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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

 DAN & CRICKET YOUNG

Missionaries serving in Panama

 Dan and Cricket Young, both native Californians, high school sweethearts and married for over thirty years are veteran missionaries to the country of Panama.  Following high school graduation, Dan joined the Navy where he served in submarine duty from 1968-1975.

 Sensing God’s call to full-time service, Dan left the Navy and he, Cricket and their two children moved to the Los Angeles, CA area and enrolled in the Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College.  Completing four years of study in three and following graduation, the Lord called them to serve with Dr. James M. Phillips at the Bible Baptist Church in Matthews, North Carolina.  It was here that the Lord began to really speak to their hearts about the mission field.

 After nearly eight years of full-time work, including Christian school administration, music, youth, and the pastorate, Dan and Cricket surrendered to the mission field.   The surrender was made public during the last service of the 1986 mission’s conference at Central Baptist Church in Portsmouth, Virginia.  Applying to the Baptist Bible Fellowship, International, they were approved in May 1986 as missionaries to Panama. Central Baptist Church in Portsmouth, Virginia is their sending church.

 Since arriving on the field in February 1988 they have been involved in church planting and training of national workers.  Their first work was a joint effort.  Working with Bill and Cindy Hargis, they helped plant a church in Chanis, an upper-middle class area.  Following these two years of co-laboring, language development and culture adaptation, they branched out to a lower income area called Veracruz.  There, in August 1990 they began full services of the Iglesia Bautista Maranatha (Maranatha Baptist Church).  This followed a year’s effort of once a week Bible studies, punctuated by an interruption called “Just Cause,” the invasion of US forces to remove General Noriega from power.

 The work has progressed steadily as many have been saved, baptized and have gone on in serving the Lord.  Because of the transitory nature of Veracruz, national leadership has been slow in coming.   This remains a high priority and an item of much prayer.

 In addition to the work in Veracruz, Dan and Cricket have also worked with other independent Baptist missionaries in several areas.  One of which is the Bible institute (of which Dan is the current director).   This serves the churches as a focal point of training and motivation for greater ministry.  Another area of joint effort has been with Operation Renewed Hope.  Operation Renewed Hope is a local church ministry based in Fayetteville, North Carolina through the Cornerstone Baptist Church, Jan Milton, pastor.  As a result of humanitarian efforts and medical assistance, this program has served to help open up several remote areas of Panama. One is located west of the capital, and several others on the northwest coast of the Caribbean side of Panama.  To both of these areas God has called men from the ranks of those won and discipled in Panama.

 Because of the large Kuna Indian population in the work in Veracruz, there has also been opportunity for some limited work in San Blas or Kuna Yala. This is an Indian reservation and access is very much controlled by the Silah or tribal chieftain. Here the work is limited because of transportation and cost.  Round trip airfare is just under sixty dollars. Trips in by boat take several days and cannot be made as frequently in the summer due to high winds, which makes open ocean travel more dangerous.