Towers Panama Trip

Well it has been 3 days since we have been back in the United States. WOW. It seems like the trip was ages ago, it is funny how that happens isn’t it. We say, at Pine Cove, in the summer that the days are long but the weeks are short. That the summer comes and goes so quickly. I feel that way with our Panama trip. It was here…then gone. Like passing a single telephone poll going 70 mph. If you blink, you miss it.

Since I have been back, I have been asked several times “How was the trip?” Upon reflecting on that broad question, I find my only response to be a deep sigh, a brief look in the distance and then: “Fantastic”. Did things always go the way I thought they should? No. Would I change anything about the trip? ….No….I don’t think I would. It is so good to look back and see lessons that God taught me through chaotic moments. Or to look back and see that God is bigger than our plans and bigger than the “ideal situations” we have in mind. To remember that ALL things work for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose. Its so hard to see in the moment; but if we could see it in the moment or see the outcome, I think we would be robbed of a blessing. We wouldn’t learn to hope and trust in the Lord. We wouldn’t cry out to God in our moment of need, confessing to him that we are weak and he is strong.

God did big things in Panama. He moved in the hearts of teens and brought them to a realization of His grace through Jesus. He humbled, He built up, He allowed us to be involved in what He is doing. It was Fantastic.

Before the trip, Barrett and I agreed on Ephesians 3:14-21 to be the verse we wanted our team to focus on for the trip.

“14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

The very words of God. This verse incorporates so many themes of the trip. That our God is not the God of the USA, but of the WORLD. That the Love of Christ is far above any language barrier we may have. That God can do more than we can ever ask/imagine and He CHOOSES to use us to do that work…ISN’T THAT AWESOME! To quote a good friend of mine: “If that doesn’t get you fired up, your woods wet.”

I love how music can help express an idea or tell a story. There is a song called “God is Able” by Hillsong. It will help express to you what I am feeling about the trip. Take a few minutes and watch it.

If you know someone who went on the trip, please be asking them what they learned because of it. Or perhaps ask them for a story from the trip. It always helps to verbally process through things!

One final thought, we have mentioned the Gospel several times over the course of this blog.  If you are reading this and you have never heard the Gospel of Jesus, I want you to hear the following: God has a standard, that standard is perfection. But we do not meet that standard, we miss the mark. That makes us all sinners (Romans 3:23). There is a price for our sin and it is death. Not just a physical death but also a spiritual death (Romans 6:23). But what God demands, God provides. God sent His son Jesus, to pay the price for our sin (John 3:16/2 Corinthians 5:12). God offers us a gift, salvation through Jesus and redemption from our sin. If we accept this gift we will have the hope of eternal salvation! While our bodies will still physically die, we will live forever with God and Christ in heaven. Remember that nothing we do will make us clean (going to church, going to panama, or doing good things) it is only by grace through faith in Jesus that saves us (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Thank you for traveling with us. God Bless.

Soli Deo Gloria, Jake

The Towers Panama team is in route and will be landing in DFW at 1:20pm.  They are on American 2102.

It has been one wild ride of a trip here in Panama. It is sad to think that this is the end of the last day here. Tomorrow morning we get up early to ride to the airport to fly back to the states. Before I get all sentimental, let me tell you about our day.

We got an earlier start than usual from the last couple of days and began to head to the Coclè province of Panama. Our day of “tourism” was really going to be a day of relaxation at the Cerro La Vieja Spa in the mountains. Pedro had reserved a villa for us near the Tavida Cascade, a waterfall. We arrived to find a quaint little villa with 2 cabins and an observatory-hut with hammocks. We had a wonderful lunch catered for us and then it was time to kick back and chill. Some of us took naps in the hammocks, some read, and others went for a walk around the waterfall. Toward the end of the day we all went down to the waterfall and swam and stood underneath it.

Lauren at the entrance of the villa.

From the observatory-hut look at the falls.

Some of our staff under the fall.

The end of a beautiful trip.

Our time with the Panamanian staff was so wonderful. We ended our time at Cerro La Vieja with Mari and some of the other girls giving us hand made photo books. It was very sweet.

