Saludos de Panama!
It is with great joy and excitement that we write and tell you about our new brother in Christ, Justo, who was baptized yesterday evening! Justo has been studying English and the book of Luke with Rachel for over two months now and decided that he wanted to obey the Word of God, to be baptized for the repentance of his sins and make a public statement that he is a believer in Christ, and to do it as Christ commanded in Matthew and Mark and as the apostles described in the book of Acts.
In the course of being here, we have been given the tremendous blessing of being able to share the Gospel with numerous children, adults, and families and to plant many seeds. We've seen that it's easy to try to look at "conversions" or "baptisms" in worldly sense, in a way of measurement that our American mindsets and ideas tell us that quantity should be used to evaluate the effectiveness of a ministry or a mission, but we've learned that can't forget that Christ Himself emphasized the importance of each and every soul that may come to know that Lord, "there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." (Luke 15:10) and even people who physically sat at the feet of our Lord Jesus still rejected him until their death. So, we ask, we beg, that you will fervently be praying for those who still need to embrace the gift of life (John 10:10 says that, "I [being Jesus] have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."), and lay their lives down before Jesus, that upon believing that He is the Son of God, our Messiah, and that He died for our sins, only to rise from the dead, thus conquering death and sin, on the third day to make a promise that we, who embrace Him, will one day rise again too, if will do as the apostle preached to those who believed the the authenticity and authority of Christ. And, that through faith, grace and baptism, we will be given His Spirit and therefore the the fruits of this Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. (Gal. 5:22) And also pray fervently for the people who need a rewakening of their souls and of their faith and love in the Lord.
Pray for Tania, one of Jami's readers, that she, after witnessing Justo's baptism yesterday, will make the same choice to follow her Creator, who knows her better than anyone else and wants to shower her in His love because He created her, and that she will come to know this peace that passes all understanding. Pray for Yaremis, another one of Jami's readers, who knows what she must do to be written in the book of life, but needs the courage to follow in the Lord's footsteps. Pray for Jami's reader Raul, who is young and full of life, and has a strong belief in God but who Satan blinds and keeps from seeing the need for something more. Pray for Hamminder, Rachel's reader who is Hindu, that she might discover the truth, the beauty, and the love, that is Jesus Christ. Please pray for Ulysses and Noris, the couple with whom we live, that they will seek Him and make Him their Lord and Master. Pray for Ida, for Dhayllis, for Javier, all individuals that we have attended family Bible studies with in their homes, and listen to Raul, the minister, share the importance of obeying the Gospel, people who also know what they must do, but for some reason are hesitant to do it. Pray for Isabel, who so many of you have already lifted up to our Father--she's someone that we can see a drastic change in in the short months that we have known her, and who we still pray that God's faithfulness will reign over, that one day she might come to live a life of service to Him. Please pray for Rachel's readers Dargelis and Lucille, young girls that have much to look forward to--we ask that your prayer for them be that they will come to look forward to a life of living for Him. Also, please remember to pray for the Christians that need encouragement, a renewal of their spirit, a deeper relationship with Christ, and that they will find the joy of their salvation.
If we thought months one, two, three, and four flew by, we are amazed at how fast our final month, month five, has come and is quickly going! We have less than two weeks left in Panama, and it's a bittersweet state to say the least. On one hand, we're excited to go home, have Sonic, Skyline, and GOOD Mexican food. We're ready to see our families, sleep in our own bed, and pet, cuddle, and coo our beloved pets. I think we're ready for an independence, a general knowledge of what's going on and ability to make decisions quickly, a sense of self-sufficiency that we haven't experienced overtly in Panama. But, on the other hand, our list of what we're going to miss is seemingly endless. Mango trees, Salsa music, walking as means of transportation, patacones (Which we will have to make for you if you have never had them!), reading, and over all more relaxed, take it as it comes atmosphere and culture--we apologize now for the untimeliness we have developed and that we're not sure we're going to want to have reenculturated (We're not even sure if that's a word, but hopefully, you get the idea) into us. Even though we're working and have a great task at hand, the "do it when I get to it" attitude definitely lends towards lower stress levels and more enjoyable, personable interactions. We're going to miss the church, the value that's placed on personally greeting each member of the assembly of God, greetings with a kiss into the air next to the cheek, and the giving of God's blessing on each and every individual. We're going to miss the precious brown eyes of the little children we've come to adore at the elementary school and who greet us each morning by saying "Guh mowrnin Teacher Wachel. Guh mowrnin Teacher Yami", which often, ,in the first and second grade classes, becomes "Good morning Teacher WRami." Too cute! We're going to miss our readers, who we have gotten to know so well over the last months, who's souls we have come to pray for so often and souls we've seen Christ fighting to win--readers, others we've studied with, and our families and friends at home in the US (Not just for the people here, but for our family and friends at home who are still resisiting an intimate, genuine, full relationship with the God of the universe who is calling their name!) will come to fully know the Lord). We're going to miss the crazy four year old we live with, who seems to have an endless supply of entertainment for us, our time with our dear friends here (Especially our other roommate Erica, who will be staying until December to continue teaching at the elementary school), and, of course, the beaches, the Causeway, and all of our other favorite Panama spots. But the time has come to head home, to what exactly, other than our family and friends, God only knows. So, we ask that you pray for us,too, and whatever God has next for us, and that we, like Paul, "...may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." (Acts 20:24) and that we will not forget in the last days that "...Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all..." (2 Cor.5:14), and that these responsibilities that we have as Christians, will not be left behind in Panama, but will be pursued, cared for, and shared with others the moment we step back into US soil.
