Hello Friends!
We made it to Panama! Actually we arrived a week ago. It’s just my team together this month and we’re in Panama City. I AM SO EXCITED TO BE HERE. This month is already shaping up to be something very different. We’re working with Shibu and his wife Lily. Shibu is from India and Lily was born here in Panama and their children are way cute. Their focus is the Indian community. They just celebrated the one year anniversary of the launch of the Navjeevan Fellowship which they began. It is the very first Indian Christian fellowship in the country and I can’t stress just how much of an uphill battle they’re fighting. The Hindu people are incredibly spiritual, but Hinduism is also deeply cultural and converting to Christianity is often a good way to be shut out by your family which isn’t a pleasant prospect.
The service we attended on Sunday made me so hopeful about the things that are possible with God. We sang songs in Hindi and English and Shibu’s message was translated from English into Spanish. It worked really well and it was such a welcoming place. They served communion for the first time, which was a really big deal, and we introduced ourselves. I’m just going to keep saying this: I am SO excited to be here. We’re going to be doing all kinds of things I’m not comfortable with doing. We will be singing and dancing and leading things and speaking. I’m having fun shifting from worry to anticipation about all of it. I probably should have tried that out a long time ago.
Yesterday we went to a Hindu temple. It’s up on a hill and you can see all the way to the ocean from there. We walked around and prayed for the hearts of the people who frequent it. I just kept thinking about the empty placid smiles on the faces of the statues inside, all those eyes that stare off to a distance just behind you. People stand in front of those statues every day. They ring a bell to wake them up, but there the statues sit. They pray for health, for children, for prosperity, for people they love and all the while the statues just keep staring off into that distance, bunches of bananas and coins sitting at their feet. It made me sad.
This weekend we’ll be putting together a children’s program and next week we’ll be doing some house visits. These are people who have welcomed us to come speak to them and I’m stoked about it. Everyone we’ve met so far has been so sweet. I’ve loved getting to know Shibu and Lily and I can’t wait to learn more about the people here. I see in so many ways how this month is perfect timing. I feel like we are exactly where we need to be this month and it’s going to be that much better because of it. I’m so grateful for our surprise trip to “India”. I can’t wait to tell you more!
If you find yourself wondering what you can do to help this month the answer is pray. Pray that the hearts of the Hindu people here would be softened and that the fear of rejection be family and community would be alleviated. Pray for Shibu and Lily and their continued strength as they face rejection themselves on a regular basis from the people they’re reaching out to. Pray for my team as we start with a firm foundation in Christ and active love for one another and move out to the community around us.
Thank you! Until next time!
