Panama Ben

Proud mama moment  - please welcome my guest blogger, our son Ben's summary and insights from his mission trip to Panama.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Panama, what a trip, what an experience. As my mom said on her blog, I am “a missions trip junkie.” Therefore as soon as I heard about the sports trip to Panama I wanted in. At first it was easy to sign up, pray about it, and get excited. Then it came time for writing support letters and facebook posts asking for support through prayer and finances. Prayer is normally easy to get, yet financial support is tougher to receive. Especially considering that many supported me a year ago, giving me the opportunity to go serve and minister in the Dominican Republic.

So I sent out my letters and prayed for God’s will in regards to my participation in this trip. In the beginning I hit almost half of my support fairly easily, but then for at least a month I did not receive a penny. I got a little nervous and antsy, wondering if this trip was a part of God’s plan for me. So I continued to pray and put my trust in God’s plan. Then within a month through a couple of generous donations I hit 100% on the dot. Wow! What a blessing and literally it all came in a week or so before my parents were looking to support me and figuring out how much they could give. Boom, God provided all my financial support even before my parents could try to support me. But this is not the end of it, I received a few letters and wa-la I had over $100 in spending money! It is just humorous to think I was worried about God providing for me to go on this trip. Ye of little faith, God provides, what a blessing.

Next thing I know we are having weekly meetings for Panama.  They started as short meetings after class with brief overviews of our trip and reminders to send out support letters. Then they became hour long meetings on Mondays, with details of the trip, and laying out of everyone's role on the team. My role was to be apart of the “choreography routine,” because never ever will Word of Life endorse “dancing.”

So a few days before the trip we received our shirts, gear, evangelism tools, etc. Then after lunch on Thursday we turned in our packed bags and took our last test. Then at 3:30 am Friday morning we hopped in our Trailway bus on our way to JFK, where we then flew to Miami and finally  on to Panama City. We arrived in Panama around midnight and drove to the Word of Life property to sleep, and then the trip began.

Right away we got into the thick of ministry. Everyday started with quiet time, when we could dig into God’s word and talk with Him through prayer in order to get our hearts right. Then we would eat breakfast and pack up the bus for a full day of ministry. 

Just about everyday in the morning we would go to a either an orphanage or typically an elementary school, where the kids typically wore uniforms. We would then set up the puppets and get in costume for our “choreographed dance.” My costume consisted of: long, blue cargo capris; a brightly colored, light blue polo, with a brightly colored red hoodie vest over the top it; and bright yellow, knee high socks. Then to top it off, I picked out my hair, wore a visor, put up my hood, wore trippy glasses, and had a black tooth (made by putting eye liner on my tooth), not to mention make up with freckles. 

Our presentations normally consisted of a juggling clown starting us off, followed by at least three songs by our choreography team. Followed by the puppets who sang a song and the story of the Good Samaritan, and then we would sing “How Great is Our God,” the chorus in Spanish. The gospel would then be presented with the help of the wordless book and we ended by handing out wordless bracelets to the kids.

Next we would go back to the Word of Life property to eat lunch and swim in the pool as a part of what you could call a siesta. On occasion we would go to the beach for lunch and try our best to get tan, however most just got red.  Close enough I guess. If we ate lunch on property we would then help do some chores around the property until we would play soccer around 3 or 4. 

Depending on the day we would have either a club or school team come to our property or we would travel to their field. Each game was a full length game, mostly without refs depending on the game. Then at the end of each game one player from our team would share their testimony and then the director of Word of Life Panama would give the gospel and an invitation for salvation. 

After a day full of ministry we would return to the property for dinner, where we were always provided with a Panamanian soda! The soda was delicious and came in glass bottles.  It was pretty classy. Then we would clean up dinner and meet together as a group to talk about the ministry of the day. This was a time that we grew closer as a group as we were able to encourage each other, tell of our individual experiences, and talk about things that God has been teaching us.

Near the end of the week we got to play basketball after the meeting, which was awesome! After all the busyness it was then relaxing time, until we all took cold showers and headed to bed. This was a regular day in Panama.

Now this is all good and dandy, but you are probably wondering how I was affected and what I learned, so here it goes…In retrospect, I thought I had a good handle on missions and thought I could do it with my own strength based on my previous experiences. Yet after each missions trip I always feel weak and realize it is by God’s grace that I can be used for His work. 

Each missions trip is different and each one brings new challenges. The challenge for me on this trip was trying to prove myself. I mean this in the least arrogant way, but generally I have a solid reputation and have heard lots of compliments from my participation on previous missions trips. Therefore I felt and realized that I was trying to impress the team leaders and the team. How foolish! It is God who worked through me in the past trips, so why would I try to impress others with “my achievements”?  God really convicted me to that I need to point the glory to God and not seek the applause and approval of others. As well as trusting in God for strength, where I can be used more effectively?

Another lesson God taught me on this trip was leadership. I was not in a leadership position, but through the leadership of the team leaders and the leadership of the missionaries we worked with, I learned a lot. In Panama, Word of Life is very understaffed and is in desperate need of young workers to continue the work into the future. Yet the director and his wife never seemed to show worry about the current state of their ministry. Rather they were casting a vision for future ministry and being proactive in looking for new ways to reach the Panamanian people. How cool is that? They have put their full faith in God to provide for their current ministry and are striving to be used in bigger ministry in the future. That is true leadership, trusting God with your ministry and laying down a vision to lead your team into the future.

Lastly, I learned from the leaders of our trip, Matt and Micah Melville. They challenged me as a man and in my leadership throughout my life. One night Matt called us all out about shaving and how we need to pay attention to the little things. As Jesus talked about in Luke 16, regarding the shrewd manager, and said, “Whoever can be trusted with little can also be trusted with much.”  I was convicted about my faithfulness to the small responsibilities I often neglect. How can I expect to be used by God with big things if I am not faithful to the small things He has given me?

This next picture is of a cross that sits on top of one of the mountains we hiked up.  When we got there we could carve our name on the cross.  To be there forever.  It was really cool.

Thank you all so much for your support!! God is good and I am so blessed to have gone to Panama on my fourth missions trip. The global church is alive and well. Our Lord desires to use us for His purposes, we just need to be willing and open to Him. God does not require the talented, rather He just requires a willing and open heart. The workers are few, but the harvest is plenty. 

Thank you for providing for me to go to minister in Panama and be involved in God’s work there!! I learned so much and have memories I will never forget. I learned and experienced so much and just wanted to give you a taste of what you allowed me to participate in. God bless you!