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.