As you are going....

Mark 16:15 says "Go into all the world and preach the good news to everyone." (NLT)

I was told once that the actual translation of that first word, "Go," is really "as you are going."

We're not called to keep our mouths shut until we get to our destination, we are to proclaim boldly AS WE ARE GOING.

Here are some of the things that we've been doing to share the gospel as we are in this journey that is the DTS.

We were able to go into an old folks home and paint a mural on their cafeteria wall. One of the girls in the group got a picture of the world, as God sees it. The sun, and the stars, and other celestial bodies. She felt that the picture should include the reference in John 8:12 where he says "I am the light of the world."

We were also very blessed to be able to go to a nearby village and do a 3-4 hour VBS with the children. I am constantly amazed at how open people here are to the gospel. We contacted the village and said that we wanted to come, so they invited us to just come during school hours that Friday, and instead of school we would present our program!!

We told them about who God is and how he shows his love for us through his creation.

We had a page for them to color that reminded them that God loves them.

We sang a song in their native language, Ngobera, about how Jesus is my friend. We also sang in Spanish and were able to teach some of them the English version!

It was a great chance for us to explain that God is SO big and powerful and smart that it doesn't even matter what language we talk to him in, because he understands us!

Then the kids were able to play some games. The boys made a jump rope out of an old extension cord, and we brought some twine so they could do a 3-legged race.

We all had a great time and we were glad to have been able to share this important message with them!

Reaching Out

Well ladies and gentlemen, we have a destination for outreach. Well, we have destinations.

We, as a group, have been praying long and hard about this, and this is what God has laid on our hearts. Some saw pictures, some heard words, but it's all the same to God.

We're going on a European tour.

We will be visiting:

London, England

Norway

Hamburg, Germany

Paris, France

Switzerland

Milan, Italy

Barcelona, Spain

While in these countries we feel we will be working with orphans, prostitutes, people trapped/ involved in human trafficking, and Muslims.

I can't say exactly what will be needed in the long run, because the official budget hasn't been calculated yet, but I can tell you what we need now.

Please pray.

Pray for the team. (20 people previously introduced to you)

Pray for the people that we will encounter.

Pray for divine appointments in our travels and in every day lives.

Pray for funding.

We will be doing fund raising as a team, so either everyone will go or no one will go! Ask God if you can be involved. If he allows, ask him what you can give. If you would like information on where you can send a donation directly to YWAM Panama I would be happy to supply you with the address.

Thank you in advance for your prayers. I know that the battle is already won because of people who are even now on their knees!!!

Canopy Tour

There is a resort that is about a 5 minute boat ride away from us called Red Frog Beach. (You can learn more about them here.) This is where we travel to go to the beach (mainly because they have AMAZING showers!!!!!)

On our first trip there we noticed that there is a zip line called "The Canopy Tour." Several classmates commented on how fun it looked, and how it would be cool to go. We had our host, Dale, contact the owner of the resort to see if we could get some sort of discount for having a large group and he gave us $15 off for a group of 10 or more. Mark and I both really wanted this experience so we asked if anyone would be willing to watch the kiddos while we toured the canopy :D

(THANKS MIKE AND LAUREN!!!!!)

We came home from church quickly on Sunday and prepared to head out. We arrived at Red Frog and signed our consent forms, paid and we were off.

Our guides were AMAZING!!!!!

We arrived at our starting point and began to gear up. It was uncomfortable to say the least, especially for the boys.

After getting all our stuff together and going over safety orientation we were ready for our first zip. To get to the first platform you had to climb a suspended bridge.

I don't really remember the first zip much...LOL....I had my eyes closed most of the time! But I arrived safely at the other side and walked up the hill for zip #2. Little to my knowledge the guide informed me there that this would be the last time I was on the ground for the rest of the tour!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We did zip #2 and landed on the platform, that looked like the rest of the platforms, BUT there was a 3 foot by 3 foot section cut out. Through this hole our guide was going to lower us, one by one, to the platform about 50 feet below it.

At the lower platform you could continue and just do zip lines, or you could split off and do the ropes course.

The ropes course was a series of obstacles suspended about 200 feet above ground. There was a log bridge:

a monkey swing:

a spider web:

and a suspended bridge:

I wasn't able to do the monkey swing, so I was able to just zip that line. But I was surprised at the other things that I WAS able to accomplish!!

At the top of the suspended bridge, about 150 feet above ground, we reached the highest point of our tour. We only had 3 zips to go. This next zip was longer than the others and I was really able to look around and see the forest below. It was amazing! When I landed on the platform the others that were there pointed out that You can't even see the next landing space.

One guide got on the line and made his way to the next point to be ready to receive us. it was then that we realized how long this line was. about a minute later we realized that he had FINALLY arrived at the platform!!! This zip line was .25 miles long and lasted for about 1 minute. While on it (depending on weight) you could reach speeds of up to 45 mph!!!

