By the Grace of God, this past Thursday, March 14th, we inaugurated the "Centro Teologico del Caribe en Changuinola" (Caribbean Theological Center in Changuinola). Members from the local church, Iglesia Bautista Betel (Bethel), were very excited and the enthusiastic youth sang songs of praise. On the same day we began our first course titled: "Preaching from the Prophets", led by LeAnn and Clark Flesher, a couple from California. The Fleshers, currently on sabbatical, have been helping us in getting the Institute up and running. For an indigenous community such as this one, this center is a light of hope for equipping leaders who are unable to go to other locations like of crossing the border to Costa Rica where this training is also available.

Everything here is very simple and often lacking in terms of equipment, books in Spanish for the Library, office supplies and computers. But the interest on the part of the brothers and sisters here is so great that these material deficiencies do not hold them back. Their hunger for the Word of God is so much greater than that.

Changuinola is a banana-producing region, and the majority of population work for the banana companies. These are very poor and humble people. The majority of adults lack any education. Their children are often malnourished and scarcely have shoes to wear.

We ask that you pray that the Lord will continue to speak his will for our brothers and sisters here, and that his good work will continue.

In Christ;

Rev. Ingrid Roldan-Roman