We’ve got a list of special project needs that we continuiously update as various projects are met.
If you’d like to know what specific project needs we have, simply give me a call at 804/335-1445. It’s not an international phone call.
Uncategorized | Chris | 
May 26, 2009 11:25 am | 
Comments (0)
As I continue to teach mission classes for IPET, last night took me to the heart of Colon.
Again, the descriptions below are not complaints, but an attempt to describe for you some of the places to which we are called to serve. It’s easy to read negativity into these descriptions, so don’t.
The tourist book reads “If you have no business over there, do not go. If you go, expect to be mugged.” When I asked to walk down the street to get a soda (about 6 houses), I was taken by car, not allowed to walk by myself.
While I do not fear for my personal safety, the locals know that I’m a prime target and they keep me safe.
Last nights class was on worldview.
To help introduce the concept of worldview, I asked the class of Colon residents
“You see a white man (like myself), walking on the streets of Colon alone. What do you think?”
The answers came rapidly and without 2nd guessing:
Does this give you an idea of how a white face like mine is perceived automatically?
When I parked the car, a rough looking, unkempt man on a bicycle passed me on his way to some unknown destination. A white 5 gallon bucket hung off the handlebar.
As I got out, he immediately made a u-turn in front of an oncoming car and approached me.
“Fulo” he called me.
“Listen, I haven’t eaten for days, would you give me 10 bucks?”
This little white face of mine says “money.”
I enter the school where the class is located – a cast iron gate blocks the entrance. (sample picture from somewhere else)
I open it and as I enter the building, some well meaning but startled people in the hallway quickly ask me what am I looking for. I’m out of place.
The class meets on the 3rd floor. As I go up the stairs, I begin to feel like I’m in an movie.
Imagine a war movie and entering a rundown cement building – holes in the cement wall, chipped tile everywhere, dampness, minimal lighting and indescribable smells.
The bathrooms have no running water and reek.
Window unit air conditioners run, but do not dehumidify. The smell of dampness and mustyness irritates my allergies, but by God’s grace, I still function.
White boards have no pens or erasers (as teachers supply their own).
The condition of this school is not very different from the conditions that are often featured on the evening news – the public education system is known for not attending to these conditions. This was one of the motivating factors in the recent presidential elections. (As an aside, in recent weeks parents and students celebrate soap in the bathroom — thanks to the swine flu in Panama).
I get a deep joy out of teaching these missionaries in training – in spite of the surroundings and discomfort I feel (my North American worldview).
The class is an introduction to worldview, using much of the Ignite material from PRMI, plus lots of personal illustrations from Panama life that I have encountered.
We get to spend about 3 hours talking about a concept that is new – including several illustrative examples of worldview and cross cultural living.
The examples that they then gave me made it clear that they got the concept.
A class member was doing some mission outreach with an indigenous tribe.
This tribe cooks over firewood outside.
The classmate had tremendous sympathy for the major effort it takes to cook a meal – gathering the wood, preparing the fire, etc. She thought a great idea would be to give the Indian lady a stove and a tank of gas to help them cook their food with greater ease. What a great way to help!
When she returned again after leaving a stove and tank of propane, she arrived to discover that the lady of the house was still cooking with firewood, but on top of the stove which they had put in the fire circle.
The stove was ruined, of course. She felt awful that her investment had been ruined yet after the class last night, she realized she was trying to help where help wasn’t really needed. Her solution only caused greater problems for the cook.
That cross cultural misunderstanding became very clear last night and helped my student interpret what happened.
.
Ministry, Teaching, Workshops | Chris | 11:00 am | Comments (0)
We do this work as part of God’s calling.
One of the joys in this work is watching a young believer take this public Baptism as a sign of his faith and in obedience to Jesus.
In spite of all the divergent views on Christian baptism, watching an adult convert take Christian baptism is one of the deepest joys I get as a pastor and missionary.
For those of you who pray for our work and support our work in Latin America, we give you deep thanks. Though you are not here personally, you enable this kind of fruit to happen.
Ministry | Chris | 9:43 am | Comments (0)
Praying for Holy Spirit Empowerment
Pentecost is the time where we remember when and how the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the church.
The fruit of that day is seen:
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. – Acts 1:8 (NIV)
Pero cuando venga el Espíritu Santo sobre ustedes, recibirán poder y serán mis testigos tanto en Jerusalén como en toda Judea y Samaria, y hasta los confines de la tierra. – Hechos 1:8 (NVI)
This empowerment for missions enables us to fulfill our calling and purpose, whether it is to our local area or in another country.