I was blown away at the hospitality that we were shown here in Panama. We connected SO well with the CCI staff. I truly believe that many of our counselors have made relationships that will last for years to come. Besides all that…the Gospel was proclaimed and lives were changed for God’s purposes and God’s glory. We were able to model a philosophy of christian camping to our friends here in Panama, while at the same time (I pray) being humble servant leaders.

I want to thank everyone for their prayers and for keeping up with our trip. Continue to pray for us as we travel back to the USA tomorrow. We look forward to seeing all our friends and family. God Bless.

Soli Deo Gloria, Jake.

Hello friends! Well today we had a day camp at the seminary that we are staying at here in Arraijan. We had around 30 to 40 kids show up, the majority being kids who had been at camp last week. It was a great time of fellowship and fun. We began with a riveting game of “foot base” (this is what the national staff call kickball) around 10am. We played several other games like Warball and Turkish Delight. We also shared a meal with the kids and had a devo lead by Chris Dalrymple and Lauren Schoonover. They talked about what the church looked like and why it is important. It was great to hear both of them share and challenged the students to begin getting involved with the body of Christ. Enjoy the pictures below of the from Day Camp.

The battle line set.

Zach has been Paramount for us in helping translate! Having him around is a blessing.

Lauren and Chris ending their talk. Zach was translating.

The kids and counselors from the day camp.

After the day camp was over around 3pm, we had some chill time in the afternoon. We took naps and hung out for awhile. Then around 4:30 we meet together and debriefed about how we were feeling emotionally/spiritually and shared some stories together. It was very good to have that time to bond. At 6:30 we went over to the school and had dinner (KFC…mmm). Then at 7:30 we had a trip celebration with the national staff and their families. We sang praise and worship, they shared the lessons they had learned from camp and from us, and then they even had a few surprises for us.

2 Teens from the church in traditional Panamanian garb dancing for us.

The time tonight was a sweet one for us. We are so appreciative of the hospitality and love that we have been shown by the Panamanian CCI Staff.

Tomorrow we will go on a day of tourism, we will share the details then.

Soli Deo Gloria, Jake

What a day it has been. We spent the majority of the day at the school where we had church yesterday. Barrett and I were teaching an orientation with the CCI & Pine Cove staff, covering Pine Cove’s philosophy on christian camping. It was an amazing time to share with our Panamanian brothers and sisters what the Lord has taught us over 40 years of ministry. They were very eager to learn, ask questions, and process through the camp session we held through the lens of our philosophy. Not only did Barrett and I have the opportunity to teach but our staff had the chance to give great practical examples of what we taught.

Barrett teaching on Ownership

Before lunch we had the chance to have our staff and the CCI staff share stories from camp. What an unbelievable blessing. I would like to share a few with you.

A couple of days ago we shared with you 2 stories, 1 was of Rosanna and her camper Paola. The other was of Chris and his camper David. Rosanna shared with us today what happened with Paola. On Friday night we had a fireside club and the Gospel was shared. Afterwards the cabins were dismissed to have some reflection time were the counselors could talk with the campers about the message that had been brought. Paola put her faith in Christ during that reflection time! But not only Paola….. all 6 of Rosanna and Kailey’s campers put their faith in Christ!!! I was blown away. So not only did Paola put her faith in Christ on Friday night, but she came to the youth service last night. Rosanna is committed to walking with her and helping her in her new life in Christ. To God be the Glory!

Chris shared this morning that his camper David continued to share with him as the week continued. It was so cool to hear how the hard times that David is having currently, Chris has walked through similar circumstances in his past. To see how God’s providence aligned Chris to be Davids counselor. Our God is in control! As far as David’s faith in Christ, Chris believes that he has a relationship with Jesus. But he has had a vary hard time and lots of bad influences in his life. Continue to pray for David as he struggles through his faith and that he would turn to Jesus.

So after the day of orientation was complete, we loaded up into a bus and headed to the Panama Canal.

A Ferry in the MIra Flores Lock

We left the canal and headed to the Old Panama City.

