Count Down to Stateside: 37 Days

We are in the midst of a lot going on right now.  Yesterday was the last day of school for Christian and Preston.  What a bittersweet day for them with the excitement of summer vacation, yet leaving the school and friends they won't see again.  We are selling all of our furniture and household goods, so there are people in and out of our apartment almost on a daily basis.  We have a team arriving today from Eagle's Landing First Baptist Church in McDonough, GA.  We will be working hard with them doing a graduation for the Kuna Church Planting Course that Cavin and Derek just finished teaching.  We will also be working in an area of the city called El Congrejo where we are trying to establish a new work.  We are partnering with a church here in Panama who will continue the work after we leave.

....And in 37 short days from today on July 16, we will board a plane for the U.S.  What a whirlwind of emotion.  Last night as I was driving through the city, I was reflecting on our time here - how God has worked through us, how He has taken care of us and been so faithful, and how blessed we have been to be here for a little over 2 years.  I was also thinking about the beauty of this city.  God's handiwork is so apparent here.  I was driving by the water while the sun was setting and it was absolutely gorgeous!  Of course, I didn't have my camera, but I have vowed to get a picture of that location before we leave.

Continue to keep us in your prayers as we say goodbye to the people we love here in Panama.  The "goodbyes" have already started, and it's not easy, even though we are looking forward to the "hellos"on the other end!  Please keep us in your prayers during this time.

Oral Bible Storying Conference

This past weekend we were honored to have Keith Stamps (IMB Missionary in Mexico) and Donny Barger (IMB Missionary in Peru) here to lead a conference about Oral Bible Storying.  We had around 100 present for the conference with many parts of Panama represented.  Several passages of scriptures were "storied" and ample time was given for the participants to practice.  Effort was given to detail making sure it stayed true to scripture.  For people who are oral learners - and often illiterate - this is their Bible stored in their memory and we want to hold true to the scriptures so that it is not passed on in error.  Even for people who can read, often hearing a story will get their attention and they will be able to retain it longer.  We are great at using the storying technique for children, but so often it is not used when teaching or evangelizing adults.  Please pray that the conference participants will use this technique as a method of reaching out to those they come in contact with.  I will also challenge you to use this way of sharing the scripture with those you come in contact with.  Everyone loves a great story, and what better place to find a story than in the Bible.  The Bible is packed full of very interesting stories, but they are much more than entertaining, they can reveal to people their need for a Savior.  Even Jesus used stories, as he shared many parables during His earthly ministry.

Adventures in Panama

Cavin spent Friday and Saturday in Piriati - an Embera village - leading a church planting conference.  This is an area about two and a half hours away from the City.  It was quite an adventure as several of the male missionaries traveled together along with some Panamanian guys who were participating and assisting in the training.  They spent the night in a church along with a lot of other creatures such as bugs and rats.  Needless to say, Cavin did not sleep a lot that night.

....But the important thing is that they were able to lead this conference and see God work in a great way in this area.  Already, this village has sent one of their own families to another part of Panama to live and be missionaries.  This man - Jorge-  shared this morning in La Iglesia Bautista Redencion (Redemption Baptist Church) about how hard it's been to go into another culture.  That may sound a little strange since this is a Panamanian family serving in another part of Panama.  However, each area and people group have their own culture and way of doing things.  He is from the Embera people group and he and his family have gone to a Latino area.  It is a slow work, but they are seeing God work and are now discipling several families in this new area.

This morning Cavin preached at La Iglesia Bautista Redencion.  This is a church we have grown to love over the time that we have been in Panama.  This church and the pastor have been very supportive of the work that we have done here in Panama.   Cavin taught a 6 month church planting course in this church, and they have started 4 new works.  They have a vision for reaching Panama City for Christ through church planting.

Praise God for how He is working all over Panama to start churches in a variety of ways.  He has used us to train people primarily in Panama City, but we have seen many of these people take what they have learned and go to other parts of the country to start churches.

