The Word is a Lamp and a Light

Love the Word. Learn the Word. Live the Word.

"The Word is a Lamp and a Light"

Discussion Guide

1-15-2012

1.            Text for Today's Lesson - Psalm:119:105 

2.            Today's lesson concerns the importance of God's word.  It seems like many of us have lost  our regard for the word of God.  Today's Christians are becoming increasingly illiterate in biblical knowledge.  Somehow we have pushed the value of the bible off to the side in our lives.  God's word tells us that it is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path.  We need to regain our fervor  and passion for learning the word of God so that we will enjoy all the fruit that it has to offer.

Questions for Discussion

A.            What are four purposes that God's for the word  in the lives of Christians?

B.            What are three things that God requires of you?

C.            Why are these three things important for us to follow in today's culture?

D.            How does a light and a lamp affect our lives?

E.            What is scripture useful for?

F.            What is important about having the right equipment for a job.

G.           What are some ways to convey the word of God?

H.            What are the identifiers of Crazy Faith?

Micah 6:8                                             Psalm 119:105

Ephesians 2:8,9                                 2Tim 3:16-17

Matthew 22:34                                 Col 3:16

Matthew 28:19                                 Deuteronomy 6:1-9

Matthew 22:29

John 14:27                                                          

Facebook, Twitter and all the other things going on.

Social Media is changing the world. We first set out on this blog to chronicle all the things going on in ministry at Davis Park. We were able to stick for a while but then like all other things the glitter and the sparkle wore off.  We have not responded in a large fashion to any disaster in the past few years although we have helped on local incidents many times.  I want to embrace getting more messages out to everyone over the next few months and will attempt to keep all informed of what is happening at Davis Park.  You can follow me on twitter @buddygray or friend me on face book, Buddy Gray and I am on Linked in also.  Lets stay connected!

Alabama Tornadoes Response

Praying for the people of Alabama and other states that have been affected by the tornadoes.  Churches of Christ Disaster Response Team is making plans to deploy. Their information can be found here.www.churchesofchristdrt.org.  We are praying for God's direction for our response.

A Word from the team in Panama

GPS Enabled

Wayne, Jason, and I arrived safely in Panama last Monday afternoon with all of our luggage!  After being on a plane all night and half of the next day, we were ready to get a bite to eat and a refreshing shower.  We were delightfully surprised to find our friend Edwin Garcia waiting for us at the custom’s exit with a big smile on his face.  He invited us to lunch at the restaurant his wife Lesbi managers, the Wakki.  After lunch he invited us to follow him to his office where he wanted to introduce us to a friend.  Because we were pretty grungy from our flight, we were a light tired and reluctant, but no harm can come from meeting one friend, right? After arriving at the new office building for the national Panamanian department of sports, we followed Edwin into a cool air conditioned environment filled with power suits!  Edwin toured us around to all the department heads and introduced us as the English teachers from California.  Soon he had everyone assembled in a large meeting room, put four chairs up front, invited us to sit, gave an introductory presentation to his employees, then turned around asked us if we had anything to add…  Needless to say, we returned the next day in kakis, polos, and freshly showered!

As the deputy to the Head of Human Resources for the Presidential Sports cabinet, Edwin has given us access to air conditioned conference rooms, any supplies we need, and so far about 85 students.  So far our schedule is to get up, shower, grab a quick breakfast and drive to the government office to begin teaching by 9am.  Our morning classes run until noon, then we pack up and drive to Edwin’s private pre-school and teach a class from 1 to 2pm.  Next we drive down to Brisas, grab a quick lunch, then off into the mass of traffic to run down a stapler, extra shirts, or any other supplies we needed.  This gives us time to push through the traffic just in time to return to the school to teach classes from 5pm to about 11pm.  Each evening Lesbi cooks us a fantastic authentic Panamanian dinner which some wolf down from 8:45 to 9:15pm or so.  All of this is a sketch of the joy we have of sitting with open Bibles discussing spiritual truths to souls that are hungry for the Word.

