FAMILY RADIO MISSION TO PANAMA

January 10 - 21, 2005




LETTER #1

"I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name." (Psalm 138:2)


Monday, January 10, 2005. All except one of our group of nineteen "Ambassadors for Christ" (11 men and 8 women) from various parts of the US and Holland arrived in Panama City, the capital of Panama, on another Family Radio mission trip . One will arrive tomorrow evening because of a flight problem.

God willing, we plan to proclaim the True Gospel of Christ to the people here during the next ten days by distributing 200,000 Spanish "Does God Love You?" tracts, about 1,000 Spanish Bibles, and various Family Radio Bible-teaching materials in the Spanish language. The tracts have been printed here and contain the current Family Radio short-wave schedules for Spanish programming, School of the Bible information, and a reference to the multilingual Family Radio website. The literacy rate of Panama is estimated at over 90%, and culturally the majority of the people identify with the Roman Catholic religion.

Panama is the southernmost of the Central American nations. It lies southeast of Costa Rica and northwest of Colombia. The Panama Canal bisects the isthmus at its narrowest and lowest point, allowing passage of ships from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. Panama has a population of about three million people and is slightly smaller than South Carolina in land area (about 30,000 square miles). There are about one million people living in and around Panama City, which is centrally located on the Pacific coast. Residents from outlying areas flow into the city daily to sell their wares and to shop at the market places, which should be excellent places to hand out the tracts.

We are praying that we will be faithful to God’s Word in all that we do in the name of Jesus Christ and that God will use us to accomplish His good pleasure in this country for His glory and honor.

Tuesday, January 11, 2005. After breakfast and our customary meeting to organize the work, a Christian man from the Panamanian Bible Society where we purchased the Spanish Bibles offered to give our team leaders an orientation tour of the busest areas of the city for about an hour in his van. Then four of our five teams went to their assigned locations by taxi, and our Panamanian friend drove the remaining team of five people about 60 miles to Colon, a city on the Caribbean end of the Canal. Prior to our arrival in Panama he made arrangements for us to visit a large prison complex for men and women near that city, and we werre able to speak about the Gospel and Family Radio to a group of Christian leaders in the menīs prison and another Christian group in the womenīs prison. We left a supplyof Bibles and tracts with both groups for distribution to other inmates, and our friend will return to give them more Family Radio Bible-study books and pamphlets at a later date.

After the prison visit the team distributed tracts in the city of Colon where thousands of workers were leaving a duty-free wholesale market area. All teams reported high-volume distribution rates, nearly 100 percent acceptance of the tracts, and very tracts were discarded.

One team leader shared this account of how we see evidence of Godīs hand upon this work as we serve Him on these trips:

We took a taxi to a large shopping mall with a very busy bus stop and a fairly steady flow of people, especially for a week-day afternoon. The work was going very well, but after about a half hour we were approached by some security guards who told us we would have to stop unless we got permission from the manager. So we asked to see the manager, and we were escorted to the manager`s office. The boss was an older woman who told us that we could not hand out anything on the mall property, but it was OK to work out by the bus stop. She glanced at the tract we gave her, set it on a desk, walked into her office, and that was that.

We politely said OK, God bless you, and good bye and then went out to find another area to work. However, a short time later about five of the security guards approached us and said the lady had changed her mind and that we could continue to distribute the tracts anywhere we want in the whole mall. I think the guard said that because it was about God and the Bible she would allow us to continue handing out the tracts, and we rejoiced and thanked our Lord for touching that womanīs heart so quickly. We continued with the work there until every tract and piece of literature we had was gone without the slightest incident.

Our missing team member arrived this evening, and our group is up to full strength. We thank God for giving us a wonderful day here in Panama and pray that He will do a mighty work of grace in the hearts of these dear people of Panama.

"O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles." (Psalm 43:3)


In Christian love, The Family Radio Mission Group in Panama



FAMILY RADIO MISSION TO PANAMA

January 10 - 21, 2005




LETTER #2

"For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth." (Psalm 33:4)


Wednesday, January 12, 2005. This was our second day here and our first full day of distribution work; and the tracts were put into the hands of many thousands of people at a rapid rate everywhere we worked in Panama City. Our teams worked at busy bus stops, markets, and shopping malls today, and the acceptance of the tracts continued to be excellent.

In general, the people here are very cordial to us, and we have experienced very little, if any, negative reaction to the tracts. Many people have shown an interest in learning more about the Gospel, and that gives us opportunities to provide them with Bibles and teaching materials. As we have found in other Latin American countries, the people have a deep respect for Jesus Christ and the Bible and have a willingness to learn more about the Gospel.

There is one long street lined with shops near a plaza in the city that is dedicated to pedestrian traffic. It is called Cinco de Mayo, and it is packed with people all day long, thus affording an excellent location to distribute the tracts. It is heavily patrolled by police, who have been very receptive of the tracts and tolerant of our work there.

The climate in this part of the world has two seasons they call summer, which is dry, and winter, which is rainy. Although this is summer now, we got some torrential rain yesterday for about two hours in the afternoon that slowed us down a little, but things quickly returned to normal after the rain stopped and the sun came out again.

