Well, here we are. Just a few days away from our departure. I can't believe the end is here already. God has blessed us greatly in our adventures here. I can say one thing without a doubt: God has his hand on the church here in Brisas del Golf. Our team is just one of the many tools God is using to bring about his will in the church here. Please continue to pray for the church here. They are growing in numbers and in faith. Yesterday, Jason had the privilege to baptize one of his readers, Horacio. Horacio attended a church regularly, but as he read with Jason he became very aware of the need to obey God in baptism. So yesterday, they traveled to Curundu and a new brother joined God's family! Isn't God awesome?

I can't begin to write everything that has happened in the last few days, just know that we are blessed. The picture I included is of Rosarra and myself. I helped with some children's classes in the evening, and she stole my heart. Keep us in your prayers. God bless!

Happy Birthday Amy!

Wow! That’s all I can say to describe the last few hours…Wow! We just had our first party for LST. Thirty-three people attended; praise God!

The theme of our party was “Happy Birthday,” and it was decided (without my consent, haha) that it would be in my honor since my birthday was a few weeks ago. Nearly all of our readers came, and many brought their families too! Walter and Dolores’s house was packed tightly, but we had a blast. First, the children from the kids’ class performed a skit of the Bible story that they read in class. They acted out the angel telling Zechariah and Elizabeth that they will have a son. Then we played Human Bingo, where each bingo square was a characteristic; for example: someone who has seen snow. Everyone was enjoying themselves and getting to know new friends. Then we played a game called Birthday Scramble, where you line up silently according to the month and day of your birth.

Then it was time for cake. The room was full of people, and they sang four different birthday songs to me: three in Spanish and one in English. When the cake came from the kitchen, all the candles had gone out already, so I just pretended to blow them out. =) We all ate cake and visited with each other. We told everyone not to bring gifts, but many still did. Miriam gave me a beautiful bracelet made by the native Panamanians. Olga gave me a necklace and earrings. Leonardo gave me a striking red and black bracelet. Then Ingrid and Brigette gave me a bracelet and spoke English in front of the whole group! I was so so proud of them! Needless to say, by this point my heart was ready to burst. The people here have touched my heart in a special way. There is just something beautiful in their demeanor that speaks to me. It is going to be so difficult to let them go.

I stood up to thank everyone. I told them that they would have a special place in my heart forever. Then the tears came, I’m not gonna lie. Of course this was right before I attempted to repeat myself in Spanish. I’m not sure how many words came out, but everyone seemed to understand what I meant. Then Amilcar spoke up. I’m not sure what he said, but it probably had something to do with me being a princess. I don’t know why, but that’s what he always says. Or perhaps he was asking for yet another picture with me, haha. Then Miguelangelo (Michaelangelo), the new friend that Jimmy and Jason met this afternoon, said, “Amy, I just met you tonight, so I haven’t known you very long. But I will tell you one thing, you have made me feel like I am a part of this family here. To me, you are the cherry on top of the cheesecake.” It was priceless. I think being the cherry on the cheesecake is a good thing, but I sure haven’t ever heard it before!

It was honestly one of the best days of my life. There I was, in a room full of people that I have known only for a week, but I felt like the luckiest woman on the planet. I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday.

I have so much more to tell you, but tomorrow is a BIG day. You will hear all about it later. Continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. You are in ours daily.

With all my love,
Amy the cherry

The first few days...

June 17, 2008

I can’t believe we have already been in Panama for more than three days now! The time passes so quickly here. First and foremost I will say that the church is alive and well in Brisas del Golf. Walter and his family started this church in January 2008. They meet in his home, where he and his wife Dolores live. The church has about 15 members, but it is continually growing. The work we are doing here is filling a great need in Brisas del Golf (Brisas for short). Walter’s son Gabriel and his wife are great assets to the church as well. They are actively looking for new ways to introduce their neighbors and friends to Jesus Christ (Jesus Cristo, en español). Jason and I are staying with a member of the church. Her name is Maxine. She spent most of her adult life in the United States as a secretary to army officers. She retired here in Panama, where she spent her childhood.

Every morning a little before eight, we walk to Walter’s house (about 5 blocks away) where Jimmy and Susan are staying. We eat breakfast and have our morning devotional together. Susan and I spend most of the morning accomplishing our “chores”: shopping, cleaning, studying, etc. Jimmy and Jason have several students in the morning that they study with. After lunch, I am very busy teaching a beginning English class for those that can’t come to our evening class (more about this later!). Currently there will are 4 beginners studying in the afternoon. There is such a strong desire in this community to learn English. Almost half of our readers have very little experience with English at all. We work on basic conversation skills (What is your name? Where are you from? How many sisters do you have?) Each lesson has a very simple Bible verse at the end. We discuss the verse for comprehension. Usually the readers have some idea about the story. They are so good about helping each other understand!

I cannot even begin to explain how happy I am that I took Spanish last semester. Even though I know my grammar is terrible and I sound ridiculous sometimes, it is still a method of communication that six months ago I would not have had. God definitely has been working in our lives over the last year, preparing our hearts and the hearts of the people in Brisas del Golf to make his kingdom known here in Panama.

I read with one other person on a one-on-one basis. His name is Amilcar Santiago. He is 34 years old. His English is absolutely outstanding. His mother is a Christian, and he told me that Jesus is his Savior! In our first lesson, he was able to explain “holy” to me in English with no problem. (Stop and ask yourself, “How would I explain holy?” It is harder than you think!) He really seems to understand what we talk about. I truly hope that he will come to church in Brisas on Sunday.

Most of my evenings are busy with another beginners’ class. This class is held at Gabriel’s house because we have so many people who want to read in the evenings. We had 4 people at our first beginners’ class. Tonight we had 7 readers, plus 4 children who attend a bilingual school. They are all very excited to learn English. They help each other by explaining concepts. If one person does not understand, another will explain what we are talking about. Gabriel and his wife are absolutely wonderful, offering their hospitality and their assistance in Spanish. My new phrase for this class is, “¡No sé! (I don’t know!) We have a good time getting to know each other. I always tell them that even though I am helping them with English, they are also helping me with Spanish. The classes seem to be helping everyone, not just with English but with getting to know each other as well. Gabriel and his wife are starting to teach classes with the children in their neighborhood tomorrow. They are hoping that their excitement from tonight will carry over into their homes to get their families involved as well.

I have so much more that I would love to tell you, but it is late and I need some sleep! Continue to pray for our team, the missionaries, and especially the people here in Brisas del Golf. Here is the list of our readers to add to your prayers daily:

• Amilcar
• Bridgette
• Roberto
• Rigoberto
• Ingrid
• Olga
• Doris
• Evi
• Ruben
• Horacio
• Ana
• Pastor
• Palmira
• Grethell
• Nagghi
• Oscar
• Carolina
• Jessica
• Leonardo
• Miriam

You are in our thoughts and prayers as well. May the Lord be with you, my brothers and sisters in Christ.

Love,
Amy

Getting Ready

Hey everyone! One week from now, our adventure truly will have begun. We head out to Brisas del Golf, Panama on June 14th. For those of you that don't really know the details of our trip, four of us (Jason, Jimmy, Susan, and me) are traveling to Brisas del Golf, Panama (about an hour outside Panama City) on a Let's Start Talking mission trip. We will be teaching conversational English using the book of Luke from the Bible. We also will be teaching a beginning English class. I will be posting as often as I can while we are abroad. Your comments, prayers, and support are greatly appreciated!