Have you ever wondered exactly how your donated funds are used in Jehovah's organization? I mean, we know when we put our money in the box marked "worldwide work" or "kingdom hall fund", we know that it is being put to good use printing magazines and bibles, supporting missionaries, and building kingdom halls all over the world. Well here in Volcan we got to see an example of this firsthand. Driving up to Cerro Punta one day, Cliff Vickerman stopped to show us a newly built kingdom hall. It is shared by Spanish and Ngobe (pronounced Nobay) congregations. The Ngobe are an indigenous people in Panama. They are very meek and for the most part poor. They are responding to the Bible's message faster than the brothers can keep up with them. Translating the bible and other literature into their language has been a huge task, but the branch here is really stepping up efforts to fill this need. So with all that being said, Cliff next took us to another building. This was a very small wooden shack (albeit a cute wooden shack) that used to be where the Ngobe meetings were held. After we saw the contrast between the two buildings Cliff then said, "If any of the friends ever wonder how their donated funds are being used, here is the answer." It was so heartwarming to see how all of our brothers are taken care of. Each congregation is still asked to pay what they can toward a new hall, but then these funds are used to make up the difference. It is awesome to see 2 Corinthians 8:14 being applied in such a way.

Just more pictures! The last one is one of the local hummingbirds, about the size of a wren back home.

Most perfect day ever #2! Thursday we slept in (all perfect days start with that), then we took a drive up to Cerro Punta to the Finca Dracula Orchid Farm with the Kentucky crew and Cliff and Sheila Vickerman. Besides the drive itself up through the mountain and hillside gardens, the orchid farm was very cool. I think they had hundreds of different orchids along with other amazing plants. Since we were in the rainforest it started to rain. No worries, we just found a gazebo to stay dry in. A perfect place to get to know knew friends over wine, cheese and crackers pulled straight out of Sheila's daypack. On the way down the mountain, we made a stop at a local ice cream stand. All homemade, including coconut!!! It was a splurge, even for a 3rd world country. Dave's banana split cost $5! Most of our meals here cost less than that. But, it was a work of art and truly scrumptious. It's funny, at home we wouldn't have even thought twice about paying $5 for ice cream, but in the world of relativity, it was a little pricey. That night, it was our last night with our fellow Kentuckians, so we all ate at the local Italian place. More good food and reminiscing about our already too short of time together here in Panama.