2011 Ends, 2012 Begins

Today is the last day of 2011. What a great year of ministry we have had here in Panama. We have trained 60+ church planters, 15 new groups have been started, mission teams from the U.S. have come and worked with us, and lives have been changed for eternity as people have come to know Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

On a personal note, this has also been a good year. Just this week on the 28th, Cavin and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. We have now officially started on the next 20 years! Our children are growing and changing right before our eyes. John Robert is in his second year of college at Florida State University - Panama campus; Christian is an 8th grader at Crossroads Christian Academy; and Preston is a 4th grader at Crossroads.

We know that 2012 will bring lots of changes for our family. John Robert will be leaving in early May following the completion of this upcoming semester. We pray that we have prepared him for the future and that he will make wise choices and allow Jesus to lead him through every decision. Christian and Preston will also face changes as we leave Panama and they go to a different school next year. We pray that that all of us are able to allow Jesus to help us through the changes that lie ahead.

Even though we will be leaving Panama in July, there is still a lot of work to do here in Panama before that time. Two new church planting classes will be started in January.  We pray that new churches will be started as church planters are trained.  We have a lot of mission teams already scheduled to come to Panama to work with the UP Team and church planters.

It is our deepest prayer that people will come to know Christ this year in Panama. We have several people we are working with on a one-to-one basis as we witness to them and share with them the truth of the gospel. Please pray for God to work in hearts and lives of people that He longs to have a relationship with here in Panama.

Family Day #5

We finally got to do our Family Day #5 yesterday (Friday).  Christian was in charge of planning the details for this day.  We went to a restaurant we had heard about but had never been.  It's called "Fire and Ice."  It's a restaurant where you pick out your raw meat, then you pick out a seasoning and then they cook it right before your eyes.  It was a lot of fun, and we enjoyed sharing this new experience together.  Later that day we went home and rented a movie and watched it together at home.  All in all, a good day!

Family Day 3 & 4

Yesterday we resumed our family days with Preston taking charge of Day 3.  He planned that we go to his favorite restaurant here in Panama - Wing Zone - to of course, eat hot wings.  After that he wanted to go bowling.  We were able to go to Wing Zone and had a great time, but when we arrived at the bowling place, we found that it was closed, so we went home and played a very competitive game of Uno with Cavin coming out on top.

Today we went to the beach with fellow UP Team members Derek and Audrey.  This was what Cavin wanted to do on his day.  We had a good time of fun in the sun at Isla Grande which is about 2 hours from the city.

See below for some of the photos of the last two days.

Merry Christmas

Today is Christmas Eve.  We are excited to focus on Jesus - the reason for the season!  We are thankful for the Greatest Gift ever given.  He is the reason we live; He is the reason our family is here in Panama; He is the reason we have hope in this world; He is the reason we have assurance of eternal life!  Praise Him, Praise Him!

Whatever you are doing today, whoever you are spending this day with, and whereever you may be, I pray that you are reflecting on Jesus in your life and thanking Him!

Have a Merry Christmas - from Cavin, Charlotte, John Robert, Christian and Preston

Family Fun Day #3 - postponed due to sickness

Well, during our Family Fun Day #2 Christian began to feel sick and woke up the next day with a fever and chills.  I took her to the doctor and got medicine for her, but we had to postpone Preston's day until after Christmas.  Stay tuned to see what he has planned for his day!  Also, pray that Christian will feel better and be able to fully enjoy Christmas.

Family Fun Day #2 (Charlotte's Day)

Today we ate lunch at KFC and then took the kids to do their Christmas shopping at one of our favorite stores - Discovery Center.  It was a nice day for them to think of their siblings and parents and not only themselves.  It will be interesting to see the gifts they came up with!  See pictures below.

