These are special times.

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:19

This verse captures how I feel. My heart is full. I had a wonderful Christmas with my team in Panama. Thank you to all who prayed for us during this holiday season. Although, I missed my family and friends God was beyond good to us. Yesterday was so special. The guys came over to our apartment around noon, and in the early afternoon we opened presents. What was so touching was that everyone put thought into their gifts and we had a great time opening them together. The rest of the day was a chill day as Lindsey and Steve cooked our turkey and prepared dinner for us. At different points throughout the day all 6 of us were able to talk with our families back home, which was a blessing. Our turkey dinner was delicious and before eating dessert we read the Christmas story, from the gospel of Luke.

There were so many times yesterday that I was on the verge of tears. As Karina and I walked to the grocery store to pick up some yams, we both talked about how blessed we felt and how it had been such a good day full of love. We both recognized that this was a unique Christmas, one that will never be repeated and one that we will always treasure in our hearts. God gave us a new family this year and I am so thankful for each and every one of them. Not only are they my teammates but they have become dear friends. Below is a picture of my team before they begin to eat the delicious meal that was prepared.

I pray that you all had a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones. It`s so amazing to think that God became flesh and made his dwelling among us and later gave up his life so we could enter into a relationship with him. My dear friend Melissa sent me a beautiful email this morning that made me cry. At the very end of it she wrote 1 Peter 1:3-9. It is such a beautiful and hopeful passage. I would like to leave you with the last two verses from it.

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:8-9

May you and your family experience all the joy and love that can only come from Jesus. And may you like Mary treasure up all these things and ponder them in your heart.

Joy and peace,

Raquel

End of the Semester.

Thursday, December 4th was our last day on campus as the semester is over and students are now in exams. Our time on campus during the last three months has been quite the journey. There have been tears, frustrations, and joys. I have been doing a lot of reflecting lately and am aware of changes that I need to make both in my ministry and in my personal life. As 2008 is quickly coming to an end I thankful to God for the countless blessings he has given me.

Last week the STINT team went to the mountains in "El Valle" for a Shepherding trip with two staff workers from Canada. Steve and Robyn Strongitharm and their two adorable children basically came down to Panama to encourage us, and help us to reflect and cast vision on the upcoming year. They also brought Jessica Fauvelle with them who was a part of the Panama STINT team last year. Steve, Robyn and Jess were a huge blessing and so encouraging to us. The love of Christ shines through each of them. We had a wonderful time in El Valle as Steve led us through devotionals on John 13-15. He reminded us of the bigger picture; of the importance of living with an eternal perspective and emphasized that what we are doing here in Panama is of great significance because we are investing our lives in the kingdom of God. God really spoke to my heart through Steve and I was so blessed by him and his entire family.

We had the opportunity to go to the beach when we were in El Valle and as I walked along the water Jesus painted me a picture that his love is like the ocean. His love is gigantic, majestic, powerful and beautiful like the sea. Simple I know, but it was a precious God moment I had and it made me feel so loved.


For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

The team after climbing a mountain in El Valle


The wonderful Strongitharm family: Steve, Robyn, Benjamin and Joshua


Jessica reading Scripture to us.

Dominican Republic Project 2008!

The Dominican Republic Mission Trip came and went (Oct 31 - Nov 9) and was one of the best experiences I have ever had. I didn't know what to expect and to be honest was quite a bit nervous to be going. As I mentioned in one of my previous postings 16 of us went (the 6 Canadians, 2 Panamanian staff workers and 8 Panamanian students). The unity that existed among all of us was beautiful and strong. God's love poured out like a flood as everyone not only got along but deeply cared and loved one another. I don't take these things for granted because sometimes unity can be a big issue.

We spent Monday to Friday at the university in Santo Domingo doing what we do here in Panama; sharing God's love with students. La Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo is the oldest university in Latin America. It was so cool to know that we were in the first country that Christopher Columbus came across (I love history haha!). The students in the Dominican blew me away! They were even more open than Panamanian students to hearing the gospel and so friendly and warm. I fall in love with the Dominican Republic and with its people. We saw lots of fruit that week, which was very encouraging to everyone, especially to the Dominican staff workers Prospero and Leyla. I will share more specific stories in my newsletter.