Now, navigation in Panama has its challenges.  Besides man eating traffic, steaming humidity, and heavily armed, “no tengo papeles” Federal Police conversations, most streets are unnamed and buildings are unnumbered.  I asked for directions our first night, so Edwin sketched a detailed map on the back of my Styrofoam plate.  We proudly drove around the next two days with our brand new, green friendly GPS, our Garcia Plate Sketch which we quickly dubbed the “plate of power!”  Service in Panama is not all fun and games.  After teaching relentlessly for hours on end, Jason and I discovered our teammate Wayne quietly hobnobbing with Edwin and another department head in his personal break room scarfing down coffee and fresh bread with garlic butter.  Et tu Brute??  Wayne has become known in the office as “Senor Jefe,” the Big Boss!!  Jason is on the mend after poking his finger with his knife and I have found my bilingual Bible to be the perfect pillow while catching a quick nap on the cool tile floor before an afternoon class.  Delores Leonard is doing well and had been a delightful host.  She sends her warmest greetings to all and declares her house as “open to all.”

Each trip to Panama reminds us clearly how important it is to have a GPS, God’s Planned Service.  While we lay out a basic plan, each time God clearly has something even better in mind.  We are being blessed with the opportunity to continuing building existing relationships and to make new ones.  This trip we continue to hold community classes at Edwin’s preschool as we added a morning schedule at a large government office complex.  We constantly experience respect and interest for how we are serving and Who we are talking about.  Yesterday we were given contact information to follow up on as one of the largest retailers in Panama has expressed an interested in hosting more of our classes in the future.  We are planning an interest meeting next week to see what God has in mind.  Tonight we are hosting the movie “Fireproof” for our students and the community around the school, Castle Kids.  Sunday morning we will be having a Bible study and time of worship for all that we have invited, please pray for the bridge building and harvest that God desires.

We continue to ask for your prayers for our guidance and stamina and we explore each avenue that is placed before us.

Mike

BASIC TRUTH.

Celebrate Recovery

One of the most exciting ministries that we have launched in a long time is CR-28.  CR- 28 is about overcoming the hurts, habits and hang-ups that have come your way as you live out life.  No one is immune from Hurts, Habits and Hang-ups.  H 3's come in all sizes and shapes.  They hit you when you least expect it and sometimes originate from events that occurred many years in the past.  Come and join us on the road to recovery.

Another Day in Paradise (Panama) -- Mike Crowley's post

Another Day in Paradise

This trip, like most so far has been a flurry of activity.  Our classes are scheduled from 2pm until 10pm, with the last class typically going until about 10:30 or later.  Once again God is doing what He does best, He aligns us each with our students in a stunning way, matching our talents and approaches with the students that need each particular approach.

Our mornings are generally busy with errands to run, grocery shopping lists to fill, and meetings with various potential contacts.  We continue to be amazed at the possibilities for the Gospel here in Panama.  We have had conversation with a director of a local radio program, a new local missionary working in Brisas, and one of our students is setting up a potential meeting with the head of human resources at the international airport.  As always, we are waiting on God to move these potential projects forward.

We are also beginning to see plans form for our next trip in January.  As the next trip will be in the dry season, we have the possibility to not only continue with the English classes, but we would be able to serve the community in some simple restoration and repair projects around Edwin’s school, Castle Kids, and the nearby neighborhood.  Edwin pointed out a neighborhood in the vicinity that is impoverished and could benefit from even the simplest gestures of kindness.

Each day we have been building new relationships in the Word.   One reader told us last week that this course changed his life.  When we asked why, he said, “Because I have been changed by the Word of God.”  Another reader said that she was so grateful that we were bringing what Panama needed most, God’s Word.

Last night was an experiment.  Brent and Terry were talking about a new way to make contacts at the same time that one of our readers was talking about his favorite movie.  So… we got together a laptop, computer projector, extra speakers, and a copy of the movie “Fireproof.”  We played the movie in English with Spanish subtitles as a way for our students to practice their English.  A short message from the Word was given before the movie, and an application message was shared afterwards.  It was amazing!  We saw a real sense of community, a longing for authentic relationship, and an openness to Jesus last night.  We were moved to be part of such a moment.  It was so meaningful to see our hosts holding hands and smiling at each other with tears in their eyes… good stuff!  We are definitely planning on building on this for our next trip.  One of our readers brought a friend last night that was broken by the message, Barbara was able to comfort her and invite her to come to see us this week.  Please pray for the continuing conversations this week.

We have also had some new experiences this trip.  Saturday we were able to visit El Valle.  Brent, Patti, and I took advantage of a canopy tour, where we got to fly through the jungle on four different zip lines, one about 180 feet above a waterfall.  Wahoo !!!  We finished up the day at Coronado beach, where the water temperature was balmy.  We stayed in the surf throwing a Frisbee around watching the beautiful sunset, staying in for another hour, watching the full moon sparkle on the water and the volcanic sand.  God has done so many beautiful things! 

