Loma Cove, let me count the ways I love the...
Oh, sorry, got cuaght up in my um Shakespeare. Well I really wanted to let you know about one of the churches here in Panama...Loma Cova. In a community with roughly a bazillion kids, there are always stories to tell.
First, it is incredible to see such a young group of people being the leaders in a church. As I have already mentioned, the childish population of Loma Cova makes for a unique oppurtunity where the biggest outreach the church does is VBS, Sunday School and other educational and fun things for children.
Its neat to see the many sides of Loma Cova. Two weeks ago the youth were off working their butts off in construction, learning how to lay block and level mortar. Last week, they were normal teens having fun at the youth retreat. And this week, the same guys who are out at construction working on firming up their muscles for all the ladies (yes, do I need to mention that they are teenagers) were the same guys who were tooting around three years on their shoudlers for VBS.
And while the events of Loma Cova are different, two things remain. The love and dedication of the people in the church, who often take on five or six different roles to make sure a building gets built, volunteers get feed, children learn about Moses, musicians practice and the community knows about upcoming events, stays the same. Two, the number of kids, while it may seem to grow (we have about 200 kids at VBS!), gives us the unique oppurtunity to spread to Gospel in its most simple form, whether it be in "Jesus loves me" or a hug to a crying kid.
Pray that the children of Loma Cova would continue in their child like faith and that it may spread to all of those who are in need of it.
Praise God for the work he is doing among his childre in Loma Cova, and for giving the spirit to be "two faced" (but in a good way!)
keep on...
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Monday, February 20, 2006
Back to life...
After two weeks of work in Sora and longer hair, I returned to the city (yes, mom. A Haircut is on my list of things to do!)
I am back from Sora, and have been for about a week, and it is high time to return to communicating with the outside world. I apologize for the lack of communication over the last weeks. Let me try to get you all cuaght up.
Camp in Sora. Great times. Good students, a little bit of frustration. All a growing experience. Check out the photos of my students below and in my photo album to the link on the right. To find out more about the camp, read February's newsletter, located at the link to the right.
This is Santiago, one of my students, working on his craft for the day.
Icenet doing the actions for our song J-E-S-U-S.
The youth English Class in Sora. This picture was taken at Cerro de la Cruz, a mountain that overlooks the city of Sora.
Renovation in el apartamento. Things are changing little by little and I hope to have a before and after picture for some of you all. Some painting, a lot of moving furniture and alot of settling things in nice homy places. This also includes moving all of my English supplies out of the church office and into my home. Nothing like working from home.
This last weekend was the national youth gathering in Panama. Over 50 students from the seven churches went. I had the chance to help out on the first day, check out the location of the retreat and watch the youth sing, relax and learn. There were session and talks as well as bible studies, games and plenty of food!
Some of the chicas getting ready to head to the other side of the country for the youth retreat. Dont worry, the other side of the country is about a 1 hour drive.
Yasmina making tejadas for the youth retreat. Tejados are actually fried bananas. They are so good!
About 1/3 of the food for the youth retreat at lunch time. Everything homemade and prepared especially for the youth!
The place of the retreat was called Nueva Providencia, located on Gatun Lake, on the Carriebean side of Panama.
One of the sessions dealt with conflicts in the Family. Here Ana, Yamileth, Ricardo and Carlos act out a "conflict" in the family.
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Life in the bush...
Welcome to Sorá, the city that is one part mountains, two parts sweeping ocean veiws, equal parts lack of social oppurtunities, internet and other “modern” ammenities (like running water), ten parts bugs, incests and spiders, and six parts completely Panamanian countryside. I have been here for a week, and have learned so much. Let me share.
I started teaching my two week English Camp on Monday. We have two classes: one for children in the morning and one for youth in the afternoon. We are using the stories from Jesus’ life to learn more about the bible, and to serve as “starting points” for English themes. I have the faithful students who come everyday and practice things like “My name is…, Her Name is…. I am from…She is from…” and those who straggle in once every couple of days just to sing. That’s right, you can imagine me, the tonedeaf, leading over ambitious, often pleased with screaming as singing students in a good ole round of Praise Ye the Lord” or “Father Abraham”. Even though I think about the Spanish phrase me salió un gallo (which means literally, a rooster came out of me) when I think about me singing, you can imagine my pleasure last night when I heard kids singing Praise ye the Lord from the other side of town (ego check starts in 1, 2, 3: keep in mind that the other side of town in Sorá is a good 500 feet away, and it sounded more like Frase she da Loor…oh well…we have a week to work on this).
I think the big things I am learning are more cultural. I will never understand the Panamanian culture in it entirity, because every city has its own distinct thing that I will never pick up on. And while this leads to some sort of daily frustration, there are so many blessings that keep me going through each day. Let me expound.
