So I guess this is the last time we are writing from deep in Panama. Let me start by saying that this has been an awesome week, and I am sure that when we return home we will have a difficult time exactly putting into words the impact this trip has had on each of our lives. We have all very clearly seen God at work throughout this trip and been blessed uniquely in separate ways. To say the least, this trip has been one that none of us will be able to forget, and we will be able to tell stories about for years to come.
Today, we woke up bright and early to be out of the house by 4:30 and on our way to the Caribbean Sea for our trip to the San Blas Islands. The road there was very hilly and it seemed as if our vehicle was almost continuously turning left to right as we trekked through a Kuna Indian nature preserve. We all were beginning to feel a little car sick to say the least by the time we finally reached the coastline to begin our 45 minute long boat ride to an island where we had breakfast. Not all of us ate, as our breakfast consisted of nothing more then bread and hot dogs (see picture), and we were all ready to move on to our final destination for the day soon after that.
It took about another 20 minutes to get to Dog Island where we spent the day snorkeling, throwing football, and just lounging on the beach. The Island was beautiful with crystal clear water, white sand, coconut trees, and even a sunken ship with coral forming around it about 100 yards off shore. We all began exploring the ship wreck shortly after stepping foot on Dog Island and got to see many colorful fish, jellyfish, and even squid. Another main attraction of the afternoon was scavenging the water and coastline for sand dollars, starfish, and shells. David even evicted a huge hermit crab from its shell to take home at the end of the trip. After exploring more, most of the group decided to hop on the boat and ride to nearby Pelican Island to hang out there for a few hours while Taylor G., Wes, Zach, and John stayed to chill on Dog Island. While the four guys just swam and snorkeled some more, the rest of our group had a sandcastle building competition on Pelican Island. Jeremiah, Kira, and Meg seemingly won with ease. Unfortunately, our day at the island came to an end and we had to take the long boat ride back to the restaurant for fish and fries which was questionable but most of us managed to put most of it down. After lunch we embarked on the long bus and car ride back to the house and were all very relieved to roll into Paraiso around 7 this evening. We are just enjoying the regular evening activities now: Ping-Pong, Cards, Facebooking, and Blogging.
Today was a great cap to our week as we got a chance to relax a little bit and have a lot of fun with one another. Although we are kind of bummed to have to be leaving Panama and such loving people behind we are looking forward to seeing our family members again and enjoying a couple days with our loved ones before having to head back to school next week. Take one look at the picture taken on day one when we were still at Messiah. The group in that picture still did not know one another and were awkward, almost afraid to open up with one another and share thoughts. Coach VP had a tough time getting any of us to participate in group discussion and we were kind of shy and unsure. Meg is way off to the side in the picture and T-Mill is awkwardly placed between some baseball guys she never talked to before in her life. The basketball guys are behind everyone else cheesing away but still kind of separate. Then look at a picture from any of our last couple days with either the people we spent the day with or just us as a group. For example the picture from our trip to see the Kuna people on day three. Taylor and Wes are posing together up front, T-Mill is between Jeremiah and John, and the rest of our group are mixed together throughout the kids from the tribe. What I am trying to get at by using this example is that this group who did not know each other at all when the week began, evolved to become a type of family as the week progressed. We played different sports and had different interests, but united through the love of God and common goal of helping the people of Panama. This common driving force brought us together to establish friendships and bonds which would not exist otherwise. For myself personally, when I came to Panama I knew that I would be participating in activities which would be very beneficial to the people of Panama. However, I had no idea I would become friends with so many people I had never so much as spoken with before the trip. In being able to help bless the people of Panama we each have been blessed in return by God throughout the trip and are all more then grateful for the opportunity to come and experience what we did while in Panama. This truly was an experience of a lifetime, and we appreciate the prayers and support we had from everyone following this blog throughout the trip. It was encouraging to each of us to know we had people who loved and cared for us back home that were praying for us throughout the trip. Pray for safe travels yet and we will certainly see all of you soon. ---Taylor G.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Day 6