This coming weekend we will be hosting a conference on Chronological Bible Storying.  This will focus on orality and telling the Bible through stories.  This is a technique that works well with a variety of people, and is very effective with those who can't read or write.  Two IMB Missionaries will be coming to Panama to lead this conference.  Please pray that God will use this conference to reach many people for Him.

Church Planting Conference in David

This past weekend we traveled 6 hours outside of Panama City to David in the province of Chiriqui.  David is much smaller than Panama City, even though it's the second largest city in Panama.  Cavin led a conference there on church planting.  Things went well and we are excited about what these people want to do in regard to starting new churches in this area of the country.

Below are some pictures from the weekend.

Conference on the Book of ACTS

This weekend we held a conference on the Book of ACTS.  It was an intensive conference that focused on the nine church plants of the book of Acts.  We were blessed to have Elbert Smith, Director of FPO, with prior service in Mexico and Guatemala to lead the conference.  The conference was held Friday night and all day Saturday with approximately 200 in attendance on Friday night and 150 for the Saturday event.  We pray that each person gained valuable insight into church planting, and that many churches will be started in Panama as a result of the training.  There were quite a few in attendance who are already hard at work starting churches in areas where there were no churches.

Cavin will be traveling to David, Panama this weekend to lead a Church Planting Conference in this city which is about 6 hours from the capital city.  Please pray for him as he travels as well as those who will be attending the conference.

We are also gearing up for an Orality Conference on May 26.  This conference will equip those present in the technique of telling the Bible through "storying" the Bible.  This works well among groups who can't read or write.

God is working in Panama.  Thanks for all of your prayers.  They encourage us so much!

A Story of a Church Planter

Last weekend Cavin, along with John Robert and Derek Tucker went outside of the city to an area called Ciri to help with one of our church planters.  They had a great time of helping the church planter make contacts in the community, a time of recreation playing soccer in the area, showing a Christian movie, and worshipping with them on Sunday morning.  They camped in tents for the night they were there.  It was a great time of sharing in this village.

The church planter has a really neat story.  Cesar took the Church Planting course that Cavin taught last year at the Panama Baptist Seminary.  Cesar felt the need to put into practice all that he had learned, and that God was leading him to start a new work in an area that did not have a church.  The place where he is working is about two hours from where he lives.  Someone had worked there in years before, but nobody had been there recently, and there was no church in the area.  Last October he went there for the first time.  Cesar has a normal job, and works Monday throughout Saturday.   Since last Ocotber he has taken his only free day, Sunday, and dedicated it to the Lord to travel to this community to share the good news of Christ with the people that live there.

Cesar leaves his house each Sunday morning at around 6:30 am  to arrive in the village by 10:00 am.  He drives as far as he can and then walks 2 more hours into the village because to drive in would require a 4-wheel drive vehicle.  He teaches a Bible study, and gets to know the community through relationships, then returns home, arriving at home anywhere between 4 pm and 7 pm each Sunday evening.

He spends more hours traveling than in ministry, but he feels like it's worth it because of the people that are there who need to hear the Good News.  Pray for God to continue working in this area and pray for strength and encouragement for Cesar and his work in this area.

Remembering....

Today is what they call "Good Friday."  I've always struggled with that title.  How could it be "good" that Jesus died.  This is the day that many times I remember to be a dreary day, and today was no exception here in Panama.  It rained this morning and remained cloudy all day.  It is to me a somber day of reflecting on what Jesus did for me on the cross of Calvary.   I did a little research to discover a little more behind the name of "Good Friday."  There seems to be some disagreement over how this day received its name.  Some say that the use of "good" as an adjective is in Old English synonym for "holy."  Others say it is a form of the word "God," similarly to how we use the word "goodbye" which comes from the phrase "God be with you."

However it got it's name, for Christians it is "good," for only through Jesus death on the cross can you and I have any hope in this world - or for eternal life.  He took all of our sins upon Himself and died as an atonement for our sins.  When we accept him as our Lord and Savior, we accept His gift of love and forgiveness of sins.  Jesus is the "good news" which means "gospel".  He died for our sins, was raised again, and we who believe have assurance and hope!