Missions Blog

The End ... and The Beginning

Day 7 was a day of travel and reflection. A day that signaled the end of our mission trip, and simultaneously tipped our overflowing hearts into a waterfall of reflection. It was the beginning of new memories, new sisters in Christ, and new glimpses of the beautiful life of unity and community that God desires for us. It was the end of a week of faith-building travel as a group, and it was another new beginning of our own God-ordained journeys.

Whether it was what we left or what we took with us; whether it was the laughter or the tears; whether it was new illumination of Scripture or the healing of old scars; whether it was a holy moment or a Godly ache ... YHWH takes every part, threading it into our own faith journey, and weaving all of our stories together to create a glorious tapestry of His Redeemed.

Soy Mujer

Panama, Panama, beautiful, Panama,
The testimony of Truth was the voice of all. For women from nation, tribe, and tongue, Worshipped together, worshipped as one.

Soy Mujer was the language we spoke,
"I am a woman", with God we yoke.
A sisterhood with laughter, joy, and Jesus, With tears and struggles, but we know He sees us.

He sees the raw and broken and reaches in, taking our sin, leaving us not where we've been.

He heals and restores every heart at his feet,
The war has been won; the victory complete.

So at the foot of the cross each blessed day,
We look up and remember our Hope & Stay. Every magnificent nation, tribe, and tongue, We all are family, yes, in Him, we are one. 

Slow Morning, Grateful Gabs, and Hot Showers

Today was the last day of our time here at the Word Of Life Camp. We had a slow morning of snoozing a bit before we had our last breakfast with the missionary team. The food has been so delicious here. During our time this week, the men of the camp have been in the kitchen on full duty. And goodness, they have taken such good care of us! It was such a treat to be fed by them.

We loaded up our beach gear and headed to the closest beach about 40 minutes from camp. We took in the beautiful sights, did some swimming, and had a beautiful time of reflection and gratefulness for the past six days. To say it was life-changing for all of us would be an understatement. Many of us shared about how much we learned about the Panamanian culture. Some shared the hesitation to commit to a trip of this magnitude but in the grand scheme of life, sometimes a “yes” is all you need. ALL shared of the bonds that were made on this trip within this group and the numerous memories of laughing until we cried (really, we laughed A LOT – such a gift!).

If our trip and team had an anthem it would be:

“Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them” (Psalm 126:2)

We ended our beach trip with a delicious meal on the beach and headed back to camp to pack up all our belongings. We then got back in our trusty van with our girl, Tracy, and made our way to the hotel for the evening.

We settled into our rooms at a hotel close to the airport to make it easier for morning travel, enjoyed our first hot shower in a week, and broke bread one last time.

Conference Wrap-up

The morning opened with a sweet time in worship. The worship was in Spanish, but a lot of the praise songs were well-known by our team so we were able to partake in praise in English. 

We had one last conference session under Cheryl’s teaching followed by an open mic from the attendees. They came forward and shared from their hearts how the conference impacted them for God. Bianca stayed at the table with our team and translated what was being shared. 

We heard how the Lord used Cheryl’s teaching and the team’s testimonies to encourage them in the LORD.  

As one team member said “Satan isn’t creative he uses the same schemes everywhere on all people”

The Lord showed us how HE uses our story to help other people know of HIS grace and love. 

Our experience lets others know they are not alone in their hardships and struggles. We can help others experience forgiveness and healing when we are obedient in sharing our story.  

In the evening, we had the opportunity to attend a good old-fashioned pool party with the entire missionary team. We had so much fun while we spent time with them listening to their stories and hearing about the work they do. Not to mention a great time in the pool and amazing food for all!

Watching the team all have fun together was very sweet.  The way they care for one another is just so beautiful. The children of the missionaries have so many people who love them, and they are surrounded by so many godly examples of how to live a life following hard after God. We were honored to be a part of such a special time with the team and we were treated like one of them!!!  

It’s hard to believe our time here is wrapping up.  It has been a giant blessing to us all!

A Day of Preparing & Opening Night Sharing the Gospel

Today was a full day. We cleaned the pavilion and assembled bags with all parts for the craft. In doing so we started with each person assembling one bag. But then we noticed it was chaotic, and we had to take turns grabbing each bead. Jen suggested we do an assembly line, and we knocked out the project.  The process worked like a charm!  It made me think of:

"Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We all play different roles in God’s Kingdom, and it is beautiful. It truly is a gift from God-all our differences, unique roles, and boundaries in those that give such order and blessing. 

Speaking of gifts, later in the day we were so hot, sticky, and tired, but we got such a jolt of joy when we had the opportunity to give the missionaries the donated clothes we brought. It was unexpected, not built into the schedule, but it worked out beautifully! There was even a need among some who didn’t have pink clothes, a color scheme for the missionaries to wear that evening. It was so fun to watch the missionaries find each other great finds. The team reflected on this experience, and words such as gratefulness, community, and care all came to mind. 

In the evening we started the conference. The ladies checked in and we gave them their goodie bags, and they loved them! We realized there was a paper near the battery we had to remove for the flashlights to actually work. We went through every bag and fixed it quickly. 

After dinner, we worshipped, and then Jill gave her testimony. All the women in the conference prayed over her and her family as she needed to head home early due to a family emergency. 

Later on, the speaker opened with a teaching in Genesis about creation. She shared about Adam and Eve and God’s plan for them: 

“God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭28‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The speaker emphasized how this command was to both men and women, which was very encouraging to all the women in the room from all walks of life. 

Then she shared about sin entering the world, how we all are impacted as a result, and how God provided Jesus to clean us of sin. The message was impactful to all. Helping us to understand that Christ is the only one who can remove us from darkness and bring us into the light. 

“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

‭‭Colossians‬ ‭1‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The gift of salvation was presented and we pray it was received. It was a beautiful ending to our night.