2021 Annual Letter - Merry Christmas

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” Ephesians 1:3

Short Update…

This year little was done in in-person training or Church Planting Outreaches, but virtually, our Lord opened wide doors to equip leaders and churches.  

It has not been until October that the ministry has gone to the field to reopen the Bible Institute and do in-person Church Planting Training and receive a team from abroad. 

Together with on the field workers and with Leadership  Development Ministries, the Lord has allowed holding 44 Trainings where 236 leaders were trained or equipped with tools to influence their different sectors of work with the Gospel.  

From the different campaigns done, we can report that the MGPanama Team presented the Gospel to 709, from which 214 placed their faith in the Lord and 120 publicly were baptized. The follow-up is always a challenge, but the churches could follow up on 57 believers and continue to do so. Our prayer is that things will start to change for good this coming year, but if not, we will continue to do as the Lord opens doors.

On this occasion, we will like to share the Annual Report from some of the workers in the field.

Mateo Morales & Team: My name is Mateo Morales, and together with my family (Julia, my wife, Israel, and Sarah), we have served as missionaries in the Guabal area, Province of Bocas del Toro, since late 2013.  Read more… https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-WEXsd6tNxH-C_ASJXg1hKS4NnyqNaHl/view?usp=sharing 

Simon Abrego & Team: My name is Simon Abrego, and together with my family we serve in the mountains of Panama in the Chiriqui province.  We strongly believe that the most neglected people are. Read more...https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g_kD4D6KyPTE5LJsNpyDjN8QBE3McUfM/view?usp=sharing 

P. Enrique Javilla:  First of all, I want to greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and to express our gratitude for the constant prayers and love shown.  Read more… https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TuSF1oKC41X2LyfqYCDbRzAydSrNqt1M/view?usp=sharing 

All these reports and ours are included in the above. To read all the information and updates uploaded to the web, You can also visit our website at www.mgpanama.com. Once again, thank you for walking with us on this journey of love to which He has called us. Keep in touch, and we pray to see you next year.

P&B Schools - Bible Institute

Our hearts are filled with gratefulness for our Lord’s faithfulness with the Bible Institute in the mountains.  We were able to reopen and the students are eager to keep on with their studies.   With this reopening, the number of students went down to 21 due to several reasons, but mainly due to COVID.

Water Filters Project

This project is on pause at the moment.  New filter cases were taken to Manchuila to have things ready when the opportunity arises to reopen this project.  

Family:

Praise the Lord for His faithfulness this past year of 2020.  There are praises  we would love to share with you:

1- Teo and Ruth received their bundle of joy, Helena Esther, this past Sept the 4th, 2021, and Ruth has started a new job.

2-God opened doors for David and Cinthia’s 2020 annual support and praying for this coming year.

3-Our kids are about to finish their school year, they all did great but worry a little for next year schools will re-open again. 

4-Moises and Delia have been able to see that the company is doing well and most important God has been faithful in the finances and how He has used the company to support many families that work with them.

5-Talsy was finally finished her two years of service, now she is waiting for her papers as a “registered nurse” and applying to be transferred closer to home.

6-This 2021 has been a stretchy one personally but very gratifying spiritually, physically, and mentally.

There is no complaint at all because Jesus is in us and with Him things are different.  

Prayer Points …

1-For the teams coming in 2022. There are 3 CPC Teams, 1 Exploratory Trip, 3 Bible Institutes, and Leadership Seminars, as well as follow-up trips. 

2- We need to pray for translators for the teams, people of peace in the areas, and open hearts.

2-Moises Jr company, Elconix.

3-God's provision for 2022. (Spiritually, physically, and financially)

5-The water filter project, for God to reopen the project and use it to open doors in far-out villages.

6-Above all, wisdom from above, nothing can be done without it.

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Num 6:24-26. Thank you for going, praying and sharing your resources.

MGPanama Team and Us.

Mission to Hacha - June, 2018

HACHA REPORT - JUNE 16-24, 2018

God bless you.  It is good for us to be able to give this report.  

Last year around this time of the year a team from Alabama came to join forces with the ministry in Panama in order to go to Hacha, a small village that is about two hours hiking from where the road stops up on the mountain chain of Chiriqui and Bocas del Toro.  They   went with us trusting in the information given to them, that is one step of faith, camped and ate with the nationals; there was a small number of believers that through years have been getting together to hear the Word in the midst of a  village to be MamaTata.  

By the end of that week a piece of land was donated, that is another miracle.  Through out 2017 another piece of land was donated which was almost in the middle of the village, now that is a big miracle, for the first piece of land was way too far.  The news was given to the USA church and they got to raise the funds to consider the possibility of building the house of prayer in Hacha!!!  It was muddy and cloudy but the work was done.  Only one day the sun came out as to give the time to try hard to finish, Aleluya!

