LMC Photos 1

We attended a Leadership Matters Course (LMC) in La Montana Christian Camp, San Ramon, Costa Rica. It is an excellent, intensive 12 days course with one trainer for every 3 students, and highly recommended. The locations changes each time based on the demand for the course in the mission field. Here are some pictures of the surroundings in the Costa Rica course:

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1 Foggy day in the cloud forest.
2 House where we stayed for our 12 days course, with 20 bedrooms and a meeting room big enough for about 50 people.
3 Our bedroom, with 2 bunk beds which can accommodate up to 5 people, provided you don’t roll around when you sleep on the upper deck.
4 View from our second floor room window.
5 Swimming pool on the way to the office where there is Wi-Fi. It’s about a 15 min. walk (1 mile) from the residence.
6 Everybody busy checking email at lunch time.
7 Another hilltop where there is 3G reception on a good day, but not Wi-Fi.
8 Chapel which can seat up to 300 people.

Leadership Matters Course

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Photos show:
* Worship before class
* Mock interview
* Graduation dinner

Three weeks ago we attended a Leadership Matters Course (LMC) [http://www.leadershipmatters.ws/] in Costa Rica. Even though we have taken many courses throughout our 40 years business and ministry career, we feel that it is one of the best we have taken in the area of training leaders.

First, all of the LMC trainers are spiritually mature leaders each with many years of ministry experience. They are not academics, and know their subject first hand. They model what they teach. Secondly, their process or teaching method is very interactive and make maximum use of how people learn. You put what you learned into practice right away, so that by experience and repetition you begin to master each skill. You won’t get bored in this course. Although we start at 8:30 AM and finish by around 5:30 PM each day, with home work each night, you will not fall asleep as the subject matter is very interesting. The focus is not on gaining head knowledge, but skills and attitudes which will turn into habits for a Christ-centered character.

The course content consists of developing skills in 8 areas: relationships, communication, motivation, management, creative thinking, decision-making, training and public relations. We all know that if there is an established relationship, then all problems can be resolved. However, if there is no relationship, then everything can become a problem. Starting with this fundamental, the course teaches skills in all the above areas in a highly entertaining way. For example, I never knew the power of story-telling until they demonstrated it in 2-3 minute stories that stirred your heart and emotions. To top it off, the skills are brought together to formulate your life management plan, including mission statement and core values.

The additional benefit is that you will be learning not just from the trainers, but from fellow participants as well, as all are missionaries or ministry workers with several years or decades of experience on the field. Many participants have said they wished they had this training at the beginning of their ministry rather than years later. It would have saved them lots of headaches further down the road. Since 1995 there have been 62 courses offered in cities around the world, with over 1,900 graduates attesting to the value of LMC, and how much it had improved the quality of their life and ministry. If you are looking for leadership training that really equips you and not just give you a binder to collect dust, try LMC. You will not regret it.

Kidnap and Murder

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Photos show:
* Chinese protesting police inaction and failure to protect them who had been the target of kidnaps and murders. All Chinese stores closed for half a day to show solidarity. Many joined in the peaceful demonstration.
* Friends holding the photos of 5 Chinese victims during the protest, 2 slain in 2010 and 3 in 2011
* Memorial service for the 5 victims.

We learned more details about a violent crime in Panama last year, which affected the whole Chinese community. As described in
http://raykliu.wordpress.com/2012/10/28/reignite-the-flame/
three Chinese Panamanians were kidnapped in Sep. 2011 and held for ransom. The crime was conspired by two Dominicans plus a girlfriend, but altogether six suspects were arrested, including three who installed the floor tiles in the rented house after the victims’ bodies were buried under the floor.

According to the confession of the killer, who blamed his partner as the master-mind, they originally intended to kidnap only the rich cell-phone store owner’s son. Unfortunately he picked up two friends on that day, and all of them ended up being kidnapped and murdered. The ring-leader actually had business dealings with the store owner, and had a rough idea how much he can extort from him. The initial demand was for US$2 million. The kidnappers told the parents where to drop off the money, giving them clues by placing red plastic bags at different points along the way. However, as the road got more and more deserted, the parents feared that it might be a trap and called off the rendezvous.

