Samuel and Josué are enjoying their new season at school and Lucia misses them every morning and searches for them climbing to every item at home you would or wouldn't imagine :-)!