Volunteer Genesis missionaries Marleidy Sánchez from Mexico and Ingrid Jocholá from Guatemala celebrated the first Sunday worship service at ¨The Liberators¨ in Panama City, Panama on March 17. During the service, four adults, three teens and 11 children accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
They held the service at the community basketball court. Participants from the district NYI, Panama Central District, and East Valley Church of the Nazarene in Arizona, USA, helped with the celebratory event through drama and music. Pastor Scott Thornton from the church in Arizona preached the message.
They held their second service on Sunday, March 24, along with the first Sunday School for adults and children.
Marleidy and Ingrid, along with other Genesis volunteers, have served nearly a year in Panama City. During this time, they have worked hard to draw near to and minister to the community, despite great challenges.
¨The Liberators¨ site covers 8 buildings, each with 14 floors. None of the buildings have an elevator, which means that after people arrive at their homes, they have little desire to leave again. ¨At the beginning, we saw the buildings like Goliath,¨ Ingrid said. “It was a challenge to go inside. There are two nicknamed ‘The Twins.’ The people tell us not to go inside because if we do, we might be assaulted or not allowed to leave.”
Nevertheless, they prayed that the Lord would give them an opportunity to enter, and he did. The first activity they held was a children´s festival. They followed with more activities, including medical clinics and Maximum Missions.
They managed to gain access to The Twins through a young person who offered to accompany them just in case they had any trouble. “ It was just like the Word says, where sin increased, grace was even more abundant. Without a doubt it was there where we had the greatest response from people who we are now discipling,¨ Ingrid said.
Currently the missionaries are teaching three girls to read and write, which has opened the door to minister to two different families. Also, they hold a children´s club on Saturdays.
Ingrid closed by saying, “Our hearts are grateful, especially to God, but also to our families, friends and brothers and sisters in Christ who have joined us in this project and who aware of our needs and offer their prayers, financial support, words of encouragement, etc.”
If you would like more information about Genesis, contact the leaders through their website: www.mesoamericagenesis.org.
To know more about Ingrid and Marleidy´s ministries, go to their profiles at:
Ingrid Jocholá https://give.nazarene.org/donate/f/131911
Marleidy Sánchez: https://give.nazarene.org/donate/f/131116
Source: Ingrid Jocholá, volunteer missionary, Mesoamerica Genesis’
