The Weather in Our Neck of the Woods

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Good friends, good company!

Saturday, 8th August, 2009

We just finished having our fourth mission team here, if you count the Santa Marta Medical Campaign. Harry and Lisa Hammett were here for a week. Lisa has been here about 3 times before, but it was Harry’s first trip. We didn’t know Harry very well but had time to understand and appreciate his servant heart. Of course we have known about Lisa’s good heart for some time. We met them at the Tocúmen Airport last Saturday night. Their plane was late and their luggage didn’t arrive. After many calls and delays, we were able to drive to David Wednesday night and pick up the luggage at the airport. After meeting them Saturday night we went to a modest hotel in Panama City for the night. The next morning we left the hotel at 6am, took a shuttle to the bus station, and caught a bus to Penonome, where we had left our truck. We drove to Santa Marta, snacking on the way, arriving just in time for church with the brothers and sisters there. It was a great experience for all of us. We left soon after church, stopped in Aguadulce for lunch, and arrived home at about 8pm. Monday we spent most of the day preparing the VBS agenda and resting. Tuesday we repaired a window for one of our elderly widows. She lives in a small wooden house with a dirt floor. Later the church plans to purchase the materials for her brother to put down a concrete floor. Later Tuesday we bought the supplies, paint, brushes, rollers, etc. to paint school rooms. We started on the fourth grade room at El Valle and quit about 6pm. Wednesday we headed for the little Caña Blanca school . We did our VBS in the morning for the eight kids, fixed sandwiches for lunch, then painted and weed-eated in the afternoon. We will go back next week to finish the painting. Thursday morning we took a little touristy trip through Cerro Punta and the Barú National Park. Thursday afternoon we finished painting the fourth grade room and started on the kindergarten room, didn’t finish, will go back next week. Friday we headed for a beach, about 2-1/2 hours away, called Las Lajas. We spent the afternoon and night at the Las Lajas Beach Resort. It was very nice and had a special off-season rate. This morning we put Harry and Lisa on the 8am bus to Panama City from San Felix. They had about a 5 hour trip to Panama City with a reservation at an upscale hotel before their flight out tomorrow morning. They should have had time for a visit to the canal. We headed home but, of course, stopped at McDonalds in David for breakfast.
The week went well. Some might argue that it was not evangelical enough, but there were a lot of children and adults that saw people who at great expense and some sacrifice were trying to show Jesus. We believe God smiled on our efforts this week, and that Harry and Lisa will be better disciples for the experience.

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