Family Christmas

The kids are now all out of school and with Christmas just a few days away everything is a little bit slower for all of us, so we started today by allowing each family member to choose one day to plan a family outing.  We wanted to think of a way to make this Christmas special and memorable for our family.  2012 will be bringing lots of changes to our family as John Robert will be going away to college.  We know that it may not be as easy to have all of our family together to just have fun.  Cavin and I talked about what we could do and we decided that we would allow each family member to plan a day to do something together as a family (within reason, of course). Each of the kids threw out a lot of ideas and some we couldn't possibly do.  Each idea had to be approved by us to be able to do it.  Today was John Robert's Day.  He chose to go to lunch at Benihana (a Japanese restaurant where they cook the food in front of you) and then to see the movie Mission Impossible 4.  We had a good time spending time together as a family.  You can see pictures below.  Tomorrow is my day (Charlotte's).  Read tomorrow to see what family fun I plan for my day!

Dia de Juan Roberto (John Robert's Day)

Cawthon News

Reed, Jenni, and Jessi left on Thursday.  We were sad to see them go, but thankful to have had time to spend together and make memories.  We are now eagerly awaiting the arrival of my parents - Bob and June Martin - in a little less than 4 weeks!

Monday night we will be hosting a Christmas party for our Selah group at our home.  We are praying this will be a time of fun and fellowship and also that we will have guests who may want to be a part of this group.  Continue to pray for this group.  We are planning some big things for 2012!  Stay tuned!

During the past couple of weeks some things have occurred that will change our stateside plans a little.  Originally, we thought we would be here in Panama until December 2012.  However, through praying, reflecting on what God is doing here and talking with supervisors, it has been determined that July 2012 is going to be the time for us to leave Panama.

Several factors have gone into making this decision.  For one thing, our teammates Derek and Audrey Tucker will be ending their time of service here at that time.   The other couple on our team - Tim and Tina Louderback - will be changing their focus somewhat in January (2012) and they will work more with joining US teams with churches in Panama.  They will continue to work with the UP Team until July when the UP Team disbands.  We have seen God work mightily here in Panama through the Church Planting Institute and we are excited about the work our Panamanian brothers and sisters are doing.   Kenny and Cheryl Morris (fellow IMB missionaries here in Panama) will continue to work with the church planters after we leave.  Their focus is on mobilization of Panamanians throughout Panama.

Our plan for stateside is to live in a mission house on the campus of First Baptist Church of Eagles's Landing in Stockbridge, GA (Atlanta Metro).  This is one of our U.S. partner churches.  It is truly a blessing to be able to use their "Oasis House" during our stateside.

The Week in Review

This week was a good week.  Plans are being put into place to teach another church planting course.  This one will be for the Kuna people.  The Kuna are one of the seven indigenous groups here in Panama.  God is truly doing a work among the Kuna people and they are on fire for the Lord and want to reach their people for Him.  This group will be starting after the first of the year and we are expecting it to be our largest class thus far.  Please start praying now for this class and that God will speak to those who He wants in this class.

Tomorrow afternoon, we will be heading out to Santa Fe to assist in some follow up with some of our church planters.  They will be visiting several homes where the people have made a decision for Christ or expressed interest in Bible study or the new church in that community.

We are also excited to have Reed, Jenni and Jessi here in Panama.  We've had fun showing them this beautiful country and just catching up with them.  This is the most time we've gotten to spend with Jessi since she was born.  She was born while we were living in Costa Rica so it's been fun getting to know her.  She will be 2 next month.  She is truly a sweet little girl and has made us laugh a lot!

Thanksgiving 2011

Greetings from Panama!  We hope everyone has had a wonderful Thanksgiving and truly reflected on all of your blessings.  Even though Thanksgiving is not an official holiday here in Panama, this did not keep us from celebrating complete with a Thanksgiving feast with our mission family.  It was a great day of eating, fellowshipping and just enjoying the day!  We are thankful first and foremost for salvation, for family and friends, the ministry that God has given us here in Panama, and also that we have family coming to visit in just 6 days!

Tomorrow we will be watching the most important game of the year - the annual Auburn/Alabama game.  We have blocked out the afternoon to (hopefully) pull our Auburn Tigers to victory!  WAR EAGLE!!!!

