Region / Country: Latin America

Could a city of violence be transformed by the gospel?

It was a huge decision to make, and Cecy’s head was full of questions. What would it be like to live there? What is the university context? What do students struggle with? What are the churches like? Is God calling me here?

Cecy made her first exploratory trip to La Paz, a small city in Mexico, in November last year. ‘La Paz’ means ‘peace’. But it’s far from peaceful. It’s a dangerous place, with high rates of crime, violence and homicide. COMPA, the IFES movement in Mexico, doesn’t have any student ministry happening there. So Cecy went praying that God would make the way ahead clear – and He did!

Discovering La Paz

La Paz has at least 18 universities, some public, some private. Cecy had the opportunity to meet several students and get to know their context. What are the challenges they face as Christian students? One thing they mentioned was the rejection they’re facing, being labelled as homophobic because of the negative impressions people have of the Church.

Another student, Sara, spoke about how difficult it is to do mission alone. She was very happy to hear that Cecy would be coming to support and equip her to share the gospel with her friends.

Cecy was encouraged to find that the local churches were interested to hear about COMPA’s vision and were positive about collaborating.

Cecy plans to move there in May to begin the pioneering work. She is now praying for God to provide a team to work together, a suitable home for the ministry and the necessary finances.

IFES is currently supporting the pioneering of 51 new groups in Mexico through the Breaking New Ground project. Find out more about this project and read more stories of pioneering work around the world.

Give today to support IFES pioneering initiatives on unreached campuses in Latin America and around the world.

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Aisha goes back to her roots

The love story of Cecilia and Franco began while they were university students in Chile. Both of them were student leaders in GBUCh, the local IFES movement, where Cecilia had recently come to Christ. Before Franco graduated, his parents moved with him to the United States to start a new life, and the two students pursued their own paths. But a few years later, their paths crossed again. They got married and Cecilia moved to the US where they had a daughter, Aisha.

Growing up in the US, Aisha was familiar with the struggles facing migrant families – the language barrier, loneliness and cultural differences. It was tough.

But today Aisha is thankful for her migrant background. A recent graduate, she’s now preparing to move back to Chile for a couple of years to help serve the IFES movement there. Aisha particularly wants to help GBUCh reach out to the many immigrant students, recently arrived in Chile from Venezuela, Haiti and other neighbouring countries. She’ll be working in four different cities, some of the poorest in Chile, and three of which have no other GBUCh staff at all.

Will you pray for her?

  • Thank God for the way he has prepared Aisha for this role and for her willingness to go. Pray for her final preparations, support-raising and move to Chile in February 2020.
  • Pray that Aisha would be able to help GBUCh students effectively reach out to students from all different backgrounds. Pray that many would come to faith in 2020.
  • The protests in Chile are on-going and sometimes violent. Pray for peace to be restored.

Aisha will be serving in GBUCh Chile as part of the InterVarsity Link program.

Thanks for praying with us!

How IFES Governance Development is making a difference

Nico met Jesus through Toto while they were colleagues, and the two became friends. Some time after that, Toto quit his job and accepted a role as the General Secretary of the IFES movement in Uruguay, CBUU. Nico was still a young Christian, but he had expertise in administrative and management issues, so he volunteered to be part of the CBUU board.

He knew it could get awkward. His friend had now become his employee. How would he maintain impartiality in the face of decision making? How could he say yes or no freely while preserving their friendship?

This is where the IFES Governance Development training came in. It helped them clarify crucial questions: what is the relationship between the board and the general secretary? How should they deal with conflict? How are their roles different? How could they work together to advance student ministry in Uruguay?

These questions are crucial for every IFES movement board and general secretary to work through. Healthy boards lead to healthy student movements. It’s that important.

Will you pray for the work of the Governance Development team?

  • Pray for CBUU board members this weekend during their Governance Coaching Program, led by Carmen, one of the Governance Development team members. Pray that they would be helped to govern well, making wise decisions and strengthening the national movement.
  • Pray for recent and upcoming Governance training for the movements in Niger, Lithuania, Colombia, Gabon, the DRC, Antigua & Barbuda, Ghana, Burundi and Guatemala.
  • Pray for the boards and individual board members now taking Governance Development e-learning courses.

Thanks for praying with us!

Engaging the university as Christ’s ambassadors

Vega Baja, a small coastal town in northern Puerto Rico, sees thousands of locals and tourists flock to its beautiful beaches every year. Some go to enjoy the wildlife and scenery, others the water sports and swimming. But last weekend, 20 ABU Puerto Rico students arrived in Vega Baja for a very different reason: they were there to look at the Bible.

During their annual retreat, in a rented beach house by the sea, the students used the IFES resource The Word Among Us to dig into Scripture. They wanted to trace God’s big story through the Bible and see how it fits with our story today, and particularly how it relates to our involvement in society.

Many of the group members are activists. They’re involved with other university societies and causes – political, environmental and human rights-related. During the retreat the students spent time wrestling with big questions, asking themselves what it looks like to engage with the reality of their society with a biblical worldview.

Join us in praying for them:

  • Thank God for the fellowship, teaching and good discussions the students enjoyed. Pray that they would continue to dig into Scripture throughout the year.
  • Pray that the students would be actively involved in campus life and societies with a Christian mind, as Christ’s ambassadors.

Julio’s dream

Five years ago, Koinonia, the student movement in Cuba, had just two student groups. Today there are 12, in several different provinces, with more than 400 students involved. There is much to praise God for! 

But there are challenges too. Many young people leave the country after graduating to find better opportunities and higher salaries abroad. Some, however, decide to stay. General Secretary, Julio, shares more: 

“It is very exciting when you find young professional Christians who decide to stay in Cuba and share the same struggles with our people as they serve the Lord in their professions. This is part of our mission in Koinonia: to make students aware of the Lord’s calling to serve Him as professionals wherever they are, being lights for Jesus.” 

Koinonia wants to support its graduates well and equip them to keep living for Jesus beyond university. But they don’t yet have the resources to invest in graduate ministry: 

“We dream of being able to have a camp for professionals. But we need a lot of resources and work to get it.” 

Pray with us that God would make this dream a reality: 

  • Pray for the staffing and funding needed to develop a graduate ministry in Cuba. 
  • Pray that many Christian graduates would decide to stay in Cuba and live wholeheartedly as Jesus’ disciples and agents of change in the workplace and in society. 

 Thanks for praying with us!