And, so, the work goes on...It must go on.

I keep sitting here, staring at this blank screen, hoping that something will come. My fingers will just automatically begin emmitting words which will then appear, in some orderly fashion to render some type of message, discussion, meaning, and my thoughts, feelings, and experiences will be expressed, shared, and the points made. But, despite my effort, my effort of doing nothing, surprisingly, nothing comes.


So, forget the eloquent speech, err typing, the fancy language, and the catchy stories, I'm just going to update on Panama, and the things that are going on in the Kingdom of God here. Again, my updates have not come as readily as I had hoped, and there tends to be a great lapse in between entries. We have three weeks left, and I vow to change this trend!!


Rachel and I started this past week at UDELAS for our second session there, working with the staff, faculty, and students of the English department. I have three students who are continuing from the last round about there, Tania, Raul, and Yaremis. Rachel, has two, Profesor Kaur and Justo.


Originally, we were not going to continue on at UDELAS, and what was planned to be just three or four weeks there, quickly became a month and some, and now, over two months. God's plans seem to continuously surpass those of our own, and He continues to show us that His way is best! We decided to extend our time at UDELAS because the thought of leaving behind these readers that we have come to love so much and who are so eager to study the Word of God, at home and in our sessions, have been too encouraging, too promising, to ignore, and we can't stop now. I want to tell you about each of my readers, so that you can pray specifically for them. I leave Panama in 23 days and I want these souls to be listed in the Book of Life. God wants these souls in Heaven with Him oneday, and His Spirit is ready and willing to move into their hearts today, the moment they accept the promised Son.


I meet everyday with Tania, who is the receptionist at UDELAS. She's a firecracker, a hard worker, a dedicated friend and employee. When she's swamped with work, we'll sometimes read at her desk, or I'll just go down and chat with her throughout the afternoon. There's always a crowd, lots of laughter, and plenty of rolling of the eyes. She knows everything that's going on, and I'm convinced she is one of the main reasons the English department stands. Her heart, just like all hearts, is yearning for an intimate, complete, genuine relationship with her Creator. She's looking, whether she's aware of it or not, for the peace that passes all understanding, and the pure joy that fills us and carries us into tomorrow. She's started reading the book of Matthew on her own, and is determined to finish the book of Luke with me and to start on Acts before I leave. Pray for her diligence, her aching heart for the Lord, her vulnerability to His ways. Pray that she will obey the gospel, and that a crown will be reserved for her above. Pray that the deceiver will not interfere more with her schedule, making her too busy to read during our set hour each day.


After Tania, I read with Yaremis. Oh, Yaremis. She's a young, tourism student who completely taught herself English from watching TV and listening to music. Talking to her, you'd think that her parents were fluent or that she went to a private, bilingual school, but she didn't. Her self-discipline and intelligence taught her English. Or, perhaps, the Lord saw that she learn it, so that she would oneday find herself studying the Bible and finding the Truth. On the first reading session with each student, I always explain to them that we will use the book of Luke from the New Testament as our English textbook. I want to be upfront with them, I don't ever want someone to feel like they've been tricked into a Bible study, an attempt to change their minds and insult their culture and tradition. I tell them we use the Bible for many reasons: 1. It gives them an opportunity to express themselves, their feelings, their ideas, their opinons, and to defend their believes, all while using vocabulary and speaking in a more personal manner than they get in an organized English class. 2. We use the Bible because as a Christian, I believe that it is the Truth and I also believe that people should actually read the Bible and then determine whether or not they believe, rather than listen to what someone says or follow in the tradition of their family, they should have the information to make an education decision whether or not to follow Christ. When I gave this spill to Yaremis, she immediately pushed away the things on her desk, leaned down real close to me, and very clearly said, "I'm my religion because it's my parents' religion, but I'm looking for a new church because I don't think mine is right, and I think I want to be a Christian." How's that for God's hand leading her to LST? And, so, we began, and I promised her that I'd only tell her what the Bible said, and that I wouldn't just tell her, I would show her in the Scriptures, so that she knew it wasn't my interpretation, but what the Lord has said. Yaremis began studying with me and began reading the book of Matthew at home. And, she's soaked it up like a sponge. She wants to know the history, the why's, and so often we spend our hour talking about the Bible and never get to even open up the Luke workbook. Rarely do we actually spend an hour, but more like an hour and a half, or more. In one of our last reading sessions she told me that she thought she would decide to become a Christian and we talked about baptism, but she also mentioned that she is scared of disappointing her family by leaving her church, and we talked about sacrifice, committment, faithfulness of God, and genuine, unconditional love. Please pray for Yaremis. We haven't been able to meet this week, and I do not want that to continue in the upcoming week. She's so close to deciding to make her life completely about following Jesus Christ and Him alone, lift her up in prayer, please lift her up to our Father. She is a soul that wants Her Savior, and is heavily considering accepting the eternal gift of Life from Him, pray that she has the courage, the stamina, the strength to do it, to deny herself, pick up her cross, and follow her Lord.



My third reader is Raul, is full of life, color, and flare. Raul's a tourism student, a model, a dancer, and so much more. He's hilarious and I always have good laughs with Raul. He has a strong faith, and is 150% of an all so flamboyant eighteen year old boy, and also taught himself remarkable English. Raul has traveled all over the world, and I have really enjoyed talking to him about the places he's been, especially India, where he and his grandmother did service work for a summer when he was a kid. Raul believes in Christ and believes that He guides His heart to follow the ways of the Lord. Please pray for Raul, for his soul, for his relationship with Christ. God knows what Raul needs in this life, so I ask that you will ferverntly petition our King to meet those needs so that Raul might be confident in His eternal home. I ask that you pray for Raul much like Paul and Timothy prayed for the church in Philippi: "And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God." (Philippians 1:9-11)



A few people have asked for an update on Isabel, a woman who I read with back in February. I'm happy to say that Isabel and I started reading again last week. She's teaching English, is in school still, and is a full time mother and wife, so her time is limited, but we've worked out for me to go to her home twice a week to continue to work through the book of Luke. Pray for Isabel. I can see the Lord working on her heart, prying through her self-defenses to speak the Truth and give her His hope, to expose His purpose for her life, and to fully reign as her Lord and Master. I've noticed a change in Isabel, a change that went from being slightly more distant, never personalizing anything, to being thoughtful in her responses, as if she's carefully considering her thoughts and views, and, almost as if she's not thinking of them for the first time. Isabel has been on of my readers that has made her mark and stayed on my heart the most since I've been in Panama, and I ask you to please, please keep her in your prayers. She faces a lot of fears in considering accepting the entirity of the Gospel, and I pray that the words that Jesus once stated to the Jews will become evidence in her life as well, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

When schedules allow it, Rachel and I spend our evenings studying the Word with some families that Raul, the minister, regularly studies with. Please continue to pray for these families, that they will accept the Truth, obey the Gospel, be baptized in Christ's name, and will belong to the family of God. They have studied the Bible and know what they must do, but still, for some reason, are hesitant. Please pray that their hearts will be penetrated and that Satan's deception will be exposed, for we know that Christ has already overcome Him and that their decision to follow the Victorious One will in turn give them the joy of redemption. Pray for their families, pray for their children, pray for the lives, that they may know that "we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:37), and that their souls might be saved by the one who has already made the offer of salvation, become the sacrifice for all of the world, and who's reaching His hand out to all of the world, rejoicing in each and every person who reaches back and takes hold of the promises made for Him.



As for Rachel and me, we are winding down each day and seem to be stuck in this awkard in between state. We still do not have a full schedule at UDELAS, so we ask that you will please pray that God will guide those who are willing and ready to receive His word to read Luke with us. Please pray for us that we will stay motivated, empowered, and trusting God in all that we do. Pray that we will not tire, especially as the weather changes and goes from hotter to hottest mixed with humidity that is no doubt a cloud that just sits upon you as you walk, soaked by sweat, down the street :) Pray that we will maintain the same excitement, vision, the same hope that carried us to Panama and that we will continue to see the value in each of these readers. Pray for us as we prepare ourselves to go home and to many unknowns and uncertainities. Please, pray that above all, our hope will be in Christ Jesus and Him alone.



May Paul's timeless words echo throughout our hearts, our minds, and our spirits, to keep us dedicated and working hard until the end: "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I 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

Benefits of Wisdom

“…Do not forget my teaching,
but keep my commands in your heart,
for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.

Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and He will make your paths straight.

Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord and shun evil.
This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.

Honor the Lord with your wealth,
with the first fruits of all your crops;
then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.

My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline
and do not resent his rebuke,
because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
as a father the son he delights in.

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom,
The man who gains understanding,
For she is more profitable than silver
And yields better returns than gold.
She is more precious than rubies;
Nothing you desire can compare with her.
Long life is in her right hand;
In her left hand are riches and honor.
Her ways are pleasant ways,
And all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to those who embrace her;
Those who lay hold of her will be blessed.

By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations,
By understanding he set the heavens in place;
by his knowledge the deeps were divided,
and the clouds let drop the dew.

My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment,
do not let them out of your sight;
they will be life for you,
an ornament to grace your neck.
Then you will go on your way in safety,
and your foot will not stumble;
when you lie down, you will not be afraid;
have no fear of sudden disaster
or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,
for the Lord will be your confidence
and will keep your foot from being snared.”
Proverbs 3: 1-28

Pura Vida, Chica. En Costa Rica

This is my first entry in over three weeks and I have much to tell—we have new readers, new friends, new schedules, and more. But, the biggest and most exciting adventure to tell when we escaped the threat of becoming illegal immigrants to find refuge in the mountains and forests of Costa Rica for a weekend of “Pura Vida” as they say to our north…pure life/excellence.
Neither Erica, Rachel, nor I had ever been to Costa Rica, so outside of a few recommendations from people at home, we searched the web and thumbed through our trustworthy (or at least we hoped it was) Costa Rica Backpacker’s Guide to traveling on a budget. My parents were generous enough to bestow such a great Christmas gift upon me last year, and without it, we would have felt even blinder than we did with it in tow. We landed in Alajuela, Costa Rica at the “San Jose” airport, which is about as much in San Jose as the Cincinnati airport is in Cincinnati. We planned on going to the north, but our first stop was the ATM. Let me explain something. When I lived in Europe, everything was on the Euro, which is pretty similar in formation to US dollar, so it was not too difficult converting the amounts and throwing around numbers daily. The value between the two currencies was not even, but it was close enough to give rough estimation of cost. In Panama, they use the US Dollar, granted, it is often referred to as Balboa (which I find humorous because they only have US dollars and Balboa change), so we have not had to bother with currency exchange at all. A blessing from God? Yes, I think so. Especially since we have to record our EVERY expenditure to turn into LST a monthly budget. So, we land in Costa Rica, and having read in our informative guidebook that Costa Ricans will NOT accept the US dollar, we bring little cash along with us for the trip. We head directly to an ATM. We’re all prepared to withdraw cash, planning on withdrawing like, I don’t know, 200 Colones, thinking that will be between $150-$200 US dollars, and anxious to see just what these Colones look like. Excitement quickly fades to disillusionment? Is that a good word? Why? Number 1: Fifth Third, the bank that holds ALL of mine and Rachel’s funds apparently has very few relations with banks in Costa Rica, and our card is, of course, rejected. Would have been nice to have known before stepping foot into a foreign country with only $20 or so on hand. Oh, let’s just withdraw our own personal money and we can pay ourselves back—wait a second, that’s in Fifth Third, too. Number 2: 467 Colones (or some obscure number like that) is equaled to $1 US dollar—you do the math. Confused—to say the least. Luckily, Erica was able to withdraw cash and spot us, and the ladies at the currency exchange windows were kind enough to roughly estimate and label each bill’s equivalency in US dollars. Much to our surprise though, our math was wrong, and when Erica though she was taking out like $100, she took out $400.
…Oh, to be a fly on the wall…
We had been forewarned of the mob of taxi drivers waiting outside of the airport, so we strategically planned to fight through the crowd and find the city buses, head South to San Jose, pick up a bus, and then head north to Monteverde or Santa Elena…wherever we decided when we got there/wherever we were when we realized we should get off the bus. Hotel reservations—please, do you think we plan that far in advance? The guidebook had a nice organized list of hostels and the like, so we were trusting and praying that they’d all just have perfect availability…besides, we still weren’t quite certain where we were going to end up. So, we pushed through the broken English offers of taxis and made our way to the city buses. When we finally thought we had broken threw the taxi multitude (All with yellow shirts to nicely match their yellow cabs.), we heard a clear, English voice from behind. His name was Johnny, and he instantly became very helpful, and suffice it to say, we ended up getting in the car with him, and driving to a town called Puntarenas, where we’d be able to jump on a bus and get to our desired destination much quicker. We pile in his car, backpacks, bodies, and guidebook and begin a journey that we were praying would turn out alright. Scared? No. We were looking for adventure. Besides, he had a Christian bumper sticker on the back of the cab, an ID, and lots of other things that made him a legit travel agent.
Once in the car, we settled in to an extremely cheesy movie on Costa Rica and discreetly tried to muffle our laughs at the man with the ponytail and the girl with the crazy clothes…About seventy five kilometers down the road…the car starts smoking, perfectly in front of a beautiful vista. I’m not sure which brought more humor to me—that our unexpected taxi had broken down or that Rachel stood over the hood offering mechanical advice to the driver. (In her defense, she says she knows some stuff about cars…I, for one, do not know enough to evaluate her knowledge, so I will remain mute on the issue.) Got the car started again, and we booked it to catch what was then referred to as the “last bus” to Monteverde for the day…if we miss it, we’ll land ourselves in Puntarenas, a place we had not referenced in our book, and we don’t do anything that the book doesn’t tell us to do. That’s just the way we roll—we can only be so free-spirited, ok?
While we’re driving, he gave us some CD’s to choose from and Erica selected the Christian music CD. He clarified with us a few times before he put it in, wanting to make sure we understood that it was Christian music. I guess no one had ever requested it before. This ended up leading to a great conversation and introducing us to a man who believes that Jesus Christ is His Savior but who is in one of the valleys that we all face at one point or another in our faith and walk with the Lord. The point is, before this conversation, he was just our really nice taxi driver. After this conversation, he became our brother, our friend, another soul working for the Promised Land. We were not planning on taking an hour and a half taxi ride when we go to Costa Rica. And, we really didn’t have the budget for it, but when he approached us, something just told us to go, something just made us feel like it was ok, that it was safe, that we needed to go with him, and we didn’t really know why, but once he presented himself to us, there was little discussion about whether or not we would go with this man to Puntarenas. And, then, it was so clear. This wasn’t our plan. It was God. This man needed encouragement, he needed to be reminded of Who is important, he needed to know that he is not alone on this walk of faith. The point is that anyone can be a missionary. Anyone can be an evangelist. Wherever one goes, there are people who are dying before knowing the Word of God. They’re thirsty for it, they’re hungry for it. We have it, we just have to offer it to them. We just have to offer ourselves to God for His plans, and be willing to pause and make a change in order to complete His will and not our own. His knowledge far exceeds our own, and when He looks at us, He not only see the very instant, but He sees what could come as well, and He responds accordingly.
So, we leave our new friend, board the bus at a little bus stop right on the beach. We sat down in the comfortable seats (a step-up from Panamanian buses) and stared out the window to catch a glimpse of an old man who encompassed pura vida, playing his guitar on a bench, while others sat nearby just listening. As we approached the Monteverde area, we reached for the most useful tool we brought with us—our tour book—so we could start reading about a hotel for the night and determine the landmarks of our desired destination, but, when we all reached into our bags, we realized that our lone friend, our only guide, the source of all our information was AWAL…it was gone, disappeared to the Costa Rican abyss of who knows where…all we had left were our cunningly ways, cute smiles, and Panamanian slang to get us through. The culprit will remain nameless, but she’s a girl with brown, curly hair. You decide.