Today we begin our second week.  We would appreciate your prayers for the stamina and energy to continue the pace that we have set.  We continue to be amazed at God’s blessings and leading.

Another Post from Terry Hoffman from Panama

July 24, 2010

As we approach the end of our first week, the routine of planning to have time each morning to relax, reflect and share devotional time together has proven to be nearly impossible.  Something seems to come up every day.  The last two mornings the team has been split to go in separate directions.  Yesterday Mike and Brent visited the University and met with a new local missionary, while Barbara, Patty and I went to Old Panama. Today Mike and the ladies went to a birthday party complete with a clown (who happens to be one of our readers), while I took Delores’s van to have the window repaired. 

It is important to note that while our plans seem to be somewhat unstable, they all seem to pivot around two key individuals, Edwin Garcia and Norberto Lasso.  Both men have never hesitated to give of themselves when we are in need.  None of us would even be here without Edwin and his family. His tireless work ethic and desire to serve is admirable.  It almost seems like he can read our thoughts just by watching our body language and actions because he is always one step ahead of everyone (except his wife)!!

Norberto and his family continue to provide lodging, fellowship and be our Garmin GPS when we venture out of the normal commute.  His mother washes our clothes and shares a bedroom with her son and granddaughter so Mike and I can have her room and shower.

If we recall nothing else on this trip, we should all remember the sacrifices and hospitality of these wonderful friends.

Our readers are humble, dedicated, fun loving and eager to learn.  We hear statements and thoughts from them every day that should be compiled into a book.  My favorite yesterday was from Yasmir.  When I asked him why the devil tempted Jesus in the desert he said, “because it was his job.”

Although serving the Lord is not my job now, my hope and prayer is that when I return home I will be one step closer to making it my job.

We are looking forward to the weekend and another week of being immersed in the wonder of God.

News from Panama, Friday July 23, 2010

Brent Cowan writes:

In the short time that we’ve been here in Panamá so much has happened!  There is no doubt that God is blessing our work here.  With every new person met there are new doors open and countless opportunities.  We’ve found ourselves on several occasions wondering where God is going to lead us next.  With so many choices to be made we are overjoyed that God is leading us and making the way clear.  With over 70 students enrolled in our classes we have made some great connections with our new friends.  We’re all enjoying working towards spreading the word of God here in Panamá and are on the look out as to where God is going to lead us next.

Terry Hoffman writes:

July 19, 2010

I have to say it is wonderful returning to Panama.  I feel at home here as always, and coming with the team from Davis Park solidifies my belief that somehow God wants me here.  We miss our church family from Modesto and our relationship with Christ has taken a detour since our relocation to Mississippi. We thought that the mission trips and ties to Davis Park were only going to be fond memories.  Taylor and I attend a church in Oxford MS, who actually sent a youth group to Panama two weeks ago.  The youth minister wanted us to travel to Panama with them, however we had other commitments.  When Mike called and asked again if I would accompany the Davis Park team I felt the strong urge to make the trip.  I miss Taylor tremendously and wish she was here with me to share the experience, however I am confident two weeks of the miracles we see, and the satisfaction of doing God’s work will help me to renew my commitment to Jesus. 

I am very surprised at how the children we see each trip have grown. Alberto and Manuel are young men now, dedicated to the service of the Lord due to the perserverance of their uncle Norberto and the dedication of Walter. I shudder at the thought of how different their lives would be without Walters intervention.  

Edwin’s daughter Alexa was one of my beginner students two years ago.  She is in middle school and a sweet kid who will make Edwin very proud.  I have no doubt she could conduct her own reading session.  Her older brother actually read with two students today when we were short on workers.

Another pleasant surprise is Edwin.  The last two years of conversing with Mike has made him more fluent in English that we are in Spanish. I am amazed at the energy and enthusiasim this man posseses and am confident that God has big plans for him.

Our team meshes well as we are all hard workers and understand our purpose and mission.  Barbara has the toughest assignment with three basic classes, one of which has 25 students!!  Mike continues to strengthen the bonds with all his returning readers.  Most only want to read with him because he has made such a difference in all their lives. Brent uses his quick wit and fluency in Spanish to entertain readers , us and anyone else he meets.  Patty seems to connect with everyone on a personal level.  Her complete organization makes up for the lack of it on my part.  She is prepared for anything and everything, except the giant bugs that seem to appear at each meal.

As we progress through the week, we all pray that the Lord will capitalize on our strengths, and help us to overcome each and every weakness.  That the seeds we plant today will grow, bloom, and bear fruit for many years to come.  We thank you Lord for making all things possible and helping us to make a difference, one person at a time.

