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City of Colon Kadin's new school

4-29-09

Well it has been a while. I would say that I have been too busy to up date this blog but it is really because I haven't taken the time to do so. We have been busy, I finished the lecture phase of the Leadership school a couple of weeks ago and have been working with a team from Norway. Since January we have had three Mission Adventures team come and go and currently there are two DTS outreaches here. I have been working with both of them setting up ministry opportunities and taking them to the spots. We have been working in orphanages, schools, villages, and lots in the city. We have seen good fruit from the evangelism that we have done and God has opened doors for us to go back.

In February we started work on transforming an old house into a Christian school, and we finished it just before school started. We all put a lot of work into the school an were not sure how the community would respond, but the school is full. This is the first Christian school in this community it is a bilingual school (English/Spanish) and some Mandarin. We already need to build another building and find more teachers. We started Kadin in kindergarten and he is doing well.

12-10-2008

From what you can see we had a baby. It is for this reason that I have not bogged for some time. Just about everything that has happened lately has been about him. Funny how that works. Baby info: 6lbs 8oz 21inch Nov. 18, 2008, Hudson Hebrew Mehler. It was our first experience having a baby in country not our own. It went well. It was like a 1960's baby delivery with all the scrubs and stuff. The doctor said that we have the record for the leased amount of time spent in the hospital after delivery. Now we have to figure out how to do all the paper work for a dual citizen baby.

Also in the last couple of weeks I was able to "score one for the consumer" as one friend puts it. All I was trying to do was fix the pressure washer for the base. This is something I had been working on for a while and I finally found a place that had a pump which fit our motor for the pressure washer. First of all the nice sales man at the store told me they did not have pumps that would work and that I would need to buy a complete new machine for $800. But after showing him the pump I wanted and putting on my motor he assured me that it would probably work. Well I needed some other things to make all of the old attachments work with the new pump so I ask him and he said they did not have them. I searched the city for a very small but very significant part without success. So the next day I returned to the store and asked the same gentleman again if there was any thing to make this work. He sold me a hose. I returned to the base and it didn't fit. So I went back this time with the whole set up determined to stay until all was working. After returning one thing and buying another and refusing to pay for something they should have given me to begin with, talking to manager after manager and tech I left with a good working machine, and was able to save a little money in the process Did I mention that I had to do this all in spanish and I am not very strong at arguing in spanish. I pretty much prayed the whole three hours I spent there that day. Thank God for helping us with the little things.

Identity project in progress. Tomato field.

11-06-2008

Hah, the cool air of the mountains, the smell of camp fires and the warm hospitality of the Gnobe. It makes the six hour bus ride worth it. I feel a bit closer to the people in Lechusa after my second trip. The trip was only three days and two of them spent traveling. We did have a good part of one afternoon and morning of our traveling days to capture some good video for the project. One of the differences between these people and other groups we work with is that we don't spend much time playing or sitting in hammocks. Nope about an hour after we arrived we started recording. This really appeals to my western ways, we like to get things done. It was a good thing too, with our short stay there.

One of the nights we were in Lechusa a baby was born. One of the older gentlemen that we were interviewing became a grandfather that night and ask if we would be interested in dedicating the baby to the Lord. The father of the child was not a Christian but had heard the gospel and decided to receive Christ. So after we prayed with him, we dedicated his first child, only eight hours old, to Christ. To finish off the celebration we had coffee.

Another great thing happened. The pastor, his wife, and two other women came to us with a proposition. Though I still don't know what they were proposing. They have been taking the gospel to communities in their area, and their area is very big. They go for days at a time and walk to these communities with their children to share the hope they have in Christ. What they are looking for is training and support. They have little of both. Usually when indigenous come to you with a plan they usually don't have one but do need money. This was not the case this time. First of all the pastor is being humble in saying he needs training. Perhaps some, but he knows the Bible and leaves the religion out. Second of all they started farming to sustain their family and support their ministry. Third they are already ministering to their people. It really was exciting to hear about what they are doing and their plan for the future. It is obvious that God is working in them and through them. So we commissioned them to go and spread the good news.

In January I will return to Lechusa to work with a team to construct a meeting place for them. Please pray for that. I am supposed to design, and buy all the materials for the project but not too sure how. Also I have a baby that could be here any day now. Pray. Pray. Pray.

Jason

10-23-2008

Recently, not much has happened. Nothing that I consider really news worthy. I fixed a faucet, a door, a light fixture, and painted every thing I can think of on the base. Not very exciting, but I enjoy it. I also up dated the look of the website and we are working on a news letter. Betsy and I have been getting ready for the baby too. She is nervous about going to the hospital here because they have different practices and no mid-wives. It will be all good. As you can see above one of the bats died that have been in our ceiling. Not to worry though we have more. I think I am going to build a habitat for them and start charging admit ion. Not really, they are too small for that. We have nailed down some dates for going to La Chusa, 30th to the 2nd of November. Please pray for us during this time, specifically for the project to go smoothly.

God bless you all,

Jason

Our new, temporary home. Kadin getting some pool time at the staff retreat.

9-25-2008

Hello faith full readers. The past two weeks have been moving weeks. We moved to San Vicente. Don't worry it is still in Panama and only five minutes from where we lived before. We are becoming real Panamanians we have a house with nice bars on the windows, neighbors who share there music with us, and bats that live in our ceiling. Seriously, we really like our new home and are very thankful for what God has provided for us. We went on a staff retreat a couple Saturdays ago and it was fun. It is nice for us all to get out and do something fun together.