Ethnecity Conference - Houston, TX

Cavin left Wednesday morning to go to a conference in Houston and will return on Sunday evening.  The focus of the conference is "reaching the unreached in the urban center." For more information on this conference, go to www.ethnecity.com.  I have talked to him several times since he's been gone.  He is really enjoying ever aspect of the meeting and I can tell he is getting very excited and the ideas are really churning in his head.  Urban ministry is truly his passion.  I love to see him excited.  I only wish I could be there with him to see him truly in his element and talking about this subject that is so dear to his heart.

On another note, we are excited to be having two sets of visitors over the Christmas holidays.  Reed and Jenni (Cavin's brother and wife) and their little girl Jessi will be arriving December 1 and staying until December 8.  My parents are coming after Christmas - January 5 through 12th.  We were feeling a little sad, not being able to visit family during the holidays, so we are thrilled to have these upcoming visits from these special people!

Baptism Pictures

Holidays in Panama and the U.S.

November and December are full of holidays in Panama.  

• November 3. Separation Day (from Colombia).
• November 4. Flag Day
• November 5. Colon Day
• November 10. "Primer Grito de Independencia de la Villa de los Santos" The uprising in the Villa de los Santos against Spain.
• November 28. Independence Day (from Spain).
• December 8. Mothers' Day.
• December 25. Christmas.

The kids only go to school one full week in November and one in December.  It's actually been nice for them to be out of school.  They were able to work with us last week when the Oklahoma team was here, and yesterday we were able to enjoy a family day!

Today is Veteran's Day in the U.S.  We are thankful for everyone who has or is serving our country through the armed forces.  Soon we will be celebrating Thanksgiving.  Although it's not an official holiday here in Panama, it is increasingly becoming a day that is celebrated - especially among Christians. I hope you are reflecting on all of the blessings you have in your life.  Our family is certainly blessed beyond measure.

If you have made Jesus the Lord and Savior of your life, you truly have the greatest blessing.  It is a blessing in your life now, but also for eternity.  If you haven't made this important decision, what better time than now to take this step?  To accept this free gift, all that is necessary is to believe that Jesus died for you, repent of your sins, and make Jesus #1 in your life.  I promise this will be the greatest decision you ever make and your life will never be the same.

See John 3:16, Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Romans 5:8, Romans 10:9, Ephesians 2:4-6, Ephesians 2:8-9

Update on Yesterday's Baptismal Service

In my last post, I said there were 2 to be baptized.  Praise the Lord, there were actually 4 who were baptized yesterday in the river!  I kept wanting to break out in song with, "Shall we gather at the river.... the beautiful, the beautiful river......"!!!  It was a great service in spite of getting rained on.  The most touching part to me was when one of the women who was baptized gave testimony in the Kuna language which was then translated to Spanish, and then to English!  Several of the members of the Oklahoma Mission Team participated in the service.  Two shared their testimonies and one preached.  I was so glad that they could be a part of this special time with us!

Working with Mission Team from Oklahoma

This week the UP Team has hosted our last mission team of 2011.  They are a great group from Central Baptist Association in Oklahoma.  They are made up of 16 people from 5 churches.  They have come to Panama with a desire to see people come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior, and we have seen this happen!!! Praise the Lord! They have prayer walked, mapped, hosted children's events, evangelized, and have truly served God with their whole hearts.  Some are going through personal struggles, yet they truly felt God wanted them in Panama this week and they are here!  Tomorrow we will work with them again in two different areas of the City.  Sunday will be an exciting day as the Oklahoma Team will accompany the UP Team to witness 2 baptisms in a river.  These two are from the church plant that has been started in an area of the City called Santa Fe.  There are others who need to be baptized, yet struggle with fully understanding what baptism truly is.  They have come from a Catholic background and believe they have already been baptized because they were baptized as infants.  It is our desire that these individuals come to understand that believer's baptism is truly a step of obedience after making Jesus the Lord of our lives.

