| By Rod and Sherry Boyd Thirteen men and women from
three eastern Washington churches spent six days the end of June in construction at
the Jehovah Jireh Good Shepherd School in Pedregal, Panama.
Pastor Darrel Johnsen from Faith Assembly, Pasco led the team.
Pastor Dick Malvaney from Central Assembly in Yakima and Pastor
Larry Malcolm from Stone Church in Yakima and members of their
congregations completed the team.
The team focused on laying block on the second floor. It
was difficult work as the previous team had laid the "lower" blocks.
The block layers spent most of their time on scaffolding. By
the end of the week, they completely finished five of the six
classrooms, the storage area under the stairwell and most of the two
restrooms. They also completed half of the remaining bond
beams. In addition, they laid block for two classrooms on the
third floor. The team also personally ministered to so many of the
438 children and youth that attend the school from kindergarten
through 10th grade. They brought several pounds of candy to
pass out to the children, making them an instant hit! They
ministered in a school chapel sharing testimonies and a devotional.
The team presented the director with three soccer balls for the
school. Then the children presented songs and skits to the
team. The time of worship with the children was very
emotional. After the chapel, the team returned to their
construction work. But they had connected so well with the
children that they lined up to get the autographs of each team
member! One team member said, "I feel like I'm a famous
person!" Two more teams are scheduled to work at the school, one
in July and the other in November. We are hoping to have the
roof over the fourth floor before the November team arrives.
When finished, the four-story building will have 18 classrooms, some
of which will be used as laboratories (computer/keyboard, science
and language), restrooms on each floor, administrative facilities
and a library. The school is currently renting a small
apartment building next door to the school. Even though several
couples from the church were away at a marriage retreat, a good
group came out for the farewell service on Friday night.
Pastor Darrel preached a great message from Acts 4-5, calling the
church to unity, community and sensitivity to the needs of the
non-Christian neighbors of the church. We are grateful that
members of the team became new Latin America ChildCare sponsors.
Seven children were sponsored! There are still 44, just from
the Jireh school, who are waiting for someone to sponsor them.
Thank you, Pastor Darrel, Pastor Dick and Pastor Larry, and team
members for coming to Panama and for helping to make a difference in
the lives of children and youth! If you would like to become a
sponsor, please visit the Panama page on the
LACC website. If
you would like to give an offering towards the construction of the
Jireh school, you can make a donation on the
Assemblies of God secure website. Please specify
"Project 7795, Jireh School" in the comments field. Or you can
send your check to: Assemblies of God World Missions
Project 7795, Jireh School
1445 Boonville Ave.
Springfield, MO 65802
Additional photos on the Team Photo Journal page |
