We had the privilege of WR Exposure volunteers with us in Panama. They get to spend a month on the race as part of our teams and live life with us. They do what we do, go where we go, live like we live. It gives them a taste of the race and hopefully clarity if the World Race is for them.
Here are their thoughts from the race:
EMILY
The first time I tried to write this blog, I was going to write about my first day of ministry here.
Our ministry host showed up at our host home and picked us up for church. Little did we know, church was actually a slab of concrete in the middle of the jungle — which we had to hike to. After crossing two streams and hiking for about thirty minutes, we made it to the church building. (I’m using the term building here very loosely.) Everyone sang hymns in Spanish and as I listened to them sing words that I had never heard, my heart was filled. It’s amazing to be in a country you’ve never been to, in the jungle, listening to a group of indigenous people praise the same God that you praise.
The second time I tried to write this blog, I was going to write about the ocean.
We went to the ocean our first Tuesday here. I got the worst sunburn I’ve ever had in my whole life and after a week, I still had blisters covering my arms and shoulders and chest because of how bad it was. But honestly, that day – even through the pain it caused me – was one of my favorite days. I got to see my teammates, people I barely knew at the time, jumping through waves and laughing and smiling. Standing in the waves, watching everyone around me express so much joy, I couldn’t help but repeat, “You’re a good, good father” over and over in my head. Because He is.
The third time I tried to write this blog, I was going to write about being a carpenter.
My team went to ministry one day and our ministry host told us to build benches. BENCHES. I’ve never actually built anything in my life, much less something that is supposed to hold the weight of multiple human beings. It was a stressful day. My teammate and I ruined probably four drill bits and stripped a countless amount of screws. It was a day that brought me patience and perseverance. And God was in that. God was watching as we were ruining everything and struggling and He was smiling because we kept going – for Him.
The fourth time I tried to write this blog, I was going to write about music to God’s ears.
Our ministry for the majority of this month was sanding. Sanding is something that I’m not particularly passionate about. But as my teammates and I sanded metal rod after metal rod, I heard God saying “This may not sound great to you, but this is music to My ears.”
The fifth time I tried to write this blog, I was going to write about black beans.
Nettie and I were asked to get groceries one day and so we walked to the store and bought groceries for our team. We bought four bags of black beans because who doesn’t like black beans?! We walked back to our host home and as soon as we walked in the door, it was very apparent that our host did NOT like black beans. She was yelling in Spanish, telling us our beans were too hard. Of course our beans were too hard – they’re uncooked black beans. Duh. So we decided she was overreacting and decided to soak the beans. After soaking the beans for hours, we realized we didn’t know how to cook the beans so we had a very important team meeting. What were we going to do with the beans?! Long story short, we tried to cook the beans and they ended up being the hardest things in the world and they tasted just like peanuts. Don’t buy black beans in Panama.
The sixth time I was going to blog, I was going to write about the nail polish.
My team stayed in a castle this month for our rest/adventure day. It’s the only castle in Central America and it’s beautiful. Our second day there, I was sitting next to an older lady at breakfast. Her name was Jackie and she had the prettiest nail polish on. I told her I loved it and she told me that I could borrow it if I wanted to. I was so excited and thankful for her kindness. Later that day, she found one of my teammates and gave her the nail polish for me. I painted my nails with it and the next day at breakfast, I found Jackie to return it to her. I showed her my fresh, light pink manicure and told her thank you and to my surprise, she told me to keep her nail polish. She told me it would help me remember Panama and her. Talk about gratitude!! As small of a gesture that is, her nail polish was such a blessing to me.
The seventh blog I was going to write, was about an African man.
I have no idea who this man is. I walked up to the central dining table in the castle we were staying in to fill up my water bottle and I overheard a beautiful conversation. This man was talking about God. He said something along the lines of this: “Everything has a purpose. Look around. That water pitcher has a purpose. The refrigerator has a purpose. Why would you think you don’t have a purpose? Everything has a purpose, why wouldn’t you? And if you didn’t know the purpose, wouldn’t you reach out to the manufacturer? You would ask the person who made the product!” WOW. I’ve been struggling with identity this month. Coming into this month, I really thought I was an extrovert but leaving this country, I really think I’m an introvert. That’s not a big deal. I get it. But to me, that is a lot of my identity and now I’m not even sure how I recharge or if I truly enjoy being around people as much as I thought I did. And if I don’t love being around people as much as I thought, what career should I have? If I’m not passionate about my career choice, what will I do? What if I magically transform back to an extrovert? What is my purpose? And why have I not been asking my creator, my manufacturer? This random man reminded me to seek my creator this month and that He has a beautiful purpose for my life.