Cavin's Birthday Weekend

Well, tomorrow is Cavin's 42nd birthday!  I guess we're not so young anymore!  We started celebrating today by going to one of our favorite restaurants - New York Bagel and by ordering from Wing Zone tonight.  We will continue eating tomorrow by going to lunch at another favorite restaurant - The Market and tomorrow we'll boil shrimp for supper and have ice cream cake from Dairy Queen.  If you can't tell, we enjoy eating good food!  We are not going hungry here in Panama!  I guess we'll have to quit eating on Sunday for the rest of next week!

On a serious note, this week Cavin is highlighted in the Missions Mosaic - the WMU monthly magazine that focuses on missionaries and lists missionaries who are having birthdays each day.  If you have access to a copy, please check it out.  There is a picture of him and a brief article about our work here in Panama. It means so much to know that Southern Baptists all over the world are praying for us on our birthdays.

We have a team arriving Tuesday from Oklahoma.  This is one of our teams who partner with us.  Many of the team members were here last year working with us!  We are excited about seeing them and working with them again.  Please pray for them as they work with two of our church planters in two different parts of the City.

Cawthon Update

As soon as I finish writing this blog entry, Cavin and I will be leaving to attend a small group of one of our church planters.  This group has been growing and is at the point of multiplying and starting a new group.  This is very exciting to see the multiplication process take place.   Pray for this group and for the leadership necessary to start a new group.

Tomorrow morning, we will be having a worship service in a park of a neighborhood where a group of church planters have been working.  This will be the first time this group has met together for Sunday morning worship.  It's exciting to be a part of what God is doing in the neighborhood of Don Bosco.

The Week in Review

Cavin returned Saturday from his meeting in Peru.  We immediately went to a birthday party of a friend of ours where the gospel was shared unashamedly with many of her friends who are lost.  It was a pretty eventful evening.  See the blog of Derek and Audrey Tucker for more details derekandaudrey.wordpress.com

It's been a pretty normal week this week with our UP Team meeting, Selah Group Bible Study, the church planting class, and meetings with church planters.  Charlotte is excited to have started mentoring a new Christian this week one-on-one.  Pray that this young lady will truly grasp what it means to be a Christian, grow in her faith, and live out what Christ has done in her life!

Today, we had a chance to slow down and enjoy some family time.  The younger kids have been out of school for the past three days due to a teacher conference that the teachers were attending.  It was nice for them to have a little break from the rush of the school week, sleep a little later and just relax.  Today we took time to go out to lunch; play tennis which turned into "Tennis Baseball" because the tennis courts were locked; and watch some movies we had rented.

This Week's Happenings

I've learned a little about being a single mom this week.  Cavin's been in Peru at a meeting for Urban Strategists.  I think he's had a good trip and has been able to hear and share what God is doing in different areas.  They've also talked a lot about strategies to reach people in urban areas.  I'm sure he will come back to Panama energized!  We've been able to "Face Time"  (similar to Skype) everyday, but it will be nice to have him back home.

He will return tomorrow evening - just in time to attend a birthday celebration of a young lady in our Selah group.  She is a professional singer here in Panama and is actually on a local show here called "Cantando por un Sueño"  ("Singing for a Dream").  The sole purpose of her birthday celebration is to share her faith with her friends in the media.  We are excited to be a part of this!  Please pray that those who hear her message will want what she has in her life!

The team from FBC Thomasville, Georgia worked hard this week.  The area of Don Bosco was touched with the gospel and many have shown interest in being a part of the new church that is being planted there. The outreach Monday night for our Selah group was also a great success.  About 50 people came out for this worship event.  We are praying that some of these will begin attending the Selah small group that meets each Monday night.

Thankful for U.S. Partners

Yesterday we had the joy of meeting the Bledsoe family (Chris, Teri, Hannah and Dan) from Stockbridge, GA.  They are members of Eagles Landing Baptist Church (one of our US partner churches).  We had the joy of sharing with them some of what God is doing here in Panama.  We shared with them that God is working here and amazing us with what He's doing!  This is a family that is seeking to know how God would have them be involved in the work here in Panama and possibly other places in the world.  It is so encouraging to us to have people like the Bledsoe family who are willing to come to Panama, pray for Panama and who are truly seeking God in their lives.

