Tricia, Jessica and I just got back last night from our second missions experience in the interior of Panama. After a 3 hour bus ride, another hour on a bus and then an hour in the back of a pickup truck made to transport cattle we finally arrived as far into nowhere as I have ever been in my life. The truck dropped us off and we soon discovered there was no running water at all but more importantly there were no people... anywhere. As we unpacked and found a creek to draw water and then cooked "salchichas" panama style I realized that any expectations I had had went completely out the window. As the afternoon drew on the villagers began to congregate for what became a daily game of baseball with rough-hewn bats, a ball made out of something like socks and a triangular and uneven baseball field. Bajo Grande (my first missions experience) was a village that had more access and constant "traffic" through it. And with that came alcoholism and a spirit of depression that was all throughout the village. El Cope was absolutely beautiful, there's really no other words to explain it. The landscape was amazing but more than that the people were amazing. The villagers were full of so much joy and like the sunshine I really think that we all just sensed a completely different attitude in this village.
I began to realize how thankful I was for certain things. Like a concrete floor when I was expecting a dirt floor and running water when I went without it for 5 days. Or the projector finally working and showing the "ancient" 16mm film reels to a village that had never seen a movie. We showed the Jesus film in two parts and even as we announced the film was about to start the villagers dropped their baseball game and were in their seats within minutes. What we found out later was that there are 120 people in the village and 71 of them were at the Jesus film showing. These were families we had worked with and for the previous two days, played baseball with and waved to as we walked by or they rode by on their horses. Time and time again we were asked, "when are you coming back?"
One of the coolest things for me about this missions trip is that it doesn't end when we leave. Tuesday morning we brainstormed and talked about the strengths and the challenges of the villages and what our next step could be. And so in March the plan is to return. This time to bring bibles to the community and teach both the adults and the children about the assurance of salvation and what it means to have a personal relationship with God. The community has a church but no pastor and no bibles or any way of learning more about who God is. The students we went with are committed to changing this village and I believe with all my heart that the first steps are already being taken to do just that.
Tricia, Jessica and I just got back last night from our second missions experience in the interior of Panama. After a 3 hour bus ride, another hour on a bus and then an hour in the back of a pickup truck made to transport cattle we finally arrived as far into nowhere as I have ever been in my life. The truck dropped us off and we soon discovered there was no running water at all but more importantly there were no people... anywhere. As we unpacked and found a creek to draw water and then cooked "salchichas" panama style I realized that any expectations I had had went completely out the window. As the afternoon drew on the villagers began to congregate for what became a daily game of baseball with rough-hewn bats, a ball made out of something like socks and a triangular and uneven baseball field. Bajo Grande (my first missions experience) was a village that had more access and constant "traffic" through it. And with that came alcoholism and a spirit of depression that was all throughout the village. El Cope was absolutely beautiful, there's really no other words to explain it. The landscape was amazing but more than that the people were amazing. The villagers were full of so much joy and like the sunshine I really think that we all just sensed a completely different attitude in this village.
I began to realize how thankful I was for certain things. Like a concrete floor when I was expecting a dirt floor and running water when I went without it for 5 days. Or the projector finally working and showing the "ancient" 16mm film reels to a village that had never seen a movie. We showed the Jesus film in two parts and even as we announced the film was about to start the villagers dropped their baseball game and were in their seats within minutes. What we found out later was that there are 120 people in the village and 71 of them were at the Jesus film showing. These were families we had worked with and for the previous two days, played baseball with and waved to as we walked by or they rode by on their horses. Time and time again we were asked, "when are you coming back?"
One of the coolest things for me about this missions trip is that it doesn't end when we leave. Tuesday morning we brainstormed and talked about the strengths and the challenges of the villages and what our next step could be. And so in March the plan is to return. This time to bring bibles to the community and teach both the adults and the children about the assurance of salvation and what it means to have a personal relationship with God. The community has a church but no pastor and no bibles or any way of learning more about who God is. The students we went with are committed to changing this village and I believe with all my heart that the first steps are already being taken to do just that.
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