Pine Cove One:8 Trips

Greetings from Texas! Our team made it back to the USA on Monday afternoon without a hitch. Our 9 days in Panama were long, rewarding, challenging, fun, tiring, and full of ministry opportunities. All of us go back into the real world remembering what God did while we were there, and also asking the Lord to teach us more about what happened in our hearts in Panama. It is always good for us to look back a few weeks after a trip and still see the lessons that God is teaching us from our experiences there.

Thank you for your prayers, support, and encouragement! Please continue to pray for Panama:

1) Continue to pray for Celso and Nina as they work together in a ministry that is effective but tough at times. Pray for encouragment and renewal as they seek the Lord.

2) The houses where we stayed during our trip are located right next to Cresta del Mar, and are a great resource for the ministry that happens there. Unfortunately, these houses are up for sale and Cresta del Mar is praying that they will be able to either purchase the houses through investors, that the sale would be put off, or that whoever purchases the property would be supportive of the ministry at Cresta del Mar. Please join us in praying these things for the camp!

3) Pray that the students and families that came through camp while we were there continue to seek the Lord and grow in their relationship with Him. The youth that attended camp during the week will have the opportunity to attend again with their families in January- please pray for receptive hearts and the leaders of the church as they prepare for this ministry!

It’s hard to believe that our trip is nearing its end! Today was our last full day of service, and we spent the bulk of it building relationships with the campers here at family camp. It was fun to hear our names shouted throughout camp as children and teenagers called us to come talk, play games, color, and spend time with them.

Debi and Dreux meeting and sharing with some teens who were at family camp by themselves.

This morning we had the opportunity to join the families for an object lesson and speaker session (which was especially interesting given our rudimentary grasp of Spanish). The activity involved two teams, each choosing a representative to be their “king.”  The king has the authority to ask for objects from his “subjects,” and they must comply within a minute. Whichever king has the most objects “wins” the activity. The speaker reminded us that, as believers, we must be willing to offer to our King whatever He calls us to give. Each team’s “king” called for gifts of shoes, backpacks, or raincoats. God calls us to sacrifice, to put other’s needs before our own, to leave our comfort zones to follow Him. Are we willing and ready to offer our lives to God?

This lesson was good for us today as we prepared ourselves to offer to God the best of our service and ministry. We did not anticipate that today’s service would involve very little “dirty work.” As we become used to washing dishes and “working,” it’s easy to forget that sometimes our service takes the form of building relationships. Today we were put in charge of planning and playing games with the children. Last night we planned relay games and group activities, and this morning we gathered everything we needed to make the games successful. When the children arrived, however, our plans were thrown out the window. The kids just wanted to play with us! Instead of organized games, they were just as happy kicking a soccer ball inside the dining hall, coloring pictures at the table, playing ping-pong, and talking in broken Spanish. As we struggled to feel “useful,” we had to remind ourselves that our usefulness in the kingdom is not based on what we do, but on relationships that are created as we serve the Lord.

Ellie made friend with Ana, the cutest little girl ever.

Tomorrow afternoon we will finish up this family camp, then head to Panama City in preparation for Monday’s departure. Thank you for your continued prayers as we finish this week strong!

Singing "Joe's Button Factory" in Spanish! Score!

Today was the last day of youth camp, and the morning was full of hugs, pictures, and of course Facebook friend requests. Our team bonded with the kids and counselors over the past couple of days, and it was a blessing for us to enjoy the unique connections that each of us had with various kids. After breakfast, we joined the kids for a closing celebration of worship songs and reflection on God’s character. The leaders challenged the kids to remember the milestones and goals they had set for their relationship with Christ and others. It was really encouraging for us to worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ, praising God and thanking Him for what He’s done over the past days.

Ellie and our new friend Fe.

