Mike get’s pulled over again!
My multi-cultural education is progressing nicely. Today I was driving a van load of Panamanians home after church while talking to Terry on a local cell phone. Terry and Jaclyn are till trying to get home! About an hour after take-off, the plane had to turn back to Panama because the crew starting smelling smoke. Where there is smoke... They have been stranded most of the day in Panama, until finally being able to leave for Miama at about 5pm, a little later than their original 7am flight. They will be arriving sometime tomorrow evening, Lord willing. Because of all this turmoil, Terry and I were updating each other and trying to decide if they would wait it out at the airport and whether I would pick them up for a while. So, here I am having this conversation while threading my way through Panamanian traffic when a policeman that was standing on the median, armed to the teeth, walks through the traffic and stops me, right in the middle of a crazy traffic circle! Suddenly, everyone starts telling me in the van that you cannot talk on the cell phone while driving, at least not while the police is looking. Great, now you tell me...! So, I have to open the door because the magic spoon is holding the window up, then try to talk my way out of a $75 ticket! Traffic is honking and pouring around us like the surf pounding against a rock. Was I worried? No way, I just did what I do best, look completely blank and clueless... After a pretty good lecture and much finger wagging, I was finally allowed to go. I am thinking of becoming a Panamanian taxi driver, or maybe a tour guide, I seem to have the talent.
We were blessed to worship with the Metropolitan church of Christ as it is now called. The bi-lingual service was so uplifting as we sang with about 65 of our Panamanian brothers and sisters. Though hurting with the loss of Walter, the church seems to be looking to God and growing. The church is meeting in the high school where the first team, Terry, Taylor, Sarah, and Jaclyn taught English lessons.
Team two met tonight with everyone interested in taking English lessons using the Bible. We got slammed! So far we have 48 conversational students and 35 beginning students. Lynn is really going to have the opportunity to use her ESL gifts and experience! Our teaching schedule will be from 9am to 11am with the lawyers in their law office downtown that we met last Thursday. Then we will hustle back to the Brisas area and teach classes from 1pm to 10pm, Monday through Friday. So many people showed up and really wanted to participate that we have doubled up on students, scheduled readers during our supper break, and anything else we can think of. Please pray for our stamina and attitudes as we begin this rigorous schedule. I am already planning the mother of all naps Saturday! More updates to come as our work begins!
Mike
Monday, August 17, 2009
Wow, It's Hot. update from Team #2
Wow, its hot!
Yesterday was an incredible day. We tagged along with the missionary, Raul, and looked at several commercial properties for a possible future site for the church plant. While we were asking questions, we looked at several houses in the Brisas area to get an idea of the going rate. We pulled up to the last house got quite a surprise, it seems we were expected! When Raul got out of the car, the owner came out of the house and asked, “Who sent you?” Raul said, “God sent us.” The owner began to cry and invite us into her house. That morning she had imagined her living room filled with people praying and praising God so she spent the morning asking God to send someone to her. When Raul told them about the Richardson’s and their interest in moving to Panama to help with the mission work, she started crying and telling us about her prayers that morning. Pretty soon there wasn’t a dry eye in the house; in fact, I must have gotten something in my eye as it started to water just a little bit! Over and over we see God moving powerfully here. I still don’t understand His choice in calling our brother Walter home, he has left a huge hole here in Panama, but it is clear that God is doing something big!
Terry and I started our day with a run through the muggy weather. We “randomly” decided to run a certain way and what happened? We ran straight into one of the people I was praying to meet to be able to have an important conversation! That schedule left Terry and I behind while the rest of the group enjoyed some of the sights in Panama city. In a few hours, the skies cleared, the sun came out, and all the water that was on the ground from the thunderstorm the night before started to go back up into the air. It became incredibly hot and humid. As Terry and I sat sweltering in a house without air conditioning or fans, he suddenly had a brilliant idea. “Let’s go to the internet cafe!” So we jumped up and walked down to the corner market that has a room set aside for computers and internet access. We each gladly paid a dollar to sit in the blessed air conditioning for an hour. We ended up sitting there drinking cold water and cooling off for two hours!
The group had a great time seeing new things and Terry and I had the blessing to talk and pray with a hurting soul for a couple of hours.
Mike
Yesterday was an incredible day. We tagged along with the missionary, Raul, and looked at several commercial properties for a possible future site for the church plant. While we were asking questions, we looked at several houses in the Brisas area to get an idea of the going rate. We pulled up to the last house got quite a surprise, it seems we were expected! When Raul got out of the car, the owner came out of the house and asked, “Who sent you?” Raul said, “God sent us.” The owner began to cry and invite us into her house. That morning she had imagined her living room filled with people praying and praising God so she spent the morning asking God to send someone to her. When Raul told them about the Richardson’s and their interest in moving to Panama to help with the mission work, she started crying and telling us about her prayers that morning. Pretty soon there wasn’t a dry eye in the house; in fact, I must have gotten something in my eye as it started to water just a little bit! Over and over we see God moving powerfully here. I still don’t understand His choice in calling our brother Walter home, he has left a huge hole here in Panama, but it is clear that God is doing something big!
Terry and I started our day with a run through the muggy weather. We “randomly” decided to run a certain way and what happened? We ran straight into one of the people I was praying to meet to be able to have an important conversation! That schedule left Terry and I behind while the rest of the group enjoyed some of the sights in Panama city. In a few hours, the skies cleared, the sun came out, and all the water that was on the ground from the thunderstorm the night before started to go back up into the air. It became incredibly hot and humid. As Terry and I sat sweltering in a house without air conditioning or fans, he suddenly had a brilliant idea. “Let’s go to the internet cafe!” So we jumped up and walked down to the corner market that has a room set aside for computers and internet access. We each gladly paid a dollar to sit in the blessed air conditioning for an hour. We ended up sitting there drinking cold water and cooling off for two hours!
The group had a great time seeing new things and Terry and I had the blessing to talk and pray with a hurting soul for a couple of hours.
Mike
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