Jigours Uganda Trip

David and Megan's Uganda Trip

06.20.10

Island visit, Bible distribution, and 1 year anniversary!

Posted in Uncategorized at 6:12 am by Administrator

We have been very busy the last week and a half since our last update. Because we have done so much, since we last posted, we are just going to give an overview of the ministry we have been doing, as well as include a few highlights of the week.

Our schedule for the last week and a half or so has been as follows:

Jinja Preperatory School at 7:20 am every weekday morning. We are enjoying working with this school very much. The head teacher attends Divine Love Church and the students are very attentive and well behaved. Our mornings with them began by the children singing several songs for us in an assembly type setting. We then have about 40 minutes to share a Bible story with them as well as teach them a song or two. On Friday we went back in the afternoon and had a game day with them. Morgan and Megan organized a relay race for the children. It included dribbling a soccer ball across the field to their teamates, then jump roping across the field to the other side, and finally tossing a frisbee to the children on their team who were waiting on the side. The children enjoyed these activities very much. Although it was confusing and chaotic, we had a fun time.

In the afternoon on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays we go to Saint John Secondary School and speak to their Scripture Union Bible club.

Tuesday and Thursdays we go to Wanyange Progressive Secondary School and speak to their Scripture Union club.

Wednesdays we have a home cell group in Nakonyonyi (up the hill from where we are staying). Fridays we have a home cell group in Kikuku ( a small village about 10 miles from where we are staying)

Every evening we have devotions with the children at the home. We have been taking turns leading the devotions. Several times a week we will lead them, and then the children lead devotions a few times a week. We have really been enjoying this time in the evening where we can come together and spend time in God’s word. We have really been inspired by the childrens’ eagerness to participate in devotions. The devotion time is not mandatory, but still more than half of the children attend every evening.

Saturdays have been spent spending time playing with the kids and going into town for errands.

Sundays we have been spending at church and spending time with the kids either playing, or helping with school work etc.

Highlights from the week:

On Monday we were able to go to Kampala to purchase Bibles. We were amazed at how difficult it was to purchase a large quantity of Bibles. Kampala is the largest city in Uganda as well as the capital and even in Kampala, Bibles are hard to come by. After driving for about 3 hours and asking for directions we finally made it to the Bible Society. When we arrived at the Bible Society we were told that they did not have any more Luganda Bibles! Fortunately for us, I had emailed a lady who works there prior to us leaving the states and asked for her to reserve 100 Luganda Bibles for us. The lady I had been comunicated through email was in Kenya so they had to use Skype to communicate with her and figure out where she had placed the Bibles we had requested. After a long while they figured it out. They told us that the hundred Bibles were the last ones in the wharehouse! We could not believe that!

This is evidence of a huge need for Bibles in Uganda. Because Bibles are so expensive in Uganda people generally do not buy Bibles for themselves, so it is very difficult for the development of spiritual maturity. We are really starting to understand the need for Bibles here as everywhere we go people are without Bibles.

We also purchased English Bibles and were able to start giving them out to the children at the orphan home. We are including a session on how to study the Bible and begin a reading plan with the children as part of their evening devotions. We will be handing out the Luganda Bibles to members of the church when they come to a Bible discipleship class on Tuesdays and Saturdays that we will begin this week.

We went to Lingira Island on Thursday morning and returned Friday afternoon. We were able to help purchase mosquito nets and blankets for the children on the island as well as give an English and Luganda Bible to each of the homes of the widows caring for the children.We gave a proclaimer to the headmaster of the primary school who is intending on using it to start listening groups in the community.

The situation on Lingira Island is devastating. The people are living in mud thatched huts with straw roofing. Over half of the Island is infected with HIV/AIDS causing a huge orphan and widow problem. Many widows are caring for ophans, sometimes 6 to 8 people are living in a one room hut. The community survives on fishing. The main source of food for the island is the fish that they can catch and they earn a small income by selling the fish to people on the mainland. The most shocking thing we saw was a twelve year old girl caring for her two younger siblings. Her mother is apparently on another island trying to make some kind of income leaving the girl behind to take care of herself and two younger children. Jane (the headmaster at the primary school and a very important figure in the community) said that the only way the girl and her siblings are surviving is that families will give them resources when they have a little to spare.

