Water

As my month anniversary in Panama comes and goes with the daily ins and outs of life, as the feelings of familiarity become moments that last longer than the sight of a fleeting building or a conversation, and as I think about what things have happened since September 30, I am brought to the image of water many times.

My very first day here in Panama, I went to a shopping center and bought a nesecessity that I had carelessly left in the States. An umbrella. For a person from Colorado, who really hasnt seen significant, consistent rainfall in the past four years, an umbrella is a trival item that often takes up too much coat closet space. But in Panama, a country surronded by ocean, and a culture shaped by the rainfall, it really is necessary. I learned this lesson on Friday when I had to walk the half mile from the bus stop to my house in the pouring rain.

And when you couple the rainfall with the humidity (whose intensity cannot be explained in mear words, although you might capture the feeling if you stuck your head in a bucket of water and tried to breath), water is an important part of life here. After driving over Madden Dam a few weeks ago, where they store all the fresh water for the Canal, one of the missionaries made the comment that Panama would die if it were without water.

And then tonight brought more encounters with water. We rented bikes and drove out on the cuaseway, a strip of man-made land that connects three miles located to the south and east of Panama City. It was a great experience to ride on a sidewalk, with the Atlantic sprawling out to one side, and the waves of the current gliding into the canal on the other side.

But maybe it is something else that happend today that is making me think about water. 10 kids were baptized today at the church in Balboa. There were babies and children up to the age three, all being recieved into God's kingdom. It was an amazing site, and I rejoice with Christians all over the world and God himself at this newest addition to his kingdom.

It is amazing to think that through simple water, God can work miracles. It is something we drink everyday, something we see in almost every ad, newspaper, and can now buy in bottles for less than a dollar a pop. It is the most abundent element on earth and yet it the element that God choses to gather together, to make new and to claim someone his own. And it is through this daily element, when we bath and wash our hands that we are reminded by Luther to remeber our baptism.

Its like each of us. In the billions of people, we are just a drop in the bucket of people, gifts and talents. Yet we are the vessals that He choses to accomplish his work. And it is hard for us to accept that God uses water to work miracles, just as it is hard for us to accept that God is using each and everyone of us to provide for the needs of someone in the world.

And this makes me wonder about umbrellas. If the earth is cleansed by the rain, why is it so important for us to carry our umbrellas, to cover ourselves from the rain. I think this is a reflection of our spritual nature to refuse God's grace. With the sin in all of us, we think we can save our selfs, and we become too proud to acknowledge that we need help.

And yet, the ocean surrounds us. My bikeride tonight showed that the water is all around me. Just like God's grace. It is ever abounding. And just as the seawater evaporates, and then cascades down on the earth, Gods grace is ever flowing from heaven, through the wounds of Christ, and it covers everything we are. It is like a rain storm that penetrates you to the bone, one that leaves you shivering with the change it brings to your body.

And even though we might not be used to freely accepting his great, we whither without it. We are like Panama, whose rainstorms keep it alive. God's grace is such a part of our life, that we cannot even imagine what we would feel like if we didnt know about it. We would whither without the knowledge of the saving news of Christ.

So I pray that, when it rains, we would rejoice, we would get soaked and we would take in the grace that God freely gives to those who acknowledge His Son.

And as trite as this might sound, it is a reflection that helps me see the presence of God and His grace in this world. Bring on the rain...

until later, keep plugging...

Lack of Weekendage, Wealth of Oppurtunities

So, this is the first time all weekend I have time to blog about things going on here. Well, I blogged this morning about my hip hop tecno loving alterego, but that was merely for the entertainment of the masses. I have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as weekends here for missionaries. Let me exptrapolate. Unlike my LCMS counterparts worldwide, I am not teaching English in a school setting or the like. Good thing: I dont have to stick to a ridgid grading and planning policy, nor deal with educational buearacracy in the country. Bad thing: Most of my classes are during nonschool hours, hence lack of weekendage. And some week nights. Oh well, I am not complaining. With being able to go into the office when ever I please, put in as many or a few "hours" as I want, it is hardly a sacrifice I cant live with. So with that said (and the fact implied that I havent blogged not out of disdain for technology or anything like that, simply just lack of timeage) heres a summary of my weekend.