Walking the streets of Old Panama

Good Looking Group

Pedro, Pedro, Mateo, and Mari

A Parisian statue in the Panamanian Sunset

It was a beautiful day. We ended up eating dinner at an Italian restaurant on the Panamanian causeway.

We are back at the seminary and we are sitting out on our balcony walk way. As I have been writing this blog we have been worshipping thanks to the talents of Mr. Brad Daugherty.

Have a blessed night everyone! As more stories from camp come up…I will share them.

Oh and Roll Tide

Soli Deo Gloria, Jake

Well good evening friends. Today has a been a day of hospitality and fellowship. It is has been so good. This morning we woke up and went to a local school where Pedro’s church (PIBA) is held. We had breakfast there and then helped them set the “gym” up for the worship service. Several of us also helped with the children’s ministry and their worship service. There was a time of activities (playing outside and arts and crafts), a snack, and then worship with a talk.

John, Zach and the nino's playing with a Parachute before children's church.

Pedro's son Pedro is in the middle.

Lauren helping with Arts and Crafts

While the children’s service was going on with half the team, the other half was in the adult service (AKA “big church” by the team) in the gym.

Rosanna, Alejandro, Oswaldo leading worship (They were all Panamanian counselors at camp)

After church was over we had lunch together at Dominga’s house (she cooked for us at camp and is part of the church). It was so delicious and her family was very hospitable. We stayed there until around 3 o’clock and then we went to the actual church building of PIBA. On Sunday evenings the youth have a service there and we were able to be involved with it. The majority of the youth were the campers at the camp, so it was a reunion of sorts.

From the church overlooking the city of Arraijan tonight.

Before we had left on the trip, we were told that we would not have the opportunity to stay with host families while in Panama. Well, we were given the incredible opportunity to stay with the staffs’ families involved with camp; like Pedro, Fe, Dominga, Rossana, Magdiel (he is Chris’s co and Pedro’s brother-in-law). It is such a blessing to be invited into the homes of the people we have spent the last 5 days with, getting to continue to invest and build those relationships. Not to mention to have a home cooked meal. Barrett, John, Jamin, and I are at Pedro’s right now. Mari, his wife, made us patacones, shrimp creole, and ceviche. WOW.

Barrett helping Mari make the patacones (fried, flattened plantains)

Tomorrow is a big day for Barrett and I, as we will be teaching an Orientation/Debrief with the Panamanian staff from 10 til 4. It will be a great opportunity for us to communicate the philosophy of Pine Cove and to evaluate the past week of camp. Please be praying for us; that we will speak clearly, boldly, and gently.

Each day the rest of the week is full of events, but I don’t want to give anything away just yet.

We have not forgotten the stories from the end of camp, but they will come on a later post.

Soli Deo Gloria, Jake

I am not able to post very much today because the mobile internet card is needed elsewhere. But today was the last day of our 5 Day session. The week was wonderful and we will post in the next couple of days sharing some more of the ways that God moved. He did GREAT things.

Trust Fall

This morning we had team building activities such as: trust fall, human knot, and blind polygon. It was very cool to see the campers working together and communicating.

A Panamanian Jump Pic

After morning activities we had a closing celebration. One of the cabins of boys had been practicing one of the songs we had sung during club all week. They got up and played the song for the campers, it was very cool to see them lead in worship. Several of the campers shared what they had learned from the week. But we will have more stories to come later.

Meet the Campers

We left camp and had dinner at one of the counselors (Charlene) house with Pedro and his family and another counselor (Rosanna). We are staying the night at a Southern Batist Seminary in Pedro’s home town, Arrajan. We are tired but well and we are looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow before we go to church!

Praise God for his work and His abundance grace upon us. Jehovah Jirah.

Sorry this is so short.

Soli Deo Gloria, Jake

We wanted to let every know some of the encouraging stories of the Lord moving in the hearts of campers in today’s blog. Before we do I want to show you some of the memorable moments of the day.

We started the morning with having our activity time at the beach! We had a sandcastle contest and a relay race.

