30, 60, 100 X!

In July the Abegg family took part in a reunion with the families of six life long friends from my UCSanta Cruz days ('88-'92). These men and their respective families have, and are serving the Lord literally in all corners of the globe. Dan McWilliams, the Intervarsity leader who put up with us all those years ago wrote about the time in his most recent news letter. Since I haven't uploaded any of my pictures or shared my thoughts on this time, I'll pass his along. (click on the image to enlarge). Praise the Lord with us in what He has, and continues to do through a group of radically different, goof-ball freshmen that He brought together in the very secular setting of Santa Cruz. He truly is a "God of Wonders"!

Reports from the Field - Medellin, CO

Being involved with both the North American and International Alliances department of Latin America Mission gives me a great view of many of the things that God is doing, but would never come out in the evening news or the Sunday paper. When I’m able I like to pass along the good news.

Alexis & Nicole Pineda serve as LAM missionaries in Medellin Colombia. They work with our partner ministry Open Arms Foundation reaching street kids with the truth and healing of the Gospel. In their most recent news letter they shared the following testimony:

Alexis and Daniela at the Girls’ Home

Daniela is now 17 years old. When she was just a baby, her father died. Since her mother was living in the streets at the time, she was then raised by her grandparents (her father’s parents). She had always thought that her grandparents were her parents, but when she was 11 years old, her grandmother told her the truth about her mother living in the streets and her father dying many years ago.

Daniela’s grandparents are Christians, and they always took her to church. Once Daniela found out the truth about her parents, she asked God to let her meet her mother (she had only seen her in photos). Daniela ran away from home several times in search of her mother. One day, a few days after she returned back home from the streets, her grandmother took her to church to be baptized. A month later, she ran away to the streets again. She was then 13 years old and already knew how to get around much of the city. That same day, she found her mother. She hugged her mother tightly and didn’t want to let go. Her mother then took her to where she lived in a motel room. A couple of hours later, some men arrived and raped Daniela. Her mother had sold her for just a small amount of Colombian pesos because she needed money to buy drugs. Her mother then gave her marijuana so that she would forget about what happened, and so that she would do it again. If she wanted to live with her mother, she had to prostitute herself to pay for food and her mother’s drugs.

After a period of time, Daniela decided to leave her mother, but she was already trapped by the life of the streets. She began to live in a little cave along the dirty, brown Medellin River. She worked at night and rested during the day. She took in some little street boys and took care of them and they took care of her. They called her “mom”.

She then went and lived in a motel for a while, and was found and sent to the Open Arms Foundation. She has been living at our Casa Helena Girls’ Home since February 2011. It has not been easy for her and she has wanted to run away and return to the streets several times, but she has persevered. During the early morning devotions, she started to ask for prayer for herself because she had such a strong desire to change but it was so difficult.

She then began to be more active in the Foundation church and to participate in the devotions. She wants to have a good future, and she says that Jesus has given her hope. She knows, however, that she needs to be reconciled to God, and she has asked for help in this. In August, Alexis began to lead Daniela in a process of forgiveness and reconciliation. The Foundation’s Robledo Church (located at the Casa Helena Girls’ Home) will hold a special reconciliation ceremony for her when she is ready. She is very nervous, but very excited, too.

This is just one example of what God is doing. Thank you so much for your prayers and support because you are helping give hope to many kids like Daniela.

Please keep the Pineda’s, those they serve and the many other ministries served by LAM missionaries in your prayers. Likewise, I covet your prayers for the work we do at LAM’s Miami Service Office in order to forge new partnerships, maintain the network we already have and support missionaries to, within and from Latin America.

In His Hands / En Sus manos;

Kevin S. Abegg

Hurricane IRENE

Could make for an interesting week in South Florida!

Summer Visitations I

I spent nearly all the month of July away from the office. In some ways that was wonderful. I love my co-workers, but when your heart is on the mission field, it's hard to connect the dots between e-mails, phone call and strategic planning meetings to how the Gospel is being spread in Central and South America. As I covered ground from Miami to Southern California to Tijuana to Mexico City then back up North I had the best of intentions to update our supporters while traveling, yet I find myself back at my desk and having worked right up to Friday afternoon without having carved out the time to "tweet" or even "peep", so this will be more of an end of the week "grunt" in anticipation of more "meat" next week.

