Taco Bell!
Taco Bell came to Panama! Actually I heard that there is a TB some place far from us and well without a car it’s hard to find those places, so needless to say we were stoked to find a Taco Bell in the mall by our house! It had been under construction for months and finally this time when James and I checked the status it was “abierto” (open)! Click the more tab to see a little video about the awesome experience =)
Flat Stanley in Panama
My friend Heather is doing the Flat Stanley project with her 2nd graders at West Portal Lutheran school in San Francisco, CA and asked me to take a Stanley around Panama. This is what we did
from a distance
I’ve noticed something in the last couple weeks after observing and listening to conversations about the church and it’s state here. I have also noticed something about other churches here of other denominations. And this is what I have noticed; that the people here have very much taken ahold of the denomination’s origin of culture. [...]
¡Canta!
Last night our friends Jerona and Mack invited us to a concert the were apart of. They work in the regional office with us doing everything under the sun. They are apart of the Primer Iglesia Bautista Kuna (Kuna Baptist Church) and this week a group from New Mexico came and did workshops on music [...]
big feet
I’ve had the hardest time trying to find suitable shoes here in Panama. I have gone through pairs of sandals like no one’s business. I thought to myself well I will save up my money and purchase a nice pair of sandals that will last forever. Well forever was 2 months. Then I thought, crocs [...]
a different way of life
James and I had the opportunity to take a few days off and visit the Chiriqui providence of Panama. Here there are mountains and the air is fresh and the people are very traquilo (very calm).
Hello?
Most of us have experienced it, we call a company to ask for help in fixing our appliances, our cell phones or signing up for something on our credit card and the person on the other line is not a native English speaker. I definitely have and my patience wasn’t very long as I thought [...]
President Elect
Today Panama is very quiet. It’s not a holiday but a very important day for Panamanians (well most of them). Today their new President Elect - Martinelli - takes office today. Most people have the day off so when you go outside it’s very calm “tranquillo.”
The Election happened back in May and final preparations were [...]
Padres
Panama celebrated Father’s Day on Sunday too! After the church service in Balboa, the members put on a little program of typical dance and a short presentation about the importance of families and the role that Dads have. After, they had a little “brindis” which is a little food and drink celebration.
Election Day!
Election Photos
Today is election day and everyone travels from far to vote. It’s so important that church was even cancelled today. And depending on who wins, Monday could be given off to most workers as a thank you for voting. The above photos are the two candidates. Click the “Election Photo” link to see the [...]
apple pie
I never thought I would be making apple pie with a Panamanian and a Honduran in Panama, but there I was on the Sunday after Easter service, making pie.
stations of the cross
Those who consider themselves devote Catholics here participate in the Via Dolorosa or Via Cruis during Holy Week. We live kitty corner from a Catholic church that has stations all over our neighborhood. Houses that participate have a cross like the one above with the station number on it.
If you click here you can hear the members [...]
I have 24 years
I have 24 years. You have 24 years of experience? Twenty-four years of schooling? Twenty-four years living in your house?
Wo Yao Tze
As some of you may know, I once spent an entire summer living in Macau, China teaching English with LCMS World Mission at an English Center/outreach that they operate in the “legal evangelism zone.” The experience was my first major international cross cultural experience that went beyond the short term mission team. I knew that [...]
The Little Ones
I could have fit the entire contents of their homes in my backpack. In fact, most of the homes in the village were dwellings cruder than what I’m accustomed to on a “rustic” camping trip. Here was poverty on a scale I had not yet seen in Panama…
VBS in Panama
This week a short term team came and helped with VBS for each of the Panamanian churches. This is a video of the theme song, “El Capitan” that became a favorite of the Panamanian children.
The song is about Christ being the captain of our boat - our life - and how storms may come but [...]
blind faith
Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.
Matthew 21:21
So we hopped in one of the big white [...]
¡Feliz Año Nuevo!
Our friend Milton invited us over to his house to celebrate the beginning of 2009. His mom made an amazing meal that we ate just after the new year arrived. Their door was left open and all the neighbors stopped in to wish everyone a “¡Feliz Año Nuevo!” It was great! We then learned salsa [...]
Street Photography
So there we were, at a street fruit and drink stand, getting our photographs taken by a man with an ancient poloroid camera with four lenses, against a hanging blue sheet surrounded by empty bottles of CocaCola…
Meet the Kuna
(If the embedded video won’t play the original is here.
I was lazily lying around today enjoying the fact that we had internet and browsing for some T.V. to watch online, since we don’t have a television, and I happened to find this documentary on the Kuna indians! I know that many of you have been [...]
Christmas Greetings
Here is a video I made of the Christmas Concert in Loma Cova. It’s in HD so be patient while it loads, but trust me it’s worth the wait!