🌎 Cent. America Ministry & Leadership Training

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) Greetings Friends and Partners in the Gospel… I'm writing you from N. Carolina as we prepare for UWM's Regional Leader Conference. This is a yearly gathering of our counterpart Regional Leaders from around the globe, and a time of reviewing projects, focusing on current needs if the Global Church in various regions, and preparing for the years to come. Claudia and I always look forward to this time of fellowship and working through the challenges before each of us involved in cross-cultural ministry. We ask that you join us in prayer, particularly this year as Claudia and I recognize the need to make changes in reducing our areas of responsibility and breadth of focus. There are no lack of ministerial needs within the mission, or in response to the Great Commission as a whole, so we are seeking the Lord's wisdom and the Holy Spirit's guidance during this week and as it relates to the coming years. One of the projects we are particularly encouraged by is the formation of Leadership Training Hubs, which I've shared on since our planning events in Colombia last October. The focus of these "hubs" is to engage the Latin Church (as well as other global partners) by connecting and networking existing, healthy organizations in support of one another and as a means of meeting each other's needs. As I often say, Latin America has been evangelized, which is the first step in "making disciples of all nations". Evangelism campaigns and water programs are important but should be a means to long-term discipleship and development of Christian leaders whose focus is building God's kingdom. Anything else is simply not "missions" in line with the Great Commission. For that, we need well trained nationals who can, in turn, train others to make disciples of all nations, beginning with their own. Please pray for wisdom as we dig into the next phases of these Training Hub Programs and clarify how to better train more trainers in their own cultural contexts. California Visit in 2 weeks! Following the RL Conference Claudia and I will be in the San Francisco Bay area for Walnut Creek Presbyterian's missions conference during the week of Oct. 2nd. If you're in the area consider joining us for: ·     Th. 10/5 @ 6:30 PM as we share on ministry inLatin America. Visit the link: WCPCMissions Night for more info. ·     Sat 10/7 @ 4 PM for my teaching on the Local & Global Church in Discipling the Nations, as well as Claudia giving an in-depth cooking demonstration. Visit the link: WorldOutreach Weekend to pre-register. Family Update: Unfortunately, we're unsure of what our time in CA will look like apart from the conference due to what I'll explain in the following prayer requests:   As a family update, please pray for our extended family in California. We continue anticipating the passing of my mom, Birgitta, as she's been on hospice for over 6 months, in the final stages of Alzheimer's. However, we also ask for your prayers for the Hohn family. Mark, the husband of my second cousin Jodi, unexpectedly passed away a few days ago, leaving the entire family in shock and grief. He leaves behind Jodi as well as his two adult daughters Dana and Kacy. Kacy and her family are fighting alongside one of their own daughters, Sydney who is battling and aggressive bone cancer. This is an unimaginably difficult season, so we ask that you join us in pleading for the Lord's mercy. If you'd like to send a note or follow along as you intercede, please see Kacy's FB posts at: https://www.facebook.com/kacy.engle. One more prayer request is for fellow missionary Joe McCroskey as he battles a brain tumor. The McCroskey's were missionaries in Pichilemu, Chile when Scott & I first visited in '93, and then when I moved there to help with the church plant in '96. They are dear old friends and faithful servants walking through a difficult time. You can follow, and find prayer requests for them at: Joe McC's health update. Please pray as well for:    Financial support Claudia and I are so grateful for our intercessors who continue to engage in spiritual warfare and prayer to see His "kingdom come & will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven…".  Your prayers for our for our work are a blessing beyond measure! We're also grateful for those who have chosen to financially support us in our ministry. Please pray for the Lord's provision in the midst of a difficult current workload. Please pray as well and for the Lord's guidance, blessing and encouragement for all of those like you who make up our prayer, financial and relational support teams scattered around the globe! Thank you so much for your intercession, your financial support and your ongoing encouragement as we seek to follow the Lord in being obedient to His Great Commission. - Kevin & Claudia Abegg Join our Team 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.