We praise and thank God for preparing the hearts of these people to accept and read the tracts which contain the Words of eternal life.

"Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land." (Hosea 4:1)


In Christian love, The Family Radio Mission Group in Panama




FAMILY RADIO MISSION TO PANAMA

January 10 - 21, 2005




LETTER #3

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)


Wednesday, January 13, 2005. The work today was very similiar to yesterday`s (including the mid-day rain showers) and progressed at a rapid rate at many locations in the city. It is always a great pleasure and blessing for us to hand out the tracts when almost everyone takes them and keeps them. We continue to see many people sitting and standing around reading them intently, and we pray that God will open the spiritual eyes and ears of many to the True Gospel of Christ

Several people have told us they listen to Family Radio by short-wave and how happy they are that we are here. We have also received many favorable comments about the message on the tracts and requests for additional copies to give to family and friends. One lady in our group shared this account:

A tall, stately Abraham-Lincoln-type gentleman received a tract from me. He skimmed through it briefly and with a bit of excitement in his voice said, "I am a pastor of a Baptist church here in Panama City." That surprised me a bit because he was wearing a tee shirt with a lot of Spanish writing on it that I tried to read out loud. It went something like this: "God is like Ajax - He cleanses. God is like Clorox - He whitens. God is like Alka Seltzer - He works when you need Him. God is like..." and it went on to list many more products and their characteristics in that manner. He asked me for about a hundred tracts to give to his congregation, which I gave to him, and I am praying that he actually will hand out those tracts to the people. Could it be that God will work in that pastor`s heart to teach him about the His true nature, which cannot be described in such a frivolous manner?


"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." (John 17:17)


In Christian love, The Family Radio Mission Group in Panama




FAMILY RADIO MISSION TO PANAMA

January 10 - 21, 2005




LETTER #4

"But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God." (2 Corinthians 4:2)


Friday, January 14, 2005. Two teams went by bus to places outside of Panama City today to broaden the distribution area of the tracts and Bibles. One team went to Colon with a young man who has been attending our nightly Bible studies and who has a desire to serve the Lord with us. They worked in several busy areas of that city with the usual excellent results. The other team traveled westward for about 1.5 hours to the small town of Capira and hired a taxi to go to some other small villages in that area. The people there were friendly towards us and everyone willingly took tracts.

The rest of the group worked in various places in Panama City and continued to experience high distribution rates; and we placed an order for an additional 25,000 tracts for delivery on Tuesday, which should keep us busy to Thursday.

As we go to new places each day, we often have to modify our methods of handing out tracts depending on the situation. One lady who has been on a number of these trips gives this account of how she worked in her assigned location today:

I have passed out many Does God Love You? tracts while standing at the curb by way of what I affectionately call the "traffic ministry". The traffic jams to a crawl during the noon hour here, and I found a spot with a steel guard railing that I could lean over and put a tract into every hand that reached out from cars, buses, trucks, and other vehicles. Although some of the vehicles were too far from the guard rail to get a tract, many people simply got out and came over to take one from me. God works in many wonderful ways on these trips!

We continue to praise the Lord for His guiding hand upon us and pray that He will have mercy on many of these dear people of Panama.


"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." (John 1:17)


In Christian love, The Family Radio Mission Group in Panama




FAMILY RADIO MISSION TO PANAMA

January 10 - 21, 2005




LETTER #5

"In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise," (Ephesians 1:13)


Wednesday, January 15, 2005. One team took a one-hour bus ride northwest to the city of Chorerra today and experienced the same excellent acceptance of the tracts there. The other teams worked in various places in the city as on previous days, and one ventured into a very dangerous area to proclaim the True Gospel of Christ to some of the poorest and most down-trodden people in this country. The team leader described the work there as follows:

When we were setting up this trip, we were specifically warned not to go into that part of the city because it is a high-crime area that is notorious for its ruthless gangs, violence, open illegal drug activity, alcholism, and prostitution. Needless to say, it is a very squalid place with run-down buildings, open sewers, and trash-strewn streets and alleys. The people there wore expressions of utter hopelessness and despair on their faces, and even the police are too afraid to go into the area.

Our taxi driver dropped us off on the outskirts because he, too, was afraid to drive in there. So, our team of three men (one of whom is a Panamanian helper) and two women walked into the community, and we were greeted by smiling children who were happy to see visitors; but we received curious and suspicious stares from the adults. We immediately started sharing the tracts, always treating the people courteously and thanking them for accepting the tracts, and the reception was excellent with very few rejections. Many asked for Bibles and additional Family Radio teaching materials, which we were happy to provide.

The men climbed up and down the stairs of many of the multi-story apartment buildings to take tracts to the people inside. The noise of blaring "boom boxes" and barking dogs, the odors, and the stifling heat in those living quarters were indescribable, but with Godīs protection and guidance we were able to get thousands of tracts and dozens of Bibles into the hands of those desperate people.