Ok. Friday. Here we go. Can you imagine an Oktoberfest without beer? Without Brats? Well, the sad reality is that Panama is not the motherland, and I went to worst Oktoberfest ever. About an hour into it, they ran out of beer (maybe becuase they were selling it for $0.50 a can, or becuase there was alot of purehearted, homeland loving, misplaced Germans there, but more likely a bad combination of the two) and the brats soon followed. But we had a great time on the roof of the Universidad de Istmo, chilling, listening and dancing to "German" music (although last time I checked, Daddy Yankee was Puerto Rican, and the German National Anthem is hardly danceable, unless this is the Victorian Period and the waltz the all the rage).

Milton, Becky, Joy, Carly, and random white t-shirt dude at the Oktoberfest. Yes, we are on the roof along with our friends Becks and Warstien. This is proof that I am, in fact, a Lutheran missionary.

Then Saturday I had the experience of a lifetime. Juanes, only the biggest Latin Hip-Hop sensation, was here in Panama, and all of Central America seemed to be at the concert. I was there too. It was pretty freakin awesome. That is all I have to say about that.

One thing I have noticed about Panamanians is their openness and their hospitality (Digression here, please bear with me.) At the concert, Katia introduced us to her friends from Germany, Italy and England. Joy ended up seeing her Panamanian friend who studied in Wisconsin (how sad it was to hear her rather proper English marred by a Wiscaaaansin accent), and her friend that just came here from Isreal. He brought over his friend from Venezuela, and all her friends, one being Panamanain with a Russian mother, and we all jammed at the concert together. Then these people, who really all just meet with in the last twenty minutes, went out to dinner. Then Suzana, offered to drive Joy and I, complete strangers, both to the restuarant and to our apartments. Wow! Something like that would never happen in the states. We all talked and had a great time and planned to go out together again!

And Panama City is a very international city (and the tangent extends on). You have read in my blog about the mulitude of people that I have meet here in Panama, and many of them are not from Panama. At the dinner table after the concert, we had this wierd mix of Spanish, English, French, Hebrew, Russian and the occassional words in Italian and Arabic, and over 10 cultures represented at the table. Talk about a multicultural experience. Where are Concordia's Educational Multicultural Logs and Dr. Preuss when you need him?

Okay, back to my weekend. Sunday we went to church in Sora, a little village up in the mountains about 1 1/2 hours from the city. There is a Lutheran Church there and the pastor is a Brazilian missionary named, get this, Martinho Lutero (you have to be pretty dense from our circles not to be able to figure out who he is named after!). He lead the service, where mostly kids played key roles in the church, and we all worshipped in the fresh breeze of the mountain air. I will be giving intensive English classes there for a couple weeks during the summer (Jan-Mar here in Panama) and will be staying in the parsonage with Martin Luther himself, which will be a nice treat away from the rush of the city.

Then it was to my first class where I actually was planning on teaching. It was in Loma Cova, and the kids there had alot of energy, energy that lead to my lense popping out of my glasses, long story (Mom, they are fixed and you dont need to worry!). It will be challenging to get my class of chicititos (really small ones) which covers the ages from as small as 2 to 12 year olds. The class of teens are really excited to learn English, and in all I had about 50 students when the day was over. And with names like Yale and Magyuri and Wiga, it will take me a while to get all there names right. And I took a public bus by myself, and didnt even miss my stop or overpay.

This is Yale, one of my students in Loma Cova, playing our beanbag game. He is laughing, so I am doing something right, right?

Today was my first day teaching at Balboa, my home church and it went really well. I had two classes, and both were more advanced than I had planned for. It was pretty cool. My next class with them will be on Thursday. And one other encouraging thing. Six students from my English Class that I wobegonely taught at the military academy came to my classes tonight! What a great feeling!

I ask that you pray for the wealth of oppurtunities that God has presented to me. From my students who are eager to learn, to the patience and planning it will take to do these classes well, to the time that I have with them to show them that there are people who simply care about their success, who care about them, who want to get to know them better, and want to be their friend. Pray that the students would see something different, something they need in the way I treat others and in the activities and the ministry of the church. And pray for the oppurtunities for me to take adtvantage of their eagerness to spread the Gospel.