Another of our U.S. Partner churches will be arriving tonight - First Baptist Church of Thomasville, GA.  This is the home church of fellow UP Team members - Tim and Tina Louderback.  This church has been so supportive and has sent several teams during the past year.  This week, the team will be working in an area of the city called Don Bosco doing a community event, backyard Bible clubs, prayer walking and mapping.  They will also be assisting us with an outreach event with our Selah group on Monday night.  Pray that God will be glorified in all that we do during this upcoming week and that lives will be changed.

We also greatly appreciate our other partners - Olive Springs Baptist Church in Marietta, GA; Temple Baptist Church in White House, TN; Catawba Springs Baptist Church in Brewton, AL; Noonday Baptist Association in Marietta, GA;  Burnt Hickory Baptist Church in Powder Springs, GA; and Central Baptist Association in Oklahoma City, OK - who partner with us through prayer, sending mission teams or through financial assistance with specific ministry projects.

We are thankful for the churches, associations and individuals who are involved in our ministry here in Panama.  It takes everyone working together, doing what God leads each of us to do to reach Panama and the World for Him!

This Week's Reflections

Well, another week is coming to an end.  Preston's birthday was yesterday.  We had a good time celebrating as a family,  but the real celebration is today as he is having a party with the boys in his class.  We will pick them up after school and bring them home with us for the party.  He has been looking forward to this for several weeks, and woke up earlier than usual to get ready for school!  It's hard to believe that the baby of the family is 10 years old!

The years truly do go by so fast.  I was reflecting on our life over the last 10 years.  A lot has changed.  Who would have thought 10 years ago, we would be living in Panama City, Panama.  God has guided us and directed our path through everything we have encountered.  He has been faithful, and I know He will continue to be faithful - no matter what comes our way or where He leads us.  Life as a Christian is certainly not a boring existence.  If you allow Him to lead you, you will be amazed what He will do and the adventure you can have with Him!  I challenge you to live each day for Him!  You may not wind up in Panama or another country, but He will give you fulfilling experiences as you share with those around you the gospel message.  You will be amazed at the people He brings into your life and He will fulfill you in ways you never imagined!  Jesus said in John 10:10 says,  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

19 Graduate from the Church Planting Institute of Panama

Last night, we had a special service to recognize the students who have completed the coursework for the 6 month Church Planting Class.  It was a special time to charge the students to put in practice what they have learned.  Quite a few are already doing exactly that.  Small groups and churches are being started all over the City.  We heard a testimony from one young man who has gone into a dangerous area of Panama and is training others in church planting using the Kuna language.  Through his work, lives are being changed.  He reported that there are 13 who have accepted Christ and are ready to be baptized!  Praise the Lord!

Please go to our UP Team blog to see more of what's going on with our team  http://urbanpanamateam.blogspot.com/

On this site, you can also see a map which shows all the places that churches have been started through our team.  You can also read about some of the specific areas where we or our church planters are working.

Thanks for keeping up with our blog, and most of all thanks for praying!  We could not be here without prayer!

Happy 80th Birthday, Daddy!!!

Today is my (Charlotte's) dad's 80th birthday!  Tomorrow he will be celebrating with a party with family and friends.  This will be one of the days that when you go on the mission field you know will come, but it's still sad when you can't be there on those special occasions.  Thanks to modern technology, I will be able to Skype with him during the party, and maybe chat with some of the people who are there, but it's still not quite the same as being there.  All in all, though, I'm happy that he is getting to celebrate this happy day!  80!!!!!  I'm so happy to still have him here to call and talk to, share what's going on in our lives here in Panama, and know that he's thrilled that we are here sharing the gospel with the people in Panama!

Selah

"Selah" is the name our Monday night small group has given itself.  This word is from Psalms and we chose it because this group is focused on praise.  Several of the members of this group are professional singers here in Panama.  The group is made up of young Panamanian professionals who want to see the worship culture changed here in Panama.  The group is growing.  It is currently meeting in the home of one of the couples on the UP Team (Tim and Tina Louderback) but we are praying for a bigger place to meet soon because we are close to outgrowing their house!  Please pray for this group to continue to grow and reach the young, urban professionals of Panama for Christ!

