"Fruit that Remains" (Panama - April 2003)

We returned yesterday from a wonderful weekend of ministry in Panama. Your prayers were instrumental in opening many doors for evangelism and church planting. Please read over the following summary written by my mentor and supervisor, Mike Jorgensen. Mike led me on my first ever mission trip 7 years ago and has been instrumental in my life ever since. That first trip was to the country of Panama, and it was on that trip that I sensed God calling me to invest my life in His work through missions. It is a blessing to see all that God has done since that first trip back in ’96 – in my own life and in the lives of our Panamanian brothers and sisters. And now because of your faithful prayers, you are sharing in God’s work there as well:
(pictures are available by clicking on links and by visiting: http://www.ggrobinson.com/)

Thanks for praying for our Panama Leadership Development Conference. Now back here at home, I am savoring on the glimpses of God's glory that He gave us the last couple days in Panama--

Partners in the Gospel: God has given us wonderful National Directors in Panama--Moises and Talsidia Vega. We thank the Lord for the gifts of exhortation and vision He has given Moises. God has given Talsidia gifts of encouragement and administration, and for those gifts we too thank the Lord. God is using Moises and Talsy mightily in all of Central America, and we give Him praise for this.

Prisoner to Pastor: Sunday we met Aristedes, one of the leaders of a church planted last year. He told us that he had learned some of our LDC material . . . while in prison!

Several years ago a prison guard named Marcelino worked with our teams. God ignited his heart, and he wanted to reach people for Christ on the prison island where he worked. So he recruited a team from his church to go to Coiba, the prison island where he worked. Over time, he led teams to plant 8 churches in the 14 prison camps on the island!

Then he started teaching the new Christian prisoners our LDC material about evangelism, discipleship and church planting. There Aristedes began his first steps toward leadership. Now Aristedes has been released, and is a leader in a new church plant! God has brought glory to himself by changing a life in prison, and now using that life to change others.

Awana Plants Churches: Today we met with Pastor Ricardo. Several years ago one of our teams helped his church start an Awana club. Over the years many, many, many kids came to Christ. So many, in fact, that they were not able to continue bussing the kids to the church. So they have started two new mission churches! Now they can continue to minister to the kids, and also to their families!

11 Year Prayer: Yesterday we stopped to visit another church planted last year. We met Lucas, an older lady who now hosts the church. She thanked GMF for sending a team to work with her church last year, and told us that she had prayed for 11 years for a church in her own neighborhood. The church now meets outside her back door, and they are starting to build a small church building on land she has donated!

The Kingdom Mosaic: Jason Tarn is a youth director for the Houston Chinese Church and will be taking a team of his youth back to Panama with us in June. As an American born Chinese, Jason has a heart for seeing the world come to Christ. He joined us in Panama to encourage and worship with our Panamanian brothers and sisters in Christ. What a beautiful thought . . . Chinese, Panamanians (of Spanish, Mayan, and African descent), and North Americans all working together to build the Kingdom Mosaic that is spoken of in Revelation 5:9 – God’s incredible love is demonstrated in its ability to transcend all cultures!

Thanks for praying to help build the Kingdom Mosaic . . . what a day of rejoicing that will be!