"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 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:)**
