Dear Friends,

Greetings in Jesus! If you'd like to read this e-Mailer with photos, or see past issues, click on "Ministry" at www.jonesjournal.org. This includes updates on ministry, family, praise and prayer.

Last month I was heavy on ministry stuff. Since I'm planning on getting our next newsletter uploaded in about a week, I'll go light on ministry and talk more about family.

Please feel free to read more details in our August newsletter online in Adobe pdf format. Click on Newsletters section of our website (in about a week).

* I had to begin with a few of these precious faces from the Sunday we preached for CIMA. It is the missionary offering from church kids to reach unsaved kids in Latin America. The children at "Grace of God" Church paraded in costumes from the 9 provinces of Panamá before explaining the need and collecting the offering.

* The Project Compassion medical clinic was a great success, ministering medicine and the Gospel to over 1400 of Panama's neediest people.

* The Children's Ministries Leadership Seminar, in Chitré this time, continues our efforts to train leaders who work with children to help "Children Reach Children."

* The Asambleas de Dios (Assemblies of God) in June celebrated its 36th Anniversary. A few notes I found interesting, we have:
   - 1000 credentialed ministers
   - 700 churches, annexes, campaigns and preaching points
   - 15 Bible Institutes and extensions (IBAD)
   - 18 Latin America Childcare (LACC) schools
   - 25 years consecutive with Rev. Lowell David as Superintendent

* Billy is a young man who comes by our house a couple times a week. You see him here doing what he does most often--wash our car. And practice his English on us.


He is simple-minded, friendly to all and very sweet. Since he walks all over town his shoes wore out--plus the rats chewed on them, he said. So Yvonne took him to buy new ones. He got steel-toed tennis shoes, so he could kick cans down the road without hurting his toes. To say thanks, he brought a few little bedtime story books for Gracie. She really enjoys them.

We're loving him, sharing Good News, and trusting Jesus is going to save him! In fact, I was going to feature Bill in the newsletter "Panamanian Profile," but Yvonne said, "Let's wait until he accepts the Lord." With that goal in mind, please join us in praying for Billy's salvation.

* With summer in full swing now, our kids are settling into a new routine: sleeping in, Bible reading and breakfast, no TV (before noon), and getting paid to read: a penny a page! Anthony tore through the Left Behind Kids series. Celina and I are in the second to last Chronicle of Narnia. Chloe is faithful in her Bible reading and supplements with teen magazines from the International Society of Missionary Kids (ISMK, the AG MK office) and Focus on the Family.

* Celina has set up an art exhibition for this Saturday afternoon. She will show, and perhaps sell, her artwork. You can see much of it on our website in her online gallery. Since she had her all-night party (yup, 24 hours of giggles and squeals) I'm listing her age as nine, though it's technically still five days away.

* Tomorrow we're doing a beach day, to avoid the weekend crowds. Plus, I have meetings on Saturday and a trip Sunday - Tuesday, so we're taking our weekend mid-week! That kind of schedule flexibility is a real blessing.


* This past week Yvonne and I took a quickie trip to Costa Rica. We're on a tourist visa, so we had to leave the country for 72 hours (they actually let us back in after about 40) to renew it. The kids stayed at home with Nayla, our regular baby-sitter. We traveled up with Bonnie & Darrell Clowers, our good missionary friends. They went on into CR to prep for a construction team. We took a taxi and bus back to Panamá City.

We stayed in San Vito, Costa Rica. It was lovely! The hotel was comfortable, had great food in the restaurant, and was very reasonable. The weather was cool--we even got to wear long sleeves!

On our "free" day with the Clowers, we first slept in (oh, I might as well mention that I pulled an all-nighter before the trip finishing a financial report, and then we left at 6:30am and arrived 10:30pm, delayed about 4 hours due to a passport being left behind...) then we visited the Wilson Tropical Botanical Gardens. I'm not much of flora and fauna fan (how's that for a lotta alliteration?), but we really enjoyed the couple hour stroll. We did all get eaten alive by bugs, especially the girls on their legs.

A few days later Yvonne came down with a virus that hit hard: head & body aches, fever, nausea, etc. After doctor visit and lab tests we found out it's not malaria or dengue, and she is feeling better, though still tired.

* Gracie still amazes us regularly. A recent episode features Daddy and Gracie heading outside to the laundry room at night when we find a huge cockroach. She bends down to play with it. I quickly say, "No, Gracie. It's gross." To which she responds, "It isn't gross, Daddy," then emphasizing each syllable continues, "it's in-ter-est-ing."

Thanks for supporting such "in-ter-est-ing" discoveries in prayer and finance...plus all the missionary stuff we do too! God bless you.

Yours for Them,

Kirk for all