The kids in my classes make it worth it. Although I often have to remind them that I am the teacher and they NEED to listen to me, and remind them that we only need a little drop of glue to glue googly eyes on our crafts, and as trite as it sounds, they make it worth it. And to hear some of the things that the kids live with (multiple step families, lots of poverty, child labor that would even make the Panamanian government cringe, abuse and drunkenness in all parts of the family) make me even that much more impressed with their ability to smile, to come to class and to have fun, and to be able to enjoy their life as a child.
Second, Pastor Matinho (Portuguese, folks…pronounced Mar-teen-yo) has been a blessing! His continual support and openness has provided so much. He leads the congregation here in Sorá with a gentle hand, and has been a big froce in motivating the often timid and shy students. He has also been very good at talking in Spanish (one frustration, as this is my first time with out any other English Speakers around and my firt time of communicating soley in Spanish) and we have both been slowly learning Portuguese and English. Eu tenho que trabalhar muito nos días. (Let see if you Spanish speakers can figure that one out...Even though it’s Portuguese, you can probably figure it out.)
The ability to be taken out of my comfort zone where all my approved methods of teaching don’t serve. When I look at my students, with some of their family situations, they only respond to yelling. This makes things hard for me, trying to get their attention, but refusing to let the church be a place like some of their very trobuled homes. Teachers, you can imagine the frustration when you want the kids to learn so badly, but don’t know how to help them in that fashion. Day after day, I leave frustrated, trying to think of effective ways to discipline the class, keep control of the class, and not feel like they don’t respect me. And while it would be easier to scream, the fact that they wave to me from across the street makes me deal with this frustration in a way that I know would be right.
Okay, well I could go on. I have so many stories. If you want to hear about the bugs (I saw a real live stick bug, a scorpion, and a posinous centipede) well too bad. And I will spare you from the dramatics of Martinho and I saving our house from a raging brush fire, with God’s miraculous providence, of course. And as far as the fact that I could tell you just about anyone’s name is Sorá, I will spare you from that detailled list. Keep praying for the students, that they would learn, not so much “I am” is right and “I is” is not, but that Christ loves them and even though they might not see it much in their homes, they would see his love through the open arms of the church here in Sorá
Oh…and the time to make a decision about staying in Panama is coming up. I have thought about staying, and extending my time until July 2007. Please pray for guidance as I make these decisions.
I started teaching my two week English Camp on Monday. We have two classes: one for children in the morning and one for youth in the afternoon. We are using the stories from Jesus’ life to learn more about the bible, and to serve as “starting points” for English themes. I have the faithful students who come everyday and practice things like “My name is…, Her Name is…. I am from…She is from…” and those who straggle in once every couple of days just to sing. That’s right, you can imagine me, the tonedeaf, leading over ambitious, often pleased with screaming as singing students in a good ole round of Praise Ye the Lord” or “Father Abraham”. Even though I think about the Spanish phrase me salió un gallo (which means literally, a rooster came out of me) when I think about me singing, you can imagine my pleasure last night when I heard kids singing Praise ye the Lord from the other side of town (ego check starts in 1, 2, 3: keep in mind that the other side of town in Sorá is a good 500 feet away, and it sounded more like Frase she da Loor…oh well…we have a week to work on this).
I think the big things I am learning are more cultural. I will never understand the Panamanian culture in it entirity, because every city has its own distinct thing that I will never pick up on. And while this leads to some sort of daily frustration, there are so many blessings that keep me going through each day. Let me expound.
The kids in my classes make it worth it. Although I often have to remind them that I am the teacher and they NEED to listen to me, and remind them that we only need a little drop of glue to glue googly eyes on our crafts, and as trite as it sounds, they make it worth it. And to hear some of the things that the kids live with (multiple step families, lots of poverty, child labor that would even make the Panamanian government cringe, abuse and drunkenness in all parts of the family) make me even that much more impressed with their ability to smile, to come to class and to have fun, and to be able to enjoy their life as a child.
Second, Pastor Matinho (Portuguese, folks…pronounced Mar-teen-yo) has been a blessing! His continual support and openness has provided so much. He leads the congregation here in Sorá with a gentle hand, and has been a big froce in motivating the often timid and shy students. He has also been very good at talking in Spanish (one frustration, as this is my first time with out any other English Speakers around and my firt time of communicating soley in Spanish) and we have both been slowly learning Portuguese and English. Eu tenho que trabalhar muito nos días. (Let see if you Spanish speakers can figure that one out...Even though it’s Portuguese, you can probably figure it out.)
