Getting around in Boquete

We had a family home evening with the Swalm Family. They have lived here since the first of the year, and speak very little Spanish. They are great friends. The Sister missionaries were with us as well and we enjoyed Taco night and Gospel  Who wants to be a Millionaire. Of course, Don got the Million dollar question right. Just waiting for the money!!

There is an English Speaking market on Tuesday, where all those that are from various english speaking countries come to sell their wares and hobbies. This is how we found the gym we now go to. We spoke to several people here about the church, and will want to have a booth here as well. We hope next week we will be there with our materials.

Just a beautiful lady overlooking a beautiful site in Boquete.

This is our new car, as well as one of our favorite markets we go to for food. 

We inherited two dogs, Bobbie on the left and Montie on the right. Monty has a skin problem but we hope that gets better with some medicine. 

A week in Boquete

This past 10 days has certainly been filled with many things to do. The first of the week we drove back to Panama City with some members, the Brams. They were going to the temple, and we were going back at the mission president's request to go to the mission home to pick up our car, our phone, and our immigration card so we could get around the country easier.That drive, one way, is about 7 hours. We got there in the evening Monday, stayed the night in a hotel, went to immigration Tuesday morning, then got the phone and car from Central Services, then drove to a mall to buy some workout shoes for Lynda, then the temple to pick up some missionaries to take back to a city called Volcan, which is even further than our house. I drove about 21 or 54 hours in a 3 day span. Whew.
We also went to visit some members, did some visits with the missionaries in our area, and then began planning and pricing for the small house we are going to build for the Montezuma family, a very poor, yet humble and faithful family of 5 whose mother died at the childbirth of their youngest boy, Albert.
On Saturday, men from the branch came to begin at 8 am, seminary started in our house at 9, I had to leave at noon with the Branch President at noon to climb a mountain and visit a family on a coffee farm, Sister Presley worked on the garden, and then a geneology class at 2 pm until 4 pm. I got back about 3:30 from the visit, so it was quite a busy day.

this is NOT a grave! Lynda and a member worked very hard to smooth out the dirt, and line the garden with stones. We will paint the rocks with Lime to keep out the leafcutter ants.

Seminary class in our home. 

I am getting skinnier, I think. I took off the glasses for an immigration picture.

the beginning of the small house in the back yard for the family of 5. It will have a kitchen, bathroom, running water, and 3 bedrooms. It will be small, but marvelous for them.

members making cement. The man standing with the shovel is the branch president.

Our Rock Garden....so far

We have decided to make a garden, or Huerto, as they call it here in Panama. The dirt looked great with just a few rocks we felt we could clear. However, when we started digging, we found some big boulders, some weighing in like this one at about 100 lbs or so. I had to use a lever to move this one out of the dirt, along with help from Lynda. We did it, but I am afraid we still may find more. But it is good exercise, and gives us some things to do in the morning before 9 am.We hope to make this a garden of wonderful vegtables for the family that lives down the road. They are very poor, and we are going to be building a small home as well for them. This garden would be theirs as well. (we have to teach them how to care for it.)

We have been in Boquete almost a week, and have both learned alot, had some great experiences,and have struggled with food poisoning, homesickness, and a little frustration as we learn to slow down in our lifestyle. But we are settling in and understanding more and more of what we should be doing. We have visited a couple of less active families, and looks like at least one will be coming back to church, and found a very poor family which we wish to assist in any way we can. We miss home, but know we are on the Lord's errand.

The sisters with our first baptism in our home font.

On our way to the home of the Sanjur family. The mom is the Primary President and Dad used to be the branch president, but is not attending right now. We are going to talk with him!

Over the meadows and through the jungle to get to the Sanjur home.

Now, off to the Montezuma casita. Very poor family. The creek we are walking alongside is what they use for drinking water, bathing, and washing clothes. At one spot, there was a pond of water and some wood boards they used to wash their clothes.

It is back here somewhere. Still had to walk about a half mile into the jungle to get there. President and Sister Bram are with us. He was the counselor to President Craig Ward and is a wonderful man.

This is a picture of the backyard. We have 2 giant Mango trees out back, and 2 more giant trees in the front yard. Plus lots of room! Don will be helping build a small house under that tree with some members for a very poor family.

This is our pizeta, a very small pool, not much for doing any swimming, but great as a baptismal font!

Our first baptism happened Saturday. The young woman in the white dress was baptized, and it all gets to happen at our house!

Don was asked to help put up a screen barrier to keep out the frogs. They would like to get into the pool!

And when tired, there is a wonderful hammock waiting to rest in!

Lynda loves her Laundry Room! Washer and Dryer, and lots of space.

the front of our house. There are two dogs we get to have as watch dogs. Monte is in the picture, and Bobby is under the garage, not in the picture. Bobby is an Alaskan Huskie, and not as nice as Monte.

This is our Sunday School Class for English Speaking. Frank is on the left, Tina and Richard Swalm on the Right, and Willie in the back. Great group and we hope to make it larger. 

