CFC

I want to thank the body of Christ from Cornerstone for sending such a dedicated group of people to serve in Panama. They took the challenge, they presented the Gospel from churches to street corner to slums and jungles. Everywhere they went, people came to know Christ. I want to thank Pastor Nathan for setting the standard on the trip. He loves God, he loves missions and he loves his people. You are a blessed people to have a Nathan as your pastor. I hope this is the first of many adventures together to reach other nations for Christ. May God’s blessing be upon you.

Your servant,

Walker Moore

Today was another amazing day in Panama City.  The team spent the the bulk of the day sharing the drama and witnessing in five different schools to close to two thousand students.  The schools included elementary all the way through senior high.  The drama presentation keeps getting better and better.  The students, young and old alike, sat spellbound–cheering when Satan and the evil knights are defeated and the prince is victorious.

Once again, it was such a joy to stand back and watch gifts pour forth from our team.  I just rejoice at the spiritual growth evident in every team member.

The day was topped off with the team presenting the Freedom drama in a small village.  There was a spirit of joy as the drama was shared.  Kids poured in from everywhere.  I was so proud of our team as they loved on the precious children.  Everywhere I turned our team was hugging kidss, witnessing, and praying with parents.  Many parents prayed to give their lives to Christ.  It was another very good day.

Tomorrow morning we leave to visit three Kuna villages in the jungle.  We should be on the bus headed to the boats by 6 a.m.  Pray for the team.  This will be an entirely different experience.  The boat ride down the river into the interior is estimated to take almost two hours to the first village.  The team will share the drama, then move on to the second village called Icandi, where Awe Star has helped build a church.  The Icandi village will be our base of stay and  operation for two nights.  Thursday, the team will go to a third Kuna village which will be a new outreach for Awe Star.   Awe Star hopes to start a church in this village.  Pray God will use the team to lay a foundation for a new church there.

Since we are leaving for the jungle, this will be our last post for the three days until we return.  Please cover us with your prayers and encourage others to join you.

Thanks to all of you who have left comments.  Hearing from you guys back home is most encouraging.  Thanks for your support.

See you in three days,

Pastor Nathan

P.S.: A side note from Walker Moore: Let me tell you what great things God has done. Today we had to be at a certain school by 2 p.m. When we arrived the principal told us he had been told our presentation was at 9:45 in the morning and we had missed our time. He told us there was no way that the teachers would dismiss their classes in the afternoon.

We decided not to leave the school but to eat lunch and pray instead. As we were praying, a lady came around the corner and was shocked to see us. “I saw you the other day in a park and it was W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L. We need you to present this to our students!”

We told her that we weren’t allowed to. At the same time, we saw the principal drive away in a taxicab. The woman said, “Let me take care of it.”

Two minutes later, we were presenting the Gospel to 500 students. Isn’t God good?

Today was another awesome experience of seeing our Lord do great and mighty things.  I never imagined I would see our students sharing the gospel with such boldness and ease.  The team shared Christ on the streets and in the slums with amazing compassion and effectiveness.  At the conlusion of each drama presentation, everywhere I looked, every team member would be sharing with old and young alike, the Good News of our Lord’s saving grace.  Time after time I would see our team members praying with people, most of whom were adults, to receive Christ. 

The last place our team shared today was in a slum called Baghdad.  People poured out of these tenement slums–especially children–to watch the Freedom drama presentation.  This area was actually a very dangerous place to be.  It is known for violent gangs.  But we were covered by God’s protective grace and accompanied by a small group of local pastors who after seeing the drama presentation, invited us to come to this area they have been trying to reach.  We even had the opportunity to witness to and pray for some of the gang leaders.   God is good.

I am even more excited to see what God is doing IN our team members.   God is enlarging their hearts for prayer, expanding their compassion quotient exponentially and giving them a new determination to boldly share their faith without fear.  

Pray for the team.  Tomorrow they will be sharing in local school assemblies.  I can only imagine the great and mighty things God is going to do through them. 

Thank you for your prayers,

Pastor Nathan

I arrived at the Panama City airport to a “royal” welcome from the entire mission team from Cornerstone.  They were all decked out in their drama attire.  They stood there shoulder to shoulder in a military column and slowly raised their swords as they graciously welcomed their arriving King.  (In case you are confused, I play the part of the “King” or “God” in the evangelistic drama.)  Walker Moore passed on his royal cape and crowned me the new king as hundreds of people in the airport wondered what in the world was going on.

The huge smiles on everyone’s faces made it obvious they were happy about far more than just my arrival.  Everyone was sharing amazing stories of the great things God had been doing.  They all shared exciting stories of how they boldly shared the Good News of God’s love on the streets and in the slums of the city.  They saw God literally answer prayers as He removed obstacles and opened amazing doors.

I am so proud of this team.

Today we will be sharing Christ in one of the busiest parts of Panama City.  Continue to lift up the team in your prayers.  Everyone is so thankful for your support.  It is so encouraging to hear everyone saying, “We can feel the prayers of people who love us back home!”

Looking forward to another day of ministry,

Pastor Nathan

A bus full of American missionaries pulls over near a police station. Walker Moore addresses the team as he gets ready to step off the bus, “Pray! Pray that God will grant us grace and that He would move in the hearts of the police officers and allow us to minister in the community of the Rakatakas. Furthermore pray that they provide police escort.”