We got to Santa Elena, and decided to get off there, before Monteverde (partially influenced by full bladders that could not go any further, a good judge for destination, if you ask me)…We quickly found a place to stay (thankfully…that could have been a disaster that mimicked the time Haley and I crashed above a pub in what seemed like a halfway house in Vienna, Austria.) We had supper in a restaurant…ready for this…with a TREE growing through the middle of it—the restaurant had been built around the tree, which was pretty cool in my book.
Santa Elena looks a lot like a little Colorado ski-town, complete with a plethora of Gringos and more English than Spanish, but we loved it from the moment we stepped foot in it (Granted, it was quite the adjustment having to watch what we said about, because nearly everyone around us spoke English…this surely will hold awkward moments for us in the coming month when we return to the US and we forget that we are easily understood and our talking fast will not protect our secrets.). We stayed in a little hostel for only like $12 a night or something ridiculously cheap like that and the next morning set off to make Rachel’s Central American dream a reality—zip-lining through the rainforest. We headed out, got harnessed in and started…We did nineteen lines in all, lasting from just like 10 seconds long to almost a minute, and varying in height between fifteen feet and three hundred feet. It literally felt like we were flying through the trees and then just when you thought you weren’t very high, the ground would seem to drop off out of nowhere and then you’d be gliding far above the canopy and just finding yourself say, “Oh my gosh” Over and over and again. We also go to do a Tarzan swing, which I would be lying if I tried to say I wasn’t nervous about it at all, I’m not much for free falling, but I was propelled in when I was pushed off the platform, fell for a few seconds, and then few swung through the trees. Needless to say, it was quite the thrill…No, Barb and Jim, I did not beat my chest and howl like Tarazan. You don’t have to ask.
After we went swinging through the rainforest, we went back to Santa Elena to sit in hammocks, eat lunch, and await the next adventure—a Jeep, Boat, Jeep tour through the mountains to La Fortuna, a town on the other said of a huge lake (hence the boat) and the home of one of three live volcanoes in the world. We were all geared up ready to go with visions of a Wrangler with the top off and a roll cage thing picking us up to four-wheel through the mountains while the wind and dust blew through our hair and the sun scorched our pale skin…imagine how our deep our hearts sank when we weren’t greeted with a jeep, a truck, a hummer, or any other “adventurous” vehicle, but rather…a mini-van…a flash back to family vacations to Myrtle Beach had become a live reality to Rachel and me all the way in Costa Rica. Apparently, false advertising, as in lying, is allowed in Costa Rica. Oh yeah, did I mention the couple on the bench seat next to me, liked to be very “affectionate” while traveling?
Despite the disappointing, but very comical, transportation, the scenery was beautiful and we enjoyed the view…granted, through tinted windows rather than an open top. When we got to the boat part of the trip, the part that was accurately described to us, we crossed the lake and had our first view of the Arenal Volcano, towering over the rest of the mountains, and the towns at its feet. We had a night tour booked to begin at 5:00, so when we reached the other shore of the lake, they whisked into another mini-van (also supposed to have been a jeep) and quickly landed us very timely in front of our hostel where our night tour was patiently waiting on us.
The Arenal Volcano is one of three active volcanoes in the entire world, as in having red lava pouring down its side, volcanoes in the world. It’s said to erupt every five to fifteen minutes, but while we were there, it was erupting much more often. God has blessed me with being able to travel all over the world—I’ve peered into the Grand Canyon, looked over Niagara Falls, floated down the Nile, been in the mountains of Thailand, but nothing, NOTHING, has ever been or ever will be, I’m convinced, as amazing, as pure, as humbling as standing before a tremendous volcano, a volcano that in time has wiped out entire villages, has towered for years upon years, and has taken countless of individuals to meet their Maker. The red lava is only visible at night, hence why we took a night tour, and the entire volcano is blocked from being hiked or getting in near proximity to it, but from our vantage point, maybe a mile away from the foot, the fiery glow oozing down the steep sides looked like fireworks in the sky. A cloud sat on the top, but we were told that on a clear night, you can actually see the lava shooting out of the summit. As we witnessed the molten lava pouring down the sides, I’ve never felt so speechless, so inadequate in my words to describe the power that stood before me, and more so, the power of its Creator, my God. And, to know, that He had given us, little white girls from the Ohio and Wisconsin, the opportunity to stand before it and witness such an amazing, threatening, and beautiful destructor without having the slightest threat of harm. In its shadow, the word humility does not do justice the feelings I had inside of myself and the praises that I wanted to shout at the top of my lungs. To top it off, at the same time God had given us another opportunity to speak of Christ to a struggling Christian. Our tour guide, a young man, was so impressed to meet Christians his own age who believed in the extreme life that Christ calls us to live. Again, when our lives are open to His plan and not our own, He rewards us beyond belief. We must learn to be intentional, in everything we do—and when we are, even if we’re planning on going on a tourist adventure, He will provide us with opportunities to speak His name, and will bless us for doing that.
We finished off the night, and for that part our big activities in Cost Rica, by spending three hours soaking in the hot springs that come off the volcano, at a resort called Baldi—peaceful, relaxing, soothing, to say the least. They had over twenty something pools of hot, hot water—rewarding to us who can count the number of hot showers we’ve had in the last four months on one hand, and who were frigid in the cool evenings of Costa Rica. Each pool offered something a little different, complete with a curvy waterslide that a man poured water on from a bucket to keep it slick enough to get you started and slick enough to almost kill you at the end. Not quite sure it would have passed an US safety inspection. The treasure of the resort was finding the pool that had tile beds built into the pool itself, which sat right at the foot of a big waterfall. The water temperatures varied from lukewarm all the way to 152 degrees…which almost burned the tip of my toe off when I tested it out and which almost caught me when I tripped on the edge…I think I would have died if I had landed in it!
Sunday morning we spent sometime exploring the adorable town of La Fortuna. Sadly, Costa Rica is really expensive, so the shopping was limited, but the backdrop was priceless, with views of the volcano on a clear day. We then headed back to Alajuela, where we stayed for the night, in order to catch our flight out the next day. After having the fear of not being able to leave Costa Rica—even though we were able to get money out of an ATM finally, we used it all before we got to the airport, only to find out that we each had to pay some tax in order to leave…we all know that that the ATMs in the airport don’t accept our card…so use a credit card, right? VISA only…how’d we manage to leave the US with having three MasterCards between the two of us and no other access to emergency cash is beyond me…how’s that for planning? But, Erica, always prepared in Costa Rica, came to our rescue…otherwise, we might still be in Alajuela, begging for someone to take pity on our little, Gringa souls.
Our trip to Costa Rica was priceless and was a journey in and of itself. God took perfect care of us, and always provided a way out of a jam. He reminded us of His faithfulness everyday as everything that should have gone wrong worked out meticulously. Rachel and I have talked several times since leaving the States about Jesus’ words that described why He, God, came to earth as man to suffer and die: “I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10. So often, people have the idea that to be a follower of Christ means to be a follower of a boring, uneventful, life filled with laws dictating your every move, but being a disciple of the Lord is so much more than that—when one is living for Him, he or she never knows what tomorrow will hold, he or she has no roots in this world and can be blown in the wind and know they’re ok because their foundation is in Christ, not in this world…he or she’s always in constant motion, constant travel, constant adventure because they know that this world is not their home. Christ came to give life abundantly, the word that some translations use in John 10:10, and abundance is not found in Him denying us of joy, excitement, bliss, it’s found in Him giving us a purer form, a simpler form, a more natural form, outside of artificial stimulations, of pleasure and fun. It’s in giving us thrills that can help shape our eternity, make us into royalty, make us into Children of God, and when we let Him, He will treat us just as if we are citizens of His paradise, of Heaven. We have got to start sharing this Life in the Fullest and living it in the Fullest, because that’s where joy abounds, where surprise happens, and the greatest blessings come…even unexpected ones like watching a dangerous volcano erupting before your very eyes or taking you to unknown worlds across the sea. . Blind faith is sometimes the best means to an unimaginable outcome and future, because He knows what He’s had going on for us, and had it even in the works before our very time.
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3