Well plans have changed as they do, instead of going to the Darien we are going to go to Chiriqui to do some recording. A friend of a friend is coming down from Washington State to help with the documentary part. We are excited to go and work in the community with which we have relationship as well as new communities. This project we pray will help the Ngobe open up to the gospel in a new way. This is going to be the first trip that is more than one day. We plan on staying for a week. One of the staff here has been working with the Ngobe in La Chusa recently, and it seems like God is really doing a good work within them. I am looking forward to going to see the people that I know and to get in some cooler weather.

-Jason-

Me doing a little bit of what I do here. Kadin and I going up river to San Juan.

9-11-2008

The past few weeks have been busy ones. Now that there is someone for people to go to when something breaks, well, they do. I don't mind though, the hardest part is trying not to double book chores. I had my first experience trying to get a part for a made in USA machine. Not very easy, actually not very possible, so after a long day of city driving I came home empty handed. I feel good that I now know parts of the city that I didn't know existed.

So as you can see above, Kadin had his first trip up river to the village of San Juan. He has a friend who lives there and I was going up to work on a recording project with Sounds of the Jungle. Kadin had a real good time. He did what most kids would do, play in the river, try to catch iguanas and of course play with all the other kids. I have been working with a team of people on a project called Identity Restored. The plan is to go to all the different peoples of Panama, interview them and record their music in order to help restore their identity in Christ. If you want to know more you can go to www.identityrestored.co.nr/

Monday we went to San Antonio to talk to and interview some of the people there. We had a good time and it was interesting to hear how differently the older generation feels about their way of life than the younger. Mostly the grandparents see leaving Colombia and receiving Christ as almost the same thing. Which means that now that they know the "Word" life is much better. I guess it is because the "Word" came to them about the same time, as best that I can tell.

Soon we are planning to go to the Darian, it will be a longer trip and a little dangerous, but fun.

-Jason-

8-20-2008

Well I didn't have much to write about but wanted to blog any way so here are some random pictures or the kids after playing in the rain, me on a slow horse, and Kadin a boat going across the lake to a village.

I started this web site so that people can see what we are doing in ministry and stay connected. My wife and I's biggest ministry is our kids. We are blessed to be able to take them to work with us so that they can see what God is doing here in Panama. They are good ice breakers with people too. People see our children and for some reason ask if they are ours, (who else would they belong to, do you see any other white folk here?) and it opens doors for us to talk with them. Our children are defiantly our first ministry and we try to keep it that way.

In other news......well there is no news. Things are going pretty good here, I get to work more closely with the 'Home boys' the boys in the Hogar program, and also the girls. I have the privilege of teaching them how to work hard and have a good attitude at the same time, teenagers. I also added some contact info to the site so that people can send 'real letters' and packages etc.

-Jason-

Some women in La Chusa One of the many children

8/6/2008

Well I had hoped to blog a little more often than I have but time does fly when your having fun.

I spent a week in the province of Chiriqui with the Ngobe indians. I co-led a team from Wisconsin to the village of La Chusa high in the mountains. The journey is about four hours by bus and two by four by four, a fun trip. During our time we had Bible teachings for the men, and for the first time a Bible study for the women. While the women were in class we had a program for there kids, and any other ones that showed up. Every evening we had dinner and a movie at the church or the tarp. The plan for next trip is to build a church for the community. They have a pastor and a good leadership team and the more we work with them the more they see how important it is for them to reach their community. I am looking forward to going back and building a better relationship with them.

This week I started my new job as General Maintenance Manager for Ywam. It is now my job to make sure every one else is doing their job in the area of maintenance. Also whenever something breaks it is my problem. I am exited to be able to serve in this way, it will free up some other people to do the ministries they are more gifted in. Also I will be working with Sounds of the Jungle who are planning on doing a workshop with all seven of the indigenous tribes in Panama. We will be traveling to a new village about every other week. This is a good opportunity for me to see how I may be of help in the future as well as now.

-Jason-

Me holding a Parrot in the Village of San Juan. Betsy giving her testimony on a street in Haiti.

7-15-08

This is the first of what I hope to be a continuous blog not necessarily every day or week but as often as I can.

First of all our trip to Haiti was both challenging and exiting. It was very difficult with the kids because of the unclean living environment. I think we all were sick at one time or another but marisa got it the worst. We ended up taking her to the doctor because of an allergic reaction to mosquitoes. They gave her lots of anti this and that kind of stuff so after a while she got better. To sum up our trip the ministry was good the living was way out of our comfort zone and in the end people came the the knowledge of Jesus Christ and for us we see Panama in a whole new light.

Since our trip to Haiti we have been busy. We barely had time to breath after our return before we started working. I have been working with a new Mission Adventures team every week and Betsy hospitality. It has been lots of fun but also lots of work. With the teams we do lots of street and school ministry as well as projects. One of which was building a hut for a family and a kitchen for the community of San Antonio. The team that worked on this project was from an organization known as YPO(Young Presidents Org.) they are not a Christian group but they were a good group of young people and fun to work with. It was a hard three days of work and in the end a growing family has a new home that will last for generations and the community a nice new kitchen.

Up next I go to La Chusa which is about six hours away from here and towards Costa Rica. The team that I will be working with has been working in this community for some time and is continuing that work. It should be fun but I will have to be away from Betsy and the kids for six days. Well keep us in your prayers.

-Jason-