Last Day in Panama

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.