Roberto* and Gabriela* are teens living in a remote area of eastern Panama. They had heard very little of Jesus and His love for them.
A team of young people helped our team share the gospel through activities for teens and young adults in local villages.
Because of the generosity of givers like you, Roberto and Gabriela heard the story of the calling of Levi and responded to God’s call on their lives (Mark 2:13-17).
They decided to follow Jesus and were baptized!
Yira* is Roberto’s grandmother. Our team has prayed for her for several years. She has poor hearing and doesn’t understand much Spanish, speaking mainly Emberá.
Because of your sacrificial gifts, Yira heard the gospel from one of our indigenous national partners and accepted Jesus as her Savior.
Eliana* attended Bible story times faithfully many times. She listened, asked questions, and pondered what she heard.
Your giving enabled us to return time after time with the gospel. Now, she is your sister in Christ and is a baptized follower of Jesus!
Thirty baptized believers meet regularly in this small village on the Pacific Coast of Panama, close to the Columbian border, 100 miles from the nearest road.
Thank you for giving and praying for this region to hear the good news!
Please join us in prayer:
They participated in countless Bible story sessions, asking questions and spending time with believers. Each U.S. partner team to Jaqué prayed for the couple. Gospel seeds were planted and watered.
After about two years, Ana decided to accept Jesus as her Savior.
But Andrus didn’t. Ana prayed faithfully for her husband, just as you pray diligently for those you love to come to Jesus.
She talked with him about the difference Christ made in her life, and we continued sharing the gospel with him.
We rejoice in reporting that Andrus recently accepted Jesus and was baptized!
We are so thankful for the opportunity to see this miracle. Thank you for being part of Andrus’ faith journey through your giving and prayers for this ministry.
Like the testimony of Andrus and Ana, the work here is slow but consistent. God is faithful in multiplying your generosity to reach the lost in Jaqué.
Please join us in prayer:
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.
Several hours east, other Emberá heard about the people of Piriatí and traveled with local missionaries to the village. As they shared the gospel—Emberá to Emberá—several from the one family decided to follow Christ, and over time, more and more did the same. The only family member who could read, a 12-year-old boy, was appointed as “pastor” so he could read the Bible to the believers, and they could continue to learn God’s Word.
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.
Today, however, three of his children and three of his grandchildren are actively working to make this dream a reality. They have traveled to Colombia several times, sharing the gospel story in their language in places where whites and Latinos cannot go, sometimes staying for 6-7 weeks at a time in villages far upriver. The more remote an area is, the more difficult and expensive it is to get there. Most of the region they are reaching has no roads, so travel is sometimes by air, but more often by boat—on both the ocean and local rivers. We continually praise the Lord for His faithfulness in calling out missionaries from among the Emberá and using them to reach their own people with the good news of Jesus Christ.
Please join us in prayer.
Please pray for Emberá missionaries who have a heart to share the stories of Jesus just as their father and grandfather did.
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.
