Dear Partners in Prayer,

With the start of the academic year happening over the next month and a half on campuses across the greater Los Angeles area, I wanted to ask for your ongoing prayer for the start of the ministry year.

"Being able to reach the 350,000+ Latino college students in Los Angeles, and equip others to do so, that's what motivates me." That was my short answer at a recent meeting of our new LaFe staff team (LaFe means "the faith" in Spanish, it also is what we call our Latino Fellowship within InterVarsity). For me, this passion for LaFe works itself out in two ways. One, I'm entering my 9th year of serving at Cal. State LA, the largest Latino student body in the country. Two, working on the LaFe staff team in the greater Los Angeles area allows me to participate in a larger level towards equipping students across LA to reach out to, serve, bear witness to, befriend, and develop leadership among Latino students on their campus. In particular, I'm both excited and grateful for the growth that God has brought over the last 8 years of LaFe ministry here in Los Angeles, taking us from serving 35 Latino students on 8 campuses, to reaching 112 students this past year, and expanding our impact to more campuses. I'm also very grateful for being part of our first ever LaFe staff team. Along with Abner Ramos and Enrique Melendez, we'll be bringing over 18 years of combined service to better serve Latino students on the campus.

Please be praying for us as a team, for our pursuit of this vision, and for our leadership to equip and empower more & more students to reach, serve, disciple & develop the faith & spiritual leadership of Latino students across Los Angeles.

We just found out some unfortunate news concerning Isabel. Last week, we had an appointment with an orthopedist to check Isa's spine and hips, to make sure that there weren't any orthopedic problems stemming from her cerebral palsy. Upon reviewing an X-ray of her pelvis, there showed significant seperation of her hip from the socket. Not a good sign, though, sadly, not unusual for those with Isabel's condition. The doctor is recommending surgery to try to correct the problem, and we are going to get a second opinion to see what other options there are. A concern we have is that the recovery from this surgery would require casting of Isa's legs from thigh to ankle for about a month. This may, in the end, be the best solution to the problem, but for obvious reasons, would be a pretty unpleasant experience for Isa.

Please be praying with us for God's mercy to heal Isa's hip, and for wisdom about how to best approach her situation - both for us and for the doctors that are evaluating her.

Thanks again for your ongoing prayer and partnership with us on campus, and for your support of us as a family.

God Bless,

Scott