If there's anything that God reminded me of during this trip was that we can have our own expectations, we can have our own plans and agenda but at the end of the day God is God and can do whatever he wants, and that's just what he did! :) He blew me away with what he did on that campus in the Dominican! I don't think any of us were prepared to see the fruit that we saw and not only that but the Lord granted us favour with the administration too. A few people from our team met up with the Vice President of the University, which was not in our agendas at all, but God blessed us with this appointment and as result of it we were able to have a concert and a big party with more than 300 Dominican students in attendance both Wednesday and Thursday. It was incredible.

The verse that God continued to bring to my mind was the following:

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

I absolutely love these two verses because I have seen this over and over in my own life, how I'll have my own ideas but then God has had even better and bigger ideas and plans for my life. God did some beautiful things in my own heart during the trip as well. I experienced an overflowing of his love and joy all week that at times I thought my heart was going to explode! lol! I knew it was God loving people through me the whole time and his joy in me even during sickness and despite other challenges that came up is something that I will always be grateful for. I serve an awesome God and I pray to Him that I will never forget all the things I saw and experienced, but above all that I won't forget that he was behind everything.

The team before our flight to the Dominican Republic


The team after the big outreach event on Thursday.


Prospero and Leyla (the Dominican staff workers)

I'm Back!

Hi Everyone,

I realize it's been a month since I updated my blog...way too long and I greatly apologize for that. Honestly, so many good and wonderful things have happened over the last month but I haven't been able to write about them. It's like I have had writer's block to a whole other degree (maybe some of you writers can understand me). My brain has been trying to process everything that God has been doing on a ministry level and in my own life and I'm still working through things. I even began journaling hardcore about the Dominican trip a few weeks ago, but for some reason couldn't finish. I know I will need to write quite a few blog entries to catch you all up on everything that's happened. Thank you for being patient with me and for your continued prayers, support and love. I often times think of all the wonderful people back in Canada who have demonstrated me God's amazing love.

To Him be the glory!

Raquel

Dominican Republic Here I Come!!!

Dear friends,

Tomorrow (Oct 31st) my team and I along with two Panamanian staff workers and 8 Panamanian students are flying to the Dominican Republic on a 10 day missions trip! This will be the first time that Campus Crusade for Christ in Panama sends a group of students overseas on a mission trip. We are excited for how historic and significant this is for Panama. Our desire is that the Panamanian students will take ownership and learn how to run a mission trip so they can do their own projects in the future. It has been amazing seeing these students take leaps of faith. For many this is their first mission experience and the first time they've had to raise support. It has been challenging but God has faithfully provided for them.

Although our time in Dominican will be short, it will be very intense. We will be focusing on the main university in Santo Domingo, the capital of Dominican. Apparently it is one of the biggest and oldest universities of Latin America. The reason we are going to Dominican Republic is because although they have many Crusade churches they don't really have a university ministry. There is only one staff worker at the university and very few students involved in the movement. Our desire is to go alongside them and help them out by basically starting a campus ministry. We will focus on evangelism, follow up, starting up a weekly meeting as well as showing the Jesus film in other parts of the country. Even though our schedule is jam packed and we won't have a lot of free time we are all thrilled at this opportunity that we have to go and share God's love with the Dominican Republic people.

Please pray for everyone who is going on the trip;

1) That God would unite us all
2) For strength and good rest
3) For a safe trip (we leave at 4:00pm and arrive in Dominican at 12:00am)
4) That we are all being filled with the Holy Spirit
5) That we will be bold in proclaiming God's message

Thank you so much in advance for your prayers. I can't wait to come back and tell you all about it. We return to Panama November 9th.

In his grip,

Raquel

A divine appointment.