Police escort? Yes! The story is a glorious one. Let me tell you about Rakatakas. As we drove the bus through the city, there was a new odor in the air. It was not pleasant at all, actually a horrible stench as if something had died. I looked out the window and noticed a young boy running down the street. He had no shoes, no pants, just a T-shirt. As I continued to observe the city I noticed broken-down homes the size of my bedroom with no windows or doors as the dwelling place for many of the locals. The children who stood by the front doors of their homes wore only underpants and seemed malnourished. We saw homeless people on every corner; prostitutes nearby; drug addicts stoned on the floor; and, surrounding every street corner, militant-appearing police officers holding their guns out in the open.

For a moment I thought I was watching a scene from a motion picture. This was too surreal to believe. In comparison to Rakatakas, New York City’s Harlem is Disney World.

But Rakatakas  is the city where 54 souls came to Christ. God granted us grace, the police officers allowed us to minister, and we were escorted. Our team ministered to many, many, many children captured by  God’s love story. TJ met a boy whose teeth were rotting black and totally connected with him. He loved on him and shared the message of hope and love. The boy was captivated and followed him around, leaving a heavy impression on his heart. TJ says he will pray for this boy till God relieves him of the burden. The same thing happened with Alyssa. God put a little boy with a blue striped shirt in her life. He watched “Freedom” twice, understood the story, and prayed to receive Christ. The little boy then told her, “I love you.”

Let me tell you about Edwin, Jr. He walked up to a teen who had been mocking the drama and laughing through most of it. Edwin, Jr. told him about the depths of what Jesus had done for our lives and how his death and resurrection now brings life if he would only accept. The teen accepted and prayed for Christ to come in his heart.

We have many more stories, but I will end with this one. Cierra and Taylor walked up to a police officer who refused to listen to anything they had to say and walked away. Several minutes later he returned and asked about the drama, took a tract and received Christ.

In a city where sin was visibly present and the locals were hopeless, a mighty God showed up as never before. He used a team of young adults with a message full of power and glory to reach a community where even the courageous would tremble. We are completely in AWE of what GOD can do when we are obedient.

Eddie Cortes

This morning as we prepare to present the Gospel in a Catholic Church, we are also remembering our families and friends back home. The death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior is what compels us to do what we do. We stand in the marketplace and shout at the top of our lungs . . . “HE IS ALIVE!”

We love your comments and are grateful for the encouragement.  This morning we will not be wearing our new clothes but putting on costumes that have already been soaked in sweat. A plastic crown, masks and props will be added so once again we can tell the old, old story of God who so loved the world that He sent . . . us.

Happy Easter!

Walker Moore

This afternoon we spent the entire time ministering to the people in Cinco De Mayo. It is an interesting place as the further you go down the street, the greater the need. The street ends in a park where the homeless sleep and people with all kind of problems hang out. Today we saw entire families, drug addicts and people who were just traveling through put their faith in Christ.

We finished about six and headed back to camp where we had a delicious meals of Panamanian Chicken and Rice with fried and baked plantain. Our Bible study tonight was on obedience and how it relates to the will of God.

Tomorrow we have an early start. Our first ministry site, at 7AM, is the Catholic church were our MP3 player went dead. Then we will join our missionaries Todd and Marielena for worship with their congregation. Brother Walker has been asked to preach but the church really wanted to hear Pastor Nathan.  The team members are anxiously waiting their pastor’s arrival so they can share with him their newfound enthuasim for missions.

Keep on praying! The journey has just begun. We be heading to the jungle on Wednesday morning and coming back to town on Friday.

Pray for more divine encounters, pray for the Lord of the Harvest to send workers, pray for the team’s health and strength, pray for lives to be changed. Pray, pray, pray . . .

Your servant,

Walker Moore

After crawling into bed around midnight, the missionaries slept hard. Today we are having breakfast at nine due to the late-night activities. Already we have been in the Word doing our quiet times and reading John 21, where Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him. That is a great question as we head into the Easter weekend. If we love Him, we tend to his sheep.

We will have Bible study this morning and leave around 11 to head to Cinco de Mayo which is the crossroads of life here in Panama. It is a walking plaza about a mile long where people come to shop.  After a day of ministry, the team is already filled with stories of what great things God is doing.  We will have some more pictures and an update of today´s activities later this afternoon.

Pray for strength, focus and good health today and continue to pray for divine encounters.

Walker Moore

We started out  with such force . . . We stopped at a little park that had a handful of people. By the time we finished, ten had come to Christ. One of these men was a famous painter in Panama by the name of Alvin Moore. He invited us to his house to see his paintings. On the way we passed a store that had a tremendous amount of people hanging out in front. We felt led to go back and present the Gospel there and fifty-five gave their hearts to Christ.

Next, we were asked to join the Catholic Church to present the Gospel at a Holy Friday Mass. The crowd was standing room only but our MP3 player wouldn´t work so we did the drama without any sound system. The priest was so moved that he asked us to come back on Easter Sunday and tell his people the Good News. It is almost midnight and we are now heading to bed. In all we saw many come to Christ and we are tired. Continue to pray for the team. God’s work has only just begun.

Walker Moore

The team had an early-morning arrival. Also at the camp is a youth group staying for the weekend.

At noon the team gave the first Gospel presentation for this youth group. Even though the students were already believers, they cheered when Jesus came out of the grave. This evening we will be presenting the Gospel in two Catholic churches for Holy Friday Mass. Please pray for God to convict the people of their sin and draw them to Him.

Walker Moore