Reanna "the teacher"

Here is Reanna doing what she loves, teaching the kids at the school next door. When she gets there she's always met with smiling faces. She was recently invited to two parties, one in town with the "gringo" friends, and one at the school to celebrate a Panamanian holiday. She chose the school party to our surprise, and walked through the jungle to be there by 8A.M. Her reward? Seeing another culture celebrate, and include her in the fun. They even asked her to dance. It was not really slow, but the guy puts his hand on the girls waist, and the girl puts her hand on his shoulder, and then kind of swish side to side. At least that's how she explained it. There were also contests to see who could climb a post put into the ground 20 feet high, which challenged up to five grown men at a time to stand on each other. And of course the Panamanian favorite, arroz con pollo. (rice and chicken) Now that Spanish isn't as much of a challenge, Reanna is moving on to learning Ngobe as well.

Elaine and Reanna at the eye clinic

One of the greatest joys for me here in Panama (Kimberly, usually the one behind the camera!!) is getting to see the expression on the faces of those who have never had glasses, and needed them. We had the fun of working with an eyedoctor from New Mexico, and learned a great deal about healthy eyes. One thing we learned is that there is a disease which is caused mostly from the sun, which causes many in the area to go blind. When in Atlanta visiting my friend Gretchen, a friend of hers generously donated boxes of sunglasses. The people were thrilled to get them, and we know that it will provide protection far beyond what we even knew they needed.

The Three Amigos

For all our YWAM friends, here is a mini reunion with Bill McQuilkin, George VanRegenmorter, and Dale. It was so awesome to spend time ministering with those from our class in California, and such an awesome realization that these friendships are forever. Bill blessed us so much by watching our house while we returned to the states, and when we flew back Elaine and George came along. We're so thankful that we pray about a need, and the Lord provides people to help. Elaine is an RN, and was willing to do teachings on primary health care, and the people were really amazed at how germs are the things that cause illness in our bodies. She taught on dental hygiene, the importance of washing to prevent the spread of germs, and was told that they thought they got sick from curses. We hope that we will be able to continue to do teachings, and add some new material every month. Part of what we learned when teaching on nutrition, is the limited diet that they have. Hunger, and lack of nutricious foods is epidemic here. We're beginning a community garden to try and teach how to garden, and to also teach which foods will provide the nutrients their bodies need to stay healthy. It isn't as easy to garden here as we thought it would be. Rain forest land is really not fertile. The trees are so lush due to the microrganisms that break down on the very top few inches of soil, from the heat and rain. Pray that we'll be able to find ways to enrich the soil with renewable resources, and that seeds would sprout and not be eaten by ants!!

Mitch and Fidencio

Here is the boy next door. He comes over almost everyday to learn English, help carry things up from the dock, and just hang out. He's in Reanna's words "a typical boy, always into trouble!!" One of the wonders of Panama, Fidenzio can have fun with just some bottle pop tops. Please pray for him, as his Mom left about a month ago, and we can see the hurt in his eyes. When Elaine and George were here for the month of October, Fidencio and his sister prayed with Elaine, and shared their hurts. Please pray that the Lord would comfort them, and continue to bless relationships with our neighbors.

Property Improvments --> Let's grow

We've planted over 50 pineapples and fruit trees this year [Mitch has a pineapple in his hand]. We have steps running in many directions. Our latest endeavor is a road from the dock to the base. The dock is almost complete and the inside of the base has been transformed to a stone and brick castle.

We can tell where we're going when we go places by the land or trees. On the way into Shark Hole, this tree helps us find the way into the village.

Tucans and other types of birds and monkeys can be found on San Cristoval.

Medical Outreach --> Salt Creek and Shark Hole

We worked with a great medical team from Connecticut. It was held in two jungle villages which required the prerequisite tents and mosquito nets. The people were blessed by doctors, dentists, and eyeglasses. Dr. Wong from Panama generously gave a donation of dental supplies when others were forgotten. Thank you Dr. Wong!! It was perfect timing because schools were on vacation for the week. Mitchell made some cross necklaces with the kids and the team made bracelets. Dale and Kimberly brought the water to drink and cook with every day. In Sharkhole, we were amazed by how clean it was. Salt Creek is about a 45 minute boat ride away and Shark Hole is about a half hour boat ride, both are up dense jungle rivers.

