I don't know if this is post worthy?

For all my Settlers competitors back home at the UofS… Just thought I would announce that Laura Gonzalez officially goes down as the first Panamanian to play Settlers!!! Congratulations mi amor!

God's love is beyond reason!

So… please take a moment and read this one… it’s a whopper! I can honestly say that it revamped my perspective once again, on who my God is!
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Question! Why can’t I realise how much God loves us? Why can’t my mind be assured of it every moment? Why do I continually think that I must earn His favour… how could I possibly think that He would make me "do things" to become more worthy of His love?
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My roommate and friend, Lindsey Davies, lost all of her possessions on THURSDAY last week. I mean to tell you, that by no fault of her own, her laptop with all of her ministry and financial support raising material on it, her digital camera, ipod, guitar, bible and wallet were forgotten in the back of a taxi. She needed all of these things for work on campus that day, and sent them home with a friend so that she wouldn’t have to carry them on the bus. There are a million taxies in this city, and no taxi companies who run them. Individuals drive their own vehicles at their own preference and time. So her stuff is floating somewhere out in Panama city. This was a shock to our system! At the same time we realised that these were only things, and praised God. James 1:2 says; “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.” Thank Jesus that this did not tear our team apart… but drew us closer!
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As of about an hour ago… Lindsey walked into my room, and told me she had a story for me! Tonight, she decided to check her financial account online, so she used Sarah’s computer and low and behold, on TUESDAY last week, someone donated a very large sum of money to Lindsey’s account. An amount of money that would more than cover what she lost, and then some. What gets me is that it was donated before her stuff was even lost. God knows in advance what we need before we even think to ask Him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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When Lindsey told me this story… I sat back in my chair, and felt the spirit of God whisper in my ear… “DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU?”

BURSTING INTO HEAVEN!

My bible study today, was AMAZING! I spent so much time translating it last night, and getting ready for it... I was totally pumped to get the girls together and get rolling! At one point, Cindy (the girl who translates for me during the study, which she also attends!) got so excited about the prophecies we were studying, that she and the other girls just started to rattle away in Spanish, totally forgetting about me! They were flipping around in their bibles, and going crazy over what they were reading... It was so much fun to watch! I just sat back and prayed thanks to God for the way that He speaks.

On another note... I have sometime found myself getting a little upset, because the office in Law has to give us a paper stating that we are an official club, before they will allow us to say any sort of announcements in classrooms... so this means that our SIQ's (spiritual interest questionnaires, that we hand out to students in order to inquire if they would be interested in talking with us) are on hold. I was praying that through random evangelism, God would lead me to someone who was interested in starting discipleship with me, because I just don't want to wait anymore!! So, I was on campus today, and just after bible study I started to do some language learning with Cindy. One of Cindy’s friends came walking along. This girl was involved with the last summer project from Canada, and speaks fluent English. I can't even remember how we got on the subject, but somehow we ended up talking about the assurance of her salvation (I LOVE TALKING ABOUT THAT STUFF!)

I don't know if you have ever noticed, how sometimes you can be talking to someone, and you know you are just talking, but other times you can be talking to someone and your sitting there thinking "this is not me talking... The spirit of God is in this!" That's the type of moment I had this afternoon, with this particular young woman! After our conversation I thought to myself... "Now I know why David danced naked before the Lord!" I was so excited and ecstatic about meeting this girl, and talking with her, and watching her begin to understand the DEPTH of God's love for her, that she would be given a gift of eternal life with Jesus in heaven, through simple faith! AND GUESS WHAT??? She wants to meet with me again and showed genuine interest in follow up, and gave me her cell phone number...

Prayers are being answered... the Lord is always at work!

Praise God, we have officially migrated to Panama for another 30 days!

It is official as of 11am this morning we migrated to Panama! However these visas are only an extension of our tourist visas, meaning they only permit us another 30 days in country. After that, we need to have all the necessary paperwork done to apply for a year long missionary visa! A lawyer from the Crusade church has volunteered her time to help us out with the paperwork… praise God for her; she came to us just when we needed her!

Besides visas, I am now officially subbing in for 2 of Tania’s (a Panamanian staff) bible studies, while she heads out to do financial and prayer support raising! It has caused me to get a move on in my language learning…

A student named Cindy (whose photo is featured in one of my previous posts) has agreed to help me learn Spanish on the Campus 3 times a week! She is a spirit led woman, who thrills me with her enthusiasm and encouragement, which is just what I need when it comes to learning Spanish! She is also translating bible studies for me, as I teach! Please pray for her. Soon after I met her she began to tell me… “Jess, I pray to do something for God, for a few years, maybe I will work in ministry, I don’t know!” I ask God to make me an encouragement to her, and a support… I pray she would truly know and obey the calling of the Holy Spirit!

Steve and I are going to be distributing questionnaires throughout the first year law and architecture classes, starting tomorrow. As we phone and follow up those students who ask to be contacted, please be in prayer. Although a lot of students show genuine interest, their persistence in being diligent with discipleship can be disappointing. Pray that we are gracious and maintain perseverance! We are told that although a student may miss 2 or 3 appointments with us, we should not think they are uninterested; it’s simply an aspect of their culture.

Our team is waiting upon an “OK” from the administration in Law school, to use one of their classrooms for a free interactive English class, which we plan to hold for the students! The idea behind this is to offer assistance with students’ English language learning using the bible. It will be a weekly outreach that will prayerfully help us obtain potential translators as well!