In today’s team devotional time, the Hamiltons shared about the Great Commission and the Greatest Commandment. Tatyana has a special connection with missions, as she came to Christ through the ministry of an American missionary while she was living in the Ukraine. We’re all fulfilling the Great Commission while here in Panama, and it’s a blessing to be a part of the Gospel work going on here. We may not be directly witnessing to the students, but we’re spreading God’s Word through our speech and actions. And for that to take root and be an effective and authentic ministry, we must have love! Without it, all of our efforts would be only a “resounding gong or clanging cymbal” (I Cor. 13). We’ve all been learning and practicing what it looks like to love others with Christ’s love.

The whole youth group and our team. We'll miss them!

Our team enjoyed a few hours of downtime (naps! the beach!) before the next group arrived. We greeted the bus with another jumping welcome, and were glad to see it chock full of smiling faces. We were told to expect a family camp group of 40-60; the actual group is mostly kids (some younger than 11 and some teens) and some mothers. There isn’t a dad to be found in the group, which is heartbreaking and a reflection of what Robert told us earlier about these kids being from broken or dysfunctional homes. But they arrived VERY excited about camp, and it was contagious! It was great to see our team jump right into serving and building connections with them. We’re looking forward to interacting with a whole new group, sharing Christ’s love. Thanks so much for your prayers and support!

These are the awesome steps that we get to climb every day to get to and from camp.

Today was the second day of youth camp, and it was definitely a full one. Since campers arrived yesterday and leave tomorrow, today was packed to the brim with activities. The themes were discipline and teamwork. Campers started their day with a military-style 5:00 wakeup call (we were spared), and completed a series of calisthenics and exercises before breakfast. Our team was in the kitchen by 6:00 to prep an “open air” breakfast, where campers had to follow a map around camp to collect their food from various stations. It was an early morning all around, but God gave us strength to greet the kids with smiles on our faces.

Trevor is ready to serve salchichas!

After breakfast, our Pine Cove team organized a “rally” – a relay-style series of teamwork-driven events that each group attempted to complete in the shortest possible time. We really enjoyed running the events, encouraging the students’ teamwork, and joining in the general hilarity and friendly chaos.

The Bons led us in our team devotional time today, and they shared on the topic of sheep and shepherds. In a game last night, campers had to find people hidden in the pitch-black campground by listening for and following the sounds that they were making. The powerful correlation with Scripture is that we as believers must listen to and follow our Good Shepherd.

Ezekiel 34:11 promises that the Sovereign Lord will search for, find, and rescue his sheep, meeting their every need. God himself tends to us, taking care of the needy. On the other hand, the Lord also promises to deal with the fat and prideful sheep by “feeding them justice”. What a great reminder of how much we need Jesus, who accepted the punishment and justice that we as straying sheep deserve, and calls us each by name (John 10).

The campers wrapped up the day with praise and worship, followed by a crazy game of capture the flag. It was raining, so the campfire was postponed, but everyone was grateful for a slightly earlier bedtime! We’re off to sleep as well – thanks for your support and prayers! Tomorrow the kids leave and a new set of family campers arrive. We’re looking forward to it!

Ready for water balloons!

Coggin, Trevor, and Hannah serving dinner.

Youth camp started today! After a few days of preparation and rest, our first group of the week arrived this morning at 9:30. The youth attending camp this week are from a Christian school outside of Panama City, though many of the students are not Christians. The pastor of the church that sponsors the school brought 63 middle school students, along with their own counselors and support staff. As the bus pulled into camp, we welcomed them “Pine Cove style” by jumping and going crazy, letting the campers know how excited we are to have them here. After helping campers find their cabins, we jumped right into their first activity: tie-dying t-shirts! Autumn Dawn translated for the group, then the rest of our team got to work demonstrating for each cabin how to rubber-band and dye the shirts. This was a fun opportunity for us to use our choppy Spanish to interact with campers that we will see and play with for the next two days. After tie-dying, we prepared, served, and cleaned up from lunch. We even got to shuck the corn and peel the yucca that we collected yesterday!

Debi loved greeting the kids as they exited the bus.

 

It's tie-dye madness!

