Amigos is building a great future with great people.   

Crystal Luck, Administrative Assistant:

We are thrilled to introduce the latest member of our team, Crystal Luck, who has come onboard as our new Administrative Assistant. Armed with a wealth of experience in organization and communication, she is poised to deliver considerable positive contributions to our organization. We have faith in Crystal's skillset, capabilities, and personal integrity, and are convinced she is an excellent match for our Amigos Internacionales. 

Her role as an administrative assistant is all-encompassing, involving appointments, phone calls, answering any questions you might have about our mission and ensuring our office functions seamlessly. We are confident that Crystal's skills and prior experience will make her an essential part of our team. We warmly welcome her to the family. We invite you all to join us in extending a hearty welcome to Crystal Luck!

In 2016, Crystal graduated from a faith-based bible-based program located in Metairie, LA. called Mary's Song since then helping others find a safe place to heal, find peace, and real freedom can be recieved. Help them find their real identity in Christ and experience lasting freedom from fear, guilt, and shame. 

Ernest Izard, Director of Ministry Care:

Ernest joins us as a volunteer, bringing extensive training and experience in working with these most disadvantaged. A native Texan, he will be providing support in our national prayer support ministry.  And  his main task will be working with our counselors in Uganda as they prepare our children to become functioning citizens in their communities throughout their lives.

He has been a pastor, an educator at the university and public-school levels, a national trainer and consultant.  Internationally, he participated in launching a theology school for pastors in Siberia and he cross-culturally tested a listening skill model for evangelism in Ukraine.

Ernest was married to his first wife, Anne, for 42 years.  They have two children, Brian and Sarah and 4 grandchildren. Three years after Anne’s death in 2016, Ernest reconnected with Camille Simmons, a long-time ministry colleague and friend.  They were married in September 2020.

For the last 18 years Ernest has worked in the field of trauma, developing a congregation-based ministry for a cadre of courageous Christians to participate in the healing from abuse of trauma survivors in their local church and in the communities they serve.

Ernest’s guiding verse of Scripture is Philippians 3:10 NIV — "I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,…”

Patrick Kibwota, Ugandan Director of Operations

     PATRICK KIBWOTA, born on 29th August 1989 is a Social Worker with more than five (05) years of extensive experience in Child care and Protection, Skill-based Teaching Pedagogy and Management, Training and Research, Monitoring and Evaluation, Guidance and Counseling, Documentation and Advocacy amongst others, and has lived in Gulu, Northern Uganda from childhood.

    Since 2017, he has been the Ugandan Operations Director for Amigos Internacionales, Inc. leading the operations team to efficiently and effectively support program delivery at scale by running Financial Compliance, Procurement and Logistics, Administration Support, Events and Field Support. Patrick is also the School Administrator of Open Hands Academy, a school established by Amigos Internacionales, Inc. in rural Uganda (Ogul Village) in 2020 dedicated to providing low-cost quality education by cultivating and tending the love of learning to the impoverished rural children right from pre-school/kindergarten. 

     His passion is for young people’s overall development with a focus on community collaboration. He brings a consistent track record of working successfully with individuals, families, and groups.  This experience within a variety of settings has led him to a number of volunteer opportunities and community leadership roles over the years. Patrick received his Bachelor of Development Studies from Gulu University in 2013.

YOU CAN CONNECT WITH HIM ON:

Email: patrick@amigosii.org

   www.facebook.com/kibwota.patrick 

   @kibwotapat

   www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-kibwota-a51b34119 

   @kibwotapat

   Whatsapp: +256 775591182

MOSES AGABE, SOUTHERN UGANDA DIRECTOR

 Affectionately called the "Chuck Norris" of Uganda, by his American peers, Moses is one of the newest team members to come to Amigos Internacionales.   

KIBLOLA CHRIS, AMIGOS SPONSORSHIP COORDINATOR

 Chris has been with Amigos for 6 months now and is our main contact between sponsors and our children.  He works with the families and does lifeskills classes with the students in between semesters.  As our main Child Sponsorship Coordinator, he is our go to guy for getting the ministry done.

GLORIA ADONGPING, SPONSORSHIP COORDINATOR

Gloria has been helping Amigos for the past three years now and works with Amigos to find and coordinate a new child that needs to be sponsored.  Gloria is doing a great job!

DR. JOHN LA NOUE- GLOBAL DISASTER CONSULTANT AND DIRECTOR

"Dr. John” was born, raised and educated in Texas, with the exception of his Doctorate which he received in San Francisco, CA. He is the author of, Walking With God in Broken Places and Lessons I Learned Along the Way, which tells the story of disaster relief and how God answers prayer in crises. His second book, Divorcing? Remember Me! tells his story of the effects of divorce on him as a young child and what it took to overcome it, so he could walk with God in broken places. It also tells the story of how he and his wife, both from broken homes, were able to put together a marriage that has lasted 57 years. It covers what God taught him about dating, courtship, and marriage. It contains some helpful hints on how to have a happy marriage. It contains both heartbreak and humor. He and his family have traveled the world helping people in disasters for the last 40 plus years. He and his wife, “Dr. L.”, have two children, John La Noue, Jr. MD, a pediatric surgeon, and Lydia La Noue Slinkard (Mrs. Todd Slinkard), a housewife and mother of two girls: Rebecca and Laura, in New Jersey. He has been a pastor, college minister, a denominational worker with the Baptist General Convention of Texas and Lifeway Christian Resources. He has been in North Korea so much they call him “Halabaji” (Grandfather) John. Many have called him “Indiana Jones with a Bible and a skillet”.

BILL ARNOLD- AVIATION DIRECTOR

A little about Bill:

Name: Bill Arnold

Spouse: Margaret

Children: Meredith and Jonathan Grandchildren: Ryan, Mason, Jake, and Hank

Ministry: Providing financial resources for Texas missions

Position: Retired President of the Texas Baptist Missions Foundation

Number of years: 30

Where did you grow up?

Memphis, Tennessee

How old were you when you became a Christian and what is the strongest memory about that time?

Eight years old at an RA camp on the Mississippi coast.

Where did you do your undergrad?

Mississippi College

If you did any post-graduate work, where did you attend and what degree did you earn?

Southwestern Seminary, MA in Education, College for Financial Planning, CFP

How did you get your start working with the foundation?

I helped start the Foundation at the request of Dr. Bill Pinson to raise funds to help start new churches.

How does your experience with missions now affect your work with the foundation?

I've been involved in missions for most of my life and the work of the Foundation is an extension and continuation of that involvement.

You've been with the foundation and the convention for many years. This demonstrates an obvious love and passion for your work. What has been the driving force in you being here for so long?

The Lord has been gracious to bless the work of the Foundation and to allow me to work with some incredibly generous donors. Every day is exciting.

What have been some of your favorite projects or initiatives during your time here?

Helping start 2,000 new churches during MISSION TEXAS, funding the construction of four BSM buildings on state college campuses, providing no-interest loans for many small churches and funding missionaries on state college campuses.

In the filming of some of the TBMF 30th Anniversary videos, you flew our video crew to Mississippi. How did you come to obtain your pilot's license?

I started flying when I was 15 years old. It was always something I wanted to do and so I did it.

What is your favorite plane to fly?

A Piper Cub and a Cessna 210

What is your favorite thing about flying?

The change of pace it provides from the typical routine of the day.

What are you most passionate about? How does this play into your daily life?

I'm most passionate about getting people involved in missions. It's what I do.

What is one piece of advice you would give someone who is on the fence about donating to missions?

Giving to missions is an investment in God's kingdom and is a gift that continues to make a difference for the Lord for generations to come.