What Does It Take To Be A Need-Greater???

This Post will take a completely new track from the usual.
The question at the top is to start you thinking along fresh lines of thought.
Many of you have no doubt said, "I could never be a need-greater in a foreign country".  And while that is true for many because their circumstances would simply never allow it, it might not be true for others.
When we look at our lives, sometimes we assume our health, or finances, or family obligations by necessity must stop us.
PLEASE DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED FRIENDS.  WHERE EVER YOU ARE ABLE TO SERVE JEHOVAH, KNOW THAT HE WILL BLESS YOU.

But with this post I will outline some of the circumstances that some of the friends here are coping with successfully.  Serving as a Need-Greater does not mean that your life fell into line perfectly so that everything worked out.......I've never met anyone like that...............
There will be NO NAMES.  But lots of lovely pictures of all the dear souls that have made and are making sacrifices to serve here. The list will cover brothers and sisters from all over the circuit and in all kinds of circumstances.
                                This is one of our "local characters"......... a real cut up.......................

Below is the Pioneer Meeting for all the pioneers, both full-time and Aux. for our C.O.'s Visit

In this post I will list some of the obstacles that exist for a number of the friends.  If your life fits one of these pictures and you wish you could serve as a "need-greater" at a future date...... approach Jehovah.
And then pray some more.
It may work out for you as it did for some of these dear friends.
So whether you can serve here in Panama, or somewhere else, someplace else, it matters not.
Only that you pray about your service and continue to make future goals in your service to Jehovah.

There are quite a few different kinds of people here.  Married, single, older, younger, families with young children. Some of them have come alone, some have taken on roommates for reasons both financial and otherwise.  They are able to help each other with emotional support, financial support (when they are room-mates), and as partners in the service.
One of these has a former home in the states. She has rented it out.  Her grown son is not in the truth.  She has retirement income and has bought a house here.  She is very happily settled and pioneering.
Another sister from the states is a cancer survivor.  She has received a clean bill of health on her last check ups.  Every year she goes back to her doctors to see that all is OK.  She has family scattered across the US and seeing her doctor is also the best time to schedule "family time".  She has a room mate and pioneer partner here for the time being.
A different sister has been a widow for some years now.  She was VERY comfortable in her little house in the States with NO desire to move.  She has traveled before, but never considered herself the "moving" type.
She had helped out in her home area with the Spanish congregation, but DID NOT WANT TO MOVE !!
So she came for a short visit to see what Panama was like, AND SHE SAYS, "Only because her sister gave her a vacation gift/ticket to Panama".  On her own she says, "I would never have done that".
After 4 months visiting Panama (her daughter was holding down the fort at home), she said,....."I'm coming back" !!  She also has health problems..... A heart condition, Diabetes, and leg problems.  But being here in some ways has actually helped her.  The natural food here has lessened her Diabetes (another sister said the same thing). The walking has helped her legs and her weight problem.  She lives quite close to the hall and just walks slowly.  Gradually she has seen a benefit from NOT driving.

Now both she AND her daughter are here !! ( Her daughter was also one who said "I don't want to leave home, I'm happy here at home").  When Mom returned home last October, she told her daughter that she should come for just one month and try it out.  They SOLD most of the things in their house, rented the house to another family and....... they have already been here for 3 months, with no desire to go back.
She was telling me more of her story that she said I should share with you on this post.......................
About 1 month before she was to leave the states she had a home invasion..... Mind you, at this point, her house is nearly empty.  They had sold all the furniture and nearly everything was gone.  The only thing left was their computers and phones and the clothing in their suitcases.....
Of course the thieves stole the computers and phones and the little bit of money left laying around.......They broke in the back door window and splintered the door................. The brothers came to their rescue.  It was so traumatic that she ended up the hospital and does not remember how she got there or who took her or how long she was there.  Only that the brothers took her.  She recovered in the few weeks left remaining before she took the re-positioning cruise back to Panama.  She is doing fine, and her determination to let nothing stop her has helped her to recover her balance.
One couple here have 5 children, 4 still in the states.  They are retired now. They find it necessary to go back and forth because one of their children has medical issues and they must deal face to face with Medical doctors quite a bit. One of their adult children is with them.  Making it work here for them has been a big challenge, but they are working hard to stay and hoping that their other Daughter and her family will join them here as it appears that it will be better for them.
Several families here have young children.  One new family has a 13 years old.  He will start public school here and begin his new life with Spanish.
One family has 2 girls aged 10, and 8. They are being home schooled and doing well.  They recently had to go back to the states for a funeral and family obligations.

A third family has been here since their girls were quite young.  The daughters are now bi-lingual.