While coming in for my landing I apparently didn't break hard enough and I crashed into the guide who then crashed into the tree. Thankfully neither of us was really hurt. This was going to be our last zip. it was a "no hands no break" zip. All we had to do was jump and there was a little of a "free fall" and then the line would catch and swing you to the last platform. Everyone else was able to jump off any way they please, but our sweet sweet guide (notice my sarcasm) advised me that I needed to "turn around, put your toes on the edge, and just trust me." as he PUSHED me off this platform!!!

I'd like to say it was graceful and beautiful, but I felt like a duck that had been shot out of the sky!!

It WAS the most amazing experience that I've ever had, and I can't wait to do it again!

Life in Bocas del Toro

GREETINGS from Bocas del Toro!!!

Bocas del Toro is a region in Panama, but we’re not staying on the main land. We’re on the island of Bastimentos.



It’s amazing here, but it’s actually hard work!!!
We do get to see this every day:

To get anywhere we have to take a boat. We travel about 20 minutes to Isla Colon to do all grocery shopping. (Yes, that is as much of a production as it sounds!)

The house itself is BEAUTIFUL!! It’s completely run with solar power and the water supply is with rain water. If it rains you’re good on water, but that causes a problem for the batteries that operate the house not getting charged enough to power. If it’s sunny out then the solar batteries get charged, but you run the risk of getting low on water!

**PLEASE pray for sunny days and rainy nights**

Here lately it’s been beautiful (but hot), which means water supply runs short and we have to conserve more than usual. Thankfully there is a river nearby that we can wash ourselves and clothes in.



We also bring the river water up the hill in buckets so that we can have water to flush toilets.

I say all of this to let you know HOW thankful I am to be able to take a hot shower without having to turn the water off while soaping up. I am thankful for toilets that just flush. I am thankful for lights that turn on, and a computer that can be charged any time I please. I am thankful for being able to get in a car and drive where I need to and find the products that I’m used to. I’m thankful for cold pasteurized milk (ours here is off a shelf).
This entire experience has made me even more aware of how spoiled I am, and how many luxuries I really take for granted. I am SOOO thankful to God for the opportunity to experience these things firsthand!


Please continue to pray for our group. We are piecing together God’s will for our outreach phase (which will start in about 5 weeks.)

We know that these experiences that we’re having right now are only preparing us for what God has in store for us all!

Thank you SOOO much for your continued prayers, they are felt!

Talamanca, Costa Rica

On Sunday morning at 5 am we left the base in san Jose headed for Talamanca, Costa Rica. One of the families on staff at the base in Panama had recently moved from there. This was where we were to do our NIKO.

We loaded up the bus and headed out.

Because it was early and we were tired, most of us fell fast asleep. We stopped for a restroom break and one of my classmates (Mr. BLT) told me that Cooper told him that he had asked Jesus into his heart. He’s been asking question for a while, and we knew that he had all the head knowledge, but it just needed to be heart knowledge. (We also knew that Cooper does EVERYTHING on Coper time!!) So it was JUST like him to pray for salvation when HE was ready on a bus full of sleeping people with no one’s help at all!!!

Six hours later we arrived in BriBri. We got off the bus and David found a taxi (truck) driver to take us into Tallamanca (so we didn’t have to carry all our luggage on the public transport bus!) Two guys went with the luggage and the rest of us waited for about 1 ½ hours for a bus. It was about 30-45 minutes away on a 1 lane dirt/rock/gravel road. We crossed over a river a couple of times (only about 1 foot or less deep) and we FINALLY arrived at YWAM Tallamanca. It’s beautiful! This base is 1 building (upstairs are bunks and showers and downstairs is where the church meets). It’s set right in the rain forest and less than 1 mile from the river. We all went down to the river and our leader David, and Mr. BLT were able to baptize Cooper right there!!

We returned to the base and started pulling out all the stuff that we had brought for the NIKO, just to be prepared! I wish I could tell you exactly what a NIKO is, but it’s a discipleship tool that has to be discovered by the individual. I CAN tell you that I’ve never been so physically challenged in my life!!! (and that’s AFTER having 2 kids)

The week was intense. I was exhausted and thought that I was going to die most o the trip. God dealt a lot with my pride. I like to be able to prove to people that I CAN handle things that they think I can’t. I want to show that I AM strong, and that I’m NOT what you think!!

But God spoke SOOOOOO strongly to me on that Wednesday. We were hiking and it was getting dark. I was dehydrated and had already gotten really sick, so we were on our way back to the base. Where we were was very muddy and quite slick and I was shaky at best. Our leader, Alex (who is 23 years old and has done 24 NIKO’s) got out in front of the group and started to lead us back. He knew the way. He’d been down that path 1000 times. He knew that I was shaky and scared. Even before I knew that something tough was coming he had already turned around and given me his hand.

Y’all….that’s what God does with us!!! He already knows our path….he’s been UP AND DOWN it. He know before you do that something that might rattle you is coming. His hand is already outstretched. Can you give up your pride enough to take it?