Canal Land: Panama

I have loved being in Panama and we have been incredibly blessed to stay in two places (church floor and then a centre with beds – hurrah!) on the edge of the canal close to Panama City.  Our first week was pretty busy and quite intense at times.  One evening we went to pray at the local cancer hospital and myself and Roberta and Rose on my team walked into a room where sadly a young man’s father had literally just died (his body was still uncovered) so we simply sat with Paulo, the young man and hugged and prayed for him and his family.  Paulo seemed very touched by this divine appointment as were we.

We visited the worst ‘block’ in the city and it felt like a prison to me and certainly a lot worse than anywhere I’ve visited in the UK.  We played with the children and prayed for people.  One lady had not been able to walk unaided for a year due to having TB (confirmed by her family) and moved round in a wheelchair.  After praying for her, a miracle happened and she was able to stand up and walk!!  When we offered her the wheelchair to rest in after she had walked round the building, she refused and just kept walking!  This young mother will be able to now take care of her children more easily and the community was in a good shock when we left!  Praise God!

One of my highlights was visiting an indigenous community on an island only reachable by boat, close to the church in Gamboa where we were staying and working with.  We prayed for lots of people and I was able to teach from the story of Elisha and the widow from the Old Testament (with an interpreter!)  We also spent time at a childrens home, some of whom are HIV positive.  The home which is run by nuns felt very safe and caring and has the reputation for being the best in Panama so it was great to see good practice at work! 

I spent some time babysitting Zoe, our team leaders two year old who is adorable and so bright.  This helped release her parents, Jesse and Tanya to spend time at the port of Colon working out how to ship our vehicles to Colombia.  We are incredibly grateful to the anonymous donor who gave us $12,000 to pay for the shipment as none of us have that kind of money! Today the paperwork has been finalised for our vehicles to be shipped to Colombia to arrive in time for Christmas and we are in the process of booking flights.    

Panama is famous for its canal and I have loved learning about the history (paid a visit to the Discovery Centre) and Panamanians are obviously very proud of the canal and are in the process of building a third part for it to take bigger ships.    I feel so privileged to have worked with such a great team from Youth with a Mission as well as vibrant local churches during this time.  It has been a great end to our time in Central America.

It will be strange not being in England for Christmas and not being able to see friends and family.  I have already had many moments of missing the build up to Christmas but very glad for the invention of skype!  God bless you all this Christmas and may you experience God’s peace and love as you celebrate the birth of Jesus with friends and family Lizxx.

The land of sunshine and sea: Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a beautiful country and I can see why over 1.5 million  people visit every year (although I did also witness the occasional tacky Christmas decorations and lights!!).  Much of our few days in Costa Rica was spent resting and taking some time out on the coast.  We got to park up on the beach and stay for free (us girls even dug our own latrine!) although three of my friends had quite a lot of their belongings stolen right from under our noses so we got to know the local police well.  My favourite night was sleeping under the stars on the sand with some of my favourite team mates…simply stunning!

We did some random acts of kindness – mine was giving a chocolate bar with a note saying how special she was to God to a waitress called Alexandra who looked so down and harassed by customers.  I loved seeing the complete transformation in her face when she gave me a huge smile!  (She in turn then let me sit at the restaurant table for ages using the free wifi without eating anything!)

The most memorable day for me was returning to Playa Avellanas where I had been a month earlier remembering Dianne’s daughter in law, Rhiannon who drowned at sea.  I never thought that I would return but when I realised how close by we were staying, I felt that it was right to return and pray for the family.  It was also really helpful for me to go back and it allowed my friends and fellow team members to share in some of my experiences.

Before we went to the beach a number of us felt that God wanted us to meet and pray for Johan, the local teenager who had saved Dianne’s grandson Julian.  So when we got to the beach I looked round and could not see him so I went for a walk and felt God say ‘I’ll bring Johan to you’.  My response to that was ‘how are you going to do that?’  (oh me of little faith!)  I carried on walking and praying and then when I got back to our spot I went and spoke to a couple of local teenagers who knew Johan and said he might be security on the car park.  Johan was not working that day but Dennis was and when I explained to Dennis why we were at the beach, he said ‘give me 15 minutes’. 

About 15 minutes later Johan appeared on the beach! (having been contacted by Dennis)– I gave him a big hug before realising that of course he did not have a clue who I was until I explained myself…thankfully he did not think I was a complete nutcase and seemed very touched that we had wanted to meet and pray for him!  Johan said that he had not slept well in the first few weeks since the incident so we prayed that he would have peaceful sleep from now on and brought him a drink.  We also listened to him recount his experience and we realised that he is an even bigger hero than I thought as he actually saw Rhiannon and Julian in trouble from the restaurant on the beach and went in after them.  Johan also shared that he lost his own mother when he was about the same age as Julian.  Truly a remarkable story in every way and a very remarkable young man. 

Next stop: Panama, our last country in Central America.