#247 - Never Before Seen Picture

Our computer is acting up and it forced me to merge some files into our hard drive, just in case it crashes. During this process I come across this picture that I'm pretty sure I've never posted. Brian and I got the girls these dresses last year in Panama. They are the dresses the Ngöbe-Buglé ladies wore.

We've had a great sleepy, rainy, restful Sunday and now we're getting ready for a fun week of school! Have a great week!

John 3:16
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

#181 - One Year Ago

On this day a year ago we were on our way to Panama (the country). It's so hard to believe that it's already been a year! In fact, another team is on their way right now. Our pastor, youth pastor, our friend Amanda, and a couple of others were part of this years mission team. We are praying that we can go again and maybe even take the girls with us next time.

Getting ready for our flight from Atlanta to Panama City, Panama!

I miss these sweet little faces :)

Here is our mission team with Pastor Ricardo and his family that we worked with. Please remember Pastor Ricardo and his sweet wife in your prayers. We found out today that they are sick right now and I know that they've got lots of stuff planned for the mission team on their way!

We were very blessed to go on that trip last year and it'll be an experience that I'll always hold dear to my heart. If you want to see our posts from our trip you can click HERE!

Acts 1:8
"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Panama Day 7 & 8 (Grand Finale:)

Here is the last post about Panama! Considering I took over 2500 pictures, it is amazing that it only took me 6 posts to get all the info on here!

Tuesday was suppose to be our free day to do the tourist stuff! We woke up at 5:00 a.m. so that we could see the sun rise on the Pacific Ocean. And it was simply amazing!

This is from the other side from the sunrise. These fishermen were going out to check their traps and for a day of fishing.

A sign by the beach.

We ate breakfast at the beach house and left around 9:00 a.m. to start our adventure back into the city.
We stopped by Garcia's Ceramics that did one of a kind pottery.
Bethany had Brian get a plate down from a high wall outside and she had a little surprise on the edge of the plate that ended up leaping onto her arm!

I brought this little beauty home with me.

Where they did all of pot throwin'!

We stopped at a restaurant that sold cheese empanadas (yum!) and here was the signs over the restrooms.

Hehe! Too funny!

On our way into the city we drove up the side of a mountain to see these views of the Pacific.

Pretty flowers!

These children were having school and stopped to say "hola" to us!

The Bridge of the Americas - connecting North and South America over the Panama Canal.

By the time we got into the city it was time for lunch. We ate at Mi Ranchito Restaurante' located out on the causeway.

Once again I had Camarones Apanados and it was honestly the best shrimp I think I have ever tasted! So fresh!

Brian had a Corvina fillet. It was pretty tasty too!

View from the restaurant.

"I've got a lovely bunch of cocunuts......there they are standing in a row......big ones small ones some as big as your head!"

After Lion King I can't hardly look at a cocunut and not sing that song!

Views of Panama City from the causeway.

Another view of the Bridge of the Americas.

Next stop was touring the Panama Canal Miraflores Locks.

Our crew heading inside.

My ticket.

They had viewing decks so you could watch the huge ships come through the locks.

It doesn't look that big from here, but trust me this ship was HUGE!

A ship that had just come through.

The system of the locks and how they work is really interesting.

The announcer that was giving the play by play was cracking us all up. He would say things like, "Get your camera's ready and make sure you have plenty of space on your memory cards with a full battery, this is the moment you've been waiting your whole lives for!" Only imagine hearing that with a Panamanian accent.

They have these trolley tug boats that are on tracks to keep the ships from bumping into the side of the locks. It looks like the ship is not going to clear the sides, but on average there is 5-6 feet of space on each side. But still, that's close!

They are in the process of building some more locks that can hold even bigger ships. They charge so much money per container on each vessel. I can't really remember the exact amount on the ship that we watched go through, but I think it was around $500,000! But it saves so much money by not having to go around South America. I can't imagine!

After seeing the locks we went to a type of souvenir shop with a ton of booths to buy some gifts. This sloth was hanging in a mango tree outside. It was pretty neat to see.