During our team devotional time, Autumn Dawn, Coggin, and Ellie reminded us of yesterday’s trek to the yucca field. It surprised all of us to find that the yucca plants were so easy to dig up, despite their tall bush. We also  had no idea that such a flimsy-looking plant would yield such big roots! The Galbreaths led us to  Proverbs 12:1-3, which tells us that the righteous cannot be uprooted. Ephesians 3:14-21 reminds us that if we are “rooted and established in love,” then we will be able to grasp the power and great love of God. When we begin to understand the fullness of God’s love, then we can share it and demonstrate it more effectively, both on the mission field and back at home. Our desire is that God’s love would be made known to the campers and staff here at camp, whether we speak the same language or not!

Our team loved getting to know the campers and staff today as we played with them, attempted conversation, sang silly songs in Spanish, and hid around camp for them to find us in tonight’s night game. Tomorrow starts early for us, but we are excited about more opportunities to serve “with the strength that God provides” (1 Peter 4:11)!

The Bons are working on the fruit of yesterday's labor (corn and yucca!).

Day three! Today was our team’s second day of touring through Panama to learn about the local people and culture. We started out the day with a delicious pancake breakfast, cooked by Deborah, who Cresta Del Mar has generously provided to cook our meals when camp is not in session. Robert also came down and went through the schedule for the upcoming three-day youth camp. It was a great opportunity for us to “catch the vision” of what the ministry of Cresta Del Mar is all about, and to see exactly where they see our team contributing to and supporting the ministry.

The theme for the session is “Hitos”, which is the equivalent of a mile marker on a highway. It represents a mark, a goal, something along a defined path. The camp’s vision is for campers to “set a mark” in their lives, the equivalent of “putting a stake in the ground” for Christ. They want campers to set goals for their lives and relationship with Christ, and to know where they are going. The marks will be tangibly represented by small wooden “tokens” or medallions which represent various character traits or practices of the Christian life that they will encourage the campers display over the course of the session. As campers and cabins successfully demonstrate the trait in question (e.g. “community”), they will receive the “hito” for that. There are three “hitos” that each camper will be awarded. For you Towers veterans, it’s a similar concept to the Cedar Medallions that each camper receives.

Robert shared with us that the camp’s key verse for the session is Ephesians 5:16, which commands believers to “make the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” Cresta Del Mar wants to absolutely make the most of every opportunity they have to share and demonstrate Christ’s love to these campers in the three short days they have with them. It’s a great reminder for our team as well, to make the most of every opportunity we have in the five short days we have left here.

Robert shared with us that recreation is largely not a part of the culture in Panama or Latin America in general once childhood is left behind. It’s work, work, work, with very little rest or recharging. For many people, it’s an issue of resources or a preoccupation with materialism, and they live day-to-day while working constantly to support themselves and their families, or to buy what they want. At any rate, “fun” is not a frequently utilized tool. As we at Pine Cove can attest, recreation, camping, and fun in general can serve as incredibly powerful tools in building relationships and allowing the Gospel to penetrate hearts and lives. Cresta Del Mar exists to provide an avenue for fun that leads to Christ. What a great opportunity to share in that vision!

Speaking of fun, we definitely got to have some today! We left mid-morning to tour a rice processing facility in Aguadulce. Rice is a significant part of Panama’s diet and economy. The facility’s manager is a friend of Robert’s and was at camp with the group that left yesterday. He generously allowed one of his employees to walk us through the factory and explain the function of the various machines and processing steps. Autumn Dawn was our translator, and did a great job of taking the Spanish manufacturing explanation and turning it into something we could all understand. After lunch, we headed to a farm owned by the camp’s head of maintenance, and got our hands dirty by harvesting corn and yucca that the campers will eat.

Tomorrow brings the campers! We’re excited (though we have a few jitters) and are definitely ready to see what God has in store for us and the kids. Thanks so much for your prayers and support!

Tetyana, Debi, and Autumn Dawn are ready to see some rice!

Luke, Ellie, and Dreux ready to harvest some corn and yucca!

 

Luke and Emily digging up yucca- and Luke won.

Autumn Dawn in the boss of the yucca plant!