DTS 2013 Outreach Report

Outreach report

When Paul was sent out on his missionary journeys he gave a report of what had happened as an encouragement to the people who sent him and prayed for him and his team. 

Act 14:26  and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. Act 14:27  And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

Tonight I want to give a little update on some of the things that happened during our 8 week outreach to

Panama, Costa Rica and Guatemala.

First I want to thank those who faithfully prayed for our team.  Any time you venture out for the Lord there is always opposition from the enemy. He does not want the gospel proclaimed, heal the broken hearted, set the captives free or see people healed and delivered.  We face a real enemy and we must recognize his strategies and attacks so we are prepared to fight against him.

Our first obstacle thrown in our path was checking in at the airport.  A couple of us got our tickets but then one of the students was told his tickets would not work to allow him access to Panama as the immigration policy is you must have a return ticket from Panama in order to enter the country.  Our return ticket was from Costa Rica.  This came as a surprise to us as we did not know this was the policy.   After talking with the airline people about our situation they said we could change our ticket for $400 each so we could return from Panama.  After more talking with them they agreed to change the tickets for no charge.  Once we were in Panama I wrote the airlines to ask if they could change our tickets back to the original plan to leave from San Jose, Costa Rica to avoid a 17 hour bus ride from San Jose to Panama City.  They agreed to make the change, again for no charge.  This was a huge answer to prayer and saved us a lot of money as well as travel time.

We worked with the YWAM base in Chilibre for the first week of the outreach.  Their DTS was also on outreach and they were waiting for money to come in so the students could leave for their planned trip to Europe. We combined our groups to do ministry in several schools, girls home, prison, skate park and a church.  We performed dramas and gave testimonies and talked with the different groups of people.  One of the schools was almost all students with Chinese background.  Panama has a large population of Chinese who own businesses.  The school had an evangelistic mission as many of the Chinese are not saved so they use the school experience to be able to reach the students with the gospel message.  When we did the program at the school we had 6 students accept Christ as Savior.

We ministered in a maximum security prison where former Nicaragua leader, Manuel Ortega was imprisoned.  A pastor from a local church in Gamboa has visited him and he was our connection to get into the prison.  The prisoners were very grateful for our time with them.. 

Pastor Bill from the Gamboa church invited us to be a part of his church service the 2 Sundays we were there.  He is recovering from a stroke that happened 6 months ago while he was preaching on a Sunday morning.  He has almost fully recovered but still has some trouble speaking so he has other people fill the pulpit.  One of our students, Renzo, who suffered a severe head injury in an accident shared his testimony how God spared his life when he was left for dead after the accident.  It was a great encouragement for everyone.

From Chilbre we traveld by bus to northern Panama to the YWAM base in Chiriqui  This is a new base that this year offered an Indigenous DTS.  While we were in Chilibre the IDTS was there and when we arrived in Chilbre they were also there but left the day after we arrived.  They were a group of 23.  They originally planned to go to Guatemala on their outreach but did not have the funds to do so.  In Chiriqui we had a different focus in our ministry.  We went to a reservation in Tugri where Pastor Rafael, a YWAMer has started 10 churches in the last 7 years.  I met him at a YWAM Conference in Panama last May and made a connection with him and his wife.  His testimony of his work there is pretty amazing.  He and his wife felt God was directing them to evangelize the reservation so they came into the community not knowing anyone.  No one would extend hospitality to them so the slept under a tree for the first 3 nights.  Eventually they made contact with the people and shared the gospel with them.  Over 500 people now attend the churches he has planted.  While there we visited homes and prayed for the families.  We had several receive Christ.  Conditions are pretty rustic, no beds just a dirt floor to sleep on, no electricity at Pastor Rafael’s house and the bathroom is an outhouse unless you want to walk to the school down the hill.  It was a beautiful area and we enjoyed staying there for 3 days.  We had the opportunity to do a program at the school the last day we were there.  The entire school came out to watch our presentation and hear the gospel.

While in Chiriqui we went door to door to distribute bibles to families that did not have one or had a bible that needed to be replaced.  It was a great experience for us as we met a lot of people and always asked if we could pray for them. The people were very hospitable and welcomed us into their homes.  Another interesting ministry was going to the indigenous camps where workers in the coffee plantations live, to do ministry with the children.  We showed up unannounced and asked the leaders of the camp if we could do a program for the children.  They welcomed us and we did it in 3 different locations. In one location there was a large group of young men playing soccer so we invited them to come over at the end of our program to watch a drama.  They all came and were able to hear the gospel proclaimed.  We were also invited to speak in 2 churches, one had a special service on missions and the other was a weeknight evening service.  At this service one of the ladies that our student invited to come to the service when they were visiting homes to invite people to come, gave her life to Christ at the end of the service.  One of our students gave the message and it really spoke to the members of the church and was a great encouragement to the pastor.  He felt that God had sent us there and was so thankful for what we did.

