Prayer Update...

I updated the prayer requests on the side of my blog, but wanted to further explain a couple items:
1. Commitment Dinner - Thurs, June 3rd. We're inviting Panamanian students who are already involved in Vida Estudiantil or whom we've been working with each week while we've been in Panama. The purpose of this is to challenge them to further commitment in their walks with God, involvement in Vida Estudiantil and a commitment to the Great Commission. Last year we saw 44 Panamanian students take this challenge, and many of them have grown so much in their faith as a result. We're praying for 45 Panamanians to commit to this challenge.

2. Adventure Cycle - Mon, June 7 - Fri, June 11.
We're heading to the interior, about 5 hrs away from Panama City, to a small village called Sancona. While we're there, we'll be helping the families during the day and then showing the Jesus film at night. Many people in the interior of Panama have not heard about a personal relationship with Jesus before, so it will be cool to share the Gospel up there. If you could pray for physical safety (conditions are rough), spiritual protection (often there is much more visible spiritual warfare up there) and wisdom for our trip leaders (Juan Carlos, Wes and Pastor Corea).

A peek back and the week ahead...

Wow, two weeks have flown by since the last post. So much has happened...I will try and summarize it as much as I can.

Our Weekly Schedule:

Monday: Campus (9-4:30), Bible Study (3-4:30), Training night (7-8:45)

Tuesday: Campus (9-4), Team fun or Guys time/Girls time

Wednesday: Campus (9-4:30), Bible Study Prep (3-4:30), Free night

Thursday: Campus (9-4:30), Weekly Meeting (12:30-2), Project Fun night

Friday: Campus (9-3), prayer meeting (6:30-8)

Week: May 17-21

Our team primarily worked within the Business Faculty this week, as we finally received permission from the administration to be there (long story cut short: the administration said we werent allowed to be there until we had a schedule of what we would be doing and they had a meeting with the Panamanian Staff Member, Secundina). We had a classroom talk outreach, and also had a small movie outreach.

Occasionally we were meeting up again with students from science, whom we met in the prior week, to further answer their questions about God, and the Gospel.

Week: May 24-28

This week, we focused even more in the Business Faculty, as one of the Vida Estudiantil student leaders is in this faculty. His name is Ruben. He's been a huge help to our team in translating and has a contagious enthusiasm for life, God, and reaching others for Christ.

We were able to have two outreach classroom talks, with first year students. During these "classroom talks" we presented some material on "Relaciones Exitosas" or "Successful Relationships," followed by a personal testimony and then a Gospel presentation.

and now, THIS WEEK!

This is our last week on campus!!! I cant believe it.

This week we are really focusing on following up with those who we've shared the Gospel with and those who heard our presentations in the classrooms. Often, these follow-up meetings are quite challenging, as students will agree to meet up, but for whatever reason, simply dont show up to the actual meeting. If you could pray for these meetings, that students would come and really discover a dynamic relationship with our living God, that'd be awesome!

Some Pictures from Project:

Pictures help tell the story a bit better...here are couple snapshots of our time here so far:

Above: Our Team!! Back row, L-R: Ruben, Corrina, Dan, Erin, Seanna. Front Row: Me, Carlos, Simone & Juan Carlos

Above: Sharing the Gospel with Tanya, a Pharmacy Student

Below: Lorenzo, a Panamanian Student giving a talk at the Vida Estudiantil Weekly Meeting

Project Fun night: singing "In the Jungle..." with matching costumes! It was pretty funny!

Campus Ministry Update

Our team has been assigned to the faculties of Science & Business Administration on the National campus. Our team is comprised of: Juan Carlos & I (team leaders); Corrina, Seanna, Erin, Simone & Dan.
Last week was our first full week on campus, and we spent a lot of time doing initiative evangelism (sharing our faith with students) and had a few follow up meetings. We focused primarily in the Science faculty last week, as we needed a few extra permissions to be able to go into the Business faculty.
My favorite moment from the week was when Erin, Corrina & I shared with a girl named Yira. She explained to us that she wasnt sure what religion was the correct one, and as such, she hadnt made any decisions. We shared the gospel with her, and asked her if she'd like to invite Christ into her heart. She said no, cause she is still searching and is on a journey to find truth. Even though she did not accept Christ, I was super encouraged by her honesty, and her ability to openly confess that she wasnt sure what she was gonna believe and was on a journey to find out. This normally doesnt happen - most students say they want to pray to accept Christ regardless of their true thoughts, as praying is so culturally acceptable. I thanked Yira for her honesty, and explained that we're on the campus really to be a spiritual resource for students, and to help them take whatever steps they need to in their journey to pursue truth.