Normally Tuesday mornings we the STINT team have a meeting with the Panamanian staff, but today there was no such meeting so we were able to be on campus all day. I have to admit campus ministry has been a lot harder than I thought it was going to be and very different than how it was on Project, although I knew that it would be. It seems that a lot of the students that my partner Derek and I have talked to have not been interested in having a personal relationship with God or getting involved with the ministry. But I have been reminded lately that we need to continue to be faithful and continue to sow even when we don't see immediate results.

Today was an encouraging day. Lindsey, Karina and I went sharing together for over an hour. We were praying that God would led us to two or three girls that we could talk with, but got rejected four times in a row. We didn't let that discourage us and finally we came across a girl named Yisa who not only said we could talk with her about spiritual things, but was also genuinely interested in conversing with us. As we were discussing what a personal relationship with God looks like her friend Idalises came up to us and shortly after Yisa's boyfriend Joel joined the group. It was pretty awesome as our conversation ranged from the importance of spending time with God, to whether Evangelicals should date Catholics, to Postmodernism in Canada, etc. We spent over an hour speaking with these students but it didn't feel like it because they were so eager in hearing what we had to say and expressing what was on their hearts. It was also cool how we had been praying to come across a group and just when we had given up on that God surprised us!

Please keep these three students in your prayers. We plan on meeting with them next Tuesday for lunch so we can cast the vision of Vida Estudiantil (Campus for Christ), and challenge them to get involved in a Bible Study and take steps of faith. It was a wonderful gift to meet them and so amazing how we could spend over an hour on a university bench talking about our awesome God!

Love in Christ,

Raquel

He loves me and that's enough.

There have been times on STINT when I have felt lonely or craved to talk with people that know me really well (like my best friends back in Canada), or just wanted to cry on someone's shoulder. I knew I was going to experience moments of loneliness and I remember telling a friend that those moments I was going to embrace because they were going to draw me more to Jesus.

Lately, I have been reminded of God's unconditional love. People fail us, we fail people but God's love is steady, unfailing and unchanging. I feel so loved by Him and I know that it isn't because of anything I've done, which makes it all the more amazing! My friend Emily sent me the verse:

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5:8

She pointed out a very good point. There have been many heros in movies and in real life that have died to save people. Yet a hero always dies to save good people. But Christ died for people who were full of sin and didn't deserve to be saved. Jesus hates sin, but loves the sinner. His love is incredible and enough for me.

The following song has been on my heart a lot recently. Here it is: (Writer's note: I was going to translate this song into English but I'm not feeling so great so I translate it another day).

De Tal Manera Me Amo
por Jesus Adrian Romero

De tal manera me amó que su vida no escatimó
hasta el final El se entregó y a la muerte fue porque me amó
De tal manera me amó que no hay forma en que podré pagar
el precio de su grande amor pero toda mi alma quiero dar.

Coro
Por su amor yo viviré, de su amor yo cantaré
con mi Jesús caminaré porque El me amó a mi
Por su amor yo viviré, de su amor yo cantaré
con mi Jesús caminaré porque El murió por mi
le seguiré     (se repite todo)

I have never experienced love like His.  I know that he loves
me just that way I am and his love for me will never change
and that gives me comfort and peace.  The fact that
He first loved me makes me want to praise Him all the more.

It is my desire that you will long to experience His great love.

Love in Christ,

Raquel

God is good...all the time.

As many of you know I came to Panama for the first time on summer project (i.e. mission trip) in May of 2007. I remember one night in particular, it was towards the end of our campus cycle and we the Canadians were having a barbecue with the Panamanians at our hotel. I was feeling very broken, frustrated, and discouraged as there was a lot of internal questioning going on inside of me. I went to the washroom inside the hotel and started bawling my eyes out in one of the stalls. And then all of a sudden God brought to my mind Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

I began to repeat it over and over again in my head, clinging to it and claiming it as my own. I remember saying to God "Lord, I'm really hurting right now, but you say that you have good plans for me and I'm choosing to believe you." I prayed and told him that even though I still felt broken I was going to trust him with my future and my life. This verse became my verse for the rest of the year.