Today is our 1 year anniversay! It is great to be able to share this time together in Uganda. Yesterday we celebrated by going to the Source of the Nile and taking a boat ride around the river. We went into Jinja and had lunch and did some shopping in the craft shops. We certainly had an adventure figuring out public transportation, but everything worked out fine and we made it to and from Jinja safely.

We will have much more to say when we return home.We are keeping an audio journal of every day’s events and are taking many photos. Because internet is slow and time consuming we will have to wait until we return home to share many of the details of what is going on.

Until next time Mukama akuwe omukisa (God bless you).

-David and Megan

Sin and Satn

Declare war on sin . . .   Satan is active and working in so many lives around us.   The last few days brokenness has come my way in many different forms, yet it all has the same root.   Addictions to porn, money, things abound.  Vows forgotten, marriages coming undone.  

God be with us and help us overcome the fleshly desires that cry out to us in the world. Father these things are shattering trust of husbands and wives. Father help us confess our wrongs and seek viable solutions to our struggles and our problems.

in Jesus's most Holy name,

Amen

Panama Team Returns

The Panamanics returned without major incident with only one team member suffering from a self inflicted bruise.  It was good to see my fellow workers in the gospel at Services on Sunday morning. They appeared exhausted from the trip, yet empowered and enthusiastic about the work that they had been doing. Thank you God for the 80 students who heard your word spoken clearly.  Thank you lord for bringing home my brothers and sisters, safe and sound.

Paanama Pics 3-25-2010

What did you say?

Edwin, the fish was this big!

MORE PICS FROM PANAMA

News from Mike and the Mission Team

Wow # 3 From Mike Crowley

Our time in Panama is drawing to a close.  We are already experiencing a little separation anxiety.  It is amazing the kind of friendships that are forged when you spend invaluable time together each day struggling to communicate the timeless Gospel message.  We continue to be amazed at how readily the Panamanians we meet here are ready to open their hearts to us.  Jack and I are staying with Norberto Lasso and his family.  They were eager to give us the master bedroom, complete with two beds for us to rest comfortably.  After a few days we realized that Norberto, his mother, his niece, and two nephews are staying the remaining two rooms.  I am confident that Norberto and the boys are not sleeping on any beds so we can be more comfortable. 

We discovered the ultimate car freshener during our stay.  A few days ago we bought some fresh fruit at the outdoor market, and then hurried to the school to begin our teaching routine.  Thus a fresh watermelon, three pineapples, a mango, bananas, cantaloupe, and a papaya stayed out in our black car in the tropical heat in direct sunlight for the entire afternoon.  The car smelled fabulous when we got in it that night!

We had a running debate that was finally settled last night.  We have been reading Matthew chapter three and talking about how John the Baptist ate locusts and wild honey.  For some reason, my readers in the late afternoon starting telling me that locusts were creatures that lived underwater.  I had to work to get them to understand that a locust was more like a really big grasshopper.  Why were my last few readers suddenly thinking that a locust lived underwater?  After a bit of research I discovered that Jack was “helping” my readers in the lobby before they were coming into my classroom!  Well…we definitely had words!  After much laughter and teasing, we discovered that in Panama the same Spanish word is used for locust and lobster!  So… I had to apologize to Jack for all the harsh things I said ;-)  Actually, the team has been doing a great job of “smelling like Christ” so we could be helpful attracting others to Christ.

Jack has a reader that works for the Panama Canal Commission.  He has been having a great time engaging in some pretty serious conversations about life and spirituality.  Veronica has been reading with Janice, Juan Carlos’ wife, and leaving energized about the things they share together, in spite of the fact they are meeting from 9:30 to 11pm!

So now we all have new Panamanian nicknames.  Edwin calls Jack, “Panama Jack!”  He likes to call me “Captain Jack Sparrow,” Christine is “Tinkerbell” because she is so friendly and energetic.  Edwin has nicknamed Andrea “Little Lynn” because she has a mountain of basic readers like Lynn had last time, and Veronica is known simply as “Vanna.”  Now we call Jack, “Jack Potter,” I’ll have to explain that one to you later; it has to do with a newly discovered superpower and a new beauty mark…

