Greetings! Wow, it feels wonderful to write another newsletter from here on the mission field. It has been a long time since I have done so. As you can see I am testing out a new system for newsletters that will hopefully be more crisp and organized so you can get info from us in a better way.
** Starting Fast ------------------------------------------------------------ ** Getting resettled has been slow, but reconnecting with people has been wonderful. ------------------------------------------------------------ Those of you who keep up with my blog (www.reachca.blogspot.com) heard about the woman who was healed of ovarian cysts in a crazy miracle story. But beyond that we have seen the hand of God on everything we have been doing here, even from the very beginning. When I said my goodbyes to our friends and family at Faith Fellowship and stepped onto that plane once again for a nearly 24 hour trek, I was nervous, excited, maybe a little scared of what was coming. Our family changed so much during our time in Texas. We feel more equipped, matured, and prepared for the ministry God has called us to here in Panama. We have been received with open arms. As a matter of fact one missionary here told us he thinks God brought us back earlier than we originally intended largely because of the prayers of his son who is good friends with Elias. They had gone to the States about the same time we did, and returned a few weeks before us. He told me that his son kept telling him he wanted to return to Panama to see Elias. He told him that Elias was in Texas, but it turned out his son was right all along and here we are! Lucas and Andy, the dynamic duo back together! Walking back from a visit to our Chinese friend's shop. We found out that ironically even though they were both born and raised in China, they met and married here in Panama.
============================================================ News from the Comarca (Ngobe territory) Ngobe Base, the Law, and Stocks, though not the money making (or losing) kind. These are exciting times. As soon as we got here all kinds of opportunities began to open up. Along with other leaders on our base, I have been asked to help lead the upcoming Indigenous Discipleship Training School. This course will be different from anything we have done before. Instead of the usual five months, it will be a full year with the school running on weekends. Also, the school will not be set here in Potrerillos, but up in Tugri where we are building a new base fully run by our Ngobe staff and leaders. We will be discipling our Ngobe brothers and sisters not only to have a solid walk with the Lord, but also to be ministers of the Gospels and continue to bring change to their people. Along that line of ministry. Please pray for our director of the ministry there in Tugri. His name is Rafael and he is Ngobe. The ministry there in the mountains is threatening the local religion of Mama Tata. As a result they are taking Rafael to court in an attempt to shut down the ministry. On August 10th he will go to court, and although it seem unlikely it will come to this, the officials have told him that if the investigation comes up with anything out of ordinary he will be put in the stocks.
Preaching the Gospel On August 9th I have been asked to preach at a special service/campaign for a local pastor who called me to invite me the day after I got here. He had heard that we were coming back and was just waiting to ring me up and ask! The last time I spoke at one of his campaigns we were just about on top of a graveyard! A few yards was the only space between us and the headstones. So I anticipate this will be a fun ministry! Karmy is counting the day to when she will be moving back into her ministry with the kids in Rovira. She has really missed them since we left. The kids are going to be really happy to see her. She puts so much time and effort into discipling them, and this is the kind of ministry that impacts generations and families. Much more on that in the next newsletter. We had the great opportunity to see a bit of fruit from our ministry in Arturo Miro, the boys home for those of you who have been involved in that ministry in the past. We were doing some grocery shopping when we ran into one of the boys who we have known for a long time now. He recently left the home and decided to have a fresh start, so he got a job as the person who weighs the fruits and vegetables at the store and is moving forward. What a blessing to see that what you are doing is having a lasting effect on people.
Goodbye for Now That is all we have for this month's newsletter. As always there are all kinds of other things taking place that can't fit here. However we do have our blog that has much more frequent updates and thoughts. We have all kinds of videos and pictures that we put on Facebook as well as our blog that you are free to check out. As always feel free to write with any questions. If you would like to support our ministry, the best way to do so is through Mission Enablers International: You can either donate online through the following link: ** https://www.meigiving.com/mei.php (https://www.meigiving.com/mei.php) Simply fill out the short form, and when asking for the account number, write 9052. Donations through Mission Enablers are tax deductible and you will receive a receipt for them. If you would rather donate by check, you can also do it through MEI at the following address, just add a note saying the donation is for the account number above. MEI P.O. Box 1311 Fayetteville, AR 72702 Thank you all so much for your prayers and support! Many blessings! Alan
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