Well tonight we had a party for all who wanted to come. Sheila had Jack & I cook hot dogs. Little did we know that in Panama hot dogs not only come in a sealed 10 pack as they do in the US but they also are individually wrapped in plastic so thin you can’t see it. Well they cook up ok but don’t taste to good. And you know you have to let your guests go first. (cuz after all it may not taste good). Well we removed what we could and then cooked up a bunch of new ones.
See ya later
Wayne
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
More Pics from Kaiser/MLK Day -- Habitat Build
A few more pics of the great work that happened locally earlier this week. Thanks to Susan Brown for these photos.
A Message From Sheila Smith . . .
My Life in Panama
Our adventure in Panama began the first night with an unplanned tour of Panama. Apparantely, Walter had never been to one of the host homes and after driving for what seemed like days and three phone calls to the host family we arrived at our first drop off point. Walter, Wayne & I then proceeded to our host family but first made a much needed food run at 12:30am for Wayne & Walter. The trip continued with Walter driving down a one way street, into oncoming traffic all the while thinking the other fellow was on the wrong side as Wayne and I protested, "Walter, this is a one way street and you're on the wrong side." I thought I was going home to Jesus and I had not even seen Panama yet.
The work here is amazing...bible studies, English lessons, construction, cooking, eating, laughing. Rut is my driver and personal shopper and each day we do our grocery shopping...Rut can stretch a dollar a mile. Gertrue, having recovered from a very bad couple of days is a great asset for me in the my kitchen...yes, it's my kitchen...it's off limits to Dolores. My new friend is the large electric skillet that Mike found for me. We have had fried potatoes and fried spaghetti. Ernie is working a tight ship with the work crew. A few nights ago, after Wayne sat down with a plate of food, Ernie let the crew know the work was not done for the evening...it's so pathetic to see my husband walk away from a plate of food...he's wasting away to nothing. Lynn has been a hoot. He is a work mule like Ernie and Wayne and loves to slop wet cement on anyone within a 10 foot radious.
And right now, as I type this message, I hold a beautiful 2 month sleeping baby...is God good or what!? I praise Him for this opportunity, for the beauty of this country, for the cooler than normal weather, for the people so kind you feel like you've known them forever and for this team of family and my DP family back home.
Our adventure in Panama began the first night with an unplanned tour of Panama. Apparantely, Walter had never been to one of the host homes and after driving for what seemed like days and three phone calls to the host family we arrived at our first drop off point. Walter, Wayne & I then proceeded to our host family but first made a much needed food run at 12:30am for Wayne & Walter. The trip continued with Walter driving down a one way street, into oncoming traffic all the while thinking the other fellow was on the wrong side as Wayne and I protested, "Walter, this is a one way street and you're on the wrong side." I thought I was going home to Jesus and I had not even seen Panama yet.
The work here is amazing...bible studies, English lessons, construction, cooking, eating, laughing. Rut is my driver and personal shopper and each day we do our grocery shopping...Rut can stretch a dollar a mile. Gertrue, having recovered from a very bad couple of days is a great asset for me in the my kitchen...yes, it's my kitchen...it's off limits to Dolores. My new friend is the large electric skillet that Mike found for me. We have had fried potatoes and fried spaghetti. Ernie is working a tight ship with the work crew. A few nights ago, after Wayne sat down with a plate of food, Ernie let the crew know the work was not done for the evening...it's so pathetic to see my husband walk away from a plate of food...he's wasting away to nothing. Lynn has been a hoot. He is a work mule like Ernie and Wayne and loves to slop wet cement on anyone within a 10 foot radious.
And right now, as I type this message, I hold a beautiful 2 month sleeping baby...is God good or what!? I praise Him for this opportunity, for the beauty of this country, for the cooler than normal weather, for the people so kind you feel like you've known them forever and for this team of family and my DP family back home.
A Message from Talyor . . .
