walking on opportunity One of the very first things I did when I got home was make a visit to my eye doctor. The tropical sun literally melted my glasses, the protective coating and the frames were flaking off like birch bark, I needed new glasses and a pair of prescription sunglasses that could take the abuse off of my eyes. Putting on my new glasses was amazing and disorienting, again seeing the world clearly and comfort-ably. Our time in the United States was in many ways like that new pair of glasses, the perspective gained from a year on the mission field fundamentally changed how I saw things that used to be incredibly familiar to me. I felt like opportunities for outreach were EVERY-WHERE in the United States, so many people from so many places collided in my home town, desperate to make friends, to find meaning, to be understood... I couldn’t believe how many people from China and the Middle East were walking on the sidewalks and shop-ping at my old grocery stores, trying to learn English and give their families a better shot at life by moving to another country, all without the knowledge and hope of the gospel.

a note from LCMS missionaries James & Christel October 2009

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and are willing to listen to anything for the sake of friendship; I was constantly struck over and over again with ideas for out-reach and ministry in my own country and language, shocked that for 22 years I had been sitting in a gold mine of opportu-nities for the Gospel and had done almost nothing. This month we celebrated the confirmation of one of Christel’s English students here in Panama; English help is desired by countless Muslim students and families and the thousands of Asian immigrants who move across the world and live in a foreign language and culture just for a chance at a better life, all it would take is an ad in the paper or a flyer on a light post in downtown Ann Arbor and someone from Arabia or Cambodia could call you and ask to meet twice a week to go over English homework! While worshipping with my home congregation one of our supporters told me about her Muslim baby sitter and the conversations that they have and the dif-ficulties that she goes through, an incredible opportunity to be a friend and to show what the love of Christ is all about.

“Communities which are closed to missionaries are pouring into my home town...”

Coming from my context in the United States to Panama was a difficult cultural transition, learning a new language is not easy and can be very humiliating and difficult, and yet Christel and I have a huge network of supporters praying for us and en-couraging us, as well as a team on the ground here helping us to adapt, and the peace and hope that comes from knowing Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Can you imagine how it must feel for someone like Abdul from Egypt, leaving his family and his lan-guage and culture to go to Michigan to study medicine in another language all alone, or the Mong family from East Timor who come to Ann Arbor to escape the violence in their home town and aban-don everything they own and everyone that cares about them? You have the hope of the Gospel in your heart and are surrounded by people desperate for you to share it with them, be encouraged that God has placed these opportunities at your doorstep and prepared you to go out and reach these people with His love. Opportunity is knocking, please don’t walk away. - James

Muslim Immigrant, New York City, 2007, James Neuendorf

Photos of home

prayer requests :- James’ trip to Peru- National pastors and leaders in Latin America- A thank you for a wonderful trip home to reflect and reconnect- Bruce, Sarah, Stephanie, and Benjamin Wall as they plan their move to Panama- Jerona and Kathy (who work in the regional office) as they reach out to their community - the Kunas

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