So, even though I might have to give up my weekends, it is something that I see God using and look forward to seeing what he can do with his mighty power.

Until later, keep on...

And in my freetime, a new hobby...

Fo shizzle my nizzle used to drizzle down in Hungary-izzle.

Yo yo diggity dawg in the hizzo. I was spinning some tracks that were dope man, if you catch my drizzle down in this hizzo. Yeah, Yeah, in all my frizzle tizzle, I am now a DJ-izzile... My first crib crashing dig was is Budapestizzle...Peace out my nizzle.

This picture is courtesy of Mandi Linder Press, located in Sopron, Hungary. She is a fellow ESL Teacher there. Thanks for this picture Mandi!

And to top off the list of firsts...

Heres one to complete yesterday's list of firsts: First nervous breakdown!

Thats right. Due to a huge misunderstanding on my part, today's house visit was actually a visit to the local miltary academy. As if the cops toting their guns everywhere isnt enough to put some hair on you chest, walking into a room full of teenage boys twice your size muttering somthing about a gringo in Spanish(most likely how they could snap you in half with their little toe) is quite harrowing.

And then, the miscomunication continues. Not only was I to grace my presence to these high school boys who knew nothing about Americans except that their president in coming to Panama and causing major riots. No, the teacher introduced me to the class as the guest teacher.

Umm, no plan, no time to prepare, and 50 expectant eyes waging to see who could be the first to pulverize me when I started talking about adjectives and adverbs.

Never before have I prayed so fervently.

After a chessy, lets get to know each other game (which was really an excuse for me to pull it together and not soil my pants) we launched in a very woebegone grammer lesson. I pulled out a pretty good class, with all the students participating, and even getting the high compliments of the teacher. She asked me if she could come to my English classes at the church and watch how I teach.

So praise be to God, who has the power to turn my first nervous breakdown into my first big accomplishment!

There are always firsts...

Besides that fact that living in a foreign country is a major first for me, there have been plenty of things that have been new for me these last weeks here in Panama. Let me extrapolate...

1. The first "first" is my first English Class. Sally, the wonderful secretary for the national church, teaches an English class for small students in El Redentor, the church here in Balboa, the area where I live. I had the chance to subsitute teach her class this last Saturday. It was a wonderful class where the students, as well as their parents came to learn English. We went for about two hours, reviewing our numbers, colors, same and different. We also looked at some of our body parts and reviewed those. Head and shoulders, knees and toes was in my head all day! We also, while reviewing our numbers, looked at the story of Christ feeding the five thousand. We made sure to count how many loaves of bread and fish Jesus started with, 5 and 2, and then how many BASKETS of food were left over, 12. The kids were wonderful and I was surprised at their enthusiasm to learn. It was a great warm up as I start teaching my English class within the next week. This week I am working on setting up a schedule for the different churches, so I am getting going on all that. So far I have classes set up in Loma Cova and Balboa. So altogether, so far, I am teach six classes a week. Tommorow and Thursday will bring time to talk to the other pastors and see what times work for them to have me teach at their church.

David and Isac working on their tracing their hands.

Aron tracing his hand

2. I drove for the first time. It wasnt quite as harrowing as "normal" driving, seeing as how I, the coward that I am, volunteered to drive everyone home 3 blocks from a devotion. And not to mention, it was all on back road, where a whole three people drive. And it was at 10 at night, so, yeah, I am really cool. At least I can say I have driven...

3. My first piece of mail from home came. Well, I got a Volunteer LCMS CD, big whoop, that hardly counts (Stacy, its a great CD!). But my first PERSONAL mail came, today. It only took a short seven days to get here, no hardly the three weeks I was told it would take. Thanks Jen, you rock my face off! Today was my first day at the post office, and I actually had something! It made my day. I even took a picture of it to comemorate this feeling of unphatomable joy. Oh, tear :*)

The beloved first piece of mail. Yes, I have enough free time to photograph my mail.

4. My last entry already alludes to this, but I had my first taste of Twinings tea here in Panama the other night. Still living in the high of that moment.

5. My first confrontation with the cops. Thats right, real, big-gun toting cops. We got pulled over becuase, get this, we were driving too slow. Thats right. I dont think it is a good idea to be advertising that Panamanians should drive faster.

