I hope this most recent blog finds you all well rested and rejuvinated for the week ahead! In what was this Thanksgiving holiday season, Ace Hoops has LOTS to be thankful for: a generous base of supporters, a strong network of prayer, and amazing kids! Over the Thanksgiving weekend, Ace Hoops had an awesome opportunity to enjoy, with our kids, own little Thanksgiving celebration. A bit revised from what you may be accustomed to, but it went something like this:

Instead of turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie, we enjoyed platefuls of pizza, doritos and oreo cookies. (Not the usual fixings, but for many, equally as good!) And instead of

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I hope this most recent blog finds you all well rested and rejuvinated for the week ahead! In what was this Thanksgiving holiday season, Ace Hoops has LOTS to be thankful for: a generous base of supporters, a strong network of prayer, and amazing kids! Over the Thanksgiving weekend, Ace Hoops had an awesome opportunity to enjoy, with our kids, own little Thanksgiving celebration. A bit revised from what you may be accustomed to, but it went something like this:

Instead of turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie, we enjoyed platefuls of pizza, doritos and oreo cookies. (Not the usual fixings, but for many, equally as good!) And instead of

Continue reading …

The month of July ended in Juarez with 291 murders, adding to the already 1400 individuals who had lost their lives in 2010 in the drug cartel turf war that is ravaging the city. In this same month, an Ace Hoops team of 11 was welcomed into the city the same weekend that saw the highest murder toll in city history: 45 murders Friday-Sunday. (To even try and put this in perspective: more homicides occurred over this weekend in Juarez, than the combined Minneapolis/St. Paul homicide count of 2009.)

We [Americans] can’t wrap our heads around this. How could we? We travel and go about our bu

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After getting completely SHELLED this past weekend with snow and more snow and shoveling and MORE shoveling, resting my thoughts on the most beautiful place in the world–where snow is not king–is a nice place to be! Happy thoughts!

Welcome to Cape Town, South Africa!

Not only does it boast the most beautiful sites, the people, with grace and joy, outshine the darkest of times in its recent past. I was BLESSED to have visited Cape Town a year agon on a “vision trip”, meeting with leaders of an organization called Living Hope (www.livinghopeusa.org) to establish future collaboration with Ace Hoops

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I want to share with you all how the story ends. As most of you who have been following the Ace Hoops blog know, recently a close friend of the Ace Hoops family was kidnapped in Juarez. (To read more of this incredible story, see “Remember the Mountain Top” blog entry from a few weeks back.)

And actually, the ending to the story is really just the beginning for Joel and for the Emmanuel Children’s Home, as his story and his testimony speaks volumes about courage and following Christ’s calling, no matter what!

Email from Joel Barraza Rodriguez:

Dear Friends and Faithful Prayer Warriors,

â

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I want to share with you all how the story ends. As most of you who have been following the Ace Hoops blog know, recently a close friend of the Ace Hoops family was kidnapped in Juarez. (To read more of this incredible story, see “Remember the Mountain Top” blog entry from a few weeks back.)

And actually, the ending to the story is really just the beginning for Joel and for the Emmanuel Children’s Home, as his story and his testimony speaks volumes about courage and following Christ’s calling, no matter what!

Email from Joel Barraza Rodriguez:

Dear Friends and Faithful Prayer Warriors,

â

Continue reading …

We’ve got faces!!!

I know there are a handful of you that have been supporting Ace Hoops since day one. You’ve been lifting us up in prayer and giving of your time and talents and finances. We’re grateful to you–couldn’t do it without you! And for many of you, you do not live in the Twin Cities, haven’t spent much time in South Minneapolis, and have no mental snapshot of what we do and who we’re investing in! Cameron Peterson (huge thanks, Cam!) has put together a sneakpeak of our Fast Break programming from this past Saturday. For those of you new to Ace Hoops, I’d encourage you to

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True story:

This past July, on our return trip to the Emmanuel’s Children Home in Juarez, Mexico, we were sitting and waiting for our connecting flight from Dallas to El Paso. There I was, about to caffeinate myself, when I saw two celebrities, holding hands and praying together before eating in a meal.

Two little love birds, enjoying each other’s company. And praying together!

IT WAS THE DUGGAR’S!!! From TLC’s hit show 19 and Counting.….

Friends thought it be a little excessive to ask them to autograph my breakfast burrito wrapper, so I just stared awkwardly from 10 feet away&

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