This morning began with another wake up call for a 7:30 departure. Although our time interacting with the indigenous people has been awesome, we were all excited to play and teach our sports. Our first stop was a local school about 20 minutes away where we were going to teach basketball to two of their gym classes. When we arrived we were told that the students knew English and that they should be able to understand what we were saying. While they didn't understand everything, we were able to teach them without having a huge language barrier.The first class consisted of 15 and 16 year olds. Coach Van Pelt tried to tell these kids that Derek was Dirk Novitzki but they just stared at him like he had six heads. We then broke the kids up into 4 stations; shooting, dribbling, passing and layups. Each station had two basketball players, while the baseball players filled in around the various drills. Not long into the first class we realized that today was a special day for the school. A young man came down to the court with a rose, grabbed one of the girls, got down on one knee and began to talk to her. He then gave her the rose and everyone stopped and screamed "aaaaawwwwwww!" All of us were confused. As more students received roses throughout the class, we found out that the roses were used as a way to raise money for graduation. It cost $1.25 for a rose and it could be given to anyone. It was hilarious to see and hear all the students stop and scream anytime someone was given a rose. At the end of the class, one of the boys went up to Kira and gave her a rose. The place went nuts. At the end of the class, Megan and Wes both shared their testimonies by describing things that God has taught them throughout their entire lives.
After the class left we had an hour break. So, we got a game of basketball going which included the gym teachers of the school. Jeremiah coached one of the teams and led us to a 48-40 victory. Then, the other gym class came down to the court and we started the same rotations that we had during the first class. This time however, the students were 13 and 14 years old. During this class the showering of roses continued. Kira got 2 more, including one where the boy had to be encouraged to give it to her himself. Before he did it, Taylor G. led him and many others boys in an "hombre" chant to give him the courage he needed. Megan was also given a rose. This was awesome for Kira and Megan but they were definitely not the winners for the roses. Taylor caught the attention of all the girls, which won him 5 roses and lots of screams. He couldn't have been more excited. The class ended with Jeremiah and David giving their testimonies. Both of them did an amazing job of using situations that have happened in their lives to show how important it is to have God in our lives. The school then served us lunch. We were all hoping for another helping of rice and chicken, but instead we had rice and beef.
After leaving the school, we went back to our house where everyone passed out on the couches and floor for about 30 minutes before we headed to a nearby field for some baseball. We found out on the way there that Omar, the son of a former Pirates player opens up baseball fields so that kids have a better chance of not getting caught up in gangs and other violence. Before the kids got there, we all took turns taking grounders and throwing them back to first. Let's just say Derek was meant to play in the outfield. Once the kids got there, John, Wes, and Zach took over and ran the show. This clinic consisted of about 20 boys from one of the local baseball teams. Since there wasn't too much to do and some of us basketball players felt a little out of place, we helped out by being base runners while the kids fielded grounders and tried to throw us out. We definitely got a good sprint workout in. The afternoon continued with catching fly balls, turning double plays, and batting practice. Finally, we played a couple of innings with the kids. The clinic ended with Zach and John giving their testimonies. They both incorporated baseball into what God has done in their lives which kept the kids so attentive. It was awesome to finally be able to use the talents God has given us in order to bring glory to His name.
We all have been pretty tired the last couple of days, staying up and then having to leave by 7 or 7:30, but tomorrow it will be taken to a whole new level. We are supposed to get to the island that we are going to for the day by about 7, so we have to leave at 4:30 tomorrow morning. It will be a long ride through the jungle with lots of hills and a final boat ride, but when we finally get to a beautiful, isolated, carribbean island it will all be worth it. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. We have definitely felt your prayers as God has used us in some awesome and unexpected ways.
Taylor M.