From Chiriqui we took a long bus ride to San Jose, Costa Rica.  We stayed at the SJ base for 11 days and were involved in different ministries they conduct as well as doing open air evangelism and a lot of personal evangelism.  We distributed 100 bibles in the community going door to door.  The people were not as open as what we experienced in Panama but we still had opportunities to pray with many.  The students were able to go out with Carlos and Sidney who are familiar to us since Carlos was one of our DTS students.  They have a ministry to the people involved in human trafficking.  I was surprised to learn of how rampant this industry is in Costa Rica.  San Jose has over 300 brothels operating which are legally registered.  There are many more brothels not registered and children of all ages are involved.  The ministry is one of giving out coffee and cookies to the workers with the goal of developing a friendship and eventually helping them get out of their situation.  One of the things they do is offer English classes to them so some of our students were able to participate in this.  We also did a lot of open air ministry in the downtown area. It was awesome to see people stop and watch and listen to the testimonies.  We combined with the Indigenous DTS students and had a missionary from the USA who did several illusion tricks work with us. At the end of one of the services a young girl came up to Kalissa and said she wanted to receive Christ as her Savior.  She had attended church for years but had never understood that she needed to make a personal decision to accept Christ.  She was in tears after understanding what she needed to do and what Christ had done for her.  The students did a lot of personal evangelism in the park as well and had some great conversations.

Another ministry we enjoyed was visiting with people who were waiting outside of the ER area of the hospital.  We brought coffee and cookies to them and prayed with them.  On one evening we were running low on coffee and the SJ leader felt ashamed that we did not have more to give.  A couple of our students prayed over the coffee container which only had about 3 cups of coffee left in it.  The coffee multiplied and they gave out about 10 more cups and when we returned to the base there was still coffee in it.

One of the projects YWAM is undertaking is a 10 year plan to transform a community that until last year was controlled by gangs.  You could not enter the community unless they gave you access.  A church is on the edge of the community and needed a lot of cleaning as it was filled with mold and dirt.  Our group spend a day and a half cleaning the outside area as well as the inside of the church.

From SJ we moved on to Heredia to the YWAM base.  Their DTS was in session but had left for another base where they were combining classes for the DTS.  The base has horses, goats, chickens and cows that we helped take care of in the morning as this was part of the chores of the dTS students who were gone.  The students loved being outdoors and enjoyed caring for the animals which also included yellow lab puppies.  We did a lot of Kids ministry in the parks and again gave out bibles door to door.  One home I remember well was one that we gave a bible to a lady and she began to cry because she wanted one but did not have money to buy it.  We prayed with many people as we visited door to door.  The Thanksgiving holiday was celebrated with the staff and students at the base.  They went all out for this special meal and for many of the students it was their first time celebrating it as well as eating some of the typical foods.  We also did a special children’s program in a camp of coffee plantation workers who were from Nicaragua.  The children had a great time as did the parents who came to watch.  We visited a ministry that is in a slum area to do a program for the kids and feed them.  Our last day of ministry was helping raise money for the transformation project of this very area that we fed the children.  We had cans that we used to collect money from people walking in the streets or from people driving cars who were stopped at the traffic lights.

Our final segment of the outreach was in Yulmacap, Guatemala.  It takes 13 hours to go from Guatemala City to the village and the last 2 hours are in the back of a Toyota Land Cruiser as it is the only vehicle that can pass through the roads which were pretty scary in some parts.  We have been to this area 2 years ago with a DTS class.  No one had ever been to the village to do ministry like we did the first time and no one had been there in the 2 years between visits. Our living conditions were again rustic.  The students had to sleep on a cement floor in a cockroach infested building.  We had running water to bathe in but it was very chilly.  This village has several children who have a rare form of cancer caused by exposure to ultraviolet light.  The children with this have to stay inside during the daylight hours and if they do not they develop cancer which usually starts in the face.  Our ministry there involved visiting the children with the infirmity to bring food to them as well as pray for them.  One of the boys I met 2 years ago has tumors on his face and has lost his eyes and nose to cancer.  The cancer has spread to his brain so he is in a lot of pain and needs morphine to relief the pain at night to enable him to sleep.  He will celebrate his 11^th birthday on Dec. 20 so we bought him a present and pray he will be able live to celebrate.  Each morning we visited the families and every afternoon we conducted kids ministry on the basketball court.  We had perfect weather all week which was a blessing since the week before it had rained every day.  We had about 40 kids everyday but over 100 people sat in the bleachers and around the court to watch the program.  The DTS students did a great job planning the sessions each day and the children enjoyed participating.  In the evening we showed Christian movies and always had crowd of over 100 attend.  We also did dramas and gave testimonies at these open air services. 

