Feburary Newsletter

Biyabua Ãcôrẽ: “Thank you God!” in the Emberá tribal language. The Emberá recording project was a great success! One never knows what to expect as always. For example, we thought we were going to record 5 songs that had been previously written during the last workshop we had in October. There were only a few people attending last week that had been in the previous workshop, so we improvised. One of the Emberá woman leaders suggested that we write some new songs instead. She said they didn’t have any songs for children or songs of welcome in their language. They split up into groups and got to work. 3 new songs were created and recorded. Also, 9 translated choruses that are regularly sung in the church were recorded. With the 5 songs recorded in October, the final album contains 17 worship songs to the creator in the Emberá language! Lyric sheets and album artwork are in the process of being created.

This August we hope to form a ministry team and take these c.d.’s into the Darien Province of Panama where most of the Emberá people live. We had a great time partnering with our friends from Proskuneo Ministries. It was wonderful to work with them and get to know their hearts for ministry.

THESE SONGS WERE IN US: Reflecting over what these traditional songs mean to her people, a young Emberá woman, Raquel, shared:“When I first heard these songs I wanted to cry and I didn’t know why. Then I realized that these songs were in us even though we didn’t know them.” Like thousands of indigenous cultures around the world, the Emberá are slowly losing their culture. Here in the village of Piriatí, many of the children do not speak the language and most of the adults do not remember their traditional music. There were several elders present at the workshops who helped bring these songs to life. Recording these songs not only will communicate the Gospel in a culturally relevant, heart-touching way; but it will help preserve a culture, to be passed on to the next generations.

PANAMANIAN MISSION ADVENTURES: Here at YWAM Panama, we are gearing up for a historic event. For the first time ever, young Panamanians are crossing denominational lines and gearing up for Mission Adventures 2008. It is a 10-day event where YWAM Panama is providing teaching and training for short-term missions and then the expected 400+ young people will break up into groups and do mini-evangelistic outreaches all over the country of Panama. Kristina and I will be in charge of leading worship for the event. We hope many young Panamanians will get a heart for foreign missions and we will begin to see many sent out as missionaries. Please pray for this event that will take place the 14th-23rd of this month.

Have a great month and may the Lord bless you in everything you do.
Your friends, John, Kristina, and Natalie Henry

January Newsletter

FIRST EDITION: We thought that with the coming of the New Year, that we might put a new look on our newsletters. The ministry that we started here at Youth With A Mission Panama is called “Sonidos de la Selva” or “Sounds of the Jungle”. Its goal is to see the native peoples worshipping God the way He created them to be. We promote the implementation of their indigenous instruments, language, and music to be used in glorifying their Creator. We also just thought it sounded nice for the name for a newsletter.

END OF YEAR WRAP-UP: December has been a very busy month for us. The month was filled with many administrative tasks that John had as director of operations for YWAM Panama. One of the biggest was trying to register a hotel shuttle bus that had been donated and shipped from Miami. There are so many bureaucratic, frustrating steps in doing anything legal in Panama. Even though we have been in Latin America for several years now, our industrious, Western mindset still harshly clashes with the “mañana” mindset that many Latin countries work in. It has taught us patience and endurance. If anything, it’s helped our Spanish leaps and bounds. I can now argue using Spanish legal jargon. I also remind myself that everything I do in this position helps the ministries of YWAM run smoother, therein discipling more people and winning more souls to Christ.

EMBERA RECORDING SESSION: Many of you remember the song-writing workshop we were part of last October. The Emberá people from the church in Piratí composed five scripture songs in their own language and cultural style. We are planning a recording session to record those and others written since then on a high quality system. A few people from Proskuneo Ministries will be coming down with their recording equipment to help facilitate this session. This is taking place within the next 2 weeks. We will keep you updated on the outcome of this session. Please write us if you are interested in obtaining a copy of the c.d. or mp3’s of these songs to Ancone (God).

HAPPY NEW YEAR! We pray that 2007 has been a blessed year of growth for all of you as it has been for us. 2007 brought the birth of our first baby girl, a house, new friends, as well as bringing old friends to work alongside us in Panama. We praise God for all of you and His faithfulness through your prayer and financial support for our ministry. We pray 2008 brings you all closer to our Lord and that it brings success in all that you put your hands to do for His glory.
With Love,
John, Kristina, and Natalie Henry