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I am always amazed at how God opens doors. I found this to be to be the case when I ministered in Panama in May 2007 with Canadian University College, The Quiet Hour, and ShareHim. I wasn't sure what to expect from this evangelism trip. I found myself a little discouraged that I would only be with the people for two weeks. How could the short-term work I do have lasting effects?
The answer came during the last week of the campaign as I witnessed two Kuna Indians give their lives to Jesus and be baptized. The couple was from a village about half an hour from the site where the evangelism meetings were being held. They faithfully came by bus to every meeting. I was encouraged every night when I saw them arrive at the meetings.
There is an interesting twist to their story that I found out after their baptism. I preached every night in English, and my translator, David, translated into Spanish, the local language. To my surprise, I was told this couple didn't speak English or Spanish. I asked how they could understand the teaching or the Scriptures. I was told there was a church member who could speak their language; every night he sat beside them and translated the message into the Kuna language for them. I was quite amazed at the dedication.
Their story became even more exciting when the husband expressed his desire to commit his life to serving Jesus and bringing the gospel to his people. This is a breakthrough for the conference in Panama, as Seventh-day Adventists once had a large influence with the Kuna Indians. Many years ago, someone decided that the economics of supporting church work there was too difficult, and consequently, there has been little success in reaching these people with the gospel. This saddened me, but I saw how God could re-open the doors in the work with these people.
The newly-baptized Kuna couple could have a great influence in bringing the gospel to the their people, as they are respected elders in their community. I shared this story with Pastor Robert Folkenberg, our campaign manager for this mission trip, and the president of ShareHim. He was very excited about the potential and offered to help the Panama Conference by providing ShareHim evangelism materials in the Kuna language.
I am excited about the potential. This is the whole purpose of sharing the gospel. People hear the good news and then want to take it home to share with their people. Person to person: I believe this is the most effective way of reaching the world with the gospel. |
