The Many Faces of Panama

The Many Faces of Panama . . .

Raul Alvarado says that Panama is often described as a country with many faces. We have certainly been experiencing that blessing. We continue to be amazed by the differences that we experience every day. An earlier post on the blog included some pictures from an interior province called Darien. Raul and I drove about three hours east last Thursday to join our fellow Christians in an evangelistic campaign among the Kuna Indians. This indigenous tribe is known for their very small stature and brightly colored clothes. You can see from the pics that they leave in grass thatched huts with bare dirt floors and simple board siding if they have walls at all. You can also see a pic of a baby sleeping in a hammock, this is the common bed, chair, and resting place for the Kuna. The Kuna’s do not name their girls with an official name until they are twelve years old, then they receive their adult name, marking their availability for marriage. Most Kuna girls are married by the age of fourteen. We assembled in a small block building with a stand off metal roof to sing praises to God and hear His word is both Spanish and Kuni. Next time Raul said he wants me to preach in English, he’ll translate into Spanish, and the Kuna preacher will translate into Kuni. Can you imagine?! What an Acts 2 experience that would be! As we gathered there were about 15 North Americans, about 25 Spanish speaking Panamanians, and about 30 Kuna Indians. It was amazing to leave the modern city of Panama and drive into the rainforest jungle in only about three hours.

In the same kind of way, every day we drive into the central part of Panama city and walk into one of the most modern buildings I have ever been in. Men and women bustle by in their business suits, stopping at the café for a cup of latte or perhaps a mocha. After our morning sessions, we travel across the city to the suburbs where we meet with our readers from a middle class area. Each part of Panama has its own unique face. The one thing we continue to find from place to place is an openness and friendliness toward us. We haven’t witnessed any hostility or disdain from any Panamanians, only gentle curiosity.

We have been blessed with beautiful weather. The mornings generally start with a clear sky. As the day wears on toward the early afternoon, the heat begins to build. Just about the time it is getting uncomfortable, a massive thunderstorm forms, darkening the sky, bringing a driving downpour and cooling off the air. The rest of the day remains mild as a gentle breeze keeps the air cool and fresh. Most nights lightening flickers across the sky, muted thunder rolls across the city and the breeze allows us to rest comfortably.

Last week we were meeting with our readers when the mosquito truck drove by, filling the school and our lungs with an especially potent bug spray. We shouldn’t have any mosquitoes in our lungs now! As I am sipping on my sixth cup of coffee for the day, with four more one hour reading slots to go, I am reflecting on our Friday night classes last week. We had just gotten into our sessions when suddenly the power in the entire neighborhood went completely out. My reader, Maritza, and I had just began to talk about baptism! As the deep tropical darkness settled over us, she began to express her fear of the dark! I pulled out my cell phone and we continued the lesson by the light of our cell phones. I checked down the hall and the entire team was doing the exact same thing! God’s Word cannot be stopped! Edwin arrived after about thirty minutes and brought candles, allowing us to have our last two sessions by candlelight. As Edwin placed a candle on our table, Maritza exclaimed, “We are people of the light!”

I am making seriously progress in becoming bilingual! With our daily commute into the bowels of downtown, I am becoming fluent in “hornspeak.” The most critical piece of equipment in your vehicle is the horn. In fact, this communication device is so important that Walter’s van has had an auxiliary horn installed to replace the original that has apparently quit working due to overuse. His van is American made after all! Let me show you some of my phrase book notes… Suppose you want to say “hello.” Easy, you just give a little “beep-beep”. How do you say, “looking good babe?” No problem, just tap a little “bee-de-bee-beep.” How about the urgent, “Get out of the way you big, sad waste of space!” That’s more the international “HHHOOOOOOOOONNNK!” Then there’s the obligatory “I’m here, don’t run over me” with a simple “honk.” Do you want to pick up a friend from their house without getting out of the car? Just a “Honkity-honk.” If this sounds complicated, don’t sweat it, Jim picked it up on his first try. He drove over to pick me up and laid on the horn, causing everyone to run outside in the neighborhood and look anxiously into the sky, perhaps a bit “Gabriel-ish” but effective nonetheless. Finally there is the general “I’m frustrated and just want to vent my impatience from about thirty cars back” with a “honk-bee-hooooonk.”

As I close out this update, let me just say that Libby has been a real trooper. Today she selflessly took a couple of my readers to allow me to rest, what an awesome servant! May God be praised for this next generation that loves the Lord!

Mike

News From Terry Hoffman

Sunday August 16th

I am writing this on a blank page in the back of my bible, on the plane from Panama City to Miami. It is 6:00 PM Panama time. We were supposed to be almost to San Francisco by this time. Jaclyn and I will have to spend the night either in the Miami airport or a hotel as all flights to the west have long since departed. We left on time this morning only to have the plane return to Panama due to the smell of smoke in the rear of the cabin. It took 9 hours to determine what happened, fix it reload us and our baggage and get us on our way again. It amazes us to see how a mission trip can make a day as stressful as this one, an almost fun experience. We talked to people and laughed, we marveled at the patience of three year old children stuck 10 hours with only crayons. One girl about 10 passed the time by reading a “Lets Start Talking” workbook we gave her while standing in line. Her father could not believe we would teach English for free, using our own time and money to get here. He took my number because an associate of his needs English teachers to train the staff of the Panama canal expansion. I pray that he will contact me so I can pass it on to the Richardson’s. Jaclyn has been a blessing to travel with. She is patient and mature beyond her years and considers not knowing when we will make it home an adventure. We all forget so easily how precious life is and do not take the time to stop or even slow down to see how God is working all around us. We both wished Taylor and Sarah were with us to share in the adventure.

Tuesday August 25th

Now that I have been home for a while (not a long while because T and I went to Mississippi and Colorado) I have had some time to reflect on Panama again. There is so much opportunity for us to reach people in every walk of life. I miss the fellowship of morning devotion, the excitement in Sarah and Jaclyn’s voices when they talk about their day. I miss how Taylor seems to attract everyone to her when they discover she can speak Spanish. The teachers in the school could not stop talking to her. I even miss the time spent with Mike. We had lots of time to talk, which as everyone knows is rare in Modesto with so much going on. I hope he learned a little something from me, because I learned a whole lot from him. I know team two is having a really busy time, and I wish that Taylor and I could be there to help and share in the reward God will provide for their efforts. We are praying for team two’s safe passage home, that God will grant peace and comfort to the Leonard family, and that God will allow us the opportunity to return to Panama soon.

Terry and Taylor Hoffman