Adventures at the orphanage.

I was covered in sweat and snot, singing along with the CD in my car, "Lord you have my heart and I will search for Yours…" I laughed, thinking of a verse in Isaiah. There really isn't much searching that needs to be done. His heart is in the place that I just left.

Isaiah 1:17

Learn to do good;

Seek Justice,

Reprove the ruthless,

Defend the orphan,

Plead for the widow.

I have been given the privilege of helping at the orphanage on Saturday mornings. There is only one "tia" (worker) for approximately 30-40 kids on the weekends. I go to play soccer with the older boys and read to the little kids. I have to admit, this Saturday was a bit more exciting than I was prepared for.

There are some special needs kids, that in all honesty, shouldn't be there. They need to be in a house that is equipped to deal with their needs. From what I gathered today, there is no such place here in Boquete. One of the girls needed some major intervention today and it turned out to be quite a fiasco. I found myself dodging large rocks and big pieces of glass that were being hurled at my head, while trying to get all of the kids away from Angie. When Nate worked at the elementary school he did a non-violent intervention training and came home every evening asking to try out his new moves on me. I was desperately trying to remember the holds as I found myself literally wrestling this 10 year old girl in the dirt. Once we finally got her contained in a room that seemingly had nothing she could harm herself on, we heard a piece of metal clank, then glass shattering. We had to resort to plan B, which consisted of bringing ALL of the kids inside, putting them in one room, and putting her outside in the play area by herself. By this time, the tia was working with her and the cook had come in from the kitchen to help. Eventually she calmed down and was ready to behave. It broke my heart - For her, who needs special attention that she clearly isn't getting. For the tia, who is in WAY over her head at work. For the other kids, who are not in an entirely safe environment.

We have been cleaning out the container at the church that is filled with clothes. Eventually it will be turned into a part of the clinic where they do eye surgery. We have been sorting and organizing clothes. It is similar to going through the bins at Goodwill Outlet, except it's an awful lot of women's power suits from about 1987 and barrels and barrels of some of the ugliest sweaters I've ever seen. We have kept some things out to give to several families that we know could use certain things. It is slow going.

Yesterday we got a phone call from a lady who said that she was in labor. I went to her house to pick her up. In order to get to the road where my car was, she had to hike through some pretty rough terrain, cross a ravine, then climb a ladder about 15 feet up the side of a hill. I took her to the clinic (secretly hoping she would deliver at the clinic and that I could help!). She seemingly had enough time to make the 45 minute drive to the hospital so we sent her on her way. We found out today that she had the baby last night - her 6th child - a girl. She apparently did not want her, so she gave the baby to her sister who is about to become a grandmother. I wish international adoption was easier here in Panama…

We celebrated Easter with our family in Panama and had a nice dinner and a little Easter egg hunt with the kids. Zion was clearly a fan...

"He tells the sun where to shine, the rivers where to flow, the trees where to grow. They obey. Then He looks at us and tells us to come and we say, 'No!'" -Nate (via Paul Washer), while sharing the Gospel last night in David.

A fellow believer and Pastor in David (the nearest large city to us) asked Nate to host a worship night that his English students at the university were putting on. We arrived and found out that no one was prepared to share the Gospel. Nate stepped up to the plate and really did a wonderful job. There were many people gathered in the hot park to listen to the music, wondering what all the Panamanians were doing speaking English. We are trusting that the Word of the Lord does not return void and that some seeds were planted last night.

The music pastor of the Spanish speaking part of our church is out of town for the next couple weeks, so Nate played guitar with Clementina, who was leading worship. Panamanians aren't particularly known for their sense of rhythm. It was quite an experience. I loved hearing him, with the congregation.

On a parental side note: We hit a pretty big milestone today. Zion walked straight to his class, sat down and told me, "Bye!" It helped that a friend, Luis, had saved him a seat and he had someone to sit with. He has been quite the chatty Cathy lately. If you haven't seen the video I posted on Facebook of him counting in Spanish, check it out.

