Away They Go!

We have made so many wonderful friends in Panama...something honestly we were not expecting! We have been blessed indeed with sweet fellowship in our community of Crossroads.

I was pretty sure that all missionaries had long un-tamed hair accompanying jumpers and the men in suspenders and pocket protectors. I certainly was blow away by real people loving the real Jesus....we are from all over the world from all different denominations but loved and loving the same JESUS!

We want to highlight some of the ministrys of our friends in Panama so yall can come to know them as we have!

The very first people who invited us anywhere upon our arrival in Panama was Jen and Andrew Edmonds. We went to the Summit Zoo with them our first Saturday in Panama. We were quite surprised by the zoo, it looks like they found an animal and put a fence around it! We have grown to love the zoo....and certainly the Edmonds!

We see the Edmonds almost every day in Panama. Jen and I work out every Tuesday Thursday with the Community Boot Camp Nathan started. She filled in taking care of the ins and outs while I was pregnant with the twins. She and I have spend every Friday morning together at Jungle School with our little ones playing while we visited. We are in community group as couples every Thursday night as well. Essie and their son Nat have been in class together this past year and their daughter Abi and Field are best buddies! Nathan and Andrew have spend plenty of time together on the basketball court every Sunday afternoon as well as being one of Nathan's right hand men coaching high school bball and some soccer too!

Andrew had been the Children's pastor at Crossroads Bible Church since before our arrival and the Lord is now calling them to Africa! Such a cool story of how it all happened...but we would love for you to read for yourself! Today's blog post from them is particularly funny knowing them so well! My how the Lord stretches us!

Thanks Jen and Andrew for living beyond yourselves, for allowing the Lord to guide your steps and thank you for loving us so well! Yall will certainly be missed! You have been such good friends to us!

Here is their blog:
http://www.andrewsedmonds.blogspot.com/

Needy

The past few weeks have brought about much heartache to people that we love. It is hard to be here in Panama, while there are troubles at "home." We wish that we could be there to "fix" things and be helpful. You feel so out of the loop and "of no use" being away. It is hard to comfort people through Skype. Recently loved ones here in Panama suffered heartache as well. It was just as painful even as we are here with them. It is a painful reminder for me of our need for a Savior. I feel like I should be able to fix things. It is the same part in me that believes I should be able to earn my salvation. Surely I can do better than most and look at all the good things that I do. As Paul says it is all rubbish. I need more than what I can do. I need Jesus, and I am thankful for daily reminders of that, even as it is humbling and goes against our culture. We can't fix things and we can't bring the comfort that only comes with the hope of eternity! In the men's bible study that I have been able to participate in, we have been studying Phillipians. We were examining what stirs us and fires us up for Jesus? Think about that, and why we don't spend more time pursuing those things that make us want to pursue our Lord more. For me, I really enjoy being challenged by great preaching. I also enjoy great discussion about life and challenges in our faith (preferably over food!) I also love loud passionate corporate worship, especially with drums as that is how I imagine heaven. What is it for you? We live a lot of lives with fears of what will happen with our future. We fear something happening to our spouse or our children. We fear the loss of loved ones and dreams and expectations that we put on ourselves not being met. Sometimes it is just the pain of a living in difficult times. It is heartbreaking to see people experiencing our own fears. I am thankful that these pains and turmoils are temporary and that we do have Hope in eternity. Thank you that you give us glimpses of heaven here, and I will choose to be thankful even in the pain that we have here. I pray that the God will continue to give me greater compassion for those that are troubled, and to give me wisdom in how to act. I also pray that I continue to find my hope in Jesus and the grace and mercy he has shown me, and not rely on my own actions. I need Jesus, and I realize that more and more everyday.

BLOOM 2011, beauty for ashes

I am not one to turn down an opportunity to get to know other women! 2 years ago, upon arriving in Panama, the church we are associated with, Crossroads Bible Church was having their annual women's retreat. It was just 6 weeks after we arrived, but a night away, a hotel room, and new friends...sounded like a plan to me! 

I will mention that the room was beyond freezing and I slept fully clothed with my rain coat on hood included....not the full night of sleeping I was planning after our big move! BUT....

I did eat some Panamanian food, sang songs in English and Spanish, heard some new speakers, and made some new friends and of course I bought some jewelry they were selling made by some inmates from the women's prison ministry. 

I struck up a conversation with the lady running the booth of jewelry and ended up telling her our story of coming to Panama and somehow the part of my life where I ran my own business as a professional organizer came into the conversation. 

Mrs. Charlotte said to me, "You should talk to the Crossroad's Women's Committee and maybe you can help do some organizing for future events." My first thought was, "Ummm, no thank you!" 

Little did I know that I, along with 3 of some of my most favorite women in Panama, would indeed be planning the entire women's retreat for 2011! 

We are 3 weeks away from the big event! BLOOM 2011,  Beauty for Ashes

Each of our hearts and minds were exploding as we discussed the theme and vision of Bloom, 2011. Our burning desire was the same:  to live in the FULLNESS OF CHRIST. We want to experience the vastness of who Christ is and what He has and can do in our lives. Each woman is on a journey, and we want to "Bloom" into who Christ has created us to be….regardless of our pain and suffering, regardless of the hard and desert places in life, and because of these things. We want to rise above and Bloom. 

Planning an event for over 200 women, lodging, food, topic, music, media, etc can be overwhelming, add that in another language and a culture that is happy to disregard contracts and you have 4 hard working women! We 3 weeks out and just changed our location in the last 36 hours! CRAZY! Good thing I do crazy well! 

