Strong Coffee, Panama, and the Gospel

By Christopher Talbot

It is called a Bialetti 6799 Moka Express 3-Cup Stovetop Espresso Maker, and I bought it immediately after returning from Panama. If you know me, you know I love all things coffee. I especially like strong coffee—none of that wimpy, sugary stuff for me (unless it’s a pumpkin spice latté, of course). Whether it’s a pour-over method or a French press, I love trying different types of java.

In the spring of 2015, my wife Rebekah and I, along with seven amazing students from Welch College, went on a mission trip to the country of Panama, where I tried some of the most magnificent coffee that ever burned my taste buds. Our friend and guide Lázaro took me aside and showed me how to make a good Cuban/Panamanian espresso. If my impulsive purchase is any sign, it is evident I loved this new type of coffee. As I sat sipping my small cup of espresso in Panama, I distinctly remember thinking “These are my people, and I could get used to this.”

I’m getting ahead of myself though. Let me go back to the beginning of our trip. While serving in youth ministry, mission trips had led us north to New York and south to Florida, but we had yet to cross international borders. To say we were a bit overwhelmed by the thought of this trip is a slight understatement. Still, we were excited to see what God had in store for us.

Our trip to Panama took approximately five hours, with a layover in Atlanta. Once in Panama, we traveled several more hours, winding through the mountains of Central America. Late in the night, we arrived at Seminario Bautista Libre (Free Will Baptist Seminary) in Chame, Panama. For ten days we spent time with the students of the Seminario, learning much about them…and ourselves.

Our time provided a wealth of experiences and service opportunities. We worked alongside the students and ministered with them in a variety of ways—in the public schools, cleaning and refurbishing the facilities, and distributing tracts. Weekend ministries were a major highlight for us all as the Seminario students left for their church ministries, some as far away as four hours from the school.

Our team split up to join them for those few days. Simply put, this was cultural immersion in the fast lane. Each of us was thrown into situations far outside our comfort zones. We stayed with host families, tried new foods, preached through translators, and made new friends thousands of miles away from our homes. For many students, this was the most memorable and life-changing event of the trip.

While the Welch students could share a myriad of experiences, two events in particular stand out. First was our own weekend ministry. My wife and I joined another married couple named Ricardo and Nella. Unfortunately, neither Ricardo nor Nella knew much English. Rebekah and I knew even less Spanish. We communicated by punching words into Google Translator in hopes modern technology would carry the conversation along. Quickly, I learned the limits to both contemporary gadgets and my 10th-grade Spanish! Although a language barrier stood between us, in those few days we grew close to these Christian brothers and sisters. Ricardo and Nella quickly became close friends.

In particular, I remember sitting in Nella’s mother’s house before dinner. Nella’s family is predominately Catholic, including her mom. Ricardo typed a message into his phone to be translated for me. It read, “We are trying to take the gospel to Nella’s mother.” I was deeply moved by these short words on the screen. The same gospel I proclaim to my unbelieving family and friends is the same gospel Ricardo and Nella are proclaiming in another country, and it offers the same hope in both places.

A second event was life changing. Samuel Riggs, one of the students on the trip, grew up in Spain in a missionary family. Thankfully, this gave him the wonderful skill of being bilingual, a gift we used often during the trip. One of our last nights in Panama, we conducted an evangelistic service for the neighborhood surrounding the Seminario. Those in charge asked for one of our students to preach during this time. On a whim, I asked Sam if he would be interested in preaching, and somewhat apprehensively he agreed.

That evening, Samuel preached an amazing, God-glorifying gospel message. Steve Torrison, who led a group from Hillsdale FWB College at the same time as ours, translated for Samuel…except he translated the sermon from Spanish to English so we could hear what Sam was preaching. Sam told us from Scripture that we were all at enmity with God, with no hope in ourselves. While we were made in the image of God, we have sinned, just like Adam and Eve, and deserve eternal punishment in Hell. Yet, if we want to become friends of God, as the Bible says, there is a hope available in Christ. His deeply moving message brought me right back to the first observation—the universal hope we have in the gospel.

Back to my coffee. As I sat on the porch at the Seminario sipping coffee, I continued to think of how “these were my people” and “how I could get used to this.” However, as I thought more on the events surrounding our trip and the impact the Panamanian students made on us, I think those statements resonated even deeper with me. Thinking about their hunger for God’s Word and their love for the gospel, I thought how these really are my people; they are my brothers and sisters in Christ. However, our bond is stronger than a simple human relationship; it is Christ’s blood that draws us together.

I also pondered how I could become accustomed to this. Sure, we enjoyed our time in Panama, and I discovered something I really could get used to: watching Christ’s people desire to know Him more and tell others about Him. What might have started with a thought about simple coffee led to a resounding truth about God’s mission for us in the world.

About the Writer: Chris Talbot is the program coordinator for the Youth and Family Ministry department at Welch College. He graduated from the college with a BS degree in Pastoral Ministry and completed a MA degree in Christian Ministry from Grace Theological Seminary in 2014.