Dear Blog,

Well project has come to an end. Last night I spent a little time reflecting on what I learned in the past 6 ½ weeks here in Panama. After some thought and prayer I came up with this: The Gospel truly does change both lives and even communities.

Yaremis was a student from the National campus that I saw come to Christ last year at the end of my time in Panama. Even now, a year later I still vividly remember the visible change in her face and character the day she accepted Christ.

In the past year Yaremis has continued to grow in her love for God and love for others. This year as part of commitment dinner at the end of project where we challenge students to commit to reaching their world for Christ, Yaremis stood up and shared her testimony of a changed life and the passion it gives her to share the Gospel with others. For me, seeing Yaremis today vs. a year ago I can hardly believe it is the same person as she is constantly being renewed and transformed into the image of Christ.

The Gospel is for Christians too. This may sound silly but it something I became even more convicted of. Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him… We need to keep the Gospel central to our Christian walk and daily remind ourselves of it.

Over project much of my attention was focused on serving the Canadian staff and students, ensuring that they were equipped and available to reach out to the campuses. In doing this I was able to see really how much God transformed so many of the Canadian students who came to Panama. I believe that a great part of this was due to the fact that the students not only were sharing the Gospel with others, but also reminding themselves of what the Gospel is.

The Gospel has the power not only to transform lives, but communities as well…. One of the highlights of the Panama project for me is the ‘Adventure Cycle’ where we head out to remote communities in the mountains and there reach out to the people by serving and working alongside them during the day and showing the Jesus film at night. The idea is to help a missionary who is reaching out to these areas plant churches. This was my 6^th such trip, and although I arrived thinking I knew what to expect I have been in awe of what I saw.

This year our project went to a village called Sancona, high in the mountains of the Cocle province in the interior of Panama. Before going we had been told that, unlike the other communities we had been to, Sancona had a small local church that existed. The power of this small church, or rather the power of God through the church, amazed me.

In most of these communities the people generally wear a weathered, detached look on their face, families don’t seem to be loving towards each other, there is limited community activity and often times alcohol is a factor. In Sancona we immediately saw that none of these applied

As we began getting to know the people, and saw the difference in this community versus the other communities in the area, we asked them what made the difference. When asked, one of the people from the area (who was not a Christian) said “The Word of God. Ever since the church began and people started sharing the Word of God people in this community have stopped fighting like we did before.”

Up to this point I had been assuming that the difference in the community must be the Word of God and the presence of His church, but to hear it come from people in the community really blew me away. As I processed this, I realized that while I believed in my head that the Gospel was the answer for these communities, I needed to actually see it to really truly believe it with all my heart.

So with these three ‘stories’ fresh in my mind, and having spent some time reflecting on what God has done these past 6 ½ weeks in Panama I am now more convinced than ever of the need to simply share the Gospel, Jesus Christ with people and allow God to do the transforming work. Further, in order to do this I need to continually remind myself of the Gospel in order that I too may be changed continually.

So for now I’m off. Thank you so much for all your prayers, support and encouragement. I am sad leaving Panama, yet feel so privileged and blessed to have been a part of what God has been doing down here for these past 4 years.

Con carino

Steve

Week 4

Dear Blog

Well this post will be a bit rushed as I am just taking a few minutes that I have between packing/wrapping everything up from the Campus Cycle and preparing everything for the Adventure Cycle (where we head out in to the rural villages to witness out there).

Campus Cycle ended on a really big high. Last night we had a Commitment Dinner where we challenged the Panamanian students to commit themselves both to God and to being involved in the university ministry. The night was a great success, with 40 Panamanians coming out. It was a good night of testimonies, vision casting and hanging out and eating some really good food.

We will be heading off a little later today for a weekend retreat, followed by our adventure cycle. It is always an exciting time and one that you really need to depend on God as you are out of your comfort zone and nothing really is in your control (even now we are trying to fix our generator...)

Hopefully I will have a few minutes later today or this weekend to update, but if not...talk to you in a few weeks.

Steve

Week 3

Dear Blog

I can't believe it but 3 weeks are up already and we're heading in to the final stretch of our times on campus here in Panama. This week has been a bit of a battle on two fronts, both spiritually as we face opposition (which is good because it means we're fighting for the kingdom) and physically as we put our all into the work down here. But its also been very encouraging as we can reflect on what God has done, and is continuing to do on the campus.