6. My first house visit. I traveled with Pastor Ruben, from Los Andes, Marc and Cheryl to do a house visit to a teacher who is very close to becoming involved in the church. One of the many things that God has shown his continous work through the people in Panama. More house visits are on the plate for the rest of the week.

7. First Concert/Recital. And wiat. Not just the first recital I attended here in Panama, but actually the first chello recital here in Panama, ever. My friend Joy takes lessons here in Panama and had her recital tonight. There have been three scheduled in the past, however, Panamanians cuaght drift of it and started protests each time they have been planned. No, not really, although all the others have been cancelled becuase of riots....coincidence, I think not. "NO MAS CHELO!"

Joy and her teacher, Susan Richter, in the Chello Recital.

Well, I could go on forever. These firsts have been a way that I have been blessed mightily by the Lord. My time in Panama has shown me the endless bounds of God's love, and how people from an entire different culture, who speak an entirely different language crave to know that Christ loves them just as much as I do. And I see affirmations of that love in the people's smiles, the children's laughs and the pastors sermons. Yes, there are things that are different, and things that have made me have many cultural "firsts", but it comes to this: We are children of God, working through the love of the Spirit, and we are all one the One who loved us enough to die for us, when we had abandoned, blasphemed and descrated Him. And the community doesnt stop here. I hear of prayers for me in a church in Madison, WI, a place I have no contact with, and I am reminded of the uniting power of God's love. And as I said in my Saturday when we were reviewing same and different, even though we are all different, there is something that makes us the same: That God loves each and everyone of us just as much as the other. Praise be to God!

A Little Piece of London in Panama

As I am showing all the symptoms of someone addicted to bloggage...something truly exciting happened last night and I have been waiting all morning to sit down and blog about it.

Last night, Joy and I went to a friends house, Katia, who is here from Germany on an internship with BMW. (I know, that's pretty freakin cool.) We had decided to have a tea party with crumpets and watch the third Harry Potter. We made a stop at KFC for some bisquicks (thats what they call biscuits here and the closet thing to crumpets in the western hemisphere) and headed to Katia's apartment.

Then the truly exciting thing happened. As Katia and I were setting up the TV and getting the DVD going, Joy was making tea. Expecting the local brand, Duran Te, I was delighted to find out that Katia had a plethora of TWININGS tea.

For those of you who have never had TWININGS tea before, this entry might seem rather trivial. But for those of you have, you understand my excitement. Twinings in only the best tea made in country know for ostentatous tea production. And seeing as how Katia studied in Cambridge for a year, she stocked up before she left. And to double my excitement...I had started off by packing two boxes of Twinings, but due to space restrictions had to leave it behind in the States, with the hopes of finding it here in Panama. But alas, in the multitude of markets we have gone to, never have I found such perfection in a tea bag...

So if you want to send me a care package, you can send me some Twinings tea. Until your geneorous gift arrives, I will be frequenting Katia's apartment.

The New, The Old and The Weird

I know, this blog update sounds like some underfunded CBS Soap Opera, but beleive me you want to read this...

Me Celebrating Yom Kippur at one of the few open locations in Panama City.

Happy Yom Kippur! Panamá has a large Jewish population, and more than half the stores celebrate their holidays, so I am ever reminded of our spritual ancestors here in Panama. I decided to repent today and ask forgiveness for my lack of bloggingness during the last week. In order to show my repentence, I have an extra special blog entry today. Hopefully they will have you letting out as much laughter as we tried to hold back when these events transpired.