Christine has an amazing gift.  She has a brilliant smile and a charming personality.  We have used her gracious spirit to assist our efforts in many ways.  She greets everyone in the lobby as they come in, making them feel relaxed and comfortable.  To demonstrate how gifted she is, let me give you this one simple example.  We have been back to the car rental place a time or two due to difficulties with our vehicle.  Our RAV4 is a little cramped so I asked for an upgrade to a slightly larger vehicle, like a seven-passenger Nissan Pathfinder.  I was told the first time that I could only have the small upgrade for fee.  After the battery died in our RAV4, we took it back to the airport.  They insisted that I fill it up first, then bring it in and they gave me another RAV4, this one black and more prone to heat during the day!  I thought my plight would surely get me a free upgrade.  NOPE !  We went back last Friday to see about renting a 7 passenger minivan so Edwin could be our tour guide.  This time I brought Vanna and Tink with me.  While I was asking one agent about the problem I was having with the internet registration for the minivan, Christine was looking into Carlos’ eyes and smiling, often.  While my agent could not find my registration in the system, couldn’t find any record of my name at all, Christine’s new friend gave us a free upgrade to a diesel powered twelve-passenger van for slightly more than our RAv4 was in the first place!  When I returned the van late Saturday night, I was recognized immediately as Mr. Crowley, the one with the two girls!  Ugh….

Next we went to the fruit stand to get fresh fruit.  After Vanna and Tink starting asking for help (I was standing off to the side only grunting occasionally and holding my wallet.) the owner starting digging fruit out from under the table, from his “private stock.”  Needless to say we got really good fruit and a great price and even had it carried to our car…  Double Ugh…  I’m thinking I’ve got to start working on my smile ?!

We had the opportunity to watch God protect and rescue one of our precious readers, I’ll have to tell you that one next time…

News from the Mission Team

news from Christine  . . . . . . Sun, March 21, 2010 6:55:29 PM

I am soooooo tired!!!!!!

 It is the end of the day on Sunday. We went to church this morning, at Iglesia de Cristo and then we went to the big mall.  It was nice but I am not in much of a shopping mood because I am sooo tired, you heard me right :)))) Not in the mood to shop!!!  That’s not why I came here anyway. 

Yesterday we had a very long day.  We went to Porto Bello, Colon, Coronado and to El Valle.  If you look it up you will see that is was a very long day.  We left at 7:30am and got home at 11:30pm.  Although, I did put my feet in the Atlantic ocean and the Pacific on the same day.  Portobello was cool.... such history! And Coronado was beautiful.  The beach sand is black because it is lava.  Oh and when we were at the Atlantic (I can now say I have been to the Caribbean) it started raining and it was sooo warm. The waves were rolling in and it reminded me of just how AWESOME our God is !!

It is so interesting to see the difference in the way people live.  The flowers here are beautiful and huge!!!!! The only thing is, there is a lot of trash everywhere in the city.  I find that a bit sad since it is so beautiful here.  Today on the way back to Brisas we went through the city and saw old Panama and the ruins that are still there. 

Oh yeah!! I saw my very first fire fly in El Valle!! It was beautiful!  We also saw hot springs in el Valle.

Veronica and I bought some special mud for our faces at the hot springs that is only found in Lakewood, Colorado for quite a price.  We paid $2 !!! 

The people here are so nice and I am really starting to feel a lot more comfortable in my classes.  It’s so interesting how God works and how if you just let go and let God it really does work out. I feel so inadequate, mostly because I am not a teacher but it is His entire plan and I am leaving it up to Him and just doing the best I can. 

Christine

Panamanians!    J    2010         3/19        

“Chocolate Chips”

For some reason I awoke with this strange, unexplainable amount of energy. Yeah right! That won’t be happening anytime soon! But I did wake up with the excitement, or I should say, the rush of trying to find flour, and chocolate chips!

Today is Jack’s Birthday!! It is a wonderful thing when you are on a trip out of country and someone has a Birthday! It gives you a kind of energy when you get to celebrate something. Especially when it is someone special like Jack!

I awoke to the rush of, “Oh dear, there is no flour for the gravy!” Or, “My goodness there is nothing for the Biscuits!” and the final, which I searched for myself, “I NEED CHOCOLATE CHIPS!!” So I was sent to search the kitchen for chocolate chips to put in the pancakes to make a special breakfast for Jack.

I discovered something very fundamental when you are going to prepare a meal; you have to have the whole “prepare” part somewhere in your plan. But seeing as we were told just the night before that Jack’s Birthday was today, we did alright. Veronica was a whiz, as always, when trying to prepare an “on the fly” special breakfast meal. But you really should have seen the special candle we got for Jack’s Birthday pancake. (It was a real “hot” one.)

It was a wonderful, amazing, perfect, match. Yup, a match. The one’s where you use them to go “whoosh!” and light a fire! It took several tries to actually keep the thing lit. Unfortunately though, it decided to go out just as it was set before Jack at the table, and at that point we just gave up, and had him just pretend to blow it out, and sang Happy Birthday.

