Hello! It's been a busy week for us. We were out in the ministry every morning. We usually hit a bakery first thing, delicious panamanian pastries! Good coffee is a little harder to find. Wednesday we spent the day in the city of David in the ministry - very hot. We found some nice people to talk to though. A lot of locals are concerned with the destruction of the forest all around them and the use of pesticides on the crops. It doesn't seem like there is much effort to educate the people in this regard. Thursday only six of us were out in the ministry. We were sent to a little town of Caizan about a half hour up the mountain to map it out and canvas it for English speaking people. I think the Whole town would fit in 2 football fields. There were a few roads we couldn't drive down because they were being used to dry beans laid out on huge canvases. Thursday evening Chris and Jenny arrived late. They had a hard time driving themselves out of Panama City, but after 3 police escorts (not making that part up, ask Chris) they found their way to the Panamanian Highway and eventually to David. Friday morning brought no rest for the weary. We left Volcan at 7:30 am to head to the other side of the mountain to preach in Boquete. It was hot there too, but again we found many nice Canadians and Americans to talk too.
Saturday we all played hooky and went to the beach with some of the friends. Packed plenty of food and sunscreen and played in the waves all day. What some of us found out though was all the sunscreen in the world doesn't do you much good if not reapplied often. Ouch! Good thing we also packed the aloe.
Sunday"s meeting seemed somewhat familiar - our own brother Baynum was the "visiting" speaker. Everyone stays so long after the meeting here, visiting and sharing experiences. One family we met is the Burke family from Oregon. They have been here 5 mths so far and will leave for home the same day as us. They are a family of four and have been very encouraging to us. After the meeting we drove up to Cerro Punta. This is the area where most of the produce is grown for all of Panama. They farm straight up the side of the mountains. The drive was beautiful. We even managed to pick up a "friend" on the drive up. An older man on the side of the road started taking to us as we stopped for pictures. He spoke not one word of English and didn't seem to care that we didn't speak any Spanish. After "talking" with him for a few minutes we figured out he was asking for a ride up the road. David told him to hop in and away we went! So we can now check of our to do list, "pick up a hitchhiker in Panama."
Monday morning service was done driving along some very beautiful roads, looking down into the valleys dotted with cows and gorgeous flowers. Monday afternoon we went with some friends to a local swimming hole. Beautiful waterfalls and clear, cool water to swim in. One spot you could even ride a short waterfall down like a slide to a smaller pool of water.
Austin was the only person missing in our group today. He took off at 5am this morning with a group of local and visiting brothers to hike to the top of the Volcano. The last we heard they made it to the top around 1pm. It's cold at the top (30's), but they all took gear and will be spending the night up there and hiking down tomorrow. I'm sure Austin will have pictures and comments on his blog about it in a few days.
So, we have met many amazing friends who are sacrificing so much to come here and help out. They have opened their homes to us for meals and association. Their joy is really beyond words and I know that they all feel they are receiving so much more than they are giving. There are some creature comforts you give up - but we wouldn't trade any of them for the friends we are making and the privilege of declaring the good news in this corner of the world. Although, we are all looking foward to that first cheeseburger when we get home.
