Hebrews 12:1 reminds us to “...run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith…”

RUNNING THE RACE SET BEFORE US
 Our oldest grandchild, Riley McNamee, ran a 5K for her school. She is 9 years old and earlier this year she was not happy that her younger sister could beat her in shorter races, both in swimming and running. She later learned that her strength is in distance races, running steady for the long haul.
 Jim asked her at Thanksgiving if she remembered who won the race, the tortoise or the hare? Riley replied, “The tortoise!” Running at a steady pace today, she finished her 5K in first place for her school.
(photo: Riley with her teacher at the finish)

WE PRAISE GOD:
-He moved in Nekane’s heart to go on Young Life staff in 2014
-He called Jim and Barbara to help lead in establishing YL Euskadi
-He provided an apartment in Donosti, with a great location and room to have meetings
-He lifted up committed adult volunteers living in Donosti to create our YLE committee
-He introduced us to key people in Donosti, who help encourage and disciple Nekane weekly
-He opened a door to summer English camps in Donosti, so Nekane could meet local parents and teachers  
-He provided a small group of Christians who meet weekly for Bible study and fellowship
-He miraculously introduced us to a family in Donosti who have opened their home to YLE
-He provided a group of 3 girls who were our first “YLE campers” to participate in a YL camp
-He created the opportunity for us to collaborate with Crossroads Global Initiative on a month-long summer project with middle schoolers from Santa Teresa, helping us meet more kids
-He created a group of middle school girls, as our first YLE small group Bible study
-He continues to provide our needs
Praise Him!

Many of these answers to prayer happened because you prayed! What a blessing to see God at work in a culture that is seemingly impossible to infiltrate for the Gospel. God is preparing the path and empowering us with His Holy Spirit to run this race with endurance. It may be a long-distance journey, but the Lord is leading the way. To God be the Glory!!

PRAYER
 Praise:
 -Favor with school in Donosti, Santa Teresa
 -Permission from the school to develop an after school program
 -Strong leadership on YLE committee
 -Protection of grandsons’ hearts during challenging time
 -Health scare- Katherine’s biopsy on Dec 5 was benign!

 Requests:
 -Continued open doors at Santa Teresa
 -Establishment of new after school activity
 -Planning for month-long trip to Houston in July with 10 middle schoolers from Santa Teresa
 -Barbara’s mother’s house to sell
 -Youngest daughter’s family, Mary, Ben, Price (7), Charlie (2)
Thank You for praying!

ASSOCIATE TRAINING
Training new Young Life staff in Western Europe is going well! In 2018 we have seen 3 new staff from France and Spain complete the 2-year training, with Andrew lacking only one training to finish. Over these last few years we have helped train staff in Portugal, Spain, France, and Belgium.The next training will be in Madrid January 29-30 and will focus on Spiritual Formation. As we encourage these new young leaders to deepen their prayer life, to seek fellowship, to study God’s Word and to worship our Lord, our prayer for them is that they prosper in their walk with Christ, as they serve the Lord in their individual countries.

LIFE AND MINISTRY COACHING
We have had the privilege of coaching YL staff during these past two years. We were trained with the Navigators’ materials in 2016 and launched the regional coaching offered to staff in Western Europe. It has been a blessing to interact with this group of wonderful men and women who desire to deepen their relationship with the Lord and to strengthen their leadership skills. Luis Alarcón is a humble man, a loving father and husband….a great guy. He lives in Barcelona and has soaked up the assignments. He has asked to continue meeting with Jim, although he has completed the course. As the Area Director of YL in Barcelona, Luis runs an after school program in the Catalan public schools where he reaches out to kids who have very few resources. He loves them well and the school administrators are thankful for his consistent presence in these kids’ lives and at the school.

Jim and Barbara McNamee 
Young Life - Western Europe