And, so, here we are. Excited to see what's next, sad to say goodbye to what's already passed. Panama has been an adventure to say the least, from city to countryside, from being sick and at the hospital, to spending a Saturday on a nearly deserted island in the Caribbean with the Kuna Indians (of which we will attach some pictures), and so much more. God has blessed us richly, and I pray that He will bless you as well. He says that He will bless us more and more the more we use the things and serve Him with the things that He has already given us, and so I pray, that with the knowledge of Him that He has already given you, whether you grew up in the church or are learning of Him for the first time through these emails (Which if that is the case, then we ask for your forgiveness, because as Christians and workers of the Kingdom, we have done you and your Creator, our King, a great disservice, and we pray for an opportunity to share more of this unsurpassing love of Christ and peace that passes all understanding and hope for a life eternal free from pain, worry, and fear with you as soon as God allows-whether it be your initiating or the Lord's.), we pray that you will use this Knowledge of Him to share it with others and develop a richer faith for yourself in Him, and you will be speechless at the blessings that will pour forth into your lap. We love you all. Thanks for the prayers, the encouragement. We look forward to seeing you soon.
Love and a multitude of blessings from our Lord
Jami and Rachel
Monday, May 26
Saturday, May 3
Just to name a few...
Some interesting experiences here in Panama:
-Went spear fishing with Embera Indians
-Witnessed an active volcano
-Ziplined through the rainforest
-Swam in the Caribbean
-Watched Kuna children play with a dead chicken inside a hut where hammocks hung and a fire burned
-Danced under a house on stilts
-Snorkeled in the coral reef and touched a wild crab
-Seen a monkey, toucan, and iguana in its natural habitat
-Studied the bible with non-believers
-We drank the water… and paid for it…
-…Were attached to an IV in a hospital without electricity and running water and were administered drugs by a nurse without a bra
-Trekked through the Darien (and survived)…
-…Protected by armed Policemen against Columbian gorilla warefare fighters in the jungle
-Watched a movie under the stars on a hammock
-Celebrated New Years in a different country
-Crossed a river 7 times while leaving a small village in the mountains (on horseback!)
-Visited islands in the Pacific and Atlantic ocean
-Seen the Panama Canal
-Been to an all natural mud and hot springs spa in the mountains
-Swam under a mountain/jungle waterfall
-Fainted in front of a crowd
-Had an Embera child’s monkey on my shoulder
-Had a “riot day” off of school
-Spent an entire day riding bikes through the mountains
-Use an “outhouse” with a million cockroaches crawling all over the floor and walls (if that’s not bravery than I don’t know what is!!!)
-Spent nights listening to live Salsa music and feeling the breeze off the canal
-Spent weekends on the island of flowers
-Rode in a taxi with a man with a machete in the dashboard (ok, it was just a really large knife)
-Had an indigenous Indian woman put a homemade bracelet on my wrist
-Watched an entire movie in Spanish with no subtitles… and actually followed it!
-Took a dance class with a woman wearing spandex under her bathing suit
-Awaken by numerous teenagers staring at you while you slept
-Saw the ruins of old Caribbean Pirate defense weapons
-Stayed in a room with pads plastered on the wall as decor
-Fed gato solos with our bare hands
-Managed over 50 Spanish speaking children in VBS
-Went to the oldest church in the western hemisphere
-Ate at a restaurant with a tree growing through it
-Went on a Toucan hunt
-Slept in a room with no floors
-Ate rice pudding to celebrate a baby's first tooth
-Drank sugar water to cure mosquito bites
-Ate soup with bones and corn on the cob in it, while people watched you eat it.
-Helped build a foundation of a church
-Sang songs under the brilliant countryside stars for three hours straight
-Learned to make fried green bananas
-Went spear fishing with Embera Indians
-Witnessed an active volcano
-Ziplined through the rainforest
-Swam in the Caribbean
-Watched Kuna children play with a dead chicken inside a hut where hammocks hung and a fire burned
-Danced under a house on stilts
-Snorkeled in the coral reef and touched a wild crab
-Seen a monkey, toucan, and iguana in its natural habitat
-Studied the bible with non-believers
-We drank the water… and paid for it…
-…Were attached to an IV in a hospital without electricity and running water and were administered drugs by a nurse without a bra
-Trekked through the Darien (and survived)…
-…Protected by armed Policemen against Columbian gorilla warefare fighters in the jungle
-Watched a movie under the stars on a hammock
-Celebrated New Years in a different country
-Crossed a river 7 times while leaving a small village in the mountains (on horseback!)
-Visited islands in the Pacific and Atlantic ocean
-Seen the Panama Canal
-Been to an all natural mud and hot springs spa in the mountains
-Swam under a mountain/jungle waterfall
-Fainted in front of a crowd
-Had an Embera child’s monkey on my shoulder
-Had a “riot day” off of school
-Spent an entire day riding bikes through the mountains
-Use an “outhouse” with a million cockroaches crawling all over the floor and walls (if that’s not bravery than I don’t know what is!!!)
-Spent nights listening to live Salsa music and feeling the breeze off the canal
-Spent weekends on the island of flowers
-Rode in a taxi with a man with a machete in the dashboard (ok, it was just a really large knife)
-Had an indigenous Indian woman put a homemade bracelet on my wrist
-Watched an entire movie in Spanish with no subtitles… and actually followed it!
-Took a dance class with a woman wearing spandex under her bathing suit
-Awaken by numerous teenagers staring at you while you slept
-Saw the ruins of old Caribbean Pirate defense weapons
-Stayed in a room with pads plastered on the wall as decor
-Fed gato solos with our bare hands
-Managed over 50 Spanish speaking children in VBS
-Went to the oldest church in the western hemisphere
-Ate at a restaurant with a tree growing through it
-Went on a Toucan hunt
-Slept in a room with no floors
-Ate rice pudding to celebrate a baby's first tooth
-Drank sugar water to cure mosquito bites
-Ate soup with bones and corn on the cob in it, while people watched you eat it.
-Helped build a foundation of a church
-Sang songs under the brilliant countryside stars for three hours straight
-Learned to make fried green bananas
Thursday, May 1
I know these words are expressed a lot but the amount of growth, understanding, and great things that I am experiencing is unbelievable. The magnitude of it all is just too much to ignore. I am growing more and more anxious to go home and to see what all is in store for me in the future. However, I am also thankful for everyday that I am here because of the wisdom that I am learning. But as with any wisdom that one gains, there comes the realization of the great amount that is still waiting undiscovered.
The thing about all of this is that, for the very first time in my entire life, this unknown does not cause me to have any fear at all. A purpose is finally being understood… and with that comes a freedom. The more I come to see God and the more I let Him dwell in my heart and guide my daily walk, then a greater amount of peace comes over me. I am seeing more and more that it is not all about the tangible things. I am seeing that it is not all about the measurement of wealth and prosperity, popularity or intelligence, talents or charms (and you can name the rest). The more I see that it’s not even ALL about what you accomplish.
What it is all about is something bigger than ourselves. Something that was set into motion thousands of years ago and has been so brilliantly plotted out to cover over all the many people of all many cultures of all the days. We can have a glimpse of that through diving into the word but even then we cannot see it all, nor the motions that are playing out all around us even now. (Which I might add, shows the importance and reason for trying to discover it and why it is absurd to draw conclusions from our extremely cultural and personal bias mindsets).
Being here and being stripped of so much has been a great experience. I stand before my readers and the people I meet with feeling nothing more than how Paul did in his first letter to the Corinthians: "When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power" (2:1-5)
It has been an amazing journey of being stripped down and humbled, left to do nothing more than cling to the one person who was there all along just waiting for permission to step inside of me. And now comes the fun part of being able to start seeing life and all the joys in it as northing more than blessings and beauties. Not as burdens or as measurements to live up to. But as a daily walk and revealing of one more thing to enjoy with my time here. I am beginning to lose so much fear, headaches, loneliness, emptiness, stress, etc. Because here I am! And I am nothing more than “a mist that appears for a while and then vanishes” (James 3:14) How empowering! We were chosen and given a great gift. I am part of a story that is bigger than myself. Part of a body that needs me and my role to play! And I have someone who loves me and fights for me always. “Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21)
It is like a breath of fresh air. I have finally discovered the key to unlock the purpose of my life. And that is something that was promised to me a while ago.
"My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,
and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.
For the LORD gives wisdom,
and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He holds victory in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.
Then you will understand what is right and just
and fair—every good path.
For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
Discretion will protect you,
and understanding will guard you."
(Proverbs 2:1-11)
To end all of my rambling about discovery, I will leave one passage that sums up all that I am feeling. One that speaks so clearly to me at this time…
"Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment. So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless." (Ecclesiastes 11:9-10)
The thing about all of this is that, for the very first time in my entire life, this unknown does not cause me to have any fear at all. A purpose is finally being understood… and with that comes a freedom. The more I come to see God and the more I let Him dwell in my heart and guide my daily walk, then a greater amount of peace comes over me. I am seeing more and more that it is not all about the tangible things. I am seeing that it is not all about the measurement of wealth and prosperity, popularity or intelligence, talents or charms (and you can name the rest). The more I see that it’s not even ALL about what you accomplish.
What it is all about is something bigger than ourselves. Something that was set into motion thousands of years ago and has been so brilliantly plotted out to cover over all the many people of all many cultures of all the days. We can have a glimpse of that through diving into the word but even then we cannot see it all, nor the motions that are playing out all around us even now. (Which I might add, shows the importance and reason for trying to discover it and why it is absurd to draw conclusions from our extremely cultural and personal bias mindsets).
Being here and being stripped of so much has been a great experience. I stand before my readers and the people I meet with feeling nothing more than how Paul did in his first letter to the Corinthians: "When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power" (2:1-5)
It has been an amazing journey of being stripped down and humbled, left to do nothing more than cling to the one person who was there all along just waiting for permission to step inside of me. And now comes the fun part of being able to start seeing life and all the joys in it as northing more than blessings and beauties. Not as burdens or as measurements to live up to. But as a daily walk and revealing of one more thing to enjoy with my time here. I am beginning to lose so much fear, headaches, loneliness, emptiness, stress, etc. Because here I am! And I am nothing more than “a mist that appears for a while and then vanishes” (James 3:14) How empowering! We were chosen and given a great gift. I am part of a story that is bigger than myself. Part of a body that needs me and my role to play! And I have someone who loves me and fights for me always. “Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21)
It is like a breath of fresh air. I have finally discovered the key to unlock the purpose of my life. And that is something that was promised to me a while ago.
"My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,
and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.
For the LORD gives wisdom,
and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He holds victory in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.
Then you will understand what is right and just
and fair—every good path.
For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
Discretion will protect you,
and understanding will guard you."