As adults we all go through the mixed emotions of watching our children head off to college or move some distance away. I think the four teachers (workers) have very similar feelings today as it is the last day we spend with our students (readers).We haven’t had the years to bond with them, however, a mere ten days has been enough to make it tough to say goodbye. I believe the feelings are mutual by listening to some our readers as they express the same. We hope the friendships we have started will yield the fruit we hoped for when this endeavor started.
here is a message from one of Taylor's students
Hello
Yes I am. Thank for the time you and Taylor spent teaching me. I really apreciate the biblie and everthing you share with me to contribute God s will.
i would like to help others like you, I really think that God has a plan in our life
Bless
Maritza
here is a message from one of Taylor's students
Hello
Yes I am. Thank for the time you and Taylor spent teaching me. I really apreciate the biblie and everthing you share with me to contribute God s will.
i would like to help others like you, I really think that God has a plan in our life
Bless
Maritza
Divine Appointments . . . by Mike Crowley
We are continuing to meet with our different students each day. With each new lesson from the Word of God our exploration goes a little deeper into matters of faith. We have a large white board where we keep track of all of our appointments for each teacher and reader. We have begun calling this schedule board our “Divine Appointments.” It has become so clear to us that God is moving in incredible ways here in Panama. It is obvious that He has been preparing us to share His Word and preparing others to receive. For example, Taylor’s 10am reader named Itza told her today how she came to read with us. Itza told us that she has never read or even picked up the paper her entire life. Yet for “some reason” she picked up the paper a few weeks ago the day that Walter placed an ad in it for the LST program. She signed up with some reservations. She went on to tell Taylor that she had recently paid $1400 for an English course only the have the instructor disappear after only three lessons with everyone’s money. No wonder Edwin was so skeptical at first! Terry is reading with Maritza. Maritza told us that she came to read the Bible with us because she believes she is “supposed to be here.”
Today I had the blessing to read a passage from Luke with Edwin. As we were discussing the four different kinds of soil in Luke 8:4-15, he read the question in our material that asks, “Did you find youself in this story?” He said he did, that he was the rocky soil. He continued to say that he has let too many things distract him from Jesus. After a thrilling, deep conversation in a blend of his broken English and my pathetic Spanish, he asked me about opportunities to continue his reading. As I talked about Walter following up with him, he told me that while he has been enjoying reading English, talking about Jesus has meant even more to him! Can you believe it? This was our greatest skeptic, not only is he now our greatest recruiter, he is quickly becoming the greatest prospect!! What else can I say…… ??
Thursday, January 22, 2009
A message from Wayne
Hello All
Its 8:46p.m. on day #4, we just finished having church. We had the pleasure of hearing Jack Hairston speak with Walter translating for his church family. Walter ask Jack to speak and to keep it short so we could get back to the homes that we stay in and get to bed because we all have to get up early. Well as you all know if you ask Jack to keep it short believe me he will, He had a point, he got to his point and he was done in around 5 min. Well at that point Walter did not know just what to do with the remaining 30 min he needed to use up, so we had a short question & answer section and it all turned out good, (as it always does when you involve GOD).
The work here is going very good, Each team member has found his or her talent, Ernie is great at spotting talent. Lin Clasby is great to work with he’s like a old farm boy that is used to hard work in hot conditions for very long hours, and not reaching your goal is out of the question.
But the person that I’m most impressed with is Rut, she is like a machine Mike does not even try to keep up her, in fact none of us do.
Well I have to go now its time for Walter to take Sheila & I to Betty’s house for the night, Its around a 30 to 45 min drive and Walter just stays there for the night because the traffic is so bad in the morning it would take him 1 hour just to get to her house. I cant remember the last time that I could not wait to get to bed, its very hard to work here due to the weather but GOD is so good. Starting the first work day its been cool and cloudy (well cool to the people that live here)in fact we were told today as it started to rain at 85 that we would have to come in or we may get sick ? I said get sick, we have been praying for this.
We miss & love all of you
Wayne & Sheila
Its 8:46p.m. on day #4, we just finished having church. We had the pleasure of hearing Jack Hairston speak with Walter translating for his church family. Walter ask Jack to speak and to keep it short so we could get back to the homes that we stay in and get to bed because we all have to get up early. Well as you all know if you ask Jack to keep it short believe me he will, He had a point, he got to his point and he was done in around 5 min. Well at that point Walter did not know just what to do with the remaining 30 min he needed to use up, so we had a short question & answer section and it all turned out good, (as it always does when you involve GOD).
The work here is going very good, Each team member has found his or her talent, Ernie is great at spotting talent. Lin Clasby is great to work with he’s like a old farm boy that is used to hard work in hot conditions for very long hours, and not reaching your goal is out of the question.
