One Stone at a Time

By Brenda Bunch

I wasn’t expecting to see my friend Nerieda on my recent trip to Panama. My heart began to race as I saw her walk into the new church plant in Chame. I jumped up to give her a hug. What joy filled our hearts as we embraced. Tears ran down our faces. We rejoiced, thankful the Lord allowed us to see each other again.

She wanted me to hear her testimony. She had shared it just a few months earlier with the ladies at a meeting in her hometown. Previously, she had been unable to give her testimony because she became so emotional she couldn’t speak clearly. This time, the Lord gave her strength and the opportunity to share what God had done in her life.

Nerieda’s Testimony

Nerieda didn’t attend church with her husband and four daughters when they began attending the church Stan and I were starting in Parita. She had other, more pressing things she thought she needed to do. She was among those in the town who felt we were trying to destroy their traditions. They wanted Stan and I to leave. Along with others, she threw rocks at our building during the services.

Nerieda helped develop and motivate an antagonist group. They marched around the town chanting “Ni un bloque más!” (Not one more block!) while we tried to build cinderblock walls on the church. They also planned to vandalize the property. A Free Will Baptist pastor’s wife whose husband was from Parita heard about the plans and prayed the protestors would not cause damage. At the same time, an E-TEAM was in Panama. The students intended to help construct concrete pillars for the fence around the property. The police stopped the protestors that day, just as the E-TEAM arrived. We found our chairs had been cut up and the pillars destroyed the night before.

Only God could change Nerieda’s heart. And He did! She eventually began attending services. Through Bible teaching and the ministry of the Holy Spirit she became a new creature in Christ. She now teaches Sunday School at the new Chame church.* Her daughter, who was in my class as a preschooler in Parita, also teaches Sunday School. God’s Word is so powerful, and it blesses me to know I had a small part in their growth. Presently, a young couple from the Parita FWB Church are students in the Chame FWB Seminary.

Photos: (top) Nerieda greets her friend Brenda; (bottom two) Classes led by Nerieda's daughter.

What joy to hear her testimony while we worked side-by-side pulling weeds at the seminary. She told me her husband wanted to attend the seminary, and she was not the least bit interested. He didn’t mention it again. Instead, he prayed for God’s will to be done. He asked God to change her heart if it was the right thing for them to do. When it was time to register, she was ready to go. Her family wasn’t supportive of them attending a Protestant Bible seminary. They reminded the young couple they wouldn’t have a salary during the three years of seminary preparation. What in the world were they thinking?

This couple (pictured above), scheduled to graduate in December 2019, has a powerful vision for their home church to grow. While seminary classes are in session, they travel every Friday from the seminary to Parita to minister throughout the weekend. Parita, population 4,500, has no other evangelical church. I am so thankful God gave Stan the vision and wisdom to establish a church and purchase property there. I pray those who lead the congregation always will remember they plant the seeds, but God brings the growth.

* FWB International Missions has approved an Impact Panama Chame Church project, which is helping this newly formed congregation purchase a property previously owned by New Tribes Mission.

About the Writer: Brenda Bunch and her husband Stan were appointed to overseas missionary service in Panama, Central America, in 1983. While in Panama, the couple and their three children Jonathan, Alicia, and Amanda helped to start three churches. The most recent officially organized August 27, 2011. Today, the ministry in Panama is under the leadership of Panamanian Free Will Baptists. Learn more: IMINC.org.