In the words of my teammate, Rebecca, “Panama feels a lot more like India”
Once again the first week in a new city and new ministry flew by. We arrived in Panama City at 3:00am on a TICA Bus from Costa Rica last Saturday morning.
We contacted our ministry host, Shibu, right away and he came immediately to pick us up and take us to the hostel we are staying at this month. Side note, it’s right across from a Super 99, a legitimate grocery store that has my favorite beverage, Zevia! Blessings from God I tell you! Anyway…
Shibu is from southern India, but has been living and working in Panama City since 2014. This month my team has been given the privilege to partner with him and his wife, Lilly, who is Panamanian, to help reach the Indian population of 15k residing here. They also have three adorable little children, Leah (7), Timothy (6) and Sarah (3).
Although his ministry is still what he calls “in the beginning stages”, it is evident that God is working through Shibu.
Every Sunday night he leads a fellowship night at the school chapel where he works. This past Sunday, we not only attended, but Shibu also asked our group to lead a few songs, introduce ourselves, and share about the World Race and our journey thus far. One of my favorite parts about the night was singing along to a few songs in his native Hindi language, Malayalam. While most of the words I mumbled, butchered or made up, I am excited about continuing to learn and practice new songs.
In the upcoming Sundays, my team will be taking the reigns on the whole night! In addition to leading songs, some of us will be sharing our testimonies and bringing a message or word of encouragement. Please pray that our words will touch their lives!
To grow the attendance and reach the Indian community he has a heart for, Shibu and his wife spend their free time engaging in outreach and relational evangelism. They often visit Hindu’s at their shops or homes and invite families into their home for meals.
As part of our ministry here, we are partaking in house visits and outreach events with Shibu and his family. We had our first house visit/prayer meeting on Friday night. We were invited to a Christian home of a couple we met at the fellowship night. Their 15-year-old daughter was also present. We started again with a few Hindi songs, and after, our team led a few songs in English and the rest of the night. Several of us shared words of encouragement from the Word, Melissa gave part of her testimony, and we prayed for the ministry and for Indian community to know Christ as Lord and Savior. I am looking forward to more of these nights this month!
With Christmas coming up, a big focus is Shibu’s Christmas program. For the event, we are helping him plan and arrange our own Christmas drama skit and gospel message. So far, I created an invitation that we are going to pass out to families and we started brainstorming ideas for our skit. Marketing and my past experience and participation in church Christmas programs is coming in handy this month. Please pray for the room to be filled with people and for the gospel to be proclaimed and eternities changed by receiving Jesus Christmas Day!
What I am most excited about is partnering with a children’s ministry in Cerro Batea, an at risk area known for drug trafficking and youth gangs. This ministry has been established for 14 years and ministers to kids and youth and even some adults. We have been asked to help run the program on two different days we are here! To prepare, the last couple of days, our team has had a lot of fun brainstorming, putting together, and practicing songs to teach the kids, a drama/skit and games. There will be a video to come! Please pray for spiritual, physical, and emotional protection of the kids. Pray that they would walk away full of joy and new life that is contagious when they return to their families.
Thank you for your prayers and partnering with our ministry here in Panama City!
