We're Baack! : )

We have arrived safely back in Panama after a long day on the bus for our drive back from Mariato. Thank you all for your prayers and your patience... We know you have anxiously been awaiting more blogs! Here they are!
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 p ainting, 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

And I thought I could escape the rain by going to Panama…well I guess God has some serious plant growing to do here. Yesterday, we took the rain fly off our tent to allow more air to get in. Woops. At about 3:30 this morning, the rain pouring through our tent woke us up, so we had to get out and put the fly back on. Although the rain has been inconvenient, it has served as a reminder of God’s presence wherever I am, whether that may be Gig Harbor, Panama, or anywhere in between.
This morning, we read Psalm 29 for an optional prayer time. The Psalm talked about God’s voice thundering over the waters and coming down in flames of fire. That is exactly what happened last night and this week, both physically and spiritually. Up until last night, I didn’t feel God’s presence as I usually do. I had many distractions that pulled me away from Him such as being tired, hungry or wet from the pounding rain. Last night, I asked God to rid me of these distractions blocking me from effectively serving Him, and He delivered.
Today, the main thing my group did was visit a school and go into classrooms with kids of all ages. At first we did ice breaking games and introduced ourselves and then shared testimonies. After that, we had someone share the gospel message with the group and pray for them. Throughout the whole day, God answered my prayer because I had energy, wasn’t hungry, and because of that, I was able to follow the nudge and share my testimony multiple times. When I was watching people share their testimonies and the message, I couldn’t help but smile. I smiled because this is what it’s all about. This is the main thing. Experiencing God’s love and sharing it with others. Yes, we’ve been pounded with rain and thunderstorms, but also have been showered and enlightened with God’s love and the plans He has for us. I am definitely excited to see what God has planned for the rest of the trip! Oh and special shout out to my family if you can even figure out how to get to this site on the internet…. J
-Daniel Johnson

I have literally had my mind blown more times than I thought possible during only the first half of this trip. For one, I thought that I would be escaping the rain when I come here, obviously I forgot the definition of a tropical place. But it is different because although it is warm, the wind blows it sideways, into our tents. The humidity and heat have taught me the value of AC and the climate back home. And the thunder and lightning have kept me up much longer than I would have liked. But it is in these things that are “bothersome” and much much more that I have also seen God. Yesterday, during morning devotions, we read Psalms 29, which says that the Lord’s voice thunders over the ocean, and causes lightning to flash. The very things that were keeping me up was actually the voice of God.
The people too have shown me a new side of God’s love I had never experienced before. There is something simply beautiful about the generosity and love that these people have shown to us, even though they do not have much at all to call their own. They embody the generosity and spirit of Christ way more than even we as a church have. They help each other not because they will get paid, or because the other person will return the favor, but because it’s the right thing to do and it’s just how they live. I was blown away by how happy they are with the little they have, especially when I compared it to how unhappy people back in the states are because of the excess we have. Through these people, God has taught me the importance of simplicity, and although I am not exactly so keen on embracing the same kind of simplicity of these people, I will most definitely me making a change to my lifestyle.
A big hello to all my family and friends back home. Mom, dad, and yes, even you Nick, I miss all of you a lot! But not enough to be homesick yet. The jungle juice works wonders, thank you, and the broad shorts dry out incredibly fast. I also lost and found my camera in the ocean one day, and found it the next day, but that’s a story for another day. I love you all and I cannot wait to share everything else with you, because I do indeed have a lot to share!
-Christopher Thomas

So far this mission trip has been so eye-opening. When we went to the orphanage the first two days of ministry I was so surprised. I went to a house with girls ages 8-16. They were so happy we were there, even though they had no idea what we were saying and we had no idea what they were saying. Just being with them was enough. They were so excited to see us come back the second day, and were waiting at the gate for us to get off the bus. Leaving them was so hard after the bonds we created after two days being with them. Knowing that we would never see them again, we lifted their names up to the Lord the night we left Casa Paraiso. Since we’ve been in Mariato, I have done two prayer walks. We cant understand the people, but Crist translates our prayers so they can understand and so we know what to pray for. The experience is amazing because everyone wants prayer and is so thankful. I never would have thought that I would be able to pray out loud for someone I met right before I prayed for them, but God gave me words. I hope that the people we have had fellowship with and have prayed for remember us and experience the light of God through us. We only have one more full ministry day, but I know God has a lot more in store for us! The camping isn’t that bad, but I’m excited to have a bed soon J
-Megan Eberhardt