It was an awesome outreach and a great 5 months with these students whose lives have been changed through the work of the Holy Spirit and the care of those who have been a part of their experience.  Many of you prayed for them an others were involved through ministry experiences they had with you during the DTS.  Thank you for being a part of the journey of faith for them.

                                                                                 

EDE Cruzada a Costa Rica/DTS Outreach to Costa Rica

SAN JOSE COSTA RICA Y HEREDIA

Las maravillas de Dios siempre se derraman sobre nuestras vidas como equipo realizando los diferentes y nuevos ministerios que ha impactado la vida de muchas personas en San Jose, Costa Rica y Heredia.  Dios nos sigue permitiendo disfrutar de las bendiciones y naturaleza en este hermoso país de Centro America.

En la base de YWAM de San Jose, Costa Rica tuvimos la oportunidad de poder visitar en varias ocasiones a un HOSPITAL nacional en donde  se pudo compartir una refacción con las personas que estaban afuera esperando por noticias de sus familiares hospitalizados.   Había familias esperando por tres días afuera por noticias de su familiar,  y otros que estaban sufriendo por la gravedad de sus familias.  Realmente, traer una taza de café y galletas fue muy bien recibido por ellos, pero sobre todo compartir el evangelio y orar por las diversas necesidades fue una gran bendición para todo el equipo y para los familiares porque esperaban conversar con alguien y desahogarse con Dios.   Además, se realizó el ministerio de los desamparados en dos parques de San Jose,  fuimos bien recibidos por ellos y bendijeron nuestras vidas.  Uno de los DESAMPARADOS pidió oración, y dijo que su deseo era que Dios lo sacara de esa vida tan aislada y sin familiares a su alrededor.   Por otro lado, el ministerio CALLE DE LA LIBERTAD, que consiste en orar por las prostitutas, travestis y homosexuales para que sean libres y puedan salir de esa vida que los oprime y los tiene encadenados en pecado.  Según el historial que nos dieron, muchas de estas personas han sido secuestrad@s para prostituirse, están amenazad@s  si se retiran de esa vida, también han sido engañadas, y muy controladas por sus jefes.  Sin embargo, el equipo de estudiantes de YWAM, Antigua, les llevo una taza de café y galleta a estas personas, y con algun@s se pudo orar por ellos.   Asimismo, se realizaron varias actividades al aire libre en los diferentes parques de San Jose, con dramas, testimonios, mensajes, y una visita de persona a persona para poder orar por las necesidades de cada uno de ellos.   Otro ministerio que disfrutados, fue la distribución de Biblias de casa en casa, fue maravillo tener diferentes experiencias de cada integrante del equipo, personas católica que abrieron sus puertas y estuvieron dispuestos a escuchar la palabra de Dios y de recibir una Biblia.   Se admiraban al recibir una Biblia gratis, y eso hizo a que ellos abrieron su corazón y escuchar más de Dios.

Nuestra experiencia, en Heredia ha sido hermosa, porque también hemos podido realizar actividades al aire libre, especialmente trabajando con niños y la aceptación que hemos tenido por parte de los niños como de los padres.  En la base de Heredia, hemos aprendido a trabajar con animales, cuidándolos, llevándolos a comer, ordeñando cabras y limpiando la base.   Una experiencia bonita porque después de estar en la ciudad, ahora podemos disfrutar de la belleza y naturaleza de Dios y poder alimentarnos de comida orgánica, ya que el enfoque de esta esta en lo ecológico y la conservación de la naturaleza, pero sobre todo, la visión que tienen ellos es llegar a ser una base auto-sostenible, es decir que la base se mantenga de su misma producción.  Esto nos motiva a que retomemos nuevas fuerzas para seguir adelante en el ministerio misionero.   

De igual forma, todos estamos muy ansiosos de distribuir Biblias en este lugar y realizar otras actividades que nos asignen mientras estemos aquí.   Como también, muy felices y emocionados porque se acerca la celebración del Día de Acción de gracias y la celebración que se hará aquí, porque hay un gran grupo de americanos que extrañan este festejo especial que se celebra en Estados Unidos.