Pictures of Costa Rica: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2067421&l=3b86d&id=71000688

Costa Rica...what more can I say?

Tomorrow marks our 90 days in Panama, which means the Panamanian government so kindly asks us to leave the borders of this great country or we will become illegal immigrants. So, we're taking a voyage to Costa Rica for the weekend, a country that must be outstandingly beautiful because it's called Rich Coast or Delicioius Coast or Beautiful Coast...however you want to translate it, it sounds wonderful! Rachel, Erica, and I will fly out in the morning and return on Monday, hopefully, with a new Panamanian visa that will last Rachel and I for the remaining time we are here! Please keep us in your prayers as we travel in unfamiliar territory. We are going to Monteverde, home of cloud forests, ziplining through the rainforest, an active volcano, and much more adventure for us! We cannot wait to go and see God's country to our north...your south!
Rachel and I are continuing our readings at the university, UDELAS. Rachel has two students and I have three, but the schedules are random, and it is chaotic. Please pray that our readers will be able to more dedicated to the program. We also have time slots that have not filled, so please pray that we will be able to fill them with individuals that we have already read with and who are wanting to read more, and who's hearts have already been prepared to receive the Gospel. One of Rachel's new students is a Hindu lady who is very excited to learn about Christianity and who was very happy to receive a Bible today from Rachel--while this lady believes that all religion is right, please pray that as she begins to eagerly study the Gospels with her nine year old son, that her heart will be opened to the Truth that lies within the Scripture. Please pray this for our old and new readers. One of my new readers, Tania, told me that she wants to learn how to pray and how to have a better faith, so please pray that she will also begin reading the Word at her home, in addition to our reading times together. Please also keep Isabel in your prayers, who, even though our reading/English lessons have ended, she continues to come to Bible study and seek a relationship with us and others from the church. Please, please pray for her. I want to see her in Heaven.
We were blessed to have my dad with us last week, so this week has been getting back to the old routine and looking ahead to the next two months. Please keep the work in Panama in your prayers as we explore more ministry options for after our time at UDELAS.
Thanks for all your prayers and support. We love getting messages from home, so if you have time, we'd love to hear how God is working in YOUR life because I know He is.

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures.

Here are some pictures from God's country in El Valle de Anton, where Rachel and I relaxed, played, and spent some good ol' time with God for a few days. You can see them at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2064394&l=16ccd&id=71000688
Here are pictures from the week that the Harding University Spring Break Campaign was here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2065416&l=4454c&id=71000688
Enjoy:) Thanks for caring!

"As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him." (2 Samuel 22:31)

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." (John 1: 1-5.) "He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created." (James 1:18) "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God...Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was please through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe...but we preach Christ cruficified...For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength...God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is our rightouesness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: Let him who boat boast in the Lord." (Excerpts from 1 Corinthians 1:18-31)

In the less three months I have not ceased to be amazed at what the Lord has continuously put before me--safety, health, friends, family, strength, challenges, education, humility, encouragement, faith--and I feel as if I am speechless before Him. When I go to Him in prayer, I feel as if I am before one who listens and cares, but whose ways are so far above my ways and who's knowledge and wisdom is so far beyond my comprehension that I do not even know where to begin. I have come to understand how deep and rich and prfound His Word is, yet am mesmorized by the simplicity of the parables He told and the life He calls us to live. Christianity is not complex, it is not systemic, it is not full of duties and laws to be followed religiously. It is life, it is a way, it is a direction that one, through the grace of Christ Jesus, makes himself or herself intent on following. It is black or white, there is no fence riding--you are or you aren't a follower of Christ Jesus. Righteousness isn't a checklist to be persued, it is a grace that we cover ourselves in thanks to the mercy of our Redeemer, it is a way of thinking, it is a mindset, it is a gift that we get from the Holy Spririt when we have the privilledge of receiving Him when we accept Christ into our hearts and we allow Him to literally purify us, to wash us free of our sins. And, through this Spirit, comes a deeper understanding, and more intimate relationship with the one who made us, if we let Him, and if we never stop working towards our prize--heaven.

I think the message I try to impress upon my readers the most is to read the Bible--read it for yourself. Search the Scriptures, see what He says, and believe what He says...not what I say, not what a preacher or pastor or reverend or missionary or priest says...but do and go and be what He says to be. Let Him transform you, revoluntionize you...and it's not a one step thing-
you may walk out of the waters of baptism clean and free from sin, but that's just the beginning of a life of walking with Christ. Satan is tagging not too far behind. From there, we must continue to grow closer to our Maker, build a relationship with Him, build upon Him, know Him--not of Him, but actually know Him, His ways, His thoughts, His opinions, His methods, His way, not our way. How do we get to know a person? We spend time with them, we get to know their family, we listen to what they say, we share our thoughts with them, we show them we desire to know them better, and we serve them...if we do that with our earthly relationships, how much more should we do that with the one that we wish to last eternally?
I grew up in the church, so all my life I've known the importance of reading and knowing God's word. I always heard people say that the Bible has answers to all of life's problems, and yeah, I've done the whole "read the Bible before you go to bed" thing to incorporate daily scripture reading...yeah, yeah, yeah. But, there comes a point when we have to really open ourselves up to the Word, to let the Spirit guide us in our reading, to hear the Lord's voice and use Him to connect the dots in our lives. His way is perfect and as Jesus is quoted in saying in Matthew, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30. Being away from the distractions of home and comfort and conveince, I think God is finally getting through to me and showing me the awesome gift He has given us in His Bible. His words are perfect, just as His way is Perfect...and in those scriptures lie the cure for the world, for the hurting, for the dying, for the lost--for humanity. When we come to him with a ready and willing heart, even if it's 2, 15, or 50 years after being baptized, He will teach us His ways and show us His will. Maybe not on our time, but as long we stay strong and work, literally, physically, and actually, work and prepare ourselves in Him for day we pray that we will meet Him, He will never fail to prove Himself to us again and again. No matter how undeserving we are, we are still His children, and His guidance, faithfulness, and Truth never end.

Rachel and I were blessed to spend a few days in a beautiful, mountainous area filled with rainforest and flowers (Called El Valle de Anton, see pictures above) and during our time there (except when the electricity would sponatenously shut off leaving us in pitch dark, and saying, "we should have brought a flashlight") we were so grateful to be able to escape from our schedules and spend some much time just "having a little talk with Jesus". I feel like I have grown so much from Rachel's honest and intense desire to be one with Christ, to be consumed by Him, and spending a few days with her, with someone who is more than a sister to me and who I have known so well almost all my life, was a gift from God. To be honest, being in Panama with Rachel is a gift from God is so many ways, and it's amazing to see how His plan is so much bigger than our's. A year and a half ago I knew I wanted to go for nine months to Latin America to do mission work. I did not want to go with Let's Start Talking. I did not know anyone in Panama. I was going with other people. A year and a half later I am in Panama, living in a house (not a hut like I always dreamed haha), with Rachel, doing teaching English with the Bible, an approach that I was so skeptical of before I came, and I'm staying for five months, not nine like I had planned. I'm here, on God's terms, not my own. That in and of itself is outstanding. He prepares our hearts long before we even know that He's working on us, and He builds us for His next mission in our lives. We just have to learn to surrender it all to Him--which, there in lies the hard part...surrender. As a boisterous often, much to my dismay, 'control freak', learning to give it all to Him because being in Panama is completely out of my control (Thankfully!), is humbling times 100...if you know a word to describe it...please insert it here. The truth is though, anyone could do this. Anyone that has a Bible and a willingness to share it's contents, because, as my LST trainer once said and that I never fully understood or believed until I got here, the Truth and all we need to know lies within the Bible. God has already said it all, we just have to be His deliverer.
After our few days in El Valle, we returned to the city to join with the Spring Break Campaign group from Harding (We came to Panama knowing no one and have became good friends with four other HU graduates, Betty is an HU graduate and her and Raul's son is at HU, and lo and behold here comes 16 HU students to Panama! God knows SO much more than we do!) We spent a week with the group and worked in two very, very rural areas to the West of the city. It was an amazing week, and I was grateful to have a different perspective on it. It was refreashing to have a taste from home and to sing for hours under the stars (in English). It was encouraing to watch their eagerness to serve, and it was empowering to be able to share the lessons God has imposed on us with them. Rachel and I finally got our first parasite/bacteria (who knows what it was) and landed in an extremely small 'hospital' with an IV in our arms for a few hours, while the other members of the group were seemingly 'dropping like flies' with the same critter crawling around their bellies. We're fine now, but that one night, I was determined that Jesus would take me Home to be with Him and out of my misery. But, His will prevails, and I am here, thankfully, still. It is an honor to know that I had a 'bug' while serving Christ, and although I really thought Rachel and I might die, and who knows, the medicine we got was a bit 'questionable' so we might still (just kidding mom), but it is amazing to know that so many more are sufferring to the point of death for our Lord. How blessed we are to live where we are free to proclaim His name.
After our week with the HU group, Rachel and I spent a few days recovering from that pesky critter, visited with some old readers and prepared for our next round about with Let's Start Talking. We somewhat started this week at UDELAS, a state university down the street from us who has incorporated LST into their English curriculum. Needless to say, Rachel and I only meet with two students each this week, so please pray organization will come to the school so that we can dive in like we want to. Also, my dad was able to come and visit this week, and it's been so nice to have him here with us, to get to share our Panama lives with him and introduce him to the people we have come to love so much! If you're in Nashville, you'll have to ask him what he thinks about the "Corvina Entera", at which point he'll say, "huh", and you can say the entire deep fried fish you ate in Panama...eyes, bones, and all on your plate. Despite my worries and his lack of Spanish, he did make it home today from the mall by himself in a taxi--Go Dad!
Please continue to keep the work here in your prayers. I have been so encouraged the God's ministers here in Panama, and I am fully convinced that God could not have sat me at the feet of anyone else better to learn from than those who are mentoring us here. I'd love to share the stories of true warriors for Christ that are here in Panama with anyone who will lend an ear.
Please continue to pray for our old readers, especially Isabel, who volunteered to host our Wednesday night Bible study last week at her house. I am convinced that God did not bring Isabel to LST to learn English, but rather to start an intimate relationship and life with Him. But, I think that Satan is convinced of that as well, and is always not too far behind her. Please pray that she will put her trust in Him, and that the heart will continue to be opened. Pray also for our new readers. Rachel has one reader who is Hindu, and when Rachel explained the program to her and that Bible would be the text, she said, "Good, because I have been wanting to learn about your religion." Pray that God will continue to open this woman's heart as well.
Thank you for your comments and your notes, and for your prayers. I love you all!! I'm going to post a few links to some new pictures, so check them out when you have the time!
May God bless you all richly as He is blessing me through you!

