Thank you Crossroads Bible Church and everyone who donated for the food for the families in the village!
We also want to thank our team here in Panama, Hermosos Pasos, for raising gift donations for the kids of Puerto Gavilana!
This weekend our team celebrated Christmas with the village. We had a fun time playing volleyball, giving the gifts, and giving the food.
At night, we had church and celebrated Jesus' birth with a birthday cake!
We are happy to share a few pictures from the baptism of our brothers and sisters in Puerto Gaviliana! It was a moving time. You could see that they were nervous but excited. In preparation for the baptisms, we showed them the Jesus film. They were able to see how Jesus was baptized outside in nature. I like that the Jesus film is relatable to their way of life.
Personally, it was a very special time because I baptized my son and daughter. It reminded me of when God said to his son, "This is my son (daughter) with whom I am well pleased".
Such words have a new meaning for me, how through his mercy and grace he calls us his son and daughter. I wish you could have been there also. It was a moment I will always cherish. We are so proud of Saraí and Misael and the example they are to the brothers and sisters in Puerto Gavilana and to the whole village.
Pastor Josef, Pastor Arturo and Ray have been a blessing in the ministry. They have been a big part in discipling the new believers and were able to join me in the baptisms. We all had the privilege to take part in baptizing our brother and sisters. Although the water was muddy...the view was beautiful as they declared their desire to live for Christ.
Pastor Roosevelt and Mrs. Ines' legacy continues to live on through the fruits of their labor! The hard work of making new disciples is sometimes a process of many years using many people. Teni was 16 when we first went to Diwarsikwa and we celebrated her 27th birthday this week with her baptism!
It was an amazing ceremony! We cried and we laughed as we were reminded of Jesus' death and resurrection. We ended the celebration by pushing each other in the lake.
We have been back in Panama since Sunday the 26th. We want to thank all the people and churches who helped us in so many ways during our stay in Texas. ¡¡¡MUCHISIMAS GRACIAS!!! Sorry we were not able to see everyone.
We really enjoyed seeing our friends, churches and home church in Saginaw. During our stay, we traveled to the DFW area, all the way south to the valley and of course the Golden Triangle Area. It was great to be "home" and to see each one of you.
While we were in Texas, our team in Panama was able to travel to the village to encourage our brothers and sisters in Puerto Gavilana and of course feed the children. We appreciate our team very much!
Now I am working on formulating a plan of Bible Study that will be relatable to our brothers and sister in the village and future churches in the jungle.
On our way back we had some issues
with the airline. Verna and our dog Chloe
almost did not make it back. We stopped
and prayed about the situation in the middle
of the airport. It was encouraging knowing
that people were praying for us. They
were able to meet us in Miami to fly
to Panama together. Thank you again
for your prayers.
Right now we are staying with one of my cousins as we look for a place to live. Many of you saw a video of the property we would like to buy to use as a mission center. It was taken off the market right before we left for Texas. We were so disappointed. When we returned to Panama we contacted the real estate agent just to check if it had been sold. Praise God it is still available!
I will start talking to the bank to see what our options are. Please pray that the bank will accept our offer and that the down payment required will not be the "foreigner" amount but the Panamanian amount. We know that everything will fall into place in God's time!
Prayer Request:
Clara's leg and heart procedure
Sarai's college plans, Misael's senior year.
Ministry: wisdom in how to help people that cannot read.
Mission House Center
A place to live