Well, after 2 weeks as missionaries we are unpacked and actually doing missionary work. Baptism last night in our "pool". Yesterday Hermana Braum taught her Sat. morning seminary class in our living room. This home has been consecrated to the Lord's work. The members, especially Hrmna Braum spent many days scrubbing to make it livable, it is beautiful. We felt blessed before we visited 2 member's homes tonight. The Braum's took us with them. The first visit was to the Primary Pres' home. They live in a modest home way back away from the street.The walk to their home was a pathway through the jungle and over a creek.  We stayed there for about an hour inviting the Dad to come back to church. Don helped me understand for awhile but when the spirit filled the room there was no need for translation. It was amazing!! Then I thought that we would go home and cook dinner. WRONG! Let me tell you about the Braum's. They are a couple who have in everyway consecrated their lives to the Lord's church. He was Craig Ward's counselor, pretty sure he will be Pres. Carmack's. They have 2 cars, which is unheard of here. They both pick up kids for early morning seminary and she teaches, as well as Sat. class for kids in this area. She is the YW president. She has boundless energy. They took lots of people home after church including us and then they went home and cooked lunch for the Sister missionaries, and then picked us up to visit families. Julie would love her, she carries a cannon camera with a zoom lense around her neck and makes us stop every 10 minutes to take pictures. Okay, so the second family is our neighbor. He is probably a mile in back through the jungle, yes I said jungle! We could only drive so far, I usually wear hiking shoes for these kind of adventures, but nope, the old birkenstocks worked fine, in a skirt, I might add :). Back into the jungle to visit this humble family who live in a tin shed, cooking over an open fire and washing clothes on boards in the stream. They also drink from the stream and wash themselves. The mom died in childbirth about 5 yrs ago. So I count 4 children. The father offered me a chair, I sat down, didn't matter if it was clean or not. One of the sons was given a blessing because he was sick. We brought his sister back, gave her some advil, a bag of apples, and once again counted our many blessings. It truly was a remarkable day.

Panama temple at night and off to Boquete!

This is looking from our room we stayed in for 3 days next to the Panama City Temple. WOW! The room was not the best, but the view was great. Then, we traveled with the Mission President and his son ( in white shirts ahead of us) north to David. (40 min flight, but a 7 hour drive). We had a zone conference, then the Assistants to the President drove us up to Boquete, a 45 min drive, to our house where we will live for a while. Below are a couple of pictures of the house. Living room, kitchen, washer and dryer room. Not bad, eh? Oh, and one picture while in David that shows a Payless store. Lynda got a laugh about that.

Fun and purpose

Well. we are here in Panama. After some excitement in Salt Lake City's airport, when we got there and found that our first leg of our flight with American Airlines was delayed until after the second leg would leave from Dallas, we panicked, prayed, pleaded, and the blessing was a wonderful counter attendant who was kind, understanding, and worked hard to transfer us to a Delta flight at the time we were supposed to leave with AA, and we were good. Getting up at 3:30 am, getting to the airport at 5 am, and then trying to actually THINK and process alternatives was a bit of a challenge, to say the least. I am grateful for the missionary tags we wear. People just seem to be kinder, as well as so many from all different directions either share that they served a mission, or ask us about ours. We have had the chance to share with the waitress in Dallas while we ate lunch. That was fun! She was African and asked if we were there as well, and we happily told her how many we were with in SLC that were going there this week. She was pleased to hear that.
The tag above helps me as I miss my family to know my purpose. Boy, I miss family right now, but I am trying to focus on this message, and it helps.

The District

July 5th, 2013

This is District 16. 107 Senior Missionaries were divided into small groups and we studied and practiced together for 5 days from 8 am to 4:30 pm. We grew very close in that short time. In this group, Lynda and I are going to Panama, another is going to Ventura, California, another going to Kentucky, and another going to Houston Texas. I was asked by the mission home to be the District Leader. Not too tough a job with such a great District. 3 of us had been Bishops, and one had been a Ward Mission Leader, so we had a pretty good idea of what to do. We had some great teachers, which you can see in the middle. It's not hard. They are the YOUNG ones.
Well, off to Panama!

Mission Training Center update

We have been here two days now, and have even had the chance to see one of the Young Adults, Sister Manukailea (spelling?) here at the MTC. I helped her fill out her papers as her Bishop of the Young Single Adult Ward. Our ENGLISH name tags are what we wear until Wednesday, when we get our new ones in Spanish. That will be great. And, we are standing in front of the Great World Map, showing where we are going. There are almost 3000 missionaries here (yep, NOT a typo), and all like to get their pictures at this Map. We are studying each day how to properly approach and invite people to hear our message of Christ. I have received two assignments, one that I volunteered for  (lead the music on Thursday), and one as assignment given as a District Leader. There are 4 couples in my district, and I just need to make sure they are healthy, know where to go, and be on top of what is going on. That is pretty funny, since I am still trying to figure out what door to go in and out of. Well, we learn by experience. It is tiring, yet inspiring to be here. And, we miss home.....but also know our purpose here.