If there's something that I know about God is that he's good. If I could describe how God has been towards me my whole life it's good. In fact I tend to say God is good a lot, but that's because I really believe it. I have tasted and seen his goodness and to say otherwise would be an absolute lie. I want my tombstone to say two things: Raquel walked on water, and God is good... all the time.

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8

May you delight in his goodness today.

All my love,

Raquel

Newsletter on the way....

Hello everyone,

First of all, I'm sorry for not having updated my blog in more than a week. These last two weeks have been crazy as the team and I have been taking a theology course called Christology, as well as going to campus. I feel like a university student again, having to do homework, write tests, a final paper and having to prepare for our final exam on Friday. haha! Please keep me in your prayers as I'm feeling very exhausted. It's been an interesting course and it's really a great opportunity to be taking it.

On another note, I already wrote my newsletter for September. If you're on my support team you should be getting it in the mail within a few days. If you're not on my support team but would like a copy feel free to send me an email at rockingraquel@hotmail.com Thank you for your interest, prayers, love and support! I am forever grateful!

In Him,

Raquel

Love one another.

From left to right: Karina, Steve, Lindsey, Derek, me (Raquel) and Juan Carlos.

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. 1 Peter 3:8

I was reminded this past week how relationships take time. Friendships don't just happen from night to day, but rather require time to develop. The only team members I knew coming into STINT were Karina and Derek from Project last year. I feel like I'm slowly getting to know my teammates better. We are such an interesting mix of people, all so different. And yet I'm really embracing our uniqueness.

I spent some time this afternoon praying over our team, but more specifically praying for my relationship with each of them, and their relationship with each other. I started thanking God for the qualities that I admire about each of them.

Something I'm very grateful for is that we're learning to be open and honest with each other. We also have a lot of fun together and laugh a lot. I know we're not perfect and there will be times when we'll get frustrated with each other, but my prayer is that we will learn to deeply love one another as it says so in 1 Peter. Only by abiding in Christ can that occur.

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8

It's all about love.

Well this past week we began our campus ministry at "La Universidad Nacional" (The National University). Derek and I are focussing on the Law and Architecture Faculties with Steve overseeing, while Karina and Juan will be working at the Science Faculty with Lindsey supervising them. Steve and Lindsey are our team leaders. They are both restinting, which means this is their second year in Panama on STINT.

Every Wednesday Derek and I will be going to UTP (La Universidad Technologica de Panama - The Technological University). There is only one staff worker there full time and the ministry only began in May so there's a lot of work to be done, but both Derek and I feel very honoured that we get to be pioneers in this adventure. We love the vision that is held for this university.

Ministry is hard! I was reminded of this this past week as we all faced challenges and hardships during our first week of being on campus. However, something that God has been reminding me of a lot lately has been that what needs to drive my ministry is my love for Jesus. Above all else God cares more about my relationship with Him than how many people I've led to Christ or discipled. A friend preached on Revelation 2:2-5 last week at church and it struck me how easy it is for us to loose our first love, especially if you're like me someone who has been a Christian all her/his life. In fact we can be doing all these great things for the Lord but if we aren't being driven by our love for Christ and are neglecting our relationship with Him than none of these things matter. My greatest desire for this year is that I will fall deeper in love with my Saviour. I want to be so in love with Him.

"I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love." Revelation 2:2-4

Jesus, help us not to loose our first love. Help us to fall more in love with you every single day, because without your love our words are meaningless and empty. I pray that as we fall more in love with you that your love will overflow and spill onto others that they might experience your unfailing love. Thank you that you first loved us. Amen.

My STINT team!

"Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name - the name you gave me - so that they may be one as we are one." John 17:11b

I really love my STINT team. I've been thanking God for them each morning. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity not only to do ministry with these people but also to get to live life here in Panama together. God knew who was supposed to be placed into this team. We are each different with different gifts and talents and my prayer is that we will all use our gifts together for God's glory. Please continue to pray for our unity. I know Satan likes to break unity, which is why it's so crucial that each of us regularly spend time with the Lord.

