A few days ago I sent an
email to my nearest and dearest friends. Some that are Christians, some that
aren’t but they know my heart and felt lead by the Holy Spirit to share the
Good News. When we were assigned this position in Panama, I knew it had little
to do with my husband’s job but more so, the Mission our Father is sending us
on. You see, I prayed and prayed for this assignment, not knowing it would lead
us to Central America.
As most of you know or
saw via Facebook, our church served a local orphanage two weeks ago. Without
going into too many details, it was a huge blessing! We went there to plant for
Jesus, sing songs (most I’ve never heard of but willingly sang) for Jesus, and
love on these kids with the heart of Jesus!! The precious children were so much
fun!! One boy, who probably never plowed or planted in his life, had expert
hands and God given knowledge! Not a huge surprise, just a gift he has been
blessed with!
Immediately a sweet baby
gravitated towards me. She held my hand and made sure I didn’t leave her side
for too long. Her eyes were sad but her heart was willing. She trusted me and
let me love her. I saw glimpses of joy and even held her long enough that she
fell asleep in my arms. One of the ladies from my church said, “Who knows the
last time she was held like this?” It broke my heart but I knew if I
had only this time to do it, I was going to give every ounce of love I had!!
This sweet baby cried when we left and sought comfort from the wall. I made a
promise to her that I would be back. As you can imagine, my heart was broken
and I just hated leaving her there.
Isn't she adorable???
On our way out, Pastor’s
wife, Amy told us that we would indeed be back for our Christmas outreach! This
would be for the entire family in December. On the way home, the Holy Spirit
took over my heart. He wanted more from me. There are so many issues I had been
conflicted with re: the adoption process here, the broken foster care system
and the nonexistence of free day cares here. I immediately reached out to Heidi
from Open Arms Ministry and asked for her to join me in prayer for missionaries
to serve in Panama. I know things don’t happen overnight but I know I serve an
almighty Father! I also know He uses ordinary people, like you and me, to
do EXTRAORDINARY things for His Kingdom.
With this said, I felt
comfortable only asking help from my dearest friends. Only few responded, which
I sort of expected. Those who did, did willingly knowing this is to further
God’s love and mission here in Panama. I again have been praying and today,
while doing dishes, I felt again the Holy Spirit speak to my heart to be BOLD!!
To not put this mission in a box for few but for all. So here it is, BOLDLY
writing on behalf of those children. We need your help!
Amy, Pastor’s wife gave
me these details: We
are in need of children's clothing and shoes. For boys: it is mostly 2t,
4t, size 6 and 8. There are several babies right now, so any baby sizes from 3
months to 12 months would be perfect. As for girls: they are asking for mostly
size 4t, a few 6 and 8. Right now, there are only 2 girl babies, both 11
months. Also children shoes (sandals or athletic) of any size for
kids. Keep in mind, the only thing that belongs to these
children are there clothes and shoes. Also, we only have warm weather in Panama
and summer is on the horizon in December.
Another option is
diapers, wipes, milk, formula and many more. I'm happy to share the list with
you, if needed. These are bulky items so we would need money donations for them
so I can purchase them at our local Price Smart (aka Costco)!
Here is the plan,
Cecily is coming home (Panama) for winter break. She leaves on Dec 10 and
anything you can help donate would be much appreciated. There are a lot of
sales on summer stuff right now. For free shipping, I would use target.com's
Red Card and you can mail it directly to Cecily. It's like a debit card but
with perks! Cecily will buy space saver bags and try to shrink wrap
everything to send over here via plane.
Her address is:
Cecily Patino
TCU Box 293700
Fort Worth, TX 76129
Also, Cecily will be
in San Antonio, for my SA peeps, during Thanksgiving. If you'd like, you can
drop things off at my mom's house. Email me at lisagpatino@yahoo.com for details.
I thank you for
partnering up with my church and I to help these beautiful children. They don't
have the means to work or help themselves. They didn't choose their
situation and need our help and our love! Many blessing to you all and look forward to hearing from you!!