El Señor nos sigue llenando de su gracia, amor y fortaleza para seguir adelante y disfrutar del ministerio.  por Emma

The ten days that DTS spent in San Jose was both challenging and rewarding for everyone. We had opportunities to do some ministries we had experiences with and some we didn’t have little to none experience with. The week consisted of a lot open air evangelism and one on one evangelism, the students really enjoyed talking and praying with people that were at the park.

Three evening we ministered to families who were waiting outside the hospital; we offered cookies and coffee to those who wanted and prayed for the families and friends who wanted to receive. It was a marvelous experience. The last night we did that ministry we came together as a group and prayed for  two men, one who was assaulted and had his fingers cut off and the other who was there because his brother was in critical condition. We prayed for healing for both and it was a beautiful thing to see how God worked through us that night.

A ministry that was new to us was the Freedom Streets, which is a ministry that a couple of the staff at the San Jose base started a few years ago. They go out and minister, offer coffee and cookies, love and build relationships to the transvestites and the prostitutes of the city. To see their passion and their love for these people. It made an impact on many of the students.

Many seeds were planted in those ten days in San Jose.

Upon arriving to a different base in Costa Rica the students have been able to channel their longing to be outdoors. The base in Heredia has a lot of animals that need to be taken care of. That’s not all we have been doing since arriving to Heredia. We’ve also done person evangelism in the park, open air evangelism – regardless of the rain, and kids ministry both at the park and a ministry that the base is involved with for the past years. The students have really enjoyed the stay in Costa Rica.

by Anna

Panama outreach week 3

November 3-9, 2013
The students received a free day on Monday some went to the beach while others stayed behind and relaxed and get mentally and spiritually prepared for the week.

Tuesday was a busy, busy day we went to four different locations and did children ministry. We played with the kids, sang songs, performed dramas and shared the gospel with them. The last stop impacted a lot of the team members, because when we got arrived there were the kids and then there were the older men playing soccer. While we were performing for the kids some of the them would stop and watch and listen then go back to playing soccer. After we were done with what we had planned for the kids we invited the men who were playing soccer to up and watch one on our dramas. All of them stopped playing and watched and received a lot of what God had for them.

Wednesday was blissful, we did a variety of ministry. In the morning we were very privileged to go to a nursing home in David.  Mikala and Renzo shared their testimonies. The residents there really enjoyed the things we had planned for them; they were clapping and singing along with us. In the afternoon we went to an after school program and the majority of the kids raised their hands to receive Christ as their Savior. It was a very blessed day.

Thursday morning we went to a local neighborhood and distributed Bibles to the families who didn’t have one. After lunch we headed back out but to different town and invited the families to a local church service which we were in charge of. Two of our students Josh and Kira shared their testimonies and Priscilla shared a message which encouraged many people.

Friday was our last day in Panama and was the day we headed to Costa Rica to see what God has in store for us.

by Anna

3 al 9 de noviembre

Seguimos disfrutando la maravillosa cruzada y estamos terminando la tercera semana de este ministerio.  Estamos ansiosos de lo que Dios seguirá haciendo en las fases de cruzada que aún nos queda por ministrar.

Tuvimos una semana y media de ministerio en Chiriquí, Panamá.  Dios obró grandemente en la vida muchas personas que no conocían de Dios.   Nuestro ministerio dio inicio en la iglesia Asamblea de Dios, Boquete, en donde fuimos participes de la celebración de misiones, en la que estuvimos participando con dramas, testimonios y el mensaje por el hermano Bruce.   Después del servicio, evangelizamos en el parque de Chiriquí, fue maravilloso compartir con las personas y orar por ellas.

Después de una jornada de ministerio fuerte, nuestros líderes nos concedieron un día libre para descansar, retomar fuerzas, lavar ropa, y el grupo disfruto del descanso.  

Nuevamente, iniciamos con otro día hermoso, visitando tres campamentos indígenas, se realizaron tres diferentes actividades con los niños, involucrándolos a participar en los dramas y juegos.  Fue hermoso haber visto a los padres escuchando la palabra de Dios y permitieron que sus hijos compartieran con nosotros como grupo.   En nuestra última visita del campamento, una señora llamada Inés, acepto al Señor, se oró por ella y confiamos en Dios que ella y su esposo crezcan espiritualmente.   Dentro del programa de niños se incluyó un drama para adultos, porque sentimos de Dios hacerlo, y todos los adultos pusieron mucha atención y quedaron muy agradecidos por compartir el evangelio con ellos.