So many of the people here have damage to their eyes from the constant sun, and no sunglasses. In addition, none of them have glasses. When the team began giving out glasses the line quickly grew. Thank you to the DeBellis family for providing many reading glasses, and thank you to everyone who pitched in. We have been giving out the glasses here on the base for two weeks now, and the smiles of those who couldn't see and now can totally bless us!!

We also had a short-term intern named Ryan Wilson from Michigan State University come down for two weeks and minister to us. We had never met him before and were awed by his servant heart. He did worship for our indigenous service as well as our "gringo" service on Isle Cristobal. He went with Reanna to volunteer at the neighborhood school, and helped Dale get the dock rebuilt. He never complained, did everything as he was told, and offered to do more. He was such a blessing to have with us here in Panama. The neighborhood kids will miss him and so will we. Please spread the news and let others know how a short-term mission outreach can expand their hearts and spread God's love.

The church on Isla Bastimentos

We have been meeting every Saturday at the little restaurant/meeting area near our house for a simple worship and teaching time. We have been trusting the Lord to help with His spirit as we flounder in our Spanish delivering teachings and testimonies that we translate (thank heavens for the dictionary.com site) and Spanish worship songs. Our friend and pastor Kendall has been in the states for two months, so the service has been up to us. Erika and Kellen led worship, and Erika presented the gospel through a children's Spanish bible story book with pictures. They listened intently, crowding around to see the pictures better. Afterwards, several prayed to have Jesus in their lives, and we stood and held hands as new brothers and sisters and gave thanks to the Lord. Two weeks later, we celebrated when Dan and Andy came by holding a baptism service on our rebuilt dock, and had the joy of watching the St. Luke's team baptize the new believers.

PRAYER REQUEST!!!!!

A few weeks ago when we helped with the medical clinic, one of our neighbors took her baby to be seen by a doctor. The doctor's told her that her son, Edgar, who is 8 months old, has too much fluid on his head and needs to see a speacialist. So, for the past 3 weeks, we have been taking Edilsa and her baby back and forth to Bocas, hoping that the pediatrician would be in for the day. Unfortunately, there is only one pediatrician for the entire Bocas del Toro region, and she hasn't been able to come here lately. We were finally able to make some leeway today. We took Edilsa and Edgar to one of the other towns, where they were getting on a bus to go to a bigger city, where they will be seen by a specialist. Please keep this family in your prayers. Pray for Edilsa and her son, along with her husband, Eudilio and 2-year-old son Abner, that the Lord would touch this family and that through this situation with Edgar's health, the Lord will be glorified.

New Faces Around the Base

Our son, Kellen, and his girlfriend, Erika, arrived almost a month ago to spend the summer in Panama. They are enjoying their visit and are also a blessing to us, as they help around the base, lead worship, and teach. We've also added another face to the family: our new cat, Bamboo. We adopted her from a restaurant in town, called The Bamboo. She is fun to have around, and she's proven to be quite useful. She loves to eat bugs! Chasing cockroaches is one of her favourite things to do. Needless to say, we'll be keeping her around for a while.

Life Lessons

English lessons have been growing! Everyday, Reanna teaches a group of Ngobe children, teaching them English, while in turn, they help her with her Spanish. Erika has also been helping, teaching English to a group of Ngobe men who work here on our base. They are eager students! 2 days a week, Reanna and Erika walk over to the local school with the kids and volunteer in the classrooms. So far, their experiences have been very rewarding. We've also been telling them of the Lord and reading them Bible stories. Today, one of the men and his wife accepted the Lord and are eager to know more about Him and His Word. Praise the Lord! God is definitely moving down here!

Clinics!!!!!!!!

We recently helped out with a medical clinic on Bastimentos. Many people showed up...we registered almost 150 people everyday! While Dale, Kim, and Reanna manned the registration tables, Mitchell was in charge of entertaining the children. Between making beaded cross necklaces, blowing up balloons, and reading kids stories, he put smiles on many little faces. Recently, our son, Kellen, and his girlfriend, Erika, came to stay with us for 2 months. Having finished a 6-month internship at IHOP, they were asked to pray with people who were waiting for medical assistance. After breaking the language barrier, many people were more than willing to pray with them. Overall, the clinic was a huge success and we are looking forward to the next one!

We also helped out with a veterinarian clinic, where dogs and cats were brought to be fixed and given shots. Although not every one in the family was able to stomach all the blood, Reanna was quite the professional. She assisted the doctors in knocking the animals out and shaving them in preparation for surgery. The doctors were very thankful for her help, and this clinic also was a success.