The sign in front of the store.

Panama's flag flying above the city!

That evening to kill some time so we didn't have to drive through the city's traffic during rush hour to get to our hotel, we stopped by the mall to have dinner. This mall was very colorful and extremely big! I wish I had taken some inside pics, but I didn't want to have my bag checked when and if I entered any stores. Turns out Brian and I went into one store, paid a quarter to use the restroom, and then went to find the food court! The restrooms by the food court were free, but we didn't know that at the time. That mall was quite the experience of it's own!

After we left the mall we drove across town to check into the hotel. We would board the shuttle bus at 5:00 a.m. the next morning for our 8:00 a.m. flight home!

Kentucky bound!!!
We were greeted by our girls at the bottom of the escalator at Bluegrass Airport and it was a very good sight to see! We had a wonderful experience and would go back in a heart second. God revealed some amazing things to me while we were down there. With being back into the groove of every day life in America I just pray that I will never forget the little things that I take for granted and that people are dying every second that don't know Jesus.

If you ever get a chance to go on a mission trip whether it be domestically or internationally and feel like God is calling you......my advice is to GO!!!

Panama Day 7

Monday, July 5th was our day to start traveling back towards Panama City. David is about 7 hours west of the city so our team had planned on staying a few hours away in a house in Santa Clara owned by the mission board to break up the traveling a little bit.

Right before we left I snapped this pic of the hotel lobby.

The countryside in Panama is absolutely gorgeous!

Pineapple fields

Cattle grazing

Santiago was about 2 hours east of David and is where we stopped to eat lunch.
Santiago is Spanish for the name James. Well....Brian's first name is actually James and I call him that sometimes, so now I just have to call him Santiago! :D



I just loved this tree!

We stopped in the town of Natá and got to see this beautiful old church. It was built in the 16th century and thought to be the oldest church in North America. They were currently doing some restorations on it.

The wood carvings and detail work was beautiful.

The side doors.

"Where ya goin there Santiago?!"

"Come on let's go see the bell tower!"

It was kind of creepy, but had great views!

"Wait, what is that?!"

I snapped this right before a flock of pigeons flew within inches of his head.
It was funny.........after it happened!

A view from the front.

A view over the top of the church. We went up about 4 or 5 flights of stairs and didn't quite make it to the bell. The pigeons kind of scared us back down in a hurry. :)

A baptism bath

The star decorations on the front doors.

Awww...there's the bell!

Brian and me in front of the church. Please don't pay any attention to the red car setting out front! It didn't belong to us!

There, now it's gone!
(Photoshop is my new best friend :)

I thought this cactus was pretty neat.

Late that afternoon/early evening we arrived at the Santa Clara house. It was bought back in the 70's by the mission board and sets right on the Pacific Ocean! This was my first time ever seeing the Pacific. But when we got there it was raining pretty heavy so we just got to enjoy the views from the house. That was okay though, because it gave everybody a little time to relax and unwind from the traveling. The Pan-American Highway that we were traveling on was paved, but it had it's own fair share of potholes and bumps! But it just made the adventure that much more fun! :)

The living room.

The bedroom we stayed in.

Some mini bananas. They were good!

Another view after the rains stopped.

A palm branch.

A weird looking fruit that they (some Panamanians) use for medicinal purposes.

Iron hearts :)

Love this view of palm trees.

Palm tree roots.

That night we ate at a restaurant that is owned by Americans and they had this HUGE flag hanging in the back yard! And we ate cheeseburgers, fries, & homemade pecan pie!

They had all kinds of exotic birds too. This guy was actually saying "hi" and "hello" to us before I started to use my flash. Then he got very angry and just squaked at us. The two Bethany's on our team actually had him dancing to some music.

Here is a view from the ocean side of the house.

The next morning we got up super early to see the sunrise on the Pacific before we started our journey into the city. It was a little strange I know because of the sun rising in the east, but it really did happen!
Stay tuned for Day 8!