On Sunday I had the chance to preach at 'La Comunidad', which is the church we are attending while in Panama. I shared from the book of Colossians focusing on our need to be rooted in Christ. We also took a look at Epaphras, the man who planted the Colossian church and his example of receiving the Gospel and then bringing it back to his own people. God was gracious in giving me a message despite the limited time I had to prepare.

I want to introduce you to a grandpa, his name is Jason Elford.



Jason (the red head on the right) led Fredrico to Christ two weeks ago on the Santiago campus. Fredrico, who grew up Catholic and had a lot of knowledge of the Bible, says he once trusted on his good behaviour to go to heaven and was thrilled to hear of Grace and Jesus Christ's provision. I've had the opportunity to spend time with Fredrico and he constantly is smiling and resting in the fact that he is saved by grace. As Fredrico received the Gospel he is now also sharing it with other students, and last week had the chance to share the good news and see someone come to Christ....spiritual multiplication!

Back in the city things have also been going well. The Canadian students have been taking lots of steps of faith, many of them commenting on how much they've grown through the challenges they have faced on project. It isn't easy stepping out and sharing your faith everyday, especially in a different language and different culture. But we have all found God to be faithful and He has worked both in our lives and in the lives of Panamanians.

Below are some photos of our time on campus...enjoy!

Steve

Erin (L) sharing about Canada with one of the Panamanian students she met

Panamanians and Canadians sharing in prayer time at the weekly meeting

Wes and Melanie doing follow up with Christian

The weekly meeting at the UTP campus. Lionzo (national director) is challenging the students to become leaders who will make the difference (for Christ) on their campus.

Week 2

Dear Blog

Its been a really incredible week down here in Panama, and I would like to start with a story from the Santiago campus.

SANTIAGO

Melanie went up to Santiago Monday (leaving at 6:30 in the morning and getting back at 11:30 at night!). When we got there we had a chance to talk to some students before heading to the cafeteria where a couple of students had follow up appointments with some students that they had shared the Gospel with. I sat down with Jason (a Canadian) and Frederico, a student who had accepted Christ the previous Thursday. Throughout the conversation Frederico kept on emphasizing that his salvation depended solely on Jesus and that Christ had forgiven him! It was so exciting to see him talk about that.

As we were talking, I noticed that two other tables filled up with Canadians and Panamanians. It turned out that they were all follow up appointments. Over our lunch time we met up with 19 Panamanians to take them through our first lesson in follow-up which is focused on CHrist being the source and assurance of our salvation! This for me is a huge miracle as follow up is always the missing link. As we spent the day on campus, several times students approached us asking when they could meet up again! It really is evidence of God at work on the campuses here!

LIFE IN PANAMA

Life in Panama has been going really well...but busier than ever. I am so thankful for my staff team as they lead the students out on campus. One of my privileges is to be able to visit each team and be a part of what they are doing. Always a highlight of my day is being able to go out with some of the Canadian and Panamanian students and share the Gospel.

I've really noticed a difference in the way things are working this year on project. SO much more when we head out to talk to students, we are going out with Panamanian students. This has been really evident in Panama City, especially on the UTP campus where the movement is really being led by the students. For me it is so exciting to know that the Panamanians have caught the vision and are taking the initiative to reach out to their campus.



So please continue to pray for us! Time is flying by so fast down here, and the project is already almost 1/2 over. A couple of prayer requests are:

- English classes - three of the teams are putting on English classes as a way to reach out to students. It is a great way to connect with new students and build relationships with them

- Spiritual Growth - One of our objectives is that the Canadian Students would grow in their personal walk with the Lord. Pray that as they give themselves to the ministry that it would be coming from the overflow of God working in their lives

- Direction - Pray that Melanie and I would continue to lead the project with Wisdom


PICTURES TO COME

Steve

Panama Week 1

Dear Blog

Its hard to believe that we’ve already been here for almost two weeks, the time is really flying by. So far things have gone great! We have an awesome team of both staff and students and we are quickly becoming a family. Some of my closest friends today are people I met when I first came to Panama 4 years ago. It really is a special time as you work side by side with others for the kingdom.

