Jennifer and Alex Cabezon

As I wrote earlier, Alex has been investing a lot of time in the youth group at the local Wounaan church, helping them get together, get organized, and start reaching out to others. One of the big obstacles in their minds is the lack of funds.  Every time anyone starts talking about doing an activity our outreach, the first big objection that comes up is that there isn't any money.  Most of the kids are students, and some of them are working to pay for their own schooling; their parents are at home in the village, and unable to contribute much.  For them, just having bus money for the week is a big deal.  One young lady missed school for a week because her shoes had broken and she couldn't buy another pair.  At another house we visited, the young man who was home was having a cup of coffee and crackers for supper, while the girls had bought one hot dog to share for supper. So the thought of having them money to do an outreach, visit another village, or plan ...

How has your December been so far? Ours has been full of trips, giant spiders and heavy rains. December 1st found Alex out in the Darien province visiting Embera communities with friends Tulio Rosales and Andrew Burnett. Tulio, a fellow YWAMer, has a heart to reach out to needy Embera communities in remote areas. On this trip they were getting to know the communities up river from Sambu and sharing the Jesus Film which has recently been translated in the Embera language. Alex returned tired but with a renewed vision for reaching Indigenous people. It seems that everywhere we look we see the need for the word of God to be taught, and lived out for children, young people and families to grow and prosper. Here in Chepo the girls and I held down the fort while Alex was gone (that's where the giant spiders and heavy rains came in) I have been perfecting my skills at killing such spiders, but I really wish they would stay away from the house for awhile. I have also spent the t...

   Ten days after returning from the US, Alex and I (and the girls, of course) headed out to the province of Chiriqui, a short 9 hour bus ride from Chepo.... :-) We were there to teach in YWAM Chiriqui's Indigenous DTS.  With a wonderful group of students from all over Panama, it made for a challenging and rewarding week. It was exciting to know that after finishing the DTS, each of the students (most were couples with children) will be returning to their communities, and seeking to make a change there. Alex and I shared the teaching week, trying to keep it interesting with lots of story telling and some games that got them thinking and working as a team.  Our subject was leadership, and I learned a lot from their comments and thoughts as we told together the story of the disciples arguing over who was the greatest, and of Jesus washing the disciples feet. The beautiful thing about stories is that you can know a story by heart, and yet learn something ne...