After the class left we had an hour break. So, we got a game of basketball going which included the gym teachers of the school. Jeremiah coached one of the teams and led us to a 48-40 victory. Then, the other gym class came down to the court and we started the same rotations that we had during the first class. This time however, the students were 13 and 14 years old. During this class the showering of roses continued. Kira got 2 more, including one where the boy had to be encouraged to give it to her himself. Before he did it, Taylor G. led him and many others boys in an "hombre" chant to give him the courage he needed. Megan was also given a rose. This was awesome for Kira and Megan but they were definitely not the winners for the roses. Taylor caught the attention of all the girls, which won him 5 roses and lots of screams. He couldn't have been more excited. The class ended with Jeremiah and David giving their testimonies. Both of them did an amazing job of using situations that have happened in their lives to show how important it is to have God in our lives. The school then served us lunch. We were all hoping for another helping of rice and chicken, but instead we had rice and beef.
After leaving the school, we went back to our house where everyone passed out on the couches and floor for about 30 minutes before we headed to a nearby field for some baseball. We found out on the way there that Omar, the son of a former Pirates player opens up baseball fields so that kids have a better chance of not getting caught up in gangs and other violence. Before the kids got there, we all took turns taking grounders and throwing them back to first. Let's just say Derek was meant to play in the outfield. Once the kids got there, John, Wes, and Zach took over and ran the show. This clinic consisted of about 20 boys from one of the local baseball teams. Since there wasn't too much to do and some of us basketball players felt a little out of place, we helped out by being base runners while the kids fielded grounders and tried to throw us out. We definitely got a good sprint workout in. The afternoon continued with catching fly balls, turning double plays, and batting practice. Finally, we played a couple of innings with the kids. The clinic ended with Zach and John giving their testimonies. They both incorporated baseball into what God has done in their lives which kept the kids so attentive. It was awesome to finally be able to use the talents God has given us in order to bring glory to His name.
We all have been pretty tired the last couple of days, staying up and then having to leave by 7 or 7:30, but tomorrow it will be taken to a whole new level. We are supposed to get to the island that we are going to for the day by about 7, so we have to leave at 4:30 tomorrow morning. It will be a long ride through the jungle with lots of hills and a final boat ride, but when we finally get to a beautiful, isolated, carribbean island it will all be worth it. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. We have definitely felt your prayers as God has used us in some awesome and unexpected ways.
Taylor M.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Day 5
Day 5 began with a 6:30 wake up call, as our destination today was a village close to the Colombian border. After an exhaustive and very very very bumpy ride, through the back country of Panama we finally arrived at the village around 10 o'clock. This was the largest village that we had visited thus far, with at least 40 families to minister too All of the kids were in school until one, so we began our morning with water filter demonstrations. Our SCORE missionaries David and Marianella visited the village in January and distributed water filters to the members of the church, so on our visit we were giving out the filters to all the people of the village who do not attend church. Also, a man from Colombia who had heard about the filters made a two day trek by foot and bus to get water filters for his village and neighboring villages. It is not safe to go to Colombia due to a lot of guerilla activity, so this man was extremely excited to take the filters back to his village. Jeremiah and I presented the water filters and showed the people of the village how they worked , while David Fernandez translated for the group. The people from the village were amazed at how clean the water was, as they tried water for the first time through their filters It will most definitely change their lives, as many of the children get sick from the dirty and contaminated water. After the demonstration we split up with the different families and helped them put their filters together. Following the filters, Kira and I shared our testimonies with the people of the village. They were mostly people who did not attend the church, so this was a good opportunity to share with them about Jesus. Also, David (SCORE missionary) was able to share with them the Gospel and hopefully many will begin to attend the local church. With time to spare before lunch, and the kids still in school, it was time for some good ol' American football. Once again, Taylor Groff proceded to "throw" the game away with his season leading 10th interception.....in 3 days. During the game, word spread throughout the village about the filters, and Coach Van Pelt put together 10 more filters as families brought their buckets to the church. Amy was also was able to visit families who already have the filters and follow up on how they are working. This was very crucial in maintaining their effectiveness. In all, we put together a total of 45 water filters. After the football game, we took a walk down to the river to cool off before lunch. Jeremiah was "bit by flesh eating piranhas", only to discover they were minnows nibbling on his toes. David F., Taylor Groff, and John followed two boys to a tree in the river that served as a 20 foot high dive. This was an incredible, once in a lifetime, Panamanian experience to say the least.