One of the teams working on their castle!

The teams found some trash on the beach and decided to add some decor to their castles. I love the resourcefulness.

Making the most of what they had!

What a great circle huh?!

One of the relay games we played was called “In & Out”. Where the teams had an inner circle of people surrounded by an outer circle. They then had to run as a group to a cone, switch circles without breaking hands and run back to the start.

Controlled Chaos

While the beach games were going on, some of the program staff were helping the cooks to prepare for the barbecue picnic we would have on a bluff over looking the ocean. Please believe me friends, this was SO COOL and the food was AMAZING! We had carne asada, potato salad, fried plantain chips, corn on the cob, fresh pico de gallo, and skewered chorizo. What a feast.

Brad showing off our feast.

It has been a very fun day.

Well as I said before, we want to share with you a couple of stories of how God is moving in the hearts of campers.

The first is from one of the Panamanian counselors, Rossana. She has a camper named Paola who is 15. This is Paola’s first time to every come to a Christian camp. In fact, it has been the first time that she has been exposed to hearing about Christ so clearly. At first Paola was very quiet. She wouldn’t allow Rossana “in” so to speak and didn’t really show a desire to let Rossana get close to her. Rossana started small and learned that Paola was enjoying the worship and bible studies. After some persistence and a short time, Paola began to trust Rossana. Rossana was able to share with Paola her testimony and Paola opened up to her. Rossana is planning on approaching Paola tonight during reflection time and asking her if she would like to respond to the Gospel.

Paola and Rossana

The second is from one of our staff, Chris. The trip has been quite the experience for Chris. His co-counselor and the campers do not speak English, with one exception. David. David is Peruvian, but was actually born and grew up in Alabama. His parents were engineers in the US and lived their until he was twelve. David speaks perfect English/Spanish and was the first camper in the cabin that Chris got to speak with. David has shared with Chris that since moving to Panama he has not been happy at all and has been involved in some bad things. Both his parents are believers and he said that he wanted to be around good things so he decided to come to camp. Chris has been able to share with David that doing good things does not mean that he is good in the eyes of God. That only faith in Christ and God calling him good will make him good. Since then David has continued to open up with Chris and Chris has taken the opportunity to invest in him. It is clear to Chris that David’s heart is being transformed by the Lord and that he is becoming more and more open to the Gospel. In fact because of the relationship that Chris has started with David, Chris has been able to communicate with other campers. David is translating the good news of the Gospel for Chris to the other boys! (ISN’T THAT COOL!?)

David and Chris

Please Pray: That God would draw Paola and David to himself. That he would transform their hearts and that they would put their trust and faith in Jesus Christ. Continue to pray for the Panamanian staff and Pine Cove staff. That we would be used by God to transform the lives of people for His purposes and His glory.

Soli Deo Gloria, Jake

Buenas tardes mis amigos. It has been another good day so far. The sun is out, there is a wonderful breeze coming off of the pacific and spirits are high. To catch up from last night: Pedro (the camp director) spoke to the campers and it was a wonderful time. The kids were very attentive! He spoke a great deal of what their identity was in Christ and that they were treasures/treasured by God!

Pedro sharing at Club last night.

I would like to introduce you all to Fe Tuy. She is the Panamanian Program Director here at A Dios Sea La Gloria. Barrett and I have been working very closely with her to plan and execute the program at camp.

Barrett, Fe, and I

Barrett, Fe, and I were able to have a great conversation this afternoon during Tiempo de Cabaña (FOB or rest time after lunch). She had a lot of questions about the heart behind why we did certain things. Barrett and I had the opportunity to cast vision on how we encourage and challenge our staff. We got to share with her the Empower/Serve model that we use at Pine Cove. But it was also a learning experience for Barrett and I as Fe shared with us her heart for Christian Camping and how our different cultures see things. It was Muy Bueno and great to be able to fulfill part of the vision for a year one Commission Camping trip. We look forward and are praying for more opportunities to share the knowledge and blessing that we have been blessed with. A Dios sea la Gloria.