A new round of negotiations started the following week, with the parents giving the kidnappers $160,000 in Arraijan. The store owner, not knowing the identity of the kidnappers at that time, actually invited the ring-leader to dinner, asking him whether he had heard anything about his son through his underworld connections! He did not realize that by that time they had already murdered his son despite the payment, since the son recognized the kidnappers as his dad’s cell-phone repair sub-contractors, and must be killed to eliminate witnesses.

In the meantime, the relatives of the victims took the investigation into their own hands, as they felt the police was stalling and not taking action. They began by asking local business owners whether they recall anyone buying large quantities of red plastic bags. Since most supers had security cameras, they soon identified the kidnapper by reviewing surveillance videos. The police then traced his location via his cell phone’s GPS and arrested him. He confessed but pointed his finger at his partner as the one who plotted everything.

The ringleader, however, got away and had slipped back to Dominican Republic. An international warrant was issued via Interpol for his arrest. He was subsequently caught and extradited to Panama two months later, but in the meantime had undergone surgery to remove his fingerprints. His accomplice, the killer who confessed, also claimed that two policemen, a captain and a constable, were involved in the kidnap. He did not know their names, but could identify them from photos. The trial is still underway as of this writing, with the three suspected accomplice refusing to cooperate with the reconstruction of the murders, claiming that they only laid the tiles after the victims were buried, and knew nothing of what happened prior.

The kidnappers plotted to murder and extort money from those they knew. They even pretended to be friends trying to find information on the whereabouts of the son. Beware of smiling faces. Sometimes they can do you the most harm. Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?

Violent Crimes

We went away for less than 3 weeks, but upon our return to Panama received news of two violent crimes. The first one was our favourite noodle store. It served good beef flank noodles at a very reasonable price, and was one of our frequent lunch restaurants. Last Thursday was a mid-month payday, so typically stores have large amounts of cash on hand for their payroll, as many workers prefer cash payment rather than cheques or direct deposits. Robbers armed with machetes arrived at the store around 5:30 AM, just as it was getting ready to open for business. They demanded the staff tell them where the cash was, and even slashed the arms of the owner’s adult son a few times. When the workers couldn’t tell them as they didn’t know, they placed a phone call which gave them the exact location. It was obviously an inside job, tipped off by an employee who knew where the owner hid his cash.

The second one was much more serious. A church sister had a classmate who had a younger brother and sister-in-law. The brother lent $150,000 to his wife’s cousin to purchase a store, with the agreement that the cousin will pay him back a few thousand dollars each month until the full amount is repaid. The cousin made a couple of payments, and even stayed for dinner when he made his second instalment. However, after dinner he made an excuse to fetch his cell phone from his car, but as soon as the wife opened the front door for him, a Panamanian rushed in, wielding a sharp knife.

She thought it was a home invasion and immediately said she will pay. But the robber was not after the cash in the house. He grabbed her and slashed her throat three times, leaving her to die in her own pool of blood. The husband heard the screams and rushed downstairs from the second floor, but was confronted by the invader who stabbed him four times initially, then twice again to make sure he finished him off. The killer then phoned the cousin to say “the job is done”, not realizing that the wife was still conscious and heard the entire conversation.

As soon as the killer left the house, the wife struggled to get up and called the police, which police station was just behind her house. She told them her cousin was the mastermind behind the attack. He was arrested and confessed that he plotted the murder because he did not want to repay the money his cousin lent him. For $150,000, he was willing to murder his own relatives and leave his nephews and nieces as orphans. The husband was only 33, with four children from age 10 to 6 months. Such is the depravity of man.

