🌎 Little Known Missionary Heros

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) Central America, the Winter Olympics and the Gospel…What's the Connection? Little Known Missionary Heros: Many people have a "bucket list" of what to do before they die. I have an "Eternity List", those things I'm looking forward to doing in the New Heaven and Earth (Isiah 65-66 & 2 Pet. 3:13) when time is not an issue. One of these includes a deep study into unsung missionary heroes. For now, I get the occasional glimpse as I oversee missionaries in our region. I've previously shared my admiration for retired missionary Estelita Cevallos, but recently received an email from one of her continuing supporters that absolutely amazed me: "Thank you for your letter about Estelita. I'd like to share some of my family history: My parents, Connie & Esther, were LAM missionaries for 40 years in San Jose [Costa Rica]. They had eleven kids, seven of us were born @ La Clinica Biblica where they met Estelita. One of my brothers, Arturo, learned to ski in college so represented Costa Rica in five winter Olympics, starting in Lake Placid in 1980—a one man team! The oldest of our family, Rod & Pam, have been missionaries w/Wycliffe Bible Translators in Columbia since 1970... Both my parents are buried in San Jose de la Montaña, in a cemetery that overlooks Roblealto [ministry started by LAM missionaries 90 years ago]. -Sincerely, Bruce Kinch Thank you Bruce for your family's dedication to the Gospel, and allowing us to see just a little bit more of God's amazing salvation work this side of eternity! -Kevin Abegg. Partner with us in the Great Commission:  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:  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.

🌎 Latin Am. Partnership & Family -Abegg Ministry Update

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) As a family we're back up to speed after Covid, now just dealing with the normal wear and tear of years & mileage. Below you'll find another mini update on our work in Central America, Nico's upcoming journey to the Czech Republic and answered prayers for Claudia's dad.  Global Missions: Leadership Cohort / Discipleship Last month I invited 6 fellow missionaries from our Central America / Caribbean region to take part in a "Lead Cohort" over the next 6 months. These men reside in 4 different countries overseeing and serving in many different ministries be they Christian schools, local churches, IT development, theological education or national, non US mission sending agencies (see previous newsletter). I've been grateful for each of these men's candid input and encouragement over the years, and now look forward to interacting with them around Paul David Tripp's book "LEAD". Though it's written primarily with pastors in mind, it has such practical, Christ centered content that I highly recommend it for anyone, especially considering how we're all commanded to "…make disciples of all nations…" (Matthew 28). Please pray for this group as we seek to sharpen one another "as iron sharpens iron" (Prov. 27:17) and seek the Lord's guidance on how to better serve the ministries we're called to and our fellow missionaries as they arrive to the mission field of Latin America. Family: Nico headed to Czech Republic: Nico is growing in his photography and videography skills and hopes to make a career of it. Though this would only be his 3rd year of high school, he's already accumulated enough credits to graduate, which is perfect timing for him to accept a job offer with Cannon Pres, creators of the nature documentary series "The Riot and the Dance" and full movies Water and Earth. Nico's work will be in Moscow ID, the same city where Jeremy is studying. But before this, Nico is flying to Prague, Czech Republic for a short internship with good friend and International Baptist Mission photographer Sam Cho. We're unsure how the refugee crisis from Russia's war on the Ukraine will affect his time, but we're trusting the Lord has bigger purposes than we can currently see. Please pray for safety, growth in his skills as well as a deepening understanding of our Lord's world. Pray that the Holy Spirit would provide divine appointments for Nico to represent Christ and serve those around him, particularly those displaced and fleeing war in the Ukraine. Visit UWM's Ukraine Refugee Relief Effort page for info on how to directly provide aid through our local partner ministries. Update on Family in Chile Praise the Lord Claudia's dad is home after 7+ months of hospitalization! We see this as an absolute miracle given there were many times that it didn't look like he'd survive. We're also grateful for the amazing news that due to his age and contributions to Chile's version of Medicaid/Social Security, the cost for his lengthy stay is $0! What an answer to prayer! There is still home care and a breathing machine to cover, but these don't compare to what our concerns were for the length of his hospital stay. Please continue praying for his recovery and for the Lord to bring him to an understanding of both the grace he's been given and that which the Lord offers for eternity through his blood. Pray as well for Claudia and my plans to visit ASAP. We've received most of the documents needed for travel and are now just awaiting the arrival of Claudia's Chilean passport.  Praise:  Claudia's Dad Ramon is home from the hospital and continuing to recover! Thank you for your prayers, encouragement and support of our family and ministry. Please send us updates on how you, your family and your church are doing. It's our pleasure and privilege to intercede for you, our partners in the Great Commission wherever God has each of us! Partner with us in the Great Commission:  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:  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.