Every day we have more and more kids coming to our house for homework help. I love it. It has gotten to the point though, where they come at super inconvenient times (some of the kids don't get out of school until 5 p.m. and really can't help it). The other night, I was literally pulling dinner out of the oven, while Zion was screaming, "I'M HUNNNNNNNGRY!" when 8 kids showed up at our door. Everything has to come to a screeching halt, and we rush to get the work done and the kids sent back home. We have started to transform the back room of our house into a homework room. It has its own entrance and bathroom. We are in desperate need of some boundaries with the kids, but want so badly to help them all. We will have the "homework room" open a couple hours each day for them to come. I am really excited to get it up and running. We are hoping it will be a place where they feel comfortable hanging out to read and play after the homework is finished. The kids are really starting to open up and show us a bit of their personalities that they hide so well behind their stone faces.

"Tia! Tia! (Aunt! Aunt!)" They were shouting at us as we made our way through the orphanage. As soon as we walked through the door, a crowd of boys latched on to Nate, showing off their muscles and feeling his. Later, he told me that he's never felt so strong in his whole life. They loved having a male there to love on them. We tagged along with Lindsey again to read books on Thursday night. This time I was told that I would not be able to pick up any of the babies and rock them to sleep, like I did last time. They are placed in their beds before 5:30 to go to sleep for the night, and holding them disrupts the schedule. Several of them were asleep by the time we left, but some of them were still standing in their cribs, reaching out to us as we walked back through the nursery to leave at 7:30. After we were done reading to the younger kids, we got to tuck them into bed and give them all kisses. It was so sweet. My heart breaks a little more each time I am there.

On Wednesday we got to join in on a Heda Medica, which is basically just a traveling clinic where we go to a more remote place and just set up shop. We went to the school in Alto Quiel with the Rotary Club. They had several doctors and the dentist from our church came along. All of the kids were seen for both dental and medical, along with anyone who had walked in order to get some medical attention. Originally we had planned to wash the kid's hair with lice shampoo. Their little heads were crawling with lice. When we got there, we found out that they haven't had water since the beginning of school. Rather than wash hair, we set up a little barber shop and buzzed heads. All of the little boys lined up and got a hair cut. We plan to go back another day to wash hair when they have water again.

I have to admit that about two weeks ago, I started to feel really discouraged. Most days, the boys take turns napping, so I spend a lot of time at home. I am used to associating being in Panama with being gone all day long doing some kind of project, visiting people or ministering in some way. I started asking God, exactly what He had for me to do while I'm home with the boys. Not long after I began asking, I heard a little knock on our door. It was Elmer and Jorge, some kids from the church. They were needing help with homework and wanted to use our computer. They have come almost every day for homework help, and have started bringing their little sisters. Elmer has gotten to the point where he can do most of the work on his own. While he works, I try to read books with the younger kids, who don't really have books just to read for fun. I would love to teach Elmer how to use the computer and type. Right now, most of his homework consists of him looking for pictures to paste into his notebook. He is catching on really quickly and watches really intently when I show him how to find things online.

We have had Nate's parents here for the past week. It has been so great to show them around Boquete and what our life is like here. It has also been nice to have a couple extra set of hands with the boys and other projects! We will definitely miss them when they leave this evening.

Zion's first day of "school"

Today was the first day of "school" for Zion. It was also the first day of actual school for all the kids. Yesterday marked the end of their summer break. I love seeing all of the kids walking around town in their uniforms!


Zion was a bit hesitant as we walked to his class. It's the same classroom that he has Sunday school in, so it was nice to be on familiar ground. Walking hand in hand, my heart pounded harder as we neared the classroon. We chatted about what they might do in his class...sing, count, color. We hit the doorway and he freaked. I told him I'd be back in an hour and walked away. A couple minutes later, I sent Nate to drop off some cookies for the kids (and to return with a report that Zion was fine and having a great time). The big softie ended up staying with Zion for a bit. :)

After school, I met a smiling Zion on the playground. He had made lots of friends. He told me all about his time with Miss Lindsey and the new friends he had made. Their names are Daisy and "Hor-Ha" (Zion's form of Jorge). He told me that he wants to go back on Wednesday. Yay!