Today, we went to see some of the sights in Panamá. The history of Panamá starts with Panamá La Vieja (The Old City), which was the first European settlement on the Pacific Ocean. Founded in 1520, Panamá City quickly became important as a trading route. It became the starting point of almost all Southern American Conquests, such as Pizzaro’s Conquest of Peru, and it is said that about 90% of the treasure from all the Spanish’s New South American Empire passed through Panama. This made it a very important city, and a very attractive target for pirate attacks. However, the Spanish built the city right up against the ocean, and they thought is defenses were impenetrable. Hardly did they expect someone to attack from land, (why this did not cross their mind seems like a very large, obvious omission, since they were literally depending on the defenses of one side of the city to carry them through an attack, and three sides of the city were left very highly vulnerable.) Well leave it to Captian Henry Morgan (yes, the pirate man with a brand of rum named after him, more commonly known as one the most feared pirates of all times, although he appears rather jovial on all his liquor jars, like a slim Santa with less manicured locks, and not quite as many teeth) to do exactly what no one was expecting. He marched on the city, from Colón and Portobelo, the most important cities on the Atlantic side of Panamá, and sacked Panamá in 1672. The city was completely ruined, not so much due to dear old Henry, but rather from the Spanish burning the city to make the inevitably ensuing ransacking less successful and swift. The city was left abandoned, and things in Panamá shifted to a new city, which was brilliantly named Panamá La Neuva (The New City).

Me in a ruined convent in Panama La Vieja

The Tower of the Main Cathedral in Panama La Vieja

Panamá La Nueva (although it is “new” it is still called the Casco Viejo, the Historic Part of town) was the seat of the French, when they had rights to build the canal. Therefore, it is very European and very Colonail. The buildings are beautiful, and there are many historic places, one being the Plaza de Francia (French Plaza), which juts into the bay of Panamá and provides great views of the city. We also saw the national theater, the Presidential Palace, a country club that citizens tore down with their bare hands to demonstrate their loathing for Norriega, the national Legislation building, and the Cathedrals of the Casco Viejo.

However, the best part of the day came when we were at lunch. To say the least, a peculiar man was sat at the table next to us. If his large bug-eye sunglasses weren’t enough to merit a quick “don’t make it obvious but check out this weird guy” look, his pet plastic giraffe was. Slung under his arm, like some kind of precious Paris Hilton poodle, was a plastic giraffe. At first I expected a kid to come running out the bathroom and say something redemptive to the situation, like “thanks for holding my giraffe weird sunglasses dude,” however, such would not happen. He proceeded to sit down, by himself (for obvious reasons). Sitting at the table by himself must have gotten lonely, because he sat his giraffe on the table and actually started petting it. At points, we thought we even heard conversations. Perhaps the giraffe was complaining that he did not get enough greens for his taste, or perhaps he couldn’t bend his neck down to reach the plate. After copious chatter and wonderful human to giraffe contemplation, the man paid his bill, picked up his precious cargo, gently tucked him under his arm, and left. Perhaps Geoffrey the Giraffe had to get back to ToysR’Us, having only an hour for lunch break. We finally had a chance to talk openly about the events that just passed before our eyes, discuss if in fact they were not a hallucination, and this was a restaurant, not an insane asylum, and laugh outloud everything we had been trying, not very successfully, to hold in.

Yes, he is staring lovingly into that plastic giraffe's eyes.

This past week has been a lot of meeting people, going out with friends, seeing the country, more orientation, driving around the city and getting to know Panamá a little better. I spent a lot of time driving around, especially downtown, and getting to know the street names. We took a friend downtown to apply for jobs, and that was good way for me to tour the city. I found out that a whole portion of the city is built on fill from the Canal. I also got to go out with friends to a new wine bar, as well as hanging out in our apartments watching movies.

This entire section of Panama City is built on fill from the canal. Safe, really.

New Wine Bar on the Cuaseway. From left, Joy, Kathia, Noriel, Me, Marc and Cheryl

I also went to some of the churches I will be teaching out with some of the missionaries. I went to Río Rita, which is a neat little town. I observed a confirmation class and a theological education by extension class there, lead by one of the career missionaries here, Marcos Kempff. I also went to Los Andes, where I helped out with an English bible study, and music practice for the worship team. I am starting to get a feel for some of the different churches, and will meet more with the pastors to see what things they look forward to in my English classes.

Jesus Divino Salvador, the church I will work at in Rio Rita

I am also starting to really fell the awkward moments of sticking out. Even though Panama is used to having foreigners around, it is still an amazing sight for them to see a gringo. Today at Panamá La Vieja, since it was a school day, there were more students on school trips than tourists and at one point, we over heard a group of them sheepishly heading over to us and whispering amongst themselves. “I want to talk to the gringos.” Also, the gas prices have sky rocketed here, since the government stopped subsidizing the cost of oil. This combined with the fact that George W Bush, his highness, has announced he will visit in November, have lead to “manifestations” in the streets this entire week. In fact, in order to avoid mass problems, the university was completely shut down during the past few days. What a great time to be a gringo driving a car in Panama! No really, it has been very peaceful protests that have only caused some traffic problems in certain areas. Still, pray for all people in the city to stay safe in this time.