**This was not spell checked or proof-read...no judging, please:)**

VBS, Darien, and Torti--I'm exhausted!!

Finally, a few moments of rest...Tomorrow!! Rachel and I have been non-stop for the last few weeks. We had a very successful VBS last week--we started Monday with 29 kids and ended on Thursday with over 50! It was beyond exhausting--we easily put in around 15 hours a day, and maybe got 6 hours of sleep a night, plus add the whole "Speaking in Spanish" thing on top of it, and we were beyond beat at the end of the week. But, it was more than worth it. We pray, and ask that you will too, that the stories of Noah, Jonah, the Paralitic, and the Resurrection of Christ will be on those children's hearts for forever and will spark curiosity and discussion between them and their parents, and help raise them up to be future leaders of Christ's church. Furthermore, we pray that it was another way that the church showed the community that their doors are always open and that the church herself, learned more about the importance of evangelism and teaching.

We spent Friday through Sunday in the Darien and Chepo provinces of Panama. If you know anything about Panama, you know that tourists and most Panamanians never travel to Darien, because of the common violent sprees between the Colombian terrorists and civilians. For one day, we were accompanied by two policemen with very large guns. Although it sounds scary, because of this trip, there is potentially an entire village of Embera and Wounaan indians who will now be receiving humanitarian aid from the church, and Lord willing, will have strengthened faiths and lives. It's a good lesson in conquering the fear that Satan so often puts in us--God will conquer, He always does, and despite the potential consequencies, we, Christians, have to tell the world about Him who lives, or they may die without ever knowing their Lord.

I want to write more, but it is already very late and I am beyond tired. Rachel and I have the rest of this week off and we are going to be hiding in the mountains for a few days in an area that I can only compare to Gatlinburg, but a million times better--we hope to be hiking in the rainforest, taking a mud bath for $1, horseback riding, and maybe, if Rachel's dreams come true, zip-lining through the jungle. But, we also are planning to use this time to really reflect what God is doing in our lives here in this place, and how we can better server His people here. I plan to bury myself into a cave with CS Lewis' Mere Christianity (thanks to Coleman for helping me pick it out last fall), my journal, and my Bible. Please pray for us, that we will grow closer to Him and the path that He has before us, working always to help make His perfect will complete. Pray also for our readers, that they will not forget the words of the Lord that they were studying. Also, Rachel's throat is not feeling too well, and we are a little concerned that she might have caught what I had two weeks ago and am still fighting the remains of, so please pray for her health and for both of our bodies that are so very tired!
Love to you all! Thank you for all your encouraging notes, emails, and posts. Even though we can't write you back all the time, know that we thank God for your prayers, smiles, and time that you share with us!
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
Here are two more links for pictures!
Vacation Bible School--Mi Dios es Tan Grande (My God is So Big) http://harding.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2064121&l=9ccb6&id=71000688
Darien and Torti (Where we spent the night where there is one of the only congregations in Panama that has elders)--http://harding.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2064224&l=2ef3a&id=71000688

New Pictures!!

It has been a long and exhausting week of Vacation Bible School and reading sessions. We started VBS Monday with 29 kids, Tuesday with 40, and Wednesday with 48. Tomorrow is our last day, and we are expecting to have over 50! Please pray for these children and ask God to put it on their hearts and minds to return for Sunday School each week!! Rachel and I also will leave for a trip to the Darien province to visit the rural, jungle churches there. We will meet with an indigenous church as well as go spear fishing with the Embera--who still wear loin cloths!!! Please keep us in your prayers though, as we are going to very rural areas, one being a place that the police will take us to in their boat. Please pray that we will be an encouragement to the brethren there, shine His life to the police, and will be kept safe and healthy!
Thanks for the prayers as always! Also, please pray for Carolina and Felicidad, two of my readers who, Lord willing, will be starting Bible studies ASAP.
I posted new pictures, so take a look when you get a chance. You can get to them by following this link: http//www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2063186&l=39de1&id=71000688 Rachel posted some as well, so check her blog, too!!

...and here we are...

Another week has passed in my journey through Panama, and I wish I could count the many times that Rachel has said, "Oh, to be a fly on the wall watching us." or "If only someone else could see what a ridiculous mess we're making right now." For those who know us well, and especially know us as "Rachel and Jami", the team, the troublemakers, the adventurers, the secretly blondes, you knew when we decided to scourge the seas together and travel afar to the skinny isthumus we now call home that in your kindness you knew it to be necessary to pray for the land to which we travel, asking us often, "Does Panama know what they are getting into?" So, as we press on to an unexpecting day each morning, I felt compelled to share with with you the lessons we have learned thus far in our little time here.

1. Youth Conventions...some things that the Panamanians forgot to mention in warning to the gringas:

* All conventions are BYOTP...sound it out, yes, we learned the hard way!

*One would think that purchasing sleeping bags for church camp to be a good idea, and since they sell them at a number of stores here, one would also think that they are a common church camp object. However, if you want to ensure to get even more stares from confused teenagers, unroll, unzip, and slide in. Don't worry, like Rachel found out, you'll just roll over in the morning to the gazes of curious Panamanian teenagers watching you sleep.

*Somehow in our language challeneged communication, we mistankely packed sports shorts, t-shirts, no make-up, no jewlery, no nice clothes for church camp. Who would have thought that Rachel's first words to me on our first morning there was "Jami, do you see what they're wearing". The phrase, "dressed in ribbons and curls" took on an entirely new meaning. Church camp attire here is lacey shirts, high heels, makeup, and a new outfit every few hours. And we were scared we'd pack more than the others!

*Did i mention, BYOTP?

*When the youth group suggests doing the skit on Joseph, and therefore speaking in jibberish aka "Egyptian", it's a creative idea, especially when you can just continue speaking English and no one will ever know the difference. (At one point, Odilio, one of the boys from Curundu, asked Isaac, the missionaries' son and our "Panamanian brother" if I was speaking English or jibberish)

*Entertainment consists of daring a boy to run up, wave, and say "where are you from?" to the gringas and running away.

*The middle school boys are not too shy to sit and stare at you for the entirity of the worship service and sermon.

*Panama youth convention food is better than US youth rally/camp food. For sure.

2. When teaching a Panamanian a US Tex-Mex favorite called Taco Salad, make sure to actually buy lettuce and not cabbage. Otherwise, when she goes to teach her husband and others the receipe she will excitedly list cabbage aka "repollo" as a main ingredient and include it next time she makes it. Woops. And, in case you were wondering, cabbage in the taco salad did not taste good the first time when we made it or the second time when she made it!

3. When the missionary parks illegally at the bus terminal, blocking several vehicles in their spaces and leaves you in the car saying as he departs, "Do you know how to drive one of these? (Meaning a stick)...No, then just push it", you should run out and follow him. Do not stay in the car unattended, because, as Rachel and I learned, within seconds of his disappearance, a huge pick up will come at you followed by another car, all laying on their horns for you to move, at which point you are laughing so hard and attempting to drive a standard car that you become frantic and the car of course stalls out. Then, you hear someone coming at you yelling, "Hey! Hey!", and you will of course assume it is the big man with the big truck coming to get you, so in order to protect you and your friend, you will not only now try to manage to drive this car but also roll up the window at the same time, just to see it's the missionary returning with the brother he was picking up and all he knows is that his car is somewhat driving away and that the last thing the gringas said was that they did not know how to drive!...Learning to drive a stick was on my list of things to do before I left...the list that I did not fully complete.