Otro ministerio maravilloso fue haber distribuido Biblias en diferentes casas, orar por las necesidades espirituales de varias familias.  Pudimos apreciar la aceptación que tuvimos de las personas cuando recibían una Biblia, y expresaban que la van a leer y compartir con la familia sobre la palabra de Dios.  Hubo una persona católica que no sabe leer ni escribir, pero recibió la Biblia con mucho amor porque hay alguien que le va a leer la Biblia.  Esa misma tarde, visitamos a varias familias para invitarlos a asistir a un servicio especial que se llevó a cabo en la noche.  Oramos por ellos durante nuestra visita y lo hermoso fue que Dios toco el corazón de muchas vidas porque en la noche llegaron a la iglesia y una señora acepto a Jesús. 

Nuestro último día ministerio siguió creciendo en Chiriquí, porque en la mañana se visitó un acilo de ancianos.  Fue divertido haber jugado con los ancianos, dos estudiantes compartieron su testimonio, y cantamos con ellos.    Y por la tarde, se visitó una escuela pequeña,  en donde los niños usaron toda su energía para cantar y jugar con nosotros, al finalizar la actividad se pudo convivir con ellos, pintando, y haciendo figuras de papel.

Después de la semana y media de ministerio, tuvimos un tiempo para empacar nuestras maletas para viajar a Costa Rica.  Fue un largo viaje, sin embargo, disfrutamos observando las diferentes áreas ecológicas entre Panamá y Costa Rica.  

Durante nuestras actividades, como grupo, tenemos tiempos especiales, como lo es la alabanza, devocionales, intercesión, y ensayo de nuevos dramas, y todos disfrutamos nuestro tiempo personal con Dios.

Es inexplicable la grandeza de Dios sobre cada estudiante y en la vida de las personas que ministramos.  Dios está obrando de una manera especial y su poder se manifiesta en cada vida.

por Emma

semana 2 de la cruzada; week 2 of the outreach

Del 28 de octubre al 2 de Noviembre

Hemos completado la segunda semana de nuestra Cruzada misionera en Panamá, y la bondad de Dios ha sido grande y maravillosa en la vida de cada uno de nosotros, y por esa razón, nos gustaría compartir con ustedes las actividades que se llevaron a cabo durante esta semana.

Salimos de la base de la ciudad de Panamá el día lunes 28, y viajamos a otra área de Panamá, conocida como Chiriquí.  Fue una aventura y emocionante haber viajado en bus durante ocho horas a pesar de que el primer bus donde viajamos tuvo desperfectos mecánicos, pero gracias a Dios, llegó  un mejor bus y pudimos llegar a nuestro destino.

El día martes 29, en la mañana estuvimos realizando diferentes proyectos y trabajos en la base de Chiriquí, limpiando, pintando, cocinando y otras actividades más.  En la tarde, tuvimos la bendición de visitar un Centro de Rehabilitación de menores Arturo Miro.  Fue impactante haber compartido con varios niños y adolescentes entre 8 y 17 años.  El equipo misionero compartió testimonios, cantos, dramas, juegos dinámicos y los niños se divirtieron mucho y tuvieron esa pasión de saber de Jesús y se involucraron participando en los dramas y juegos.

El día miércoles 30, después de un desayuno delicioso, viajamos nuevamente a una aldea misionera indígena llamada Tugri, en la cual el pastor encargado de la base nos recibió muy bien y nos contó sobre la visión que tiene de construir y poner una EDE indígena en Tugri.  Tuvimos una gran experiencia al haber compartido la cultura de las personas y disfrutar de un lugar precioso y fresco.  Fue divertido haber experimentado un ambiente totalmente diferente a la que estamos acostumbrados, porque en Tugri, la gente no cuenta con energía eléctrica, el sanitario y la ducha están al aire libre, sin camas, fue bonito haber experimentado dormir en el suelo y cocinar al aire libre.

El jueves 31, por la mañana se realizaron diferentes actividades, un grupo de estudiantes estuvo escarbando un hoyo de tres metros para que la familia en Tugri tuviera un lugar donde depositar la basura.  El segundo grupo estuvo visitando a varias familias, se oró por el terreno donde se construirá la escuela de JUCUM.  En la noche se llevó a cabo un servicio con las personas indígenas y los estudiantes presentaron un drama que impacto a los hermanos que asistieron al servicio.

El 1 de noviembre, se visitó la escuela indígena en Tugri, y el equipo presento diferentes dramas, testimonios, cantos y juegos involucrando a los niños en las diferentes actividades.  Después de la participación, viajamos de regreso a la base de Chiriquí, y gracias a Dios llegamos bendecidos, alegres e impactados con la nueva experiencia que Dios nos permitió tener, pero sobre todo, felices por la bondad y las fuerzas que Dios nos dio para compartir el evangelio con las personas que no conocían a Jesús.