🌎 UWM update -Ukraine Seminaries & Refugees

Special Update: War & the Ukrainian Crisis "…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) During our global leadership meeting this AM we received an update regarding United World Mission's missionaries in the Ukraine. My active takeaway was to pray for peace and an end to the invasion, but also that the Russian & Ukrainian churches would not be divided, but find their identity in God's kingdom, as his people and then exemplify this to the world and their own governments. There's a deep divide and mistrust between these churches that must be healed.  Please pray also for UWM missionaries Taras & Natasha Dyatlik + sister Helga in Kyiv amidst constant shelling. Taras, is our UWM/Overseas Council Regional Director. He and his family live in the Ukraine and are gifts to the Church and seminaries in that region. Taras has poured out his life for peacemaking through the Church since the 2014 war with Russia in the Crimea region. Currently, his efforts have shifted to working with our partners in the country to care for the growing refugee crisis.They are coordinating care via 7 seminaries & multiple surrounding churches throughout the country, each taking in refugees fleeing conflict. Some of these very schools and churches remain in the path of Russia's advance.  If you desire to help meet this urgent need for Ukrainian refugees, consider giving towards the UWM partner seminaries that have opened their doors to those fleeing.  UWM has waived all assessment fees to assure the greatest impact with each gift.  To learn more, please visit:  Ukraine Refugee Assistance.

🌎 Partnership & Family -Abegg Ministry Update

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) We're all working our way out of the latest version of Covid. I (Kevin) remain foggier than usual and more easily exhausted yet improving. Claudia is also nursing a persistent cough, but overall, we're doing well. Please pray for full and quick healing and the ability to manage what we need to in the meantime. I haven't had the energy to pull together a newsletter recently, so this is our first update since January. We're working on a lot of exciting projects throughout Central America, some extending much further abroad, and for each we urgently ask you to be covering us and those we work with in prayer. Instead of packing them all in one update, I'll take the next few weeks to fill you in on ministry developments and major upcoming changes with our family. Global Missions: Working Cross Culturally to Send Missionaries Internationally Please pray for UWM's global mission focus, and the sending of missionaries from countries other than the US. UWM and LAM have significant histories as "US sending organizations", though UWM was birthed in Cuba 75 years ago and LAM in Costa Rica 100 years ago. Over the past decade we've been looking for healthy ways to assist in the missionary mobilization of non-US citizensthroughout the world. We've learned from successes as well as failures, have wrestled with the many challenges of international labor laws, complicated finances, and worked through the general equipping of missionaries. For example, how is a Honduran trained and sent to say, Zimbabwe as a US employee with UWM, while taking into account each individual country's labor and financial transfer laws, languages, visas, immigration and insurance requirements, ability for donors to give all while keeping the vast cultural differences in mind? Just the front end becomes complicated VERY quickly, not to mention how to manage so many challenges once on the field. Thankfully UWM and LAM's missional practice is rooted in NATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS. I've shared about the work of many partners in previous letters, but I want to ask for your prayers as we deepen our focus with national sending agencies for Central Americans who can often reach countries where a US passport cannot enter or the cultural differences are debilitating. In Central America we already have missionaries and projects with multiple tried and true sending agencies such as FEDEMEC or PAAM , but we need to grow in our united purpose and practices in sending. Please pray as I work with a small team in the coming months to begin developing a plan for a mutually healthy process that honors our partners in their unique work and results in sending even "…more laborers into the harvest." (Luke 10). Update on Family in Chile Claudia's dad Ramon is still in the hospital in Chile, now going on 7 months. He was going to be released a few weeks ago but had some complications that prevented his return home. Once he is back at the house, he will have regular nurse check-ins and a CPap machine to help him at night as his breathing slowly continues to improve. We're in constant contact with Claudia's sisters and haven't made the trip to Chile yet since we wouldn't be able to visit her dad in the hospital due to Covid restrictions. Our hope is once he's home, the two of us will fly down. At the same time there's been complications getting our vaccination records approved with the Chilean government, so please pray for a favorable response. Many costs such as the CPap machine and overall hospital bills remain unclear, we're hoping they will be significantly reduced given his age and being under Chile's version of Medicare, but for now we wait. Please pray for wisdom in addressing the finances, travel and ultimately for her dad's immediate and eternal health. Praise:  Claudia's Dad Ramon is doing significantly better after a pacemaker was installed and his breathing continues to improve.  Thank you for your prayers, encouragement and support of our family and ministry. Please send us updates on how you, your family and your church are doing. It's our pleasure and privilege to intercede for you, our partners in the Great Commission wherever God has each of us! Partner with us in the Great Comission:  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:  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.  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.