The other five blogs I tried to write have slipped my mind. I’m sure they were great, insightful blog posts but I guess that doesn’t matter now.
What does matter is how God has moved this month. He has shown me the magic of worship, even if I don’t understand the words. He’s shown me the beauty of His creation and the beauty in joy. He’s shown me that sometimes, your host is right and beans are hard. He’s shown me that regardless of the ministry I’m doing, as long as it is bringing glory to Him, He is glad in that. He’s shown me to seek Him. He’s shown me generosity through a stranger and a bottle of nail polish. He has moved in great ways this month. I am grateful that I got to experience it. I am also grateful that my God is everywhere and He’s coming back to the states with me to do great things there too.
DESTINY
I struggle with words and expressing myself often.But as I endured what I would say was my most difficult challenge mentally, spiritually, and physically, I expressed my frustrations clearly!
My team and I were in the beautiful city of Boquete, Panama for a few days on our rest/adventures days and we were definitely going to make the most of it!
So why not climb the largest mountain in Panama…Volcán Barú.
Yeah we climbed a VOLCANO. The “we” in that statement couldn’t be more true!
With lack of sleep due to excitement and a mix of other things, my body started feeling sick the first few steps into the hike. But climbing a volcano was something I always wanted to do. I wasn’t giving up.
I turned to my teammates and shared what was going on. They instantly offered their support by praying over me.
It gave me the strength and motivation to keep going.
At about 2 km of 13.5 km (one way) most of us thought, would this first hill ever end?
I was so ready to turn back when my teammate Zach reminded me that it’s a “mindset” and to redirect my focus on the Lord.
When I started to give my thoughts of defeat to the Lord I saw progress.
Which was hard because you only could see about a few steps in front of you with your head lamps.
This was a night hike to see the sunrise.
It would be worth it!
When we reached a little over half way, I noticed I was constantly the one furthest behind.
My good friend Kenadi and my new Panamanian friend Steve kept staying back with me.
It was getting hard to breathe. I was hit with altitude sickness.
It frustrated me because I finally had the right mindset to push through faster, but now I had to go slower.
Through that, the Lord reminded me that it’s okay to say what you need. So with frustration, I expressed to the team I once again had to slow down.
Katie instantly took my pack and added it to her load. It offered me a few moment’s to breathe. I felt the presence of the Lord strongly in the moment, physically lifting my burden.
Having to slow down meant the chance of not getting to see the sunrise.
There were several moments we all had glimpses of doubt, some more voiced (or cried) than others. Even physical things that tried to keep us from going.
When we kept giving it to God through worship and prayer we had His power to keep going. It was neat to see God each give us the strength at different times to encourage the team.
There was even one point as I was singing praise I had more breathe than when I wasn’t!
So did we make it?!
Yes! An hour before the expected sunrise. Every person we talked to said it would take us 6-8 hours.
We made it in 6!
As we shivered (because it was freezing) in anticipation for the sunrise, we were surrounded by gusts of winds (thought they’d blow me off the mountain) and cloud-filled skies.
The thought of “Could this be for nothing?” slowly creeped my mind.
But in this case, the teaching moments from the journey of the hike were far more valuable than the view of our destination. Although I didn’t see the “sunrise” I saw our faiths rise!
Special thanks to each one of my teammates; Zach, Katie, Kenadi, Oto/Steve
(our Panamanian friend) and Julius (our German friend). Also to all the rest of the members of our team back home who took care of us post hike and supported us in prayer before, during, and after!
We are currently serving the indigenous people of Panama in the outskirts of the San Felix District. The reservation is located in the mountains, where a person can walk three days before finding the closest church. We’re helping with construction of some church buildings in the surrounding areas including sanding and painting. We’ve had the joy of playing with the indigenous children through outdoor games, arts and crafts, and the simple braiding of hair.
