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