Everything in Panama has been going great. We’ve been here for only three days, but so far, it’s been smooth sailing. The first day I had my Panama Extravaganza with Colleen–amazing as always. The second day here we were able to spend the day as a squad, running around the city and having fun. We visited the Panama Canal, ate lunch at Bennigan’s and ran around the mall having silly competitions. We also met the people we will be partnering with this month, John Mark and Cheryl Hansen, and finalized some ministry stuff.
Pretty much everything was good to go except one thing… lodging for the second half of our time here. Our team will be spending the first five days of our ministry time in Santa Clara, a city about 90miles outside of Panama City, reaching out to nearby cities and praying for the local Chinese population. So we have an amazing beach house to stay at during those five night… but no where to live once we come back to do ministry in the city.
So today, off we went. Brandon and I caught a bus and headed to Balboa, the area where our contact works. The previous day, Brandon had seen a sign for a hostel, so we decided to check it out. It was full, and way overpriced, so we went searching for other options. We walked around the city, not able to find any other hostel or hotel or B&B or campsite or anything really… until we were walking back to catch a bus home.
As we were walking on the main road, Brandon noticed the First Baptist Church of Balboa. So we thought, why not, and decided to go and talk to them. We eventually found the church office and a man named Alfredo, who just so happens to be the angel in this particular story. At first he tried to help us find a place in town, volunteering to drive us places to check. When that didn’t end up being very successful, he and the Pastor offered to let us stay at the church, in one of their extra rooms.
So now we have a place to stay when we get back to the city. Praise God! He provides. Abundantly. And he does it in such amazing ways. This place is truly a blessing, a gift from God, and we thank you Lord!