Another family has 2 children, a boy and a girl.  They came just to "taste" Panama and see if they could stay. Since they have been here Dad has learned that he can help them to stay by working online as an English teacher.  So he is now working at finishing his TESOL Course and will soon be employed. They had originally planned to stay only 6 months, until the money ran out..... but now it appears they can stay longer.
Another family is here with their young daughter.  The daughter will eventually learn Spanish, but for now knows no Spanish.  Mom is disabled from health issues, but is able to get around and drive etc.
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There is an endless variety of people here,  as you can see from above. 

But without exception they have all done one thing, and have one thing in common..........................

                                                   THEY    COUNTED    THE    COST !!!!

Having said all this about coming to Panama and serving as a Need-Greater, there is more to consider.

Jesus said, "Count the Cost". (Luke 14:28)
"Who of you who wants to".......{ be a need-greater.}......."does not first sit down and calculate the expense?

So what are the costs?

It is wisdom on your part to check out the area that you think you want to serve in.  Come for a short stay of a least one month.  Until you actually live in a place for at least a month you have NO idea what it is really like, and even then there will be continual surprises. When you arrive do not just play the tourist.  Really make sure that you go in service and live like you would live if you were here already.  Tourist life and real living are not the same thing...... !!!!!!
Make sure that if you don't like it you are not stuck.
Make sure that if needed you can go home.  Have a plan in place before you come.

GOING HOME DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU HAVE BEEN DEFEATED !!!!!
THERE MAY BE BETTER CHOICES FOR YOU SOMEWHERE ELSE.

Please do not become a burden to the congregation that you are coming to help.  (1 Thess 2:9 "Surely you remember, brothers, our labor and our toil. We were working night and day, so that we would not put an expensive burden on any one of you, when we preached the good news of God to you.").
The scriptural principle is not to be a burden to your brothers and sisters. In a foreign country it is more difficult for those that are already here to stay.......  Many of them have sold everything !!
This is not true of all that serve in a foreign countries, but as much as 45% of those here have left houses, fields, and families behind.  

YOU WILL NEED A CAR ---------OR-------Be willing to walk EVERYWHERE and take the buses.
Every time you want to go to the store are you willing to take the bus or walk?  If you come with that in firmly in mind then you will not be a burden.

The use of cars is not limited to field service, BUT shopping or being dropped off takes more gas, more wear and tear on the cars and more time and energy for the friends that are already here.
And trust me when I tell you, here in Panama at least, the wear and tear on cars is TREMENDOUS !!!
The roads here tear up a car, and unless you are driving a TANK, the car will need repairs (major repairs) within 3 years of being purchased NEW.
Please friends bring lots of money for taxis or as gas contributions for those times that do you get a ride in service or to go shopping.  Gas here is currently over $4 per gallon.

You need to be self supporting financially.  You can not work in a foreign country and considering what they pay the average worker ($10 dollars per day !!!) you don't want to work here anyway.  And expecting others to help you out is not following scriptural guidelines.  

Service is VERY DIFFERENT HERE.

In some places the studies are abundant, but in others you work just as hard in this territory as you might back where you came from.

And prepare yourself for a culture shock.  The people here will NEVER DO IT THE WAY YOU DO IT BACK HOME.  They don't care what you did back home.  They don't do it that way,   It doesn't make sense to them here.
Telling them how to do it better............. will not make them appreciate you more.  They will only look at you strangely and keep right on doing what they are doing......
Depending on where you choose to go in Panama you will see abject poverty (next to a home owner that is filthy rich), filthy conditions as bad as open sewer pits and garbage everywhere, "modern" slavery, severe prejudice, mistreatment of women, abuse of children......
Yes, things are strange................................................ from your point of view.
Yes, things are backward.............................................from your point of view.
Yes, things take 3 times longer than they should............from your point of view........
(Take a minute to reflect on all the wrongs that Jesus saw in his days.  It is little different now.  It is still Satan's world order of things)
1 Timothy 4:10--"That is why we are working hard and exerting ourselves, because we have rested our hope on a living God, who is a Savior of all sorts of men, especially of faithful ones."

Love the people for WHO THEY ARE, not who you want them to be.

This was our service group one Friday morning..........37 people............................COME SEE US !!!

Bank Guards, Los Molinos Canyon, Ngobe children and very big bags!!!

So,  about 5 days ago Lawson stopped at San Francisco Plaza at Canasta Basica (our favorite cheap grocery store) to buy us some chicken and the power was off, (not unusual lately).  He walked in the store only to be told that they could check him out for other things but that the chicken needed to be weighed and the scale would not run without power...... so, no chicken.

