Moving Day!

Well, we are finally at the end of our time here. Tomorrow we are moving to the community of Chepo.  Our rental house is waiting for us, though we just found out that the landlord has not managed to get the electricity hooked up yet. So that has put a bit of a damper on our excitement about the move. This last week has been full packing up, and cleaning and painting our house for the next occupants.

We don't yet have internet at our new house, so communication will be a little complicated until we manage to get an internect connection. Of course, without electricity, that is irrelevant.  So prayers for that situation would be appreciated!

We have been so blessed during this time by all those who have encouraged us during this time, and given us the courage to take this step.  God has confirmed in lots of ways that this is the right time, and right place for us to be.  It just may take a little time for all the pieces to fall into place.

Look for news and pictures once we are established in our new place in Chepo!

Meeting with other believers

Last week Alex had to opportunity to attend a large gathering of Wounaan believers from around the nation.  Those attending are all part of the Iglesia Evangelica Unida, a small denomonation in Panama made up of mainly Wounaan, with some Embera as well.

The church we will be partnering with in Chepo had rented a bus, and Alex joined with others from Chepo for the 5 hour bus ride to the community of Yaviza.  There they spent the night, departing the next morning before it was light.  The Chucunaque river was their highway, connecting with the Tuira River, and eventually leading them to the community of Capeti.

250 Wounaan and Embera believers met together for the next several days, listening to teaching and testimonies from several leaders, eating together, praying together, and culminating in an all-night prayer vigil.

Alex was impacted by too things:

One was the incredible openess he found.  One night, several pastors came up, one by one, and shared at length with him.  Many invited him to visit their churches, and asked for his help.  He was even brought up to the front and introduced to all those gathered. This is so important, because this acceptance gives us a firm platform from which we hope to be a positive influence both in the community we will be living, and beyond.

The other thing that Alex was impacted by was the need.  There is a need for more pastors, for training, for more Bible teaching, and encouragement for small churches that are struggling.  We are trusting that the community of Chepo will be a stepping-off place from where we can impact many others.

Unfortunately, recent guerilla activity (from Colombian guerillas coming over the border) has made that area of the Darien dangerous for foreigners.  So I was not able to attend with Alex.  But next year we learned that the Convention will be held in the coastal town of Maje, a nice safe distance from the Colombian border.

Please pray for safety of those living in the community of Capeti, and the Panamanian police stationed their to protect the locals.  Alex was told that the guerilla activity makes it very difficult for people to access their farms, and there are times when the woman can't leave the community at all.  Definately something we want to see change.

A House

Tuesday afternoon found us walking the streets of Chepo (the neighborhood is called Margaritas), asking anyone we met if they knew of a rental house.  Neighbor after neighbor told us that they didn't know of anything, and that it was difficult to find rental houses in that area.  We saw a couple of rooms for rent, but I wasn't quite willing to go that route.

We had prayed before leaving that God would open a door for us to move soon.  But things were not looking promising.  Then one woman pointed down the path behind her house,

"I heard the house down there is for rent."  I couldn't tell which house she was pointing towards, but we followed her directions to talk to the step-daughter of the owner.  She took us rather unenthusiastically to see the house, but her mother had forgotten to leave the key.  The house didn't look like much from the outside, but when she said "two bedrooms" we were encouraged.  At least we had one viable option.  We agreed to meet the owner the next morning, since he lived in another town.

We continued on our way.  On another side street, we asked an older gentleman about rental houses.  He pointed from where we had just come, mentioning the house we had already looked at. Then he stopped for a moment.

"Didn't I meet you in Gamboa?"

I realized that he had visited our church in Gamboa about a month ago and we had talked briefly. I had shared with him about our desire to move to Chepo.  We learned at that time that our church had contributed to the construction of HIS church, in Chepo.  Coincidence, huh?

He ended up giving us a small tour of the church (I also found out they have a Sunday school program, which would be nice for the girls) and pointed us to another possible rental.  As we talked, he said, “The doors are open for you here!"   We also learned that another couple who works at the church are missionaries who we had worked with in the past through the Home program.

