The Return to Panama: Some huge blessin' went on

1 Sam 12:24 - "But be sure to fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you."

One day per month, we have a Day Alone with God (DAWG), to read our Bibles, pray, worship and generally spend time with the Lord. Its also a huge refuelling day, as at times, you can feel dry when always doing ministry.

This past Friday we had our April DAWG. It was so refreshing and I enjoyed it immensely. God was able to show me numerous things from His Word over the 8 or so hours we hung out together, and among the items was this 1 Sam 12:24 verse. I really liked it, as it talks about being obedient to God (fear of the Lord is equated to obedience), serving Him faithfully and also meditating on the sweet stuff He's done in your life.

Sometimes we dont take enough time to really consider our blessings from the Lord and genuinely thank Him for those. Atleast I know I dont. When good things happen, sometimes I only give God half the credit He's actually due. I enjoy the moment, but dont necessarily allow God to enjoy it with me. I want to get better at viewing everything as a great thing He's done for me.

On the topic of great things God has done, our Visa Renewal trip to El Salvador was a HUGE one!!!

To give a bit of background, to live here in Panama we either need tourist visas, which are good for 90 days, or we need to go through the extensive and expensive immigration system to get temporary one year visas. We decided to go with tourist visas, cause they were cheaper and we had to leave the country for Dominican Rep project, Christmas etc. So, with our tourist visas expiring on the 17th of April, we knew we had to leave. We looked into El Salvador, as Raquel and Juan Carlos both have family there. God totally provided us with cheap $22 each way flights, and we were able to be hosted by Raquel's family in San Salvador.

It was such a great thing to even just be there. To see the country; taste the DELICIOUS food (namely pupusas); to visit Raquel's uncle's beach house; to go to the beach; to see a Panamanian friend who is on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ there; to hang out with the American STINT team who is serving in San Salvador with Vida Estudiantil; to visit a volcano; and to drink the best coffee at a shop since my last Starbucks in August. It was such a great 4 day trip - there was some huge blessing going on. And, all from our loving Heavenly Father. Thanks God.