Other than that, I am hanging out in Paradise! Things are really well here in Panama, and I am seeing God work in the small things. Panamanians speak really fast, and have a really distinct accent, yet I understand them and have communicated well everything I need. God has provided many people here who can help me with the problems I have, and a group of friends who are my co-workers and have been a blessing to me! He has also provided a ripe situation, as every where I go, I am asked when I am going to start English Classes. I pray for God to use me in these sitautions, to bless the people he puts in my life, and that through them he continues to show me the abundence of his grace.

Until next time, keep plugging…

p.s. stay tuned for nexts week episode, the slow, the fast and the uncoordinated...pictures from Salsa lessons...

New Additions!

Check out my new Panama photo album, now available under the "MY PHOTOS" Link on the right! I will add pictures to this throughout my time here in Panama. Also, check out my October Newsletter under the "MY NEWSLETTERS" Link.

El Valle de Anton

Today was a relaxing day in the interior (the term used for any city not on the Canal). We went to El Valle de Anton, which is actually a town built inside the crater of an extinct volcano, to do some shopping, walk around and go to the thermal springs. We left at about 8:30 and got to El Valle at about 10:30 for our day of adventures.

The entrace to the Nispera Zoo in El Valle.

Our first stop was the local zoo. I was surpised that they actually had real animals, unlike most small town zoos in the States. However, dont ever let The Animal Protection Agency get a hold of this place. Nor do I think the Zoo Security Counsil should hear about it. As I headed through the zoo, all I could think about was getting the next episode of "When Animals Attack" on tape. Amidst the tension of the ever present danger of animals stampeding out of their ever so secure chain link fences, I made my first Panamanian friend. I call him Herbert the Monkey. Actually I think he was from Africa or Asia. And he was probably just using me for my waterbottle. Not to mention that he didnt really have the cognitive abilites to see that the waterbottle was not going to fit through his chickenwire cage, not matter how much he shook it. And, then there the fact that, well, he was a monkey. So nix that whole friend thing.

"Herbet The Monkey, you silly little guy. Stop Trying to take my waterbottle with your extremly plaible tail!"

Yes, that is an unfortified CHAIN LINK FENCE seperating me from that very large, very angry ostrich.

This toucan, unlike Herbert the Monkey, is actually a native to Panama.

We also got some really good views of El Valle from the main center part of the zoo. We ate a really appitizing lunch, and had time to shop before it absolutly poured rain for about 45 minutes(a common occurence here in Panama.)

View of El Valle from the Zoo. El Valle is IN a volcano, and the mountains in the back are the old crater of the volcano.

Then when we tried to get to the thermal springs. Arriving was no problem. However the local Bob Marley Bus (it actually had a doobie painted on the back) filled with chicitos and chicitas was parked, with all the little ones pouring out. Deciding we did not wish to trot around half naked in front of Carriben sun lovin' children gauking at our pasty white gringo bodies, we waited for the doobie bus to be loaded with all its awkward adolescent cargo. However, as I have found out, things do not happen quickly here in Latin America and the five minute wait time we were promised by a cheery gatekeeper soon turned into twenty minutes of us sitting in the car, watching every kid come and try to avoid the large puddle that at point had gathered at the entrance. Feed up, we finally went in, only to find out that they were closing the springs becuase of the rain. We made a promise to come back some other day.

So thats a typical day in the life of a missionary! Need a vacation that will sure provide some laughs and lots of time to update your blog? Be a missionary! You can sign up by contacting LCMS anytime. No, just kidding. I am fortunate to have this couple of weeks to just relax and get used to everything Panamanian. You should be thankful too, as I have plenty of time to spice up my blog entries with stories of drug decorated buses and ostriches on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Seriously, I look forward to finding out more about the people I am now living among and how God can use me to fulfill some of their needs. I look forward also to seeing how God can teach me more about his abundent grace through the people he has provided around me!

