Nazerene District Center, Panama

My (Dan's) project this term was to serve the Nazarene church of Panama.  The Church of the Nazarene in Panama has 34 established churches with an additional 25 developing churches.  As the church has grown, it has become necessary to provide a place that all the Nazarene churches in the country can use for pastor training, youth camps, and other country-wide programs.  The church in Tocumen, Panama only occupies about one quarter of the land they have, so the administration decided to use the additional land for these country-wide facilities.  Twelve volunteers and interns traveled with me to Panama for a week to start the design.




Architect's rendering of the final Master Plan

I know that, as I write about my projects, I often write about the Lord’s provision.  I have now led my 6^th project trip, and the Lord has provided in amazing ways each time.  He has consistently been faithful to provide in surprising ways in each of my trips.  At the risk of being redundant, I want to share again about His provision.

Some of the project team working at the site

There was a very real possibility that we may not have had a single architect (the most critical volunteer) on the team until the fifth day of the trip.  God provided.  The volunteer usually responsible for determining the soil bearing capacity didn’t know how to do it.  God provided.  Another volunteer didn’t complete his responsibilities after the trip.  God provided.  It is always so amazing to see how God provides for the completion of all of the necessary parts of every project.  It happens every time, but it never ceases to bring me to my knees in dependence and praise.

It was the rainy season, but everyone had a great attitude.

Another aspect of our ministry that I haven't shared much about before now is our ministry to the volunteers of a project team.  Although my main focus in leading projects is providing a design for a ministry that enables them to better reach the poor for Christ, I also try to take advantage of the time I have with the volunteers.  Throughout the project week, we do several things to keep our focus on God as the one we are ultimately serving.

One form of doing this is by sharing testimonies.  Each evening after dinner, a couple of the volunteers take about 15 minutes to share the story about how they came to Christ.  I have heard many stories throughout my project trips about how the testimony of one volunteer touched the life of another.  This project was no exception.

Another activity is a daily devotional followed by a time of worship in song.  On several nights of the trip, this time of worship through song extended for hours after dinner.  Once, I decided to open my computer to go back to work while everyone else continued singing.  It was a joy to sit there serving Him while singing praises to Him who gave me the skills to it.

Then, at the end of the week, we have a meeting when I ask the volunteers to think about what the Lord may be challenging them to change in their lives.  During this time of sharing, one of the volunteers on this trip committed to get more involved in his church, and specifically in one of the Bible Studies.  His name is Suhendi; he is from Indonesia, but he works for an engineering firm in Florida.  He had come to the Lord through the ministry and prayers of his wife who is from Hong Kong.  Through the testimonies and devotionals during the trip, the Lord convicted him that he needed to be involved in studying the Bible.  You can imagine how pleased I was when one of his recent emails contained the following note (as he wrote it):

“Thank for the great life changing experience, I know Jesus a lot more now than before the trip.  My testimony to you is that I read Bible everyday now and I join Bible study at my church every Thursday night, as what I promised on our last devotion session.”

Sunhedi and me on the tour of the Panama Canal

Praise the Lord for His work in the hearts of His children!

Fiesta navideña de las mujeres

Christmas starts early here.  With no Thanksgiving here to signal the end of fall and beginning of the Christmas season, Christmas events start as early as the beginning of November... and they keep going until mid to late January!  I love it.

In mid-November, we had our ladies' Christmas party for the women of our church.  Everyone was supposed to bring traditional Christmas food for a cafecito (tea party, except with coffee), so we had a good selection of Costa Rican and Nicaraguan dishes... with some American cookies. 

We had a great time of visiting, enjoying each others' recipes, and sharing special Christmas memories from our childhoods.  We ended the time with making Christmas centerpieces for our homes. 

with our delicious spread of food

working on our centerpieces

my friend Liliana with her creation

sweet sisters in Christ
from L to R: Iveth (our pastor's wife), Johanna, me, Leticia, Fanny, Dina, Kathya, Liliana

 

Tomorrow night, we will do our kids' Christmas program.  We are excited about what this program is going to be like this year.  Instead of having it at our church, we are doing it in the central park of Atenas where so many people will see and hear it as they walk through town!  Our adult choir will sing, our pastor will share from God's Word, and our kids will act out the Christmas story.  Now, I just need to figure out a sheep costume for Timmy before tomorrow night...

Please pray that many people will hear the message of the true reason for celebrating Christmas tomorrow and that God would use it to draw people to Himself!

"Fall" in the tropics

Fall is my favorite season.  I have always loved the cooler weather, the breezes, the colorful leaves, and eating soups and anything made out of pumpkin.  But, we never have fall living here in Costa Rica.  One of the biggest blessings of our 4 month home leave last year was being back in the USA for fall.  We loved spending lots of time outside while being bundled up -- swinging at the park, crunching in the leaves, visiting the pumpkin farm.  It felt wonderful to be cool! 

I think because we experienced fall last year, I felt a little homesick during October and November this year.  Timmy, too, was missing fall and kept asking when we could play in the leaves.  So, finally, just a couple of days before Thanksgiving, we had a "fall" day in the tropics.  It was a cool, cloudy day with a breeze that made it feel like fall.

