We are back in the US

We have returned from Panama and we miss the 90 degree temperatures.  Thank you for your prayers in support of our work in Panama.  They were answered in so many ways!
·        Safety in travel – no missed or delayed flights, baggage arrived with us, no customs problems, safe travel in country
·        Safety in country – we remained healthy and at most had a few close calls with heat exhaustion
·        Team cohesiveness – the team commented how well we got along with each other; no arguments, clicks, etc.  Truly amazing!
·        Duties - the team members were excellent performing whatever task was asked of them
·        Support of in country missionaries – I believe we were an encouragement to our hosts
·        Baseball – this is our third time to Panama and we ministered through baseball more than ever.  We were scheduled to run one more clinic on Saturday which was cancelled Friday night and the guys were relieved because we were so tired from the prior day’s clinic and two games.
·        Flexibility – they guys learned to follow the leading of the Lord and just do whatever came their way the next day.  They also learned that my usual response to what are we doing, where are we going, what time, etc. is “no lo sé” (I don’t know).
·        God glorified – each team member had the opportunity to share their testimony via interpreter with a different group.  In addition to visits with indigenous tribes and a local church we conducted baseball clinics for 225-250.  We presented the gospel and know that many accepted Christ as their savior!!

I am already looking forward to our return in January, 2017.
  - Coach Haas

A full day of Baseball

Hey everyone!

I hope you all had a great day in Los Estados Unidos. (The United States). It was sunny and 90 here today in Panama. We started off the day with a baseball clinic in the morning with 77 kids and 9 of us. As you can assume it was quite the experience. We got to teach the kids the game of baseball and just have a fun time with them as we used the couple of words of Spanish that we know. Baseball has a universal language so it all worked out. After the clinic Joey gave his testimony to the kids as they listened to him give them the good news of Jesus Christ. Then Coach Haas came up and gave a gospel message and challenged the kids to live their lives for Christ alone. 

After the clinic we went to the mall where we were given 7 dollars each to feast on a meal before we went out and played 2 five inning games against 2 different teams in the blistering heat. We tied our first game where I had the privilege to pitch that game and in the second game Matt and Joey split it as we won 6-1. Both teams had kids anywhere from the ages of 10 to 25. It was a great way to spend our second to last day. We are going to do our daily devotional together as a team and finish the night with of course our new game called Mafia before we head off to bed and get ready for our last day in Panama which we will be dong as tourists for the day. We appreciate all the prayers from everyone. Everything has been going very smoothly thanks to the prayers, David and Marianella, and Coach Haas. 

Albert from Team Cairn

 

Back to Gamboa
After a long and exciting night of Latin American festivities, we were blessed with the opportunity to sleep in, grab some breakfast and kick back for the morning. During the duration of the morning, the group discovered our new favorite game called MAFIA. The game includes problem solving, story telling, and trickery in order to be a part of the winning team. You can imagine how crazy this game was with this group of hooligans. 

It wasn't too much later that David picked us up to head back to Gamboa, the first tribe that we went to at the beginning of the trip. Again we had the privilege of attempting to play soccer with the children of the village. I believe our record for the day was a sad 2-3 against kids 8 years or younger than us. However, winning wasn't a priority, but showing the kids that we and Jesus truly care about them. Albert Taylor led today's message by sharing his testimony with the tribe, and explained that following God doesn't mean being a good person or living by works, but means putting your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. 

It is very encouraging to see the Gospel spread on this trip, as many missions trips turn into vacations or work projects. Though we may not see the immediate impact of our sharing of the goods news, we can take comfort in the fact that God has used us to plant a seed in the people of Panama. Overall today was great. From playing MAFIA to playing with the children, the group has grown together tremendously. It is exciting to see where God takes this team in the next few days and years to come in this brotherhood.

Eric

Pictures from today:

New Years Eve Day - no baseball today.
Boat ride to a water fall, visited an indigenous tribe village, ate (tilapia, plantains, and pineapple), danced, GOT TATTOOS, bought souvenirs.  Currently resting before our first Latin America New Years Eve party.
Happy New Year's everyone! Yesterday was one of many highlights for the week as we started off our day by heading to a swimming hole underneath a waterfall. The waterfall was magnificent, but personally, I believe the ride there was even greater. We were on a boat for 30 minutes cruising past the jungle and different tribes. This boat ride reminded us of the beauty and great mysteries lying throughout God's creation. After swimming for roughly 45 minutes, we visited a tribe who greeted us with music and a warm welcome. They then proceeded to explain their story and pass out fish and plantains. Let me tell ya, they know how to cook. Some of us even got to participate in a little dancing with the native women and get tattoos (not permanent of course). Eric sure has some moves! Our New Year's Eve then went out with a bang (literally) as we went to our new friend Antonio's house for a Latin American dinner, which included ham, beef, tamales, bread, rice, potato salad, and a few other dishes. They also provided chocolate cookies, which I devoured. Finally, we went and watched fireworks at midnight. This was not a normal display as it felt like we were in the middle of a war zone. Nonetheless, we made it out alive with minimal hearing. Check back here is for more Panamanian adventures! God bless!

Trent 

Here are todays photos: