Week 7
Sorry we've been away so long but we are now in Panama
visiting missionary friends I met last February working
in Panama. We've put our Spanish to the test navigating
the public bus system, renting a car, eating at restaurants
and crossing the Costa Rican/Panamanian border. It
has been neat to have the skills to communicate as
needed but we still have much to learn.
It was an amazing drive from San Jose to Panama.
Everything was so green. We crossed the divide with
the pass being over 10,000 feet. The roads were pretty
good with a nice sized pothole every now and then.
We left the rental car on the Costa Rican side of
the border because it can be difficult to get a car
across that doesn't belong to you. Unfortunately,
I left the camera in the car so I don't have pictures
to post. I'll try to borrow a camera from my friends
and see if I can get some photos of our time in Panama.
Panama has a great need to hear the Gospel so I look
forward to speaking with the Vega family about how
SportReach can partner with them to assist in their
church planting work. More to come.
The road to Panama was interesting to say the least.
At times the "Panamerican Highway" was as
good as Highway 65 south of Branson down to the Jessens
in Mountain View, Arkansas, at other times more like
any narrow winding road through the backwoods in the
U.S. Except here, between Costa Rica and Panama, you
are more likely to see a monkey or a sloth than a
deer.
Besides enjoying the panoramic views of this mountainous
jungle region, we found a fantastic radio station!
If you ever wore parachute pants, had a mullet haircut,
or suffered through an awkward 8th grade dance, dancing
to Air Supply, you too would have felt right at home.
The children laughed until they were speechless as
Kelly and I loudly sang along to each and every 70s
and 80s song played.
Scarlet endured crossing the mountain pass at over
10,000 feet with an ear infection. She was so brave
and precious, but even maxxed out on advil and antibiotics
she was in a lot of pain. (and no, it had nothing
to do with our singing!) Here we are our first morning
in Panama waiting in a clinic to see the doctor. Go
ahead....take a guess....
1) Did they we have an appointment? No
one did, it was a walk in clinic.
2) How long did we have to wait to see the doctor?
34 minutes
2) How much did the exam cost? $2
3) Did the doctor speak English? Nope,
not a word
Moises and Talsi Vega are the Panamanian coordinators
for church planting in association with E3. Kelly
had the opportunity to work with them last February
on his first trip to Panama. E3, SportReach and we
are looking forward to a continued partnership.
Here we are on a field trip with another language
student, Dina. We went to meet pastors and look at
locations in David, Panama for SR activities in the
future.
One of many opportunities to enjoy the diversity of
the region. God provided for us to be in the right
place at the right time to see these children perform
some traditional dances of the indiginous people.
Kelly practices his ball handling skills.
Later in the day, Maverek practices his board handling
skills as he tries his hand at body boarding. One
week after exploring the Caribbean coast in Costa
Rica, we found ourselves playing in the Pacific in
Panama. What a God we serve!
Talsi, her oldest daughter Ruth and I, enjoy the shade
of a cabina on the beach before we began preparing
a picnic lunch for the crew.
Our time in Panama was wonderful, educational, filled
with purpose and exhausting. It did not take long
after crossing the border for the kids to crash like
a basketful of puppies in the backseat. (Speaking
of which, we have 6 black lab puppies at home very
much want to have some humans for pets)
Kelly on a mission to educate his children and expand
their horizons explored this field in search of.......
baby pinapples. Before our trip to Costa Rica, our
agriculturally impaired family was unaware that pinapples
grow on these low lying bushes, and in fact, the pinapple
itself is the "flower." Crazy homeschoolers.
A view of downtown San Jose, the capital of Costa
Rica.