Im a fan of Donald Miller...

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And, we're BACK...

Time simply flies by!!!! We arrived back in Canada Wednesday, June 16th at night, after a long day in the air.

A lot happened since May 30th, my last blog update. Here were some of the highlights:

1. COMMITMENT DINNER, June 3rd - This was the second annual dinner, where Panamanians involved in Vida Estudiantil and those we had worked with on project were invited to a night of food, friends and vision to reach the world. All together, there were about 70 of us, all together for this inspirational night. To start out, Yaremis, an involved student who accepted Christ last year, gave her testimony; Oliver shared the vision of how Vida Estudiantil aims to change the world and Secundina shared some of her heart. Then, Steve gave a challenge to the Panamanians. This challenge was essentially a form of higher commitment in 4 areas:
1. To walk with God in obedience
2. To a life of evangelism and discipleship
3. To involvement in Vida Estudiantil on their respective campus
4. To help complete the Great Commission in this generation.
Each student was given a card with these 4 items on it, and then everyone prayed about the commitment. And, God was working in many hearts!!! After praying, Nayeli, a first year Business student on the National Campus turned to Allison (one of the Canadian students) saying, "I know this commitment may be hard, but I feel like its the next step God wants me to take." It was so exciting to see and hear how students were responding to the Lord's leading in their lives. Overall, we saw about 44 students make this commitment (those from the National, UTP and Santiago campuses).

Above: Oliver sharing how Vida Estudiantil seeks to Change the World with the news of Jesus!

Below: Yaviris, myself and Yaremis - they are involved in Vida Estudiantil at the National campus

2. Rest and Relaxation weekend in El Valle-June 4-6th --This was a time to remember and reflect on the things God had done during the campus cycle part of our trip, as well as rest and refocusing ourselves for the adventure cycle portion. (Unfortunately, I got a bad virus the Friday night, so missed all the Sat & Sun sessions.)

3. Adventure Cycle, June 7-11 - Sancona, Cocle - The team headed up there to work along side Pastor Correa to reach families in the interior, mountainous province of Cocle. This village was different, as there wasnt a lot of alcoholism, and the general outlook of the people was positive. This was because there had already been a missionary visit and a church had been set up there...it was so clear that the Gospel was already at work in the lives of the people (as compared to other villages who had never heard of the Good news of Jesus!). I wasnt able to go on Adventure Cycle, as I was still feeling sick from the weekend...so I headed back to Panama City to rest and prepare a bit for Debrief.

4. Debrief, June 11-13 - This was a time for the students to process what God taught them on the trip and to prepare for life back in Canada. It was very restful and we all enjoyed our last moments together.

I will be sending out a Newsletter with some Project Highlights some time in the next couple weeks - watch your mailboxes :)!! Thanks very much for your partnership and the role you played in reaching Panama with the Good News of Jesus!!!

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!!

One month...

Its exactly one month until we step foot on Panamanian soil once again. WOW.

Im pretty pumped!!!!!!

An update on support raising: Im at 66% of my goal - Praise the Lord! There's $2200 yet to go...

Sobre La Fe (About Faith)

To kickstart this blog into action once again, here is an exerpt from my friend Oliver Marin's latest newsletter. Oliver is a full time staff member working on the Technological University Campus in Panama City, Panama.

Its about faith.

I can relate. These past 5 months have been a time of shifting from theoretically trusting in God, to practically trusting in Him. And, as Oliver noted, once this shift takes place, we meet a real God who wants to teach us how profound our faith can be. I feel like I'm just touching the tip of this iceberg called faith! So much more to be taught and apply...im thankful for His Holy Spirit in my life.

I totally agree, Oliver. "...old faith does not work for me today anymore. I have to start from zero again and remain on His power and wisdom." The faith I had when living in Panama does not work for my day to day life here in Canada. Each day it needs to be renewed by Him (although, I can look back to things He did in Panama, to see a testimony of His power). And, as I prepare to go back once again, my faith is gonna take on an even newer and different dimension. Im excited.