One of my stops was Mexico City. LAM's president Steve Johnson, along with our Ministries Department coordinator Marcos Guerra and I met with the Staff of "Spearhead", LAM's traditional summer/year out/two year out short term program that functions more as in depth missionary training. See: http://www.spearhead.org. We had a number of long days discussing the situation as well as the "perceived" situation in Mexico, various structural and leadership changes and how we can improve and possibly export what is already an amazing program. It's times like these that give perspective to the work that goes on in the office. Spending time with those we serve logistically, spiritually and in other ways reminds me of how exciting my work is as we work to be a healthy link between the North American Church and the Latin Churches and ministries that are caring out the Great Commission. If you'd like to see one of the participant's impressions of Spearhead go to: http://youtu.be/LzI6DxbhZXM

Before I close I just have to show you the room I had while in Mexico, it was very ...vivid!

Strategic Alliances for Global Missions

Latin America Mission has traditionally (and obviously) focused on "Strategic Alliances" (partnerships) within Latin America (not rocket science given our name). However, as many of the ministries we work with (some for nearly 100 years) have moved from inception on to maturity, what it means to partner with them has obviously grown and changed as well, giving way to a much more global understanding and practice of fulfilling the Great Commission.

What do I mean by this? Well, most people are aware of the Gospel need within the "10/40 window" (primarily countries located within the latitudes of 10 degrees North and 40 degrees North). Many of these countries also happen to be at odds with the U.S. and by default US citizens, making it more than difficult for those with a US passport to minister there, but not so for Latin Americans who are for the most part received and welcomed. A "Global" approach to missions understands the need for a new type of partnership that shares in giftings, resources, networks and abilities that can enable those most equipped for the front lines to be on the front lines. Hence a Latin Missions Movement. Those who were previously on the receiving end of missions are increasingly able to be senders, but re-inventing the wheel would be counter productive. Hence, a new type of "Strategic Alliance" between N. America, the Latin Church and into the rest of the world. But more on this later, there are potential pitfalls. For now, I want to simply introduce you to "partners to our partners" or ministries that our partners are working with and through, If nothing else, for now its a great, immediate resource to those who are prayer warriors:

Libya needs prayer, if your so inclined please check out: http://www.pray4libya.net/ . This has been set up as a gathering point for prayer requests for a country, and a people desperately in need of God's intervention and our intercession. I encourage you to check it out.

God bless and thank you for your prayers and encouragement.

-Kevin

Generations of God's faithfulness in Costa Rica

While I was in Costa Rica over the past two weeks with LAM’s Ministry Team (yeah, I haven’t been good on sending out updates), Valdir Franca our director of International Partnerships taught from Matthew 1, the genealogy of Jesus. Now that may seem like a difficult text to draw application from, but one of his points was how God works through those who the world would otherwise dismiss. If you read through this text you will come across prostitutes, non Jews (an unthinkable thing at the time) and adulterous relationships. Not exactly the cream of the crop if you’re looking to promote genealogical pride or purity. But Matthew was making a different point. He was showing that God was at work in unlikely ways, though unlikely people in unlikely circumstances.

I was blessed in being able to see God’s hand at work through similarly unlikely people in a story that continues to be written in Costa Rica, branching throughout Latin America and to the rest of the world. Nearly 100 years ago LAM was born in Costa Rica through a series of ministries established by Harry and Susan Strachan. Orphanages, medical clinics, Bible schools and many more. We visited nearly 20 ministries during our time in San Jose and I was continually amazed at what God has done throughout the last century in protecting the Gospel foundations and evangelical heart of these organizations that serve thousands of peoples hearts minds and souls.

LAM missionary Estelita Cevallos is a fiery Ecuadorian that the Lord called to Chaplin at Clinica Biblica (Bible Clinic) when it was a small medical clinic. It’s now a sprawling medical center recognized as one of the 5 most modern hospitals in Latin America and recognized as on par (or surpassing) North American standards. They continue providing affordable service to those who cannot otherwise afford care. This is balanced with the “medical tourists” from around the world to are willing to pay for procedures they cannot afford in their own country.