Hoy, 2 de noviembre, formamos parte de un servicio especial en la Iglesia Asamblea de Dios, Boquete, en la que se habló el tema de Misiones, a comprometerse con el Señor y estar dispuestos a escuchar el llamado de Dios.   Participamos, presentando dramas, testimonios y experiencias sobre la Misión, y los hermanos se maravillaron al saber lo que Dios está haciendo en nuestras vidas y lo que ellos pueden hacer también para servirle a Dios.

Oramos para que Dios nos siga usando de una manera sobrenatural para continuar expandiendo el evangelio a aquellas personas que necesitan y desean conocer a Dios como su único Salvador.   

por Emma

Week Two

 This week started off with an 8 hour bus ride to our next location in Panama. The ride went smooth until the last 20 minutes when the bus broke down. Our group has had problems with transportation, but all in all we always get to where we need to be.

On Tuesday we had the privilege of doing a program at a boys home. The boys seemed to enjoy it as did the students.

Wednesday the team embarked on an adventure to the mountains. The beauty of God’s creation will never cease to amaze me. It was amazing. While we were there, we met Pastor Rafael and his family. God gave him a vision 7 years ago to go into missions and since then he has seen roughly 40 people come to know Christ. Pastor Rafael is in the process of building a YWAM base in the mountains to reach the indigenous people there.

As a team we able to come along side Pastor Rafael and partner with someone of the ministries that is doing. Thursday we split the team up, and half went on a prayer walk while the others stayed behind and dug a hole for the family and then the teams switched. The prayer walk was had an impact on a lot of the students lives. We entered into the homes of people and prayed for them, four people that day came to know Christ. Which is a powerful thing because the religion that is there has a such a stronghold on the people that creates a fear within them to join any different belief. That evening the team led the church service as the Pastor’s house. Ashley, one of the students had the opportunity to preach. Friday we did a program for the kids at a school, it was quite a struggle for the team as they faced some cultural differences. Although the kids weren’t as responsive as we are used to, the kids had a wonderful time playing and watching the dramas we had for them.

Today [Saturday], the students are preparing a presentation on missions and how missions have affected them thus far.  by Anna

DTS OUTREACH TO PANAMA: Week One

All the DTS students are alive and well. It was quite a trip to arrive to Panama. There were problems with the tickets, then problems with the plane but all in all, we arrived safe and sound.

To start off our stay in this new country, we went to church on Sunday, and Renzo share his testimony, it was quite amazing. It is always good to hear others testimonies and see the response.

We didn't start going out and doing ministry until Wednesday; Wednesday we had the privilege to go to two different schools. The first school was a ministry for the Chinese, there is a high population of Chinese people in Panama. The Chinese school affected a lot of the students. The highlight of that ministry was when a guy from the other DTS was preaching and afterwards he had the kids raised their
hands to accept Christ and the response was amazing.  In the afternoon we went another school that is a ministry of the base, the kids had so much energy!

Thursday we were very blessed to go minster to a male prison, this too  was one that affected a lot of the team. we performed some of dramas and had a time of worship, the men were completely enthralled in the moment. It was a really enjoyable experience to reach out to those who do not have access to the outside world.

Friday was another  day full of impact , we went to a neighborhood that wasn't the safest, in fact it is known for crimes due to gangs and prostitution. It was such an honor to be able to go there and see the kids react to what we had for them. The joy of the Lord is in every environment.  After we finished the with the kids we went on a prayer walk around this neighborhood. It is very different then most prayer walks because we had to escorted by the police for safety reason.  God really blessed our time on the walk.
That evening some of us went to a skate park to minister to the guys there.
Like none of us can skate board or at least not that well, but it didn't matter because God used us in a powerful way, one of the students was able to sit down and evangelize to two of the guys there, using the tracts that were given to us. It was just so cool to see their reaction.
Another student was given the opportunity to pray another of the guys there and the guy's friend. Many seeds were planted that night.

On Saturday, we as a whole group went and toured the Panama Canal, it was such a beautiful sight, we were able to watch a short documentary on whole it was built and go through a four level museum.

I  think I can speak for everyone on this team and say God did a lot this week and changed lives of not only others but ourselves as well. 

EDE CRUZADA A PANAMA SEMANA 1

Fase de la Cruzada en Panamá

Octubre 19 al 26

Estamos muy agradecidos con el Señor por su gran cuidado y protección sobre todos los estudiantes de la EDE de JUCUM, Antigua 2013.   Después de haber tenido un largo y divertido viaje de Guatemala a Panamá el 19 de octubre, finalmente llegamos a Panamá con alegría y dándole gracias a Dios por su cuidado y dirección de nuestro viaje.

