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.

1 Corinthians 13

¹ If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Nate and I read this passage the other night and it has been on my heart. What a great reminder - whatever we find ourselves doing (moving dirt, registering patients in the clinic, laundry...) if we aren't constantly loving, it's worthless. Another good reminder, that even when we find ourselves doing something that doesn't seem inherently important, if it's rooted in love, the Lord is pleased.

Our prayer is that our lives are constantly exuding the love of Christ.

Photo Blog

Here are a few photos from our adventure thus far.

I found these sticking out of the booty of the chicken I got from the grocery yesterday...My laundry partner (found under some towels I had in a pile to wash). Needless to say, I have since kicked the laundry down the hallway until I absolutely have to pick it up, then I throw it all in the washer as fast as I can.

This is how we roll at bath time. Zion literally bathes in a tub.

Ezra, on the other hand, prefers a duck.

Right outside our living room window we have a teeny tiny hummingbird nest with an egg. It's about the size of those little candy Cadbury Eggs in the cartons that I'm sure are out in the States right now for Easter.

Zion loves to be outside.

I will be taking more pictures, but these are just a few that we have snapped so far.

Today, we helped gather together some Sunday School lessons to send out with the pastors from the comarca. Nate learned how to drive and operate a backhoe. We also went to go make friends with the neighbors, but none of the kids were home. Hopefully, soon, we will be able to catch them.

Zion loved seeing bananas growing on trees! He couldn't get over it. He also got a kick out of picking coffee off of some of the trees. Tomorrow, we may have to go pick some oranges.

Grocery Shopping

There has been a protest going on between the Indigenous people and the government. To make a long story very short, the government has been allowing mining to happen on the land that belongs to the indigenous people. In protest, the people have been blocking the roads with trees and whatever else so that the highways are not passable. This has effected lots of things, including the fact that the trucks carrying fuel have not been able to get here to fill up the gas stations. As I mentioned before, there was a team of eye doctors doing surgery here last week. They bussed in a bunch of the people from the comarca (the land that belongs to the indigenous people) in order to do the surgeries on the people who need it most. They were supposed to have surgery, spend one night at the church, then take a bus back home. That was a week ago. They are still stuck at the church. Right when we thought it was getting better, they decided to block even more roads.

Today was the day that I went grocery shopping. Because of the protest, Romero, the grocery store looked a bit like WalMart right after a blizzard is predicted in the forecast. It was a madhouse! Zion and I weaved our way through the isles as I was trying to plan meals in my head. In the states, I have grocery shopping down to a science. I make my list in the order that I get the things in the store. Give me 30 minutes and I can have meals and food for a month. I may have to do my grocery shopping in the middle of the night from here on out, but I will get better at it.

Tomorrow we dive into the projects that await us on the church property.

A few prayer requests:

- That this protest ends peacefully for everyone involved, and that the people at the church can go home.

- The eyes of Jesus as we begin to invest in people and projects.

- (on a much smaller scale) That the dog next door to us would get hit by a car. It barks all night long...which makes for about 30 minutes of sleep for Nate and I.

Moving Day

Today was the day. We moved into our home and began to get settled for the next three months. We unpacked all of the stuff that we sent down on the trailer (which happened to get rolled while being unloaded off the truck...lots of smashed stuff - good thing it's just stuff). It was a bit like Christmas as we had forgotten a lot of the things we had packed back in October. The house is starting to look a bit like a home, rather than a dorm. Zion loves his new room. I am especially excited about being in our home and getting on some kind of routine.
We are blessed. We have always had so much to be thankful for. Our boys, especially have just been blowing us away. Zion has been so much fun and incredibly well behaved (lots of "please" and "thank you's"). Ezra has been passed around and loved on by so many people. Today, the women at the church decided that he looks like a plastic doll (I'm assuming becuase of his white, smooth skin). I was also made aware of how great Nate and I work together. We are a good team. :) The move and unpacking were actually really enjoyable.
Please pray that as we are getting our land legs in Boquete, we are aware of what God wants us to do, and where he wants us to invest our time. We are so aware, as we have slowed down to think, that this is only possible because of the prayer and support that you all have lavished on us. THANK YOU.

Our new home

We made it! After a full day of travelling, we made it to Boquete, Panama around 7 p.m. The boys travelled WONDERFULLY. Thanks for the prayers! Zion took a great nap on the plane and Ezra was just awesome. I'm not sure if Zion enjoyed the plane ride or the taxi ride more! We have had a nice relaxing and rest as we catch up from the travelling.

Our home is currently occupied by a team of eye doctors who have done over 100 eye surgeries in the clinic. We move in tomorrow and in the meantime have been staying with my grandparents. It has been so nice to see them and spend some time at their house.

We will be updating soon, but wanted to let everyone know that we are here!

Testing, testing...

Early tomorrow morning we will be on an airplane headed for Panama. We are ready. Everything in our home is squished into Ezra's room (this process was a bit more emotional than I anticipated). The snacks for the plane are packed and ready to be snarfed by a hungry two year old. Our passports are sitting out, along with our itinerary. The ipods are loaded with music. All of our hand-me-downs that we were blessed to have have been shipped and are waiting in our Panamanian home.

Not only are we physically ready, but we are mentally ready. We have witnessed God's provision more over the last few months as we have been preparing than we have throughout our entire marriage. God is good. Do you know that? He is. We have seen major medical bills completely forgiven, been to doctor appointments where the person seeing us has chosen not to charge at all and have received financial and prayer support from more people than we could have ever imagined. We have some amazing people living in our home and watching over it. Ezra was sick this past weekend and is now completely better. Thank you Jesus.

Tomorrow we begin a temporary new life (I guess, really, it's all temporary). We are so excited and a little nervous about what exactly it will look like. How will Ezra do on the plane? Will Zion make new friends? How will our marriage grow/change while we are away from some of our biggest cheerleaders and supporters?

Before I go to bed, I will leave you with two quotes that I read recently that have resonated in my heart:

"If one person sees the love of Christ in me, it is worth every minute. In fact, it is worth spending my life for."

"I am much more terrified of living a comfortable life in a self-serving society and failing to follow Jesus than I am of any illness or tragedy."

- Kisses from Katie

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