Last October, a fellow member of PRMI, received a personal invitation to teach on the person and work of the Holy Spirit to a group of Presbyterian pastors in Guatemala. That created a spiritual thirst to know more:
Now, we have received an invitation to return and give about 8 hours worth of additional teaching and training on the person and work of the Holy Spirit.
Through our connections with PRMI, we have the opportunity to share some of the foundational teaching that we has been shared around the world. These pastors, who may not have access to seminary trained pastors as teachers, will hear from us, and then be empowered to use this information in their local congregations.
Much confusion exists in the evangelical church in Latin America. I see it myself as I’ve been in 9 different countries. The person and work of the Holy Spirit has been subjected to abuses, misinformed teaching, and all sorts of strange interpretations (I’ve got tons of stories). Because there is often a lack of sound biblical resources, it’s easy for confusion, hurt, and pain to happen.
We have been invited to help bring a biblical perspective, and a solid one that is rooted in the Reformed Stream of the Western Church. The material we use makes so much use of scriptures that some of our manuals are over 1 inch thick.
These pastors are looking to us to provide solid, rational, biblical training to help interpret and balance some of the experiences that they have had.
Imagine Guatemalan presbyterian pastors full of the Holy Spirit, sound doctrine, empowering others in the Holy Spirit to reach their harvest fields! We get to play a a part!
This retreat will be geared for pastors and their spouses at a retreat center outside of Guatemala city.
August 18-20, 2009.
Additional preaching opportunities and connections with Vida Joven Guatemala will likely occur, building on our relationship with Vida Joven Nicaragua.
The team is raising support for the trip to cover our international airfares and some translation costs to prepare and ship materials.
Donations to the team through PRMI can be marked “Latin American Missions.”
This is over and above our monthly support needs.
Ministry | Chris | May 21, 2009 8:53 am | Comments (0)
One class was about a 4 hour bus ride away.
Rising at 3am, quite groggy and hungry, I left to catch a very chilly bus ride to this little town. The air conditioner was on overdrive. At least this time I was prepared with a hat and fleece jacket. (I learned how cold the overnight buses are when I went to Volcan).
Trying to sleep was impossible. I passed the time praying for this country (which just had new presidential elections) and for the class I was going to conduct in Spanish. I wanted the Holy Spirit to touch hearts and ignite a passion for evangelism.
About 20 had gathered for the class that began at 8.30am. The disparity in education levels stuck out — some with MD degrees, some with only 6th grade. All with a passion to share the grace of Jesus. One pastor needed 2 hours to get there for class — his little church was more remote than the little town I was in.
We spent 6 hours on personal evangelism training in cooperation with the Holy Spirit.
At times, the Lord moved us from the teaching into spontaneous worship, times of confession, repentance, and intercessory prayer.
We made sure that we finished on time to catch the last bus to the city to make our connection home.
On the way home, my host began to share with me how this teaching deeply impacted his life. Santos had been meditating on it for days.
“I felt like an evangelistic failure. I had been trained in many different styles, but never seeing any fruit. You helped me see that Evangelism is a process and I’m just a part. Conversion is God’s work, not mine. I can learn to trust the sovereignty of God.” — Santos.
He went on to share with me the impact on his life, outlook about ministry, and confidence. He recalled recent experiences of sharing his faith with family members and in the hospital ward where he ministers.
He’s a small group network leader in one of the largest churches in this country and is beginning to share these principles in his network.
Continue to pray for these students. I’m continuing to interact with them, encourage them, and equip them to passionately fulfill their callings. Pray that this teaching will spread and reach into networks I’ve never dreamed.
Ministry, Teaching | Chris | May 15, 2009 9:07 am | Comments (0)
On Mother’s Day Sunday, I was invited to preach at Centro Christiano de Filadelphia, a church in the Colon province. I was given a translator for this event.
I’ve seen the church on several occasions driving back and forth (when we rent a car). For a while, it didn’t have any walls – this year, it has finally enclosed the walls.
The sound system wasn’t working right, and the roar from torrential downpour slamming the steel roof presented some acoustical challenges. Outhouses in the back served as the facilites. The humidity level was 100, with very little breeze. Though the church had some fans hanging on the walls to create a breeze, it wasn’t enough to prevent me from having to use a handkerchief several times.
No complaints, just describing some of the setting.
The people of this congregation were very friendly. Ushers wore uniforms that set them apart from the crowd, creating a wonderful first impression. They guided us to our seat, and introduced me to the pastor and her husband.
The song set was loud, and the words were not projected at this time. As part of the church’s growth, I can see the setup where they will eventually have a data projector. The screen was a tarp strung with shoelaces to a frame made out of electrical conduit. Resourceful.
I was asked to preach on a missions calling. I was joined by a team from IPET, a group of the students that I’ve been teaching in Colon. They brought a drama, testimony and song as well.