I said it before and I’ll say it again. Money had been a source for all kinds of problems for the Chinese in Panama, ranging from marriage breakdown, gambling addiction, kidnapping, and even murder. 1 Tim 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

A Family’s Story

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1 Follow-up
2 Stumbling blocks
3 Values
4 Mammon

The more families we visit, the more I’m convinced that following up a new Christian immediately after conversion to restructure his values is crucial to how fruitful he will be. A second thing I learned is that often the greatest stumbling blocks to Christians are fellow Christians! We visited a couple who were baptized eight years ago, but who no longer attend worship, coming to church only occasionally when invited by short-term mission teams. Their three sons also used to attend regularly, but now only the youngest one goes to a Spanish church. The two older ones vowed never to go to church again.

The husband was from a poor farming family in China, but he joined the Communist party in his county and was soon recognized for his abilities, rotating through different positions except the treasurer and accountant. However, when he was assigned to the motor unit, befriended the drivers, and privately learned how to drive, a privilege normally reserved only for children of rich party members, his boss became jealous, so he resigned from his government post and went to Shenzhen to try his hand at private enterprise, manufacturing lady’s leather handbags. He was successful in that too, leveraging a small bank loan as start-up capital and turned it into a profitable business exporting to Hong Kong. But the Chinese government policy changed and began scrutinizing larger business bank accounts. Sensing the political climate to be unfavourable, he immigrated to Panama 24 years ago, when he was in his mid 30s.

Life was hard when they first arrived, but he would rather hold down two jobs at the same time instead of allowing his wife to work outside the home. They tried different small businesses, including being a butcher, starting a super, and opening a restaurant. They chose El Chorillo, one of the poorest and toughest parts of town because the rent was cheap, but that also meant putting their personal safety at risk. His wife described those years as living in hell, since trouble from robbers and drunkards was continual. Desperate to escape from the high stress in a difficult environment, she started going to church to find some relief. At first he did not want her to go, but when an electrical fire broke out in their neighbourhood and burned down the squatter huts around their store, he was forced to abandon the business. With their savings they were able to take off work for over two years, attend church, and later were baptized together.

But his values had not been thoroughly dealt with. After he found a good location with lots of traffic for his new store, he put his business acumen and energies into it. Business flourished, but worship attendance stopped. Money had distorted his priorities. Truly “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Mt 6:24).

What happened to the older sons was just as sad. They used to attend fellowship and youth camp enthusiastically while in high school. Normally the camp requires registration in advance, and for all participants to ride the buses booked for the purpose. This is so that the camp can book accommodation and prepare meals accordingly, and to ensure the safety of all students as it is responsible to the parents. However, one year the brothers and another friend signed up for the camp late, but decided to drive there anyway. According to them, after driving for a few hours and arriving late in the evening, instead of getting a warm welcome they hoped for, one of the youth pastors coldly said, “Who told you to come? There is no room for you! You have to sleep in your car tonight!” Frustrated, they did spend the night in their car, suffering mosquito bites when they rolled down the windows, or the heat if they rolled the windows up. They vowed never to attend church again, and they kept their word.

I have heard only their side of the story, and was unable to verify whether everything was true, or were there crucial facts that were left out. However, the blame had been laid not just on the pastor who turned them away, but on the Church as a whole. The truth may lie somewhere in between, with both sides contributing to the unfortunate outcome. But like it or not, rightly or wrongly Christians are sometimes the biggest hurdle to non-believers coming to Christ, or believers falling away from Christ. I hope we all take heed from these true stories, and watch and pray for their sake and the Lord’s sake.