🌎 Cent. America Leadership Training & the Great Commission

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) Greetings Friends and Partners in the Gospel… It's been a busy summer. Thank you to those who have been praying for our travels and particularly our time with Ministry Partners and missionaries throughout Honduras. Here's a few details as well as a family update: We arrived in San Pedro Sula, Honduras at dusk, and though we had a local friend  guiding us, navigating the dark streets took hours due to the rolling blackouts  the country is currently suffering.  The next morning we jumped into meetings with GCLA or "Iglesia Gran Comisión Latinoamérica" (Great Commission Church Latin America), a denomination that UWM, and previously Latin America Mission has partnered with on many projects. Over the decades UWM has connected GCLA with other partners in Latin America to develop a theological education system for pastors and leaders, and provide micro-enterprise training in various countries.  As we sat with Pastor Dennis and his wife, we were encouraged at the many ways they, their church and denomination as a whole can benefit from, and contribute to the developing network of Latin Ministries for the "LeadershipTraining Hubs" I shared about a few months back. We're inviting them and other Latin leaders to various Leadership Training Conferences beginning this fall. Please keep each of these participants in your prayers as well as the necessary funding to assist with their international travel. Children's after school program at the GCLA Church in Danli, a town on the "immigration trail" from South America to the US boarder. A significant part of this GCLA Church's efforts are dedicated to displaced families, single mothers and families who's husbands/fathers have "disappeared" after heading North in search of better jobs. Please pray for those working hard to extend God's Kingdom and the Great Comission under challenging situations. Part of our visitations with GCLA included a tour of a bilingual school in San Pedro Sula. Pastor Chavarria and Pastor Lagos introduced us to many of the staff, and explained how whenever possible, new church plants whether in Honduras, throughout Latin America or even in US Spanish speaking populations, are accompanied with a school, a health clinic and at times a basic trade school (carpentry, welding etc.) in order to minister to the physical needs of a community as they grow in the Gospel. In most Central American rural areas, there is a significant lack of education or even a basic hospital. These institutions, developed in conjunction with a Church and worshiping community, are a means to function as the "Body of Christ" in a world suffering the wages of sin on every level. Thank you for your prayers for these projects! Pastor Lagos and Chavarria gave us a tour and introduced us to staff. GCLA churches often start with after-school children's programs that can grow into full-fledged, bilingual schools, broadening the possibilities for children of communities that often have few employment resources. During the following week, Claudia and I were in five different beds over six days, traveling from the very North coast of Honduras to the Southern border with Nicaragua. These days were a blur of meetings with denominations such as PrimeraIglesia Evangelica Reformada (First Evangelical Reformed Church), Amor Viviente (Living Love Church), and various other GCLA churches. Each of these organizations are carrying out church plants in their own unique strengths. With some, it's easy to identify how we can work alongside and connect them with other like-minded churches, both to receive as well as contribute towards Latin church planting, ministry sustainability, pastoral equipping, and education. With others it's often difficult to discern whether an individual pastor ascribes to a doctrine that leans in unhealthy directions (prosperity gospel for instance), or if they simply have never benefited from basic theological training, a common issue for rural pastors. In general, the latter can be quickly improved through the provision of "non-formal training", where pastors do not need to leave their posts but have training come to them. This is becoming a greater reality through UWM Partner organizations like Centro Esdras in Guatemala that take their education to these rural locations, or other partners such as Pro-Meta of Costa Rica provide online theological training around the world. Please pray for this growing endeavor, UWM's networking programs as well as these rural churches and pastors who desire healthier and deeper Biblical training. A few of the scenes as we traveled through Honduras (clockwise): 1) One really large locust!  2) Dinner of yummy papusas! 3) Less than optimal housing in the rural areas. 3) If the loads too heavy, just add more pressure to the tires! 4) Mountain range from San Pedro Sula. 5) Like loading the trucks, there's always room for a few more wires on any pole! Family Update: Nico continues working full-time at Canon Pres in Moscow, Idaho as a videographer and editor for podcasts, interviews, and documentaries. He's done extremely well over the past year as a tropically raised boy muscling through his first winter a stone's throw from Canada. If you're not familiar with Canon, I highly recommend you check out the"Riot and the Dance" nature documentary series which I describe as National Geographic quality from a solid Biblical perspective.  Nico continues to pick up odd jobs on the side including producing 10 interviews with some of the missionaries Claudia and I care for. You can see his work and learn about SETECA Seminary, a UWM partner ministry in Guatemala by visiting Nico's interview with the Corpeño family.   Jeremy is beginning his junior year at New St. Andrews College also in Moscow, ID. Thank you to those who prayed him through the intensive "World Journalism Institute" over the summer with World Magazine, another organization I can't recommend highly enough! After the 2 week intensive Biblical journalism training, Jeremy was offered a paid internship that ran for the rest of the summer! His editors wanted him to continue, but school takes priority. You can see part of his work at https://wng.org/authors/jeremy-abegg-guzman. Please pray: Financial support Claudia and I are so grateful for our intercessors who continue to engage in spiritual warfare and prayer to see His "kingdom come & will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven…".  Your prayers for our for our work are a blessing beyond measure! We're also grateful for those who have chosen to financially support us in our ministry. Please pray for the Lord's provision in the midst of a difficult current workload. Please pray as well and for the Lord's guidance, blessing and encouragement for all of those like you who make up our prayer, financial and relational support teams scattered around the globe! Pray as well: …for Kevin's mom who went on hospice nearly 5 months ago and continues to slowly decline. Pray for peace and God's mercy in this process. …for our financial support including our overall ministry and family needs including college tuition and Jeremy & Nico's work loads into the fall. …for Claudia and my focus as we are pulled in numerous directions throughout the region. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we develop new leadership and advance projects. Join our Team 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.

🌎 Gospel Workers from 6 Countries Gather!