The ability to be taken out of my comfort zone where all my approved methods of teaching don’t serve. When I look at my students, with some of their family situations, they only respond to yelling. This makes things hard for me, trying to get their attention, but refusing to let the church be a place like some of their very trobuled homes. Teachers, you can imagine the frustration when you want the kids to learn so badly, but don’t know how to help them in that fashion. Day after day, I leave frustrated, trying to think of effective ways to discipline the class, keep control of the class, and not feel like they don’t respect me. And while it would be easier to scream, the fact that they wave to me from across the street makes me deal with this frustration in a way that I know would be right.
Okay, well I could go on. I have so many stories. If you want to hear about the bugs (I saw a real live stick bug, a scorpion, and a posinous centipede) well too bad. And I will spare you from the dramatics of Martinho and I saving our house from a raging brush fire, with God’s miraculous providence, of course. And as far as the fact that I could tell you just about anyone’s name is Sorá, I will spare you from that detailled list. Keep praying for the students, that they would learn, not so much “I am” is right and “I is” is not, but that Christ loves them and even though they might not see it much in their homes, they would see his love through the open arms of the church here in Sorá
Oh…and the time to make a decision about staying in Panama is coming up. I have thought about staying, and extending my time until July 2007. Please pray for guidance as I make these decisions.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Iggi be goodi and other good times
Iggi be goodi? Iggi be nuga? An Chris nuga! An be doke!
Wow, its like you just wondered into a Kuna Class. As a new challenge for the new year, I have taken up Kuna lessons. Its informal really, I teach my friends English and they teach me Kuna. Kuna is the language of the one of the indigenous people groups here in Panama and most of my students in Loma Cova, a Kuna village, speak it. So Lenin, the superstar, is teaching me Kuna. Its kind of wierd having to learn a language through a language that is not your first language. We will see how it goes.
Alot of other good things have happened this week. Our first construction group came and worked, and worked hard...the gropu of ten, along with about 20 people from Loma Cova, almost finished digging and pouring the entire foundation. The group was amazing to watch. To be in Loma Cova and see them making friendships with people who they couldnt really talk to, and to see them last night, all emotional to leave people they had met just a week ago was a touching reminder of the power of God to work among his people.
I also got a chance to hang out with some of the youth from Loma Cova. I got my sorry self up out of bed at 6 in the morning on Wednesday to take a bus to Loma Cova and go running with Crenaldo, Ruso, Edelio, and Wigaliler. They took me up to the top of this mountain that looks over the entire city--the canal, the bridges, buildings, and ocean. It was increduble. Getting to spend time with my students, and answering questions like "How many TV channels are there in the states" reminded me that being here and building relationships is what it is all about. And while I want the students to learn English, when I spend time with these young men who are going to lead their community one day, even though they might say things like "I is" or "can work you in dirt?", I know that God is using me through my time spent with them.
And God is using them to change me. I see that in the three months here, I have changed. How to exactly articulate these changes is where we run into problems. Seeing the smiles on congregations members faces, the way they interact with people, the way the invite people into their family of faith, hides the fact that some of them struggle with money. Their faith is so strong, that interacting with them, you would not know that they have any bodily problems at all, becuase they know that God will provide and that shows in the way they live.
May we all learn from those who, no matter what their station in life, have lessons more valuable than any professor, pastor, or author.
keep on learning...
Wow, its like you just wondered into a Kuna Class. As a new challenge for the new year, I have taken up Kuna lessons. Its informal really, I teach my friends English and they teach me Kuna. Kuna is the language of the one of the indigenous people groups here in Panama and most of my students in Loma Cova, a Kuna village, speak it. So Lenin, the superstar, is teaching me Kuna. Its kind of wierd having to learn a language through a language that is not your first language. We will see how it goes.
Alot of other good things have happened this week. Our first construction group came and worked, and worked hard...the gropu of ten, along with about 20 people from Loma Cova, almost finished digging and pouring the entire foundation. The group was amazing to watch. To be in Loma Cova and see them making friendships with people who they couldnt really talk to, and to see them last night, all emotional to leave people they had met just a week ago was a touching reminder of the power of God to work among his people.
I also got a chance to hang out with some of the youth from Loma Cova. I got my sorry self up out of bed at 6 in the morning on Wednesday to take a bus to Loma Cova and go running with Crenaldo, Ruso, Edelio, and Wigaliler. They took me up to the top of this mountain that looks over the entire city--the canal, the bridges, buildings, and ocean. It was increduble. Getting to spend time with my students, and answering questions like "How many TV channels are there in the states" reminded me that being here and building relationships is what it is all about. And while I want the students to learn English, when I spend time with these young men who are going to lead their community one day, even though they might say things like "I is" or "can work you in dirt?", I know that God is using me through my time spent with them.
And God is using them to change me. I see that in the three months here, I have changed. How to exactly articulate these changes is where we run into problems. Seeing the smiles on congregations members faces, the way they interact with people, the way the invite people into their family of faith, hides the fact that some of them struggle with money. Their faith is so strong, that interacting with them, you would not know that they have any bodily problems at all, becuase they know that God will provide and that shows in the way they live.
