I have only been doing ministry in San Felix, Panama for two days and I am already blown away by how God is moving. We are working with Danny and Heather and every day of ministry will look different for us. Danny and Heather go and do ministry wherever they feel the Holy Spirit is calling them that day. We get a phone call in the morning telling us a tentative plan of what our day of ministry could looks like, but knowing the Holy Spirit will guide our ministry!
The first day of ministry we found out we were hiking up a mountain to help a pastor and his family. Everyone was eager and excited to get started. We began to hike up the mountain and and this was no easy hike. The terrain was rocky, muddy, and very steep. After we where hiking for about an hour I began to feel a little dizzy so I took a break and sat down with Danny. I apologized for having to stop and he said. “Please don’t be sorry. The people we are going to see will be there. They will always be there.” His patience and heart blew me away. It wasn’t about just getting to the top of the mountain it was about the journey getting there. I was feeling better and we hiked a little farther. I then began to feel dizzy again and then my whole team stopped and I laid down on the ground. Danny gave me his hat and fanned me with a towel. Ada gave me a granola bar and Lindsey checked my pulse and it was normal. Then my whole team prayed over me. It was so humbling to have everyone looking out for me. I was starting to feel better again so I sat up. Danny said to me, “We can do nothing out of our own strength, only with God’s strength.” That hit me hard because I knew there was no way I could take another step up that mountain without God’s strength.
About 5 minutes later we made it to the pastors home. Just a week ago the pastor had fallen 25 feet off his house trying to fix his roof. He was in a lot of pain, so we helped him in whatever way we could. We helped him by doing some work in his garden. There wasn’t enough tools for everyone to work in the garden, so I hung out with this beautiful 8 year old girl name Aileen. We colored together and I used the few Spanish words I knew to communicate with her. It was so amazing to see her open up to me. At first she was so shy and wouldn’t even talk to me, but after about an hour she would softly whisper to me as we colored pictures together.
It then began pouring down rain so we headed down the mountain. The muddy paths turned into mini waterfalls. It was crazy, but at the same time I loved it! I was made for this! Each step I took I fully trusted that God would take care of me and not allow me to fall. When we made it to the bottom of the mountain we accidentally locked our keys in the car. Danny had an extra set of keys back at the house, so he began to walk back to the house to get them. Seeking shelter from the rain we waited under a little porch and ended up meeting some amazing women. A girl on my team named Melody who speaks amazing Spanish found out the building we where standing under was the national headquarters for the Nove tribe. The Nove tribe is one of the largest tribes in Panama. The women where sewing traditional dresses to sell. The women who was the leader of the headquarters gave us the opportunity for a few of us to share our testimonies. Tara and Jenna both shared their testimonies and Melody translated them into Spanish. God used locking the keys in the car into an amazing opportunity to share the love of Christ with these beautiful Nove women.
That was my first day of ministry in Panama! Always look for every opportunity to serve those around you! God’s plans our greater than our own! If we turn a blind eye to the leading of the Holy Spirit you could miss out on some amazing opportunities to show the love of Christ to those around you!
