The Thomas Newsletter

Hello there! How have you been? How have you been, really? We all know everyone’s lives have changed in one way or another since a year ago. We want you to know, we are praying for you. Our heart goes out to those who may still be struggling from all that 2020 brought. But do not lose hope, do not be discouraged, for we serve someone who is greater, wiser, and above all, has never left our sides. My prayer is this, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” (Ephesians 1:17 NIV)

Since our last newsletter, we have returned home to Panama from our Costa Rica visit in the middle of January. Unfortunately, we came back to strict lockdown mandates from the country. The only places open were essentials such as grocery stores, gas stations, hospitals, etc. Some restaurants were open but only with online orders/delivery. Retail shops and such were still closed which we learned has continued to be devastating for the economy. We read in the national news that to get back to where the country was economically before the pandemic, would take about 10 years. However, we are grateful that since our return, things slowly but surely have been reopening, and starting March 6, it was the first weekend that we could leave the house. The government had mandated a complete quarantine on weekends for several months now to help reduce the number of COVID-19 cases.

In other news, Noah is now 14 months old! He is an active walker and explorer! Noah loves the outdoors, even more so now, because he can explore independently walking all by himself. Our curious little boy keeps us on our toes! Noah is also a little talker with a good number of words up his sleeve like up, down, hot, out, agua, and more. He has brought us so much joy during these times where restrictions were still so strict in Panama. He is a blessing we continuously are so grateful for. Noah is also excited, because he will not be the only child in our family now, because we are expecting!!! Baby Thomas #2 is due September 14th. We are so ecstatic about having another baby and cannot wait for Noah to have a little playmate. We should be finding out the gender later this month. Stephen and I are hoping that we will have a little girl. Of course, we will be happy with whatever gender God chooses to give us!

As for updates on fundraising, we have some more incredible news!!! We have a supporter who pledged to give $120,000 over the course of this year. Taking their donation into account, God has provided $321,000 of our $367,000 goal. This leaves us with a total of just $46,000 to raise! We feel so close to the goal and we hope to meet that goal by this summer, God willing.

With that in mind, we are planning on doing a big fundraising trip to the states later this month, to continue to spread the word about our vision. The vision that the Lord has given us to help abused and neglected children and help equip their families to better love and care for their children through sharing the power of the Gospel. We will be travelling to Texas, Arizona, Indiana, and Oklahoma. Please pray that God would touch people’s hearts, that Noah would adjust easily to all the travelling, and for good health as we travel and meet with a lot of different people. If you feel led to give financially, you can go to: abrahamproject.com/take-action. On this site, there are instructions on how to donate via check, or you can click the Paypal link for Abraham Project Panama and set up a payment there. All donations go directly to our building efforts in Panama.

Thank you so much for your help and prayers for everything going on in Panama. We pray that God would continue to reveal Himself in a very real way to you and your family.