Next door to Canasta Basica is the German Bakery, also without power.  But Lawson has been there so often the owner knows him and says," the power is out, but the cake is fresh,"......
As Lawson is walking out the Guard from next door at the Scotia Bank walks in and tells the owner George, "The power is out, all the security cameras are down, they don't need me over there until the power comes back on."
Then he sits down and has coffee.
............................................................................................................................................................
I'll give you a minute to think on that one.
Lawson's first thought?
OH!!!, I could make a fortune in this country when the power is off !!!!!

This is Plaza San Francisco where the German Cake is SO good, and our favorite CHEAP grocery store with the basics for Panamanian cooking

And here is a picture of my NEW NGOBE BAG....

This bag is made of plant fiber by the native Indians here, (Ngobe).  They are extremely tough and sturdy and THEY STRETCH..... So when you go to buy one expect that they will increase in size about double of where they start.  A lot depends on how much weight you put in them, but they eventually stretch anyway if you put anything heavier than a cell phone.

I think they are awesome, and as far as I can tell they last a very long time.
Some are made of tightly rolled plastic (plastic grocery bags).  They are also very very tough and they stretch beyond belief.
My first Ngobe bag was the plastic kind.  It started its life about 10 x 20 inches with a 40 inch (total length) shoulder strap.
By the time I got off the plane and back to Florida the first time in June of 2011 (only 3 weeks) the bag had stretched to the point where I had 5 paperback books, a sweater, snacks for the bus, a small blanket, 3 bottles of water ..... and had I been able to carry it all,  there was plenty of room for more.......!!!
It had "GROWN"  to the point that it was dragging on the ground, so I had to tie the shoulder strap shorter so that it would land somewhere around my knees instead at my ankles and scraping on the ground..........
AWESOME BAG!!
I ended up giving it as a gift instead of keeping it, because I couldn't see myself toting a bag that large !!!!
SO,...... HOW BIG DO THESE BAGS REALLY GET ????

Look below.........................................









This is the Ngobe man that has a stand set up at the Cascada (waterfall) up north of Bajo Boquete.  He and his wife (wives? possibly) make and sell Ngobe items to the visitors.  Monday to Friday he is set up at his stand across from his house.  On Saturday and Sunday he is set up at the waterfall where a lot of tourists end up for pictures.......... smart business man......................
So we were talking with him about the size of the bag that I had bought 3 years ago and how large it got and he says, "wait a minute" and he goes across the street to his house and comes out carrying this HUMONGOUS BAG !!! SO AS A JOKE IT DID THIS................

He thought this was very funny and it gave him an idea !!!  So he says, "just a minute..." and he goes back to his house again and come back with the bag on his back........ this time with something IN IT. !!!

His hands are in front of his body because he is holding the strap down over his shoulders...

 Here's what he was carrying !!!!!

IS THIS NOT THE CUTEST KID IN THE WORLD!!!!
A KID IN A BAG !!!!!
In this pic you can see Dad going back to the house, notice the feet bulging in the bag....... He told us this is his 4 year old son............................

And this is our parting shot of his family and the house they live in.

Welcome to Panama.

This month also we took a short hike down into Los Molinos Canyon.
As compared to Volcan Baru?  This was a piece of Cake!!!

However, if you go for this hike you will need the following:
1) Permission from the Los Molinos Subdivision.  And it helps if one of the friends lives there and you can use their name as the basis for permission.
2) The trail was actually closed when we went and we do not know when it will be reopened for official travel......if it's like other things in Panama it may, or may not, EVER be "officially" open.  But they gave us permission to go "at our own risk".
So here we are climbing OVER the closed gate to the trail..........................only in Panama.....................

3) We brought our lunch and swim suits and had a blast.  So bring water to drink and plates etc.
4) Wear excellent hiking boots.  The trail is NOT user friendly.
5) Make sure that you know how to SWIM! The river is very swift at the bottom and will sweep you away if you are not strong enough to resist, or if you lose your footing.
6) AND have a really good time...........................
We are just starting down the trail.  It starts with steps, but that is VERY MISLEADING...... as the steps disappear after about 1000 feet and become cuts into the dirt hill or roots to balance on or rocks that haven't shifted yet,............ all covered with loose gravel and leaves......

This is Sombra, our dog...... Belgium Shepherd mix........

This is LeAnn being "PASSED" across the river.  She is not large enough or strong enough to resist the current, but was brave enough to be passed along...................

We made it to the other side, lots of rocks and swift current and a few bruises along the way.......

Here is Beth  "dong the dishes" after lunch........

Time to head back up the trail..................this the "rest spot" 1/2 way up or down, in the shade of the jungle....................

Going up is hot and sunny...............whew.

Almost back where we started, but Jim and Kavin still have to muster the energy to climb back over the closed gate..................................

Well deserved rest........ end of the day...............

All for this post folks...........................talk at you again later..........................