Missions News


Panama: A Tale Of Two Cities

Missions News: Various

 

(Panama City, Panama)  The current skyline of Panama City is quite impressive and is a testament to foreign investment and globalization in Latin America.  However this skyline, in all its prestige, is a sort of mask over what could be called generations of injustice.  Injustices that could be repeating themselves.

 

panama city skyline.jpg

 

Panama City’s first location now lays in ruins.  Hundreds of years ago it was sacked by the pirate Henry Morgan.  After this attack the city was moved to what is now Casco Antiguo or San Felipe.  This was Panama City for the next few hundred years.  It was surrounded by a wall, part of which still stands today, and was home to the wealthy, upper class, and ruling class of their day. 

 

Adjacent to San Filipe and on the other side of the wall lies Santa Ana.  For around 200 years, Santa Ana was home to slaves, the poor and immigrants of lower social standing.  The residents of Santa Ana were only allowed to enter San Filipe during daylight hours, if at all.  When the French arrived to try their hand at the construction of the Panama Canal, the workers were housed in Santa Ana.  This led to a time of economic growth in the area.  Several movie theaters were opened and a long avenue was built for shopping.  There was also a park built in the center of Santa Ana. 

 

Over the past hundred years this park has been a traditional gathering site for Panamanians to protest and voice their opinions about key issues.  During the latter part of 20th Century the traditional center of Panama City began to shift to what is now the banking district.  Here you will find the first world in all its luxury.

 

During this shift, the apartment buildings in San Filipe who were home once to the rich became make-shift homes for the growing urban population and were mostly unkept.  Many of those living in the area were not paying rent and there were very little repairs being done and for years San Filipe lay in ruin.  Today, however, there is a multi-million dollar investment and restoration project under way.  San Filipe is being restored to it’s former glory.  It is a center for the wealthy and those in power. 

 

Santa Ana however is seeing hard times and even a reversion to its roots.  Since the failure of the French endeavor, Santa Ana’s movie theaters have closed and those that remain open are now for adults only.  Some parts are home to brothels and gangs.  The park is now home to drug addicts and those who have no home.  The Central Avenue still exists as a bustling shopping market and is home to Chinese, Hindus, and other ethnic groups that call Santa Ana home and office once again.

 

Is history repeating itself?  In some ways, the answer is yes.  Those that lived in San Filipe are being moved out to the surrounding area.  The excuse is that the areas is a historical landmark and must be preserved.  However, for the right amount of money, you too can own a piece of history. 

 

There is a stark contrast between the two areas.  The most visible contrast can be seen when standing in front of Presidential Palace and looking over the brothels and bars of Santa Ana.  There is a physical, visual, and spiritual difference that can be clearly observed.

 

The reason this story is being shared is because of an intercession time in Santa Ana.  The Youth With A Mission (YWAM) YWAM Panama DTS which is currently under way received different words and revelations which led it to do a more in-depth study of the area.

 

There is much more happening than can be put onto paper.  There are problems and injustices in the area that have roots going back hundreds of years.  We see God revealing a new strategy in all of this.

 

Please pray for us as we return to areas of the city to pray and ask God for more revelation, and to see how He will use us.

 

This story was originally published in an entry by Missionary Chris Collins in the blog YWAM Panama: Urban Ministries.

 

Read More: Links

 

The Happenings

YWAM Panama: Urban Ministries

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The International Faith Telegraph
http://www.faithtelegraph.com
The latest and most unique Christian news stories from around the world. Bizarre, groundbreaking, worldchanging. Exclusive stories from a wide variety of sources. Missions news directly from missionaries and numerous denominations and organizations.

 
HCJB Radio Now Reaching 1 Million Arab Households

Missions News: Outreach

 

(Colorado) HCJB Global, an international media and healthcare ministry, is pointing to new research showing that it is now reaching more than 1 million Arab households in the North Africa/Middle East region via radio broadcasts.  The research was conducted by Intermedia (www.intermedia.org), an international media research organization.

 

The Arab world consists of 19 countries and nearly 300 million people.  Illiteracy rates, especially among women, can be high, making radio an effective tool to share a message of hope.  Although Christian radio stations are illegal in most nations in the region, residents can still hear the gospel through HCJB Global's shortwave, satellite and Internet radio broadcasts.   

 

"The households in the Arab world have many challenges. They are searching for a message of hope and love, and that is our focus as we reach out," said HCJB Global President Wayne Pederson.  "There is evidence this generation of people in the Arab world is more open to Christ due to the compassion many have experienced through Christian agencies as refugees or during famines or natural disasters," said Pederson. "As we receive responses from listeners, we have found many listeners discover what they are searching for."

 

HCJB Global's media strategy in the region has a two-pronged approach. First, it is engaging households that listen to broadcasts together.  "Our media ministry in the Arab world primarily is to serve people on their journey to faith," said HCJB Global's regional director. "Programs are structured so we don't offend anyone in the family -- so they will not close the channel. Our desire is to keep the channel open. And we are designing programming with the entire household in mind."  Second, trained local believers produce the programs.  These local broadcasters can now tell their neighbors about the hope they have found in Christ, whereas before they would have faced great persecution.

 

In the coming months, the ministry will be challenging households across the U.S. and the world to pray for unreached households and to give $1 to reach one household in the Arab world for one year.

 

Read More: Links

 

HCJB Global

 

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The International Faith Telegraph
http://www.faithtelegraph.com
The latest and most unique Christian news stories from around the world. Bizarre, groundbreaking, worldchanging. Exclusive stories from a wide variety of sources. Missions news directly from missionaries and numerous denominations and organizations.

