Missionaries to Latin America
Verbo Ministries/Guatemala City

 James and Lynn Jankowiak

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We Want to See Churches Planted Worldwide

Dear Friends,

     I’ve preached more sermons about the End Times since the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon than in the last 15 years. People are more concerned about their future than ever, and they all want to know what the Bible says about everything from the Great Tribulation to the Antichrist.
     Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, all the guerrilla wars and economic debacles that beset Latin America—nothing compares to their fear of Islamic terrorism. People worry about opening letters from friends and relatives in the States. Did the envelope go through an anthrax-contaminated postal center?

Prayer is indispensable in our ministry. We generally pray for people after almost every public meeting. Recently I’ve been meeting weekly with the prayer leaders of our Guatemala City churches to help them guide their churches into a “culture of prayer.” I also started giving seminars on the subject at regional conferences so that we would truly becomes as Jesus said, “houses of prayer.”

     In a thousand little ways (and some big ones like economic downturns because Americans are spending less), everyone is adjusting to a scary new world. At one point we even received an advisory from the American Consulate here in Guatemala warning us to be careful of possible attacks on Americans.
     Frightening? Yes! But it is also a time for opportunity. People who thought life was a soft breeze on balmy tropical shores are now seriously concerned that their planned future is past, and that they’re not even remotely ready for a radically dangerous “what’s next” that’s patently out of their control.

Worship in our churches is full on. Verbo was a leader in the restoration of God-centered adoration, dance and the use of banners and flags in Latin America. Lynn, of course, likes to flow with the move of the Holy Spirit in the congregation.

     Suddenly, Jesus doesn’t seem so far fetched. That gives us a super chance to preach the Gospel to people who are willing to listen perhaps for the first time in their lives. We’re doing everything possible to make certain this Gospel of the Kingdom goes out to the ends of the earth as a witness.
     To do that, Lynn and I are constantly working with the leadership of the Verbo churches, particularly in Central America, though we have a ministering responsibility in the over 70 congregations that have grown up since our first Gospel Outreach team arrived in Guatemala from California 25 years ago.

Our work involves continuously visiting Verbo churches—both in Guatemala and other nations. One of our principal jobs is to help the leadership of congregations like this one in Quet-zaltenango, Guatemala, develop the skills they need to better care for their congregations. Another important aspect is to provide a unifying link among our churches and to remind the members that our real purpose in life is to glorify God, and to serve him by personal and corporate evangelism, holy living, and working for the unity of the Body of Christ.

     For this next year we’re spearheading at least two new teams and a lot of essential changes in how our ministry works. I went to Spain and North Africa in May to visit some of the about 200 ex-members of Verbo Ecuador. They’re now immigrants and they want us to start a church.
     It took a long time to get the plan together because of the high living costs in Europe. We would have liked to have been on the missionary team, but we’re sending another couple to Madrid, who in turn will open the door for a work in Africa and the Muslim world, which was already a priority for us before the Ben Ladin bombings.      We’re also starting work on a missionary team to Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, a steamy, sleazy port on the Caribbean. This town, along with the jungle town of Flores, Peten, entered my evangelism list more than 20 years ago. Finally we’re going to see a solid Christian work established in what is among of the least evangelized areas in the country.

Our daughter, Aurora, married Humberto “Beto” Tancillo in Palm Beach County, Florida at mid-year. Beto, a Brazilian, is now working with an American firm in the Palm Beach area. Aurora works in an accounting department for a Florida construction company.

     Miguel Angel Vasquez, who is coordinating the Puerto Barrios outreach with me, is one of the men I trained for ministry on our first stay in Guatemala in the late ‘70’s and early ‘80’s. He’s now the presiding elder of one of our churches in Guatemala City.
     Equipping faithful men for ministry who in turn will train others is the base of making the Reign of Jesus over this world the solution to mankind’s personal and social problems. We are dedicated to seeing this happen and hope the you’re also giving your lives to serve this needy world!

     In Meso-America there’s no such thing as an ordinary ministry road trip. Several weeks ago we left Guatemala City expecting a six-hour run to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. We arrived at a small border crossing under a light rain, cleared customs and immigration quickly, and headed down a fairly decent dirt road.
     By this time it was raining harder. The road was getting slippery. We passed a new BMW being towed toward Guatemala, but no other cars. Finally we came to what was normally a creek. Trucks and busses were fording it, but the water was at the level of our car’s windows. It turned out the BMW flooded in the middle of the crossing and had to be towed out.
     We had to backtrack to the border, get our passports restamped, and drive around through...ironically...an area that is being hit by a devastating draught. We reached an alternative border at closing time, but the Guatemalan officials kindly let us through.

It may not look like it but this truck is about to take a bath in deep water on a Honduran back road during Hurricane “Michelle” flooding (read the story to the left). Happily we didn’t slide off the road into culverts like several banana trucks did, but we did spent an extra nine hours finding a safe route from Guatemala City to San Pedro Sula.

     There was no electricity on the Honduran side and the officials couldn’t see in the dark. We found a flashlight and begged an immigration official to process our visas. After we agreed to drive him the 50 miles to his house from this remote secondary border crossing, he convinced the customs officer to complete our documents.
     Our six-hour trip took 15 hours. The outskirts of San Pedro Sula was under about eight feet of floodwater, but happily we entered on a road that was clear. We missed our first day’s meetings but were able to minister to the Verbo leadership in the following days.
     Hurricane “Michelle” was the reason for the rain. The storm dumped rain on the Atlantic coast for several more days, causing almost as much damage as “Mitch” three years ago.
     On the way home we drove out of the rain into the drought again. And that’s how preaching the Gospel goes in the Tropics.

The Holy Spirit is moving tremendously throughout Latin America and we have the privilege to be part of the work of raising up a great host for Jesus. Happily, we receive some support from the Hispanic churches in which we minister, but we also depend on regular financial donations from friends who want to help us expand the Kingdom of God in Latin America and beyond. We rely on your consistent monthly support—as the Lord guides you—to continue going forward. We deeply appreciate your concern for all those who will come to know Jesus through your generosity to this ministry. Please use the enclosed envelope and response device. Thank you for your prayers and friendship.

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