Disclaimer: this post is not about December 24th but about why I think we could not be in a better place to spend Christmas away from home.
Panama. It reminds me a lot of America: comfy beds, hot showers, wifi, and lots of English speakers! I have loved it in most aspects but there is one thing about this month that I do not love. My team and I are currently in David, Panama helping to serve at the YWAM base located here. If you have never heard of YWAM – check it out, they are incredible!!
Let me start off by explaining the things I have absolutely loved:
The people. Many of the people we have interacted with have been from America (so they get Christmas like we do!) actually but there have been some Panamanians and even some Canadians in the mix! But no matter who’s we interact with, they are welcoming and kind – making us feel at home and wanted. We have attended a Christmas party, a 6-years-old birthday, and are genuinely loved by the people here! While here, YWAM’s discipleship schools were in session and we had the opportunity to meet incredible people and families! With them we did an inductive Bible study, intercessory prayer, played Just Dance, and I was taught how small and connected the world really is! We are the only people at the base now but I cannot imagine not meeting the students that were here! And in a couple days, a team from Biola University in California will be coming down to serve here!
The ministry. YWAM staff are amazing! And I have been grateful for the opportunity to serve alongside them!! Since being here we have been able to help with graduation, base support, and kid’s ministries! Graduation was for students that attended the 2 schools this base hosts – both focused on equipping students to make God known. We were able to set-up and serve dinner at the graduation and therefore, attend! It was an honor to be able to serve the well deserved graduates and hear a little bit about their journey through the school here! At the base, we have been helping them fulfill the vision they have here in very tangible ways! We have been able to help them make a library, change up their cafe, and do a “spring cleaning”. The people at the base are a blast to work alongside and we have loved the manual labor! We also have had the opportunity to do two types of kid’s ministries! The first was a type of kids club where we drove down the road honking the horn (until we got a flat tire) and shouted where we were going to be. YWAM runs this program every other Saturday and gave us the reigns this week! We did a skit, played games, face painted, and even had a piñata! The second kids ministry we did was connected to the church we attend here in Panama. We went roller skating!!!!! It was so much fun and to see kids go from being scared to get in the rink to skating by themselves was such a neat and inspirational sight! I cannot wait to see what other ministry God has in-store here for us these next couple of weeks!
The Food. The food here is incredible. That is all. If you love chicken – come to Panama.
Christmas. This is my first Christmas away from the United States, from cold, from my parents, sister, brother, and grandparents. Thankfully, God placed us in the second best place (besides home) to be for Christmas! The people here have been super inclusive in their Christmas plans and my team are a fun bunch of Christmas elves! We went to a Christmas party with hot coco and a gift exchange and bought fireworks to set off at midnight! Tonight we are planning sleeping around the Christmas tree, watching a Christmas movie, and enjoying just being together because of Who Christmas represents: Christ. On Christmas Day, we plan to celebrate with good food and great company!!
To name a few… there has been one thing that I have not loved this month:
Wifi. This is a tricky one because it is so nice to be able to talk to friends and family back home but it can also easily become a distraction and an excuse to disconnect and not press into what God is doing in and through yourself. Going from having no wifi last month to having wifi almost all the time – I would 100% choose no wifi every time. For me it has, along with several other factors, hindered my most important relationship. My relationship with the Lord. Wifi makes it easier to fill the space in myself and time that I set aside for the Lord. Going from last month to this month was like being in constant communication to the Lord to having a wall put up between us. Wifi is not to blame but it is something the Enemy has used against me this month. I have been working to put limits on my wifi use to create space in my heart and mind for the Lord and to connect with those that are around me in person.
With that, I am learning the importance of waiting on the Lord. It has come up over and over again. And even though I do not “feel” like the Lord is near, that does not mean I should turn to wifi or others to make me “feel” good or satisfied when I think God is not answering me quick enough. Sometimes the Lord wants us to wait on Him so our trust in Him will grow!
Panama has been a great time so far and I cannot wait to see what else it will bring!! Thank yo unto everyone who has supported me on this race! And thank you for your prayers and love!! God is really doing some incredible things in this world and I wish I could tell the story of everyone I meet that is changing the world – but then I would just be typing blogs all the time…
Have a Merry Christmas!!!
