The Creech Family

October 19, 2000

Dear Brethren,

In the two and a half months that we have been back from Panama, we have visited five churches in five different states, including one day at the annual preaching conference in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Quite a few supporting churches have called and we are scheduled up through the rest of this year. We have dates available in February and March of next year if anyone would like us to come by. One very interesting and enjoyable activity has been "rehearsing all that God had done with them" (Acts 14:27) to our home church. Our pastor has given me an opportunity at nearly every service to present details of the work in Panama; facts about the men we are discipling, our methods of working, and a sense of the day to day life of the people. It has been encouraging to me to see the genuine interest of our church in the realities of the mission field.

RADIO REPORT

We continue to press forward with the project of acquiring the radio station in Santiago. One church has made a donation of five thousand dollars toward the purchase. Others have let us know that they are considering what the Lord would have them to do. In the meantime we feel a great urgency to do what we can immediately. On October 1 we began buying two hours of programming daily on this station. The air time costs one thousand dollars monthly and the programs are produced by a Panamanian brother, Cristobal Yañez. After the first week, he sent me a letter with the following comments, "With great joy we began the new programming, now with two hours per day. Although it is a lot more work, it is also a big blessing and spiritual help to the thousands of listeners in the Central Provinces. At the end of the first week of programs I am happy to let you know that we have been receiving calls..., we have distributed the courses to many new students.... We sent fifteen studies to Chitré in Herrera province and the group of students in Bocas del Toro province is growing.... My wife is devoting time daily to grade and send the courses to different places, by mail, by bus, and by various brothers who deliver them personally. We were able to distribute eighty eight Bibles among the most advanced students and in two public schools."

Please help us with prayer for this important ministry.

TRIP TO PANAMA

The Lord willing, I will be going to Panama on October 31st and returning around November 14th. The purpose of the trip is to attend our annual Evangelism Seminar in Gatun and then to go to Santiago to work on some aspects of the radio ministry. I also have scheduled a meeting in Panama City with the director of RRB, the Spanish language branch of a satellite radio network based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

FROM VALERIE

As we go around visiting the churches that support us, I am amazed at how many churches there are on every corner, in every town & even way out in the countrysides! We Christians in general have become discouraged about the overall condition of our country spiritually. Being in Panama for 8 years makes me realize when I return here that we really are STILL a Christian nation. Panama is not! There are churches there, but nothing compared to the USA. This comparison motivates me to try harder to maintain what we have here as best I can & I know many others here who feel the same way. We simply could not do what we are doing in Panama without the great number of Christians who are here holding us up, both financially & with prayer. With this hectic lifestyle, I can better understand how difficult it is to stay focused on our real purpose of winning souls, but let's not let that happen to us.

Yours in Christ,
Robert Creech
rcreech@mbbc.us