Mission to the Americas

Serving Ministries and Missions in Latin America

Archives for September 2010

Spiritual Gifts Class in Santiago

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This past weekend, I completed teaching a spiritual gifts class in Santiago Panama.

I got up at 3.45 am, to leave by 4.30am to get there in time to teach.  When class was over, we came back home.  It made for a long day, and I thank God for the safety I had while traveling.

This particular class meets in the main church for the Foursquare Church in this province.

I’m working with HIMF, a missions organization, that is preparing people to discover a missionary calling on their life.  When this class is over, those who want to go further will be taking a 3 month residential class in Costa Rica.

In this particular class, I listened to stories of callings, and we talked about how spiritual gifts play into fulfilling those callings.

We ran out of time, but I hope to be back.

Two of the gentleman who traveled out with me from the city, stayed for the rest of the weekend to work with Muslims seeking Christ.

Praying for the city

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Just recently, Anakarina participated in a Girl Scout hike up Ancon hill, the hill just to the west of the city that gives you a great panoramic vista of the city skyline.

I love going up the hill, not only to see the city, but to pray for it.

Praying for the city

When Jesus saw the crowds, his heart broke. Matthew 9:36 reads

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

He had compassion on them.

To put it another way, he felt compassion for them.

I can imagine the heart of Christ that day on that hillside – pondering the injustice, the poverty, the lostness, the brokenness, the misery of human need, and their separation from God.

But also seeing not just a plural collective “them” but individuals with names, dreams, and families.

I can imagine the compassionate emotions swirling like in His heart like the foamy rapids of a river .

He felt it.

What happens when you pray for where you live and minister?

Sometimes my heart breaks with the compassion that might have been similar to what Jesus felt.

I imagine the crowds that steel skyscrapers and slum shacks on a muddy hillside represent – individuals who need Christ.

My heart breaks at times.

I imagine

  • the poor who try to make a living in a gang infested neighborhood where they might be killed by accident,
  • the laborers who work for minimum wage in dangerous unsafe occupations,
  • the injustices committed underhandedly,
  • the extortion and bribery that gets things done,
  • the pickpockets who steal just to get some food.

Not just for the collective crowd, but individuals.

I think of the toothless amputee, with swollen knobby fingers on his remaining hand.  He stopped me at a traffic intersection.  He used his teeth to hold the clean styrofoam cup while he maneuvered his one-legged body on crutches next to my car.  His swollen hand stuck that cup in my car window, begging for a donation of some kind.

I give him what I have, but drive away in tears.  I wish I could do more to help.

I remember the orphan who’s parents were murdered, and who had been a victim of human trafficking.

I remember the 7 year old who murdered a shop keeper.

I remember the first hand stories of gang rape and sexual abuse.

I remember seeing people eat with bare hands out of dumpsters and torn trash bags behind restaurants.

Feel the heart of God

I weep over my city.  I feel for my city.  I’ve seen brokenness that I wish I had never seen.

I sometimes spontaneously pray in desperation, “Lord send me to reach them.  Send me.”

I touch the heart of God.

The heart of evangelism is to connect with the heart of God.

Ask the Lord to share His heart for the city / town / rural area in which you live.

Ask the Lord to grow your sensitivity to His compassion.

Comunidad de las Buenas Nuevas

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In September, we moved our primary meetings from evenings to mornings, though three of the four weeks each month we meet in an apartment.

This past weekend, we had our latest worship service at the hotel.  We spent time in prayer for the elections in Venezuela.  Pastor Pedro gave a great message on dealing with anger.

We praise God for continued sustenance and provision to enable this monthly hotel rental (at nearly $500 a week).

This past service, 43 adults and 17 kids.  Several of these were first time visitors.

The challenge for Brenda

Brenda leads the Children’s ministry at this time.  Her challenge is the sheer number of children, as well as the age range of the children.

This group today numbered 17, aging from 3 to 13.

Today’s group also seemed to be wired on caffeine, so it was a challenge to manage the class.

Some of the older kids tried to help, but the order turned into chaos with a thousand questions all at once.  The craft that Brenda had spent hours in preparation for did not turn out well.

Join us in prayer that more adults will come along side Brenda to help her, and specifically, one who is gifted in one of the age groups to peel that off into two classes.

Challenges to Assimilation

Since we only meet monthly for worship at the hotel, assimilation is a challenge for us.

So many North American assimilation techniques rely on the US mail, visitor contact cards, and weekly services that we don’t quite have an assimilation process in place.  We’ll eventually be able to sustain a weekly hotel rental, but for now, we do with what we have.

We continue to thank God that we’ve gathered a good core group, and the Lord seems to be adding to our numbers.

Pray specifically for provision to rent the hotel each week.

Coming in October, we are stepping out in faith and moving to twice a month.

Interesting Statistics from the Paper

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March 19, 2010 – La Prensa

In the first two months of the year, Panama’s car dealers sold 5,405 new vehicles, a decline of 7 percent as compared to February 2009.

Official statistics indicate that, in Panama, the consumption of alcoholic beverages is on the rise, with preliminary figures for January showing that the population consumed an estimated 22.8 million liters; 5.1 percent more than the same month in 2009.

The poll found that 66.8 percent of Panamanians found that Martinelli’s management is "good," and another 9.1 percent described it as "excellent." The poll found that 20.2 percent of those asked considered his management to be "bad" or "very poor."

June 10, 2010 La Prensa

A total of 5,674 entered divorce proceedings in 2009 in the courts across the country, 139 cases more than in 2008. According to information from the Center of Judicial Statistics, 2939 (52%) of these cases are requests for separation by mutual consent

 

September 14 La Prensa

Panama spends $270,000 per year on therapy for alcohol addiction.

Panama leads Central America in alcohol consumption: 6 liters per capita a year.  The age where most people start drinking has lowered to 12, over the last 5 years.

In Pregnancy, 1,591 of 6,133 (25.9%) in 2009 in the western Panama, were to adolescents under 19.  78 of these were in the age 10-14.  2010 is on track to be higher teen pregnancy rates.  In the sector, there are 77,356 teens, 28,056 live in Chorrera

 

September 21, 2010 La Presna

Of married couples, or those in committed relationships, 46.4% of men, and 48.9% of women surveyed have had more than 1 sexual partner in the last year.  Unfaithfulness is common.

20% of the live births in the country (unlike the region stat above) were to women aged 15-19 years old, concentrated mostly in the indigenous areas (though the average age indigenous women at marriage is age 17).

In the same study of the group 15-19 years old, 31.7% of the women and 40.7% of the men said they started having sex before the age of 15.

Nearly 14% of the pregnant women had an abortion.

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