Andean peaks, Mayan ruins, Amazonian rainforest, Patagonian glaciers, and Caribbean white-sand beaches: South America is a land of exploration and diversity that commands your attention and captivates your senses. The people of Latin America and the Caribbean are known for their lively spirit. South America is home to thirteen of the world’s 100 most populous cities and these urban dwellers face challenges such as poverty, long work days, addictions, and broken families.
The Americas have a rich heritage of Christian missions, yet more than 550 million people here are living without Jesus. Indigenous cultures have intermixed so thoroughly with Christian beliefs that many traditional churches are void of any knowledge of the gospel. Of the 1003 people groups in the Americas, 178 are unreached and unengaged.
Ask God to give wisdom to IMB missionaries as they disciple local believers, develop leaders, and engage in human needs ministries to draw people to Christ.
Gospel explodes where sadness prevailed. In the 1970s, the Panamanian government constructed a hydroelectric plant dislocating several indigenous communities. One of these was an Emberá community relocated to the new village of Piriatí. This violent uprooting shakes the core of an indigenous community in ways that are hard for most of us to comprehend. People began to suffer depression, and Satan seized the opportunity. Even the tribal witch doctor could do nothing to help the people.
Blessed to be a blessing. Those who came to Christ in Piriatí soon began to visit other Emberá villages in Panama, taking the gospel to many of their people. One of those earliest believers dreamed of sharing the gospel beyond Panama to other Emberá villages in Colombia. He passed away five years ago, never having realized this dream.
Please pray for Emberá missionaries who have a heart to share the stories of Jesus just as their father and grandfather did.