(Proverbs 2:1-11)
To end all of my rambling about discovery, I will leave one passage that sums up all that I am feeling. One that speaks so clearly to me at this time…
"Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment. So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless." (Ecclesiastes 11:9-10)
Thursday, March 20
Life in Panama is still amazing. I cannot believe that we past our halfway mark of our time here! I’m sitting here on the computer, frustrated that I haven’t written in so long because now I have no idea what to write. So much has happened, so many lessons learned, so many things we have seen and experienced. How can I choose which ones to write? I turned to my journal to see if there was something in there that can help make this easier for me but I haven’t written in there either! The same emotions came over me at night when it was time to write- it’s just too much. So here I am, overwhelmed, amazed, anxious to get it all out, and… well I guess ready to try to write. (But first I want to point out that I finally published a blog that I started a month ago and forgot about. It’s called “A Story” and it’s below this post).
The Darien marked a new mindset in my life. That experience was one that I will forever cherish in my heart. The entire time we were on the boat riding to La Palma I kept thinking “I can’t believe that this is my life”. I sat there, trying to practice my Spanish with the armed police officer sitting next to me, and Larry kept turning around telling us that this is something that most people never get to see. My heart was already so anxious, starting from about the time when Jami and I were on the bus traveling down together and we got to the first police stop point and they made us give them our passports to take our information (why?). I thought my heart was beating fast then, but NOW I am about to see something that, in his words were “straight out of National Geographic”. Walking through La Palma and visiting that small Embera village next to it was one of the most surreal moments of my life. I remember standing there and being overwhelmed with the emotion of “I have to radically change my life” and the thought of "I have to do something... really do something".
The rest of the weekend and all the people and places we visited just kept feeding into that desire. And I found myself walking around for two days as a zombie, not knowing what to think or how to feel. All I knew was that life is different from what I thought it was. Priorities, interests, dreams, goals, everything was changing in my head. Jami and I sat at dinner one night and talked for an hour about our new feelings of Christianity, our responsibility as Christians, our lives and what we think we need to do in the future. The longer I am here, the more lost I feel. The more I feel not like myself. The more I am unsure about anything in the future. The more I am here the stronger my desire is to serve God and to really fight for his kingdom. And I mean fight. Not just pray, not just serve through money donations or short mission trips or through being a good person who is a good example for other people to notice (all which are good things in life and that I do want to incorporate in my daily living) but really to fight. To DO something. To BE someone. To die to myself and to let Christ be my guide. I am really starting to see and to feel the responsibility we have as Christians to really show people Christ. To show people, not how to have a “better” life (especially to the measures of earthly wealth- money, technology, etc.) but how to have a life full of the grace and peace in Christ and to spend eternity in heaven. I start reading scriptures like Luke 13:22-30, Matt 7:21-23, and Matt 10:32-33, and I see the harsh reality of the world around us. Narrow is the gate to heaven and Christ will say to some people "I never knew you." We are all called to be ministers. And people need Christ all around us.
I have been reading Acts for the last month and from start to finish I felt God speaking to me, with every page I turned. (You can see just one example in that old blog that I just posted below). I love this book and all the stories in it. I have learned so many life lessons from its words:
4:31- Boldness
4:32- Giving and sharing your possessions
5:29- Obey God first
5:21- Rejoice in suffering
6:4- Taking pride in your ministries
7:60- Love your enemies
8:30- Whole hearted obedience
10- One person makes a big difference
11:23- Encouragement
14:15- Level-headedness and giving glory to God
14:20- Fearlessness to danger
16:7- God’s plan can be different from ours
18:11- Spreading the word takes a time commitment
18:21- Follow Gods will
19:9- Can only push so hard for so long
19:20- God’s great plan and his glory in all circumstances
19:23-24- The enemy at work (the power of one person and crowds)
20:24-35- Five great lessons
21:13- Willingness to die for Christ
24:16- Strive to keep your conscience clear before God and man
And so much more!
The other experience that I have had which I want to write about is the works that were done with the Harding spring break campaign group. We traveled up to the mountains and visited a congregation in Santa Marta. There we severed the people there by painting the church and a clinic and also serving some of the children there by bringing school supplies and singing with them. One of my favorite memories was as we all sat around under the songs and lifted our voices to God in song for over an hour. It was amazing and just the thing that Jami, Erica, and my spirits really needed.
The Darien marked a new mindset in my life. That experience was one that I will forever cherish in my heart. The entire time we were on the boat riding to La Palma I kept thinking “I can’t believe that this is my life”. I sat there, trying to practice my Spanish with the armed police officer sitting next to me, and Larry kept turning around telling us that this is something that most people never get to see. My heart was already so anxious, starting from about the time when Jami and I were on the bus traveling down together and we got to the first police stop point and they made us give them our passports to take our information (why?). I thought my heart was beating fast then, but NOW I am about to see something that, in his words were “straight out of National Geographic”. Walking through La Palma and visiting that small Embera village next to it was one of the most surreal moments of my life. I remember standing there and being overwhelmed with the emotion of “I have to radically change my life” and the thought of "I have to do something... really do something".
The rest of the weekend and all the people and places we visited just kept feeding into that desire. And I found myself walking around for two days as a zombie, not knowing what to think or how to feel. All I knew was that life is different from what I thought it was. Priorities, interests, dreams, goals, everything was changing in my head. Jami and I sat at dinner one night and talked for an hour about our new feelings of Christianity, our responsibility as Christians, our lives and what we think we need to do in the future. The longer I am here, the more lost I feel. The more I feel not like myself. The more I am unsure about anything in the future. The more I am here the stronger my desire is to serve God and to really fight for his kingdom. And I mean fight. Not just pray, not just serve through money donations or short mission trips or through being a good person who is a good example for other people to notice (all which are good things in life and that I do want to incorporate in my daily living) but really to fight. To DO something. To BE someone. To die to myself and to let Christ be my guide. I am really starting to see and to feel the responsibility we have as Christians to really show people Christ. To show people, not how to have a “better” life (especially to the measures of earthly wealth- money, technology, etc.) but how to have a life full of the grace and peace in Christ and to spend eternity in heaven. I start reading scriptures like Luke 13:22-30, Matt 7:21-23, and Matt 10:32-33, and I see the harsh reality of the world around us. Narrow is the gate to heaven and Christ will say to some people "I never knew you." We are all called to be ministers. And people need Christ all around us.
