The last day has come; last day to perfect our broken Spanish, last day to play sports with Panamanians and most importantly it is the last day to share Jesus's love with the people of Panama. After a late night sharing stories of college experiences, we woke and had breakfast then broke into groups for devotions. Following devotions we packed into the bus and headed off for a group of villages along a river in a National Park in southern Panama.
When we arrived at our destination we were greeted by four indigenous people dressed in what we could only describe at the time as "Butt-Flaps". The indigenous people handed out life jackets (which seemed to be the only sign of civilization) as we filed down the hill to the river. We all climbed into a shoddy carved out tree trunk that floated on top of the river as we thought about what God had planned for us that day. As we cruised up the river, we got occasional sprays from the alligator infested water, and sporadically we saw villagers along the river performing daily tasks. Some were washing their laundry in the river, some were simply sitting on the bank preparing for the day. After our boat got stuck in the sand three times, we arrived and followed Mr. "butt-flap" to our first event of the day. We hiked for 20 minutes and arrived at a waterfall where everyone didn't hesitate to jump in to the cool water and take in God's creation. We jumped off some cliffs into a deep pool of water. After we enjoyed the Panamanian outdoors, we ventured to the village where we were greeted by a flute and an orchestra of percussion. The band was made up of indigenous people and were surprisingly talented with their "home-made" instruments. We congregated in the village center where families met together to introduce themselves. They brought us fish and fruit while they shared with us how they live (with great help from our translator Marianella). After the introduction the band played, and the villagers danced while pulling several people from our team to dance with them. I was no exception. We then were able to hand out shoes, soccer balls, dum-dums (which was a huge hit even with the adults), and several other gifts. The people were very grateful. As we handed the gifts to the people we were sure to say "Dios Le Bendiga" (God bless you) with hopes of planting seeds to further His kingdom. The kids giggled as Benji handed them his soccer card and spoke his seemingly fluent Spanish, the little girls smiled as Lindsay painted their nails, and God's love shone through the lives of the Panama Aroma team as they served their last day in the most primitive village they had visited yet. It has been an incredible experience to be a instrument of the Holy Spirit. There is no doubt that we were able to strengthen and build the Kingdom of God as we tried to emulate our Savior; Jesus Christ. Prayer for these people and for the warriors of Christ who are here serving year around are strongly appreciated.
-Panamaniacs
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