We spent time with Shellie Rice serving at “Fundacion Rahab” named after the prostitute listed in Jesus genealogy (See Mat 1:5). Here “women at risk” find care, conseling and can obtain marketable skills that provide a long term income and an alternative to prostitution.

We spent time with at Roble Alto which has many branches of it’s own including a school that both provides quality education to children of low income families while counseling and caring for those very families hearts, minds and souls. In this way the children and their families are given an understanding of their value to God and tools to provide for themselves and bless their communities.

At Roble Alto we met up with LAM missionary David Longworth, now working with Glorioso Dia Children's home. David is standing in front of a picture of his mom (as a young woman) working with children at Roble Alto Hogar Biblico. That's generations of faith, commitment and service!

In every case, I was impressed at how a solid, Biblical foundation accompanied by long term faith and work have been richly blessed by the Lord. These ministries did not spring up over night and accomplish something grand, but have developed over time (some of them a century) and generations that have followed Christ's example, seeking God’s glory by "considering others..." (especially those of lesser means, education etc,) "...better than themselves" (see Phillippians 2:3). It gives me hope for the future and a joy in what the Lord has called us to today, knowing that though we may not get to see the fruit of what we’re planting, in God’s time, and under His hands, there will be a harvest.

If you want to learn a little more about LAM’s history, please see: http://www.lam.org/about/history

Servant & Follower of a Tireless Lord

It's good to know that God never tires, gets "moody" or forgets where the car keys are. I've been thinking about that recently and how it's also very good that I'm NOT God. God doesn't have "intentions". He speaks and it's done. In a one week brief auditory lecture God brought everything into being that exists. I can barely create a cup of coffee in the morning without accidentally putting salt into Claudia's cup instead of sugar. (It hasn't happened yet, but I've come dangerously close).

God also has a perfect balance of work and rest (He initiated the idea). I find myself struggling lately to prioritize my work, which just happens to serve missionaries similar to myself as they do what God has called them to do. It is increasingly difficult to balance this work and my time with family, church, home repairs, communication with supporters (hence the amount of time from my last entry) and get some rest in there at some point. Yet in this all God has a perfect balance. A balance which I continue to seek in this life and will fully experience in the next. I don't believe we'll be floating around playing a harp in Heaven. Like Jeremy and Nico, there daddy would be too tempted to shoot Nerf arrows from the harp strings and probably get kicked off my cloud for hitting a Seraphim or something! God designed work pre-sin. Adam and Eve were called to dedicate themselves to caring for the garden, so it would stand to reason that we will do work in the new creation. But this will be fruitful, productive work where every effort undertaken will have the intended, glorified results since sin and its influences will reign no more. A welcome thought as I survey the bunk beds I'm building in my garage...supposedly a Christmas present to the boys.

But enough of my rambling, my point was balance. Balance of work, rest and overall responsibility. I enjoy what I do as work because I get to see many ways the Kingdom of God is advanced not only in Latin America but throughout the world. I have the privilege of working with and assisting ministries that are evangelizing future believers and training present leaders in the Gospel. We also get to partner with ministries in Latin America that are sending Latin Missionaries to countries that a North American simply does not have access to. Places familiar to me like Cuba or unreachable such as many countries in the 10/40 window where someone with a North American Passport simply cannot go. I have the privilege of taking part in a "global partnership" to reach the world with the Gospel, and I love it!!! So that's where the temptation comes in. I love what I do, but in order to honor God (and simply survive) as I do it, I need to embrace His balance for my life. We see in Genesis that God loved what he did in creation proclaiming it "Good" and "Very Good", yet even He rested. What makes me think I cold ever do any different? I desperately need Him to pour into me if I can ever hope to have anything to give to others.

Like I said: "It's good that I'm not God" but it's also good of God to give me Himself as my savior, my hope and my strength, not to mention an example of how to live the very life He gave me.

God bless!
-Kevin