First I want to introduce you to Melanie, she is my co-director. She is from Sherbrooke, Quebec, is married and has two cats. We get along great and I’ve been really enjoying speaking French with her….it usually results in us laughing our heads off. A personal goal of mine this project is to become tri-lingual (English, Spanish and French).

The team is also great…we’re a group of 31 from across Canada (as well as Japan, Nigeria and the Bahamas). God has been great in bringing us together and we really get along well. We have divided the group into 4 teams on 3 different universities: Universidad de Panama (2 teams), Universidad Tecnologica (UTP) and Santiago.

We have just completed our first week on campus. The first few days were challenging for the students as they adjusted to sharing with people in another culture and language. But through prayer and hard work they are seeing God work through them. Already we have seen several students come to Christ and start the follow-up process.

As director I have had the chance to visit all of the teams this week. A typical day for me will be to meet with Melanie in the morning then head to campus to join a team for the day. On campus we will meet up with our staff to encourage, pray and help direct them. Then we look for opportunities to head out with the students to share. So far I have had many great conversations with the students.

THE STORY OF CARMEN

On Wednesday I went out with Julia (Canadian student from SFU) to share and we met Carmen, a 2nd year student at UTP. Carmen had gone to a school run by monks and believed in good works for Salvation. As we began sharing the Gospel we quoted John 3:16 to which she replied ‘I have heard that so many times, every day for 12 years, it’s a bit monotonous now.” As we continued sharing with her she admitted that ‘I’m envious of a Christian friend of mine, she really has a relationship with God and is joyful. That’s what I want…’

As we shared the Gospel with her, she seemed to light up as she understood what grace was, and that her sins could be forgiven. As we explained to her salvation Carmen said that the only thing that was missing was her faith. She said she wanted so much to accept the Gospel but just had no faith.

As we arranged to meet up with Carmen again I asked her if we could pray for her. She said yes and then asked if we could simply pray that she would be able to accept the Gospel. It was so apparent that she understood both the Gospel and her need for it so please join us in praying for Carmen.


Well that’s all for now. Thank you for continuing to pray for us!

Steve

Panama Project 2010

Dear Blog

I’m excited for something big this year. Throughout my preparation for Panama project God kept on reminding me of how big He is and how big his plans are. They’re not limited to any one country or person, but are for all people everywhere. Much of this reminding has come through reading the book Isaiah and prayer.

And things have definitely started out big!

ON Friday we had a lunch for involved Panamanian students to come meet the Canadian students. Overall we had 60 people, Canadian and Panamanian and were able to hear the Panamanian student’s vision and heart for their campus which reflected what our Lord’s heart is for the world. It was exciting because this is just the start and there is so much more to happen.

Our time in Panama so far has been focused on training the Canadian students for their time in Panama. It has definitely been a lot of work (up to 12 hours in a day!) but it has been enjoyable, we’ve been full of energy and we’re really looking forward to being full time on campus next week!

Take a peek to the right → to see our prayer goals for the project!

Your friend,

Steve

Do not let your heart be troubled...

Dear Blog

My heart was a bit troubled yesterday. Mostly to do with life and the big picture of things (what program to stick with? Future etc...) but it was all triggered by the little things....namely the details for Panama project.

I had written down 'International Teams Finance Conference Call - 11:30am PDT' so at 11:30 I phoned in...only to find out that my call had been at 10am, the 11:30am call was for National team members....I guess in that moment I felt a bit of inadequacy (Read: A lot of inadequacy) as director of Panama Project...and then also in life in general. I tried to get back to work but my heart was troubled....so I grabbed my Bible, headed to the ocean and spent a bit of time in prayer and was led to John 14.

Let not your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. - John 14:!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh relief.

That really answered lots of my 'bigger picture' questions...namely: What of my life? Well I just need to trust God, He's been so faithful so far, I need to trust that He will be to the end.

As I got busy about Panama work again today I still had a few lingering questions about my ability to lead the project (Note: I think this is a good thing to know that I can't lead on my own...but God will through me) Out of the blue Melanie, my co-director sends me an e-mail:

"Steve, thank you so much for taking care of that (budget issue)! You have no idea how great of a leader you are."

I think that was God reassuring me He is with me....

So only 17 more days to go...I can't wait!

Steve