Holiday season in Boquete, Panama!

It has been a busy month, and the blog has fallen behind. But with a little help from pictures, we will try to get you all caught up. You may wonder, What do missionaries do during the holidays? Well, first, it is summer here, and we don't have a chance for a White Christmas. More like a Sweat Christmas. Every day is about the same, 90 degrees in the daytime, about 70 at night. No rain, but a lot of wind. And the flowers are everywhere. But there is so much more.....

Here is Sister Presley talking with someone about the church. She does so well in her Spanish that there is not much need for Elder Presley to translate or help her with the language. She holds her own just fine.

We had a Boquete Branch Christmas Party with a Snowman Pinata, lots of food, and fun. The Pinata was made by hand by one of the members! And if you look carefully it is held up by hand as well, by Romel, one of our young adults.

We bought a small Christmas tree and had some help decorating it with the Montezuma children. I am not sure they ever decorated a tree before, and it was a wonderful experience. This is the family that will be moving into the house we have been building back behind our house.

We even got an actual letter from home. How did this happen? Regan wrote us a letter, and her Daddy scanned it and then emailed it. This was very smart. The mail service is Panama is pretty bad, no, really bad. This is a great way to send an actual letter to us. It made our Christmas a little more like home. Thanks Regan! (Now, don't get me wrong, we love emails, pictures, and calls too!!!)

We went Caroling with the Bram family to about 10 families. Hermana Presley made cinnamon rolls and chocolate chip cookies, and we sang to people and brought them treats. Just like our traditions at home. This is a visit to Frank Sciaca. He did not get treats. He has diabetes, and was in very bad condition a few months ago. He is now doing very well on his change of diet. His blood counts are almost normal and is losing weight. We didn't want to mess that up with treats, but we sang Christmas hymns together and enjoyed a visit. He is a great man.

Another house, the Marcusi home, requires a bit more of a hike to do our caroling. A sort of "over the river and through the woods" adventure. This is the bridge that is as shaky as some amusement rides. I think this bridge is better than the one on Tom Sawyer's island at Disneyland! It moves and shakes as you walk, and you can't be entirely sure it will hold together until you get to the other side!

Ah, another successful caroling visit! Coming down the small switchback trail to the Marcusi house is always an experience. Thanks for coming with us, Bram Family!

On Christmas, we got each of the Montezuma children a gift that we thought would fit their talents and needs. Albert got a toy that is sort of like the old Etch a Sketch. He loves to draw, and this was just up his alley. Mariella, his sister, got a new outfit, that we had put into a telephone box. We could only think of our families at home as they opened these gifts, and found joy in sharing a little of our family traditions.

Hermana Presley has mastered the talent of Mola, the native indian decoration in sewing. Her gift to me was a Mola tie. Note the beautiful bird in the middle, and my initials just about the bottom Mola decoration. She made a tie for a couple of the young men here as well who are going on missions. What a talent!

We had a Christmas dinner of ham, cheesy potatoes, carrots, and dessert of pumpkin pie or cherry pie. It is hard to find pumpkin pie mix here, but by searching the stores, we finally we able to find it. It made it a great meal for everyone. We had the Sister Missionaries, the Montezuma children, and Romel, who is going to Mexico on his mission in April.

This is Romel, who will be leaving for his mission in Mexico in April. He now serves as ward clerk. Hmmm, is Mexico really ready  for him? Well, we got him all wrapped up and ready to go!

So we had some good times during Christmas.

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family. We so miss you all. It was a bit difficult being away, but we were able to talk to all of our family, and are blessed to have technology to let us see our grandchildren open presents and feel the love of our children through the computer and phone. By being busy, and seeing family this way, we survived our first Christmas away from home. We love our family!!

But there is even more that December has brought...

Elder Presley has been directing the building of the house behind ours in the back of the property for several months, and we are glad to say we are almost finished. While it may not look like much, this is a mansion for the Montezuma family. It has 3 bedrooms inside, a shower, toliet, and sink, a dining area, and a kitchen. The floor is cement, painted and smooth, giving the inside a new house smell. There are windows on the sides of the house, and the house measures 28 feet by 24 feet. This is at least 4 times larger than what they have now, and gives them privacy, a bathroom they have never had, and shelter. The outside is made of corregated steel, which we will paint and make beautiful. We are so grateful for the help received from members of the branch. And look forward to having the family move in by the end of the year. What a great New Year for them!

That big yellow tank is there water container. We are currently building a stand to put it on. The stand has to be about 7 feet high so that the water can be brought into the house by gravity into the water pipes. We have to be creative. There is no electricity or running water going into the house. Still primitive by some standards, but still, the family has seen the house and is thrilled. We love to see their smiles as they walk about the interior.

This is the Primary in our Branch. Hermana Sanjur is the President of the Primary, and Sister Presley is the music leader. They are a great team, and love the children of the branch.

Sometimes, words cannot express just how adorable these children are!

We also have the responsibility of cleaning our little "chapel" every week. Sometimes we even get some help. Here Isidoro and his brother, Albert are helping us mop the floor. We try to have fun while we do this, as well as encourage the members to participate in this blessing.

As we visit, we get to see lots of interesting culture. As we visited the Marcusi family, who live in humble surroundings in a mountainside, a couple of the children showed us their "bathing area", a spot along the river that is deep enough to swim and bathe. That water is pretty cold, but refreshing on these hot days.

Another interesting site is when the local Ngobe Indian people come to the activities put on by the city. They will line up for food, gifts, or the bank, where they receive government support for their families. They all have colorful dresses that they wear all the time. Here, in the city park, some small treats of food and sweets were being handed out. The interesting thing is that there are no men waiting in line. The Ngobe women do all of this. The men are in the fields working or trying to find work.

I finally had to give the local barber a chance at cutting my hair. I went in and asked to have it cut medium. Glad I didn't ask for "short". Oh well, the price is right. 3 dollars for a haircut. I have to say I got my money's worth!! (hmmm, looks like gray is starting to take over....)

Elder Presley teaches mission preparation class as well. He found out that these future missionaries didn't know how to cook, so one class was a cooking class. Got to them totally prepared!!

With all that, Sister Presley had a birthday, so we decided to take a few days and relax. Yes, senior missionaries can actually enjoy some leisure time as well! We went to a Sheraton Resort, and it was wonderful. The beach was so crowded, as you can see. You just can't seem to get away from the crowds. Oh, sorry, I was thinking of Huntington Beach for a moment. Not quite the same on Panama beaches. What a beautiful beach!

We enjoyed time together, recharging the batteries, and look forward to 2014 in Boquete, serving the Lord in this part of the vineyard. We are grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of such great service. We love you all, and thank you for all your support.