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.

How do you have the most perfect day ever? You start by going out in the ministry with new and old friends, start a bible study with someone, find a fresh fruit stand after walking in 80 degree weather for an hour (I had a cup of orange, pineapple, carrot for only $o.80), have lunch, continue out in the ministry with a missionary couple, Listen to the missionary couple explain scriptures to a very hospitable retired couple, find the perfect cinnamon roll and coffee, see a rainbow (the whole thing!), and end end the evening with friends, pizza and laughter.

More pictures and video too!

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.

Monday was awesome. Started off going out in the town of Bugaba. The ministry here is a little different. You usually don't go up to the door. The custom here is to stop at the gate and shout hello or Hola into the house. Then you wait for the householder to come out( sometimes this could be several minutes), then you ask if they speak English or know of anyone who does. Most don't, but we did have three very good conversations. After a very hot morning in the ministry, we headed down to a beach on the Pacific side, close to the Costa Rican border. We had a great afternoon jumping into the waves. Our "tour guide" for the afternoon was a sister named Freddie. She is a native panamanian who grew up in NY. Her Spanish speaking abilities were great to have around. We also met a Spanish brother and his 10 year old son, Jeremy. Jeremy just got baptized, is auxiliary pioneering this month, & has 2 bible studies. One of his studies attends the meetings and is in the school. We are going to try to work in the ministry with him one day. So the last few days we have been enjoying the ministry in different areas and meeting all kinds of interesting people. Many of the friends have amazing stories about their journey here. Hopefully we will have our own amazing journey when all is said and done. Thanks for checking in. We miss you all.