Hey everyone!

I started writing this blog yesterday, and had a paragraph only about how I didn’t know what to write. Ha! Then the Lord gave me really good inspiration, but more on that later...

Today was a day full of life. This whole ministry seems too crazy to be real. I currently live in an island region in Panama called Bocas Del Toro. It’s a system of small islands in the Caribbean. This means that there’s no cars. To get anywhere, you need to take boat taxis. A majority of the people who live here are indigenous islanders, not counting the tourists in the nearest city. 

I live on an island called Isla Bastimentos. My team is currently working with a YWAM Ships base here. It’s really just a house. The focus is to reach people group who are very difficult to access. Mainly people by boat and islands. This means I’ve had opportunities to go to very remote villages on small islands that are hard to access. This included an overnight in a village where we built a house in two days. That story is honestly a whole blog post in itself! The house I live in now uses solar for electric and collects rainwater for plumbing. The island we are on is only a few square miles big. It has a few villages on it, but there are two people groups close to us. 

One group is a village of people we work with often. My team has spent lots of time with these people clearing land for farming. Lots of machete chopping!!! We helped them build the house, run a weekly kids ministry and adult Bible study, and now are helping them build a church! Really exciting things going on in the nearby village! 

There’s also a group on the other side of us less than a minute walk away. It’s three or four families that live in a cluster. There’s lots of strife between them and with us. Last year, there was a really sad incident with one of the families. There’s a grandma who lives there who is a practicing witch doctor. Her husband last year did some crazy things that I don’t want to write about on this blog, but basically he practices human sacrifice and other dark things. He’s no longer here because he got arrested last year for this practice. The redeeming thing in all of this is Hector. He is their grandson who comes to these weekly meetings, and a few weeks ago, he decided to follow Jesus. Prayers for him and how to navigate living with his family would do a lot of good for him! 

Now, all of this is what my squad and two other YWAM teams are doing. My role over the last three weeks have been manual labor and maintenance. This means I got to do a lot of work with the indigenous people to build and doing projects to build up the base. Last week, roles switched, and now I’m a kitchen boy! Now I make every meal with the boys team and support the other teams doing really good ministry for the Kingdom! It’s long days, but it also has created an amazing space for intentional conversations and going deeper into discipleship. It’s also just fun! 

I wanted to write about this ministry and what we’re doing a few weeks ago, but I couldn’t find inspiration. Then I had an encounter with the Lord tonight. I was laying down worshiping and reflecting on my day. Today was an off day, so a few of us went out for an adventure. As I got to hang out with some of my best friends, I swam with wild dolphins, saw wild sloths, went snorkeling around coral reefs, and went hiking around a small island straight out of Pirates of the Caribbean or Swiss Family Robinsons! I was thanking God for such an amazing day, and mediating on Isaiah 40:15 which says that “He lifts up the islands like fine dust.” 

As I laid there not understanding how a God so big actually cares for me, He reminded me of moments that He has protected me. I have more moments of stupidity that should have ended in death than I’d like to admit, but what I remembered was my car accident in June 2018. I fell asleep while driving 70 mph, rolled a few times, and landed on the other side of the highway. I walked away only with a quarter sized bruise on my arm. At that moment in my life, I was doing the opposite of living my life for Christ. It hit me that I don’t know where I would have spent my eternity if He hadn’t protected me in that moment. I remember when my dad drove up to the scene of the wreck. There was nothing that would stop him from getting to me. He got out the car and I’ll never forget his face. A look of utter relief. 

As I write this with tears rolling down my face, I can’t help but imagine how the Lord felt. That He loved me while I was still a sinner. The grace He had on me- someone who was doing more to destroy kingdom than build it. God is so good. That I get to be here right now in this moment. That He saw the good in me before I was living it out. There’s nothing that He won’t do to get to you. Nothing can separate you from His love. And He’s waiting for that moment that you realize the grace He has had on your life! Who am I, that you care for me, Lord? 

God cares for you. He loves you. 

Even if you feel not good enough. He loves you. 

Even if you aren’t a “Christian”. He loves you. 

Even if you’re a Christian who feels lukewarm. He loves you. 

Even the Christian who’s on fire for Him. He loves you. 

None of this is an excuse to stay where you are though. The grace that He has had in my life has propelled me to go deeper and closer to Him. His love should propel us to love Him and others more. Don’t let grace be an excuse for complacency. Thank Him for the life He’s given you. Thank Him and be grateful for how good He is. Then use that to go deeper with Him! I guarantee that everyone who’s reading this blog, God has had grace on your life. 

I’m getting excited to come home soon! Less than 3 weeks from now, I’ll be back in St. Louis! At least for a little while! God is so good. Love and miss you all. Live today in His peace and be blessed!