Nuestro ministerio dio inicio el primer domingo en la iglesia en Gamboa, en la cual Renzo Lopez compartió su testimonio

 y  lo que Dios está haciendo ahora en la vida de Renzo en YWAM.  El día miércoles, la EDE de Antigua, juntamente con la EDE de Panamá, estuvieron ministrando juntos en la Escuela Cristiana de Panamá dirigido por Chinos, se hicieron varias presentaciones como, dramas, testimonios, cantos, y compartiendo con los niños, pero lo impactante fue que después del mensaje compartido por uno de los alumnos de la EDE Panamá, varios niños aceptaron a Jesús como su único Salvador.   Asimismo, se visitó una Academia Cristiana Doulos, una escuela apoyada por YWAM Panamá.  En esta escuela, también los niños se gozaron con los dramas, cantos, testimonios e historias bíblicas que compartieron ambos equipos, pero sobre todo, el propósito fue mostrarles el amor de Dios y compartir la palabra de Dios a los niños.

Otro ministerio impactante que se llevó a cabo en Panamá el día jueves por la mañana, fue haber visitado una de las cárceles de Panamá.  Mientras se desarrollaban las actividades en la cárcel, los presos que asistieron a la actividad programada por los estudiantes de YWAM, mostraron el impacto de las diferentes presentaciones que se hicieron.   El jueves por la tarde, se visitó un orfanato de niñas entre 8 y 14 años, de igual forma mostraron mucha alegría y deseo de escuchar la palabra de Dios.  Las mujeres de la EDE, tuvieron el privilegio de compartir con las niñas y ellas quedaron muy agradecidas e impresionadas por la palabra de Dios compartida con ellas.   El día viernes,  se visitó una escuelita en Curundú, en la que se hicieron presentaciones para niños, como cantos, dramas con la participación de los niños, cantos, juegos y testimonio.  Luego se hizo una caminata de oración en el área de Curundú, fue necesaria la compañía de la policía por seguridad del grupo ya que esa área es una zona peligrosa, pero Dios es grande porque cuido de todo el grupo que estuvo orando por el lugar y por las personas que viven en esa área roja.  Confiamos y creemos que Dios hará su obra en ese lugar.     Por la noche, el grupo de estudiantes fue a un parque de patinaje en el que se tuvo la oportunidad de hablar con algunos de ellos de la palabra de Dios y animarles  a permanecer en los caminos de Dios.

Después de haber tenido una semana bendecida y larga, tuvimos la oportunidad de ir a conocer el Canal de Panamá y la importancia que tiene por las embarcaciones que entran y salen a diario.

Estamos ansiosos de lo que Dios seguirá haciendo durante las próximas semanas de Cruzada, y pedimos sus oraciones por todo nuestro equipo, para que Dios nos siga usando y se alcancen más almas para su reino.  

October update

October Update

Our DTS class is now on outreach in Panama.  We are working with YWAM in Chilibre for a week and them move on to another YWAM base in Quirique, close to the Costa Rica border.  We have been ministering in schools, churches, orphanages, prison and will be doing some open air presentation.  We also will be visiting some indigenous groups and will be working with YWAM as well as a church in the area.  After our ministry in Panama we will be going to Costa Rica to work with YWAM San Jose and YWAM Heredia for 3 weeks.  We will be partnering with them in the ministries they conduct in their areas.  Our final destination will be Yulmacap, Guatemala, where we will spend a week ministering to all age groups.  This is the area in which several have a rare form of cancer caused by ultraviolet light.  A previous DTS group went to this area 2 years ago and we have great ministry experiences.
Our next DTS will begin on February 16, 2014.  We already have students enrolled and are looking forward to the 5 months working with them.  We have not determined our outreach location but are looking at staying in Belize, Southern Mexico and Guatemala.  Our present plans for the July DTS is to return to India for our outreach.
Our base staff is growing and we are looking to buy land and possible building a structure that will house DTS students and have a classroom along with a larger dining area. Please pray for us as we seek the Lord's guidance and provision.

