chandelier moments

It’s been a few days since my last post and I apologize. I finally figured out why I was having so much trouble at our new location, but all things are good now.

It’s been an amazing three days, from our last in Panama to yesterday here in Nicaragua. Let me begin by saying that my clumsiness and, let’s say, not such great luck definitely follow me wherever I go. I’ve been stopped in Panama for my shampoo and almost lost my camera’s to the Panamanian authorities; I’ve sweat through everything I’ve worn while everyone else seems right at home; I split my pants from zipper to my back belt loop as soon as we were picked up at the airport in Nicaragua; and I apparently experienced and earthquake in the middle of the night that didn’t actually happen, but what else am I to think when one minute I’m on my bed and the next on the floor. It seems that Sue (Pike-Bower) and my dear friends from UMCOR, Shannon Trilli and Landon Taylor, love that I’m here to take all the laughs – and there have been plenty. With all of that being said – this has been a truly eye opening experience.

I want to catch you up a bit from the past couple of days.

Sunday, September 16, a few of us went to see the Panama Canal and had the luck of being there for the last ship of the morning as it passed through the series of locks. What a powerful thing to see! It amazes me the things that we can do as people when we all put our heads together and work as one. It was also a reminder of a time when way too often we all wanted the credit, which caused quite a bit of strife. While seeing the Canal was amazing, it was also an awesome reminder that it really doesn’t matter whose name is on a goal as long as we all work towards that goal!

Later that morning we attended church where Rev. Rhett Thompson (local missionary) pastors. Worship was full of spirit, with enthusiastic singing, a powerful message, testimonies, shared ministry with a team from Brazil, a baptism (which was given the back up effects of a downpour outside) and words from the Bishop. The most powerful part of the ceremony for me was when I was invited forward with the Bishop and Pastor Rhett to have our feet washed and anointed with oil by the pastor from Brazil.

We later sat down to have a fantastic lunch with the Bishop of Panama (also presides over CIEMAL which is the Council of Methodist Churches in Latin America and Caribbean). The number one thing I took away from this meeting, and the day, is that we need to work harder at recognizing the autonomy of our brothers and sisters in Latin America, while remaining united. We have to recognize the power of letting the community that surrounds the local church to be the ones that grow that church, in the way their culture calls them.

Monday, September 17, we visited AMC (Acción Medical Christiana) which is a health and community program based out of Managua, Nicaragua, but works all over the nation. This group has done amazing work with health education, vaccinations, dietary health, clean water programs, etc. Their goal is to teach the community so that they can set an environment of passing that teaching on to the next generation.

Tuesday, September 18, was an absolutely amazing day with UMC Missionaries Nan McCurdy and Miguel Mairena. They have been doing so much work in the area for so long that almost overwhelming to even start. We drove out to San Francisco Libre, which is a municipality about 1 1/2 hour outside of Managua, but only because a 1/4  of the drive is very remote on unpaved roads. We met with the Mayor to hear about the struggles they are having in the community since Hurricane Mitch hit in 2010 and then the floods of 2011, which have destroyed 80% of what was already a very poor community. They need clean wells, latrines, streets and homes. UMCOR money went to do so much work here already and there is still more to be done.

We also visited Women and Community, which is an amazing mission that Nan was a huge part of starting many years ago. This ministry has empowered women and youth to take ownership of their lives, promotes healthy living, education, small business start up and non violence. Such an amazing ministry in a culture that has been so “machismo” for so long, to quote Nan.

So, as you can see, in the midst of the pants splitting laughs that we have experienced, we have learned so much and know that even greater things are to come!

Our last night in Panama…

This has been an amazing part of the journey. It’s really opened my eyes in a different way to the question, “is the church truly dying (declining)?” I am not sure that I believe that at all.

After 3 years as a new church start pastor, working with the homeless and less fortunate and now stepping into the mission field of Central America – I wonder if we aren’t just looking at church the wrong way.

Maybe the answer isn’t in “fixing” the high steeple church, but rather reclaiming what we were meant to be to begin with – a people in action, mission and service.

To save the church, I believe we need to rediscover what we were to begin with, especially as United Methodist.

Missionary, monastic in nature – going to the people, working with our brothers and sisters, teaching and learning from one another, accepted each other as an equal yet unique creation!

We spend so much of our resource – time, money, gifts, etc. – on trying to fix the church on “main street”, that we’ve forgotten that there is truly a need for seeing the church in action, the church as people doing the work, spreading the news, showing the love, to know that it’s alive.

