Jones Journal e-Mailer for 2012-04

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Dear Friends,

Tropical rainy season greetings from Panamá! Hearty Easter celebrations this month!

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

Yvonne and I got to minister together a couple times last month. First was at the Annual Missions Conference in Bugaba, Chiriquí. We preached and sang (you can figure out who did what…) during the three day weekend conference. They also celebrated the anniversary of the church and Rev. Alfredo and Edilma Villarreal’s thirty five years as founding pastor. God bless that type of longterm commitment!

Next was at the Good Friday services with our good friend, Pastor Bill Wilbur at Gamboa Union Church, another long-term committed minister here in Panamá. Yvonne led worship and Kirk shared part of the message with Pastor Wilbur.

Last month’s teacher training seminar featured puppet construction with Manuel Miranda. He shared several simple and some other incredibly creative ways to make puppets for children out of everyday items. Very practical for children’s ministries on a budget. Sorry, no pictures. I was busy making puppets too!

Our recent KidsQuest Crusade was in between Panamá City and Colón with Pastor Lucia de Cueto in Chilibré. This special lady turns 75 years young in July! As I posted on facebook from the event, I didn't ask: she told me. She and her leaders rounded up lots of children from the remote area where her church is located. Many of them made decisions for Jesus.

Pictured are our clowns Ding & Ling as they hear the Gospel message shared in dramatic form at the crusade. We ask you to please pray for the upcoming KidsQuest Crusade in Soná central zone next weekend.

If you would like to schedule a visit for our upcoming itineration ministry beginning July 2012, please contact us (see signature line below). We look forward to seeing you to give a report of what God has been doing here with Panamá’s children and to hear about your ministry, family, and life.

Chloe graduates from Evangel University and Cox College of Nursing next month. She has a job waiting for her at Cox hospital on the floor she wanted. We are all so excited and pleased for her!

Anthony is part of the PBL Club on campus, which helps students prepare for a future career in business. They had a competition between several other colleges and the team he was part of won 1^st place on Parliamentary procedure and Anthony personally came in 4^th place on Marketing Concepts.

Celina continues comparing colleges and their financial aid offers. She is getting close to deciding which college to attend this fall. Since we have often mentioned her involvement at Panama Int'l church in the worship team, we finally have a picture to prove it!

Gracie continues teaching the younger kids at PAINT Church, as it’s also called. And she loves being with her school classmates.

Celina and Gracie had the blessing of being with other MKs from all over Latin America during Semana Santa (Easter Week) in Costa Rica. Their team for the week was called the “Chill Chillazzz” (like the animal chinchilla); and they won the most points! Mostly they enjoyed time with God, with other MKs and their “chiefs” (small group tribe leaders).

Today, April 14, 2012, is Global 4/14 Day . This is an international day of prayer and fasting for children around the world. Join us here in Panamá along with one million Christians around the world praying for the 1.2 billion children who make up the 4/14 Window. Highlights from the prayer guide suggest:

* PRAY THROUGHOUT THE DAY

* PRAY FOR CHILDREN GEOGRAPHICALLY

* PRAY FOR CHILDREN’S SPIRITUAL NEEDS (Matthew 18:11)

* PRAY FOR CHILDREN’S PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL NEEDS (Mark 10:13-16)

Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I say to you that in Heaven their angels always behold the face of My Father in Heaven. For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them strays, does he not leave the ninety and nine and go into the mountains and seek the straying one? And if it happens that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety and nine which did not stray. Even so it is not the will of your Father in Heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

(Matthew 18:10-14 MKJV)

Yours for Them,

Kirk for all