Dancing In The Moonlight With You

Hello from the insanely humid heat of Gamboa, Panama - a suburb, if you will, of Panama City. I sleep on the concrete floor of a church Sunday school room, bathe in cold outdoor showers and have grown accustomed to continually uprooting my belongings. The life of a single woman in YWAM, lovely.

...and I'm eating a snickers bar at 8 o'clock in the morning.

My realities:
- Community living is hard BUT beautiful.
- I miss the consistency of home BUT enjoy the "home" I have now.
- Deep friendships take time BUT are worth it.
- Living in a constant state of not knowing what comes next is draining BUT a life lesson in dying to myself.
- I'm not as young as I once was BUT am still young at heart.
- The unfamiliar is becoming familiar BUT the only thing that is really familiar always ends up unfamiliar.
- I'm learning what it means and looks like, in a greater way, to be the first to the cross.
- The dollop of ice cream from the corner store has become my every-other-day necessity BUT I am willing to make it my EVERY day necessity.

Lately, writing updates are hard for me. 1. My computer does not allow me to get onto the Internet (something I will get to later) and 2. I'm not really sure what to say. As a "worker in the field" I sometimes feel the need to portray my life as perfect, where something amazing happens daily, nay, hourly and that is just not reality. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE where I am. I have never felt more "in my bull's eye" than I do now. But just like life "back home," I have amazing days, normal days and "I'd rather not talk about it" days.

I truly believe the Kingdom of God will come on earth as we live a daily life of love and unity. John 13:34-35, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." We, as a group of 30-some strong-willed individuals from all across the globe, are committed to walking in forgiveness and repentance, love and unity so that those who see us may know we are Christ's disciples. It's challenging but something I will fight for.

Recently, my team traveled eight hours north to a Ngobe tribe, at the Camaron school, to help a medical team. I served the majority of my time as a pharmacist's assistant.

My highlights:
- Dinner duty each night. While prep, serving and clean up took nearly five hours, my group found ways to enjoy ourselves. Laughing and music were ALWAYS involved.
- Starting a baseball game with about 10 Panamanian boys and one Panamanian girl. If they were not up to bat they were shagging balls. I gave them a lineup to follow that they "sort of" stayed in. My proudest moment was teaching the little girl to swing a bat and watching her eyes light up when she hit the ball.
- A 45-minute hike to another Ngobe tribe involved in the Mama Tata religious sect-- a mixture of Catholicism and animism. I had the opportunity to pray in the name of Jesus with many and take photos of these beautiful people.
- I was invited into the home of a woman named Julia. We ate together, laughed at our communication skills and enjoyed each other's company.
- Midnight adventures to the outhouse. While scary on so many levels, the stars were magnificent.
- Bathing in a less than six-inch creek with friends; laughing at our comical lives.
- Our night of worship where God's presence came down and visions released as we sang "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus."

We returned Thursday and on Friday spent the day preparing for our UNA VOZ Art Festival. Fashion designers, painters, jewelry makers, dancers, musicians, glassmakers and photographers from Panama and the world came together to stand against injustice. I was the MC for parts in the morning and all evening. In Kona, God said I needed to step into ALL the gifts He gave me - writing, photography and public speaking - and as I obey, large amounts of grace is poured out. I LOVE being in front of people... Who would have thought? I find it exhilarating to share my passions with others, encourage them to join in and challenge them to get a bigger piece of God's heart. This festival was a three-year dream for my friend David and it was an honor to help make it a reality. Many who did not know of the injustices happening around the world found out, and God's name and message was proclaimed from stage.

After catching our breath on Monday, we will take the next six weeks to create ways of bringing awareness to the seven spheres of society - home, church, government/politics, business/economy/science and technology, education, media and arts/entertainment/sports - regarding prostitution in Panama. Many do not realize it is happening in their own city. This is a very LARGE project that needs much guidance from the Lord.

Prayer Points:
1. Please pray that the people I met in the tribes would remember the love they received from their Creator. Pray that Jesus would speak to them in dreams and visions and others would come after to speak truth into their lives.
2. Please pray for God to give my team vision and direction as we focus on the prostitution issue in this country. There are no real statistics and we are stepping in uncharted territory on so many different levels. Pray for specific ideas and ways to minister directly as well as create a publication that will bring awareness to those who will make change.
3. Please pray for unity among our group. Like every family, disputes come up that can really rock the boat. Pray that love would win out and that through our community people would know we are disciples of Christ.
4. Please pray for health. Our whole group at one point or another has been sick (fever, cough, etc.). Pray that health and wholeness would rule in each of our bodies.
5. Please pray for safety, especially for my small outreach group. We desperately want to meet with individuals involved with prostitution but that sometimes means stepping into sketchy places. Pray that God would lead and guide, that we would not go where He is not calling us to but move boldly to areas He is speaking about.
6. Please pray that God would provide me with a new computer. My computer struggles to connect to Internet networks that every other computer can, has little memory left and the battery dies after 30 minutes. My computer is 5-years-old and ready to be put to rest. It is hard to accomplish our task and fight for justice with photos and awareness materials without a computer that is efficient. My friend from Kentucky, who is meeting us in South Africa, said she would be willing to bring a new computer if I got one. At the moment I'm asking God what is wise. Please pray for clarity and a miracle. THE COMPUTER - 13inch MacBook Pro 2.53GHz with iWorks 09.


More than anything, I am still looking for monthly financial supporters to walk with me over the coming year as I head into the world proclaiming good news to the poor and freedom to the oppressed on every continent while fighting for JUSTICE.

There are several ways to support me:
1. Checks can be written to: The Storehouse and in the memo line write: Lindsay Carstensen. Send money to PO Box 540782, Omaha, NE 68154-0782.
2. Click on this link and pay directly into my paypal account: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=3SJ4RF9QSW68W&lc=US&currency_code=USD&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF%3abtn_donateCC_LG%2egif%3aNonHosted
3. Go to THE STOREHOUSE and at the bottom of the front page is a DONATE NOW Button where you can give through The Storehouse. Make sure to designate: Lindsay Carstensen.

Thank you all for your constant support through prayer and financial giving. I am so very BLESSED to have you each in my life. Whether I've known you for years or just started communicating I am honored to have you in my life.

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He cause His face to shine upon you. May you be a tangible expression of Christ's love to those you know and those you meet. May God bless you in very practical ways as you have blessed me. You are deeply loved by the King of the universe. I pray when days get "hard" you remember the truth of whom HE is.

HIS KINGDOM COME
HIS WILL BE DONE
ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN

Love -
Me. Lindsay.

P.S. I'm hoping to get photos on my blog in the next few days. Depends on when and where I can get the Internet.