Mission to the Americas

Serving Ministries and Missions in Latin America

Teaching in Veraguas

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Teaching in Veraguas

Travel by bus

One class was about a 4 hour bus ride away.

Rising at 3am, quite groggy and hungry, I left to catch a very chilly bus ride to this little town.  The air conditioner was on overdrive.  At least this time I was prepared with a hat and fleece jacket.  (I learned how cold the overnight buses are when I went to Volcan).

Trying to sleep was impossible.  I passed the time praying for this country (which just had new presidential elections) and for the class I was going to conduct in Spanish.  I wanted the Holy Spirit to touch hearts and ignite a passion for evangelism.

The class

About 20 had gathered for the class that began at 8.30am.  The disparity in education levels stuck out — some with MD degrees, some with only 6th grade.  All with a passion to share the grace of Jesus.  One pastor needed 2 hours to get there for class — his little church was more remote than the little town I was in.

We spent 6 hours on personal evangelism training in cooperation with the Holy Spirit.

At times, the Lord moved us from the teaching into spontaneous worship, times of confession, repentance, and intercessory prayer.

We made sure that we finished on time to catch the last bus to the city to make our connection home.

The impact

On the way home, my host began to share with me how this teaching deeply impacted his life.  Santos had been meditating on it for days.

“I felt like an evangelistic failure.  I had been trained in many different styles, but never seeing any fruit.  You helped me see that Evangelism is a process and I’m just a part.  Conversion is God’s work, not mine. I can learn to trust the sovereignty of God.”  — Santos.

He went on to share with me the impact on his life, outlook about ministry, and confidence. He recalled recent experiences of sharing his faith with family members and in the hospital ward where he ministers.

One of many

He’s a small group network leader in one of the largest churches in this country and is beginning to share these principles in his network.

Continue to pray for these students. I’m continuing to interact with them, encourage them, and equip them to passionately fulfill their callings.  Pray that this teaching will spread and reach into networks I’ve never dreamed.

Calling Forth Missionaries

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Preaching in FiladelphiaOn Mother’s Day Sunday, I was invited to preach at Centro Christiano de Filadelphia, a church in the Colon province.  I was given a translator for this event.

I’ve seen the church on several occasions driving back and forth (when we rent a car).  For a while, it didn’t have any walls – this year, it has finally enclosed the walls.

The sound system wasn’t working right, and the roar from torrential downpour slamming the steel roof presented some acoustical challenges.  Outhouses in the back served as the facilites.  The humidity level was 100, with very little breeze.  Though the church had some fans hanging on the walls to create a breeze, it wasn’t enough to prevent me from having to use a handkerchief several times.

No complaints, just describing some of the setting.

The people of this congregation were very friendly.  Ushers wore uniforms that set them apart from the crowd, creating a wonderful first impression.  They guided us to our seat, and introduced me to the pastor and her husband.

The song set was loud, and the words were not projected at this time.  As part of the church’s growth, I can see the setup where they will eventually have a data projector.  The screen was a tarp strung with shoelaces to a frame made out of electrical conduit.  Resourceful.

I was asked to preach on a missions calling.  I was joined by a team from IPET, a group of the students that I’ve been teaching in Colon.  They brought a drama, testimony and song as well.

Psalm 67:1-2 served as the foundational text:

“May God be gracious to us and bless us, and make his face shine upon us, that Your ways maybe known on earth, Your salvation among all the nations.”

God’s blessing is for a purpose == the proclamation of His name.

So often, as individual Christians, and as churches, we are so focused on seeking the Lord’s blessing, but we disconnect it from the purpose of blessing.

This was the leading for that Sunday.  About 150-200 people in attendance.

Church of PhiladephiaThe call you see pictured are for those who wanted to receive the filling of the Holy Spirit to accomplish the work of being witnesses.  We had already spent some time in repentance for selfishly holding on to our blessings, and committing to the purpose of our blessings, the proclamation of God’s name.

