In Panama

hi all

Just a quick update. We landed in Panama and got in our rental cars and headed over to the Panama Canal.


We are waiting for our lunch in the old French quarter of the city and then we will do just a little bit of walking around before heading to the airport.

Thanks for all of your prayers!

Last Day - Part 2

With hearts aching to say goodbye, we headed towards our last day with the children and youth at the San Antonio Church.

Our time today was to just be. Be available to play. Be available to love these people. Be available to share. Be available to show Jesus.

I so pray these photos give you just the slightest taste of these precious lives we have interacted with this week.

Twins! 

The joy stickers and paper and time and love can bring to children. 

Simple things. 

Today was friendship day, so many of the kiddos made cards to celebrate. 

Soccer, of course, was a part of the day. 

Our faithful spectators

Some of the little ones played too, but in a safer way! 

TJ and Jeremy climbed back up on the scaffolding to get some great shots of the inside of the church building. 

Fun work with the silhouettes too! 

These faces - etched on our hearts. 

We talked today about how similar people are everywhere - desirous of time and affection and care. 

How often do we neglect to offer these gifts in our own contexts, to our own Jerusalem (Acts 1:8) and to our own people? 

Entrusting these we leave behind to Jesus. 

He is more than enough! 

Our day ended with an amazing dinner at a Brazilian restaurant. 

Yes, they did come by and carve meat. 

Oh, y'all, Ah-maz-ing! 

Amber even tried Eden's favorite (a Paraguayan delicacy) - chicken hearts! 

Guess what? It tastes like chicken. 

And then began our goodbyes to our Jesus family staying here. 

How even dearer they have become to our hearts. 

And so this group of twelve, called from different walks of life, embarked upon a journey that is now coming to a close. 

But the story is not over. A new page awaits for the Lord to continue writing upon our hearts what He has in store. 

These moments are treasured memories. 

Last Day - Part 1

My words are failing me for this final post from Paraguay. (However, fear not, there are more posts ahead).

A lot happened today... come and take peek into what the Lord did today.  Because there is so much, this is going to be split into two posts.

Part 1 - our last morning here in Paraguay. Part 2 will post while we are flying back (don't you love technology??)

Our mornings have begun each day by bathing - in the Word, in prayer, in hearing from the Holy Spirit, in worshiping together through music, fellowship, and hearing from each other. 

Our time has included one chapter each day from 1 Peter. So many amazing conversations, and mutual edification hearing what the Lord was teaching each of us through our time. 

There are snapshots only taken in our minds of our mornings together. 

They were sacred moments. 

Things not meant to be photographed as to disrupt what the Lord was doing. 

For many of us, those gatherings have been the highlight of our time. Giving us a greater craving for more of the Lord. 

The rest of our morning was spent being tourists and we did pretty well. 

First on the agenda - a drive by the Paraguayan president's residence. Pretty snazzy, eh? 

Paraguay once had a thriving train system and this is the old depot. Beautiful architecture. 

The congress building (I think that is right). 

This picture will make our team laugh. 

See the Paraguayan navy? That's it right there. 

Bob (one of our host missionaries) declared, "Off to your left is the Paraguayan navy. They have two ships." 

Driving along the river also showed us the effects from the recent flooding. 

You can barely see them, but those are homes under water, with the roofs peeking above the water line. 

The families from those homes have been displaced and many of are living in shanties like the one above. 

Then we were off to the tourist market. 

Many on our team were looking for the traditional guampa, a cup used for drinking tea, along with some other interesting things from Paraguay. 

We ended our sight-seeing by visiting the Cacique Lambare statue. This overlooks the city and the river, which is the border to Argentina. 

Some of us thought about swimming over to get another stamp in our passports, but time limited us from doing so. 

Sweet friendships. 

In light of our large dinner planned for the evening, our lunch consisted of the most amazing empanadas de Paraguay. They are dough pockets filled with chicken or beef or cheese and ham or corn. 

Clearly we enjoyed them. 

As we made our way to the San Antonio church for the afternoon, a few in the team were able to stop and see where the Hernandez kids go to school. 

It is a beautiful campus and offers such a great option for their kiddos to receive a fabulous education while their family serves here in Paraguay. 

And this was just the morning...

The Beginning of the Lasts

Today began our "lasts" for this Paraguay trip.
Our last VBS day.
Our last day of construction work on the wall.
Our last lunch prepared by the amazing women of the church.
Our last time to see some of the kiddos the Lord has brought.
Our last meal with the missionaries in a home setting.

Yet, we are reminded that this is not about us.
The Lord has allowed us to simply be a part of what He is already doing here in Paraguay. He also has a crew here committed to the long-term building of the church and the multiplication of the Gospel.
Ultimately, it is about Him. We are honored to be a small part of His purposes and plans.

Nehemiah 6:15-16 "So the wall was finished...in fifty-two days. And when all of our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God."

While it had already been started and while we haven't tracked all of the days, the walls are finished. 

These walls represent the Lord showing up and showing off with the efforts and sacrifices of local people to work, leaders within the church, and we simply came to partner with them and support this current ministry. 

We rejoice in the Lord's protection over all of the workers. 

We give Him glory seeing the completion of the walls and are trusting the Lord to use this place as a place to see the Gospel grow.

Lord - may your purposes be completed in this place. 

May it stand as a testimony of Your faithfulness. 

The finished front walls - amazing! 

VBS today - our morning crew nearly doubled today! 

We had so many kiddos come and this involved lots of nail painting for the little girls! 

They LOVED it! 

And of course more volleyball! 

Amber brought out the extra beads and she was swarmed with eager people to create their own bracelets and necklaces! 

This is how close our area is to the construction area. 

This is normal life and not out of the ordinary. 

Our kiddos were eager to learn, sing, dance, and create today! 

Our team did some bathing today. Lots of bathing in prayer. 

Oh what sweetness there is in coming to our Father and giving Him everything. 

Our afternoon crew was much smaller and only a couple of girls wanted nails painted. 

But the sweet smiles bring such delight! 

Our last manualidad (craft) was making a booklet to remember all we had discussed throughout the time. 

Their favorite part was putting jewels on the crowns. 

We covered this little guy with stickers that say "Jesus loves you". 

Yep, we sure did want him covered in love. 

Now for some of the people today...

Meet Pastor Tranquelino (he is one the left). This dear man has been out there every day mixing concrete, throwing bricks, and being an integral part of the construction crew. 

He would also come and peek in when we were singing and just smile to watch. 

Today we were honored to have the dear people of the church have a barbeque for us. 

Yes, there are three types of meat on the grill.

Yes, they were amazing. 

Wow! Yum! 

Keila and Eden - precious. 

Luke got all fancied up for our lunch. 

A tiny taste of heaven - family-style meals gathered around sharing stories, laughter, and life. 

Tonight was a sweet time of fellowship at the Hernandez's home.

The kiddos reading the letters sent from the kids from Northgate! 

Thank you for sending them your sweet words! 

As we are winding down, the reality of leaving is settling in.

The Lord has done much and continues to remind us of our complete dependence upon Him. 

How we want to hold tightly to these moments and not let go, yet this is for a time. 

As we prepare for our final day here, a part of our hearts is breaking knowing that we leave here different people than we came. 

The tears have begun, yet there is also an expectation.

Jesus - how do you want us to live as different with all you have taught us? 

How do we return to the "normal" as changed people? 

How do we live out the Gospel in our regular day-to-day lives? 

Oh Lord, may we live as your people in our own places for your glory and the furtherance of the Gospel.