Into the Water I Went

 “…having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.” Colossians 2:12

 I have been baptized! I’ve waited so long for this day! Many opportunities had gone by before this one, but I don’t regret it - this was the right time! When I understood what the baptism stands for and its deep meaning I wanted mine to be special. I did not want just anybody to baptize me either, it needed to be a spiritual father to me, and I found one in Panama.

I'm thrilled she was there...

 Pastor Danny, our contact there, encouraged me in so many ways without even realizing it. I felt lead by God when I asked him to do what Matthew 28:19 says on my life. Being buried and raised with in baptism to declare publicly my faith and devotion for Him and His sacrifice meant the world to me. The setting was perfect - perfect place and perfect companionship for that special moment.

 I also got to teach English for some really awesome dudes from La Comarca on Wednesday. It was such a blessing to teach English because no one ever taught it to me. I simply learned it by the grace of God. Their passion was not limited to learning the English lesson but also for the different ways the Lord takes care of them.

 Before we headed back to Costa Rica, I got a great reminder of Jesus’s sacrifice for all of us. On Easter Sunday at Panama International Church they had an illustrated sermon about Christ’s journey to the cross and then His resurrection. It was such a refreshing service with some graphic scenes that really made me remember how much Jesus suffered for us, how He chose to be obedient just so that our unworthy souls could be forgiven.

 Goodbye Panama, so many lessons and memories piled up in such a short time!

Into the Hills We Went

 Monday was my first official international missionary performance and I loved it! Now, I don't like the title of missionary for just a short mission trip, but I consider this title as a big responsibility that I have to fulfill daily. I learned in my church, that wherever I am and whenever the Spirit leads me to, I have to be ready, willing and receptive to share about the Kingdom with whoever is in the way, no matter how it looks like to other people around, and that's what being a missionary is all about. Everybody needs Jesus, and even though not everyone wants him, it is not our job to choose who gets to hear about him, but to speak about him to the ones He chose us to.

 This has been my mindset for a while now and it was up until I decided it to be this way that I started seeing all of the divine appointments that God sets for us on a daily basis. If I wouldn't had been willing to do ministry and translate for teams I wouldn't have met my fiancé for example. 

 One of these divine appointments happened on Sunday night when Panama greeted us at the border with a man and his wounded leg. He was asking for money but I knew there was a deeper need in his life. After I said hi to him and asked him to tell me his story, I prayed for him. His sad face faded away and a smile shinned through. He was not hungry, but starving for some love of God.

 The next day, on Monday, a lot of divine appointments happened too when we visited an indigenous school in the mountains of Quebrada del Loro in La Comarca, Panama. All of those little faces lighted up when they saw us getting out of the car after a tough 45 minute drive uphill. I had always wanted to be in a place where no one knew about Christ and I thought I'd need to travel to the other side of the world to get there. However, I got a huge surprise when I asked some of the kids here if they knew who Jesus is and they said no, but what really slapped me right on my face was when after a brief summary of who Jesus is they said they didn't believe in him, nor wanted to. Then I realized and was reminded of the need of the Gospel all over the world, even on our side of it.

 There's a church near by that's doing a great job in the area and the school wants the Bible to be taught in there. Danny and Heather (our contacts here) are doing an outstanding job too, but they need our support in prayers hardcore, so let's pray for them! 

 It was a pretty exciting day that started with me covering up some of my ink and taking my earrings off since we were serving with very conservative brothers, then I got to pray and give a word from The Lord to an old man, I also translated for members of another team that was there that were struggling trying to explain kickball to the kids in English, I taught some soccer to the kids, introduce Jesus to some of them and worshipped with the team.

 I also can't overlook God's mind-blowing provision that happened in such a short time exceeding all of my human expectations. Ashli, my fiancé, posted a blog about it here. You should check out how God used really awesome, willing and loving people to provide for this trip. Thank you for sowing!

It was such an honor to do my first mission trip with the best missionary...

 This trip had a crazy start and I can't wait to see what else God is holding for us in these few days left, I bet it's great.