Getting settled!

This week we have been getting settled in our new apartment, getting used to our new surroundings, and meeting new people.  We have found a new place for most of our things, but still have a few more things to unpack.  Continue to pray that God will use us here in San Francisco - in the heart of Panama City.

The second 6 month course of the Church Planting Institute ended last night, and a new one will be started in another area of the city the first week of October.  The 3 week intensive course continues to be taught each Sunday with this week being the last week of intensive training, but we will continue to meet once a month to continue the training.  In total, there are 42 students in some phase of the training, whether they are doing the coursework or being coached in church planting. The coaching lasts for one year after the coursework is completed.  The students are coached once a month by one of the couples on the UP Team.   Pray that the whole city will be impacted by these church planters who are eager to see God work in miraculous ways.

It's Friday!

This has been a busy - but good - week!  We are in the process of moving into the city.  We currently live on the edge of the city, but have been praying since our arrival in Panama about the area of the city called  San Francisco.  This week the contract was signed for us us to move into a high rise apartment building.  We will be living on the 22nd floor overlooking San Francisco and Panama City.  We are excited to be in the heart of this area that has very little evangelistic presence.  Pray that God will use us to impact lives for Him!  Pray that we will meet people with whom we can share the good news of Jesus!  Pray also for innovative ways in which we can witness and build relationships.  This is an area of the city where many people have financial means, but they don't have Jesus - so in essence, they have nothing.

Monday is MOVING DAY.  Pray that all will go well as we get settled in our new home.

Prayer Request

Please be in prayer for Josiah Dover.  He is 7 years old and has just been diagnosed with Leukemia.  His parents are friends of ours (Charlie and Jennifer Dover) and were serving in Macedonia.  They returned to the States just over a week ago because of concerns about Josiah.  He was diagnosed last Friday.  They are now in Memphis, TN at St. Jude's Hospital.  A Facebook page has been established entitled "Pray for Josiah".  Please join in praying for healing for Josiah, strength during this journey both physically and in their faith, and that they could be a witness to others who see their faith during this difficult time.  They also have two younger boys.  Thank you for praying for this sweet family.

Greetings from Panama!

It's Friday, but that doesn't mean rest this weekend.  We are gearing up for a busy weekend of ministry for the UP Team.  Cavin will be leading a Pastor's Conference all day Saturday focused on expository preaching.   Pray for him as he finished his preparation and then as he teaches.  Sunday,  a new Church Planting training will begin.  The UP Team will be teaching a 3 week intensive course which will be 3 Sundays for 5 hours each day.  It is exciting to see a new group of eager students ready to learn and start churches!

The kids are winding up the first full week of school, and I guarded say, "so far, so good!"  Christian has been enjoying being back with her group of friends - and oh, of course she is excited about the learning aspect, as well!  Preston would prefer not having to wake up so early and he doesn't like having to write all of his assignments in cursive this year, but he's excited that he will have an opportunity to be involved in track and field for the next few weeks.  He practices today for the first time and has a meet on August 27th.

John Robert is back in the routine of working with UP Team.  He has had time to do this since he still has a few weeks until his classes start back.

Weekly Update

We are striving to do better on updating our blog.  The goal is to update it every Friday.  This has been a good week.  The kids (Christian and Preston) started back to school yesterday.  What a quick summer!  We are praying for a good year this year and it seems to be off to a good start.  Christian is in the 8th grade and Preston is in the 4th grade.

John Robert will be starting his second year of college at Florida State Panama.  He registered for classes this week, but will not begin classes until Aug. 29.

Cavin is in the States right now.  He is working on building a partnership with First Baptist Eagles' Landing in McDonough, GA.  We are excited about what God will do through this partnership.  Cavin will return to Panama on Monday.