We got out the cloth leaves a friend had sent us years ago when we were missing fall and played with them in the living room:

 

We went down to the mango grove at the end of our street and crunched in the fallen leaves:

 

We came back home and made a paper turkey and drew some pictures of pilgrims:

 

And, we had chicken made over a wood fire, roasted zucchini and carrots, and cornbread for dinner:

 

 

 

It was a perfect fall day, even here in the tropics! 

Two!!

one day old

Two years ago a week from yesterday, it was a month before my due date.  Costa Rica was in a state of national emergency because of flooding throughout the country.  That morning, a landslide had blocked the main road to the hospital, which was normally at least an hour drive away from our small town in the mountains.  The family that was going to watch Timmy for us when it was time to go to the hospital was out of the country.  We still hadn't chosen our baby girl's name.  And, I went into labor.  It is a pretty crazy story, but, suffice it to say, we had quite the adventurous evening, and by the time we got to the hospital, it was time for Tabitha to enter the world (and we had decided on her name)!  I found out later that as he was speeding around the curves of the mountain pass, Dan was considering how he might need to deliver the baby on the side of the road.  We are so, so very thankful for God's amazing protection and care, and for the precious blessing that our little daughter has been to our family the past two years. 

 

The night before Tabitha's birthday this year, I could not fall asleep, but lay awake reliving that night and all that happened.  I was overwhelmed by God's care for me and our baby.  I had had a high risk pregnancy and a really difficult delivery.  Looking back, it was a scary night, but at the time, I was filled with God's peace.  I had prayed specifically that I would be able to be calm when the time came, and God answered that prayer.  It wasn't until a couple of days later, when I was staying in the hospital alone with Tabitha in the NICU, that it hit me as I looked out over the metal roofs of the sprawling capital... "I just had a baby in Costa Rica!  I could have had her in the car!  She came a month early!  I am taking care of her in a hospital where everyone only speaks Spanish!"  My reaction?  Worship.  For His power was made perfect in my weakness and His peace that transcends all understanding filled me.  I thank Him for little Tabitha and the answer to so many prayers that she is.  We love you, sweet girlie! 

 

3 months old

6 months old

9 months old

one year old

18 months old

TWO years old!

 

the "new" interns

Our current interns are already more than halfway through their internship!  We have really loved getting to know this great group.  It is the largest group we have ever had and they are a lot of fun.  They arrived at the end of the August, spent two weeks in language school, are investing in their host families, working in the office, and have traveled to Honduras and Panama on project trips.  All seven of them, plus another young woman serving here in Atenas, join us for Bible study every Wednesday night.  We are doing character studies on people of faith in the Bible and are developing a working definition of faith based on the examples of the people listed in Hebrews 11.  It's been a great study so far!

During their orientation week, we had an encouraging night of fellowship when we got to hear all of their testimonies.  Some photos of that night will help you "meet" our interns:

L to R: Andrew, Aaron, me, Cindy (EMI staff), and Julietta

 

Interns Camia and Lena are the two girls on the right

 

L to R: Interns Matt, Cheri and Andrew with EMI staff

 

Something that has really struck me about this group of interns is their excitement and willingness to serve.  Last week, we had them over for dinner before Bible study and they were all quick to jump in and help me finish up the preparation for the meal.  They were very appreciative of a break from rice and beans for a good all-American meal of grilled hamburgers, chips and guacamole, green beans, and pumpkin cake.  I'm not sure my food has ever been so complimented! 

 

We really love sharing life with our interns and are so thankful that one of Dan's roles here is to coordinate the intern program.  It is always exciting to see God working in the hearts of the interns, drawing them closer to Himself and using their time in a cross-cultural setting to teach them in new ways.  It's going to be hard to say good-bye to this group in December!



Good-bye, interns!

(This post is about two months too late, but I feel like I can't move on with the blog without acknowledging last term's interns!)

At the end of July, we said good-bye to the interns who had been with us since mid-January.  Brad, Esther, Kevin, and Allison worked in the office with Dan, traveled to Ecuador and Honduras on project trips, lived with Costa Rican host families, worshiped in local, Spanish-speaking churches, and shared life with us here in Atenas.  We got to know them pretty well as they were in our home every Wednesday night for an inductive Bible study on the book of Hebrews.  Dan and I always learn so much from our times of leading this study with the interns!



Dan and I got to know Brad and Esther the best because they attended our church here and we mentored them during their time with us.  Mentoring involves meeting together weekly for accountability, prayer, and studying a specific topic together.  Brad and Dan focused on evangelism, while Esther and I studied Biblical womanhood.

Pastor Yeremy saying good-bye to Esther and Brad on their last Sunday at our church

 

After spending so much time with a group of interns, it is always sad to say good-bye.  We pray for them as they return to "normal" life in the States, where Esther has started grad school and the others are finding jobs in their fields.  It is always exciting to hear about what kinds of ministries interns get involved with in the States, and we are looking forward to staying in touch with these four special people!

the interns with some EMI staff families and tico friends

 

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy

because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,

being confident in this,

that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion,

until the day of Christ Jesus.

 

Philippians 1:4-6