We are back in Bolivia!

Greetings from La Paz!

We arrived back in Bolivia a few days ago. We would value your prayers as we seek to encourage people in our church who are sick with COVID-19. Many others have lost family members in recent weeks as COVID again is peaking here in Bolivia. Our ILC Church is still shut down due to COVID concerns -- our meetings continue via Zoom.

Debbie is encouraged at the number of women the ILC Church women's ministry continues to reach. Tomorrow they have an important Bolivian Mother's Day evangelistic meeting via Zoom. Please pray for Gospel impact as Pepe's wife Karina gives the Bible lesson.

Our ESI (Equipping Servants International) groups continue to meet in the 15 countries -- many now in person and some via Zoom.

Thank you for your partnership in the Gospel with us! When you pray, you are here with us! What a privilege to be together in the Gospel!

Kep and Debbie

Kep & Debbie June 2021 Prayer Requests

* Pray for Kep and Debbie – as of May 22 they are now back in Bolivia. Pray as they teach, evangelize and disciple that the Lord will give people a clear understanding of His Word and move the Gospel forward in many lives. Covid continues its rampage through Bolivia -- so far the ILC Church in La Paz has been unable to meet physically. Debbie continues to see good fruit in her work with the ILC Church women’s ministry.

* Pray for the widow (Carla) and 2 daughters (Andrea and Dani) of our close friend David Pena who died of Covid in May. David was one of our longest standing friends in Bolivia, and has been heavily involved in ministry with us.

* Pray for Kep as he continues helping Brother Philip in his ministry in Egypt and other North African countries. Kep is preparing the training curriculum for the church planting training schools there, and is working with translators to translate key books and training materials into Arabic, French and Amharic. Pray that Kep will be able to get all the translation work completed by November, when he plans to return to Egypt, South Sudan, Chad, Senegal and Ethiopia to train the trainers.

May 2021 James Update

Download the May 2021 James Update

Greetings from Cleveland.

This update tells what we will be doing when we return to Bolivia in 2 weeks, as well as the attention we will be giving to an Egyptian church planting ministry in North Africa. Again, we value your prayers! When you pray, you are there with us. Let us know how we can be praying for you, too!

Kep and Debbie James

Kep & Debbie May 2021 Prayer Requests

* Kep returned from a fruitful time in Africa with Brother Philip, and has been working developing the curriculum that the ministry will use to prepare church planters for ministry across North Africa. This new plan of study will get the students studying the Bible. Pray that God will use this commitment to study Romans, John, Acts, 1&2 Timothy, and Hebrews to draw them closer to Jesus and transform their lives through the power of the gospel. Kep will return to Senegal, Chad, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Egypt in November to train the trainers in this Bible Study material.

* Pray for Kep and Debbie as they return to Bolivia May 22. Growing Covid numbers in La Paz means that many things, including their church, have closed down again.

* Pray for Debbie as she works with the women’s ministry team in the ILC Church. Pray for gospel impact in many lives as they evangelize and disciple women in La Paz.

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Kep & Debbie April 2021 Prayer Requests

* Kep’s time with Brother Philip South Sudan and Chad went very well, and the time speaking at the Streams Prayer Conference in Egypt. Kep met with key African church leaders, and was able to write a new curriculum for the students Brother Philip is training who will be sent out to plant churches throughout this region. The new curriculum gets the students to study for themselves Romans, John, Acts, 1&2 Timothy, and Hebrews.

* Pray for Kep and Debbie as they return to Bolivia sometime in May. This has been a good Home Assignment, and the Lord gave them a wonderful time with family and friends at Parkside Church.

* Pray for Debbie as she plans the 2021 ILC Church women’s ministry with the team she works with. One of the key leaders of her ministry has left La Paz, which makes ministry more difficult. Pray for gospel impact in many lives as they evangelize and disciple women in La Paz.

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Kep & Debbie March 2021 Prayer Requests

* Pray for Kep who will be visiting a ministry in Cairo, South Sudan, Chad, Ethiopia and Senegal for 4 weeks, and will be back in the USA on March 15. Pray that the Lord will give Kep wisdom and favor to know how best to help the church planters being trained.