4. Country music is the "real" music of the United States. Or, at least, this is what I've told them. And, later changed.

5. Do not get in a taxi late at night if he has a knife stabbed into the dashboard and the inside door handles ripped out of the door, allowing him to be the ONLY one who can let you out! Check this out before you start down the road with him.

6. The "real deal" Americans apparently have blonde hair and blue eyes. A direct quote said to me and Rachel was, "I was expecting blondes. You girls look Latina. So, you're not the real deal, right?"

7. When you attempt to make an American treat for an English class and the cookie dough goes crazy for whatever reason and the cookies look more like baked peanut butter smudges, it's ok, because you're the American and they're the Panamanian and you can tell them whatever you want to tell them it is and they'll just think it's some weird North American thing, kinda like taco cabbage.

So, if you can't tell, Rachel and I are having our fair share of challenges, surprises, and laughs along the way. We had a horribly hard day yesterday of back blistering mission work. We spent the day with two of my readers, Karolina and Betel, introducing them to some other girls from church, hoping it will help them form more relationships with the church and entice them to visit one day or desire to know more about Him. I say back blistering because the sun really took it's toll on my upper back when we were canoeing in the Pacific, laying on the beach, and exploring the alleys of Isla Taboga, aka the island of flowers. Ya'll, it was tough, but someone had to do it:)

Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Please especially pray for our readers. I want to tell you about Isabel, and ask that you will especially keep her in your prayers. Isabel speaks fantastic English. She's married, a mother of three, and in her early thirties. Isabel and I have spent a lot of time searching the Bible. Through our time together, I have really been amazed by almost being able to see the battle between Satan and the Lord, each fighting for her soul. In one hand she wants to know more and already has a belief in God, but on the other it's almost as if she's scared of what she might learn and therefore embrace, and for this at times, almost seems as if she is trying to disprove the Bible. For this, I have really been trying to study more in preparation with my time with Isabel. Finally, last Wednesday God exposed what has possibly kept her from an intimate relationship with Him--an understanding of the immense love God has for His creation, and from that an inability to recognize that not all will come to call Heaven their eternal home. We have begun to study this together a lot, and I beg that you will pray that her heart and her mind be open to His words. I really am trying to emphasize to her that I will only tell her what the Bible says, not what I think , and I have made a promise to her to be able to follow whatever is said with scripture if I present it to be the Word of God. Pleas pray that God will reveal His word to me so that I might share it with her. I believe that all souls are precious to God, but for some reason, I feel God fighting very strong to win this woman over to Him. Please, please pray for her. She seems to be searching and continuously pursuing a more personal relationship with Rachel and me. She feeds us often, and even went to a movie with us last week. Please keep her in your prayers.

The following is a list of all the individuals Rachel and I are studying English and the book of Luke with right now. Please take a minute to lift their names up to the Lord. Rachel: Sirsa (who is taking us to her parents' farm this upcoming weekend!), Maxima ( a member of the church), Allen (a young, teenage boy), Yazmin (She rents the room below our's), and Renee (A very excited married, father of two). Me: Karolina (she's 24 and went to the beach with us yesterday), Lesliee (she's 18 and started with me in Brisas del Golf), Isabel, Felicia (a strong leader in the Catholic church in this area), Betel (she's 20 and also went to the beach with us yesterday), and Maria (who also started with us in Brisas del Golf). We are also doing a Wednesday night English/Spanish Bible study, singing, and games, and I ask that you will please pray for this effort, as it is a way for us to introduce our readers to members of the church, give them additional language practice, and expose others to the Word and church that our schedules do not allow us to meet with individually on a regular basis. And, please rejoice with us and our nine new, young brothers and sisters in Christ who were baptized at the youth convention! Keep them in your prayers as they begin their renewed lives on this earth and their spiritual journey!

As for me, I went to the doctor last night after the beach and I have some type of Strep throat. I did not go to church this morning, but stayed home to rest and will join the congregation in Brisas del Golf this afternoon. Please pray for our health, as we both do not get a lot of time to rest during the week, and will be traveling the next few weekends. Please pray that Rachel will not get sick while she is so lovingly caring for me!

Lastly, as our brother Paul once wrote to the Ephesians, "Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that i may declare it fearlessly, as I should." Granted I'm not in chains, but please, pray that our words will be His.

Thank you for your prayers. We ask for so many because we know that with faith the size of a mustard seed a mountain can be moved and that whatever we ask the Lord for in His good name with faith He will grant. May it all be to His glory. He is hearing your prayers now and we look forward to us all enjoying these answers to prayer with the souls He saves in Heaven. May God bless you all!

Don't give up on us!

Hey!!
After we get back from the convention...
**New Pictures
**Videos
**Happy Stories
**Funny Stories & Sticky Situation.
I know fam, ,it's taking a while:)

Mis Dos Centavos (My Two Cents)

