I need catchy headlines :)
Sorry no pictures right now. A quick update from the internet cafe.
We spent a week in Panama City working with the Chinese churches and witnessing. Went great! More on that later...
Then we spent a week in Tugri, the capital of the Ngobe comarca (reservation). It went very well. We continued work started on digging a pit latrine at the unofficial YWAM center-house that we hope to finish when we go back in May. Encouraged the local pastor and church, had a Good Friday service, several other services, a children´s program in the afternoon, and prayed for a lot of people. It was GORGEOUS in the mountains. I just cried one day during my quiet time, in awe of God´s creation and the privilege to be here. It was super windy, COLD in the evenings. We tented it, the singles stayed on raised boards over a dirt floor in a home of rough sawn wood planks, with gaps big enough for wind and curious, peeping eyes of the little ones! After we left we realized 3 of the girls on our team got lice, and 2 of us got parasites. I´m much better now, and the girls are lice-free after shampooing and days of nit-picking.
We then headed to the province of Chriqui, where we have been ministering mostly to Ngobe people who are staying behind the general hospital and the children´s hospital next to it. They don´t have anywhere to stay, visiting hours are from 6:30 to 7:30 every night. They don´t have money to stay somewhere, because in the comarca it is mostly sustenance living. The sleep in hammocks, or on cardboard on the cement floor of a community building that is the size of a basketball court with a metal roof - no walls. We have made friends with the people there, encouraged them, prayed for them, had a night of sharing testimonies and bible stories and brought some food to share. Sebastian is a man who is there wtih his wife and 3 children. He gets chemo treatments monthly, but they have no money to go back and forth between treatments, so they stay there. He has lost most of his hair, is very thin, and they are struggling for food. A brother-in-law, who is also there because his daughter had surgery on her arm, occasionally gets a day´s work and can buy food. Sunday we will have our church service there. Another time I will tell you about the baby whose mother just died in intensive care from being beaten, and the baby was staying at the "camp", but abandoned. One of the YWAM staff here is trying to get temporary custody of the child until the baby´s family can be found and if they are willing to care for it.
We also visited kids in the hospital each night. We will bring crayons and books as they children have nothing to do (no TV, 6 beds to a room). One kid had his finger amputed after it died and he had gangrene due to a snake bite. Another 12 yr old girl was admitted because she was suicidal. One boy just wanders around on his floor because his parents abandoned him. I guess he´s been there a while. He clearly has some mental and behavioral disorders. I haven´t found out if they plan to contact other family or turn him over to the state.
It has been a PRIVILEGE to share ´God´s hope and words with the people here. We really have enjoyed this area of Panama. We´re in a region where they call it¨"eternal spring". The people are friendly.
so much more to tell, but we are heading back to the hospital shortly. Please continue to pray for us. Wed we leave for teh Bocas del toro area, where we will continue working with the Ngobe people there. A week in Talamanca, Costa Rica follows, and we end our outreach where we started, another week in the comarca.
Continue to pray for us. We are pacing ourselves so we don´t burn out, but it´s a lot of travel, community living, etc.
We love and miss everyone, but I´m loving it!