* Pray for Kep and Debbie as they return to Bolivia in April. This has been a good Home Assignment, and the Lord gave them a wonderful time with family and friends at Parkside Church.

* Pray for Debbie as she plans the 2021 ILC Church women’s ministry with the team she works with. One of the key leaders of her ministry has left La Paz, which makes ministry more difficult. Pray for gospel impact in many lives as they evangelize and disciple women in La Paz.

* Pray for the 2050 ESI (Equipping Servants –Disciples Making Disciples) participants in 175 groups meeting in 15 countries. Pray that the participants will grow in their commitment to honor Christ by being true to His Scriptures with the gospel at the center.

* The ILC church in La Paz is back to virtual meetings only, as COVID-19 cases have dramatically increased in Bolivia in recent weeks. Pray for Pastor Pepe and the elders that they will be passionate about Jesus, focused on the gospel in their preaching and teaching, and growing in gospel outreach.

James January 2021 Update

Greetings from Cleveland!

Debbie and I have had a wonderful Home Assignment in Ohio. Since Christmas, it has been especially nice to have our whole family together–something we do not get to enjoy very often living on different continents!

Debbie and I look forward to returning to Bolivia shortly. Before that happens, however, I’ll be spending a month (Feb 11-March 15) in Egypt and several countries in N Africa visiting a church-planter training ministry that Parkside Church supports. Please pray for my time with the African church leaders, and specifically that the Lord will allow me to encourage these believers seeking to impact this important region with the gospel. After I return to Cleveland on March 15, Debbie and I will fly to La Paz the following weekend.

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Kep & Debbie February 2021 Prayer Requests

*Pray for Kep and Debbie as they finish up their Home Assignment at Parkside this month and return to ministry in Bolivia in mid-March. Kep will leave on February 11 to spend 3 weeks with a pastoral training ministry in Africa. Please pray for Kep as he meets with pastors in several African countries. Pray that God will give him wisdom to see how to encourage and help this ministry as it seeks to honor Christ raising up church planters.

*Praise for the 5 ESI (Equipping Servants –Disciples Making Disciples) groups meeting in Guatemala. They report good progress in their study through the book of Romans. Many of the 50 participants in Guatemala give testimony of how God is speaking deeply into their lives, and how they are getting serious about Jesus and the gospel as the passion and center of their lives and ministries.

*Praise for good reports from ESI participants in other countries studying through the Bible. Even with Covid restrictions, ESI still has 2200 participants meeting in 176 groups in 15 countries. Pray that the Lord will use the study of God’s Word to increase gospel impact in many churches, and that the result will be churches motivated to make Christ known, since no one should live or die without having the opportunity to hear the good news of Jesus.

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Kep & Debbie January 2021 Prayer Requests

• Praise that the 5 ESI (Equipping Servants –Disciples Making Disciples) groups in Guatemala are making good progress in their study through the book of Romans. Many of the 50 participants report that God is speaking deeply into their lives, and that they are getting serious about Jesus and the need to get His gospel into the center of their lives, churches, teaching and preaching.

• Praise for good reports from ESI participants in many of the 15 countries where we currently work. Last month many of these pastors and church leaders completed the three year process. Pray that the Lord will use their gospel centered preaching and teaching to impact their churches -- that the result will be people in their churches motivated to tell people about Jesus, since no one should live or die without having the opportunity to hear the good news of Jesus.

• Pray that the Lord will give us wisdom as we continue planning to expand ESI into parts of Africa and North America in 2021.

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Kep & Debbie Christmas Greetings!

Download Kep & Debbie's Christmas 2020 Update Here

Hello from Cleveland!

We send you Christmas greetings! Thank you for praying for our ministry, as we pray for you!

The Lord's best to you -- our prayer is that He will help each of us keep our focus on Him and His gospel as 2020 finishes and we begin a new year!

Kep and Debbie