Nate has found his nitche in heading up the work groups that come down. He is really great at it, with his perfect balance of wanting to work hard and be relational at the same time. Right now there is a group here from Operation Mobilization. They are all from Europe and Nate is really enjoying interacting with them and excited to see how this week will play out.

I was able to work in the clinic after church on Sunday. There are so many needs. Physical, spiritual, emotional. It made me want to start on my nursing degree even more. I love the hands on experience, and time spent with the people here.

Our laptop crashed last week so we haven't been able to upload any pictures or Skype with anyone. We ordered a new computer and will be getting it next week. Stay tuned for pictures!

We so appreciate your prayers and love. Thank you again for supporting our family.

This blog is a little delayed, partially becuase I've been busy and partially becuase I've been processing.

On Thursday evening I went with my friend Lindsey to the orphanage. She goes every week. We got there around 5:30 and brought books. The kids met us at the door yelling, "Shakira! Shakira!" (apparently they think she looks like Shakira...I promise she wears more clothes!) :)

We were greeted with hugs and smiles. We read books to, tickled, snuggled, rocked and loved on about 30-40 kids. Talk about overwhelming. I felt like I needed to cram all the love, kisses, attention and boundaries that a mama gives her babies into two hours for more kids than I could keep track of! I will be going back.

The place is a mess. There are so many needs - both physical and emotional. They need clothes, pillows, lights, sheets and I'm sure much more. I spoke with a 15 year old girl (in 6th grade) who just began her 3 month stint in the place becuase of abuse. I wake up at night heartbroken, wishing I could do more. For now, I will go every week, love like crazy, and pray for the Lord to open doors (and my eyes) for how He wants to use me there.

Jonathan

There is a little boy from the church named Jonathan who recently had surgery on both of his legs. He is 4 years old. His legs are in casts past his knees. We got a phone call from his mom saying that he was feeling really bad so my grandma went to go check on him. She said that he had a fever and had thrown up. He was definitely not feeling well, but when she walked in and asked him how he was doing, he flashed her a huge smile and said, "Bien!"
She had to go back the next day to check on him, so Larry, Kate (a couple that is here from the States), Zion, Ezra and I tagged along. We made him a little care package, and Zion agreed to share some of his toys with Jonathan. Talk about a proud mama.
When we arrived at the little home with the dirt floor, we were greeted by the whole family. Smiles and kisses for everyone. Jonathan was still feeling a little puny, but lit up when Zion sat next to him and handed him the contents of his care package one by one. I tried to explain to Zion how sharing our things is a chance that we have to share the love of Jesus and also makes the Lord happy. I hope he understood. At least once I was done talking to him he replied, "Yes, mama."
Zion sat right next to him while we all laid hands and prayed for healing. This morning we got word that Jonathan is feeling much better. Thank you, Jesus!

Scorpions and tremors and new friends, oh my.

As you can see, Zion has been making some friends. He so misses his friends in the States and has asked to go to the Children's Museum almost every day. This Sunday, I went with him to his class at church. I think he was a little overwhelmed, but he did great! There is a girl here named Lindsey who is going to be teaching several classes at the church - one for small kids. She will be working on English with them. Zion is going to go to her class and I'm hoping he will learn some Spanish. We have been making a big deal about him going to "school."

I found another scorpion yesterday. It was a bit bigger than the other one. I'm not sure why we have so many...I am NOT.A.FAN.

We had some tremors last night while I was rocking Ezra. It was crazy. They weren't huge, but big enough to shake the rocking chair. I could see things in the room shaking. I'm not sure how often that happens down here, but it was kind of neat.

This past week, I got to work a little in the clinic. We did an ultrasound on a pregnant lady and I learned how to give a Depo shot. I really like being in the clinic.

English church was last night. It's just a casual gathering with about 30 people, music, prayer, preaching, communion and fellowship. Nate helped with the music. It was great to see him up there again.

As we are building relationships, please pray that we are taking advantage of every opportunity to share Christ with the people around us. There are several specific people that we are trying to be really intentional with.