Hola! Wow! This mission trip has been so amazing and unforgettable! J I’ve met some of the most wonderful people that love the Lord, and make it very clear they follow him with their whole entire heart! So far the trip has included visiting a school of such fun, encouraging children! We were there for two days, which was definitely not enough. Those two days also included visiting an orphanage full of loving kids and adults that have such patience and compassion towards the kids. The specific part of the orphanage I visited was full of HIV kids, which were so much fun and entertaining, and was also so heartbreaking knowing the awful disease they were born with that they had no control over. Today was also youth group, which was really neat because we got to lead it. We performed skits and games and testimonies. I gave my testimony in Spanish, which was really encouraging and really opened my eyes to all the amazing opportunities God has for me in my life! Rachie also gave her testimony as well, which was such a blessing listening to!! It was also so great seeing new friends we’ve made since we’ve been here in Mariato. Sadly, tomorrow is our last day in Mariato, and we will have to say adios to all the gracious people here in this loving and blessed town, but I know they’ll be in our hearts forever!!!! This trip has been indescribable and the words I’ve written cannot even begin to describe how incredibly blessed, loved, united, and inspired I feel. These people and places will forever be in my heart!
> With Love, Olivia

Being in Panama is an unforgettable experience. I have experienced and seen things that I never could have imagined if I had stayed in the United States. I knew God was everywhere, I grew up believing that but actually being here and seeing the mysterious and wonderful ways God works is mind blowing. For example, the second day we were here, our group went to a orphanage and were split up into groups of three. In my group I had Brooke and Chris and we were assigned the toddlers room. Each building at the orphanage had a different age groups. Within ten minutes there, the three of us had kids crawling all over us. I will never forget the moment when I saw a little girl sitting by her self on the ground. Honestly I was nervous because I knew there was a language barrier between us and I had no clue what to say to her but I had the nudge to go over there and before I knew it I was sitting on the ground by the little girl. It was quiet for a few moments until I got another nudge to say something. What was I suppose to say? What Spanish words did I know well enough to say without it being random? I quickly said a breath prayer “ speak now lord, your servant is listening” and instantly I knew what to say. I looked at her and smiled, she smiled back and I pointed to her smile and said “ muy bonita” meaning very beautiful. About a half an hour later, I was sitting on the couch, watching the movie Rio with the kids when the same little girl came over and sat on my lap. She and two other girls were playing dress up with my hair when she looked up at me, moved the hair out of my face and pointed to me and said “ muy bonita” and the hugged me. I was completely caught off guard but the smile she put on my face was something that I have never felt before. That night, back at the house that we were staying at, Mike and Kristen led our whole group into a discussion about what we experienced at the orphanage and then we had worship time. Aaron led us in worship and I was in tears. My heart was broken, I knew we weren’t going back and had made a connection and love with those kids and I didn’t want to leave them. I got up and saw that Brooke was in tears to. We both walked over to Jim, sat down and started to pray for those kids. I didn’t understand why they couldn’t have family who loved them, I couldn’t understand why I could take them home with me when I knew I could love them and take care of them, I didn’t understand why God would let something like this happen. I looked at Jim, in tears asking why and he said to me “ you have to trust God, he has something planned big for those kids and this is part of this plan. You loving them for two days was apart of his plan.” and then he said “ you just have experienced beautiful pain”. Never in my life, at that moment have I felt God’s presence more than I did. I don’t know what God has planned for those kids or that little Girl, but I trust God and I know only he can love them more than anyone. I don’t know what God has planned for me, but my gut feeling says I will be back in Panama very soon. God is good all the time and only he knows what lies ahead of us.
Gabby Frazier

Today was pretty relaxed just went to church then the beach. It has been a great week and a amazing experience so far. The people of Marioto are so nice and welcoming and I will never forget them.
Luke Bonnell

This morning we went to a local church service, it was three hours long. I thought it was going to be miserable. Sitting in a hot room full of people, listening to someone preach in Spanish. And the first two hours were. But towards the end of the service everybody went up to the front of the church and started praying. During that time Mike had each of us go up to a local and pray for them, and that was nice, I liked that. It ended up being a good service. After church we came back to our campsite and ate sandwiches, then went down to the beach. The rest of the day will be spent sitting and thinking back at camp.
Lauren Gillette

As you have probably heard already - our theme for the week is “follow the nudge”. The nudge - the tap - the still small voice of God. I’ve felt it in a word, in an idea, in a thought.
A word - Lord. Lord, Lord. As I meditated on the word, God gave me a verse to go with it. “Why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to me an hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house who dug down deep and laid a foundation on a rock….” (see Luke 6:46-49)
An idea - Sing. As I was washing windows in the house where we were working, I realized that it was quiet. At home I’d have music playing. I felt nudged to sing. I sang. The singing has opened doors to precious relationships with the women. I speak very little Spanish, and they no English, but we can sing to each other, hug, and pray. It has opened doors to friendships here that I could have never dreamed of. When I sang at first, I had no idea of the significance of the song…
A thought - Go. Yesterday, at the home where we were working, there were 4 women in pink - Moms in Touch. They were on their way over to the church and I decided to go with them. As I’m walking over to the church, I was talking to the coordinator - Diana De Fouler - in English! They had come for the morning to give a seminar to the women of the community and church of how to pray for their kids, their schools, and their teachers.
I know that you are praying for us. God is doing great things with the people of Panama and our children. Keep following the nudge in the states and we will keep following the nudge here.
I am proud of our kids! They are working hard and serving well. They are trusting God and following the nudge. They are building their foundations upon the Rock and He is blessing them
Gloria a Dios! Renee Dvorak