Panama Fish and Vegetables Markets

Our DIY steamed medium prawns. Total cost = US$7

An older post: Our fellow short-termers had a tiring day visiting several families, so a church sister took them to the local fish market for a little rest and sight-seeing. Prices are about a third lower than in supermarkets. For example, medium prawns go for US$3.50 a pound. These are size 15/16 i.e. 15-16 shrimps per lb. There is also a farmer’s market for fruits and vegetables at wholesale prices, about 1/2 of retail e.g. bananas at US$0.15 a lb. Here are two re-posts of videos I found on YouTube:

Panama City Fish Market:

Panama City Farmer’s Market:

Repost of Panama Short-term Missions (2 of 2)

(Continued from yesterday)

The first two were joint mission trips sponsored by Christian and Missionary Alliance in Panama, with brothers and sisters joining from various churches in N. America. You can see what types of activities they were involved in, as well as our supported missionary who appeared in both clips:

Chorrera, Aguadulce, Santiago and Chitre:

The third one was sponsored by Toronto Chinese Community Church to their adopted church in Penonome:

Repost of Panama Short-term Missions (1 of 2)

I have selected 6 videos uploaded by different churches on their short-term mission to Panama to give you a flavor of what is it like for trips under 2 weeks. They covered a total of 7 destination churches in 7 cities. The benefits accrue to both the visiting team and the Panama host churches. I hope you will take at least one STM trip in your life time, as it could be eye-opening.

Panama Chinese Baptist Church – Our daughter and son-in-law joined this STM in 2010, sponsored by Markham Chinese Baptist Church:

Alliance Bible School of Central and South America – Brother Howard joined this 5 years ago as part of a course on missions, conducted in Panama with hands-on experience. The students formed a close tie with annual reunion to this day.

Arraijan – The pastors of this church were classmates of our missionary hosts. The wife is a very gifted designer who oversaw the renovation of two churches, Chitre and Arraijan:

(To be continued)

History of the Chinese in Panama

I am continually searching for information on the Chinese in Panama. Here is a documentary about their history:

Tomorrow I will re-post mission trips by others so that you can have an idea of what to expect on a short-term trip.

Where does a Christian who commits Suicide go?

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* Suicide
* Suicide is not the unpardonable sin.

Q. My teacher was a Christian who suffered from depression. He was a good teacher but finally committed suicide. Would he go to heaven?

A. This is a very emotional issue for someone who lost a loved one to suicide. On the one hand, some believe that suicide is self-murder in direct violation of the sixth commandment. And since it is final with no chance of repentance, that person will be lost forever. On the other hand, those who subscribe to eternal security believe that the person will still go to heaven. Who is correct?

The Bible does not address the issue directly, but here is my view based on the available evidence:
1. Suicide is sin, and discouraged in Scripture. There are six cases of suicides in the Bible:
a. Abimelech (Jud 9:54)
b. Saul and his armor-bearer (1 Sa 31:4,5; 1 Ch 10:4,5);
c. Ahithophel (2 Sa 17:23);
d. Zimri (1 Ki 16:18); and
e. Judas (Mt 27:5; Ac 1:18).

Some would count Samson (Jud 16:29,30) as well, but his death was more collateral damage in trying to kill the Philistines, and not his primary intention. With the exception of Saul’s armor-bearer for which there is insufficient data, all others were evil men. Suicide is never viewed as a solution to life’s problems.

2. Suicide is not the unpardonable sin, and is forgivable. There is only one sin in the Bible that is unpardonable – the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Mt 12:31-32 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. When a person rejects the testimony of the Holy Spirit and refuses to believe in Jesus, there is no pardon for his sins because he has declined the only way for his sins to be forgiven. Suicide is not blasphemy against the Spirit. The person did not speak against the Holy Spirit and apostasized. He can be forgiven.

3. Eternal life is based on faith in Christ, not what people have done. A genuine Christian who believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16). Some may feel that a Christian who commits suicide no longer believes in Jesus. But God examines a person based on the whole pattern of his life, not just his moment of faith when he first believed, nor his moment of despair when he loses hope in God to deliver him, and takes his own life as the way out. He is not condemned according to John 3:18 a. For a non-Christian, his suicide did not change his ultimate destiny, but only expedited it. John 3:18 b but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

My conclusion is that a Christian who commits suicide is still a child of God, and will be forgiven and enter into God’s presence in heaven.