This year another youth team got together and made the trip to Hacha with MGPanama with the purpose of sharing God’s love through the work with kids, the women and men but mainly to start building the so long awaited house of prayer.  The weather did not help much but was generous enough to allow the team (USA, nationals and Latins) to finish 90% of the building, the rest would be finished by the mother church that has been coming to  Hacha for several years now and the group that follows Jesus in Hacha.  The USA team took turns on the outreach and on the building.  God is good.

The result was awesome, 7 POF from all the visits made and the last day 2 took the brave decision of getting baptized in the river that passes through the village, the water was very cold but that did not stop them.  Loudly gave testimony of what is to follow Jesus.  The church that helped us to build the church is committed to send a pastor to look after this baby church that has been established now. 

Being able to come back from the mountains with all the team in one piece is always a blessing.  We had 14 from USA, 13 of them got sick but God gave them strength to keep going and work hard to share Jesus.  On the last day we were able to hike back out, no one was left behind, Praise the Lord!!!!

Your prayers were of great value and we deeply appreciate them.  Thanks once again for your faithfulness to our King by praying, giving and as time allows, going.

Blessings

DAVID VEGA / Mission starts with you

Edited by Talsidia Vega

B&PSchools - Bible Institute Jan 28-Feb2, 2018

Bible Institute

In this occasion we had more students than expected and others for strong reasons were not able to attend but are committed to catch up with the module.

Telling the Bible Story - Nitzia Javilla

Pastor Jim and Mickel are good exponents of the Word of God and open to answer any question the students might have.  This group of students is more proactive, they are not afraid of asking questions and they are good questions, one of the things we tell them is that it is very important not to go home having doubts, better to ask than to keep not knowing.  So that is what they are doing.

Participation - Bernabe.  Oops we have a dog in the class.

Pastor Enrique, who is the one coordinating the place to stay, the cooks and did the invitations supervises many of the pastors attending the Institute therefore he follows up with them in anything they need in reference with the Institute and materials needed.

We appreciate your prayers for the next class that is programmed for the end of May and in this opportunity the Church that sponsors this Institute will be sending a few teachers, among them is the Senior Pastor, brother Todd Calaway.  So also keep them in prayers, for any need there might be with their trip.

May God keep you and bless you as you serve Him in the calling He has given you.

Talsy and David.  

18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. Eph 6:18[g]NLT

Bible Institute Last Session and Graduation

Our arrival to Algarrobo for our last module of the Bible Institute was smooth and dry (no rain).  We settle and got ready for starting next day at noon.  

This last module was "Church History", even though the story itself was a little complicated, things changed when we enter the section of "Church History in Latin America"; specially when we came to the point of the "conquistadores".  History tells the story from our perspective but is very different from the native's perspective, wow, at that moment the class became alive, with stories carried from generation to generation, stories told by the grandparents and so on.  By hearing them share,I felt ashamed with all the harm done to native cultures and the way in which the Gospel entered our land; it was the wrong way, not God's way.  The harm is already done and we need to learn from past mistakes.  We learned a lot of how the Mama Tata believe was born and how the Gospel came to the Ngobe reservation; all this through their sharing.  

For three year a group of almost 30 started their studies in the Institute, some very shy, others with little knowledge about the Bible and others not knowing if they will finish the 15 courses required for graduating.  Little by little some could not continue due to, coffee harvest and the need to search for a better income, others due to work, training etc, we felt sad for that but the Institute continued.  Last Saturday June the 3rd, 13 received their certificate that proved their perseverance and determination to finish well, Mateo and disciples had to travel for day and half, Simon had to walk for 5 hours and so on in order to attend. 

The last day we had to stay for the Sunday service since the car that was to pick us up, came in late; but what a blessing to hear how Pastor's Lorenzo preaching has improved, and how Domingo has changed from a shy and little talkative person to a person willing to share from the pulpit and telling me that he together with Dionisio will join the team to hacha this coming Sunday the 11th.  

Having Tate, Pastor Todd's son on board brought the local kids the challenge of playing using the kid's sign "a soccer ball".  No problem with language, they solved that.

Praise the Lord for ministries such as Crosspoint Ch, IBAC (Bible Institute) that come to be a blessing in the equipping of workers that will use properly the Word of God.  To God be the glory and thank you for holding us in prayers.

The report from the Balsa Team will follow soon.

In Him and until He comes back again,

Talsy 

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.  2 Timothy 2:15.