🌎 The Abeggs -Giving Tuesday

View this email in your browser Love Letters from the Abeggs:  "…to those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: May Mercy, Peace, and Love be multiplied to you." (Jude 1:1) Your Gift today on Giving Tuesday and through the end of the year will benefit Church Plants, Equipping Pastors and the Rescue and Care of Victims of Sex Trafficking throughout Central America & the Caribbean As we move beyond Thanksgiving and anticipate the celebration of our Savior's birth, Claudia and I are thankful for you, our faithful supporters and ask you to prayerfully consider joining us today, Giving Tuesday and through the end of the year in reaching our goal of $10,000 to help meet the needs of travel and ministry with, to and through our Latin Partners. Below you'll find a link to our Missionary Support Page as well as other ways to give, and you can see our recent News Letter Archive for more on our recent projects.  Each of you are an essential part of this team! Please pray for the Lord's provision as we work to wrap up this year and prepare for the next.  Partner With Us: Our work with and through believers in Central America is only possible with your prayer and financial support:  Prayer Team: Send us note to let us know you're praying for us, and let us know how we can be praying for you.  Financial Support Team: To join or learn more, visit: Abegg Missionary Support Page Give via US Mail: Send a 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. For past issues of our newsletters and other posts visit our Blog.

🌎 Dominican & Latin Church Planting

Love Letters from the Abeggs:  "…to those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: May Mercy, Peace, and Love be multiplied to you." (Jude 1:1) Church Planting in the Dominican Republic & Latin America… Scrawled on the entrance to a church in the Dominican Republic: "…if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." -Joshua 24:15 Last week I shared about the development of UWM's "Training Hubs" focused on the long-term preparation and discipleship of leaders within the Latin Church as well as equipping the next generation. This Latin America wide project begins with 5 primary initiatives: Pastoral Formation and Leadership: See previous newsletter. Church Planting: Below Spiritual Formation and Renewal: Upcomming newsletters… Cros Cultural Training/Missions Ministry Sustainability Church Planting: Throughout the major cities of Latin America one can often find a "church" (or multiple) on every block, but because of the lack of pastoral training which I addressed in our previous newsletter, many of these churches present a distorted if not heretical gospel, often focused on a "prosperity doctrine" with unbiblical promises of health and wealth. At the same time, most of the rural towns throughout these countries have little or no presence of the gospel, much less healthy and biblically sound churches. Years ago, while serving in Chile, I had the blessing of surveying towns in the Altiplano (Andean high planes) on the Bolivian boarder in order to confirm the need for healthy churches. Many of these towns had at most one historic catholic church that a priest would visit once a year. No discipleship, no regular Biblical teaching, and no presence of a healthy, biblically-sound church. The catholic church buildings were used as community centers & markets for much of the year, and in some occasions even saw attendees regress to pagan sacrifices within their very walls. (For more on this "syncretism" and blending of beliefs, see 10/28/21 newsletter).  As with the mountain villages of Chile, rural Central American & Caribbean towns are in desperate need of healthy church plants, preferably by nationals trained in the Gospel and then supported by an ongoing network of pastors. 2019 Visit with Dominican Republic Church Planting Teams This Friday (God and hurricane Nicole permitting) Claudia and I will depart and spend the next week with a team of church planters & pastoral equippers reaching the rural areas around Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic. The church plants these teams are working with need the theological, practical and personal support we're developing via the "training hubs" throughout Latin America, and we're humbled to work with and care for families currently dedicating their lives to this Kingdom cause. The last day will be dedicated to visiting, learning from and encouraging existingDominican national ministries, and clarifying how as partner organizations we can better cooperate in our efforts of reaching areas that do not have healthy churches. Please pray for our time in the Dominican Republic. Pray for our training and planning times with the UWM team, our visits to the rural churches and our plans to develop and deepen partnerships with other ministries focused on church planting in the DR and throughout Latin America. Jarabacoa and the surrounding villages are located in the central mountainous region of the Dominican Republic. Hurricane Season ENDS Nov. 30… Today:  Hurricane Nicole could derail our plans for Friday to depart for the Dominican Republic and our Church Planting teams visits and training. Please pray for God's protection wherever the storm makes landfall in the next 8 hrs.  Additional Praises & Prayers: Thank you to those praying for Claudia and my strength and health during this season of travel. Please pray for this final trip of the year and for rest when we take a long awaited vacation in early December. Pray that we would be able to exemplify Christ and point others toward Him, whether the teams we're training or the people we sit next to in our travels.  Year End Opportunities  Help Us Advance the Gospel Along with the increased costs everyone is experiencing, our own ministry expenses have gone up significantly including travel such as next week's visit to the Dominican Republic.  As we pray for anticipated needs in 2023 we've set a year end goal of an additional $10,000 to help with the projects such as Training Hubs and all the necessary travel. Our hope is to have the freedom to bring refreshment as well as provide training and equipping sessions wherever we go.  I'll send a reminder before Giving Tuesday, but if you'd like to get a jump on this as a tax deductible gift, and help with some of our immediate expenses, please find our support link below. Each of you are an essential part of this team! Please pray for the Lord's provision as we work to wrap up this year and prepare for the next.  Partner With Us: Our work with and through believers in Central America is only possible with your prayer and financial support:  Prayer Team: Send us note to let us know you're praying for us, and let us know how we can be praying for you.  Financial Support Team: To join or learn more, visit: Abegg Missionary Support Page Give via US Mail: Send a 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. For past issues of our newsletters and other posts visit our Blog.  Recent Milestones: 25 years of marriage & Claudia's 50th Birthday!

