What a World!

Today, I was sent with my team to go down to a church and paint. We walked about 300 yards down the road and found the unfinished walls, with it’s cement structure. Michaela and I were pulled aside and we sifted dirt for a little bit. Then, we went inside the church and began to help out there. After several minutes of scraping the walls to make them smooth for painting, we began to paint the walls with the base paint. There was a limited amount of rollers, so a lot of the group went out on a walk to meet the people living around the church and to pray for them. But I stayed behind and painted with the village men that were there. Cassidy and I met a really cool guy named Isa. We had a lot of fun painting with him. We couldn’t speak Spanish very well, and he couldn’t speak English very well, but we communicated through actions. It’s really cool to be able to talk to the people without words. Sometimes it’s difficult to speak to them, because neither one of you know what the other is saying, but when you finally understand, it’s really exciting. Isa laughed when Cassidy and I got in a water fight. When the rest of the group got back, they swapped out, and the other group went out. But Cassidy and I still stayed back. I didn’t want to leave the relationships I had formed, and Cassidy wasn’t feeling her best. But the group that had just returned commented that I had been painting for a long time. They didn’t ask to paint, but I knew they wanted to. So I put aside my “if I don’t do it, it won’t get done” attitude, and let them paint. By then we had started painting the crème color on the walls, and it looked really good. I went outside and found Kaylee surrounded by ten children. We brought them all back to the camp and gave them stickers of the good Samaritan story. I suggested that we acted the story out for them, so Daniel, Kaylee, Cassidy, and I acted out the story, using the very little Spanish that I knew. That was my favorite part of the day. I learned all of the children’s names, and we talk quite well together, although it is kinda difficult with the language barrier. God is ever-working in and through us here in Panama, and it is amazing to see what he has done, and what he is doing, with this village. I love the people here, and I cannot wait to see what will happen tomorrow. Whatever it will be, I know God’s hand will be on it all.
~Diana Dvorak

Panama is by far the most beautiful place I have ever been. My time here has been filled with laughter, tears, smiles, friendship, love, and joy. Over the passed few days I’ve seen so many amazing things that I hope I will never forget. Today, I was blessed with the opportunity to paint the inside of a church and go on a prayer walk through the village. Our prayer walk entailed us going around to people’s homes and asking if they needed help or prayer for anything, all but one lady allowed us to pray for them. The lady while she was thankful that we came, she said she would go to church if she needed prayed for. While that was a very humbling experience, it didn‘t weaken our spirit as we kept going to other homes. Later, a group of little village children joined our group. We decided to walk down to the pier, my little girl Ruth told me she had to go put her sticker story away. As she ran off, I realized she was going to the house of the lady I mentioned earlier. And while the memory still stung, I realized that I had a purpose there when Ruth came running out of the house toward me with the biggest smile on her face laughing for no reason. As I spent my time at the pier with Ruth and her brother Josue, I couldn’t help but love them as we laughed as we struggled to communicate. As I’m sitting here writing, Ruth and Josue are around playing with other students here in our base camp. Ruth, Josue, and many others, I will never forget their faces, smiles, and laughter. But most of all, their joy. Their joy for living life, because it’s beyond contagious, and you can’t help but feel this joy when you’re around them. This is only one memory of many that I will take away from this trip and I can’t wait to see what God will do in the hearts of all of us on the rest of the trip.
Love, Amy Chadwell

Today my morning coffee was made in a pot 300 yards away at a local church kitchen. This same pot was walked over slippery grass and leaves in the pouring rain by our translator, Steve. Vanilla milk was offered as the perfect addition. It was poured into a navy blue (my favorite color) 8oz plastic cup--too hot to touch except the rim. It is perfect. I’m sorry for all the non coffee drinkers who are missing out. There is no coffee like Panamanian coffee sipped outside, under a tin roof, out of the rain, with the ocean waves crashing in the distance, contemplating the creation of God.
Wish you were here, Pattie Graffe

I’m sitting here listening to rain thump down on the tin roof of the church we’re helping remodel. There are no side walls, only a front and back, and half of a concrete floor. Our plan was to fill the other half with concrete, but bad weather has halted many of our efforts. Bad weather is also a cause for most of us being more tired today than usual. We were awaken abruptly last night by rain blowing into tents and thunder and lightening disrupting the silence of sleep. I kid you not, the rain was so loud on the tin roof of our camp last night that you wouldn’t be able to hear a conversation with a person two feet away from you. Although it was an inconvenience for many, having to get up and put the rain flies on, not being able to sleep with the noise, it was a great reminder of God’s power. Now we are dealing with the aftermath of last nights chaos. Usually I would complain; we get enough rain back home. Yet this rain is welcomed on my burned neck and blistered hands. It is cool to see my fellow teammates, and the Panamanians working through this rain as well. God’s strength is flowing through all of us, giving us that second wind to shovel rock, pound ground, pour concrete, and share His love with the people around us. We have three more days, including today, for organized serving. I’m excited to see how God will continue to appear and impact lives. Karen se dice hola a mis amigos en los estados. (Karen is the little girl sitting next to me as I type this, she says hello to my friends in the states). Jorge se dice hola tambien. Tambien David.
~Michaela Nelson