My Trip to Panama

I've finally had time to process my thoughts, etc. about my missions trip to Panama. It was a GREAT experience! I would sum up the entire trip as follows: amazing culture, long days, hard work, great people, and the ability to see God in action. Here's a recap:

Saturday, June 7 - uneventful flights from DIA to Dallas then to Panama City. I tried to see if I would have any cell phone service in Panama City and I didn't. That's when I realized I was lonely without Gary and wouldn't be able to talk with him all week. God reminded me of who He is and that even when I feel lonely HE is always by my side and wants me to worship because of WHO HE IS and not what I want to get from Him. Went to bed around 11:30 p.m.


Sunday, June 8 - met for breakfast in hotel at 6:00 a.m. Went to small regional airport in Panama City to fly to David, Chiriqui, Panama. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David,_Panama The plane that flew us from Panama City to David held 36 passengers and looked like something straight out of an Indiana Jones movie. We were met at the airport by a couple of people from Jaun Rodriguez's church in David. We went to Juan's church for worship then after lunch got on a bus for a 2 hour ride over the mountains into Chiriqui Grande, Panama. Once in Chiriqui Grande, we waited for 3 boats to be loaded - 1 with all the luggage, 1 with all the food and supplies, and 1 with all of us. We took a 1 hour ride across the Chiriqui Laguna off of the Caribbean Ocean http://www.bocasdeltoro.com/maps/index.htm to the village of Palma Bella where we would be spending the week helping to finish 5 houses with the local Ngobe Indians http://www.ecotourismpanama.com/indigenous-indians/ngobe.htm. When we arrived at the village a number of local Indians met us on the shore.



We walked around then set up our camp in one of the huts. There was approximately 100-200 yards of land that is cleared between the shore and the dense jungle. Most people live in the dense area in thatched roof huts. We went to sleep around 10:00 p.m. in our mosquito-net covered hammocks listening to the waves crashing on the shore approximately 50 yards from our hut.










Monday, June 9 - Got up at 6:30 a.m., ate breakfast at 7:00 a.m. - coffee, bread, scrambled eggs, & pineapple; and began working at 7:30 a.m. I was on hammering duty - HA! - the mahogony wood seemed harder than steel! I was really frustrated by all the nails bending and thought life sucked. Then God reminded me that HE invited me here and my attitude changed immediately. I guess I had forgotten Juan's sermon from the day before. He was preaching out of Philippians 2 where it says to "do everything without complaining." Oops.




I got filthy and it was worth it! We stopped working around 4:30/4:45 then went to the ocean for a "sea bath."

Tuesday, June 10 - Thursday, June 12 - Each day: up at 6:30, eat at 7:00, work by 7:30 a.m., break at 10:00 for water and Gatorade, lunch at noon, back to work by 12:30, break at 2:00 for water and Gatorade, quit at 4:45, sea bath by 5:30, eat dinner at 6:00, group reflection time at 7:00. Bed by 9:00 (for me at least!). Each day we had an opportunity to work side by side with local Indians and mainland Panamanians. It was amazing!



The children visited our hut each morning on their way to school then came to the worksite in the afternoon after their classes were over. The kids who do not yet go to school were with us each day.









A doctor and nurse came over from David and visited local villages to provide medical care.

The Mama Tata head guy came by each day and visited with us. Here's some 411 on their religion - it's not even close to Christianity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mama_Tata
Every night that Juan is on the island, he preaches in the villages. The Thursday night we were there, he showed the "Acts of the Apostles" DVD. Canoes came in from other villages to learn about Christ. http://www.wrcc.org/share/missions/davidswell.php

I actually caught a chest cold virus on Monday, had a heat rash & fever Tuesday and Wednesday but felt better about the heat on Thursday. The food was great, although I am tired of chicken!
Friday, June 13 - We left Palma Bella around 10:00 a.m. which was very emotional. I will miss Carmella and her children, and her father, Juan. We purchased homemade bracelets and handbags before we left the village. We got to the hotel in David around 2:00 p.m. and I was exhausted from my chest virus. However, rather than taking a nap, my roommate Christa and I took showers then Christa and I went shopping. We went to dinner with Juan and his wife then went back to the hotel. We are true girls.

Saturday, June 14 - I slept like a rock last night! We left the hotel around 6:30 a.m. to get to the airport so we could fly back to Panama City. http://www.centralamerica.com/panama/pancity.htm We toured the Panama Canal, Colonial Panama City (from the 1600's) then went to a marketplace and a dinner with traditional Panamanian dancing. Everything is very inexpensive in Panama. All of my souvenirs added up to just $52.00.

Sunday, June 15 - We got up at 6:00 a.m. to have breakfast and get to the airport to go home. I think Panama is a beautiful country but not too different from other tropical areas of the world. I looked at my "battle wounds" on the plane - large bruises, bug bites and facial rash. It was all worth it!!! I feel like I can build anything now. When I saw Gary at the airport Sunday night, I rushed to his arms and cried like a baby - I can't believe how much I missed him!

It's been 2 weeks since I've been back and I still get choked up when I look at my pictures. It was such an amazing blessing and privilege to go to Panama!!!

I'll upload my video once it's edited! You can view my photos at Shutterfly: http://www.shutterfly.com/lightbox/view.sfly?fid=e8d7091af94de6cb6276141d224b0f78