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SERVING IN PANAMA from John Castillo SOUTHBRIDGE FELLOWSHIP June News & Events In October 2014, I traveled to Panama for the first time with a team from Southbridge. My family had been attending Southbridge for a year and a half, during which the Lord had revolutionized my walk with Him: cleaning up specific sins in my life, unburdening me of bitterness and unforgiveness, and helping me to understand how deeply He loved me. I wanted to serve Him in return and be part of what God was doing through Heart’s Cry’s founders, Matt and Misty Hedspeth. With His help, the Hedspeths have fundamen- tally improved the adoption and foster care systems in Panama and all of Latin America as a result. e Lord reminded me on that first trip that He cares about more than just our little piece of the world. He showed me His great love for the people of Panama and that He remembers every one of the “forgotten” children in those orphanages. My faith and trust in the Lord also grew as I heard Matt and Misty share story aſter story of God’s miraculous provision for Heart’s Cry and Casa Providencia, the 40,000 sq ſt former facility that was donated to Heart’s Cry and is being converted into the country’s only orphanage dedicated to special needs children. On June 11th, my team (pictured above) will be head- ing to Panama to serve at Heart’s Cry. We plan to visit several orphanages and provide love and care to the children and staff members. Included in these will be Metro Amigo, one of the worst orphanages in Panama, and Malambo, a Catholic run orphanage and one of the best in Panama. We’ll have an opportunity to do a prayer walk through Casa Providen- cia and assist with construction.We’ll spend time with the Hedspeths and provide them encouragement and care. Finally, we will share the gospel. Please pray for God’s protection of our team; that the team would develop a great love for Panama, Heart’s Cry and the children they interact with; that we would see children and orphanage staff respond to the gospel; and that the remainder of our necessary financial support would come in. Pray for the Hedspeths to be physically, emotionally and spiritu- ally refreshed. Please for the remaining funds necessary for Casa Providencia’s completion to come in quickly, and pray for staff to be identified and hired for the facility. GIVE ONLINE TO THE PANAMA TEAM southbridgefellowship.com/give