I can’t believe that Rachel and I have already been here and away from home for over a month. I think about the worries, the excitement, the anxiety that I had leading up to making my dream of coming to Panama a reality, and am astounded at how yet again, God had so much more planned than I ever could have imagined. Rachel and I have adopted a new phrase for when we talk to family and friends and they say, “Tell me about what’s going on Panama”. Our new phrase is, “There’s so much to tell, that it is easier to just not tell than to try to explain it all.” How can I explain what is occurring here in this city? I talked to my friend Coleman the other night and told him that I just simply do not know the words to explain it (A common problem these days with the language barrier, but one that God is revealing Himself more and more each day!) This, partially, is the reason why my blogs have been sparse and not too often. And, granted, we really have no time in the day. Each little hour that we are not reading with someone, we find ourselves frantically preparing for the next person or event, calculating our account to turn in to LST, or contemplating what must be done next. But, for those who know me, you know that this is how I function best (Haley, my college roommate, can attest to that probably better than anyone!) I love the pressure of time, because it is then, that I work the hardest and with the fiercest ambition.
Times in Panama have been crazy already and I don’t even know where to begin when it comes to recounting all that has occurred. We spent two weeks in Brisas del Golf, a place that we never intended to go or to work. We met Janet and Steve, a couple that despite of their own work schedules, children at home, and life obligations, still make time to share the Word of God throughout the world, as they spent two weeks on an LST project. We got to fall in love the Walter and Delores Leonard and to learn from all the work they are doing in this new community. We finished our daily work in Brisas on January 25, but will continue to do follow-up each Sunday afternoon. We will conduct a large English class and then invite our readers to stay for the church services, which meet in Walter’s house, where we do the class. Even though we have been away from Brisas on a regular schedule, we are still staying in touch with several of our readers, and pray that the relationships will continue to grow.
Now we are in Curundu, the area in which we came to Panama expecting to work (How quickly am I learning that plans mean very little when a schedule is on God’s time and not our own!) Three days a week I have an English summer school class. My two students are Julyema (age six) and Javier (age seven). Let me just say that I have NEVER had a desire to be an elementary school teacher (and still do not for that matter!), and that God is funny in taking me where He wants me to go—my first two jobs post-Harding have been as an elementary, language teacher! I am completely convinced that He daily prepares us for His tasks that serve for His greater purpose, unbeknownst, at times, to us! Although at times I feel I lack the patience to work constantly with little children, it is a good lesson for me to learn! Although it takes a lot to grab their attention and hold it (It took my two students an hour to copy three sentences off the board!), it is worth it all when I listen to them sing the sweet words of “This Little Light of Mine” and “I’m All Wrapped Up, Tied Up, and Tangled Up in God” And when little Javier waves his little hand up in my face saying “Esperate, Esperate”—roughly translated, “Hold your horses”, meaning, I want to sing it on my own and show you that I can do it! I just pray, and ask that you will to, that the words of those songs and of the prayers that we pray at the beginning of the class will be revealed to their hearts and bring them that much closer to a true faith in God.
In addition to our summer school, Rachel and I meet with traditional LST readers Monday through Friday in Curundu. I am currently studying with six women who are all searching, whether they know it or not, for the Truth that is found in God’s Word. In Brisas, our sessions and reading times were very relaxed, carefree, and often were more in Spanish conversation than English grammar practice. In Brisas, because of our reader’s limited English skill, we were only able to read Luke at night with the large group, and therefore not be able to give it the individual attention that are needed when one is sharing the Bible with individuals who have never read it. But here, in Curundu, the majority of my “English reading sessions” have turned into Bible studies. I remember training to come to Panama and Terri, my trainer, and Sherrylee, LST founder, saying that “The Word is strong enough to speak for itself”. I never really understood that, until now. Until I’ve read the same story five times in one day, out loud with someone else, and then had to explain it to them in simpler terms, and include the background information so that they can understand just why it was a big deal that the Pharisees didn’t wash Jesus feet when he came to their house or why the Pharisees said that Levi was bad when the Bible only says he was a tax collector. It’s not fair that I already knew that information. And, yes, some is because I have chosen to study, but I never would have chosen to study if I hadn’t been given the opportunity to be raised in a church family and was taught to read and respect the Bible as God’s word.
Everyday I am becoming more and more aware of the lie that Satan has used to deceive the church and myself—people don’t want to learn about God; they already know He exists, they know about Jesus because of TV or Christmas and that if they wanted to know more, they know when the church meets and where the building is so if they wanted to know more, they would come, because, well, that’s what I do and so they can take the initiative too. Likely, if the lost have never read the Bible, how will they know His story, much less know that they SHOULD read the Bible, and let His story become their own. People are hungry for the Truth. What a bold face liar Satan is and how ashamed I am to say that I have taken comfort in this lie time and time again! How dare I expect someone to embrace something of which they know nothing! How dare I want THEM to come to me, when the love of Christ is not mine to keep, but it was shared with me with the instructions to share it with others! How often have I forgotten this and how often am I still forgetting it. And, how often I have forgotten of how I am an example of grace and love, poured out so that I might have the desire to know the Truth, for it is NOTHING that I have done, but rather what He has done within me.
I and floored with the response that people have had in reading the Bible for the first time. Today, after reading Luke’s account of the temptation of Jesus, my 24 year old reader, Karolina, told me, “I like this story…because I come here to learn English, but I am learning about Jesus and I did not know about Him before.” Karolina is someone that when we talk about what we have just read, I can actually see the Lord working in her eyes, I can see her pondering what has been said, I can almost hear her heart crying out for a genuine relationship with the Lord. She wants to know the Truth, needs to know who her Lord is, and know the nature of her creator. As I discussed with Isabel, another reader, I believe that just as children have a natural need to have their parents, humans have a natural need to have their Creator, their Father God, in their lives. And, we will have a huge “daddy hole” until we allow Him into our lives! But, if no one has exposed this deficit in their lives, how will people know, and how will they be prepared to fight against Satan’s schemes?
The great majority of my readers described themselves as Catholics, a Christian religion, and therefore a religion that calls Jesus their Lord, but, somehow, they do not know anything about Him! How many others know nothing about the one they call Lord? And beyond that, how many of us are working for the Lord, yet fail to have a RELATIONSHIP with him. I can’t help but remember Jesus saying, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers.” (Matt. 7:21-23) These are not just people who are Sunday and Wednesday attendees, or people who pray at the time of need, no, these are people who are working for the kingdom, but still lack a relationship with their Lord. How often have I fallen into this trap, into the Martha world of work and no prayer, and no listening? As I tell my readers almost everyday, when we want to know someone, want to have someone in our life, what do we do? We build a relationship with them. How? We talk to them and we listen. We spend time with them. How can we have a relationship with God if we do not listen to what he says, if we do not read His word and dwell in His presence? I am such a hypocrite, because although I know these things, shamefully, how often do I fail to make them occur.
Each day in Panama does not fail to be a challenge to me. By this time, the challenge is not in the physical (I prefer the heat to AC, a cold shower is a tool to cool me off or wake me up, and killing the grande cockroach is exhilarating more than terrifying now!), but rather the challenges of the day are spiritual and emotional. I have had no choice but to stand face to face against my weaknesses, my ignorance, my sins, and my thorns. I am so thankful to be here with Rachel, one of the very top people who knows me best, because she is faithful like her Master to stay beside me as I come to know the ugly side of myself. Because, the truth is, when you are stripped of everything that once covered your flaws (grades, accomplishments, reputation), you easily lie speechless on the floor, feeling vulnerable to even the little fly on the wall.
But, God is so faithful, and He has not stopped being with us each day. Obviously, we would not be here without Him, but I cannot imagine confronting so many ghosts of my own without His grace, His mercy, His forgiveness, His commitment. And, one thing that I have become completely sure of in the little time that we have been in Panama, and really, just since the Bible studies in Curundu have begun, the Bible holds answers for every struggle that we will face in this world. It may take reading the temptation of Jesus ten times in a row to see and truly understand how Jesus overcame Satan and how Satan still used manipulation (even manipulating the very words of God to His own son!), but I have never believed so strongly before that the more we pray for clarity, the more we pray for wisdom, the more we pray for responsibility with His word, the more He fulfills us and reveals His Truth to our unaware minds.
So, I sign off. I cannot tell you how humbled I have been since we landed in Panama over a month ago. Your prayers and thoughts are alive, felt, and answered here more than you ever knew. But please, remember, that the responsibility to share His word is not just for us in Panama, but it is for ALL believers, in the U.S., in Thailand, in Kenya, and beyond. We’re simply doing what our Lord Jesus entrusted us (His church) to do before He ascended back to His throne. It’s not a responsibility that we can payoff our ministers and missionaries to complete, but one that we must do ourselves. All of us. Together. If we all begin to take seriously the message of the Lord, then we can be the aroma of Christ that Paul (2 Cor. 2:15) wrote about so many years ago. I pray that you all are blessed richly in love, truth, and faithfulness, and that your neighbors, will be blessed by your presence in their lives and the Gospel that you may share to them, as it was once shared to you. Please pray the same for me, as well.
Rae and I leave this afternoon for the national youth convention, so please keep us all in your prayers as well travel and as hundreds of young people gather in His name, while the rest of the country is celebrating Carnaval, aka Mardi Gras. Pray for these kids that they will seek Him with all of their hearts, minds, and soul.

God is doing amazing things here!

I don't have much time, mostly because Rachel and I have not had much sleep this week, and I must start tonight!! But, I want to again express my gratitude for your prayers. I wish I could explain more at this time, but please know that God is doing AMAZING things in Brisas del Golf and throughout Panama City. I'm not sure how I managed to be here at this time, but it is a blessing to me, as well. Please, continue to pray for our readers. One of my readers, Junior, who's wife was sick with dengue last week and is better now, will start Bible studies this Saturday with the missionary, partially in thanks to all of you who told me you would lift his family up in prayer. That was quite a testimony to him. Rachel and I have several other students who have stated that they will be attending the new house church. God is keeping us busy, so we ask that you will please help the mission by staying busy in prayer, as you already have been!!
I wanted to tell you too that I finally got some pictures posted online, and have more to go. The ones that have been uploaded are on Facebook, but even if you don't have a Facebook account, you can access them by following this link:http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2061846&l=41422&id=71000688 .
Hope to write with more details soon!!
Thanks again for the prayers. May God bless you all!

Ocupada, Ocupada, Ocupada

We have made it for two weeks. Rachel and I still love each other, and we are both alive.
I wish I had more time to write and update, but it is not often that we have internet access, and as it seems, when we do, limited time. Such is the case tonight. I only have ten minutes to tell you of all the amazing ways God has blessed us this week, and is blessing us everyday.
Rachel´s blood tests came back fine, thank you all for your prayers.
When I think about the past week, the phrase that comes to mind over and over again is ¨The Harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.¨ I never realized how true that was. Over 60 people signed up to have English lessons from the Bible, which was a problem for the new church in Brisas del Gof, because they only had two LST workers. So, they called our congregation, and Rachel and I travel across the city each day to spend six hours, working with as much as twenty readers. LST is traditionally for advanced English speakers, but more than half of those wanting English lessons in Brisas are at the beginner´s level. We could not imagine sending them away, so we are daily developing an English program for beginners that still incoprorates the Bible and the messages therein. We have been blessed to have very crazy students, who are so much fun and who became our friends instantly. It is amazing how our personalities have clicked with their´s so well. They are eager and excited to learn. We have precious Olga, who is sixty years old and still determined to learn a foreign language. She is challeneging, but provides comedic relief because no matter how hard she tries, she just does not know what is going on or what she is saying! But, she is steadfast, intelligent, and will learn! We have Reuben who has been labeled as the ¨crazy¨man by our other students, Soñia who is our ¨ham¨because she insists on being in every picture, and Mara who forced Rachel to do the Electric Slide (Or Electric Boogie, as they call it in Panama) at our party, and Delina who has been frantically searching for a Spanish book for Rachel, so she can learn the language in which she so badly wants to communicate. I wish I could write to you about them all--Katherine, Adol, Junior (Please pray for his wife, who contracted dengue from a mosquito), Maria, Helario, Lesliee, and the others. I am convinced that we have the best students! Please pray that in addition to learning English, forging new friendships, and having a very good time, they will also fall in love with the Jesus they read about in their Luke books everyday and that, we pray, they see in our lives.
Thank you for all your prayers. It is because of our family and friends at home, that we are encouraged to go on each day. Thank you for all of you who helped to get us here, and bring these people The Good News.
Scroll down to see some new pictures!
May God blesss you all!
Thank you for reading!
Excuse the typos--Spanish keyboards are a little tricky!!

