Panama Week 1

Dear Blog

Its hard to believe that we’ve already been here for almost two weeks, the time is really flying by. So far things have gone great! We have an awesome team of both staff and students and we are quickly becoming a family. Some of my closest friends today are people I met when I first came to Panama 4 years ago. It really is a special time as you work side by side with others for the kingdom.

First I want to introduce you to Melanie, she is my co-director. She is from Sherbrooke, Quebec, is married and has two cats. We get along great and I’ve been really enjoying speaking French with her….it usually results in us laughing our heads off. A personal goal of mine this project is to become tri-lingual (English, Spanish and French).

The team is also great…we’re a group of 31 from across Canada (as well as Japan, Nigeria and the Bahamas). God has been great in bringing us together and we really get along well. We have divided the group into 4 teams on 3 different universities: Universidad de Panama (2 teams), Universidad Tecnologica (UTP) and Santiago.

We have just completed our first week on campus. The first few days were challenging for the students as they adjusted to sharing with people in another culture and language. But through prayer and hard work they are seeing God work through them. Already we have seen several students come to Christ and start the follow-up process.

As director I have had the chance to visit all of the teams this week. A typical day for me will be to meet with Melanie in the morning then head to campus to join a team for the day. On campus we will meet up with our staff to encourage, pray and help direct them. Then we look for opportunities to head out with the students to share. So far I have had many great conversations with the students.

THE STORY OF CARMEN

On Wednesday I went out with Julia (Canadian student from SFU) to share and we met Carmen, a 2nd year student at UTP. Carmen had gone to a school run by monks and believed in good works for Salvation. As we began sharing the Gospel we quoted John 3:16 to which she replied ‘I have heard that so many times, every day for 12 years, it’s a bit monotonous now.” As we continued sharing with her she admitted that ‘I’m envious of a Christian friend of mine, she really has a relationship with God and is joyful. That’s what I want…’

As we shared the Gospel with her, she seemed to light up as she understood what grace was, and that her sins could be forgiven. As we explained to her salvation Carmen said that the only thing that was missing was her faith. She said she wanted so much to accept the Gospel but just had no faith.

As we arranged to meet up with Carmen again I asked her if we could pray for her. She said yes and then asked if we could simply pray that she would be able to accept the Gospel. It was so apparent that she understood both the Gospel and her need for it so please join us in praying for Carmen.


Well that’s all for now. Thank you for continuing to pray for us!

Steve