Today was our last day with the Preschool kids. It feels really sad that I won’t see my little Shaun, but it’s been difficult to fully rest and have our mornings when you have to head over and prepare for class. I have come to really love those kids! 

Nothing extraordinarily exciting has happened, but I have had some great conversations with some of my students. (Besides discussing fruit!) I have really been enjoying my stay here! Please continue to pray for us as we try to let God guide us on this crazy trip, one Panamanian step at a time.

Love you all! 

God Bless!

~ Andrea

P.S. By the way, I did find the chocolate chips; I didn’t want to leave you on tenterhooks! 

Updates from Panama . . . . .

An update from Mike. . . . . . . . . .

WOW  !!

We are having an amazing time seeing God work on the hearts of people.  Every day brings a new humbling experience.  We are helping people practice their English by using the Bible.  People here are open to new friendships and find the Bible very interesting.  In fact, the Panamanians that we meet believe in God, fervently believe that the Bible is His Word, and typically have no idea what it says.  These factors plus an eager desire to learn more English creates a beautiful opportunity to talk about Jesus. 

It has been unseasonably hot. We are melting as we swelter in our classrooms, waiting anxiously for the sun to set and our air conditioners to catch up with the humid heat.  It may sound like we are really suffering when in fact we are having a wonderful time.  We are constantly laughing, learning new fascinating things, and enjoying a front row seat to God’s miraculous work.  Yesterday a family came into the lobby of Edwin Garcia’s preschool and starting asking questions about the school in Spanish.  I readily jumped to the rescue with my broken Spanglish and answered their questions.  Things were going very well.  I was excited about signing up a whole family for English classes when Edwin arrived just in time to prevent them signing up their preschool son for free!  Oh well… 

We are eating like kings!  Veronica is making us gourmet breakfasts and lunches and stacking some amazing sandwiches for supper, she even bought us a can of bacon flavored spam. JOY!  We scheduled Veronica with a few gaps so she would have time to make sure the rest of the team is well fed and hydrated.  Once our schedule kicks in, we literally go from student to student for hours at a time.  It’s amazing how fast time flies when you are having so much fun!

We even had our very own Panamanian “campfire!”  Andrea needed about thirty pencils for her beginners’ class, so Edwin and I ran out and bought three boxes of pencils.  I noticed that Edwin had also insisted on buying these three little tiny metal cubes with an enclosed razor blade.  I never suspected that these tiny little objects were fancy pencil sharpeners.  As soon as we got back to the school, I called the team together and we began sharpening pencils for Andrea’s class as fast as we could!

We are not only having a fantastic time laughing, exploring, and having great fun; we are also humbled to see the Spirit do amazing things through our meager effort.  Monday night I met my last reader of the day, Juan Carlos, at 10pm.  He is a newlywed of eight months to one of Veronica’s readers, Janice. He is a new manager of an auditing firm.  After we finished our first reading session of Matthew 1, he wanted to ask a personal question.  He wanted to know if the rest of the lessons these two weeks were going to be from the Bible.  It’s funny how that is the very reason why we are here and yet I felt a tremor of nervousness.  What if he is offended?  Should I “tone it down” a little…? 

I said gently, “Yes, all the lessons are from the Gospel of Matthew, the first book in the New Testament.”  

“Ah,” he said and was quiet for a moment.  That was one of the longest moments of the trip so far for me, at least as long as waiting for our lost luggage to be found!

Finally he looked up at me and began to explain the reason for his question.  He said that this is a very, very busy time of year for him and his firm, that he has no free time available.  When Edwin had invited him to take this English curse, he declined because he really did not have the time.  He and his wife did not attend last Sunday night when we scheduled everyone for a class.  However, he said Monday morning he felt such a strong urge, and nagging need to sign up that he phoned Edwin Monday morning and took the only remaining time slot available to him, 10 to 11pm.

He continued to explain how he grew up in the Catholic tradition but has no real knowledge about God.  He has wanted to learn more about the Bible, but just didn’t know how, or even where to begin.  He was stunned speechless to discover that the nudge to make the phone call to sign up was God arranging for his very need!

 I explained how we had originally planned to come in January but felt delayed by God to do some things at home in Modesto (the “To Save a Life” movie outreach event) and so we rescheduled for March.  If we had come in January, Edwin’s new school would not have been opened, we would not have met Juan Carlos, and he wouldn’t be spending two weeks studying the Bible every night!  Didn’t Jesus say if we seek we will find!  I can’t wait to show him that verse tonight! 

