Halfway Mark

Well, we are about halfway through our visit here in Panamá, and lots has happened, including Windsor eating a fish head, a lot of pre-quniceañera shopping to get ready for the big day, and me getting stung by a bee and attacked by some dogs. I think I get a girl scout badge or something for all of the wildlife attacks I have survived so far. 🙂

Yum, yum!

We´ve attended church services at Penonome and Cañazas. Windsor has spoken at some services, and I´ve played piano. We´ve met with a lot of people and heard some great testimonies. We´re looking for some ways to help the people of Cañazas earn income so they don´t have to move to the bigger cities for work, and we´re getting ready for the big conference here next week. We´re trying to put together some music for the event, and I´ve taught some basic piano lessons (in Spanish, so that´s an extra miracle if they learned anything–haha!). We´ve gotten to make friends with lots of the little niños since Windsor has this super power for making kids love him. I altered some dresses for Ester´s upcoming quinceañera and didn´t ruin them (praise the Lord!), and Windsor massacred the house full of bees that visited us yesterday. In general, we´ve had a great time of fellowship with the people here, enjoyed some wonderful hospitality from everyone we´ve met, and tried to be a blessing where we can.

Today, I read in Psalm 71: ¨My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness and of Your salvation all day long; for I do not know the sum of them¨(v. 15) and ¨And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to all who are to come¨(v. 18). On this trip (and throughout our lives), we´ve met people who have dedicated their lives to sharing the Gospel of grace with others and declaring the goodness of God. Though they may not have gained much by earthly standards, they have touched the hearts of so many people by showing the love of God and sharing the message of Jesus Christ. What a blessing to have time and opportunities to tell others about the goodness of the Lord! And what a challenge to make the most of the time we have!

-Jessica

Destruction in Panamá

Yesterday my husband broke the shower. We´re in Panamá staying with a family of missionaries. They cook for us, clean for us, take us places… And we broke their shower. Oops.

Thanks, Panamá, for your running water and plumbing. Sorry, family, for your shower.

Also, I was attacked by a frog while trying to mop up the resulting flood.

Otherwise, things in Panamá are going great!! We´ve gotten to visit a lot of people here, discuss plans for a business to provide jobs in a small community, attend and assist with church services at a nearby mission, and spend time with our Panamanian family. It´s a blessing to spend time with people who are serving the Lord and to help in any small way that we can. Even if that includes buying a new shower head. 🙂

-Jessica

Windsor accidentally tore the head off of the shower. Too strong!!

After he tore the shower head off, the water started pouring out. We tried to save some!!