Please pray for us on Oct 21st and 22nd as we Bloom together! You can pray for our speaker, the great Nancy Holcomb, my mom!! No pressure Mom!!!! I am super excited to have my grandmother there too! We will have 4 generations attending the retreat!! Such a blessing! 

Check out our video in the post just before this one! Jess, Abby and Lisa are my fellow bloomers!!

Bloom 2011 Video

Crossroads Bible Church Women's Retreat Promo Video

Love this Women!!!

Bloom, 2011

Video of Senior Retreat

Retreat!

We have been rolling along at a pretty good rate these days in Panama. One of the things that we had been working on was planning a retreat that took place this past weekend. For some time, we had wanted to initiate a Senior Retreat to start the graduating class on the right steps for their final year at CCA. There were a number of goals for the weekend, which we felt a lot of them were accomplished. All 15 seniors participated. We had team building games, time of worship, silly games, goal setting, prayer, and challenges. Clare and I put a lot of time planning and making the weekend go. It was such a success due to so many people praying for these seniors by name on multiple occasions. We Had 8 leaders give up their weekend and love on these kids. Their goal was for the students to not see them in a teacher role, but as an adult that cares and loves them. There was times of students asking teachers questions and leaders sharing what they were going through and what they were like as seniors. We were not sure as what to expect from the seniors as they have not been a unified group, but we were blown away by their response. They spent the whole weekend together, with no pairing off or having to coax them into talking or discussing. They were completely content being with each other including an hour of going around telling each other what they loved about them. We had so many things prepared in case there was not a lot of talking that we did not have to use. The real highlight was a new senior, Nick, coming to know the Lord. Awesome! His wish is that this would not be a phase for him. Please pray for him that he continues to seek the Lord and for him to understand that though he will have his struggles, that does not mean he is not a child of God. We pray that this weekend is just the beginning and a door opening to pour more into and be able to speak into the lives of these students. Clare and I hope that this will allow us to have more of them in our home to play games and dialogue about the decisions they are facing. It is very rewarding to kick something off that goes so well, and hope it becomes a tradition that the students look forward to. There are so many things to share, but I don't think I could cover it all so I will end it with an email from a parent: "I would like to express my deepest and heartfelt gratitude to everyone involved with the organization, planning and execution of the Senior Retreat.  As a parent desiring to see the awakening of the hearts of our children to the love of Christ, I was thrilled to have my child participate.  However, I was even more moved to hear her feedback of the time together.  I would like to express a very special "bless you" to Nathan and Clare Richardson for the idea and bringing it to fruition.  To Ann Marklund, you have marked (no pun intended) the heart of my daughter with your prophetic prayer over her.  To the Cottons for the use of the mission base and the awesome muffins for breakfast (which I  must have the recipe for). And to those who chaperoned as well as shared their own lives with these young people.  I trust that the seeds planted and nurtured in each heart those twenty-four hours will take deep roots and blossom into much fruit.  Please make this an annual tradition for Crossroads Christian Academy." God is doing great things here in Panama and we are privileged to see some of it first hand. Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers!

Just the Beginning...

We are thrilled about start to our 3rd year in Panama. We have some awesome new families and single girls that have joined the staff. I wanted to share some pictures from our first month back!

This picture was a last minute decision on the Richardsons part to join all the new staff and a few more adventurers on a night away from the City. We took a boat ride to Isla Grande on the Caribbean side of Panama after a 2 hour car drive through some of the more rural parts as well as some lush farmland with the healthiest looking cows we have seen in this country! I think we had 2 boat fulls in total (this boat also included everyone's luggage and those who know Clare well should know that she did not care if the boat capsized she was still bringing her own sheets and gluten free snacks!) This was a sweet time of fellowship and bonding! We are super thankful for all the people the Lord has brought into our lives...new and old!

Cannot believe we have 2 kiddos in school! Essie just started her first year in K4 and Ro is in K5. They are super eager little students, laying their clothes out each night and making sure homework papers are done as soon as they walk in the door....hope that doesn't change, but we aren't so sure! It has taken about 2 weeks for Essie's little personality to come out in her class. We warned her teacher that she was a bit more dramatic/passionate than her older sister...and we got a little note from her teacher reading, "The real Essie is starting to come out!" We asked Ro's teacher how K5 was going and she said, "Great....if everyone was like Ro!" Such fun watching them walk to the busito and ride off with their daddy each morning! Grateful for their adaptive little personalities and their love for one another!

We were running behind the first day of school because Field quickly realized he did not have a lunch box or a book bag and those things had to be packed...and with the appropriate materials! He threw up in the 5 min car ride home from school after dropping the girls off. I had been so excited to go home and enjoy spending time with him and a graduated CCA student spending the day with us. I just told our friend, "Welcome to motherhood! It is never dull! And never expected!"

This is Essie's Class on a field trip the first week to see a dinosaur exhibit. Field and I were excited we got to go because we were the Bus Drivers! They were all giving me their best roar!

Field missed his sisters and daddy for about a day and settled quickly into being the man of the house...he has been and absolute joy to be with. He gets up and gets dressed just like the girls and puts on his "soccer shoes" at 6:30, rarely to be taken off all day! He gets out his cars and animals and blocks and plays contently most of the day. He has been very compassionate with his pregnant momma, he snacks the day away with me and is happy to watch a video so mommy can rest! Couldn't ask for a better buddy! I am grateful for this sweet 6 months I have with him before the twins come!

Hope each of you has had an excellent start to the school year! We are thrilled about all the Lord is doing in our lives, the lives of our children, our friends both here and far, and in Panama! Much love to all!