This is us after our soccer game last Thursday.  It was 8:00 in the morning and we were soaked with sweat and covered in red clay!  Notice the clay on my arms from trying to hit the ball with my shoulder....

Newsletter #1

21 de enero

We arrived without a hitch! There was hardly any turbulence on the plane! I (Jessica) had actually developed a fear of flying since our trip to Ecuador in 2004, but I had peace on the plane. God told us to go, and that was enough for me.

John and his wife Kristina picked us and another student up at the airport with their two beautiful children, Asher (1 ½ yrs old) & Natalie (3 ½ yrs old). Thursday we spent the day getting a few necessities that we couldn't bring with us. Classes started Friday.

We share an upstairs apartment with a family also doing the DTS. Meals are all in the dining room together.

It is hard to believe we've only been here a week. When you live, eat, work, pray, study, and worship together throughout the day, it doesn't take long to get to know one another! There are 18 people in our DTS. Two families from Panama (husbands & wives doing the DTS and their children live with us on the base). We also have a man from China, a woman from Honduras, a girl from Canada a girl from Colombia, several girls from the US, and 3 students from the indigenous community in Panama. We have 6 staff members leading the DTS, who are all married couples with young children. Some have been Christians only a short time and this is the beginning of their discipleship. Others are seasoned Christians, yet the teachers so far have been challenging and from the conviction of their hearts.

Already we've experienced and learned so much. I'm finishing up a book about hot and cold climate cultures, helping us to relate, understand, and appreciate cultures different from our own. We memorize verses every week, an hour of devotional time set aside every day, classes and small groups every morning and afternoon, group intercession as students and another time as a base, and 2-3 hours of work duties. (Luke is cleaning bathrooms and the classroom, Jessica is cooking breakfast and cleaning up afterward each day). Thursday evenings we also meet as a base for a church service. The base has anywhere from 25 to 70 people. We have a couple of teams arriving today and tomorrow, so it's going to be very full around here! Pray the the water holds up. The water tanks are filled by the city, but we never know when they are filled, so water conservation is the mentality. Panama suffered severe flooding in December and water is still not available in some parts of the city, and clean water not available in many remote areas.

The schedule is pretty full. We aren't communicating as much as we anticipated. There are activities and duties on the weekends sometimes, as well.

Some people have asked about the topics we're. Intercession, quiet time with God, God and work (generally and in the workplace), the fall of man, relationships, Biblical worldview, Cross-cultural communication with the arts, History of mission and missionology, spiritual warfare, conflict resolution, setting goals and plans, leadership, the work of the Holy Spirit, Daily brokenness. My (Jessica) head is already swimming processing it all, and with processing using Spanish so much again. I'm already translating.

Thank you all for your love and support! You can send email, snail mail and prayers our way! I can't promise when we'll respond, but we appreciate the encouragement.

Luke's Log Week #1

1-20-2011

This marks the third week since our last Sunday with you our church family. However because of packing and traveling for two of those weeks, it has seemed like a quick and short time. This is also the first week of our Discipleship Training School (DTS in all future references).

Our group is quite diverse ranging from Latin Panamanians, North Americans, Indigenous Panamanians, to Chinese. The age range is also quite broad from 17 to married with children all the way to one Indigenous lady who is well advanced in years. Our leadership consists of a couple from Alaska (John, and Christina), a husband and wife from the jungles of Panama, the other from the jungles of Portland Oregon (Alex, and Jennifer). The last couple are indigenous to an area of Panama very close to the Colombian border ( Tulio and Norelia ).

Physically we (I) have been challenged with the environment. The average afternoon temperature seems to be 90 degrees in the shade. The humidity seems to be about 150% but I am sure technically it is around 80% since its the dry season. There is a lot of walking and living on the side of a mountain definitely gets the legs burning. The food is quite tasty although it does consist mainly of carbohydrates (rice, bread, noodles). Vegetables are rare as is milk. We will go to the store weekly to supplement our diet and we are taking vitamins as well.

Group living has been interesting, we share our meals, classes, and free time with everyone. It gives good time for discussion and fellowship as well as a chance for the Spanish speakers to laugh at my attempts to speak Spanish.

The first week of classes has consisted of orientation, sharing of testimonies, and covering some foundational topics such as Quiet Time, God and Work, and Intercession. I say foundational not to give the impression of boring classes, but to let you know that these are core disciplines of Youth With a Mission (referred to as YWAM in any future references). God has shown us many things and even in the short time has begun to speak to us as individuals and as a group.

We will continue to keep you all updated as we are able. Thank you all for your support in finances, labor, and prayer. Please feel free to pray for us as well as our team and we want you to know we are praying for you as well. We will all be facing challenges, struggles, and attacks now and in the future. Feel free to send us a note or an e-mail. These are always encouraging to us.

May God continue to work in and through you as you labor in your mission field of South Central Wisconsin.

Lucas Robl