I have been reading Acts for the last month and from start to finish I felt God speaking to me, with every page I turned. (You can see just one example in that old blog that I just posted below). I love this book and all the stories in it. I have learned so many life lessons from its words:
4:31- Boldness
4:32- Giving and sharing your possessions
5:29- Obey God first
5:21- Rejoice in suffering
6:4- Taking pride in your ministries
7:60- Love your enemies
8:30- Whole hearted obedience
10- One person makes a big difference
11:23- Encouragement
14:15- Level-headedness and giving glory to God
14:20- Fearlessness to danger
16:7- God’s plan can be different from ours
18:11- Spreading the word takes a time commitment
18:21- Follow Gods will
19:9- Can only push so hard for so long
19:20- God’s great plan and his glory in all circumstances
19:23-24- The enemy at work (the power of one person and crowds)
20:24-35- Five great lessons
21:13- Willingness to die for Christ
24:16- Strive to keep your conscience clear before God and man
And so much more!
The other experience that I have had which I want to write about is the works that were done with the Harding spring break campaign group. We traveled up to the mountains and visited a congregation in Santa Marta. There we severed the people there by painting the church and a clinic and also serving some of the children there by bringing school supplies and singing with them. One of my favorite memories was as we all sat around under the songs and lifted our voices to God in song for over an hour. It was amazing and just the thing that Jami, Erica, and my spirits really needed.
We then traveled over to Colesito and it was there that I learned a great lesson. After working all day on helping build a foundation for the church there, we went to the gospel meeting that night. It was at that meeting that I saw something straight out of Acts, and it was one of the most powerful and impactful services I have ever sat through. Chris did an amazing lesson of encouragement and giving thanks to the people in the town, telling them that by giving us the food they showed us the love of God. They demonstrated to us the fruits of the Holy Spirit living in them. And by letting us serve them in the building, even though we slowed them down, they also showed the fruits of God in them. After that Raul got up and got “completely honest” with the church, touching on specific issues that needed to be resolved. Men and women responded. Men wept for Christ to dwell in their hearts and lives. Men from our group went up to love and encourage them (despite language barriers). Two were baptized and many hearts were renewed. Elio then went up to address a few problems that he heard were happening between the people and guided them back to the scriptures. He then got on his knees to pray for them. Powerful. The people circled around each other, mixing with one another and stood by those they needed to love and get closer to, as an act of humility and love and a pledge to try. They also said words of encouragement for leaders to step forward and not to wait for people to come to their church. In Acts 15 it talks about a specific church that was built up. Just like the one in Coclesito. I am witnessing amazing things here. Churches being served and serving one another like the churches in Paul, Barnabus, John, and Peters time. Amazing.
At one point Natalie said that it was like we gave them ALL our strength in serving them, since we got sick later that night. Betty said we got sick because we worked SO hard. How true. How blessed of an experience. In Luke there is the story about the Sheppard who would leave the 99 sheep to go after the one lost one. And put it over his shoulder and rejoice over its homecoming. That’s how we are to think about the experience. So many of us got so sick… really like over two thirds of the group. I found myself in a little clinic hooked up to an IV and feeling weaker than I ever have in my entire life. It was hard to remain positive and to feel like the weeks work was worth the degree of illness we were facing. But I saw Christ’s love in the service of those who stayed with us and people’s souls were saved and some hearts were restored. And for those reasons, I would do it all again.
Thank you for your patience as you have so much to read. Go look at my two recent photo albums to see pictures from these experiences. God is amazing and I am thankful for His love and this opportunity I have. I feel like I am in a training camp- being strengthened and renewed so much everyday. Facing trials and learning lessons. And slowly becoming the woman I am meant to be. I am also thankful for your support and prayers. We have started our new reading sessions and it has had a little rocky start so far with getting the schedule arranged. But I have two readers that I have met with and I am confident in their hearts and that God’s hand is in them coming. Just keep LST in your prayers as next week we will really start diving into it’s work again!
Thank you for your patience as you have so much to read. Go look at my two recent photo albums to see pictures from these experiences. God is amazing and I am thankful for His love and this opportunity I have. I feel like I am in a training camp- being strengthened and renewed so much everyday. Facing trials and learning lessons. And slowly becoming the woman I am meant to be. I am also thankful for your support and prayers. We have started our new reading sessions and it has had a little rocky start so far with getting the schedule arranged. But I have two readers that I have met with and I am confident in their hearts and that God’s hand is in them coming. Just keep LST in your prayers as next week we will really start diving into it’s work again!
A story
This is a story mostly for those who know the struggle and pains that this particular incident caused in my life. Over two years ago I had a healer approach me in a dollar general store told me that he was sent from God to heal me of my struggles with my hip and proceeded to “heal” me in the parking lot. (To make a long story short-- I woke up with the same weak and shorter leg) This was an experience that took maybe an hour of my life but haunted me for weeks after. I desperately searched for answers that would explain this incident to me. And I would eventually put it in the back of my mind but it would occasionally creep back up and perplex me and pain me all over again.
