On the last night we were there, we held a worship service inside the 30 by 60 foot block structure, giving thanks to God for the amazing amount of work that was done in such a short time. As we reminisced about the small sacrifices we had made to come work in the sweltering sun of a Panama March, Luis Matute, a native of Honduras, now a missionary planting churches in western Panama; led us in observing the Lord's Supper in a special time of reflecting on the greatest sacrifice ever made. We sang songs giving thanks to our Lord Jesus. Some of the melodies we recognized, and would sing in English as the Panamanians sang in Spanish. I asked to borrow one of the local's guitar to lead us in singing some choruses we knew, and our voices rang out in the night air under a clear beautiful sky. As I stood there singing to these precious, thankful, fellow Christians, most of whom lived in one or two room houses of such modest description most Americans would never lay their heads down in; one prayer ran through my mind. "Please Lord, let me come back here one day to see the finished church building."
My Lord Jesus answered that prayer the second week of October when a group of twelve members of First Baptist of Tempe traveled back to western Panama to build another church for a newly birthed congregation. Our FBC Tempe team was again led by Kent Reisenauer, who had the same fire and drive as I to return to Panama to serve alongside these humble Panamanians. Kent was assisted in his leadership by Larry Wieland, who speaks fluent Spanish, and was invaluable on this mission trip. Other team members included David Brinn and Gary Miller, who both went on our 2011 trip, Ray and Fe Vieweg, Julie Parks, Scott and Sharmon Steil, myself, Steve Mishler and his little 11 year old daughter, Brianna. We flew out of Sky Harbor in Phoenix on October 5th, with a connecting flight in Atlanta to Panama City, and were there until the 13th.
This time we traveled about 40 miles south of where we had built the church two and a half years earlier, this time in the little village of Divala, southwest of the large city of David, Panama. This mission trip was going to be somewhat different from our previous, in the way of construction. We brought an arc welder with us. After a slight concern with a delay in Customs in Panama City, we were set to construct a steel beam and tin roof church with a concrete block foundation and floor. At the rear of the "patio style" church we were to build a small, one-room concrete block dwelling, which would one day be the parsonage for the pastor of the church. Immediately upon arrival our first day, we started digging the footings for the outer foundation. I don't know when I have ever dug in such rock filled, root infested soil, as we had to dig through. About half way through the first day I hit a large unseen stone down in the footing so hard with my pick-spade that it snapped clean in two. We worked in two and three minute shifts in the blistering sun with picks and shovels, and finished the trenches that outlined the church structure.
One of the local Divalans was our welder. His name was Mr. Candalaria, and he told us that he had played professional baseball years ago, having traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, and pitched against some American greats of that time during their training. We had another Panamanian named Luis Quihana, who was our construction boss, and had also led us in the construction of the San Isidro church in 2011. With simple metal scaffolding and a pulley system the eight large steel beams were erected that outlined the church frame. We mixed countless wheelbarrows of mortar for the laying of the concrete block walls, and huge mounds of concrete for the floor. Everything was by hand, there were no electric mixers. By the end of the fourth day all the walls of the parsonage were completed, and the large sheets of tin started going up on the roof.
Every day we were there Sharmon Steil, who is the Children's Ministry Director at FBC Tempe, organized Vacation Bible Schools for the local kids. We brought simple craft materials with us, and provided snacks and punch for them daily. One day our entire mission team was allowed to go into the local Public School and hold a VBS in one of the elementary classes. We will never forget the faces of gratefulness we saw on every child's face. We sang songs together of our love for Jesus and His love for us.
The location where we built the little church was in a field directly across from a couple of the families who were committed to supporting the church. We were allowed to use the water and electricity from one of their homes every day. The local women spent every morning cooking, so that when we arrived on the job, breakfast was ready for us. For lunch we were treated with Panamanian dishes like breaded fish, fresh fruit, and fried bread. Everyone was careful to drink plenty of water during the day to stay hydrated. Sitting around together at breakfast and lunch we learned about each other; the Divalans and us. We inquired about each other's families, children, jobs, and we laughed and joked with one another through interpreters and very broken Spanish.
On our next to the last day in Panama, our team traveled up to San Isidro. This was what I had traveled 6,000 miles again to see.
The last image I had in my mind was of a cinder block grey shell of walls. What we drove up to now was a lovely, stucco sided, avocado green HOUSE OF WORSHIP. The tin roof was finished and the surrounding lawn was now a sea of smooth lush grass instead of heaps of black earth, crushed foliage, and construction debris. The bathroom had been finished with a working toilet and shower. The interior was quaint and humble with a few wooden benches and a slightly elevated pulpit area. Some of the members of the little church greeted us with fresh coconut milk, and we got to meet the pastor and his darling family. My heart soared with love for these people of San Isidro, who were overwhelmingly grateful for our presence and service. It was a moment I shall never forget.
Special thanks to Beyond Partnership and their representative, Michael Najar, for all his help in planning and hosting us during our mission trips to Panama. Thank you First Baptist Church of Tempe for your support of local, national and international missions efforts. Enormous gratitude goes to our church's Senior Pastor, Dr. Roger Ball, who lives his life to see others come to know Christ as Lord of their lives, and for them to grow to their greatest potential as servants for Christ. May I encourage every one of you to please consider going on a short term mission trip in 2014. It will change your life.
Your servant in Christ,
Phillip Shepherd
Senior Worship Pastor, FBC Tempe