Proof that I am, in fact, in Panama

Well, for those of you doubting Thomases out there, here is a picture of me infront of the Panama City Skyline, lest you think I have simply been pasting pictures from the Internet in a large conspiracy to make you beleive I have left the country.

Me with the skyline in the background; taken from the Panama Cuaseway.

The last couple of days have been really, really busy! I have been meeting people, figuring out my way around and seeing and tasting new things! Heres a quick summary of whats been going on!

Sunday brought Church at Balboa, the city where I live, and time to relax and unpack. I also went shopping, and let me tell you, dont plan on buying anything when there is a sale! They had a sale on meat, but there was no meat left to rebajar (put on sale)!

Yesterday picked up a bit, as I went with the music volunteer missionary with AMILPA to two different churches. We went to Rio Rita, a small village up in the mountians on the Atlantic Side, where Joy, the music missionary, gave lessons to some students from the Pastors house. I got to meet the pastor and his family, and as well as have an incredible Nicuarguagan breakfast. But wait, you think, arent you in Panama? Well, yes, but Pastor Pedro is from Nicuarguaga, so he treated us to homemade tortillas and beans and the best coffee I have ever had in my life. After Rio Rita, we headed even closer to the Atlantic, to Sabanitas, where Joy proceeded to give more music lessons and I helped out by playing piano for the large group session. I got to meet some students at this church, which is about 10 km from the Atlantic. So in one day I went from the Pacific Ocean (from which I live about 2 kms) to the Atlantic Ocean. Sabanitas is a larger town than Rio Rita, as it is closer to Colon, the largest city on the Atlantic Coast of Panama. We took some students to their houses after lesson, and then drove through the rainforest to get home. We drove past Madden Dam, where the keep the reserves for the canal, since the canal uses freshwater. We also drove past Chagres national Park, a tourist's rainforest paridise. The day ended with a trip to Panama Centro (Downtown Panama City), a traffice nightmare! We ate at a nice little itialian cafe called Pomodoro, and did some errands downtown.

Today brought some more time to relax and see part of the town. We went to the Cuaseway, a strecth of land that connects three islands and was built with all the dug-out dirt of the canal. They also continue to extend the cuaseway with all the dirt and sediment the drugde out of the canal. There were good views of the city from the Cuaseway. We saw the skyline, Ancon Hill, and the Bridge of the Americas. We went to a nice restaurant for lunch and I had a wonderful Sea Bass Salad with drink, appetizer and dessert for $5. Since the Smithsonian Marine Exhibt was not yet open when we got there, the fruit market was the next destination. It was a combination of smells that I have never quite experienced, the sweet pineapples, the not so sweet peppers and everyonce in a while a huge whiff of very overripe fruit (I dont think the would call it rotten since they are obviuosly after my balboas!) Then my favorite part of the day, nap time! Now its dinner time! Today we also meet Sally and Jerona, the secretarys and bookkeepers for the church here in Panama, and my land-lady, who got in a hilariouos phone battle over the phone with our phone company, who is charging us for using 40,000 minutes of call time when no one lived in this apartment!

View of the city from the Causeway, with the obligatory cargo boat waiting to get in the canal

"And now to Traffic: Traffic moving slowly on the Canal Corridor, backed up for miles; alternate routes advised. Try going around all of South America."

Not just random hills. The hill on the right is Ancon Hill, and the small hill in the middle is where my house is. If you blow up the Picture you can see Bridge of the Americas to the left, which crosses the Canal. You can see how close my apartment is to the canal.

Some of my observations thus far:

1. Humidity, humidity, humidity! This isnt so much an observation as a heavey hammer that hits you everytime you step out of an air conditioned room, but I havent seen a humidity report here, becuase I think it is a given that it is always at least 100 million percent. Well thats what you get for being right on the ocean and surrounded by jungles on all sides. Towel anyone?

2. People here have more time than money. Friends on the streets are more important than office memos and schedules. This means that when you plan to start at 10:00, you can show up at 11:30 and be on time. This also means that when people have you to their house, they pull out all the works, like Pastor Pedro.