Pray for the health of our team, periodically one of us is at home with something… pray for the students to grow closer to God… pray for the Panamanian staff, as they strongly long to be with us on the campus where we can learn from each other! For now however, they are serving the Lord and His people by relying on Him to raise up the funds needed to continue the ministry! Pray that my fellow team mate Sarah gets her criminal record check from Canada, it’s vital for her missionary visa.
Praise Him, that we are already seeing 40plus students come out to our weekly meeting on Thursdays! Praise Him that my bible studies are super fun! Not that you could ever convince me that these things aren't!

We were sitting in the beating sun, semi shaded by a tree, and reading though the book of John, with a few fellow ants accompanying us. I was attempting to read in Spanish, when one of the girls pipes up and asks a question! “How do you know your going to heaven?” I LOVE THIS QUESTION… its my favourite! We had a splendid conversation!

Weekend Get Away!

sharing my personal testimony, Jon is translating for me!

Learning from the word........
Me and a fourth year law student named Cindy, practicing to share the four spiritual laws!
Prayer...

Jon Augudelo described our student evangelism preperation weekend below...

"We got back from a retreat on Saturday night. It was about an hour and a half away from the city, and 800 meters above sea level...the mountains were amazing! Students from 3 different campuses learned a lot about evangelism; how to best communicate the gospel with other students on campus. The retreat also gave students a chance to reflect about how they've come to know Christ, and how they can communicate that complex story in a concise and relevant way with heart and passion. The two days gave us students and staff a rest from the noise and air pollution of Panama City."

Is that fruit?

We call this one... "the snot grenade"

Sharing the Gospel!

Just this past Friday, we toured the campus again, and decided to share our faith with one or more students, depending on what time permitted. Me and my team mate Steve had the opportunity to share with a fourth year law student, who questioned the reality of hell. As I watched him listen to our words, I saw his face contort at the thought of being a sinner. My heart breaks for those of us who do not fully comprehend the severity of our sin. My whole being longs to recognize the sin within me, so that I can fully digest it, and come to understand more clearly the extent to which my saviour has gone to restore me!! When we do not grieve our sin, we do not know how or for what reason we should be rejoicing in the Lord Jesus Christ!

(Jesus says) “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me teacher”
“Two men owed money to a certain money lender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he cancelled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt cancelled.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

May I never think less of my sin then I should. May I always realise how much I am forgiven, in order that I may be the one who loves him more!

How we entertain ourselves on the weekends!!

Thanks to Steve, there's never a dull moment on this team... SHAMOO... watch out for this whale, he's got skills!

1 Chronicles chapter 11 Verses 17-19

"David longed for water and said, "Oh that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!" So the Three (these "three," were chiefs in Davids army, and the well that David is talking about was on the other side of the battle lines) broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out before the Lord. "God forbid that I should do this!" he said. "Should I drink the blood of these men who went at the risk of their lives?" Becuase they had risked their lives to bring it back, David would not drink it."

I have thought a lot lately about this passage. At first it made no sense to me, but then the spirit of God began to reveal to me His message! There is a message within Davids sacrifice, for me and maybe for you too. God was saying to me... "David knew that the loyalty of these men towards him, came from their devotion to God! These men loved David! But they loved David because God worked through him! David recognized that it wasn't him who deserved this sort of sacrifice... it was God! So he took the water... and even though he craved it... he poured it out before the Lord!"

There are a lot of people who have been led because of their devotion to God, to give in many differing ways to this ministry in Panama.. some have even given every day of their lives to God's work here! I only pray that I can take all that you have given, through your devotion to God... AND POUR IT OUT BEFORE HIM!

May every day of our lives be an offering that is pleasing to the Lord!

So we took a walk through the rain forest!

Abraham the Tarazan!
The last week has been a process of dealing with "growing pains"... I say this because I am begining to realise that there's no one here to do everything for us. There's no one here to say, go there or do this. As a team, we had to figure out where to live, eat, and how to get visa's to stay in country. My whole being, and all that's within me just wants to scream "someone let me minister to somebody!" I really want to be on campus, and with the students. We visited the campus today, and reunited with some students from past projects! However, we need to get the nitty gritty stuff over and done with, we need to adjust, and explore and begin to feel comfortable with transportation, language, climate, and learn what's culturally apropriate. There's so much to take in, and so much to know. I feel overwhelmed and inadequate some days... but there's such a sense of "THIS IS GOING TO BE GREAT"... it totally takes me over!!

These movies are from an excursion that my team decided to take into the rainforest! It was an amazing hike.. I hope you enjoy them!

Biggest spider I've seen, that wasn't behind glass!

The ants go marching 16x16 around here.. not 2x2!

Panama canal is expanded!

I don't know how many of you were able to view this event on television, but the canal in Panama, had a HUGE historical moment! It was really neat to be a part of the initial movement to expand the Panama canal! There were thousands upon thousands of people. There was a big bang and part of the land mass was blown up, and then there were speaches, including The US president who handed the canal back to Panama in 1977, Jimmy Carter, alongside South American dignitaries. Then they released these massive bunches of balloons into the air. It was really cool, and I got to stand in the midst and wave a Panamanian flag! May GOD BLESS THIS LAND.. and its people!