Striking the top of the list of things I’ve most learned in my 24 years is that plans change. I’ve got to hold itineraries loosely with the expectation that expectations will not be met or will happen in a different way than I foresaw. Before this journey started, all 19 of us planned to be in Nicaragua for month 9. We knew routes changed for various reasons just like instead of Albania we went to Romania month 2.
After we learned about the political unrest bleeding into violence in the country of Nicaragua, we started holding it loose in the expectation we wouldn’t be doing ministry there. Nothing changed though. We waited and waited for a month for the news but our safety department and safety coordinator deemed Nicaragua better and more safe for travel now.
The morning of our travel day to Nicaragua, we have our tickets in place, our ministry sites prepared for us, our bags packed, and less than a day to countdown before we board our first plane. That morning, as one of the logistics coordinators, I was pulled aside to be informed that we wouldn’t be traveling to Nicaragua. The airport revoked our visas and was not going to let us in. The night before violence ignited again causing roads to close and extra caution to rise.
I’m grateful we didn’t get stuck in Nicaragua that day but I was disappointed I wouldn’t be going, that my anticipation and expectation of this country wouldn’t come to fruition. They died in the violence and the unrest. But Jesus redirects us, takes care of us, and doesn’t lead us astray.
We are now here in Panama. In specific, we are partnering with a ministry called ICJesus Ministries in Las Lajas in San Felix. Its solely lead by a kind couple, Dani and Heather, that took us in at the last second. Their hearts dually beat for seeing the indigenous people come to know and have a relationship with Christ. A main piece of our ministry here is visiting the small Panamanian tribe in Oma.
At Oma, we dive into a lot of different avenues in our efforts to love and encourage this community. This includes playing sports, deaf & sign language ministry, visiting the families and homes, checking on their clean water system, and running around in kids ministry. It’s wild. We do all this in the middle of the jungle on a mountaintop.
Other ministries we’ve helped lead include VBS in the Las Lajas community which is nestled next to a beautiful beachfront that is a hidden gem. There’s been construction work on a church, discovery of tardegrades (little microorganisms that look like gummy bears) when two scientists visited, and prayer walks on the beach. We’ve had youth group at night in a jungle and English classes for hours. It’s been a modge podge month. A month of needing flexibility as we go on the daily journey Dani and Heather experience as their life.
At the end of this month we prepared an event to reach out to women in the community to discuss their worth. There are many vulnerable girls and women in the communities we serve and we want to teach them worth and self-defense. While this month is a whirlwind of unexpected, I can always rely on Jesus to know what He’s doing.