May we all learn from those who, no matter what their station in life, have lessons more valuable than any professor, pastor, or author.
keep on learning...
Friday, January 06, 2006
And I promised you pictures...
Here are some pictures that help recap up the year of 2005. Some of the highlights here in Panama. Enjoy!
Let's start recently and work our way back. For New Years, we went to Chiriqui, in the western part of Panama, and this is the river we spent some time in. It was so relaxing! 
Ahh, the traditional Panamanian Nativity. Yes, that is a Guami Indian Angel Floating above a pollera toting Maria, and a Devil Dancer Wiseman. INteresting...
Let's start recently and work our way back. For New Years, we went to Chiriqui, in the western part of Panama, and this is the river we spent some time in. It was so relaxing!Although it may appear that I am giving birth to this rock, or urinating on it, but let the truth be told. This picture was taken as I was falling into aformentioned river.
Rivers and beaches! This is how Christmas should really be spent. This is me, chilling it out on the beach for New Years.
Dad, you can take inspiration for your Christmas Light Display. This is a house in David, actually belongs to a friend of Noriega, all decorated for Christmas. Yeah, nothing says Christmas cheer like a nasty totalitarian dictatorship.
Ahh, the traditional Panamanian Nativity. Yes, that is a Guami Indian Angel Floating above a pollera toting Maria, and a Devil Dancer Wiseman. INteresting...
Gift time in Loma Cova. The kids loved their gifts, and I enjoyed trying to teach Pilieler to use his new skates. Seeing as how there is a whole five feet of paved road in Loma Cova, and about ten bazillion kids, we got good at skating in the gravel!
The Nativity Scene Reenactment in Loma Cova. I didnt think I would ever laugh so hard at the Birth of Christ, but the personalities of each student shone through and made it the most interesting interpretation of the Nativity I have ever seen!
This freakin' huge boat is going through the canal. It was actually the first time I have seen such a huge boat up close. This was at the Pedro Miguel Locks, about three days ago!
This is the "Chris just said something stupid" look, which usually comes right before I realize the stupid thing I said and start laughing at myself.
Kids and fire. Not a Good Combination. You can see the concerned look on the mothers face. This was at the Independence Day Parade in Bouquete, a small town in the western, mountainous part of Panama.
Whoa, Chris the Giant. No Panamanains are not all that small, its just that Carlos had his chair reclined, making me look like one big gringo steriod mistake. THis was on the bus to Chiriqui, and yes it was too small for my mammoth gringo legs.
Get in my Belly. I like the tourist look with the camera and all. This was at my first street party experience which really was more like a scene from Fast and the Furious, with all the cars parked and radios blaring.
Students from Loma Cova play for the Christmas Concert in Balboa. There was so many people there at the Concert!
Joy getting a little power happy as she sets up for the Christmas Concert. Joy's motto in life is, If you arent sweat your guts out in a stuffy church setting up speakers, you arent working hard enough!
Panama La Vieja. The very first settlement in Panama. A little taste of the history I live among.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Feliz Nuevo Ano and other gringo-esque things to say...
Well, that sounded Spanish-ishy, you might say to yourself. After all, the song does say, Feliz Navidad, prospero ano y felicidad, so whats wrong with saying Feliz Nuevo Ano? I have learned my lesson over the past few days, greeting people with a cheery "Happy New Year" in Spanish that its never as easy as it seems in the text books or radio songs.
Well, first thing (and hereafter is a quick lesson in spanish grammer), it would have to be Feliz aNo, with a little tidle over the n (you know this little bugger ~, that changes the pronunciation of the n to "ny"). Second, after you take the American/Texan/Gringo/Deep South twang out of your pronuncuation (just picture President Bush saying this), it would be Feliz Ano Nuevo, becuase in Spanish, the adjective almost always comes after the noun (some exceptions pertain, of course). And third, in Panama, it might be just too much work to say Feliz Ano Nuevo, so the cut off the entire "new" (nuevo) part and just say Feliz Ano. So to all of you out there...Happy Year!
Language is never as easy as learning in a textbook. And since one of my resolutions was to talk Spanish more acurratly, I decided to let the urning public know where I am at with my Spanish. Here are some cases of gringo things I have said during my three months here in Panama.
1. The ever common "cosita". This literally means little thing. It comes in hand when ever you dont know a word for some sort of object. Could you pass me that cosita...I need that cosita that goes with this cosita, but I also need to know which of these cositas is better...
2. The ever confusing novio/a. In Spanish, female things (like women and computers) most often end in "a". Masculine things (like men and desks) usually end in "o". This goes for the word boyfriend and girlfriend, "novio" and "novia" respectively. You can imagine the confusion and the explaining on my part when I was asked if I had a girlfriend, and I said, no I dont have a novio, but that I am looking for one...
