Joseph.

It was Saturday morning and instead of an individual leading devotions, we each shared the most significant part of the trip that would remain in our memories always.

There were tears, smiles, deep thoughts and struggles to choose one moment. Many summarized things about the beautiful children and their welcoming host families that had become personal families in just a few days.

My heart kept saying: Joseph. God has taught you so much through him.

Just the night before (Friday night), we were at the church watching a movie and giving testimonies to the congregation. At the end, Joseph, came up to me crying and spoke words that warmed my heart.

"You guys can't leave. Not yet. I need you. I will miss you." And then we just hugged, long and hard.

Now the miraculous thing is-- Joseph speaks very little English and I speak even less Spanish. All I know about him is he is crazy about Jesus, a great artist, he dresses up and performs as a clown and has a wonderful sense of humor. I met his mother briefly, but other than that-- I didn't know him from Adam.

As I shared this memory with the group, tears of gladness filled my eyes due to God's great work. As little as we knew about each other, we were physically together in Christ. And today, we are still together under His amazing wings even though we're separated by many miles; a 5 hour plane ride.

That night, we worshipped with the congregation and each group recognized and prayed for the other. It was a night full of tears and not "goodbyes" but "see you laters". Joseph came up to me and we were both crying tears of mixed emotions. He took off his ring and said, "Chelsea you my best friend. Take this and never forget me."

Smiles, laughter, tears.. language barries can't mask those. God has created tons of different beautiful languages and has still blessed us with universal forms of communication.

I will forever remember Joseph, along with the rest of the beautiful people I met in Panama.