Some Prayer Requests:
-->HEALTH: both physically & spiritually. Its always an adjustment to get used to the hot, humid climate of Panama. Most students are doing alright so far. And, spiritually, as many students are finding it spiritually & emotionally draining to be talking with people each day about the love of Christ.
-->BOLDNESS IN THE GOSPEL: that we'd boldly share the Gospel, out of love, with everyone we encounter, and that God would use this to both bring people to a relationship with Himself, and bring Himself Glory
-->SCIENCE FACULTY: in the past, students in this faculty have been pretty closed to hearing about the Gospel. Pray for open hearts and for ideas as to how to connect with these students.
--> BUSINESS FACULTY: this week, we have some classroom talks to first year students, an english class & movie outreach planned. Pray for strength for our team as we host the events, and also for genuine life change, as many first years hear the Gospel and have a chance to respond.

Thanks very much for your prayers, thoughts & support!!!

I feel so encouraged!!!

I know I already posted today about the past week's happenings, but one event in particular really encouraged my heart!!!
On Friday, we had a lunch at which Panamanian students involved in Vida Estudiantil could come and meet each team of Canadian students who would be working in their faculties. The purpose of this lunch was to really connect the two groups of students together, and emphasize that we (the Canadians) are down here to serve the Panamanian Vida Estudiantil ministry and help further solidify their movement of Christ centered laborers on the campus.

The absolutely amazing part was to see all the involved Panamanian Students. There were 19 of them who came to the lunch, and it was so evident that they really have a deep desire to reach their campus for Christ!!! This was so encouraging, as it was evidence that the commitment that most of these students made during last year's Panama Project Commitment Dinner (see prior blog post) has really stuck. God has definitely been at work in the lives of these students and for the first time, we have a group of core Panamanian students to work along side during our short time working on the campus. God has totally blessed everything our STINT team labored so hard for in the Lord last year!!!

To summarize week 1....

We just finished a week of orientation - both for the staff and then one for the students. Staff orientation was on the Monday & Tuesday, to ensure our staff team was all on the same page and to allow us some time to prepare for our assigned student orientation responsibilities. Then, on Tuesday night, the 21 students from across Canada flew into Panama City, and started their orientation on Wednesday. Their orientation included training on the culture here, how to share their faith, what is spiritual multiplication and discipleship. It was a great time of connecting, and already deep friendships are forming within our large team.

During this orientation, we also divided the students into teams to work on the University campuses. Juan Carlos & I are leading a team of 5 Canadian students to work on the National campus, in one or two faculties (in either Business Admin, Architecture, Law or Sciences). We still have to decide which faculties we'll be in exactly. Our team is composed of: Erin, Seanna, Simone, Corrina and Daniel.

There are 3 other teams, one working in Santiago, one also working on the National Campus, and one team on the Technological University. Overall, we're praying to God for some big things, namely: 1) that each Canadian student would be able to see 3 Panamanian students enter into a personal relationship with Jesus; 2) that out of those 3 students, that 2 would be followed up effectively; 3) that for each pair of Canadian students sharing the Gospel together (side by side with the involved Panamanian students), that 2 movement builders or future spiritual multipliers who really catch the vision of Vida Estudiantil would get involved in the movement to reach their campus for Christ. Would you too join us in prayer for these things?

Tomorrow we start our time on the campuses....exciting!

And, we're off!!!

Wow, how the time has flown by! I'm leaving tomorrow for Panama, which marks the beginning of Panama Project 2010!!! Craziness. It doesnt seem quite real yet...

On another note, a praise report - I finished support raising Tues, Apr 20th!!! Praise GOD! Finishing was a huge answer to prayer & I am thankful for your partnership in reaching the people of Panama. Thanks yet again :)

While Im down in Panama, Im planning on updating this blog weekly. So, stay tuned for news & stories of whats happening on the Project.
Until then...stay tuned!!