3. The ever subtle "chorizo". This word means sausage, however is often used in a double sense in Spanish (why this is not explained in text books, I dont know). I will let you figure out what it means as well as imagine the horror on a teens face when I told her that my friend likes "chorizo"...
4. The ever befuddling "que tal?" This seems to be the catch all welcoming greeting. Understanding it is not so hard (it means like whats up?) but answering it can be tricky. Things like Whats up, dont usually go with "the party?" "Whats up the party?" "Whats up your classes?" "Whats up the food?" This is not so much a case of what a gringo would say, but more what a gringo tries to stumble to put together as a sentence.
5. The ever present "joven." In the text books, this is just an adjective that means young. Well here in Panama, it refers to any kind of service person whose attention you need. Hey salesman, how much does this cost, hey waiter, the bill please type of thing. Well, you can imagine my shame when waiting in line at a buffet style restuarant, and then instead of saying joven to the server who happened to be of the "tercera edad" (a retired person) I said vieja (which means old lady!). And the correct thing to say: senora (a respectful Mrs.) instead of old lady!
Well, the list could go on. I feel fortuante that even in my times where I stumble, I have the grace of God to fall on. I hope that through whatever struggles you encounter this year, you would remember that. Through the joys that make the smile, the goof ups that we can laugh about, and the times when things just seem to go wrong, that you remember God is present through all those times, and on his rock, firmly built, you will make it. May God bless you as you head out through this year, and may it truely be for you a Feliz Ano!
until later, keep plugging!
Well, first thing (and hereafter is a quick lesson in spanish grammer), it would have to be Feliz aNo, with a little tidle over the n (you know this little bugger ~, that changes the pronunciation of the n to "ny"). Second, after you take the American/Texan/Gringo/Deep South twang out of your pronuncuation (just picture President Bush saying this), it would be Feliz Ano Nuevo, becuase in Spanish, the adjective almost always comes after the noun (some exceptions pertain, of course). And third, in Panama, it might be just too much work to say Feliz Ano Nuevo, so the cut off the entire "new" (nuevo) part and just say Feliz Ano. So to all of you out there...Happy Year!
Language is never as easy as learning in a textbook. And since one of my resolutions was to talk Spanish more acurratly, I decided to let the urning public know where I am at with my Spanish. Here are some cases of gringo things I have said during my three months here in Panama.
1. The ever common "cosita". This literally means little thing. It comes in hand when ever you dont know a word for some sort of object. Could you pass me that cosita...I need that cosita that goes with this cosita, but I also need to know which of these cositas is better...
2. The ever confusing novio/a. In Spanish, female things (like women and computers) most often end in "a". Masculine things (like men and desks) usually end in "o". This goes for the word boyfriend and girlfriend, "novio" and "novia" respectively. You can imagine the confusion and the explaining on my part when I was asked if I had a girlfriend, and I said, no I dont have a novio, but that I am looking for one...
3. The ever subtle "chorizo". This word means sausage, however is often used in a double sense in Spanish (why this is not explained in text books, I dont know). I will let you figure out what it means as well as imagine the horror on a teens face when I told her that my friend likes "chorizo"...
4. The ever befuddling "que tal?" This seems to be the catch all welcoming greeting. Understanding it is not so hard (it means like whats up?) but answering it can be tricky. Things like Whats up, dont usually go with "the party?" "Whats up the party?" "Whats up your classes?" "Whats up the food?" This is not so much a case of what a gringo would say, but more what a gringo tries to stumble to put together as a sentence.
5. The ever present "joven." In the text books, this is just an adjective that means young. Well here in Panama, it refers to any kind of service person whose attention you need. Hey salesman, how much does this cost, hey waiter, the bill please type of thing. Well, you can imagine my shame when waiting in line at a buffet style restuarant, and then instead of saying joven to the server who happened to be of the "tercera edad" (a retired person) I said vieja (which means old lady!). And the correct thing to say: senora (a respectful Mrs.) instead of old lady!
Well, the list could go on. I feel fortuante that even in my times where I stumble, I have the grace of God to fall on. I hope that through whatever struggles you encounter this year, you would remember that. Through the joys that make the smile, the goof ups that we can laugh about, and the times when things just seem to go wrong, that you remember God is present through all those times, and on his rock, firmly built, you will make it. May God bless you as you head out through this year, and may it truely be for you a Feliz Ano!
until later, keep plugging!
Friday, December 30, 2005
December in Review
In honor of the Christmas Spirit upcoming new year (whose events will be fully recited in an upcoming blog, beleive me!) I decided to give a breif summary of the thing that we have done here in Panama to commemorate the season! So alot of blogging and alot of pictures...lets get started!
