This lit a fire

As our friends in the United States celebrate thanksgiving, Brenda and I would love to share a little something of what we are thankful for.

Living in an upper middle class area of the city, surrounded by skyscrapers that glisten in the sunlight, it is easy to become sheltered from the shacks, struggles, and smells of those who live in urban poverty.

Brenda and I stepped into that world to come alongside a church that wants to take the gospel to such a community.  They had invited us to help improve their outreach and train their workers to share the love of Jesus in tangible ways.

We got to participate before a flooding rain made a mess.  But rains don’t stop kids from playing soccer.  The housing area was so dense that cars have to find their own place to park elsewhere.  Unfortunately, we had to park in the soccer field.  Six police officers were nearby to make sure this event was not harmed.

Before the downpour arrived, nearly 100 children or more had gathered under a metal roof bleacher stand to enjoy the clowns and puppets.

The spectacle drew adults as well, most of whom stood on the sides, watching suspiciously over these newcomers from a different area of town.

The clowns brought humor.

The puppets brought screams of delight from the children as they learned about the power of Jesus

For three years, this church has been investing their resources into at-risk communities at the request of the local police.  The local police station was at the other end of the soccer field and they provided police protection to the church.

Later that week, the pastor walked the alleyways with the head of the police station there to start making his face known in the community.

In their community outreaches, they are seeing children and adults make commitments to Christ, and part of what I’m asked to do is help them with connecting people to a local church, even if it’s not their own.

Events like this were what our family first did in Costa Rica in 1997.  Events like this are part of the reason we give ourselves away in mission to churches in Latin America.

As we stood there taking it all in, participating in this event lit a renewed fire for what we are called to do: Helping churches in Latin America reach their communities.

Our family cannot enter communities like this alone.  Our accented Spanish is not even close to the street Spanish spoken in communities like this.  Even if we dressed as clowns, or hid on a puppet stage, we stick out like a black bird on white snow and be written off.

But, we can come along side churches that can enter communities like this.

We can encourage, train, assist, and help them reach people for Jesus Christ.

What are we thankful for this thanksgiving?

• We are thankful to our supporters who sustain our presence here.
• We are thankful to our intercessors who pray for us on a regular basis.
• We are thankful for churches like this that reach out to us to help them fulfill their mission into communities.
• We are thankful for the opportunities in front of in 2014 that our strategic presence in Panama allows us to have.

Through the training and assistance you help us provide, you help churches reach their local communities and bring hope into places like this one, where hope seems hard to come by.

Your support of our training allows the gospel to go forward in places where you might not be able to go.

To our friends in the United States, as you celebrate Thanksgiving today, give thanks to God for the ministry here that you get to be a part of.

Photo Credit: All but the skyscraper photo (from: 123rf) are by K. Fischer, pastora of Vida Abundante