PANAMA!!
Out of all of the months so far this month we have had the most freedom in what our schedule looks like and where we go. Our instructions were to go to one of the many locations around the city where all of the immigrants hang out. Most days this looked like us going out in pairs to a Chinese mall, a popular street, or other known spots.
Sometimes we would spend the entire outing talking with one couple. Another day it would just be handing out party invitations. Other days we would spend the entire time praying for people. We could each spend hours telling you stories about what happened during those times.
Here are a few days from last week that show how diverse the race is, that ministry can look so many different ways, and that the most important thing you can do for another human is to love them.
June 20, 2019
This morning I woke up quiet time with the Lord. Ashley and I supposed to be drawing an outline of the world map but did not have a projector to be able to work on it during the day. We would have to wait until our host got off of work before we could start on it. Since we had the morning off Ashley went to the gas station down the road and talked to a homeless man named Timothy that she had met previously. Long story short, Ashley and I spent the morning buying clothes, food, and toiletries for this man. We had somebody donate $100 and we’re able to use that to buy the supplies and get him a room in our hostel for a few nights.
We also had a woman in her hostel ask us to take pictures of her two month old baby. So that afternoon we acted like professional photographers helping out a mother who didn’t have extra for money for newborn photographs.
We ended the day at our church with the projector drawing an outline of the world map onto long sheets of paper. We were going to be a thing this map at our cultural party on Saturday.
June 21, 2019
On Friday morning, Ryan and I woke up early and went to the Panama Christian Academy where are hosts works has a teacher. We were asked to talk to the juniors and seniors at the high school and tell them about what it was like to be a missionary, what it is like to be living abroad, and answer any questions they had about their faith.
We talked in about five different classrooms that day. Before going to the school we decided that we were just going to let the Holy Spirit guide us and not plan on what we are going to talk about ahead of time. we talked about different things in each class if you want to. The topics range from our trip, our futures, homosexuality, fitness and even pornography. Several of the senior classes were impressed by Ryan’s arm muscles and we had two students ask if they could arm wrestle with Ryan. You could tell by which students were asking questions and how the topics came up that those were the conversations we were supposed to have in each of those classrooms that day. It is our hope that we encourage the students and let them closer to God during your time with him.
Over the lunch break I got to talk to a girl named Kate. She knows English but was super nervous to be speaking to an American. After she got comfortable talking to me I learned that she loves art and wants to be an architectural engineer when she grows up. She currently knows English, Spanish, and a little bit of Chinese. My bet is that if she’s smart enough to know that she is definitely smart enough to become an engineer. I’m not sure how much attention she gets from the adults and peers around her but for some reason it seems like she needed a little extra love that day.
June 22, 2019
All month we had been praying and preparing for a cultural party that we had on Saturday. We spent the entire morning making sure that all of the decorations and food was ready to go. Our team had made over 1,000 invites to hand out to the people we met on our days that we went out and evangelized. The party was an awesome time for us to meet people that are teammates had talked to earlier in the month and to reconnect with people that we had met previously too! We had a photo booth, a slideshow full of pictures from the race, bubbles for the kids, and an art area for people to paint a few pictures. We had an amazing turn out and we’re able to share the gospel in the last 30 minutes of the party!
One of our biggest lessons learned this month was that if we let God take the lead He will glorify every single thing you do. He will take an average day and make it extraordinary.
Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
1 John 3:18