First, we had our annual Christmas Concert. On December 3, all the seven churches gathered to show off their musical talent and worship! Each church played different carols for all to sing along with (yes, that is a hanging preposition and I am an English teacher!). It was alot of fun, and a good way to see all the diversity of the churches here in Panama. The church was packed with people from all over Panama, excited to be gathered in on place for the concert. Afterwords, there was refreshments and a "tipico" presentation, where Hazel, one of the youth put on her pollera and danced the traditional Panamanian dance. A good time was had by all. The students who preformed, students of Joy Stuhr and Ruthie Witte, all did a wonderful job conquering their nerves and leading all of us in worship!
First, we had our annual Christmas Concert. On December 3, all the seven churches gathered to show off their musical talent and worship! Each church played different carols for all to sing along with (yes, that is a hanging preposition and I am an English teacher!). It was alot of fun, and a good way to see all the diversity of the churches here in Panama. The church was packed with people from all over Panama, excited to be gathered in on place for the concert. Afterwords, there was refreshments and a "tipico" presentation, where Hazel, one of the youth put on her pollera and danced the traditional Panamanian dance. A good time was had by all. The students who preformed, students of Joy Stuhr and Ruthie Witte, all did a wonderful job conquering their nerves and leading all of us in worship!
Jeramed and Heidi lead the congregation in worship at the Christmas Concert. I, for one, was jealous of the holly ties that the guys from El Redentor Church in Balboa wore.
Um. Pililier and Benjael with fire. This is not good! Part of the Christmas Concert was candlelight singing!
Hazel and her pollera with Joy and her, um, skirt. Polerras are the traditional dress for festival days in Panama. Hazel also did a "tipico" presnetation, the typical dance (hence the name "tipico") of Panama.
Second, English Club focused on Christmas Carols. We learned some of the classic Christmas Carols and what part of the Christmas story they tell us about. We had a little bible study in English and then spent some time practicing singing. And all though I am no singer (the spanish phrase me salio un gallo comes to mind, which literally means a rooster came out of me) we had a good time learning the songs, the bible stories in English and trying to figure out why we still use words like ye, thy, and thee.
Third, each church had a special dinner and drama for Christmas. The dramas were great, and the food afterwards just as exciting! Most of the dramatist were the youth, so it was funny to see their personalities come out in the drama. In Loma Cova, I think the dramatists forgot that they would need a Baby Jesus for the nativity scene. Jazmin, one of the youth in charge of the presentation, ran back to Joel, a small two year old in the congregation, grabed him. Mary ripped off her head shawl to use for the swaddling cloth, an quickly had Baby Jesus all wrapped and comfortable before the shepards and the kings came. And the three Kings were really the "wise" men, as three teens came strutting in with their gifts, and robes and canes, not to mentions their backwords hats for crowns!
Also, at Loma Cova on Christmas Eve, there was six confirmations! It was a special day to see how God is working in the students and members of that Congregation!
We also said good bye to one of our Pastors, Pastor Pedro Quintero and his family, Fatima and Becky. They were working as a missionary like pastor in the church in Rio Rita, and went back to their home in Honduras, so we had a large Party for them before they left! We wish the best for Pastor Pedro, Fatima and BEcky as they move on home and onto the next place where God will use them.
As for my personal Christmas celebration, we celebrated Christmas eve at a friends house with more wonderful food! (Food seems to be a common entry here!) Then Christmas Day we woke up and had a "gringo" breakfast with pancakes and eggs and bacon and suasage and coffeecake. We opened presents and watched the Elf to get a few Christmas laughs. Then it was off to Church in Loma Cova, and dinner afterwards at Griselda and Maricios house, where once again, there was incredible food!
Another thing that has been great during the month of December is some familiar things. In the beginning of December, some friends who I have studied with in Concordia Spanish Classes, came down as they had just finished their time studying in Costa Rica. It was nice to have some familiar faces around, and I got to have the priveldge of showing them a little bit of Panama, which really is starting to feel like home (dont cry please mom). Also, a friend from Concordia who I went with to Guatemala on a mission trip is here with here Family. Becky Kempff, whose parents are career missionaries here in Panama, will be here and it is nice to see her again. We got to do something together do like go to the beach with her family and some friends, going to a karoke bar with some friends.
Friends from Panama and Concordia. Christine and Kayla were students at Concordia who studied in Costa Rica this last sememester and they made a trip down to Panama at the end of their term! We went to Panama Viejo and saw some other things in the city.
I hope that this find everyone well and I wish everyone a great new year! May it be a year where we see God work in each and everyone of our lives!
until later, keep plugging
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Lessons Learned...