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) Friends and Prayer Partners in the Gospel… Months of planning went into the Central America & Caribbean Regional Conference for the UWM missionaries under Claudia and my care. (It then took us nearly a month to recuperate, and we're not fully there yet!) Still, we rejoice at how our missionaries were served, refreshed and equipped by those who helped in so many ways. We're encouraged at how many international projects are moving ahead. We're hopeful in the ongoing development of supportive leaders in the region. Six countries, five days, sixty-five attendees, multiple teachings, seminars, and training. That's the clinical description of the 2023 UWM Central America & Caribbean Regional Conference that recently took place in Costa Rica, but doesn't describe the heart or hunger behind it all. Because of the pandemic, the missionaries under our care had not met in person since 2018, and as missionaries, whether US, Latino or otherwise, we all missed the fellowship, encouragement, and simple freedom to talk with others who understand missionary life. Time with other "on the field" missionaries. For those with 45 years of service or brand new to the field, these gatherings provide deep, compassionate encouragement centered on cross-cultural ministry. Times where mutual encouragement pour out of every conversation, teaching, or simple chats over coffee. Nico flew in from Idaho and joined us as our photographer, videographer and IT support. (Jeremy was sad he couldn't make it as well!) Being "understood", sharing vision, mission, and purpose, encouraging one another, or empathizing in the cultural challenges that go hand-in-hand with international missions are unwritten staples of these conferences. This is beyond any planned program, and is at the heart of our time together. Though some serve with teams from their birth country, most must work through cross-cultural challenges daily even as they attempt to adopt, assimilate, and be absorbed by their host country.  It's on this often unstable ground that we missionaries seek to follow Christ in the extension of His Kingdom through discipleship, leading and introducing others to the hope we've found, and the very reason to cross borders and cultures -the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Discipleship and Biblical Leadership was the focus of our teaching times. Leadership according to Paul as a Jew ministering amongst Gentiles, Daniel as an exiled Hebrew in Babylon or Christ Himself, setting aside glory, taking on flesh, laying down His life and making us heirs with Him.  Essential, Biblical, cross-cultural understandings for the church planter in the Dominican Republic, the missionary ministering to single moms in marginalized communities of Honduras, the seminary professor in Guatemala, or the manager of medical clinics in Costa Rican immigrant communities. In some ways, as missionaries, we have it easy because we're out of our natural element and forced in every endeavor to rely on God's guidance and grace. We are reminded, like Daniel, how inadequate we are to represent our Lord in a foreign language and culture, with social norms we don't always grasp. As foreigners, even Latin foreigners, we will never be "Guatemaltecos", "Hondureños", "Ticos" or "Dominicanos", but we're in solid Biblical company with those who were removed from, or even chose to leave their home and followed the Lord's leading in order to share the hope found only in Him. Seeing God's hand at work in and through each of us as fragile "jars of clay" is the very essence of these conferences, witnessing the impact as the Gospel redeems lives and eternities. We had teams from various countries join us, including our church in Miami! Gabbie, Millie & Jessica did an amazing job teaching, and simply loving on our "Missionary Kids"! There are costs involved in these gatherings though. Costs in leaving daily work no matter the country, loading families onto planes or buses, crossing borders, layovers and connections in 3rd countries, arriving bleary-eyed and travel-worn. But then there's the soothing balm of fellowship, the stimulant of corporate worship, the bolstering of sound teaching, and the rekindling of old friendships. There's silly talent shows and Missionary Kids meeting others their age who are as strange, confused, and culturally profound as they are themselves. There's the Body of Christ, in its amazing, mixed-up, cultural uniqueness, strengthening one another and worshiping the one true God who gives missionary callings and orders our steps. Then there are the tears and hugs as we return, each to our own countries and assignments and those we have the privilege to disciple, to bolster, and encourage. The co-workers and those we serve, train, lead, and we have the God-given privilege to minister alongside.  So, essentially six countries, sixty-five attendees, five days… and a taste of the glory that by God's grace will ultimately impact eternity. In His hands; Kevin Abegg UWM Regional Leader – Central America & Caribbean Please pray: Financial support Claudia and I are so grateful for our intercessors who continue to engage in spiritual warfare and prayer to see His "kingdom come & will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven…".  Your prayers for our time at the conference and beyond were fundamental and a blessing beyond measure! We're also grateful for those who have chosen to financially support us in our ministry throughout the Caribbean, and enabling us to assist, care for and guide other missionaries throughout the region. Please pray for the Lord's provision in the midst of the current workload, and for the Lord's guidance, blessing and encouragement for all of those who make up our prayer, financial and relational support teams scattered around the globe! Pray as well: …for our financial support as we prepare for next year's college tuition and our overall ministry needs. …ongoing followup with conference attendees on everything from projects to trials to family needs. …for Claudia and my focus as we are pulled in numerous directions throughout the region & in our own lives. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit and God's provision in new leadership on the field in areas that we simply cannot cover ourselves. …for Jeremy as he wraps up his final intensive week at the World Journalism Institute. …for Nico who is excelling and growing even as he juggles one and a half full time jobs and continues editing the 10 interviews with missionaries from the conference. (You may get a glimpse of these soon). …for Claudia and my preparations of an upcoming visit to ministries and missionaries in Honduras. Join our Team 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.