 
Nearly 500 Mexican Prisoners Accept Christ

Missions News: Outreach

 

 

(Oregon) -- The Tom Flaskerud Evangelistic Association and The Freedom Team have just returned from conducting Prison Power Explosions in 8 Mexico Prisons across Sonora State.

The Team was given great favor with the Director General of Prisons as well as his staff and Prison Directors (wardens).  They report that their Ministry Team was eagerly received with 928 prisoners responding to their invitations to receive Christ, registering a decision for Christ with 489 of them indicating a first time acceptance of Jesus Christ.

They gave out 1193 Spanish New Testaments to the respondents as well as 345 Gospels of John and Romans and the same amount of Spanish Living Water Booklets. In every prison except one they worked with the prison pastors and churches for the follow up of these new believers. In each prison the churches were strengthened and encouraged with the grace of God.

God gave the Team great favor with the Government. The General Director of prisons who oversees all 15 prisons in Sonora State sent out letters to each prison instructing the prison officials to give them whatever they requested and also the permission to park their Bus Conversion (motor home) inside the prisons. The prison staffs were very accommodating and the Team was fed most of their meals by the Prison staff cooks. They realize that this favor is not due to 'who we are' but instead to 'Whose we are'.

In the Magdalene de Kino Prison the Director General of Prisons showed up after their program with his swat team who secured the prison just before his arrival (they were told this is normal due to his high government position). He and his staff greeted the Team very enthusiastically and visited with them in the Director's (warden) office for an hour. He and his staff who are well known across Mexico will also help them go into the other states of Mexico when they are ready.

The Team is systematically working their way through the prisons of Mexico and will be returning to Sonora State on April 24th through May 4th to conduct Prison Power Explosions in the remaining 7 prisons of Sonora State. Next fall they will begin in the prisons of Sinaloa State. 

 

Read More: Links

 

The Freedom Team


 

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The International Faith Telegraph
http://www.faithtelegraph.com
The latest and most unique Christian news stories from around the world. Bizarre, groundbreaking, worldchanging. Exclusive stories from a wide variety of sources. Missions news directly from missionaries and numerous denominations and organizations.

 
Are You Ready For Internet Evangelism Day?

If you are a tech-head, blogger or Facebook addict, you may be interested to learn that April 26, 2009 is Internet Evangelism Day -- an annual web-awareness focus day when churches and other Christian groups are encouraged to build a short focus spot into their meetings to explain the potential for online evangelism and how anyone (even the tech-challenged) can share their faith online. 

 

"There are many ways to share your faith online, without any technical knowledge at all,” says Internet Evangelism Day Coordinator Tony Whittaker. 

 

Internet Evangelism Day, first held in April 2005, is an initiative of the Internet Evangelism Coalition, an umbrella group of online ministries at the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College in Illinois.  Internet Evangelism Day is chaired by Sterling Huston and is supported by many other leaders, such as John Stott.

 

Internet Evangelism Day is also more than just a day -- it is a website, with resources, ideas and strategies to help Christians use the internet to share the gospel.  These include a self-assessment tool for church websites, enabling them to better reach out into their communities and a new blog, Digital Evangelism Issues, which provides news and the opportunity for discussion. 

 

Some church leaders who have already used these materials are clearly excited. “This is a huge help for small churches such as ours,” writes one minister from California.

 

 

Read More: Links

Internet Evangelism Day Website

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The International Faith Telegraph
http://www.faithtelegraph.com
The latest and most unique Christian news stories from around the world. Bizarre, groundbreaking, worldchanging. Exclusive stories from a wide variety of sources. Missions news directly from missionaries and numerous denominations and organizations.

 
Missionaries Ask For Prayers As Dengue Fever Arrives In Village

Missionary News: Prayer Requests

 

Missionaries Erick and Michele in Tanna, Vanuatu are reporting that that Dengue Fever has arrived at their village.  Dangue Fever is an illness transmitted by mosquitoes that can cause great  sickness and even death.  Only weeks ago, their children recovered from other illnesses, and Michele has endured a long struggle with colitas, recently recovering from a flare-up of the disease.  Erick's mother Karen, a concerned self-described POM ("Parent Of a Misssionary") is asking for prayers for the protection of this family and the villagers.

 

 Erick and MIchele are missionaries in Vanuatu (shown below) -- a group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Australia.  The Vanuatu people are predominately Melanesian.  Bislama is the national language, but there are at least 110 local anguages in the small villages on the many islands of Vanuatu.

 

Erick is hard at work translating the Bible into one of the local languages of Tanna, while Michele teaches at a local school.  Erik's current task is to teach basic computer skills to two men from the translation committee.

 

Pray for Erick, Michele and their family: for safety for them and the villagers, for the work they are doing among the people of Tannua, and for comfort and peace for Karen and the many other "Parents of Missionaries" -- parents that are oceans away from the ones they love the most.

 

 

Read More: Links

 

Parent Of A Missionary: My Reflections

Dangue Fever

Vanuatu

National Network of Parents of Missionaries

 

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The International Faith Telegraph
http://www.faithtelegraph.com
The latest and most unique Christian news stories from around the world. Bizarre, groundbreaking, worldchanging. Exclusive stories from a wide variety of sources. Missions news directly from missionaries and numerous denominations and organizations.

 
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The International Faith Telegraph (2010)