I'm Back

I tried to blog at work today about my trip, but the internet service was down - how do they expect me to get any personal work done? Anyway, the trip was wonderful. I'll give a short rendition of the trip and through out the rest of the week (if the internet starts working) I'll expound on some highlights.

We got to the islands on Friday, and we stayed on the island of Playon Chico. The group got there safely, but some of the luggage lagged behind - the bag with all the construction tools, and my dad's and my clothes. Not to mention that fifteen of the bags from Continental didn't make it to Panama. We worked with what we had, and everyone shared clothes for a few days. Fortunately, I put a change of clothes in my carry-on. We got some bags Sunday and the rest came Monday.

Sunday, my dad, Yanira, Igua (he's a Kuna that helped us) and I took a canoe over to Irigandi. It's a very poor village that most people don't go to. Dad started on putting a roof on the church; many of the Kunas helped, so that was a blessing. By the end of the week they finished everything they could get done. Some of the roofing material broke during shipping, so we had to order more. They'll be able to finish it themselves.

Yanira and I held Vacation Bible School for the kids. They had so much fun! We started VBS at 2 every day. A few minutes before 2, the kids would come to our hut and wait for us. One of the days after VBS, we made balloon animals for the kids. Three of us made over 200 balloon animals; it was so fun to see the smiles on their faces. By the end of our stay, the kids were starting to learn the meanings of the colors from the salvation bracelets and they were correctly answering all the questions we asked them. Praise the Lord that it sinked in!

Every night at Irigandi, the chiefs (they're like a "governor" of the island) wanted my dad to preach. One night they only gave him fifteen minutes notice - good thing he's been a preacher for a while! They wanted to know more about Jesus and why we were there. None of them accepted the Lord, but they heard the truth, so we pray it will take root. Some people came forward to accept Christ, so praise HIM for that!

We met back up with the basketball group Wednesday and left the islands Thursday morning. From what we heard from the basketball group, things went well with them. The Kunas enjoyed playing ball with them, and they were able to share testimonies and witness.

God was so faithful on the trip (as always) and I could see Him answer your prayers. Thank-you so much for praying; I know satan was fighting, but the Lord helped us stay strong.

"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." ~ 1 Corintians 15:58