🌎 Equipping Latin Pastors & Leaders Now & For the Future

View this email in your browser Love Letters from the Abeggs:  "…to those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you." (Jude 1:1) Training Hub Development Team -Medellin, Colombia Equipping Future Leaders Our meetings in Colombia for "Training Hub" planning were fantastic, as we prepared for the long-term training, development, and discipleship of current leaders within the Latin Church and preparing the next generation of leadership. Over the decades the Latin Church has and continues to mature, and like personal discipleship, the US Church's partnership with these organizations must mature as well. Many Latin denominations and ministries planted by missionaries decades ago are now excelling on their own, have their own gifts and require a more mature type of collaboration. Not so different from adult children, who remain part of the family but now relate more as peers in comparison to when they were young. If a parent or ministry never moves beyond the childhood relationship, there's something grossly wrong with the parenting. What's more, they will miss out on all that these new partners have to share, encourage and teach their own parents! As with our own boys' "launching" over these past few years, the opportunities before UWM are exciting yet challenging. Our time in Colombia clarified five major focal points for the coming year, but also the wealth of experienced Latin ministries at our side. Over the next few newsletters, I'll touch on each of these five areas, starting today with: Pastoral Formation and Leadership -Throughout Latin America there are countless pastors faithfully serving without having been equipped theologically or practically. Thankfully during our time together, we identified no less than 30 ministries, most of them Latin, that focus on everything from "brick and mortar" seminaries to non-formal, mobile or online theological training and equipping of pastors. Theological training is foundational and prepares a pastor and those he disciples to understand God's word and plan for His church and His people. Still, contextualization of the message (making it understandable in other cultures) without compromising Gospel/Biblical truth is essential, and takes a knowledge of both theology and the target culture. The ministries we've identified are experts in these areas, and rather than exclusively relying on materials, methods and teachers form a N. American context, these national ministries can meet the needs within their Latin context, avoiding many of the cultural differences that can be so challenging. To top it all off, most are already partners with UWM and can be connected through the network God has blessed us with over the past century, amplifying their impact significantly. Please keep the "Hub Development Team", as well as our Latin Ministry partners in your prayers. Pray for discernment, ability to connect the needs with the providers and an ease of communication across many borders. More on the other 4 areas we're focusing on in future installments including: Church Planting Spiritual Formation and Renewal Cros Cultural Training/Missions Ministry Sustainability Regional Online Conference Our Central America and Caribbean region of United World Mission usually comes together for a conference every 2 years to encourage, equip and assist missionaries. Due to the pandemic, we haven't been able to do so since 2018, but we're looking forward to finally gathering again in March. Please keep those significant conference preparations in your prayers. Claudia and I did however manage to work in an abbreviated "online conference" two weeks ago and were greatly encouraged at how it turned out. We each took a morning to lead the region in a devotional from Scripture, provide an overview of UWM's work in the region and globally and then brought in nine guest "presenters" on different topics over the two days. The response has been encouraging and provided the means to push through these next 5 months until we can finally gather face to face! 2018 Regional Conference …What a goofy, God honoring bunch we are blessed with! Year End Opportunities  to Engage with Us Along with the increased costs everyone is experiencing, our own travel and ministry expenses have gone up.  As we pray about upcoming needs in 2023 we've decided to set a year end goal of an additional $10,000 to help with the above-mentioned projects, essential training, and overall equipping of leaders. I'll send a reminder before Giving Tuesday, but if you'd like to know more about any particular project, please send me a note, I'd love to share specifics with you and even consider other ways you or your church could be involved. If you'd like to get a jump on year end giving, please find our support link below. Each of you, our prayer and financial supporters, are an essential part of this team! Please pray for the Lord's guidance and covering as we work to prepare for the needs and the work as we wrap up this year and prepare for the next.  Additional Praises & Prayers: Thank you to those praying for Claudia and my healthduring this strenuous season of travel. We've seen healing in some challenging areas and have avoided any significant illnesses. Please continue praying for endurance as we finish up our visitations for the year and take a long awaited vacation in early December. Pray that in all circumstances, be they joyful or challenging, we would always point to and exemplify Christ, trusting Him to multiply our efforts for His glory and the good of His people. Partner With Us: Our work with and through believers in Central America is only possible with your prayer and financial support:  Prayer Team: Send us note to let us know you're praying for us, and let us know how we can be praying for you.  Financial Support Team: To join or learn more, visit: Abegg Missionary Support Page Give via US Mail: Send a 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. For past issues of our newsletters and other posts visit our Blog.  Beautiful View Above Medellin, Colombia Copyright (C) 2022 United World Mission. All rights reserved. You are receiving this e-mail because you requested to be kept informed on the Abegg family and their ministry to those trapped in human trafficking.

