How God Is Using His People in Central America
From whom [Christ] the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. —Ephesians 4:16
“The current pandemic has brought an atmosphere of insecurity, fear, and vulnerability, producing anxiety and loss of hope in many people. But it has been good to be able to share about a God of hope,” wrote Cristóbal Y., WMP’s national coordinator in Panama.
“We decided to move where we could be closer to the vulnerable children and adolescents of our ‘New Life’ project. Most of their parents—Indians and country folk—have lost their jobs because of the pandemic. Some opted to go back to the mountains, while others remain here in the neighborhood surrounding the camp, struggling to find food for their families with the aid that the government is offering.
“The Lord has led us to a different type of ministry in these weeks. We are having great times of practical discipleship. We are praying, singing, and laughing in the midst of the crisis. The Lord is using our whole family to help the young people around us who have health issues, giving them basic medicines and advice, tutoring in school subjects, providing food, and most importantly, teaching them to give their lives over to the Lord and trust in Him, even when the times seem dark. Together, we are worshipping the Lord for His greatness and for His love, care, and provision. This allows us to share with the neediest and to be examples to them of brotherhood and the love of God.”
[A shipment of more than 700,000 Scripture booklets is being prepared for Brother Cristóbal and another major distributor in Panama.]
In a coastal city in eastern Honduras, food and hope are beyond reach for many of the poor and needy. In mid-June, Jim T. of Jesus Es Real Ministries dropped us a note about their latest donations of food and other supplies in that city. “We are still distributing Scripture booklets from WMP,” he wrote. “We do this outreach twice per week, and yesterday there were ten decisions for Christ, Praise God!” Teams do not always know the eternal results of their labor, but on this day, they rejoiced with the angels over ten who found eternal peace and salvation.
[A shipment of almost one million booklets is ready to ship to Honduras as soon as possible.]
The resiliency and faithfulness of WMP’s many national coordinators and major distributors in Central America has been such an encouragement to us. As our staff works on new shipments for this region, we are confident of the Lord’s hand both in preparing believers to share the Word and in preparing the hearts of those who will receive a WMP Scripture booklet.
A medical team that took WMP Scripture booklets to Nicaragua excitedly reported how helpful the booklets were in getting the gospel into several different areas of the country. As people came to the door of the clinic, they received a Scripture booklet. Local pastors received supplies for further outreach and teaching.
A new request for WMP literature in Nicaragua came from a pastor, Rudy R., who pleaded, “We do not have material such as booklets to distribute to the population, but we see that your organization supports ministries with the same problem that we have. I would ask you for love of God and love of evangelism if you could provide us with evangelistic materials to be the bridge in Nicaragua and this together to achieve a greater outreach so that people can recognize the Lord as their life saver.”
Ricardo M., WMP’s national coordinator in Costa Rica, has established a network of pastors and churches in his country that effectively use Scripture booklets to reach those needing the Savior. The availability of free Scripture booklets has encouraged him to develop similar networks in Belize, Nicaragua, and Panama.
“We have worked hard to carry this literature through many mountains and cities of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Belize, and now in the nation of Panama,” he wrote. Brothers in each of these countries are working with him. “Now I am in the country of Panama as a missionary. I have been here for eight months, and I have no literature. I brought 50 boxes here when I came from Costa Rica, but they are now finished.” He concluded with a request for boxes for each country.
[Boxes for his contacts in Panama will be included in the shipment to replenish the supplies of WMP’s coordinator there.]
In Central America, where unstable government, natural disasters, poverty, and now a pandemic undermine the very existence of a nation, believers are reaching out to WMP for free Scripture booklets that can bring life and light. Their deeply passionate pleas for assistance speak to a moving of God’s Spirit and opportunities that must not go unmet. Current orders for Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama total 3.7 million booklets. What an eternal impact these Scripture portions can have in these nations! Every day someone may take food to a hungry family and include a Scripture booklet, allowing the Spirit of God to speak to a heart in need and bring a precious soul home to our Savior. It is urgent. It is eternal. It is our calling.
[You can help provide God’s Word for Central America and other nations of the world. Every donated dollar provides for producing 26 powerful Scripture booklets in the languages of the people. An investment of $100 will touch the lives of 2,600 people; $1,000 will impact 26,000 people who need to know God.]
Grateful Quotes
“We preached in places where it had not been done.”
“With great joy in our hearts we write this email. The material you sent to us for Guinea Bissau is being distributed to different villages in the interior of the country, where we carry out our missionary work.
“The work is carried out mainly among the Balanta ethnic group, in a place without electricity, running water, or basic services. We now have a great challenge ahead: to build a small hospital for all those souls in need. We have brought booklets and preached in places where it had not been done.
“We are sending you some photographs with the hope of being able to continue collaborating. A big hug in Christ!”
—Jonatan B., Spain
WMP provided over 9,000 Scripture booklets, Bible study booklets, and salvation coloring books in Portuguese and Portuguese-Creole for this ministry in Guinea-Bissau.
The Balanta are fishermen, herders, and cultivators with a population of 392,000 living in Guinea Bissau on the west coast of Africa. Only 5% are considered Christians, with 2.4% listed as evangelical. In this society God is believed to be far away, and they try to reach Him through spirits and sacrifices. Islam is strong (39%) and practiced along with spirit worship. [Information from JoshuaProject.net.]
Meet the Team
Seth C.
Production & Maintenance Assistant
I’ve known about World Missionary Press for as long as I can remember. Over the summer of 2019, I volunteered here three days a week. Last October, I was excited to join in the hands-on production of God’s Word as an employee. I work in both maintenance and production, so I have a diversity of jobs, but my favorite is mowing the lawn. I also enjoy working on the binderies, where I can see and help with the actual production process, but, most importantly, I like knowing my work has eternal impact.
When I’m not at work, some of my hobbies include writing, 3-D animation, and music composition.
Besides that, I have fun playing chess and volleyball. I live with my family of seven on three acres in the country, where we have two horses, two parrots, and two dogs.