Central America Ministry & the Abegg Family 🌎

On Mission, Online & On Target! Update on the Abeggs & Ministry in Central America & the Caribbean     Though we are still unable to physically visit the missionaries and ministries we care for and oversee, we've been in regular contact more often than ever before as each navigates the particular pandemic challenges to their miniseries and the countries in which they serve. There are a few areas that we're particularly excited about and would love to have you join us in prayer for:   COVID Opportunities: Sounds like a strange thing to be excited about, but Claudia and I find that when things don't go as we hope… like so much of 2020, God has some thing in store that we would have never considered. ProMETA, one of our partner ministries in Costa Rica has always provided online Biblical training all the way up to master's degrees. In the past we've had national pastors, missionaries, and entire partner churches take advantage of the theologically sound, economical and convenient courses, but now that the entire world has been forced online, ProMETA has emerged as a front runner in Latin America. I'm currently conversing with them on possibilities for new UWM missionaries to join them and ways that ProMETA can engage the needs of the rural Guatemalan churches. In discussing how COVID lockdowns have affected Latin ministry, one missionary commented "ProMETA's biggest problem right now is wiping that silly grin off their faces as we all try to figure out how to do what they've already been doing for years!" PLEASE PRAY for ProMETA, the missionaries and staff serving there and for wisdom as we consider with ProMETA's leadership on how we can work together to serve the church in Guatemala and throughout Latin America.   Likewise, please keep the Abegg Family in your prayers as we work with both missionaries and national ministries throughout Central America and the Caribbean where COVID continues to impact the population in a disastrous way. Lockdowns not only decimate fragile economies but render countless churches (most of which number below 50 members) unable to support their pastors and are faced with losing the very properties they meet in.  As a family we're looking for new members to join our work in this region. The economic challenges have meant both increased expenses and a loss of some supporters facing economic difficulties. We'll be sharing more in the coming weeks about in-depth opportunities to understand our work, but as always, feel free to reach out to us in advance, we're always thrilled to share what God is doing through your partnership with us.  See below for contact & support information.  I'd like to share an encouragement I sent to the missionaries in our region a while back, I hope you as well will find it uplifting during a time when we are surrounded by discouraging news:    As we look forward, there's constant chatter of a "new normal". These words are usually seasoned with tones of resignation, grief and disappointment. They just don't taste right when paired with anticipation or optimism (unless you're a producer of masks or provide online meeting platforms).  Still, I see in the Psalms, the Prophets and throughout scripture how suffering and hope are often pared in ways we wouldn't anticipate or choose, and like a masterful chef, God brings something unexpected out of peculiar ingredients.  I've recently marveled how the 1st century Church in Acts gives us real-life examples of believers, in the midst of Roman occupation and suffering themselves, carry a message of hope to an oppressed and lost world.   We are presented with a time that included sheltering in place (the upper room and meeting in secret in Acts 2 & Acts 12), fleeing persecution, imprisonment, death by stoning (Acts 8-12), the sword and colosseum animals… but at the heart of it all was a Gospel centered confidence that extended beyond the grave... Continue reading full article... Join Our Team   Prayer Team  If you're reading this, you're in, so keep praying! Also... we'd love to hear from you. Let us know how we can be praying whether through an email or connect with us on What'sApp. Our work is 100% funded through donors like yourself. If you aren't already part of our financial team,  Give Online UWM-Missionary Support Page   Give via US Mail  Mail check with accompanying note stating: "For the Abegg Family" to: 205 Regency Executive Park Dr. Suite 430, Charlotte, NC 28217 Give Via Phone Dial 800-825-5896 and talk to a very helpful person! In His Hands / En Sus manos; Kevin S. Abegg UWM/LAM Regional Leader Central America & Caribbean

I’d like to share an encouragement I sent to the missionaries in our region a while back, I hope you as well will find it encouraging during a time when we seem to be surrounded by discouraging news: 

And Our Lives Today

As we look forward, there’s constant chatter of a “new normal”. These words are usually seasoned with tones of resignation, grief and disappointment. They just don’t taste right when paired with anticipation or optimism (unless you’re a producer of masks or provide online meeting platforms).  Still, I see in the Psalms, the Prophets and throughout scripture how suffering and hope are often pared in ways we wouldn’t anticipate or choose, and like a masterful chef, God brings something unexpected out of peculiar ingredients.  I’ve recently marveled how the 1st century Church in Acts gives us real-life examples of believers, in the midst of Roman occupation and suffering themselves, carry a message of hope to an oppressed and lost world.   We are presented with a time that included sheltering in place (the upper room and meeting in secret in Acts 2 & Acts 12), fleeing persecution, imprisonment, death by stoning (Acts 8-12), the sword and colosseum animals… but at the heart of it all was a Gospel centered confidence that extended beyond the grave. A call of God’s mercy not only to the Jews as it had been for generations, but one that crossed racial and tribal lines. None of this was “business as usual” for the Jewish believers as members of the early church. Prior to the cross, the thought of receiving Gentiles as equals was unthinkable. Still, there was a fresh understanding of the God given continuity that didn’t start with Moses but stretched all the way back to Adam. God’s purposes had not changed since creation, they just weren’t immediately recognized by those who followed Him. Salvation was no longer just for the Jews, but the Gentiles as well. It was literally being poured out on their very Roman oppressors (Acts 10) and the traitorous Samaritans (Acts 8). This was not how the children of Abraham thought it would be. (See Peter’s testimony to the Jerusalem church in Acts 11). Step by step, God faithfully lead the apostles and the church in the direction He had planned from creation, ultimately extending His mercy to every nation, tribe and tongue (Rev 7:9).  

 

As we live through our current unique time and trials, like the early Church we must remember, and find hope in the continuity that has existed throughout scripture and throughout history. And like our forefathers, we are called to step forward in faith and follow God in new, often uncomfortable or even potentially dangerous ways. I encourage you to read Acts in its entirety. Already done so? Then read it again! Prayerfully look for how God addresses and annihilates first century walls of sin, fear, isolation, separation, segregation, exclusion, hopelessness, oppression and racism, using even sickness and death itself to bring His people where He can use them best. His Word and His plan have not changed one iota, but perhaps like the children of Israel, our understanding and attitude on how to follow Him in this “new normal” needs an adjustment. Though we ourselves wouldn’t combine the ingredients of suffering and mercy or even grief and grace on the same plate, our eternal Lord knows how to unite these and so much more for His glory and the eternal good of His people.