"Panama Loves You!"

Beautiful music filled the church. The violinist passionately played "How Great Thou Art" and somewhere, in the back of the church, you could hear someone singing along. Slowly, the entire congregation began to sing along, "Mi corazón entona la canción// Cuan grande es Él." I closed my eyes and let the music carry me in... the sound of voices rising up to heaven.

As the last note faded, I opened my eyes and felt goosebumps running up and down my arms and legs. The Spirit's presence was so real, so tangible. And for a moment, praying came easier--more naturally-- than breathing. Oh, how I love worship. Nick began speaking and I kept having flashbacks of another church we were at two years ago in Barrancabermeja, Colombia. The setup was similar. The room we had waited in was similar. The people and their faith was similar. Nick shared funny anecdotes and soon captured the crowd. His random phrases in Spanish were charming and the public adored him.

Once he had their attention assured he began preaching boldly. Never give up. Failure = education. Obstacles = opportunities. Be grateful. The greatest purpose in life is to love God and to love others. I loved the "amens" and "hallelujahs" that resounded throughout the church. Honestly, I had goosebumps most the the evening. Lives were being impacted-- eternally.

After the final prayer, the band played "How Great Thou Art" once again and the sound of voices was overpowering. It was beautiful.

Before Nick exited, the entire congregation yelled, "Panama loves you!" and it was evident, that truly, they did.

Prayer Requests:

1) The two events tomorrow are running low on ticket sales. Pray that God fills both venues-- that the maximum amount of people would hear the gospel.

2) We are meeting the president tomorrow morning. Pray for God to give Nick wisdom and discernment.

3) The massive event in the stadium is tomorrow night. Pray, pray, pray, pray :)