Ministry Prayer Needs:

Over the past few months it’s been exciting to work with many LAM missionaries and associate ministries as they seek to respond to God’s call. The following are a few items that I would ask you to lift up in prayer:

• I am exploring how to send a pastor working in the US and his family back Panama to continue working with, and ministering to fledgling churches of the Embera tribe (his tribe of birth). This tribe was used as actors in order to portray the Auca tribe of Ecuador involved in the martyrdom of young missionaries including Jim Elliot in the movie End of the Spear. Please pray for wisdom and key partnerships in Panama that will allow this to move forward.
• Since I was blacklisted by the Cuban government a few years back I have continued to encourage our associate ministries throughout Latin America in their own involvement in Cuba. I am excited about the possibility of having someone who has worked on these projects with me in the past return to the MSO next year in order to dedicate themselves full time to these projects. Please pray for this person (name withheld for their security) as they finish up studies, and raise their support. Please pray for me as I renew contacts and lay the groundwork for this ministry, preparing to increase LAM’s involvement in Cuba.
• I’ve had the privilege to assist one of our missionary families working in Brazil recently. We believe the Lord has strategically placed them through their ministry, and LAM through our partnerships to help prepare local churches for the 2014 World Cup Soccer Games and 2016 Olympics that Brazil will be hosting. Brazil has a complicate past in dealing with Children at Risk (street kids) and Women at Risk (primarily prostitutes). LAM works with multiple ministries throughout Latin America, many of which have already expressed interest in working together to not only help minimize the damage and abuse to these groups of people during these events, but to share eternal hope and immediate help with those who know neither of these. Please pray for wisdom for all involved in what will undoubtedly be a massive project incorporating partners from throughout Latin America, North America and around the globe.
• We have various missionaries in transition at this point, some of whom are changing ministries in the same country, others changing countries but with the same ministry focus (children, church planting, Christian camping, Biblical/Theological education, etc), all of whom need assistance from the ministry department in order to re-engage them in serving the Latin Church or reaching the lost with the Good News as quickly as possible. Please pray for the Ministry Department at LAM where I serve as we provide guidance, assistance and in some cases healing to these other missionaries in transition.

Prayer

Simple and straight forward: WE NEED YOUR PRAYERS

Some of you have been praying for the Abegg family for years. Thank you…a true, from the bottom of the heart, THANK YOU! We receive support in numerous ways including monthly monetary donations, emotional support through letters, phone calls or e-mails, and spiritual support through prayer and intercession. Right now I want to emphasize the importance of these prayers and ask each of you to pray and petition the Lord in a few specific ways:

For the MSO (Miami Service Office) where we serve with LAM:

• Software transition and the finance department: The MSO is responsible for receiving and receipting all gifts for all missionaries as well as any projects they or their associate ministry are doing. On any given month one family may receive 20 to 50 gifts of varying amounts. Multiply this by 100 and you have only the missionary part of the equation without considering the hundreds of associate ministries we serve. This must all be sent internationally and again, receipted. The software we were using has been on it’s last legs, so a month ago we began the training and supposedly “seamless” transition. Unfortunately the seam has come unraveled in Grand Canyon proportions essentially paralyzing that department and taxing the IT department in unprecedented ways. Yet even in this, God provided. By His design, Rob Johnson was visiting from Phoenix for a few days, and one of his many expertise is in assisting with problematic software transitions. He came for a few days but stayed a month. We are still not fully out of the woods, but we can see daylight. Please pray and intercede for the transition process to come to completion and the ability for the finance department to then catch up on all receipts (if you’ve given toward our account recently and have not received a receipt, please know that it will be generated and sent out soon).

• Helping Missionaries stay on the field: The downturn in the economy has hit nearly everyone hard, but missionaries have had an especially difficult time as partnering families or churches face their own struggles and need to lower their support. This however becomes an extremely problematic situation when a faithfully serving missionary family must contemplate returning home for lack of support. In order to prevent this we at the MSO are helping missionaries communicate better through websites, social networking sites and even Youtube. Yet the software problems I mentioned above have slowed these efforts in many ways. Please pray and intercede for the missionaries in general (ourselves included) as they seek to keep their support at a level that will keep them on the field. Also pray that the work of those at the MSO would be fruitful in our attempts to assist them.

For the Abegg Family:

• We recently received news that one of our main supporting churches is going through the tough times I described above resulting in lowering our support by about $400/month. We fully understand their reasons and know it was a difficult decision to make. We are praying for all of our supporters, be they families, individuals or churches and appreciate immensely the sacrificial giving in allowing us to serve the many Latin ministries we are involved with. Right now we realistically need to replace that support as well as others who have had to lower or discontinue their gifts over the past year. Please pray and intercede for supporters and churches that are suffering financially, and for others to “step into the gap” and help us cover the monthly needs in order to keep serving the church throughout Latin America. If you would like to consider partnering with us you can easily do so through online donations or a printable donation form.

Link to a Printable Donation Form. (click link for mail in donation form)

Link to Online Donation page (click link for online credit/debit card

Thank you for your prayers. We know the Lord will answer and we pray He blesses you as well.

"On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many."

2 Corinthians 1:10-12