A Visit from Friends
In October, 2006, nine of our friends from Panama stayed with us for eight (very) cold days!  Hopefully you got to meet the team:  Myrien, Elly, and Joel, who helped start the Cerro Batea Mission along with the Cruz Family, Hector, Lucy, Andre David, and Paulette.  Hector and Lucy serve in Cerro Batea as bi-vocational pastors; Andre David is preschool-age, and Paulette turned one year old the week before her first trip to the U.S.!  They are a very special family, and it was exciting to have the four of them with us. The remaining two members of the team were Pastor Ricardo and his wife, Katihuska.  They serve at El Dorado Church, where God has used them to start five new church plants in Panama City, as well as a Christian school. Ricardo and Katihuska speak solely Spanish, but everyone who met them felt instantly connected.

We served together, ate together, and spent time getting to know one another better.  We introduced them to a “bonfire” on a 32-degree night and we all learned the Spanish phrase, “hace mucho frio!”  Be sure to watch the video that captures a lot of the people and faces that make this partnership extraordinary!

This was a special time for The Bridge as we opened up our homes to them for the first time.  Our partnership is unique and our prayer is that this time together further solidified our friendship.  Our desire is that together we might be a small picture of the family of God -- brothers and sisters bound together by prayer, love, service, and God’s Spirit, overcoming the barriers of language, and culture.