Stories from Santa Catalina: The Church

The newly-painted church building in Santa Catalina (Panama)

After a 5.5 hour drive through Panama/Veraguas provinces, Mami and I finally arrived in beautiful beach town, Santa Catalina, Panama!

Unbeknownst to us, there was a mission team from Ben Lippen school (in South Carolina) serving the church in Santa Catalina that same week. The team, of all things, was led by Dan Cotton, a teacher at our school! One of my small group girls from the Crossroads youth group was even helping the team translate! What an amazing gift to watch them serve in this small community!

Our first morning in Santa Catalina, Mami and I headed up the hill to the church to say "hola" to the team. Some of the juniors/seniors were busy painting the walls a light lavender color, and some were entertaining the local kids with hand games, trying to keep them out of the paint. Mami and I chose to eat breakfast at the tiny restaurant next door to the church, so we could watch the progress.

Striking up friendly conversation with the cook/server, I asked her if she attended the church. The woman flashed a proud smile as she explained that in fact, she was the daughter of the church's original founder! When asked, she elaborated on the story, explaining that there had been few Christians in this little surfer town, when her father arrived with a vision and the support of a larger church in Panama City. He was bold with the gospel and desperately wanted to create a space where people could meet together to worship God.

Multiple people came to know Jesus, and the pastor began excitedly praying about the construction of a church building in the community. Well, did God have an answer or what?

Mami and I heard the rest of the story, told this time by the pastor's wife, during the farewell service to the mission team on Thursday night.

Following a powerful night of acapella worship songs (accompanied only by drum/tambourine and enthusiastic clapping and dancing) and the mission team members sharing their testimonies, the pastor's wife gathered the mission team members around her for a final good-bye.

 The pastor's wife told the team the story of the Santa Catalina Church. She spoke with the confidence and amazement of one who had been given a precious, undeserved gift, and one of the team members translated, trying to capture this incredible story:

"Two weeks before Dan Cotton came, the Lord gave me a dream. In the dream, I saw a beautiful, two-story house and two men I had never met. I heard the Lord say, 'This is my house.'

I woke up confused and wondering if the Lord wanted me to move or something. Just weeks later, one of the men from the dream drove into town and introduced himself as Dan Cotton. He was looking for the pastor of the church in town, and I said, "I know him! I'm his wife!"

I introduced Dan to my husband, and Dan explained that he wanted to partner missions teams from the United States with our Santa Catalina church to bless and encourage us with a new building. I couldn't believe what I was hearing! Then, I couldn't believe what I was seeing!

Dan began to unroll a blueprint of a two-story house that looked exactly like the house from my dream! "What do you think?" He motioned to the plans and laid out in detail what this partnership would mean and inquired as to what the local church wanted done.

I hadn't told my husband yet about my dream, but I pulled him aside in that moment and urged him to seize this opportunity. "This 'house' is the Lord's, and He will bless our friendship with these teams." My husband returned and shook hands with Dan, sealing the deal.

Ten years have passed since then, and as I stand looking at the transformation that this church building has undergone, I know that both of these men as well as every team that serves here has been sent for a purpose. To make this "dream" a reality and for God's name to be glorified in this town.

I have pictures of each of the mission teams lining my living room wall, and I remember our sweet interactions, how they loved the kids here, and how they gave their time and energy to help complete this church. Literally, this church has been a dream come true."

(Note: The other man from the dream, George, arrived shortly after, being hired as the head construction worker, and, later, another couple chose to move to Santa Catalina to continue ministry and outreach with the church.)

Today, the Santa Catalina church hosts weekly Sunday services and even events, including Wednesday night "movie night" for the youth. Their prayer is that the pews will be filled with sincere believers in Jesus, and they can grow together in knowing Him and proclaiming His name.

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The Mission Team from South Carolina and the Pastor's Wife and Daughter (center)

After hearing about the pastor's wife's dream, I realized what mattered. It wasn't the choice of paint color for the walls or the amount of bowls of steaming rice/lentils that were served or even the amount of kids that we could squeeze into the church pews on movie night. It wasn't the fact that the team had raised support or that they had traveled thousands of miles to get to Santa Catalina or that they had prepared Spanish worship songs to sing and testimonies to share.

What mattered was God's presence. End of story.

If God is not present in our acts of service, then they are meaningless. If God is not present in our plans, then they are futile. If God is not present in our lives, then they are without purpose and joy.

But thanks be to God! He IS present. He IS working. He IS our joy and our purpose and ALWAYS keeps His promises.

God was present in the pastor's family and in the lives of the two men he brought to the unrecognized, Santa Catalina, one of the"least of these" towns in Panama, so far from everything that groceries have to be bought in two month shifts. GOD brought these Christian brothers and sisters together from two different cultures to work out His purpose, and the partnership continues.

God's plan is like nothing we could ever comprehend, and it is an eye-opening privilege to catch glimpses of His promises fulfilled here on Earth. He is present. He is with you. He is HERE.

Listen and enjoy His presence with you today:
Tu Estas Aqui