Update from Panama

Greetings from Panama!  We have had a great almost two months since we last posted.  We went to Guatemala for a mission meeting and had a great time worshipping and spending time with other missionaries.  After that we had a little time to spend with family in the States.  It was great to reconnect with many family members and friends during this time.  We have also had several teams from the States that were here connecting with Panamanian church planters in prayer walking, mapping, community surveys, and community events including backyard Bible clubs and block parties.  It's great to have these U.S. partner churches who are willing to give their time to come to Panama and serve.

Cavin has completed the Church Planting class he was teaching at the Panama Baptist Seminary and the class continues with the Church Planting Institute of Panama with 3 more classes being planned to start very soon.  At least 30 more students will be involved in these new classes.  Through the Church Planting Institute we have seen 15 new churches started, and as a result we are seeing lives changed as people come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.

We are also excited about a brand new group that has just been started.  This group is made up primarily of young professionals who want to see a strong worship movement in Panama!   Just in the two weeks that we have met, we are seeing growth in this group.  It will be exciting to see what God does!

John Robert the King of Groups

Over the last few weeks John Robert has been an intern for Derek Tucker.  They have been working with teams from the States.  This week John Robert and Derek have been working with a team from Kentucky.  John Robert has really stepped up and became a strong leader.  Last night John Robert was the lead at movie night.  They had over 75 people at the movie.  God is really using John Robert.
Pray for John Robert as he grows in his relationship with Christ.  He will be starting his 2nd year at Florida State in August.  Pray that he will be a light for Christ on the FSU campus.

Cawthon Update

Things are going well, and we are staying very busy.  God is working in Panama and it's so exciting.  We are well into the second class of The Church Planting Institute and we are anticipating that at least 4 new churches will be started as a result of this class.  This will give us a total of 9 churches that have been started through the UP Team.  There are many areas of the city that we are seeing evangelistic work being started that previously had none.

Cavin is also teaching a church planting class at the Panama Baptist Seminary.  It's been great to see these 16 students learning and eagerly applying the principles that we are discussing in class.  God is preparing these students and is already using them to impact lives in Panama.

We are gearing up for a Summer full of mission teams coming from various Southern Baptist Churches in the States.  We are partnering each team with a national church planter to assist in the work in specific areas of the city.  Some of the work these teams will be doing will be prayer walking, community evangelistic events, and mapping with the ultimate goal of starting churches so that many people will come to have a true relationship with Christ.  

Great Week with Noonday Team

The above photo is the Panamanian Baptist Seminary Building which the team was yesterday afternoon. The Class that I am teaching is on Church Planting. The text is of course the Book of Acts. 15 Students were there to learn how and why and what to do about how to plant new churches. How to give your personal testimony was emphasized and practiced by the class including the special guest students from the USA.

The visit to the Seminary gave the team the opportunity to see first hand the great need for help in the areas of maintenance and repairs that the buildings are in desperate need of at this time. Painting, Plumbing,electrical and concrete work are badly needed to improve the quality and atmosphere of this place of learning and life change.

The team will be starting their 4th day in Panama and have now become well adapt at prayer walking, mapping, the culture and the need of the city for churches. The team has been able to see the strategy of the missionaries and now are in the last two days of this trip looking for ways and the places that they may be able to plug into the work of the Urban Panama Team.

Yesterday also included a mapping of about one square mile of city streets. It was a unique experience as the team had traveled the area but there was so much that was not noticed until we actually walked thre through the streets with a very intentional goal of seeing what is there.

What was found? People lots of people. Lots of businesses and apartments. And mixed in are lots of nice homes. It is not uncommon for a beautiful home with a nice fenced yard with lavish landscaping to be next door to a 40 story high rise apartment building. You can see this in the top right corner of the photo of Linda walking with mapping in hand. And across the street from here is a fence where there is yet another high rise under construction.

New UP Team Blig

Tina Louderback and Audrey Tucker of the UP team are doing an UP team blog.  The focus of the blog is for mission team's churches, families, and friends to be able to see the work that the teams from the states are doing here in Panama.

http://urbanpanamateam.blogspot.com/

Start of Seminary - April 6, 2011

Last night was the start of Seminary classes.  I am teaching a Church Planting class.  I have 16 students in the class.  This is very exciting because last year the Seminary only had 9 students.  Teaching the Seminary class is a little different than teaching in the Church Planting Institute.  The main reason is that the students get grades.  For all my friends that had Dr. Lee for Old Testament at BCF, I am having a "pop-test" at the beginning of each class.   "Please, take out a half sheet of paper."