Juan Carlos has been so amazed at the things that he has been seeing in the Bible that he went home and talked his wife into coming also, she is reading with Veronica now!  We are going to move our schedule around to be able to study with them both from 9:30 to 11pm.  You should have seen Juan’s face when he realized that the Bible doesn’t contain the “three kings of Orient.”  He even sang part of the song and gave me their names, yet nowhere does the Bible name them, call them kings, or tell us how many there were. 

He said, “So this is just a tradition of men?”  You should have seen the excitement in his eyes!

 Please join us in praying for our readers.

Wait till I tell you about Jack and Veronica’s readers!  Have I told you about the difference between a grasshopper and a lobster?  Have you heard of Christine’s amazing gift?  Would you believe me if I told you Andrea has a new nickname?  Stay tuned…

Jack Hairston writes:

Friday, March 19, 2010

Our day begins at about seven o’clock, and continues until we sweep and mop the School before heading home to shower and collapse by midnight.

Sounds restful, doesn’t it?

Some readers come only once, which satisfies their curiosity. Others get into intense discussion of scripture and life that run over the allotted time. We have given Bibles to those who neither have nor can afford one, and have also given ten copies of People of the Park to advanced readers. Who knew that this would turn out to be an evangelistic tool? When we hand out a copy, we tell the reader, “These are true stories about real people. When you know these people, you will know there is hope for you.” Readers who have finished my story look at me differently. I hope this is a Good Thing.

Tomorrow is Turista Day. The plan is to wade in both the Atlantic and the Pacific on the same day. If all goes well, we will see historical landmarks and end the day out on the Causeway for supper, watching ships enter and leave the Panama Canal.

Andrea # 3

Panamanians   J   2010        3/17

“Another day shall commence!” cries the announcer on her megaphone at what feels like 5 in the morning! When actually it was Christine’s sweet face telling me we must get up at 8:15. But it felt like 5 in the morning!

We taught preschool after having our delicious breakfast by our wonderful cook Veronica. (Or as we have nicknamed her, Vana. If you don’t know who that is watch Wheel of Fortune.) The kids are great, full of energy but good! We then get back to Delores’s house and ate a wonderful lunch of Spaghetti and meatballs. (Notice there is no Spam! Much to the boys disappointment.) We then ran off to Edwin’s school at 2:00 where I have my first basic class. However nothing truly hilarious or exciting happened today, unless you think learning nouns, prepositions, prepositional phrases, verbs, subjects, and objects is fascinating….then have at it!

I however find this story particularly funny. I have a reader named Shamyr, she doesn’t know hardly any English. And I mean practically zero English!! So I was trying to teach her the word Bitterness, and how you can get rid of it, which is of course, with forgiveness. So I was on the ground stooped over holding the “marker of bitterness” which was basically just that I was holding a marker that represented bitterness. And I would keep holding more and more “markers of Bitterness” and asking her, “So how do you get rid of all of this bitterness?” And after a long pause….she replied with a very serious face and tone, “Well, I would add more fruit.” I just stood there for a moment thinking, “seriously she thought I was talking about the taste!?” And I had literally spent 15 minutes trying to explain bitterness, and all this time she answered with FRUIT!! I laughed!! And then tried to explain the feeling of bitterness. That was definitely the funniest story so far!

Even though I am supposed to be teaching students, they seem to be teaching me! Including how to get rid of bitterness, now this is real gold, fruit is the answer! But really I loved it and have enjoyed every minute of this trip! Please keep praying for us as we continue to try and follow God’s guidance one Panamanian step at a time!

Love you all!

God Bless!

~ Andrea

Message from Andrea # 2

Panamanians!  J  2010       3/16

Well the first day of our classes was a success! I had four Basic classes, the first at 2:00, that one was small with only three students, but still a good class! My second one at 4:00, had about nine, or ten students, that was a good one! And the third class at 6:00, had ten students, that was a great one! And the last one was at 9:00, with about four students. Then I had three regular students which were great!

I realized when I first started the first class I didn’t have all of my material! I was standing there thinking, “Oh great I’m supposed to be this great North American that doesn’t have all of her stuff together!” But then God just started dropping ideas in my brain, and we kept going.  I have one class that has a lot of younger kids in it but there are some adults in it, so it was interesting trying to balance having kids and adults but still having to teach the same simple material. But it was lots of fun! I absolutely love teaching!!!!

Link to pictures from Panama

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=195766&id=100000493866074