In that moment, we also prayed for those who are discerning

  • a call to global missions internationally, or
  • a calling to be intercessors for missions.

Both are important work, and several people raised their hand to indicate a need for prayer in each category.

This work this Sunday was only a seed.  IPET will likely stay in touch with those sensing a call to missions to help nurture that calling and provide some of the training to fulfill it.

A word of Thanks

Thanks to all of you who are praying for us here and choosing to support or work in Latin America.  Moments like these are the fruit of your partnership with us here.

Teaching Events in May

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Teaching Missions

The season of networking in Panama is producing fruit.  I’ve been doing some teaching and preaching in April and upcoming, here is the mix for May.

Schedule

May 9-10
Cross Cultural Missions Conference – Colón

May 18
IPET in Colón, Verbena Church – Evangelism

May 23
Celebration of Baptism

May 25
IPET in Colón – Worldview and Cross Cultural Missions

May 30/31
IPET in the Darién Province, Sermon on Sunday

Missions Congress

The Cross Cultural Missions Congress will be in the city of Colón, the place where the gospel had it’s beginnings in Panama and an area that has had a special blessing from God for spread of the gospel.

Immigrants from all over the world are have settled in Colón and many have risen to positions of influence and power.  There is a growing Muslim presence and economic influence in the city, and one of the best schools in the eyes of many in Colón is the privately funded Arab College.  Other people groups from India and China, as well as the West Indies and the Caribbean have settled there.

In the last four months, HIMF (Hermandad Iberoamericana de Misiones Fronterizas) has opened up four mission training schools in the province of Colón, with approximately 70 students in that province, made up of

  • Pastors
  • Cross Cultural Missionaries
  • Teachers
  • Support Workers

The missions academy is named “Panamanian Institute for Crosscultural Studies.“  The acronym in Spanish is IPET.   HIMF is a Latin American sending agency who’s goal is to raise up missionaries from Latin America to other parts of the world.

The missions Congress is geared towards casting a vision for international missions – both abroad and at home – and recruiting another 80 students to join its classes and grow in its missions calling.

Gathered around the theme of Acts 1:8, we desire to cast a vision

  1. For Global Missions as seen in Scripture
  2. Help the people of God fulfill the Great Commission in their calling
  3. Awaken, guide, and give God’s people tools to reach into other cultures
  4. Recruit future students for further training in cross cultural missions at home and abroad.

I will be sharing the teaching responsibilities with pastors from Guatemala, Costa Rica, Venezuela, and Panama.  On Sunday, I will be preaching in a local church, with one of the outreach teams from IPET, casting a vision for missions and for the Global day of Prayer (May 31).

My particular theme is on the “Reaching my City for Christ.”  I’ll be sharing some of the strategies I’ve learned while church planting in Richmond VA and here in the city of Panama.

Prayer

Here is how you can pray:

  1. Safety in transportation.  A new highway has opened up.
  2. Provision – we will rent a car for the weekend.  With fuel and food, our costs to participate will run about $150-$200.  Pray that provision will come.
  3. Clear Communication
  4. That people would grasp the vision for missions.

Pickpockets in Panama

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pick_pocketToday, walking my daughter home from ballet, I watched a pick pocket lift a cell phone from a purse.

I felt powerless to do anything about it.  Not enough language skills to find a police officer or describe the person

Like a shadow, he appeared and it was gone in less than 3 seconds.

Because of the drug trade that runs in our city, I have no knowledge if the robber is carrying a gun, or has other accomplices or what.

Later, I thought of things I could do safely, but I still don’t know if I would be able to do anything.

It happened so fast, so casually. 

The victim left her cell phone in an outer pocket of her purse, and with a swift hand, he lifted it. 

One thing that happens in a big city like ours is this kind of petty thievery.

On New Years eve, a lady was getting a soda at the little convenience store, when a fireworks vendor snatched and grabbed her necklace, leaving the fireworks box on the floor. 

Some of our party guests were witnesses, as they were getting additional ice for our party.