🌎 Hurricanes, Strip Clubs, Leaders & the Gospel!

View this email in your browser Love Letters from the Abeggs:  "…to those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you." (Jude 1:1) What's Behind: Costa Rica: Though it's been a few weeks since our visit with ministries and missionaries in Costa Rica, we remain excited about developing projects including new Church plants, missionaries from Latin America to the world and partnerships with some aggressive anti-trafficking organizations. Please pray for God's guidance and the physical needs of those planting churches, rescuing the abused and sending Latin missionaries to areas of the world where US citizens can't gain entry.  UWM Global Conference for Regional Leaders: We returned last week from an intense but encouraging gathering with our global counterparts from Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America who care for and oversee UWM's 300+ missionaries and projects globally. It was an uplifting time of reflecting on events and projects of the past year, prayerfully planning for the year to come and working through challenges faced in advancing the Gospel around the world. Claudia and I came away hopeful and envisioned in several ways. We have the privilege to care for fellow missionaries throughout Central America and the Caribbean, and often feel stretched between this, our desire to see more advances in anti-human trafficking work in the region, pared with the necessary communication and inherent administrative needs in both of these areas. We're so thankful to see UWM's US-based staff working to relieve Regional Leaders of administrative burdens as much as possible, and free us all the more to focus on the field and ministry before us. Pray for greater freedom in ministry and discernment on where to place our energies, as well as where to not place them. Pray for UWM as a whole and the leaders, missionaries, churches and ministries we work with around the world. Pray for Claudia and I in Central America and all the missionaries, churches and organizations we have the privilege to work with and assist.  Hurricane Ian first took aim at Honduras, where we still have numerous ministries, churches, and missionaries recovering from last year's onslaught of storms. Thankfully, in God's mercy it turned North, but then headed toward our home in South Florida while we were away at the Global conference! We're thankful that friends and church members didn't need to include us in an emergency board-up marathon once again, yet we grieve and intercede for those two hours to our West who will be recovering for years to come. Join us in praying for God's mercy on those who are suffering, and for His church in these areas to be shining lights of immediate and eternal hope in the face of so much loss.  Scarlet Hope work days and planning meetings: Claudia and I are partnering with and assisting a relatively new, and desperately needed ministry to South Florida that reaches women being trafficked as well as those on the brink who fill the strip clubs throughout Miami. Please be in prayer for this fantastic ministry, for Liz Pino the SH-Miami director, and for the women being reached. We're in the final phases of setting up the Scarlet Hope Ministry Center, and you can help no matter where you are thanks to various wish lists to help fulfill the needs. Take a look and consider helping us get one step closer to opening! Amazon Wishlist Ikea Wishlist Etsy Wishlist What's Ahead: Medellin Colombia: Tomorrow Claudia and I fly to Medellin Colombia where we'll gather with regional leaders from South America and Mexico as well as partner ministry coordinators from Latin America as we move ahead with a project we're calling "Regional Training Hubs". The developing concept is to seek out and network experts throughout Latin America in order to help develop and train Gospel leadership in the Church and Para-Church of Latin America. For a century Latin America Mission (now United World Mission) has worked to assist national ministries in "taking the next step". We're rejoicing in this opportunity to continue with these values and priorities as we work alongside our Latin brothers and sisters in some new and challenging ways. Pray for wisdom, sensitivity to the Holy Spirit's direction, and for guidance as we work together on this exciting project.  Dominican Republic Church Planting Teams: In early November we'll be visiting and working with UWM missionary families in the Dominican Republic who are planting and working with various rural churches to develop pastors, leaders and multiply the body of Christ in the island.  Pray for these families and that our time together can be encouraging, envisioning, full of the Holy Spirit's equipping and empowering for the ongoing and challenging ministry of church planting.  Dominican Republic Team in 2019 A Humble Appeal for the Needed Support to Continue the Work: Over the past two years, for various reasons, some supporters have had to pause their financial giving though they continue to intercede for our work. We're extremely grateful for their prayer support along with the multitude of intercessors holding our arms up each day and directly contributing to the strengthening of the Church throughout Central America and the Caribbean.  This loss in income for us has come at a challenging time with projects throughout Latin America, upcoming conferences we'll be running, and the simple needs of a family as we launch Jeremy and Nico to college.  Would you please join us in prayer for God's provision in all these areas, and then consider if you might join our financial support team, helping to close the gap in our needs? (info and links below.)  Though this is a challenging time, we've been here before and seen God's faithful mercy provide and even use these challenges to direct our steps. We trust Him and are grateful for each of you.  Once we're back from Colombia I'll be able to share more, and would love to meet with those near us in person, or those far online to share about church planting, pastoral development, anti-trafficking and more. Send me a note and let's connect. Thank you for your encouragement, care, and support in so many ways, and as always, let us know how to be praying for you by responding to this email. God bless! Additional Prayers: Pray for Claudia and my health (we've been struggling with some physical challenges as of late). Pray for endurance and that we'd be an encouragement to each missionary and ministry we work with over these next few months. Pray that in all circumstances, be they joyful or working through difficulties, we would always point to and exemplify Christ in all circumstances, trusting Him to multiply each of our efforts for His glory and the good of His people. Remember, we love hearing from YOU, our teammates, and we're thrilled to know how to be praying for you. Send us a note whenever you can! Partner With Us in the Great Comission: Our work with and through believers in Central America is only possible with the prayer and financial support we receive from you, our partners:  Prayer Team: Send us note to let us know you're praying for us, and let us know how we can be praying for you.  Financial Support Team:  To join or learn more, visit: Abegg Missionary Support Page Give via US Mail: Send a 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. For past issues of our newsletters and other posts visit our Blog.