Psalm 67:1-2 served as the foundational text:
“May God be gracious to us and bless us, and make his face shine upon us, that Your ways maybe known on earth, Your salvation among all the nations.”
God’s blessing is for a purpose == the proclamation of His name.
So often, as individual Christians, and as churches, we are so focused on seeking the Lord’s blessing, but we disconnect it from the purpose of blessing.
This was the leading for that Sunday. About 150-200 people in attendance.
The call you see pictured are for those who wanted to receive the filling of the Holy Spirit to accomplish the work of being witnesses. We had already spent some time in repentance for selfishly holding on to our blessings, and committing to the purpose of our blessings, the proclamation of God’s name.
In that moment, we also prayed for those who are discerning
Both are important work, and several people raised their hand to indicate a need for prayer in each category.
This work this Sunday was only a seed. IPET will likely stay in touch with those sensing a call to missions to help nurture that calling and provide some of the training to fulfill it.
Thanks to all of you who are praying for us here and choosing to support or work in Latin America. Moments like these are the fruit of your partnership with us here.
Ministry, Teaching, preaching | Chris | May 13, 2009 10:54 am | Comments (1)
The season of networking in Panama is producing fruit. I’ve been doing some teaching and preaching in April and upcoming, here is the mix for May.
May 9-10
Cross Cultural Missions Conference – Colón
May 18
IPET in Colón, Verbena Church – Evangelism
May 23
Celebration of Baptism
May 25
IPET in Colón – Worldview and Cross Cultural Missions
May 30/31
IPET in the Darién Province, Sermon on Sunday
The Cross Cultural Missions Congress will be in the city of Colón, the place where the gospel had it’s beginnings in Panama and an area that has had a special blessing from God for spread of the gospel.
Immigrants from all over the world are have settled in Colón and many have risen to positions of influence and power. There is a growing Muslim presence and economic influence in the city, and one of the best schools in the eyes of many in Colón is the privately funded Arab College. Other people groups from India and China, as well as the West Indies and the Caribbean have settled there.
In the last four months, HIMF (Hermandad Iberoamericana de Misiones Fronterizas) has opened up four mission training schools in the province of Colón, with approximately 70 students in that province, made up of
The missions academy is named “Panamanian Institute for Crosscultural Studies.“ The acronym in Spanish is IPET. HIMF is a Latin American sending agency who’s goal is to raise up missionaries from Latin America to other parts of the world.
The missions Congress is geared towards casting a vision for international missions – both abroad and at home – and recruiting another 80 students to join its classes and grow in its missions calling.
Gathered around the theme of Acts 1:8, we desire to cast a vision
I will be sharing the teaching responsibilities with pastors from Guatemala, Costa Rica, Venezuela, and Panama. On Sunday, I will be preaching in a local church, with one of the outreach teams from IPET, casting a vision for missions and for the Global day of Prayer (May 31).
My particular theme is on the “Reaching my City for Christ.” I’ll be sharing some of the strategies I’ve learned while church planting in Richmond VA and here in the city of Panama.
Here is how you can pray:
Today, walking my daughter home from ballet, I watched a pick pocket lift a cell phone from a purse.
I felt powerless to do anything about it. Not enough language skills to find a police officer or describe the person
Like a shadow, he appeared and it was gone in less than 3 seconds.
Because of the drug trade that runs in our city, I have no knowledge if the robber is carrying a gun, or has other accomplices or what.
Later, I thought of things I could do safely, but I still don’t know if I would be able to do anything.
It happened so fast, so casually.
The victim left her cell phone in an outer pocket of her purse, and with a swift hand, he lifted it.
One thing that happens in a big city like ours is this kind of petty thievery.
On New Years eve, a lady was getting a soda at the little convenience store, when a fireworks vendor snatched and grabbed her necklace, leaving the fireworks box on the floor.
Some of our party guests were witnesses, as they were getting additional ice for our party.
We’ve been picked at least twice and Brenda has stopped one or two trying to get into her backpack. One of our uncles was picked on a crowded bus.
Well meaning strangers have often warned us if they notice that our backpack zipper is slightly open. We understand the reason why.
I find that when I walk with my kids anywhere these days, I walk with a level of alertness that we didn’t have before. I’m scanning the crowd. During my walk, all are suspect.
We’ve had to learn the hard way. In the suburban US where we lived, this was never a consideration.
We’ve now formed new patterns of behavior and new ways of thinking because of our calling to live in this city.
We pray for this city, we love this city, and it does break our hearts to see this kind of stain in our city.
Life, Panama | Chris | May 6, 2009 10:23 pm | Comments (0)
Subscribe