We’ve been picked at least twice and Brenda has stopped one or two trying to get into her backpack.  One of our uncles was picked on a crowded bus.

Well meaning strangers have often warned us if they notice that our backpack zipper is slightly open. We understand the reason why. 

I find that when I walk with my kids anywhere these days, I walk with a level of alertness that we didn’t have before.  I’m scanning the crowd.  During my walk, all are suspect.

We’ve had to learn the hard way.  In the suburban US where we lived, this was never a consideration. 

We’ve now formed new patterns of behavior and new ways of thinking because of our calling to live in this city. 

We pray for this city, we love this city, and it does break our hearts to see this kind of stain in our city.

Teaching with the lizards

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I (Chris) have begun teaching a new 3 week course (9 hours) with about 30 students in the The missions academy, “Panamanian Institute for Transcultural Studies.”  The acronym in Spanish is IPET.

It’s in the city of Colon, about 45 miles north of where we live, over on the Atlantic coast.

The teaching environment

Colon is not a safe place.

The tourist book reads “If you have no business over there, do not go.  If you go, expect to be mugged.”  Last night, when I asked to walk down the street (about 6 houses) to get a soda, I was taken by car, not allowed to walk by myself.    While I do not fear for my personal safety, the locals know that I’m a prime target and they keep me safe.

It’s tropical, humid, and the church I’m teaching in is not using air conditioning.  Open windows permit the occasional breeze to come through.

The sanctuary lighting is intentionally set low so that the data projector can cast the slides up on the wall.  The combination of heat, humidity, and low light after the end of a long work day means that my teaching has to fight fatigue and sleepiness.

The teaching

IPET is the schooling arm of a Latin American sending agency who’s goal is to raise up missionaries from Latin America to other parts of the world.   The academy runs in multiple sites in Panama, currently over 10 are running in various areas of the county.

Students in this course are paying monthly for 18 months of study, 3 class hours a week plus short term mission outreaches in partnership with local churches.  Many are in training specifically to reach other people groups, so it’s more than personal evangelism.

I’m teaching 3 weeks (9 hours) on personal evangelism:

  • Motivations for Evangelism
  • The Role of the Holy Spirit in Evangelism
  • The example of Phillip.

This is the foundational teaching on evangelism for all my courses on personal evangelism and is the foundational material for PRMI’s evangelism Dunamis.  One of my students last week said:

I tell you, I believe that God gives tools to the church.  Chris is a tool that our church needs to use.  I had 9 hours of his teaching and benefited so much from it that my approach to evangelism has been transformed. We need to learn from him.

I’m honored by his statement.

Teaching with the Lizards

greenlizardThe classroom has open windows to allow the occasional breeze to stir the air.

One can hear the noises in the street, the chirping and callings of night insects.

But the open windows allow these little green lizards to get in.  They are common in Panama — we’ve seen them in our house on a regular basis. (Imagine grabbing a shampoo bottle only to see a lizard staring at you).

Last night was the first night that I saw these lizards visiting the class.  I found humor as they chased each other on the walls while I’m teaching on the love of God and how to share it with others.

One or two would occasionally run across my teaching images being projected on the cement wall behind me.

I find them funny and distracting, but the class doesn’t seem to notice — a worldview issue.

The fruit of teaching

It is clear that the doors to teaching here are beginning to open.  During the drive home with the director, it was clear that he has more in store for me in IPET and in the missions organization itself.

We came with a dream of tapping into a network of trainers, and it is appearing to unfold in a different way that we expected.  The level of our teaching events is going to increase considerably over the next few months and that is an answer to prayer.

Students in these classes come from a multitude of churches.  Already the director is beginning to field phone calls from pastors whose members were in my class.  Pastors are beginning to take note and as the Lord permits, we’ll be able to respond.

We’ll need your partnership in prayer and support to help us reach these churches and members with a passion to share the good news.

Consider joining our monthly support team.  You can do so online or by US Mail.

http://www.missiontotheamericas.org/support-our-mission-work-in-latin-america/

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