April Happenings in Panama

This month brought more to do and see here in Panama. We now host Kendall and Virginia Brown every weekend, who come and do worship and bible teaching for the Ngobe. We also had the fun of hosting the producers of a new movie. They came and checked out Bocas for the next installment, and it's a great movie about missionaries. It is the newest format, on the web, in 4 minute segments. Check it out at www.theinterior.tv. The original sceenplay came out of Helmut's own experience as the kid of missionaries growing up in South America. We now have our English classes up and running, with more people coming almost every day. Any tips on teaching English, or for those who are gifted HELP. Dale caught sight of this months wildlife while working down on the broken dock, a 6 foot boa. We also helped with another medical clinic, and after hours of holding the light, Reanna decided that dentistry is not her forte. Delivering bibles to the areas we went with the first medical clinic, was really encouraging. The people requested prayer, and we were amazed at how we can understand that request even with the language challenges.

First family down under!!

Mom and Dad arrive, and we're thrilled!! Family at last! My Mom was emphatic a few years ago she'd never leave the good old USA, we just never know what surprises God has in store!! The "hill" was a challenge, but they overcame the obstacles, and made it all the way to the top. We are thankful, and amazed at the courage and determination of those we call our parents. After being divorced for 32 years, they were willing to travel together to see us. We are so happy that they've shown us how to be examples of those who forgive, and move on.

Showing the Jesus Film

Girls everywhere like to have fun. Reanna brings joy and smiles wherever she goes.

construction Team 2007

The team came from Missouri, and what a group. They had a sense of humour that just didn't quit, and Dale felt like he was back in the field with a group of friends. They blessed us even though the wood didn't arrive in time. They dug out dirt under the house so we can put in another water tank, and ran electric wire for ceiling fans, and lights. They put in closet shelves, cut holes in the top of our walls for better air circulation, and helped wherever we asked. We then went to visit the little school and got permission to show the Jesus film there, with a generator a Ngobe neighbor let us borrow. The Jesus film depicts highlights from the life of Christ. They LOVED it. They then made a little ampitheater down by the creek, and asked another group of neighbors to watch the film. They are so hungry to know about the Lord, they asked us to please do something every week. The Ngobe Indians are one of the indigenous groups here in Panama, and they live all around us.

We're getting ready for our construction team. Dale orders the wood 6 weeks in advance. It requires a permit to cut the tree. Done, they bring it over and get our approval. Then we wait for the full moon. The trees don't dry if cut earlier, the moon draws the moisture out. Then we wait, and wait and wait. Finally, the posts begin arriving by canoe. They are super heavy, and take 5 guys to carry, most grunting under the weight. Then again we wait, and wait, and finally all the wood arrives, the night before the team LEAVES. Such is life here in Panama.

The sand and gravel is much more timely. It arrives when ordered. Unfortunatly, they stacked it all on the dock, and the dock wasn't up to the weight. It caved. So, one more project on our list, new dock.

Medical Outreach in February

This outreach was willing to "go the distance" whether by air, bus or kayuka. They did it all, traveling for days to bring doctors, nurses, medicines, and most important the news of Jesus to those who rarely receive it.
keepin' out the bugs
The team came willing to work hard, and blessed those who received their care by the hundreds. The Lord was gracious, and the weather was perfect for the two hour crossings in open kayukas. The medical supplies and medicines were in over 12 suitcases, and the pharmacy was all set-up within hours. A nearby school became the triage area, exam rooms, and chiropractic center. We learned how to mix antibiotics, write out directions in Spanish, and cook over wood fires. Experienced YWAM'ers Alex and Jennifer even made delicious brownies and chocolate birthday cake. While the Ngobe Indians waited in line for their care, an evangelism team presented the gospel through drama, song and testimonies. Many began to comprehend the love that Jesus has for them, and asked us to return with bibles. Most of this team was from Richland Center Fellowship located in Wisconsin. We'd like to encourage all of you to pray about what your church could offer. Taking a short term missions trip will change your worldview, stretch your endurance, and enlarge your capacity to love the way Jesus loves us. Most of these people had never been treated with dignity and care. They are on the bottom of the social ladder in Panama, and it was a privilege for us all to show them the love of our Savior. It became abundantly clear that the need is great. Virtually every person seen complained of symptoms of parasites and worms. Teaching about the necessity of clean water and helping to build some simple water purification systems would be a great church outreach.