Free time is over...Work has been done!

¡Gloria a Dios!
One of the things that I love the most about the culture of the church in Central America, especially here in Panama, is the willingness to verbally acknowledge God and praise Him whenever anything wonderful is mentioned. Whenever church members call on one another, they refer to each other as Hermano Helario (Brother Helario) or Hermana Betty (Sister Betty). When they talk about beautiful weather, their job, their family, their available time, it is almost always followed by a ¨Gloria a Dios¨ (Glory to God) or ¨Gracias a Dios¨ (Thanks be to God). They also greet and say goodbye with ¨Dios le bendiga¨ (May God bless you).
In the last week and a half I have found myself questioning why we in the U.S. have not incorporated this language into our spoken words or even our personal thoughts. Are we embarassed because it´s a little unfamiliar to our ears? Are we scared we will offend someone of a different faith? Or, worse yet, is it that we do not see every good thing as a direct blessing from God, see the man sitting on the pew next to us as our brother, or consider sending one off with anything other than sending them off with a blessing from our God, as requested by a brother or sister in Christ? What has happened to our being consumed by God and talking about Him (as was directed to the Israelites) all day long. At what point did we decide that our lives were too busy to speak in such a manner, or that people wouldn´t care. Maybe they would care if we took the time to train our mind and our words to flow in this manner.
Random, I know, but just something I have found myself pondering over in the last few days and something that I frantically working to incorporate in my daily communication.
We have begun reading with readers, and I wish that I had time to write about them all, but sadly, we have to meet our wonderful taxi drive, the Hermano Helario himself, in just a few minutes. Please continue to keep us and the work in your prayers, especially the new congregation in Las Brisas Del Golf.
Thanks for your emails, notes, and prayers. They are so very encouraging!

So, it took a while to finally post...

¡Buenas!
It has already been a week since we arrived in the chaos that is la ciudad de Panama! It´s cliche to say, but I cannot believe it! This week has been interesting, as we have been waiting for the missionaries to return from the states so that we can officially start working. So, this week we have been getting settled, familiarizing ourselves with the area, practicing our Spanish, and reviewing our LST materials, as well as the book of Luke, which will serve as our text for our reading sessions.
Rachel and I boarded the plane in Cincinnati having very little idea about what was in store for us down south. We had the name of an American man who was soppussedly going to pick us up at the airport, but that was literally all the information that we had. We arrived, and were quickly greeted and adopted by Larry and Karen Jones, recent retirees who moved to Panama with their 17 year old daughter, Lauren. The room Rachel and are renting while we are here was not ready until Monday, so the Jones took us in for the weekend. They have been more than hospitable, feeding us, guiding us, housing us, and coming to our rescue. God has truly blessed us with this family and we are forever grateful for them and their presence here.
As most of you know, mission work has been my dream for many years now, ever since I took my first trip to Thailand in 2000. The idea of living abroad, in an environment very different from the the one in which I was raised and sharing the love of Christ with those who are desperate to discover Him has been on my heart for years now, and I cannot express how excited I am to finally get to dive in and explore what I have yearned to do for so long! If you don´t already know, Rachel and I are Let´s Start Talking interns. We will conduct English lessons using the book the of Luke for free to non-Christians who are wanting to improve thier already exisiting English skills. These lessons will not be in a classroom setting, but rather will be one-on-one reading times where we will be able to guide the conversation to meaningful topics, while discovering the reader´s level of faith, and hopefully, to plant seeds. It is a very nonaggressive approach. We will never argue, never tell someone they are wrong, simply share our lives with them and their´s with us, and point them towards the love of our Father that has sent us here.
LST is a great tool to help bring people into the church who might otherwise never come near. Although language lessons is not the mission work that I have always had in mind, I believe that God is going to mold me and shape me while I am here, and that this experience will prepare me for other ways to serve Him in the future. Most importantly, I pray that it will bring someone, anyone, to Christ.
Rachel and I are living with a non-Christian family. The mother, Noris, did some LST readings in the past, and speaks some English. She is a very hard worker, and has been very hospitable to us. We have already fallen in love with her and her 4 year old daughter, Noris Maria, and 4 month son, Ulissis (like his dad!). This morning Noris told us that she would like to do LST with us every night for thirty minutes and that she wants little Noris to do it with us, so that she can learn English, and learn about Jesus!! This second part thrilled us, and we are anxious to begin. Please pray for Noris and her family. We hope they will join us for church services this Sunday.

For New Year´s Eve, I was blessed with the opportunity to join the congregation in San Miguelito for their celebration. The church in Curundu, our host congregation, did not have plans for the holiday, so I went with Erika, a recent HU grad who came this week to stay for a year and who is also living with us, to San Miguelito. I cannot even begin to express all that my heart felt when I stepped of El Diablo Rojo (the city bus--translated, The Red Devil). Rachel and I are staying in the area formerly known as the Canal Zone, which for decades, was completely controlled by the U.S.--five miles on both side of the canal. It is a very safe area, but also a very wealthy area. The family with whom we are staying is middle-class, but their home is nice, and was built by the Americans. Walking in our neighborhood, one does not feel too far from the US, minus the tropical birds and the occassional sloth or rumored monkey swinging from a tree.If you know me at all though, you know that this is not the population nearest to my heart. I want to love the people that are desperate, that have so little, but that are somehow have such a strong spirit. Welcome to San Miguelito, an area that actually looks like the rest of Central America, an area where it is not safe to walk alone, an area that some might describe as a ghetto. I got off that bus and oddly enough, felt at home. The congregation there was full of life and is uniquely made up of very rich and very poor, but watching their interactions, you would never know that there was such socioeconimic differences. I got to spend time with several of the members and learned a great deal about Panamanian culture, tourism, and way of life. I pray that I have the opportunity to worship with them again. I could go on and on about San Miguelito, but I will stop, because I have already written so much, and it is only my first entry! One more thing though that was perhaps one of the most encouraging was a brother in the church there who is now one of their most prominent church leaders, who was brought to Christ through LST English lessons. I have thought much about this program and how it works within an already Christian-Catholic culture, and have struggled with my own personal dilemma of wanting to serve the people here in other capacities, and I feel that God brought me to this man to show me the tremendous work that is possible through His means, and not my own. I know that He has brought me here, to this place, to do this thing, and I pray, oh I pray so strongly, that He will make many more new, and that through this effort, He will raise up numerous leaders for His kingdom. I ask that you will pray this as well.
It has also been encouraging to have met various people this past week who are more than excited to have LST reading sessions. I know that God will use this program for His glory! On the other side of Panama City, in Brisas del Golf, the congregation there is preparing to welcome a couple who will be completing a short LST project. The minister there approached Rachel and me about helping them in their effort there, while we are pulling together the work at Curundu, as they have 60, yes, SIXTY, people who are reading and earnest to study the Bible in order to improve their English skills. Lord willing, we will join them in this work in Brisas starting this Sunday. Please pray for this ministry there, and pray for Rachel and me as we quickly prepare to begin these studies.
That was a lot! I will try for future entries to not be so long!! If you want to be on our email update list, please shoot me an email and I will add you!!
May God bless you all. Thank you so much for your support and your prayers. I can truly say that they have been very felt and answered. They mean more than you will ever know!
Love and blessings to you all!!