About two weeks ago I found myself wanting to read the book of Acts . This was something that I have never done before (from start to finish anyways) and I was immediately drawn into the stories about the brave men who fought to spread the gospel to the unbelieving people. When I started reading chapter 3 I read about how Peter and John healed a man who was crippled from birth.... and all the emotions came back to me. Drowning me in confusion, heartach, a feeling of defeat and insignificance... harder than it ever has before. I found my heart calling out to God in total desparation for his guidance. That "healer" was bringing me so much pain. I pour myself out in my journal then I fell to my knees in prayer. I desparetly looked around the room for a sign of God around me. I thought the sunlight flowing in the windows were his comforting hand. I was eventually brought to tears and found myself laying on the floor before Him. All I heard was Raul Alverado, ask Raul to explain this situation to you. But too scared it was me, not relying on God, I went out with a sense of defeat and even sought encouragement from my roommates at dinner.
Little did I know that the next day, as I dived deeper into Acts, a passage would puzzle me. I was confused in it's meaning and as I waited for Jami to finish a reading session I found myself in Raul's office asking for clarification. And it was there, admist his answers that the truth set my heart free. I was perplexed over the significance of the Apostles needing to give someone the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:15-16) after they were baptized since all the other scriptures say you are baptized to recieve the Holy Spirit. Well, I came to learn that the very next verse (vs 17) showed that they were talking about the HS being "upon" people and giving them the power to heal and perform miracles. An explination that went into depth about how this was only given from the Apostles. And it was only needed at this time to help spread the message and something that was according to his will (Hebrew 2:4).
So there I sat, dumbfounded at the events. Raul had the answer to the question in my heart and he did not even know he was delivering it to me! The power of God is astounding! And what brings me even more to my knees is the fact that I felt compelled to read Acts in the first place. Which lead me to Acts 3, the start of it all anways.
Thank you God. Show me how to listen.
That experience revealed to me the faithfullness of God and just how active he wants to be (and IS) in our lives. I don't know why God choose this time to bring me enlightenment. Maybe because I am being called to deeper places, maybe because I am need this truth for something in the future, maybe because I am a simple instrument right now and I am suppose to be sharing this story with you, or maybe this is something he has already tried to show me but I am just now listening.
Something else that I can see from this experience is the dark depths of Satan in this world. When I look back at my journal from that day I can see just how much I was wrestling with him. "Lord, I'm scared. I'm fearful to the depth of my heart. What if Satan encountered me so boldly that day? What is he knew/knows that would affect me so severyly and continue to on this day. What if Satan has such a grasp on that man and his ministry that he is blinding him from the truth?" And reading even further I can recall all the emotions that were stirring up inside of me. I felt weak, so wrong, and so unsteady in my faith because I was questioning the plans of God. "It hurts me to think I am so weak. It hurts me to think I was so wrong and so unsteady in my faith. It hurts to read about the healing of the crippled beggar and to see how many people came running to learn about Christ. The man told me that day that you wanted me to an instrument and to think about all the people that would be touched by my story. Am I not good enough? Do I not believe enough? So I not let you in enough to finally hear the answer to my cries?" Here the enemy was throwing all sorts of ideas and thoughts at me then blaming me for it! (But the heart is good, it is from God. This was a foul thing at work and therefor not from my heart. And not from God because his voice is never condemning- Romans 8:11).
But in the end I am confident that it was at this time that Christ was the conqurer. My repentance lead to enlightenment and to peace, instead of the past results of guilt and shame- death to my heart (2 Corinthians 7:10). Oh how alive our Enemy is, prowling like a roaring lion waiting for someone to devour! (1 Peter 5:14) I am so thankful for this opportunity to grow in wisdom and enlightenment. Something that I thought was so unreachable until I discovered that it comes from having a descerning heart that walks in a relationship with God, submerssed in his word and by putting on the full armor of God (Eph. 6:10-18).
This was not meant to show off some great faith of my own, if anything it shows the amount of depth of insight that I still need to obtain in my life, but this was to show the great faithfulness of God. And it shows how active he wants to be in our lives if we open ourselves up to listening to him. Right now I am praying for boldness, depth of insight, and for the opportunities to gain wisdom and fall more in love with God. Thank you for listening and I hope that this can help you to see the Great love of God, the activeness of the Enemy, the great love of Christ... and whatever other lesson that God is telling to your heart right now... you just have to listen!!!!
About two weeks ago I found myself wanting to read the book of Acts . This was something that I have never done before (from start to finish anyways) and I was immediately drawn into the stories about the brave men who fought to spread the gospel to the unbelieving people. When I started reading chapter 3 I read about how Peter and John healed a man who was crippled from birth.... and all the emotions came back to me. Drowning me in confusion, heartach, a feeling of defeat and insignificance... harder than it ever has before. I found my heart calling out to God in total desparation for his guidance. That "healer" was bringing me so much pain. I pour myself out in my journal then I fell to my knees in prayer. I desparetly looked around the room for a sign of God around me. I thought the sunlight flowing in the windows were his comforting hand. I was eventually brought to tears and found myself laying on the floor before Him. All I heard was Raul Alverado, ask Raul to explain this situation to you. But too scared it was me, not relying on God, I went out with a sense of defeat and even sought encouragement from my roommates at dinner.
Little did I know that the next day, as I dived deeper into Acts, a passage would puzzle me. I was confused in it's meaning and as I waited for Jami to finish a reading session I found myself in Raul's office asking for clarification. And it was there, admist his answers that the truth set my heart free. I was perplexed over the significance of the Apostles needing to give someone the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:15-16) after they were baptized since all the other scriptures say you are baptized to recieve the Holy Spirit. Well, I came to learn that the very next verse (vs 17) showed that they were talking about the HS being "upon" people and giving them the power to heal and perform miracles. An explination that went into depth about how this was only given from the Apostles. And it was only needed at this time to help spread the message and something that was according to his will (Hebrew 2:4).
