Are we called “to go” or “stay”? What if I or someone else has never heard the audible voice of God validating what we believe to be our “calling”? What does it even mean to be “called”? Aren’t we all called to “go out and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost”?
When we arrived in Panama City we took a bus 8 hours north to the remote town of San Felix where we have been helping Pastor Alex Taylor and his wife Mirta, whom we all call “Mimi”. Pastor Alex and Mimi are actually from Costa Rica but have been here in San Felix for 7 years. They have 5 children, the youngest is 26. As Mimi tells it, she and Pastor Alex always felt that God was calling them to leave and be missionaries outside of Costa Rica but it never felt right. Then indigenous pastors from Panama visited their church and asked for help, asked for support, feeling that they were alone with a burden too heavy to bare alone. Pastor Alex and Mimi wanted to go but came up with a list of at least 13 reasons or difficulties to leaving Costa Rica but prayed about the move. Within a year, God had gotten rid of everything standing in the way of them going to Panama so, “What else could we do, but come. Now we’ve been here 7 years.”
And here they are, is right. Pastor Alex and Mimi help support over 15 churches in the Comarca, or Indian reservation, that is located in the North of Panama. On top of taking in our team like family, last week they had missionaries from Costa Rica come to teach music classes for the indigenous pastors from the Comarca and over 19 churches were represented. At the same time there was a missionary couple from Jacksonville, Florida here to help build a roof for one of the Comarca churches so the church can still meet in the rain. Four years ago Pastor Alex and Mimi took in Rosaira and Rosalinda, twin girls who were 4 at the time. Abandoned by their mother, they sometimes received food from their aunt but eventually were taken to the hospital full of worms both inside and out due to neglect by their father. Pastor Alex and Mimi took over the twins’ care, but their father refuses to give Pastor Alex and Mimi full custody so they are unable to take the girls with them to Costa Rica to meet family. Pastor Alex and Mimi have also “adopted” David and Maureen (or “Mau”) who are both in their early 30’s and felt called to join the mission in the Comarca.
(David helping us sand and varnish the benches in the church after we painted it)
Lately education has started to become more important to families in the Comarca so Pastor Alex and Mimi house 4 girls from the Comarca so that the girls can attend school here in San Felix. The travel to get home is too much, so the girls only go home for long holidays. If Mimi ever hears of a girl being abused in the Comarca, Mimi takes the girl and tries to give her another opportunity by living with them in San Felix. Mimi said they had 4 other girls, all with history of abuse, 2 with small children, who all chose to return to the Comarca and their past of being abused.
(Mirta, Pastor Alex, Rosaira and Rosalinda)
On Saturdays and Sundays, Mimi, Pastor Alex, Mau and David split up so they can visit and support as many churches as possible. On Sunday nights, Pastor Alex leads his own church service at their church Nueva Esperanza. Prior to service, he drives around, picks people up and brings them to church. Amazingly somehow Mimi also feeds all these people.
(Mau and I at one of the villages in the Comarca, “July”)
While life is busy here in San Felix, it is also busy with their 4 daughters and 6 grandchildren living in Costa Rica. One of their daughters was widowed January of 2013 when her husband, who was a policeman, was hit and killed instantly in a car accident responding to a robbery. The family took the hit hard, only finding out about the accident from the local news. The 12 year old grandson tried to take on the entire care of the family and had a mini-heart attack from the stress. Pastor Alex has had 2 heart attacks and his legs give out due to problems with his spine. Mimi has a benign uterus tumor which requires surgery that they can’t afford. Two different families have offered to “gift” their children to Mimi. 3 and 5 year old girls unwanted by their families, especially the 3 year old who is paralyzed from the waist down but due to Mimi’s health she has had to say no.
Pastor Alex is 62 and Mimi is 54. Instead of slowing down or planning for retirement, they work hard and say there is still lots of work to be done. It has been simply amazing to work alongside them this month. To see a true servant’s heart put into action. As wrapped up as I get in my small little part, the world is a big place with lots of work for God’s kingdom still to be done. As Pastor Alex says, “When God calls, you have to answer.”