As we were leaving the area, a teenage girl brought us sodas. She and her family had received a Bible and some booklets from us earlier, and they wanted to show their appreciation. It was a touching gesture that brought a tear or two to our eyes, and we wish to express our heartfelt gratitude to God for giving us this opportunity to serve Him in this manner and also to those who support this ministry and send in donations for Bibles. Please pray for these dear people who have so little of this worldīs goods but who now have the words of eternal life in their midst.

Although the tracts give important information about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it is much greater blessing to be able to give people their own personal copy of the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ -- the Bible itself. Family Radio has received a supply of money expressly given for this purpose, and we are grateful that we can freely use the funds allocated for this trip to purchase as many Spanish Bibles as needed. We are planning to visit some more prisons on Thursday and have set some Bibles aside to hand out to the inmates.

Here is just one example of how someone received a Bible from us. One team was returning to the hotel today by taxi. The driver was playing some of that "boom-boom" music on his radio, but one team member noticed the taxi had a built-in CD player and handed the driver a CD of the Open Forum program in Spanish. The driver listened to it for 10 or 15 minutes, and our man said he could turn it off if he wanted to. But the driver said no and that it was very interesting. He said he did not have a Bible and would like one, so he got one when they arrived at the hotel -- along with the CD and a copy of the "What is the True Gospel" booklet in Spanish. We see God working in many wonderful ways on these trips.


"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)" (Ephesians 2:4-5)


In Christian love, The Family Radio Mission Group in Panama




FAMILY RADIO MISSION TO PANAMA

January 10 - 21, 2005




LETTER #6

"For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;" (Colossians 1:5)


Wednesday, January 16, 2005. Commercial activities in Panama City were a bit slower on this Lordīs Day, so we concentrated our distribution work in the areas of some large churches where a few of our people encountered some opposition from the church leaders; but many thousands of tracts and some Family Radio booklets were readily accepted by the churchgoers. One team worked outside of a hospital during visiting hours with fairly good results, and another went into what is considered the second most dangerous area in Panama. The people there live iin shacks and run-down houses and many were drinking and gambling outside because of the heat. However, they were very cordial and thankful for the tracts and some Bibles they received.

Monday, January 17, 2005. In general, the management and staff of this hotel have been very cooperative and have helped to keep things running smoothly for us. The hotel has provided a large meeting room for our use at no charge to Family Radio. Many hotel employees have requested and received Bibles and have been very grateful for the gift of the Word of God, or "La Palabra de Dios" as they call it in Spanish.

However, we had an interesting development related to our tract supply today that again shows how God directs our work on these trips. We originally stacked all of the tracts in the meeting room, but the hotel needed the room for a large group of people one day last week. In the process of rearranging the room they relocated most of the tracts inside the room; but they also moved 10 boxes of tracts (40,000) out of the room into a storage area and forgot to tell us about it. Shortly after that we noticed that our supply was diminishing very rapidly and decided to order 25,000 more from the printer last Friday for delivery on Tuesday (tomorrow). Today at noon we mentioned that we were out of tracts to a desk clerk, and he told us about the 40,000 "hidden" tracts we did not know existed. Also, we found out that the printer was so busy on a high-priority job that had not been able to get started on our order for the additional tracts. So, we were able to cancel that order, and we have just the right amount of tracts to finish on Thursday.

The men climbed up and down the stairs of many of the multi-story apartment buildings to take tracts to the people inside. The noise of blaring "boom boxes" and barking dogs, the odors, and the stifling heat in those living quarters were indescribable, but with Godīs protection and guidance we were able to get thousands of tracts and dozens of Bibles into the hands of those desperate people.


"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)


In Christian love, The Family Radio Mission Group in Panama




FAMILY RADIO MISSION TO PANAMA

January 10 - 21, 2005




LETTER #7

"For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe." (1 Thessalonians 2:13)


Wednesday, January 19, 2005. This will be our last letter from Panama. We handed out over 10,000 tracts in some new areas yesterday, and we will finish our general distribution activities today. We have given a supply of tracts and Bibles to a Panamanian friend who will continue working in the poor areas, or "barrios", after we leave, and one team will take tracts, Bibles, and some Family Radio materials into two more prisons tomorrow (Thursday) to complete our activities here. We plan to leave early Friday morning for our return home.

This has been an enjoyable trip because of the high acceptance of the tracts, the cordial treatment we received everywhere we went here, and the fact that we have met many people who listen to Family Radio short-wave programming and who were so happy to see us here with the True Gospel of salvation for the people of Panama. It was our great privilege to be able to give out 200,000 "Does God Love You?" tracts, 1,050 Bibles, and many Bible-teaching booklets in the Spanish language on this trip.

Once again, we thank God for His guidance and protection and give Him all the praise and glory for what He has done for us and through us on this trip. We also thank the listeners/supporter of Family Radio for their prayers and financial support that make these mission trips possible. We consider our being "Ambassadors for Christ" a great privilege and honor and highly recommend it to others.


"Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen." (Ephesians 6:23-24)


In Christian love, The Family Radio Mission Group in Panama