September update

The DTS is finishing week 7 and the students are growing in their understanding of God and learning more about how to have healthy relationships. We have had great teachings on  the father heart of God and are currently finishing a,week of teachings on the renewed mind. During our next five weeks we will be learning about supernatural ministry, spiritual warfare, evangelism, world view and world missions. Our outreach plans are being finalized and we will be taking the students to Panama, Costa Rica and Guatemala.
Each week the base conduct ministry with children in the neighborhood and market area which the DTS students have an active role. We also reach out to the homeless and conduct evangelism in the Central Park in Antigua. Every Monday night we host an English worship service  which is attended by a variety of people in the community.
We are getting more students enrolled in our February DTS which begins February 16.
Please pray for our DTS students as they raise funds for the outreach. Pray also for our housing needs as we consider buying property and building.

August update

Our DTS is now in the 4the week. We have 12 students from Guatemala, USA and Switzerland. We are enjoying working with a talented group ranging from 18-60 years old. Our plans for the 8 week outreach are to minister in Panama, Costa Rica and Guatemala.
We are planning our next DTS for February 16, 2014 and have several students inquiring and making plans to come.
We continue conducting our weekly ministries to the children, homeless, the lost in Antigua and the English speakers. We have several people applying for staff and will soon be running out of space so we are looking for additional housing and the possibility of building a facility in our community. Please keep us in your prayers.

July Update

We will be hosting a group from Indiana July 14-20 who will be participating in our Summer M.A.D. program.  This is a week long program of missions, adventure and discipleship.  It is like a mini DTS and gives students an opportunity to experience what it is like to live as a mission at least in Guatemala.
We are also getting ready to receive our next group of students for the 5 month DTS which begins July 28.  We anticipate a full class of 14 from Guatemala, Canada, USA and Switzerland.
Our next DTS will be held on February 16, 2014.
Last month we had 3 groups from MN, PA, TX at the base doing ministry with us.  Each group brought a special focus to the ministries that we conduct each week at the base and in the community.  It was a powerful time of ministry for each one and we are always blessed to have groups like them come in to help us.

May Update

One of the important aspects of ministry is partnering with other ministries to advance God's Kingdom.  During the past 2 months we have been working with Oasis World Ministries based in Minnesota.  Their founder, Tom Elie, has developed an evangelistic tool called the "One Minute Witness" that is very effective in helping people share their faith.  We have assisted him in setting up meetings with pastors and leaders in Guatemala who are very eager to have the training conducted among their churches.  It is exciting to see the excitement of the pastors to evangelize their nation.

We have hosted two group during the past couple of months who came to build homes for families in San Pablo La Laguna who lost their homes in the earthquake last November.  These families do not have the resources to rebuild and were very appreciative of the generosity of the group.  One of the mom's commented, "I do not understand this kind of love that would travel so far to help a family they did not know.

"During the month of May our base will be hosting 5 women from the Kona, Hawaii DTS.  They are from Sweden, Norway, Canada and the USA.  They are working alongside of our ministries in several locations.  We are always eager to receive fellow DTS groups who are on outreach.  We believe we have some great ministries that they can be a part of and we are blessed to have them join us.

We had to say goodbye to two of our staff members, Cooper and Erin Evans as they are returning to the USA to help Cooper's dad take care of the 5 children still at home in the family.  Cooper's mom died unexpectantly from complications of Dengue fever while they were recently serving in the Dominican Republic.  This has left a huge weight on his dad's shoulders and their return will be a great help to him.  We will miss them but know that God has everything in his control.

We have a new staff member, Dessie, who graduated from our last DTS.  Dessie is not a teenager, she is retired and is the oldest student we have ever had attend a DTS and our oldest staff member.  She loves the Lord and we are happy to have her on board to help us with our ministries.

Our DTS class is filling up and we will soon reach our capacity for this year!  We thank God for the increase in interest and look forward to our next group of students.  It will be a bilingual DTS Spanish/English.

February Update

Since our return from India we have been busy with our normal ministries and have added several new ministries that our new staff have started.  Speaking of new staff, we have three new members to our team: Cooper and Erin Evans, Aaron Musch.  They joined us in January of this year and are busy learning Spanish and working in our ministries.

 The new ministries we have started are: men's study group at the Refuge Coffee house-they are studying "Wild at Heart".  ESL ministry with a local school.
Girls sewing classes at the base; ministry to special needs children at a school in a nearby town.
In January we hosted a small group from Minnesota who were involved in several projects that included: donating wheelchairs to families, construction of a home for a family that lost their's in the earthquake in November, installing 4 stoves to families living in poverty  and conducting a one day medical clinic at our base.
Recently the Backpackers DTS from YWAM Costa Rica stayed with us a couple of nights as they finished their 2 month outreach.
We have teams coming for outreach at the end of March until the middle of July so it will be a busy time at the base.
We are taking enrollment for our next Compassion DTS which begins on July 28, 2013 and look forward to another great class of students.