Sunday at Riverside in El Valle

We had 27 friends and family worshipping together today here in our little church-house. Brother Norman Ponce came up from David to teach the adult class and share some really good words from the Bible. We discussed our duty, and privilege to help others without expecting reward in this lifetime. He also led the singing, which is getting better all the time! We have one young man who absolutely loves to sing, and loudly, but doesn’t really have a good ear, or pitch, if you know what I mean. At any rate, he makes a joyful noise! But the rest are coming along – singing a bit more enthusiastically, and with more confidence, so we are sounding better. Lynn is getting the words down better, that helps, and of course, Ben’s perfect pitch is a tremendous plus, so we are sounding much better!

I taught the children’s class. We reviewed the stories of Jonah and Noah, then I share the story of the tower of Babel. We sang together and colored a picture of the tower. Of the 13 children present, 10 knew their memory verse, the other 3 were less than 3 years old, so I did not whip them too badly! The prize today for those who knew the verse was a new box of crayons. You would think I had given them a $20 bill!

During the sermon we tried something different. We had the kiddos stay at the table with coloring pages. It seemed to work well. They were more settled and less distracting. We did have a few who were so thrilled with their artistry that they yelled out for their mom or grandmom to look at their picture. Norman just grinned, complimented the coloring a couple of times, and kept right on preaching. He really does a great job!

For lunch I made ‘Sancocho’ for the first time. This is a typical Chiriqui soup made with vegetables you probably have never heard of, and I was taking a big chance making it. You use whole chickens and cut the pieces into huge chunks that still ahve the bones attached. It isn't Sancocho otherwise. the yuka, name and otoe are also cut into huge, bigger than mouthful pieces. then there is just the right guisa. It is very stressful! The ladies were quite complimentary, so I guess I did ok. If it hadn’t been any good, my stellar reputation as a cook would have been ruined!!!! Actually, we were all pleasantly surprised. I can’t cook worth a dime, and everyone here knows it! Lynn made no-bake cookies that were, yet again, a big hit. They all know that he can cook! My pride left me long ago in this arena. He can cook quite well. I can not. I can live with it. Especially when he makes no-bake cookies!

After lunch the rain came down in buckets, so I drove everyone home. It was a great day, thank you Lord!

The team will be here this Sunday. I am really looking forward to seeing familiar folks and speaking at length in English! I pray that you find someone who needs your kind words or a kind deed today, that you see it, and respond like Jesus!

Love you all!