Shelly's Panama Journal

We are sitting at American Airlines waiting for our plane home. We left there ten days ago. It’s been a wonderful trip on so many levels….

We arrived in Panama City about 7:00pm and when we walked out into the warm air, there was a COICOM delegation waiting for us. So we rode in an air conditioned van with the Pintos (another couple on the board) into town. We dropped them off and went to our little hotel. It was only a block and a half from the main hotel. The street was mostly residential with lots of shops. It could have been anywhere in Latin America. A lot of people live in high rises in the city. Our hotel was seven stories high. We were on the 7th floor in a simple room. We had warm water, a clean dbl. bed, tile floors, television, and a fresh bottle of water each day and were perfectly fine. The window wasn’t situated in the room for the view but I enjoyed looking down into the patio of the house below and onto two different streets. It was also helpful to be able to check the skies for the frequent tropical rain.

Tuesday morning was the Friends of Israel breakfast. It was very significant. The hosts were all very personable but we were most impacted by the Rabbi. He told us about his first encounter with an evangelical. It was an 87 year old black pastor who was his roommate on a tour of Israel when he was a new Rabbi. What a sweet impact that elderly, godly man had in the young Jew’s life. The Rabbi closed with a Hebrew blessing. It was fun to watch our Latin brothers and sisters rejoice in the spirit of unity and a love for God’s chosen people.

Another highlight was the meeting we had as a COICOM board with Doug Birdsall, executive director of Lausanne III, Jesús Londoño of COMIBAM, Ricardo Luna of CONELA and José Gonzalez of TRANSFORMA, all representing major evangelical movements. COMIBAM, CONELA and TRANSFORMA are continent-wide. The hair literally stood up on my arms to hear these guys talking about sharing information and resources because several of the organizations have had a history of competition! Around that table we saw history being made and the true impact of what the Gospel is all about! “Behold! How they love one another!”

One of the men at that meeting is an Ecuadorian, living in the US now. He came up and gripped my arm and said, “Thank you for going to my country as missionaries! I love HCJB and I am so grateful to you for giving so much of your life for Ecuador!” It was so sweet and humbling at the same time. We love Ecuador and Latin people in general and it meant a lot to know that is appreciated! How we long to be instruments to lead more to Christ!

I went straight from that meeting to teach the seminar on Kitchen Table Counseling. There were about 20 people when the seminar began, but by the time I finished 92 had come! I didn’t feel particularly powerful, but the Lord used it in women’s lives and He was honored and lifted up. One challenge was that, due to a major communication breakdown, there were only five copies of KTC in the country! That made some explanations more difficult.

The marriage seminar the next day was well attended. People wanted to share their thoughts and perspectives and it was a challenge to let that happen and get the teaching in. People have such a need to share what they are feeling and experiencing!

The conference was the best ever as far as content, participation of internationals, etc… but poorly attended by Panamanians. It is something of a puzzle because the strongest, largest evangelical churches were a part of the organizing force. It has left COICOM in a precarious place financially and that was a point of discussion and concern at the board retreat after the conference.

The retreat was precious for me. I had good fellowship with the wives that attended, as a board we had some wonderful worship and prayer as well. Even in the face of the financial challenges of COICOM we all felt that COICOM needs to continue, that it has a significant and powerful role to play in God’s work in Latin America.

I came away, so grateful that Glen had the vision, along with some other men, to “found” COICOM all those years ago. God has used it and we trust that He will continue to use it to encourage believers and equip them to bring others into the Kingdom! My heart is so full of thanks to the Lord for allowing us to have a part in what He is doing in Latin America.