Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward and that the Master you serve is Christ. Col 3:23-24
The context of these verses is obedience to masters and owners, but in verse 23, Paul uses two words (word willingly) that help us evaluate the proper attitude towards labor. It helps to keep our hearts set on Jesus as our owner and Master, guarding us from thoughts and feelings that would not allow us to serve correctly. It is hard; yes, it is, but not impossible. Whatever our situation, let us keep our eyes on the One who has set us free.
The Holy Spirit freely guides each of our brothers who serve alongside the ministry to serve as He guides them. David has followed up on all the work, and here we share a summary of their work.
Sharing time with Bernabe
Bernabe Report - On his last journey (shared in an email), he could hike for two days and reach Cremente; on his hike, he visited three places where he and teams started home churches: Manchuila, Tolote, and Los Santos. This journey resulted in the visit of 21 people who heard the Gospel; 3 of them surrounded their lives with Jesus. He held Bible study in these places, where 39 participated. Cremente is open to hearing more about Jesus even though it is a MamaTata place.
There still work pending.
Mateo Report—This month has been a month when Mateo's group has been helping him put his home up. They moved the structure to a secure place because it was too close to a small cliff, where the rain had slowly washed the soil. The house is almost finished.
At the same time, they have been coordinating the purchase of materials at the mountain, such as wood, to start building the church building in Quebrada Venado (Deer Creek). Venado Creek is a small village alongside the Dayra River that teams began to visit to plant a church in 2017. All through these years, they have been discipled. From this effort, three leaders are attending the Bible Institute in Guabal that started in 2023, and now they feel led to build a place where they can gather and learn more and, at the same time, teach others about God's word. No wonder Paul mentions that the process of growth belongs to God, but He uses various people to help in that growth. Praise Jesus.
Practicing the sharing of the 3 circles as a tool to share the Gospel.
Heitor Report - Our Lord is also using Heitor (Talsy joins him when the time is open to do so). In the past two months, they have successfully trained 6 churches using the Four Fields training and the 411 (or the three circles) for church planting and evangelism. This training had a significant impact, with 86 participants, including 6 pastors and leaders. In addition to these trainings, Pastor Heitor is also serving as the pastor at his local community and has a large family, some of whom are already at the university. Please pray that our Lord will continue to use him, strengthen him, and support him in his service.
Facilitating on the development of objectives.
Talsy - Together with the Haggai Latin America team, they finished developing ten facilitators. They are now equipped and ready to facilitate various topics concerning the Great Commission using the Haggai Curriculum.
In June, she will also facilitate setting objectives on a facilitation plan sheet for Caribbean leaders; this will be done virtually.
Next month, we hope to receive more reports from the partners in the field.
May Agenda:
May 5 - Presidential Election - Panama needs prayers for God’s guidance.
May 15-22 - Construction team for the Qda Venado House of Prayer.
May 17-18 - Training on CP (Chruch Planting) by P. Heitor Herrera in Panama City.
May 23-24 - Training on CP (Chruch Planting) in Sona.
May 25-26 - Family Gathering with a purpose.
Prayer Requests:
Wisdom to vote according to God’s Plan for our country.
For the May Agenda.
The exploratory trip to the north side of Bocas del Toro towards the east side of Chiriqui Grande is still on the table (planning table) and for provision (team, funds, and proper time for it).
We should keep a prayer heart in the search for wisdom from God to serve according to what we learn from Jesus's ministry.
Finally, as always, thank you for praying with us, coming, and sharing your resources, enabling us to continue serving in Panama. We anticipate that our Lord will call one of the team to be a missionary outside our borders; hallelujah!!!!!!