We were encouraged by this, although we didn't find any other rental houses.  The next morning we got a call from the owner of the one house we had seen.  He came in a taxi to pick us up at the house we were staying at, and we got a look inside the house. It was nicer on the inside than on the outside: a very decent kitchen, a newly finished bathroom, two bedrooms, and a living room/dining room area that wasn't too tiny.  All and all, not too bad a deal. And the rental price was very reasonable.

Alex and I looked at each other, and both nodded.  We told him we would take it.  We talked about when he would get the electricity hooked up (the one important detail yet to be done), and went to the nearby government office to sign the rental contract for 6 months.  In about an hour, it was all done.  We have a house!

We will wait until we hear from him that the electricity is hooked up, and probably move the last week of February.  Standing outside the house, I think Alex and I both realized how much the rhythm of our life will be changing.  Challenging, but it's a good change.  Alex and Francisco already have many plans for working with the young people of the church.  I am excited to start a small women's bible study, now that I have somewhere to invite them too.

Abigail is excited about the move, although I don't think she realizes completely what it will mean.  She does understand that we will be packing up all our stuff.  Carolyn is just having fun playing in the cardboard boxes…. Oh to be as oblivious as a two year old!

Thanks to all who have been sending encouraging words our way during this time, and for your prayers.  We can't wait to see what God is going to do!

Trouble in Wounaan communities

I have written in the past about our outreaches to the communities of Rio Hondo and Platanares. But this week we learned of some serious conflicts threatening these villages.

Friday, as we were in Chepo looking for houses, we stopped by a friend's house. Diogracio is a leader in Rio Hondo, though he lives in Chepo and works there.

He has been at the forefront of a battle for these communities to receive the rights to their land. Several years ago, violence broke out with settlers who were moving in on land traditionally belonging to the Wounaan. Several Wounaan were injured, but no action was taken by the government.

Now, it has happened again.

According to Diogracio, a logging company has moved onto their land and is taking out their forest at an alarming rate. Those logging do not own the land, it's been claimed by the communities of Rio Hondo and Platanares, though the government has not officially recognized that.

When the loggers were confronted by several people from the community, it soon turned to violence. One logger was seriously injured. Now the community lives under constant fear of the loggers, who are heavily armed.

Though Diogracio and other community leaders have been working day and night to bring a resolution, the government has not yet responded or provided any protection to the community. The people are living in fear of attack. They are also going hungry as they cannot get to their farms to bring back produce.

I want to emphasize that this is based on what Diogracio shared with us, so I will try to reconfirm all this.

Please lift up these communities in prayer. Diogracio and other leaders have been sued, even though they were not present at the time these things happened. So their families are also afraid, not knowing what the future holds.

All we were able to do that day was to pray with Diogracio and encourage him to keep doing what he was doing. And keep praying.

Thoughts on Being Scattered

YWAM in Panama is going through a whole new stage.  In a little over a year we have gone from one base, to four bases, with individuals, like us, going out from the bases in minister in other areas of the country.  Basically, we are being scattered.

But most of us didn't really want it to happen.  It was fun to all be together on one base, with lots of friends to share your vision, and many hands to make light work.  It was great.  Until it all started to change.

Our former director, Richard Tracy, and his wife, felt the call to move out and pioneer a new base in the Chiriqui province.  Leaving new leaders in charge here, they went out. Just months later, another team, made up of two families, were sent out to start an urban base in the middle of Panama City.  Then other staff began to feel to pull to move out, and settle closer to the people they feel called to reach.

Then, before we knew what was happening, Alex and I sensed that we too were being pushed out of the nest.  We knew that the time had come to stop just going out to the communities, and become part of them.

This whole process has been a little scary and not without some confusion and stress.  It makes me think of the tower of Babel in the Bible.  People had a great plan, one big, happy family.  But God had another plan in mind. They didn't quite understand.  Or if they did, they thought their plan was better.  Construct a tower, make a name for ourselves.  So God came down and changed their plans. 