Watching Pastor Rhett walking those hills, the way he knows the people, their stories, their gifts, sharing the love of Christ and seeing them respond with an excitement I don’t see on the faces of a typical “Sunday morning Christian” reminds me that we are still full of life and have so much to give, but we need to refocus where we give it away and how. I have seen the captured essence of Christ alive and well, lived out through the very people that live here. Our brothers and sisters realizing that they too have so much to offer to one another. Not because we came in and saved the day, but because lives were invested in and made to feel needed, equal and important in continuing our call. To GO, MAKE and LOVE!

Tomorrow we head to the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Nicaragua. We are leaving a country of 3 million with only 15 UMC’s (there’s more than that in Little Rock, AR and it’s only 160,000 people, but I will tell you, the church is not dead here. It’s alive and well, doing great work, living out the gospel. It’s living it out one person at a time, down rocky paths and steep hills. It’s living it out one water filtration system, one clean latrine system, one health clinic, one dental clinic at a time. It’s alive and well here in Central America by worshipping in the back yards of the farming communities and in humble buildings on the streets of the cities.

You know it’s alive and growing when you see groups like UMCOR hard at work trying to figure out how to help others see that they have it in themselves to experience God when given the tools and love of the Christian community and we are down here doing the same thing, just trying to figure out how we can grow this Kingdom in a way that love is the ultimate catalyst of change.

I believe it’s time we look outside our doors, beyond our sound systems, past our stain glass and we’ll see where the church could and would grow if we would just get back to our roots and all chip in what little we know about this mysterious God that we all struggle with from time to time.

A God that said “I will not forsake you” a Christ who gave up everything and said, “love all” an early church that shared everything and made sure nobody went without; disciples and early church growers that believed in making disciple makers, knowing that they would never see the end result!

It’s time we look at the grand vision of God and get beyond ourselves – All of us, together, can reclaim “the church” alive and well! Whether at home or abroad…

So, today was one of those days that starts with you wondering what you’ve gotten yourself into, but then ends up being an amazing day – although exhausting.

We all went to bed late last night and had to be up by 4:30 this morning to make our flight to David, Panama where we were being picked up by Rehett (the UMCOR coordinator for Panama, a missionary here for 27 years and a pastor) to go visit the location for the day which was in the mountain range outside of David.

We were all up in time, we met in the lobby on time (yes, the girls beat the boys) and we got into our taxi in plenty of time… or so we thought. Throughout the morning, one thing after another, reminded me that checklists are a good thing to have around.

So, here’s my little list of things that I need to remember whenever going into the mission field – which by the way is everywhere, every day:

1. Don’t forget to take your ADD meds.
2. Make sure your credit card works. Hard to get a room or food without…
3. Charge all your electronics the night before – you are going where they don’t even have roads for God’s sake!
4. Go to the correct airport – yes, you read that correctly!
5. Don’t try calling the correct airport to let them know you are going to be late by punching in all the numbers, if you have an international calling plan – that you use all the time, all over the world.
6. Make sure the whole teams watches are synched to the same time zone.
7. Don’t forget to take your ADD meds.
8. Go with the flow, be flexible and expect the airline to give your seats away.
9. Find the nearest coffee shop that is okay with you nesting and being load Americans.
10. Don’t lose your sweat bandana in a country with 110% humidity and no air.
11. While looking for said bandana (or item of your choosing) put everything back where you found it so you don’t go looking for something else you lost.
12. Don’t forget to take your ADD meds.
13. Learn Spanish!!!!
14. Have a sense of humor!
15. Trave with people you can work well with (no seriously, this could have gotten ugly).
16. Make sure you have an NYU graduate with you to change the casing your camera because you lost the instruction manual looking for your bandana.
17. Carry cash, you never know when you might need a taxi to the correct airports!
18. Don’t forget your ADD meds!
19. Be in shape, be patient, be courteous, be hydrated, be dressed properly – you get it.
20. And there was one more thing, but I forget…

The day actually turned out being an amazing day seeing all the great work that is being done through Iglesia Evangelica Meodista De Panama through Rhett’s leadership. The United Methodist presence there is very small (2 districts and 15 churches). But Rhett and his group of dedicated Panamanian brothers and sisters are doing some great work with the poorest of poor in very remote Panama. From dental clinics, health clinics, education, children’s programming to promoting sanitary living, developing clean water systems and working on homes.

Be watching for more pictures and videos tomorrow night.

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