Creek Showers & Kitchen Duty

Gap 23 freaking made it to Panama! 

We had some team changes before heading to Panama, so now I am on a team with 6 of the most joyous women & it is an honor to be learning and doing life alongside them. We traveled to an Isla Bastimento, an island in the Caribbean Sea, and have been at a YWAM base for the past month. 

The base runs as eco-friendly & sustainable as possible. This means having little to no electricity at night, not being able to flush the toilets when you pee in order to conserve water (as our host says, “if it’s yellow, let it mellow! if it’s brown, flush it down”), and choosing between 3 minute camp showers or showering in the creek out back.. We ended up taking creek showers or rain showers OFTEN & let me just say, I felt like I was on ‘Naked & Afraid’ & it was quite an interesting experience.

There was a lot of speculation about what ministry here would be like and we came into it with an understanding that we’d be doing A LOT of outreach. We had also been told it was a very isolated island & that the only way to get around on the island is by foot, which is partially true, but we could only get to the main land by boat in about 10-15 minutes.

When we arrived, our host let us know that there were two YWAM teams here on their outreach trip & told us that we would be serving them by helping clean, cook, and making sure they are well-cared for on their outreach.

Personally, I got the opportunity to lead worship 3 days a week here which has been SUCH a joy to step into in this community with so many different people. When we got here, our host saw my guitar and told us that she had been hoping someone would come so they could have live worship. It was such evidence that the Lord chose me to be here with these teams in this moment and I have felt so loved and well-seen by the Lord lately.

My team and I were taken slightly by surprise after all we had been told about this base & all the outreach we had thought we’d be doing, but we all sat down with the Lord and asked what He wanted this month to look like.

& WOW, He showed up! 

I sat with the Lord and asked Him ways I could be intentional in pouring out this month & I felt like He was reminding me of the community I have here to pour into.  My team and I are alone for the remainder of the 3 months and we got to start it off WELL by intentionally choosing into each other and creating such a space of vulnerability as we go about the remainder of our race. I felt the Lord tell me this month would be one where I let His Spirit interrupt me in every day conversations and I got to choose into being intentional in making every encounter matter. 

It became so clear to me that the Lord was going to use this month to help me take the things I have learned into my day-to-day life, so that I can come home and not just let this be a trip. Each day and each conversation became a moment to tell someone that the God of the universe loves them and created them for a purpose. It allowed for my team to be intentional in sitting with the Lord in our down time and it allowed us to choose into one another and choose to create space to let the Spirit speak through us.

Let the Lord show up in your daily routine. He is so present & is moving, seek His face in all circumstances. Let His love wash over you as you go about your day.