Lunch consisted of rice, fried plantains, and chicken with some fresh cucumbers and tomatoes on the side. Whiffle ball ensued after lunch, followed by kick ball led by Zach and Wes, while some of us accepted the challenge to a game of volleyball against the adults in the village. We were pushed to the limit, however, we prevailed winning 2 games out of 3. We were caught off guard by one of the villagers with his great serving ability. While the kickball game and volleyball games were going on, Taylor Miller was giving out shoulder rides, carrying around kids, and playing 1 on 10 dodge ball (It was so cute) Lets just say she didn't have a chance. A good time was had by all. Towards the of the afternoon we held an Easter Egg type candy hunt for the kids. We scattered candy throughout the field as David F. huddled up the kids for their epic candy hunt. God answered our prayers today, as the rain held off for the first time, allowing us to spend more time with the children. As we left the village, the kids raced beside our bus as we settled in for our really, really , ridiculously long and bumpy ride home.
Guess what was for dinner?! You guessed it! Riiiiiiice and chicken! BUT a homemade apple pie for dessert was just what the doctor called for. A doubles ping pong tournament was the main event of the evening. David and Jeremiah had the unlucky draw of playing Coach VP and Amy in the first round. While Meg and I powered our way to the finals against Wes and Taylor Groff. It was a pretty one-sided finals, with Wes and Taylor taking the title. Coach Van Pelt gave a devo on Nehemiah and how we can be servant leaders on and off the playing field, which was a great way to end the evening.
We are all looking forward to working with the school kids tomorrow as we are running basketball and baseball clinics allllll day long. We are so thankful for the little things like running water, flushing out toilets, and being able to take hot showers after a long sweaty day.
God Bless and goodnight.
-Derek
Lunch consisted of rice, fried plantains, and chicken with some fresh cucumbers and tomatoes on the side. Whiffle ball ensued after lunch, followed by kick ball led by Zach and Wes, while some of us accepted the challenge to a game of volleyball against the adults in the village. We were pushed to the limit, however, we prevailed winning 2 games out of 3. We were caught off guard by one of the villagers with his great serving ability. While the kickball game and volleyball games were going on, Taylor Miller was giving out shoulder rides, carrying around kids, and playing 1 on 10 dodge ball (It was so cute) Lets just say she didn't have a chance. A good time was had by all. Towards the of the afternoon we held an Easter Egg type candy hunt for the kids. We scattered candy throughout the field as David F. huddled up the kids for their epic candy hunt. God answered our prayers today, as the rain held off for the first time, allowing us to spend more time with the children. As we left the village, the kids raced beside our bus as we settled in for our really, really , ridiculously long and bumpy ride home.
Guess what was for dinner?! You guessed it! Riiiiiiice and chicken! BUT a homemade apple pie for dessert was just what the doctor called for. A doubles ping pong tournament was the main event of the evening. David and Jeremiah had the unlucky draw of playing Coach VP and Amy in the first round. While Meg and I powered our way to the finals against Wes and Taylor Groff. It was a pretty one-sided finals, with Wes and Taylor taking the title. Coach Van Pelt gave a devo on Nehemiah and how we can be servant leaders on and off the playing field, which was a great way to end the evening.
We are all looking forward to working with the school kids tomorrow as we are running basketball and baseball clinics allllll day long. We are so thankful for the little things like running water, flushing out toilets, and being able to take hot showers after a long sweaty day.
God Bless and goodnight.
-Derek
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