So there I sat, dumbfounded at the events. Raul had the answer to the question in my heart and he did not even know he was delivering it to me! The power of God is astounding! And what brings me even more to my knees is the fact that I felt compelled to read Acts in the first place. Which lead me to Acts 3, the start of it all anways.
Thank you God. Show me how to listen.
That experience revealed to me the faithfullness of God and just how active he wants to be (and IS) in our lives. I don't know why God choose this time to bring me enlightenment. Maybe because I am being called to deeper places, maybe because I am need this truth for something in the future, maybe because I am a simple instrument right now and I am suppose to be sharing this story with you, or maybe this is something he has already tried to show me but I am just now listening.
Something else that I can see from this experience is the dark depths of Satan in this world. When I look back at my journal from that day I can see just how much I was wrestling with him. "Lord, I'm scared. I'm fearful to the depth of my heart. What if Satan encountered me so boldly that day? What is he knew/knows that would affect me so severyly and continue to on this day. What if Satan has such a grasp on that man and his ministry that he is blinding him from the truth?" And reading even further I can recall all the emotions that were stirring up inside of me. I felt weak, so wrong, and so unsteady in my faith because I was questioning the plans of God. "It hurts me to think I am so weak. It hurts me to think I was so wrong and so unsteady in my faith. It hurts to read about the healing of the crippled beggar and to see how many people came running to learn about Christ. The man told me that day that you wanted me to an instrument and to think about all the people that would be touched by my story. Am I not good enough? Do I not believe enough? So I not let you in enough to finally hear the answer to my cries?" Here the enemy was throwing all sorts of ideas and thoughts at me then blaming me for it! (But the heart is good, it is from God. This was a foul thing at work and therefor not from my heart. And not from God because his voice is never condemning- Romans 8:11).
But in the end I am confident that it was at this time that Christ was the conqurer. My repentance lead to enlightenment and to peace, instead of the past results of guilt and shame- death to my heart (2 Corinthians 7:10). Oh how alive our Enemy is, prowling like a roaring lion waiting for someone to devour! (1 Peter 5:14) I am so thankful for this opportunity to grow in wisdom and enlightenment. Something that I thought was so unreachable until I discovered that it comes from having a descerning heart that walks in a relationship with God, submerssed in his word and by putting on the full armor of God (Eph. 6:10-18).
This was not meant to show off some great faith of my own, if anything it shows the amount of depth of insight that I still need to obtain in my life, but this was to show the great faithfulness of God. And it shows how active he wants to be in our lives if we open ourselves up to listening to him. Right now I am praying for boldness, depth of insight, and for the opportunities to gain wisdom and fall more in love with God. Thank you for listening and I hope that this can help you to see the Great love of God, the activeness of the Enemy, the great love of Christ... and whatever other lesson that God is telling to your heart right now... you just have to listen!!!!
Saturday, March 1
NEW PHOTOS!
Ok, I don't have much time to write right now. I hope to get on soon to write more before we take off next week to go traveling with the Harding spring break campaign to do work for a couple days. I just wanted to be sure to put the links for my new photo's that are up online.
Here is the link that are my pictures from the Vacation Bible School that was held at the Curundu church last week. It was a huge success and a lot of children were able to attend. It was really hectic and at times we thought we were going to lose our minds but we made it through alive!
http://harding.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2064229&l=ad388&id=71001583
And here are the pictures from our trip to Torti and the Darien. This was an experience of a lifetime and I feel like God opened my heart and mind to so much while I was here. I walked away from these three days with a new perspective on so much, and I am honestly still trying to sort it all out inside of me. God is great and he is faithful to his people.
http://harding.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2064235&l=27fc5&id=71001583
Finally I want to say once again to be sure to check out Jami's blog. She has been better with postings than me lately and she also put up pictures. If you want to get a nice well-rounded view of the trip then you def need to be looking at her words and pictures as well!
http://www.jamiinpanama.blogspot.com/
I love you all! Please email me updates on your lives and keep me in the loop of things at home!
Here is the link that are my pictures from the Vacation Bible School that was held at the Curundu church last week. It was a huge success and a lot of children were able to attend. It was really hectic and at times we thought we were going to lose our minds but we made it through alive!
http://harding.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2064229&l=ad388&id=71001583
And here are the pictures from our trip to Torti and the Darien. This was an experience of a lifetime and I feel like God opened my heart and mind to so much while I was here. I walked away from these three days with a new perspective on so much, and I am honestly still trying to sort it all out inside of me. God is great and he is faithful to his people.
http://harding.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2064235&l=27fc5&id=71001583
Finally I want to say once again to be sure to check out Jami's blog. She has been better with postings than me lately and she also put up pictures. If you want to get a nice well-rounded view of the trip then you def need to be looking at her words and pictures as well!
http://www.jamiinpanama.blogspot.com/
I love you all! Please email me updates on your lives and keep me in the loop of things at home!
