All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, And they shall glorify Your name. For You are great and do wondrous deeds; You alone are God.
Psalm 86:9-10
by STN Board Member, Tammy Werth
In October, I had the privilege of traveling to Panama. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I am thankful the Lord allowed me to join Pastor Eddie and his wife, Xiomara, in Panama. I’ve always wanted to see the Panama Canal, and the city and the people exceeded my expectations. The start of each group brings the exciting opportunity to meet new pastors and students.
It was a blessing to meet Pastor Moreno, his wife, and his brother, who welcomed us with hospitality and made us feel like family. The joy of the Lord is evident in Pastor Moreno, who always has a big smile and a contagious laugh. His beautiful wife Giovanni is gentle and quiet and the mother of seven. Pastor Moreno’s brother, Kenny, graciously became our driver, and tour guide and even cooked us a special meal.
I couldn’t contribute much because I don’t speak Spanish, but the Lord allowed me to experience Panama’s beauty. Unlike the densely packed streets of India, Panama presented a different kind of busyness. Its roads were filled with much traffic but had a more relaxed Caribbean atmosphere. I truly appreciated your prayers; I felt safe throughout my travels and the Lord’s comforting peace as we explored this exciting country.
The American influence is evident, especially near the canal, but I didn’t sense the spiritual oppression I’ve often felt in other cities. Even while driving through a dangerous neighborhood near the historic area of Casco Viejo, I felt the Lord’s peace. Our driver, Kenny, on the other hand, experienced quite the opposite when he was forced to take unexpected detours that forced us into unfamiliar streets. We traveled through El Chorrillo which is a red zone area, and tourists are advised to avoid it. We saw many neglected, overcrowded apartment buildings, noticeable poverty, taxis everywhere, dusty streets, and lots of people sitting outside or walking around. These scenes are typical in impoverished areas or countries. The contrast was striking against the backdrop of the beautiful preserved colonial area of Casco Viejo and the sparkling modern and affluent downtown Panama.
On Friday, we attended a class that just started. Over thirty-two students are participating at this small church, which is impressive. There are now two more classes in Panama, one has thirty-six, and the other has twenty students, which is equally exciting. I thought I’d be able to grasp a few familiar words from the teaching in Spanish. I quickly realized I couldn’t understand anything until the end when the students recited the names of books in the Bible. I even tried using Google Translate and about halfway through the class, I leaned over to Xiomara and asked, “Are you following this?” She replied, “No.” It turned out the teacher was speaking many words in an Indigenous language from Panama, which made it impossible for me to understand anything. 🤦
On Saturday, our drive to the church was interrupted by strong winds and heavy rain from Hurricane Nadine in the Caribbean Sea. Although the hurricane didn’t make direct landfall in Panama, the area still experienced its effects. Pastor Moreno called his wife, Giovanni, who was driving me and Xiomara, and asked her to pull over to safety because strong winds and heavy rain were approaching. This prompted us to pray and ask the Lord for travel mercies while we waited. Until then, we had only experienced light rains, heat, and a lot of humidity in the afternoons. The dangerous winds and flooded impassable streets made the journey to church dangerous. This serves as a vivid reminder of how quickly life’s storms can catch us off guard but He is with us and our hope is in Him.
Please pray for the pastors and students in the three new groups that launched in Panama in the fall of 2024, as well as for the new group that started in El Salvador. These dedicated individuals passionately serve the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
I left Los Angeles Thursday, October 27 and arrived in Hyderabad Saturday, October 30th. My first flight into Dubai was excellent but the second into India was crowded. After twenty-two hours, I was happy to see the smiles of Ryder and Flory waiting for me at the airport greeting area. Getting through customs didn’t seem to be a problem and it was such a blessing to see the Kumar’s for the first time in over a year.
My second day in India was Sunday and we attended worship services at Ravi & Shanthi’s church, Rehoboth House of Worship. Worship started at 10:00 a.m. and ended three hours later. Lunch and tea with the congregation and then a wonderful time with Shanthi’s ladies group. I could not have asked for a better day with brothers and sisters who love the Lord and His Word.
Ryder and Flory were full of hospitality and encouragement. Getting from place to place was always interesting and a bit time consuming but Ryder assured me the traffic was light.
Flory and I visited a church outside of Hyderabad for a children’s after school program and a ladies meeting. This church ran the program for local children who come every day for bible action songs, a lesson, tutoring and food. We started out with a few songs and half way through the songs the church was full of little ones singing the songs and doing the movements. Please pray for the children you see in the pictures. The Gospel is shared but most of these children are from Hindu families. My prayer is that God would use the pastor, his wife and all the after school workers to plant seeds that would grow in these children. After the children’s program, Flory and I were able to share with the sisters who attended the evening meeting until about 9:30 pm.
Mid-week,I spent time with the sisters at El Shaddai Church. I attended this church during my visit in 2014. Pastor Paul preached that morning and many remember him. Traveling around the city I visited the STN India offices that was dedicated to the Lord’s work a week or two after I left.
I also had the incredible opportunity to visit a Christian orphanage which was not what I expected. The children were beautiful, smiling and enthusiastic and the young couple responsible for helping heal these little ones hearts and shape their lives were obviously well suited for this special ministry. Please pray for this couple and the children in their care.
The highlight of my trip was the special graduation in Vijayawada. I was able to watch and participate in the graduation ceremony. There were 35 students and about 200 in the audience watching and cheering the graduates on. It was a delight to see the Kalapala family who are faithful to what they have learned and who are growing, training and disciplining others for the Kingdom of God. My heart was immediately joined to all these brothers and sisters and I will not forget them! I wish I had more time with this special family.
Ryder Kumar is serving as our International Director. As one of the founding members of Shepherding the Nations, it was Ryder's vision to see pastors trained and equipped for ministry that became the foundation of Shepherding the Nations.
Shepherding the Nations has identified qualified and called men who are already working in unreached areas of India and Nepal. We are providing the training to better equip them and the financial resources to support them in their ministries.
Our directors have been equipped to teach our ten-volume training curriculum. These key men are training indigenous pastors and church planters while also providing accountability, resources materials, and support. 
During our training program, we provide our ten volume set of curriculum from the Biblical Training Centre for Pastors (BTCP) in their local language. We also provide essentials resources such as Bible Concordance and Study Bible. We have been able to provide these books to all of our pastors through the generous donations of our donors. These books can be purchased for about $10 each or an entire set for $100.