Yes, to all ye faithful, I am still alive, and in the spirit of the Christmas spirit, I decided to gift all of you with some words of wisdom learned from the experiences of the ever exciting world that is known as living in a foreign country.
First, lets talk public transportation. Here in Panama at least, instead of having the top part of the window of the bus say the final destination (as most public transportation does in the states), they have just the general direction (eg. street name, suburb name, or shopping center name) and then a little paper on the left hand side of the bus that says the buses' actual destination. Not to mention that there are diablo rojos (literally red devils) that are old school buses from the states, usually on their last leg of their sad life, painted pretty and held together with nothing more than bubble gum, (not to mention blaring music to distract from the suspisciously squelling brakes and transmistion) and then there are chepos, which are more like touring buses, that comes with air-conditioning (a necesity when you have more than 25 hot sweaty people together) but at the sacrifice of space and an extra 10 cents. This is complicated furthur when you understand that there is a distinction between urban buses, (those that run through the city itself) and inter-urban buses (those that run to surrounding cities). And then if you think it couldnt be broken down anymore, certain inter-urban buses to some cities that are the farthest away have two types of buses that run to them, caminos (literally, path) which stops at every bus stop imaginable on the road to the city, and expresos. Under this confusion our story begins...
I needed to go to Loma Cova on Sunday to teach my English class, but went to pick up some supplies (aka fruit cake for our Christmas fiesta) from Albrook Mall, conviently located directly across the street from the National Bus Station, where you can catch any bus in the city, (not to mention lung cancer, since all aformemtioned buses that pass through aforementioned station DO NOT pass any sort of emissions test). I quickly shopped for my supplies, and grabed a bus to Chorrera, one of the furthest cities on the inter-urban bus routes. I grabbed the "expreso" and I learned quickly that it meant neither that the bus driver knew how to get there really quickly, nor did they serve free cups of cappuchino to their patrons. It meant that the bus simply did not stop until it got to its final destination, in this case Chorrera, about 25 kms past the stop I was anticpating to get off at. So here I am, a gringo sticking out three feet above every other head on the bus, yelling from the back of the bus PARADA, PARADA!!! (the local way of telling the bus driver you want off) as we go sailing past my bus stop. After being explained that we were not going to stop, I accepted defeat. Getting off the bus in Chorrera (a town I had never been in before), and a small, minor mental breakdown, I pulled it together, told myself I could do it, scrounged up all my change, and boarded a bus that was heading back to Panama. Two hours, one mental breakdown, one frustrating wait at a bus stop, and one a half missed English classes later, I pulled into Loma Cova, feeling about as dull and dumb as the fruit cake I carried to class.
Second, lets talk different Christmas traditions. There is a song here for Christmas. Its hard to explain...as it is just a plain song, with nothing special about it. I hardly even notice it while I have been out and about UNTIL the singers arrive at the refrain. With people hustling by, the speakers in the malls ring out... "Dukee, Dukee Dukee Dukee...Dukee Dukee Dukke di..." You can imagine my reaction as this word rang through the monstrous building. Its quite catchy once you hear it, and after convincing yourself that they are not talking about what you think they are talking about (and I am not referring to a GreenDay CD), its kind of fun to sing. Actually, it is just the way they make the sound of the donkey running to the stable in Bethlehem, although words like constipation and blockage come to my mind...
Third, living in a foregin country is like getting a hit to groan of your pride every other day (see aforetold bus incident.) Just when you think you are getting the hang of it, you end up in a new city, completly lost. This happens on all levels. Just when I think I am getting good at communication here in Panama, I was invited to play a game. Kind of like twenty questions in Spanish, except not really. You had ten clues to figure out what something was. I didnt think I was doing too bad, until I looked at the cards and realized that three out of four words I didnt know. Then came the big blow. It was a game for 6 year olds. Do people really think I sound like a six year old when I talk? Well, lets not even go there...
But enough with the blabbing and the waxing and the ostentious prensentation of my daily, yet qeustionably faboulous life in Panama. I found some cool pictures I want to share. Using Google Earth, I searched to give you some ideas of my location here in Panama.
First, lets talk public transportation. Here in Panama at least, instead of having the top part of the window of the bus say the final destination (as most public transportation does in the states), they have just the general direction (eg. street name, suburb name, or shopping center name) and then a little paper on the left hand side of the bus that says the buses' actual destination. Not to mention that there are diablo rojos (literally red devils) that are old school buses from the states, usually on their last leg of their sad life, painted pretty and held together with nothing more than bubble gum, (not to mention blaring music to distract from the suspisciously squelling brakes and transmistion) and then there are chepos, which are more like touring buses, that comes with air-conditioning (a necesity when you have more than 25 hot sweaty people together) but at the sacrifice of space and an extra 10 cents. This is complicated furthur when you understand that there is a distinction between urban buses, (those that run through the city itself) and inter-urban buses (those that run to surrounding cities). And then if you think it couldnt be broken down anymore, certain inter-urban buses to some cities that are the farthest away have two types of buses that run to them, caminos (literally, path) which stops at every bus stop imaginable on the road to the city, and expresos. Under this confusion our story begins...
