Day Off!!!

Several from our hall went to the beach one day. We started early since it's a 1.5 hour drive. The weather was perfect and didn't rain on us. The waves were a great size and the girls even got to where they would dive through them. We brought lunches and snacks, beach toys and boogie boards. It was a great day to get to know each other better and relax.

 

 

Here's Cooper and Dave having fun with the kite.

 

 

There's little crabs running everywhere. The girls tried to catch one. After several attempts a crab was caught.

 

What's better after a long day in the sun at the beach? Chinese food... That's what we thought anyways. Most in our group was sick the next day.

Random Panama tidbits

Well some things don't change for a mom. I'm home with a sick kid today.  So I'll make some good use of time and update the blog. We have decided to homeschool the girls so we ordered a homeschool program that we should get the books for in a few weeks. (hopefully)  We're still trying to figure out the shipping process. That's a big relief though. We were going to make our own schooling schedule up, but both of us were extremely intimidated at the process and all the prep work involved.

 

Our little congregation is doing good. We had some visitors last month that just left. It's hard to get close to ones for such a brief period of time. But we realize we're making friendships for a lifetime. Here are a few pictures of our scenery out in service. You'll notice the girls wearing sweaters. People are often suprised to hear that we don't live in a hot climate. This time of year it rains usually every day in the afternoon for a couple hours. We don't have a thermometer, and there's no daily forecast but I would guess that the temp ranges from 70s-low 80s. Some days cooler.  But we enjoy pulling out our hoodies to wear sometimes.

Here is a little stand set up on the way into the mountains. It's a stand where indians sell jewelry, purses, hammocks and such. The purses they sell are just amazing. The work and colors they use are just gorgeous. 

Here's some of the kids that have visited. The girls have really enjoyed having other kids their ages to play with, even if they're "boys."

 

Many have asked what local Panamanian food is like. In our town, we have several restaurants of different varieties. There is great pizza available, seafood restaurants, and some grill and bar type restaurants. While we occasionally splurge and go out, with trying to keep to a budget we usually cook at home or there is a restaurant called Nelvis that has the local type food. You can get a plate of food for $2-$3. It usually consists of white or fried rice, stewed chicken with vegetables, beef stewed with vegetables, fried chicken, fried fish, beans or lentils, mashed potatoes and salad. So I would say that's a description of Panamanian food. They don't have spicey food. There are hot sauces available though if you want to add flavor.

Here's just a sign we saw that is funny. The roads here are unbelievably curvy, windy and steep!

Boquete Ingles Congregation

WE'RE A CONGREGATION!!!! We had our Special Assembly Day this past Saturday and they announced that we are officially our own congregation. What an exciting day it was.
The building we had the assembly at was very nice. It was in David so we didn't have to travel far. There were only 18 parking spaces and everyone else had to find street parking which was easy to do.  Here is the building where the assembly was at. Sorry about the quality but I think the humidity got the better of my camera. 

Half of the chairs were metal folding chairs and half were the white plastic outdoor chairs that had armrests. It really just felt like a big all day meeting.

The friends were so kind and welcoming. It was a bit overwhelming meeting so many new people but encouraging at the same time. While we're truly enjoying the ministry and finding ones that want to learn what the Bible teaches, I think for me at this part in our adventure it's so exciting meeting the friends here who are either permanent or traveling through looking at the area for a possible move in the future. The stories they have in how the learned the truth gives me goosebumps and brings tears to my eyes. Being one of Jehovah's Witnesses my whole life, I've truly seen how I've taken it for granted. But we've met ones that never knew Jehovah and then in their late teens or early 20's have dedicated their lives to him. Sometimes on their own and sometimes with other family members. And they're embracing any way possible to serve Jehovah to the fullest their circumstances allow. It's so motivating to see their zeal and determination to keep busy in the full time work. The gifts they have given us just by sharing their stories will stay with us for a lifetime. I only got a couple pictures of some of the friends at the assembly but here they are.

One of my favorite parts on the assembly was a brother who said, if you're thinking of making a decision that will help you and your family spiritually, DO IT NOW and Jehovah will bless you. Obviously this move has changed our family's lives forever, but not everyone can experience it. So do whatever you can to to move forward in whatever form of service you are able to do, and it may seem scary but Jehovah WILL bless your efforts! We love and miss you all!

Las Lajas Beach

Hey everyone---Here is a video that I took one day while at the beach. The beach is very secluded and we can pull our car right up onto the sand. We have yet to see anyone else there when we go. We try to get there early because we're in rainy season which means it usually rains in the afternoon. It's amazing the clouds that come rolling in.