He had something else in mind.

We see the same sort of thing in the book of Acts.  Jesus told his disciples to go out and preach to the ends of the earth. But, well, I guess that seemed a little scary. They were really having a nice time sharing with other Christians in Jerusalem.  Again, one big, happy family.  They too were resisting the scattering.  So again, God came in and gave them a little push.  Persecution broke out, and before you knew it, Christians were heading out all over the known world, sharing the good news.  It took them quite awhile to understand God's intentions.

I feel like we are in the same boat.  We know that God wants us to go to the ends of the earth, but sometimes we would rather just stay around the campfire and sing "Kumba ya."  There is pain in saying goodbye to friends, even when you know that it's the right step for them.  Stepping out yourself is even harder, even when you know that God is saying, "Jump", and your only answer is too obey.

So here we are, being scattered, not to the far corners of the earth, but at least to the far corners of Panama.  Thrilled about what God is doing, afraid of the unknown, trusting in his provision and direction.  Jumping, knowing he will catch us everyday.

More about Chepo

This is Panama!  Here you can see the province of Panama. Currently we live on the YWAM base just north of Panama City (near Las Cumbres). Chepo is about 2 hours east of Panama City, just before you get to lake Bayano.  As you can see, it's on the main highway.

Chepo is a mainly latino community, but it has a large Wounaan population.  There are two Wounaan congregations there.  It's a stopping off place on the way to the Darien province, and the destination of those coming in from the coastal communities.  Many come to Chepo to study, or find work.

It's really an ideal location for us. We can live in a community with Wounaan, where we can do daily disciplship, and also been in a central location where it would be easy for us to travel to the more remote communities.

We hope to find a decent rental house, or perhaps one that we can rent to own.  So we are in the process of looking into a house and those other details of moving.  There will lots of challenges in the months to come and we ask for your prayers to support us in this time!

Changes brewing for the Cabezon family

We aren't leaving Panama, or YWAM, just moving closer to where our vision is. For many years now we have served the indigenous people of Panama, mainly through short term outreaches, and by helping teenagers go to school, through our "Home" program, or "Hogar" as we called it around here.

It was amazing and challenging experience to disciple young people up close and personal, living with us 24 hours a day, getting to teach them, and invest in their lives. It's also been exciting to see many of them go on to university, start their own families, and continue walking with God. Who knows that the next 20 years hold for these young people?

As we prayed about 2012, both Alex and I felt that it was time to put the "Home" program aside for awhile, that God wanted us to focus on something else. Through prayer, seeking counsel and prayer from people we respect both in and outside of YWAM, we felt it was time to move into a Wounaan community.

We had been praying for some time that God would open a door to live in a Wounaan community, even for a few months. While we were picturing one of the more remote communities, when the door finally opened, it was not too far from where we are now.

Alex began partnering with a young youth pastor in the community of Chepo, by the name of Francisco (who also happened to be a cousin). Soon it became apparent that Francisco not only had a similar vision to what Alex wants to see among his people, but that the opportunity was there to work alongside him long term.

As soon as we began looking into this, we were showered with opportunities. Last year, after completing the DTS outreach, visiting 5 Wounaan communities, we were given permission by church leaders to work with any church in their convention (The Iglesia Evangelica Unida, part of the Mennonite Brethren). We also began to meet other missionaries working in nearby areas, with whom we could see ourselves partnering.

We soon saw that this was the right time and the right place. While living on the YWAM base has facilitated our ministry in the past (and been a great blessing), the goals we have now will require us to move out into the community.

So what are those goals? We desire to see leaders trained and raised up to lead the next generation of Wounaan. Alex looks forward to doing lots of one-on-one discipleship with Wounaan men, and passing along lots of what he has learned. I look forward to teaching through oral Bible stories, and facilitating the development of oral bible stories in the Wounaan language. We also hope to come alongside community development projects and other initiatives in the Wounaan communities.

So, what's in Chepo? More about that in the next post.