We were sitting at a Panamanian restaurant and all of a sudden the Panamanian music stopped and Thrift Shop starts and now it's stuck in my head.
Sooo, Tuesday the Baseball guys did their thing in the morning and the rest of us went back to the Bible School where we painted the kitchen and their study room. We also had a lot of dirt to move up the hill to the back of one of the buildings so they can eventually pour some concrete for a back porch. The Children's home where we painted the kitchen and study room currently has 26 kids who aren't necessarily without parents. Most of them come from families who just can not provide food for them so the home has taken them in to feed them, give them a safe place to stay, send them to school and teach them english. It really is a great thing they have going. Plus it is on the same property as the preaching school so the kids interact and learn from the men and women at the preaching school. It is definitely a place that I'll miss.
Wednesday we went about 3 hours outside of the city to a place called middle of nowhere Panama. We went to a school and worked with a green energy organization called New Earth Panama. We planted about 25 trees and there was a presentation for the kids which promoted a cleaner earth. They talked about how God created all organic things that can be broken down in nature and how man made things such as plastic bottles and wrappers and etc. can't be broken down. The kids then grouped up with the Americans to plant trees. It was a really cool thing to do. The guy that started New Earth Panama played baseball at Texas A&M and after graduating he played in a few Central American countries. He lived 11 years in the States where he started an organization called Batting for Christ, I think. I can't remember if that's the right name but it's close to that. They would hold baseball camps and give away equipment while sharing the gospel. When he moved to Panama he started New Earth Panama which grows organic fruits and sells them to individuals and restaurants all over Panama. They have recently started a campaign to teach children about the effects of littering and ways to clean up the country. They plant trees and give trees away so that schools and individuals can produce their own food supplies. He said that two weeks ago he knew that this project at this school was upcoming but he had no help. He is the only one working for New Earth Panama and has about 25 volunteers but no one could go to this project. He said he prayed about it and lo and behold he got a call saying a bunch of Americans were going to be in the country and needed something to do. He said it was a lifesaver. He ended up having 2 volunteers of his show up too so it turned out to be a great event. He buys the trees himself and then just gives them to the schools and any trees that they can't plant they give to local people to plant at their houses. It a pretty awesome thing he does. Check out his facebook page, New Earth Panama.
Only got $20 in my pocket....(such a stupid song really)
Today we went back to the Bible school and painted some more at the childrens home and moved more dirt. we had a little bit more of an opportunity to play with the kids and it was a really fun day. Tonight while on our way back from dinner we stopped by the ruins of the old Panama City from the 1400-1600 when the old city was thriving. The guards let us in even though they were closed and it was dark and that place was really neat. The catholic cathedral was huge and hopefully we'll be able to go back Saturday and this time I'll actually take my camera.
My spanish has come back quicker than it ever has. I can almost hold a conversation in spanish but my vocabulary needs a little work. I can understand a lot but I just don't know the words to say back yet. So ordering dinner has been fun because I don't really want the translators to help. Monday night we went to eat at the mall and I went with Hannah, an intern who is fluent in spanish, to this restaurant that looked pretty good. So I ordered chicken (I'll type this all out in english so it makes more sense). The lady asks what kind of chicken and so I say well what kind do you have. She named off 3 types, like fried, baked or spicy and so I pointed to the picture, like any good gringo would do, which was grilled chicken and said that one. She says, "Oh pollo normal" or "Oh normal chicken". So my response was why wasn't that one of the choices? So then she asks for my sides and I say fries and she says well you get one more. I say rice and she says what kind, white or yellow. I answer with white and she says we don't have anymore. So I say well yellow and she says how about double fries and replied ok whatever. The whole time Hannah is just standing there laughing her head off because she thinks it's just as crazy as I do but it's not happening to her so she laughs. So then Tuesday night we go to this steakhouse. The guy asks me what I want and I say I want the steak. All he says is NO and turns and walks off. I'm like what the heck. So like 2 minutes later he comes back and asks what I want and I say chicken and he says, so you don't want steak? He says it in like the questioning tone like I can't believe you don't want it now. So I'm like you just said you don't have steak and he says oh we do now....He must have left for two minutes and gone to kill a cow, i don't know. So then Wednesday night we go back to the mall and I go to the same restaurant as I did Monday because the chicken was good and so were ALL the fries. So I walk up with Jose, another intern/translator and ask to order the Churazzco, another steak (steak is ridiculously cheap like a 10oz steak for $7 with 2 sides). The guy says sorry we don't have steak right now do you want Chicken and I just walked away while Jose laughed his head off. So ordering food has NOT been a good thing for me so far but tonight it went pretty well.
I think tomorrow we are going to watch the Panama team play the Freed team and then we have some government thing at a school. I'm not too happy that we are not going to be going back to the Bible School because that place is awesome. But it is what it is, the only way you can fall in love with a new place is to leave the one you're at and go to a new one. So here's to the next place we go although hopefully I'll be able to make it back to Bible School and Children's home here in Panama someday.
Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.
1 Chronicles 29:11
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