I needed to go to Loma Cova on Sunday to teach my English class, but went to pick up some supplies (aka fruit cake for our Christmas fiesta) from Albrook Mall, conviently located directly across the street from the National Bus Station, where you can catch any bus in the city, (not to mention lung cancer, since all aformemtioned buses that pass through aforementioned station DO NOT pass any sort of emissions test). I quickly shopped for my supplies, and grabed a bus to Chorrera, one of the furthest cities on the inter-urban bus routes. I grabbed the "expreso" and I learned quickly that it meant neither that the bus driver knew how to get there really quickly, nor did they serve free cups of cappuchino to their patrons. It meant that the bus simply did not stop until it got to its final destination, in this case Chorrera, about 25 kms past the stop I was anticpating to get off at. So here I am, a gringo sticking out three feet above every other head on the bus, yelling from the back of the bus PARADA, PARADA!!! (the local way of telling the bus driver you want off) as we go sailing past my bus stop. After being explained that we were not going to stop, I accepted defeat. Getting off the bus in Chorrera (a town I had never been in before), and a small, minor mental breakdown, I pulled it together, told myself I could do it, scrounged up all my change, and boarded a bus that was heading back to Panama. Two hours, one mental breakdown, one frustrating wait at a bus stop, and one a half missed English classes later, I pulled into Loma Cova, feeling about as dull and dumb as the fruit cake I carried to class.
Second, lets talk different Christmas traditions. There is a song here for Christmas. Its hard to explain...as it is just a plain song, with nothing special about it. I hardly even notice it while I have been out and about UNTIL the singers arrive at the refrain. With people hustling by, the speakers in the malls ring out... "Dukee, Dukee Dukee Dukee...Dukee Dukee Dukke di..." You can imagine my reaction as this word rang through the monstrous building. Its quite catchy once you hear it, and after convincing yourself that they are not talking about what you think they are talking about (and I am not referring to a GreenDay CD), its kind of fun to sing. Actually, it is just the way they make the sound of the donkey running to the stable in Bethlehem, although words like constipation and blockage come to my mind...
Third, living in a foregin country is like getting a hit to groan of your pride every other day (see aforetold bus incident.) Just when you think you are getting the hang of it, you end up in a new city, completly lost. This happens on all levels. Just when I think I am getting good at communication here in Panama, I was invited to play a game. Kind of like twenty questions in Spanish, except not really. You had ten clues to figure out what something was. I didnt think I was doing too bad, until I looked at the cards and realized that three out of four words I didnt know. Then came the big blow. It was a game for 6 year olds. Do people really think I sound like a six year old when I talk? Well, lets not even go there...
But enough with the blabbing and the waxing and the ostentious prensentation of my daily, yet qeustionably faboulous life in Panama. I found some cool pictures I want to share. Using Google Earth, I searched to give you some ideas of my location here in Panama.
This is where I am located in Panama. Panama City is on the southern side of the country, so I am actually on the Pacific Ocean.
Panama City in all its glory! You can see the canal in the middle of the picture, the city that extend up to the right, and my house, located by the canal. The long stretch of Land that just out from the peninsula that my house is on is actualy man made, with all the dirt dug out from the canal. Its called the Cuaseway and it connects those three islands with the mainland.
Here you can see my neighboorhood, called Balboa. The big gree area to the right of my house is Ancon Hill, which used to serve as American "headquarters" in Panama, and to the left id the Canal. And yes, you can see the airport, just north of my house, as a plane is loudly flying over my head right at this instant.
And there it is, my HOUSE! I actually can find my house looking from space! And no, the church across the street is not where I work, altough they are our landlords! For more information on the city block of Christianity we live on, see this previous post.
Well, thats it from here. My Video is still being edited, so stay tuned for that. Also, stay tuned for a quick summary of some of the Christmas acitivities that have been going on here in Panama.
until later, keep celebrating!
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Stay Tuned
Some new additions to my blog...a VIDEO SECTION! I was priveldged to be delgated the task of camrarógrafo (try saying that one five times fast!) and get to mess around with the camcorder! So I am working on a video about my time in Panama. Check often for updates..(okay the video is still in production, and the link just takes you to photos right now, I did this to build up the dramitic crescendo of excitement to my directorial debut). More to follow at the release party!
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Techinical Difficulties
Okay, so computer down in my home. Blogging a lot less...and yet, not going into withdraw. I guess that means things are getting to be normal around here. More to follow on Christmas Activities thus far...
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