Day 9 11-22-25

Coming down for breakfast this morning, the lobby looked different. Where there had been some sofas just yesterday, there was now a fully decorated Christmas tree!

After breakfast Pastor led a worship service in his hotel room, with the message based on Acts 1:8. This had been our group's Bible verse throughout the trip - each person would say one word of it and that's how we knew if anyone was missing from the group. 

Acts 1:8

You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

We are witnesses. A witness is one who has seen something and who tells about it. We have seen what Jesus has done for us, and so we tell about it - with our words and with our lives. This knowledge that Jesus died for us is not just knowledge that we store away in a corner of our brain somewhere. It is a knowledge that shapes our lives We live our lives differently because of this knowledge. And we want to share this knowledge with others so that they too may have the hope that is ours in Christ. 1 Peter 3:15 talks about this hope...

1 Peter 3:15:

in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you

Hope is a noun here, not a verb. It's not, well I hope for something maybe to happen someday, like I hope for a certain team to win a championship. No, this hope is a noun. This hope is the assurance of what has taken place (Jesus' death for my sins) and also confidence of what this means for me today (I am a child of God) and in the future (I will share eternity in heaven with my Savior where there will be no more suffering, sin, shame, death or the tears of this world). This is the hope that is within us, on our minds, and it affects how we live. We are ready and eager to share this hope with everyone we meet, because it is the center of who we are. 

After the service, Cynthia presented Griselda with some presents- a MOST Ministries cup

and a Christmas present.

Each member of the group also filled out an evaluation of the trip.

Then Griselda shared (and Cynthia interpreted) how thankful she was that we took a week out of our lives to come to Panama and show love to people we had never met before. She shared that we have made a lasting impact through the gift of eyeglasses, but more importantly through the friendships and relationships that developed over the course of our time together. In this way we have demonstrated what it means to be the body of Christ, each member caring for the other members. Each building and uplifting the other members.

We all listened and reflected on everything we had experienced this past week.

Cynthia showed us a shirt that had been given to her by the Kuna women with a traditional Kuna design and cacao pod in the center.

Next we went back to our rooms briefly for final packing and brought our luggage down to the lobby. Radisson was lounging just in front of his usual chair...

Cynthia had bought all the women on the trip a headscarf in the style of the Kuna, so we all put them on, (with some help from Griselda!)




Here are the women on this trip  - Iowans, yes, but sisters with the Kuna in Christ.


We said goodbye to the Rickman family...the twins were a little shy at first



but eventually became curious and gave us a peek.




We then drove to the airport, passing the buildings of downtown Panama City along the way. We pray for the people of this city, both rich and poor, that the Lord would strengthen His church in this place, that the Holy Spirit would fill the hearts of many here to be a witness to their neighbors, that the Lord would bless them and keep them as His own in this place, that we would see them as the Lord sees them - one body together with us, serving the same Lord, one church made up of all tribes and nations. That we would join with them in the same song

(Revelation 7:9-10):

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 

We drove past this statue of Vasco Nunez de Balboa - who in 1513 became the first European to reach the Pacific Ocean from the New World.

Another shot of Panama City, this time with the tidal bay in the foreground. 

One last peek at the tower of Panama Viejo that we visited yesterday (we just saw the tip of the tower from the highway today).

This was along the approach to the airport. The sign tells about an upcoming Foro (NOT the Panama Lutheran Church Foro!!!) But that word FORO did catch my eye. "FORO" is simply "forum" in English.

This sign is announcing the International Economic Forum (Latin America and the Caribbean) January 28 and 29, 2026 at the Panama Convention Center, where the discussion will be "How to position the region on the global stage?"

This is the airport in Panama City (Tocumen)

We got in line to check our bags. 

At the gate, we had time to seek out some snacks/lunch. (Last opportunity for empanadas in Panama!)

And here we are deplaning in Miami

And soon thereafter becoming enveloped in the mass of humanity at the gate in the Miami airport.

We could not all sit together, but we all waited patiently....To pass the time,  I went around and took a poll of how many Coke Zeros Pastor could consume on his flight from Miami to Iowa City. Here are the guesses:

Myrl, Denise 2

Dan, Charma, Cindy 3

Laura, Val, Marilyn, Kelsey 4

Judy, Lorrie 5

Carol 6

Random man 7

Random woman 8

(The random man and random woman were sitting next to Lorrie, and overheard my asking the question to Kelsey, Marilyn, and Lorrie. They were intrigued and asked me if they could also enter guesses (never having even met Pastor of course, and yet certainly respecting his ability to down Coke Zeros!)

Unfortunately at this time I do not have the actual number, so I cannot announce the winner(s)....

We pushed off from the gate

and got started on knitting (well, MARILYN got started on knitting, probably no one else...) She is knitting eyeglass cases - getting a head start on the next eyeglass clinic!

We rolled past the control tower

and were soon airborne.

Looking down from the plane, the earth seems so small - each car just a dot of light, each person not even visible. Lord, the earth is yours and all who live in it. You have created us and you did not walk away from us when we rebelled against You to do our own thing our own way. Instead, you loved us and sent your Son to live among us, to care for us, to teach us, to heal us, to show us how to live, but most importantly to die in our place, conquer death in our place and rise again, and so giving us the ability to conquer death and live with you forever.... Lord, you are all we need. When we feel like just an insignificant blip on planet earth, remind us of your love for us. Remind us that we are your beloved children, that You bought us at a very high price. And fill us with a love for our neighbors that comes from your love for us. May we be DOERS and not hearers of Your Word only, doing the things you have called us to do for our neighbors - our family members, the people next door, around the block, at the grocery store, and in all the countries of the world. Give us wisdom to use our time on earth in the way that You would have us use it, to Your glory, and may we communicate Your love to those around us by our words and actions. May the people that we encountered in Panama be blessed through the eyeglasses that were distributed, may they return to the Lutheran church where they received those glasses, may they know your love for them, and may Your will be done in their lives. 

As we return to Iowa City, may we continue to be Your witnesses - in Jerusalem (Iowa City), Judea and Samaria (eastern Iowa) and to the ends of the earth (wherever we go).

Amen.