jonesjournal.org > newsletters >  e-Mailer for 3/07

Dear Friends,

Greetings in Jesus! If you'd like to read past issues, click on Newsletters. This monthly e-Mailer includes updates on ministry, family, praise and prayer.

We participated again in the Annual Guaymi Family Retreat last month, along with Pastor Roy Rhodes and team from Paola, KS. It just keeps getting bigger and better. This year over 4000 came, many hiking several days to get there. I was pleasantly surprised by the number. I checked to be sure it wasn't an overstatement. I was told by our coordinating Pastor Julio Valdés that number was determined by the totals from each district leader. At the end of the week about 50 were baptized in the river.

Working with primary children we taught them Bible stories and illustrations twice a day, with help from Panamanian teachers. One of my favorite parts of the class time was when each child would color a memory verse page. It got quieter and calmer. After finishing it seemed like each one of the 800+ kids would come up to show me his or her work of art. And when I would compliment them, a huge smile would cross their normally stoic faces.

There was also a donation distributed from Convoy of Hope, and a visit from a Christian TV station with clown ministry and Samaritan's Purse Christmas Child gift boxes. I invite you to visit our Media page and e-Mailer 2/07 photo album for more pics.

The joy and exuberance of the camp meeting atmosphere were cruelly interrupted Thursday morning when we got word that a child had drowned in the river. We got there just after the paramedics who were camping next to us. There was nothing to be done, except pray for the family. Apparently he had suffered cramps from eating right before going in the water.

His name is Nestor Giron, 12 years old, a good Christian young man, and a student at the Latin America ChildCare school in Duima. His father, Arsenio, had helped us many times in the past with teams working at the school in Duima. Arsenio also serves as assistant to Pastor Manuel Andrade, supervisor over all the Assemblies of God Guaymi Indian pastors. Nestor is survived by his parents and three sisters.

I saw Arsenio at the zone minister's meeting earlier this week where his fellow pastors prayed for his family. He told me they are beginning to cope better. I invite you to join me in continuing to pray for the family.

We continue with our monthly Seminars for Children's Ministry Leaders. This past month we focused on Praise and Worship ministry. We trained leaders in using songs with motions and drama allowing the children to learn while they participate and lead the song service. We also trained them in using curriculum that reinforces learning with fun question and answer papers, plus different learning games like word searches (called "letter soup" in Spanish).

Our whole family went to the Franklin Graham Crusade evening service. Then Gracie and I went Saturday morning to the special Festi-Niños program for kids. The National Stadium was almost packed to capacity. Fanny Quinzada served on the organizing committee and brought us a report at our monthly leader's seminar last Saturday. It was estimated that 32,000 children attended with 8000 going forward for salvation decisions (pictured here). The Franklin Graham ministry people said that the adult attendance wasn't what they had hoped for (about half the stadium, approx. 14,000), but the children's event saved the Crusade!

Chloe has always had an incredible love for people. That jumped out at me after a nighttime youth leadership meeting, which had followed a full six hours of cayuco paddling practice during the day. Without a bit of weariness, she bubbled out, "I just love being with all those people."

If you could peak into Anthony's room right now you would see two electric guitars propped up ready to practice at a moment's notice. We hear them both played often, very well I might add, albeit loud! The second one is a loaner from a band-mate to help him practice for the new band he's in, called "220V."

Celina is playing the role of Aunt Martha in the comedy play "Arsenic and Old Lace." She was surprised to learn that her Dad played Rev. Dr. Harper in his high school production, and her mom was on the play's make-up crew.

After the Guaymi Family retreat I brought home a couple thousand colored pencils that needed sharpening. So I hired Gracie. Well, the electric sharpener overheats after a dozen or so and seizes up until it cools down. So Gracie was waiting to get back to work, and…zzzzzz! When she's not working for me, one of the things she enjoys doing is going with the Children's Church group and visiting a nearby orphanage weekly to play with the little children there.

We mentioned last month that our missionary account was approaching $0. Unfortunately our work funds went into the red this month. We now need to cut back substantially on ministries. We share this need in a spirit of expectation that God will do something miraculous to provide a way to meet our needs. We know He's that big and that great!

This week while talking with a pastor about a future project, I mentioned our financial need and he said they would add us to their missionary support list. PTL! Then he added he would look for other pastor friends who also might be able to support us. That's going the extra mile! It made me think, perhaps you may not be able to add or increase support at this time, but you might know someone who would be interested. Please pray about it. Talk with them. Then let us know how best to follow up. Or send them to our Contact Page. Thanks so much.

If you want to live well, make sure you understand all of this. If you know what's good for you, you'll learn this inside and out. God's paths get you where you want to go. Right-living people walk them easily; wrong-living people are always tripping and stumbling.

Hosea 14:9, The Message

Yours for Them,

Kirk for all

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