Our first trip back to the States

As of now, we are waiting to board our plane back to Panama.  It's been a crazy, whirlwind of a trip back to the States for the first time in almost two years.  We packed a lot in and spent time with both sets of parents and many friends with Cavin speaking in 3 of our prayer partner churches.  John Robert FINALLY got his drivers' license, we surprised Cavin's parents, ate way too much and had "climate culture shock" from the frigid cold ranging from the 30's to the 50's.  Remember, it was 98 degrees the day we left Panama.

We want to thank Olive Springs Baptist Church in Marietta, GA; Catawba Springs Baptist Church in Brewton, AL; and Temple Baptist Church in White House, TN for allowing us to share and for your continued prayer support.  This truly means more than you can know.

We had a great time visiting but look forward to what God has ahead with our ministry in Panama.  We have a team arriving Saturday night so it will be back to work as soon as we get back!

Church Planting Institute of Panama

The Church Planting Institute of Panama (CPI) is going real well.  This coming Sunday, 9 students are graduating from the Institute.  These students worked through the CPI for 6 months of training.  Out of this group 6 new church are being started in Panama.  Please pray for the graduates as they are working to start these new churches.
The Church Planting Institute of Panama has started the second class this past Thursday night.  We have 23 new students.  I believe that God is doing something amazing in Panama.  Pray for the new students as they are starting this course.  Pray for at least 15 new churches to be started through this class.
I will start teaching at the Panama Baptist Seminary in April.  I will be teaching the 6 month course in 2 semesters. All of the students and professors are required to take the classes.  Again, God is doing something amazing in Panama.
CPI also has been asked to teach the course to 2 different churches.  One of the churches is in the Northern part of Panama City and the other is with an indigenous group of pastors.  Pray for the planning of these two new classes.
In May, the CPI will be teaming up with PAAM,  the mission sending agency of Panama, to train Panamanean missionaries to start churches.  This seminar will be for one week for 8 hours a day.  God is doing something amazing in the WORLD.

Operation Christmas Child

Many people that follow our blog make and give shoe boxes to Operation Christmas Child.  Here are some pictures of giving the boxes here in Panama.  I think Charlotte had just as much fun opening the boxes as the kids.

Medical Fair

Saturday we were at a medical fair in Santa Fe.  We were working with one of the church planters from the Church Planting Institute of Panama, Carlos.  50 people received Christ and over 250 people were seen by the doctors.

Group from Bogart GA

We had a group last week from Prince Ave Christian School near Athens GA.  They are half of the senior class.  The next half come in March.

A Long Overdue Update!

First, I want to apologize for not updating the blog in quite a while.  We are all doing well here in Panama City, Panama.  We had a nice Christmas and 2011 is off to a good start.  We were blessed to start out the year with a visit from my parents and niece.  The kids enjoyed a nice break from school over  Christmas and New Year.  They are now back in school for the second half of the school year.

We continue to be involved in many areas of ministry and are excited to see what God is doing in, through us, and all around us!  He is opening many doors for us and this gives us great joy and excitement.  The first course of the Church Planting Institute is nearing completion, and God has opened the door for three more courses to be taught.  Through the Church Planting Institute of Panama, God is preparing young men and women to start churches.  It is evident that God is working in their lives through their dedication and excitement.  Each of the students has identified and have begun working in specific areas of the city to start churches.  Please keep the students and the Institute in your prayers as this city is changed for God's glory.

We are also gearing up to host quite a few mission teams from the States who will work with us, as well as the students in the Institute, to assist with our Church Planting goals.  These teams will assist through one on one evangelism, mapping specific areas of the city, prayer walking, hosting community events, starting small group Bible studies and much more.  We are thankful for these individuals and churches who are willing to come to Panama to work for the purpose of seeing lives changed.