My team from left to right starting in the back: Karina Campbell, Raquel Meza (me), Lindsey Davies, Steve Scott, (in the front from left to right) Juan Carlos Herrera and Derek Radcliffe.

We have appartments!!

I can't believe that tomorrow is September 1st and that we will have been in Panama for two weeks now! In some ways I feel like I have been here for a month.

I have some good news! Last Monday we found two apartments; one for the guys and one for the girls. It was such a God thing how it worked out. We had been looking for almost a week and nothing and then last Monday we found both apartments within an hour of each other and just within our budget. And we are only 10 minutes walking distance from each other. Praise God for his provision and goodness! We moved in on Wednesday and have been slowly settling in. Our third girl and teammate (Lindsey) comes to Panama this Wed, Sept 6th and then sometime after that we hit the campus.

God is good and worthy to be praised! Thank you for your continued prayers, I can feel them.

All my love,

Raquel

Panama, My New Home.

Where do I begin? I feel like there´s so much to update you with. I´m sorry I haven´t done a better job at keeping everyone posted, but today is only the second time I have been able to use a computer in the last week.

Orientation was in Crieff Hills from August 13th until August 17th. It was wonderful! It was so good to be reminded of why we are doing what we´re doing, and it was powerful to be there with teams that are going to North Africa, East Asia, Scotland and of course our team that is going to Panama. It was at Orientation where I met the rest of my team. We are six in total, Lindsey, Steve, Karina, Derek, Juan and I. I really love them already.

We arrived safely in Panama Monday at 1:00pm Panama time (3:00pm Ontario time). God was beyond good to us during our travels. Everything went so smoothly. Thank you SO much for all of your prayers.

Right now we are staying at a hotel called "Hotel Venecia" until we find 2 apartments with 3 bedrooms each. We have spent the past two days looking but the real estate market in Panama is becoming more expensive every day due to all the tourists that are coming. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to look. We probably won´t start ministering on Campus until we find our apartments. Anyway, thank you again for all of your prayers, financial support, and love. I couldn´t do any of this without a strong support system.

Lots of love,

Raquel

Getting there

Chorus:
So I'm gonna lay it down

I'm gonna learn to trust You now

What else can I do?
Cause everything I am depends on You
And if the sun don't come back up
I know Your love will be enough
I'm gonna let it be, I'm gonna let it go,
I'm gonna lay it down.

Lay it down
Sung by Jaci Velasquez

It's hard to believe that a week and a half from today I will be at Crieff Hills (Guelph area) for Orientation and exactly two weeks from today I will be in Panama (Monday, August 18th). I'm feeling a mix of emotions right now; fear, anxiousness, sadness, and excitement. This song describes my desire of letting go, trusting God and surrendering everything I have, feel or desire to Him so I can fully be the person he wants me to be. I love God and He's the reason why I'm going on STINT. He's more important than my family or my friends. He's my everything.

Welcome!

Welcome friends to "The Narrow Road." The inspiration for the name came from Matthew 7 as you can see on your right, and the picture I found was exactly what I had envisioned in my mind, a narrow road that leads to a garden.

You see our instinct as human beings is to take the broad road in life (i.e. the easy road) yet Jesus never said that if you follow him life would be easy. In fact quite the opposite tends to happen, the path becomes bumpy and hard with many challenges along the way. Yet, from personal experience I know that it's the best way and that at the end of the journey I'll come across a beautiful garden.

The title and picture also have another symbolic meaning as I'm about to embark on a new and exciting journey. At the beginning of September I will be heading to the beautiful country of Panama to work as a staff worker at a university campus. I will be going with Power to Change (Vida Estudiantil is what they call it in Panama). If you would like to know more information about this minstry or would like a copy of my support letter please feel free to email me at rockingraquel@hotmail.com If are interested in supporting me financially there is information on the right side of this blog on how you can do so.

I look forward to updating you all on what God is doing in Panama and in my life this year.

God's richest blessings,

Raquel