Acts and Love in Action: BGsEtAl 2020SepOct; Vol. XXI Num. 03; Now I see…

September and October: These are the months of the year when our mission society promotes the World Mission Offering (WMO) within the American Baptist Churches – USA. (ABC-USA) and the Puerto Rico Baptist Churches (IBPR). Yet, this offering and the international missions it supports are not limited to those two months, but it goes on all year long. And we sure have been busy these last two months with multiple recordings in video and audio, others live via Zoom, updating those churches that have requested sermons or online visits. Would you like us to do the same for your church? Let us know and we’ll be happy to coordinate with you!

Since we were endorsed, appointed, commissioned, and ordained by our IBPR, that is the mission community we are closest to. Puerto Rico continues supporting the mission team through a variety of ways including three dates for the online XII Mission Lectureship: September, October, and November. We share some testimonies and prayer requests from our colleagues, as we have shared, and they have published:

Ingrid Roldán continues her excellent and vital ministry with children in Panamá. We encourage you to watch her video on the website.

Mercy González-Barnes and Ricardo Mayol have had limitations to travel by plane where they serve in the region; Mercy gives online masters’ seminary classes (and recently made her first flights) and Ricardo organizes online videoconferences with RECONPAZ.

Deliris Carrión-Joseph and Moise Joseph should be visiting churches in the USA and PR to encourage those who are joining their network and providing the finances their ministry needs so they can return to ministry. Yet, due to the pandemic, they have been limited to mostly online visits and very few in-person visits to churches that are near them. Their inability to travel to PR also weighs heavy on their hearts considering their family and church connections. Let us pray the Lord will soon provide the resources they need to return to their new ministry and to visit their family and the churches on their home region.

Ketly and Vital Pierre continue serving in the DR and seeing the Lord’s faithfulness providing what they need to share the physical bread alongside the spiritual Bread with those they have around them.

Meanwhile Madeline Flores from PR, on her US/PR assignment year, keeps monitoring the needs of her people in the DR and Cuba while mobilizing those locally who share ministry with her that is so vital and cannot wait for her return. Mission goes on amidst this pandemic because it is God’s mission; not ours nor yours or theirs.

And what about our Waleska Febres and Leo Florez? They were in lockdown for months in Villavicencio with their indigenous students while our beloved Colombia, collapsed due to COVID-19, hindered their return back to Bogotá to their young adult daughters…

And as we share testimonies from our colleagues, in this time of pandemic we continue our assignment to Colombia and our sister Ingrid shares this testimony:

Now we see the power of God uniting His church from different countries like a puzzle to show His glory amidst a world that is suffering.

Now we see that as a church we all have something to give: to some God has put them in places where He is at work, to others He gives abilities, to others resources, or the ability to speak or advocate, to others a heart for intersession, etc. So, never think that you have nothing to give, or that it is too little. Let us put at His feet what He has already given us.

Now we see that the message of Good News is preached with words and with love in action that should never point to the person but to God’s grace.

Now we see that God’s love in His church surpasses the limitations of nationalities, race, or language.

Most certainly we once were blind but now we see and each church can say the same, as you are going beyond your own strength to respond the call from God to join and continue being a vital partner in God’s mission around the world–through prayer, encouragement, and your financial support of His mission everywhere through everyone. Together we can get a lot more done and we can continue seeing by faith.

Stretching further toward the goal “seeing by faith”,
your BGs Et Al

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