Those are the main ones. I have been seeing so much that at this point I am just trying to take in as much as I can. I pray that God would bring to my attention things that would help me better understand the people I am serving and how to better have relationships with them. I also pray that God would use this time to mold me into someone who can share his truth and how it has impacted me with those around me.

For today, thats it. As I begin to understand what it means to be away from home and my culture, and what awaits for me, I think of the great things that God has in store for the people of Panama, for my friends and family, and myself:

I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope. Jer 29:11

Panama, Chapter 1

I made it to Panama safely! Last night, after a half-an-hour drive from Tocumen International Airport, Marc, Cheryl, Becky (who all graciously came to pick me up) brought me back to the apartment. It is alot bigger than I was thinking it would be. I have two rooms to call my own. One is an actual bedroom, and the other is the office. The office is quickly becoming my favorite. It is perched in the corner of the apartment, and has windows on two of four walls, and not some misly prison barred, dorm sized windows. Full walled windows. It really is necesary, to let some of the breeze through! It is a cosy little room that is a place where I can kick back at my desk, look out the windows and let the cool breeze take some of worries away! Got my pictures of family and friends at hand, and of course a picture of the the Jim Found Club founders (thanks, Hungary!) The apartment, like I said, is more than I was expecting, nestled away in a gardeny back street that seems to be the main "church" area of the city. Out my window I can see the catholic church, behind our balcony is the local Union Chruch, across the street is a church of undistinguished denomination, and beneath my feet is a Baptist church. There are palm trees that line our drive, and trees and plants and green every where. Quite different from the brownish burnt yucca look of the Eastern Coloradan plains. We have a large (and I mean large) living room, kitchen, dining area, balcony, bathroom and then the two bedrooms and my office. Look for pictures to come in future blogs and albums as well!

Today was an exciting day! I got to go to two churches where I will be teaching classes. The first church we went to was Gloria Dei in Los Andes, about a 10 km drive from here. We had an English Bible Study that I watched and participated in. I got to meet Carlos, a student who is going to the University next year and wanted to learn English. He will most likely be one of my students when I start teaching classes in the next couple of weeks!

Then we went to lunch and shopping. I had Pio Pio (whose equivalent in Enlgish is "Chirp Chrip" as in what the baby chick does) for lunch, and it was pretty taste. I also bought a few items that were left behind, like an umbrella and a razor. I was surprised that things were fairly cheap here. The currency of choice is the American dollar, although it is called the Balboa, and I saw nice shirts in decent establishments for $1.99. Jeans are $8 tops, and I spent $3 for a fairly large umbrella!

Then, after a short siesta (not actually sure if they observe that in Panama, but I sure did!), we headed to Loma Cova, a church that is in a small village about 30 km from here. The village has a large population of Kuna Indains, one of Panama's indigenous people groups, and I got to see there colorful, traditional wear (pictures of the way!). The joke of the night was that since I knew Spanish I would start learning Kuna as my "language experience". We actually had to cross the Canal, over on the Bridge of the Americas, to get to Loma Cova. We atteneded their services. There were alot of people there, and the majority of them were kids. We played basketball for a while after church, and then piled back into the car. Driving here is really crazy, and will take as much time being babied as I can, letting the other missionaries drive, while I learn the streets and before I get enough courage to drive myself around, a reality that is looming on the horizon!

Traditional Kuna Wear

Oh yeah, there was fireworks tonight, and I like to think that it is Panama's way of wecloming me!

Fireworks over the Bridge of the Americas, which I have to cross to get to Loma Cova.

These next couple of weeks I wont be teaching, but rather, I will take some time to adjust to living in Panama. I think the biggest asjuement might be the climate, as it is so hot and humid here. It rained, and I mean poured, for like 45 minutes with stopping, and I was told that that was barely considered a "shower", and since October is the rainest month of the year here, I am sure to see actual "rain"! My room is air-conditioned, but the rest of the house is not. I have also been told that asjusting to the climate takes about a month, so I am preparing myself for that.

Oh yeah, one other interesting thing. We have a gecko in the kitchen. He eats the bugs and doesnt bite humans, so, he is an addition to our apartment. He is actually kind of cool. I was thinking of naming him, but didnt have any cool names. If you have some, leave them in your comments!

until later, keeping on plugging.