Tuesday, February 12
Uplifted
Praise God for this amazingly blessed time in my life! I am so thankful that God closed so many doors and left this trip wide open for me to step into. He is so faithful in his promises. He knew that I needed to be here, away from home and away from so many comforts and guards in my life. I needed to be completely separated from so many things, people, events, and habits that were really taking my focus off of the life that I should have been living… and being the woman that I was made to be. So often I found myself only being able to explain this experience and all of the emotions that came with it as “humbling.” I was being humbled before myself, man, and my God. I felt completely naked, unveiled, and vulnerable to the world around me and all the while being in a continuous battle over the many challenges that were hitting me in ever direction at any point of the day. But it is those very challenges that have really brought me to the point of really forcing me into great growths and maturity. In James chapter 1 it says "The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position". I have never understood that verse until now. I mean I am really seeing life from a WHOLE new perspective. And I feel so privileged to for this chance to do so.
Now I am so rejuvenated and so receptive to this place. I am so glad that I am able to call Panama home for the next four months. Everyday I fall more and more in love with the people and the culture here. What a great place this is! Really. Jami and I are constantly listing the many things about our lives here that we will miss when we go home: Taking taxis (because they are just a great source of so many good stories), the completely laid back Panamanian way of living, the traditians that will catch us off guard (for those of you who are not aware- sugar water is a nice way to cure mosquito bites and you eat a milk and rice pudding when your infant gets his or her first tooth), how insanely blunt people are here- your weight… your facial hair... you name it and they will say it! And so many other little treasures that makes life here so simply delightful.
*Please go and read Jami’s blog and be enlightened on a lot more of our hilarious adventures here*
I just can’t believe that this is our last week with Summer School and our readers in Curundu! Just as everything is starting to really get into a nice routine- everything is changing! We have really developed some great relationships with our readers over these last weeks. Two of our readers went with some of us girls to a little island just off the coast on Saturday. We spent a nice long day out on the beach and walking around the quaint little town. I daydreamed about running into the school’s principal and them telling me they had a need for an English teacher there- but it did not happen. Our readers are constantly bringing us fresh fruit and absolutely delicious Panamanian food, they invite us to their houses and out to movies, and we really are becoming friends with these individuals and I will be so sad when they are not in our daily lives anymore! But please keep them all in your prayers, as we are here to serve them and hopefully plant as many seeds as we can and really show them the love and power of Christ and His family. Next week is the start of VBS and that will definantly keep us busy. We are really hoping that this will be drawing in the youth around the communities and their parents as well.
Well it is late and I am exhausted from this long day. Tomorrow will be even longer… summer school, readings, and then a small group meeting that the people from the church and our readers are invited to. It’s a great opportunity for them to practice their English as we read a story in Matthew, play games and sing songs in English. And it’s also a great opportunity for them to build relationships with one another. And tomorrow night is a POTLUCK! So the people from the states are bringing food from there and the people from here and bringing some yummy Panamanian food. Yummmmmmm can’t wait!
I’m going to end with some words that I read the other night in “Waking the Dead” by John Eldredge. It’s a great book that I recommend to anyone.
And that is why living from your glory is the only loving thing to do. You cannot love another person from a false self. You cannot love another while you are still hiding. How can you help them to freedom while you remain captive? You cannot love another unless you offer your heart. It takes courage to live from your heart... ‘I desperately want to be who I am. I don’t want the glory that I marvel at in others anymore. I want to be that glory which God set in me.’
Now I am so rejuvenated and so receptive to this place. I am so glad that I am able to call Panama home for the next four months. Everyday I fall more and more in love with the people and the culture here. What a great place this is! Really. Jami and I are constantly listing the many things about our lives here that we will miss when we go home: Taking taxis (because they are just a great source of so many good stories), the completely laid back Panamanian way of living, the traditians that will catch us off guard (for those of you who are not aware- sugar water is a nice way to cure mosquito bites and you eat a milk and rice pudding when your infant gets his or her first tooth), how insanely blunt people are here- your weight… your facial hair... you name it and they will say it! And so many other little treasures that makes life here so simply delightful.
*Please go and read Jami’s blog and be enlightened on a lot more of our hilarious adventures here*
I just can’t believe that this is our last week with Summer School and our readers in Curundu! Just as everything is starting to really get into a nice routine- everything is changing! We have really developed some great relationships with our readers over these last weeks. Two of our readers went with some of us girls to a little island just off the coast on Saturday. We spent a nice long day out on the beach and walking around the quaint little town. I daydreamed about running into the school’s principal and them telling me they had a need for an English teacher there- but it did not happen. Our readers are constantly bringing us fresh fruit and absolutely delicious Panamanian food, they invite us to their houses and out to movies, and we really are becoming friends with these individuals and I will be so sad when they are not in our daily lives anymore! But please keep them all in your prayers, as we are here to serve them and hopefully plant as many seeds as we can and really show them the love and power of Christ and His family. Next week is the start of VBS and that will definantly keep us busy. We are really hoping that this will be drawing in the youth around the communities and their parents as well.
Well it is late and I am exhausted from this long day. Tomorrow will be even longer… summer school, readings, and then a small group meeting that the people from the church and our readers are invited to. It’s a great opportunity for them to practice their English as we read a story in Matthew, play games and sing songs in English. And it’s also a great opportunity for them to build relationships with one another. And tomorrow night is a POTLUCK! So the people from the states are bringing food from there and the people from here and bringing some yummy Panamanian food. Yummmmmmm can’t wait!
I’m going to end with some words that I read the other night in “Waking the Dead” by John Eldredge. It’s a great book that I recommend to anyone.
And that is why living from your glory is the only loving thing to do. You cannot love another person from a false self. You cannot love another while you are still hiding. How can you help them to freedom while you remain captive? You cannot love another unless you offer your heart. It takes courage to live from your heart... ‘I desperately want to be who I am. I don’t want the glory that I marvel at in others anymore. I want to be that glory which God set in me.’
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