As far as the activities today, they do not look to differently from yesterday. We did add arts & crafts/face painting today and it was a huge success. Our counselors are doing great and the program staff are serving their hearts out! Enjoy the pictures from todays activities:

Ashley, Zach, John, and Meg washing dishes from Breakfast

Megan and Isaac (our translator) doing prep for lunch (we had hotdogs!)

Futbol is the obvious favorite activity of the boy campers!

The girls LOVED the face painting we had!

As I mentioned earlier, we had a great meeting with Fe after lunch. We also met with Pedro this afternoon and talked about the schedule for once camp was complete on Saturday. The rest of the trip is going to be a great time, our staff doesn’t even now!

Time is running out. We are about to go play an all camp game. Talk to you soon.

Soli Deo Gloria, Jake

Misericordias de Dios son nuevas cada mañana! (God’s mercies are new every morning!) What a blessing it is have a good nights rest. This morning/today has been so good! The team was tired to say the least from yesterday. Let me recap from yesterday a bit (my brain wasn’t firing on all cylinders and Barrett had to finish the update last night).

Tuesday, Jan 3rd. - The morning started early! We started loading our bus at 3:00am and by 3:30 we were on our way to Dallas. Like we mentioned in the blog from last night, the travel went so smooth! We were never rushed at the airports. In fact, we had time to eat breakfast and lunch. Which if you have ever traveled with 15+ people, that can be a difficult task.

Early on I could already see God’s provision and blessing in our trip. Little encouraging things from other believers popping up left and right. Examples: A TSA security guard with an “I Am Second” bracelet. A Starbucks worker with a “I love Jesus” lanyard around her neck. Or finally,  a couple seeing our group and asking if we were from Pine Cove. Then they began telling us how the ministry had so greatly impacted them and their children. It truly was a blessing to me and the group. The Lord blessed us big time once we landed in Panama with Robert Bruno (President of CCI Latin America) welcoming us at the airport. We have known each other for several years and it was good to see a familiar face right off the bat.

Here we are having just arrived at Campamento A Dios Sea La Gloria (Camp “To God be the Glory). The long travel was over but the journey was just beginning. For the surprise welcome we got, check out the last post!

We jumped right into the craziness of camp. When we arrived we moved into our cabins. The facilities are great and the property itself is almost the biggest I have seen in Central America. After moving into the cabins and after we had our dinner (can I get an Amen), the counselors got some time to spend with their campers. Barrett and I begin to meet with the Camp Director Pedro and the Program Director Fe. It was good to finally talk with them in person and start to hash through all of the plans we had for the week.

Kailey Perkins with her Co-Counselor Rossana and their cabin.

Jamin and his Co-Counselor Alejandro and their cabin.

Our club talk last night was brought to us by Barrett Sims (he is co-leading the trip with me). He introduced everyone to the theme of the week, that Christ is our treasure. (Treasure Hunt theme).

Today, Jan 4 – Today has been very good! We have had a normal “full” day at camp. We had breakfast, bible studies, morning activities and lunch. Right now the kids are starting pool time. Pedro brought me to an internet cafe so that I could upload more pictures and load software on to my computer for our mobile wireless card.

Here are some pictures from today:

Katherine teaching Archery.

Showing the Panamanian Boys Kajabi-Can-Can.

It gets intense.

Amigos

Did I mention that the camp is on the Pacific Ocean?! Yeah….pretty easy on the eyes huh? We are planning a sand castle competition (pictures to come, Lord willing).

Well I am running out of time. Please know that your sons and daughters are doing an amazing job! They are being great examples of the Gospel and eagerly serving with joy (several of our girls got up and helped cook breakfast at 6am, despite not sleep much the last 24 hours).

You can pray specifically for: That we would be unified, not only together, but with the Panamanian staff as well. That we would all be communicating with our actions that “It is not about me”. We desire to humble servant leaders, modeling Christ from Philippians 2. In our weakness this can be a struggle. But as I was reminded last night: “But he said to me,’My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. may rest upon us.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

Blessings! Thanks for reading!

Soli Deo Gloria, jake.