All My Praise

We are exhorted to praise our wonderful Savior in Psalm 150. Here in Panama, we have breath so we WILL praise the Lord! Thank You, Jesus, for all You have done, for all You are doing and for what You are going to do. Our lives are surrendered to You.

ALL MY PRAISE

HIDING PLACE- SELAH

I will follow You through green pastures

And sing hallelujah to Your name

I will follow You through dark disaster

And sing hallelujah through the pain

Even in the shadow of death I will praise You

And even in the valley I will say

Holy, my God, You are worthy of all my praise

Holy, my God, You are worthy of all my praise

You are seated on Your throne in heaven

And You see all of us down here

You have promised You will not abandon

So, I shall not fear

Even in the shadow of death I will praise You

Even in the valleys I will say

Holy, my God, You are worthy of all my praise

Holy, my God, You are worthy of all my praise

You made every star

And You taught it how to shine

You knew my name

Before there was time

All this is just part of

Your glorious design

Hallelujah, hallelujah

Holy, my God, You are worthy of all my praise

Holy, my God, You are worthy of all my praise

Thanksgiving in Panama

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

What to do on thanksgiving in a foreign country? We could spend $27.00 per person for a meal at the Sheraton. Nah! Too much dinero. Or, by a turkey and cook it in a propane oven for 4 to 6 hours. No, we hate the smell and really don't have a clue to proper heat and time. And it's a lot of work for just the 4 of us. Besides, Thanksgiving is more about being with friends and family, all of which are back home in Springs.

So, the ol' gobbly gobbly got lucky this year. Maybe we'll have Iguana:) Actually we decided to go American and eat out at T.G.I. Fridays. A good old fashion bacon cheeseburger will just have to do.

We did buy a christmas tree today, so the girls are thrilled about putting on the lights and the decorations tonight and then we'll kick back and watch "The Search For Santa Paws!"

We are very grateful and thankful for all God has done for us and is doing! Happy Thanksgiving!

9,900 fliers to go!

Today we went on outreach and went door to door passing out fliers and tracts and preaching Jesus! Rachelle went with Shamara Rose and little Meg. And I went with Noe and Sarah.

It was a holy ghost time!!! We spoke to many that were open to the gospel. I prayed with one man right in the middle of the street and he thanked me afterwards. I passed one house and I saw several muslims inside. Long beards and the clothing and the caps. Holy ghost power came over me and I walked right inside with no hesitation and began to share the gospel. I asked the oldest man in there if he had any sickness and he said yes, diabetes. I asked if I could pray for him and he responded yes, please. So, I laid hands on him, and in the name of JESUS I rebuked sickness and prayed in a loud voice, "Jesus, you died on the cross for our sins, and the bible says by your stripes we are healed, heal this man now!!" When I was done you could hear a pin drop. The man thanked me. And I thank God for the boldness.

So, praise God we passed out about 100 fliers and we pray for fruit. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few

Evangelize!!!!

Services have been great. We have seen visitors come in and stick. And God is building his church! Hallelujah!

We just received 10,000 flyers, thanks to VWO Colorado Springs, and we are so excited to be able to invite people with such an eye-popping flyer. It also gives an open door to share the gospel.

We were in a chinese restaurant chowing down on chow mein, (by the way, when was the last time you seen a chinese speaking spanish?) and had just received the flyers so I invited out this chinese lady. She said, "Tienes culto en chino?" ("Do you have chinese service?")lol. No, sorry just spanish. But her spanish was much better than mine.

Again pray for us as we evangelize this city for Jesus!!

La Promesa Y La Sorpresa

The girls both had birthdays this summer, or winter if you are in Panama. Sarah is now ten and Meg is three. Wish we could stop time.

Noe, Nidia y Silvino

So, we haven't posted in awhile. Sorry about that. Good intention is always there but as we all know, life gets in the way. It is definitely time for an update. It has been just over a month since we opened the church doors and we can honestly say that we have counted it all joy. That very first Sunday we had no visitors. Our daughter, Sarah, was in Costa Rica visiting family so there we were: Dustin, Rachelle and Meg having church. Dustin will tell you that there were an additional three--the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost and I will say a definite "amen" to that! We were so happy to be in our own building and to actually be doing what we came here to do; it didn't matter that there were no visitors. Don't get me wrong, of course we would have rather seen people but on that day our overall sentiment was joy. And then, we were off and running.

We haven't quite reached 1,000 members yet but people are coming in. (Yes, I am smiling !!!) As we drove home after this past Sunday evening's service my thoughts turned to an older gentleman that has been coming. His name is Noe and he has been with us when there have been many and again when not so many. I was tickled wondering what he thinks about the gringo pastor, his family and this church Centro Cristiano Victoria. I don't know this man, really, but already he is precious to me. Why? Because he comes to this church that is barely in its beginning stages. I feel like giving him a big hug every time I see him and telling him thank you but that would be totally inappropriate and probably send him running. We don't want that; We like Noe.

Thinking about Noe led me to think about some of the others that have become familiar over the past weeks. I thought of Rafa. He is a man that has forsaken an immoral lifestyle and has surrendered to Jesus. Rafa is very sick but is believing for a miracle healing and we are believing with him. I thought of Nidia. She is a woman that is very quiet and has a true lady like presence. I think she is beautiful and I like to hear her laugh. Thinking of Nidia makes me think of Silvino. He is Nidia's husband and what a character is he. How do I explain Silvino? Silvino is larger than life. We actually met him at our home; he fumigates it once a month. One afternoon that he was working at our house, Dustin invited him to take a break for some lunch. Dustin gave him corn dogs and how happy it made Silvino. Corn dogs changed his life! Silvino was so pleased with the corn dogs that we sent him home with what remained in our freezer. Anyhow, Dustin took that opportunity to share Jesus with Silvino. He told Dustin that he was a Christian but as the conversation continued the Holy Spirit must have convicted because he then opened his heart and told Dustin that he was a backslider and wanted to rededicate his life. See!!! We do our part and God does do the rest. Dustin invited him to church and Senor Silvino came and has been coming since.

These are people that will always be a part of this work's story because they were at the start. That makes them special. And to think, this is just the start. We've only just begun. We are encouraged and cannot wait to meet all of the others that have yet to come through the church doors. God will build His church; He will. It is a privilege to serve here and once again, thank you for allowing us to do so. With your love, support and prayers the kingdom of hell will not prevail.

Here are some pictures of the work. The couple you see is Silvino and Nidia with their grandson, Alexander.

There Were People!!!

Okay, so we just got home from our first Wednesday night service...and we were pleasantly surprised with people. God is good. I must put a disclaimer here before you view the clip. Sorry for the voice leading worship. Enjoy...