But the person that I’m most impressed with is Rut, she is like a machine Mike does not even try to keep up her, in fact none of us do.
Well I have to go now its time for Walter to take Sheila & I to Betty’s house for the night, Its around a 30 to 45 min drive and Walter just stays there for the night because the traffic is so bad in the morning it would take him 1 hour just to get to her house. I cant remember the last time that I could not wait to get to bed, its very hard to work here due to the weather but GOD is so good. Starting the first work day its been cool and cloudy (well cool to the people that live here)in fact we were told today as it started to rain at 85 that we would have to come in or we may get sick ? I said get sick, we have been praying for this.
We miss & love all of you
Wayne & Sheila
A message from Ernie Yoshino . . .
January 22, 2009
Greetings from Panama. As part of the work crew we started immediately on Tuesday morning even though we didn’t get to bed till midnight after having gotten up a one in the morning Monday so that we could get to SF to catch a 6:00AM flight. We arrived in Panama at 10:00pm their time (EST). Walter, Mike and Jack greeted us.
Work had already begun, with all the materials here – blocks, sand, gravel, cement. Lyn was upset that they didn’t have a mixer, we had to mix all the ingredients on the carport and then we mixed it in a old wheel barrel that could hardly stay up right, so we sent Walter to buy us a new one. The locals mix their concrete on theground with the water right on the concrete driveway. We hauled the mixture to the backyard and used a hoe to mix in the wheel barrel then shovel it into the footings.
Once we laid a thin (4”) thick x 12” wide pad (footing) and once it was set up we then laid 6” wide concrete blocks. Then we filled them with concrete, then add another row of blocks, fill them with concrete and then we use 4” blocks for the fence. So far we are getting ready to start the 4” thick blocks. Which is right at ground level. All the work so far has been below ground, which is killing our backs.
Weather has been great, cloud cover to keep the hot sun off us. In the late afternoons there is a cool breeze which we can’t wait for it to come. Sheila has been cooking for us (great food) so we haven’t tried Mike’s spam yet.
Days are exhausting, but rewarding for the work that’s been doing by the work crew and especially by the “Let’s start Talking” group, there are 4 sessions going on in different parts of the house, inside and out. People are so excited about reading English and especially about Jesus.
Continue to pray for the group here and for the same type of weather we have been having. During cancellations we have put Mike to work. (see pictures)
Ernie Yoshino
Greetings from Panama. As part of the work crew we started immediately on Tuesday morning even though we didn’t get to bed till midnight after having gotten up a one in the morning Monday so that we could get to SF to catch a 6:00AM flight. We arrived in Panama at 10:00pm their time (EST). Walter, Mike and Jack greeted us.
Work had already begun, with all the materials here – blocks, sand, gravel, cement. Lyn was upset that they didn’t have a mixer, we had to mix all the ingredients on the carport and then we mixed it in a old wheel barrel that could hardly stay up right, so we sent Walter to buy us a new one. The locals mix their concrete on theground with the water right on the concrete driveway. We hauled the mixture to the backyard and used a hoe to mix in the wheel barrel then shovel it into the footings.
Once we laid a thin (4”) thick x 12” wide pad (footing) and once it was set up we then laid 6” wide concrete blocks. Then we filled them with concrete, then add another row of blocks, fill them with concrete and then we use 4” blocks for the fence. So far we are getting ready to start the 4” thick blocks. Which is right at ground level. All the work so far has been below ground, which is killing our backs.
Weather has been great, cloud cover to keep the hot sun off us. In the late afternoons there is a cool breeze which we can’t wait for it to come. Sheila has been cooking for us (great food) so we haven’t tried Mike’s spam yet.
Days are exhausting, but rewarding for the work that’s been doing by the work crew and especially by the “Let’s start Talking” group, there are 4 sessions going on in different parts of the house, inside and out. People are so excited about reading English and especially about Jesus.
Continue to pray for the group here and for the same type of weather we have been having. During cancellations we have put Mike to work. (see pictures)
Ernie Yoshino
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
A Message from (Panama)Jack Hairston . . .
Impressions of Panama
Panama City cannot be Damascus, Syria, because there is no street called Straight. The streets follow watercourses, and run around any unevenness, rather than the straight and level cut-and-fill that I am used to. During morning rush hour, counter-commute traffic is as terrifying as commute traffic. Instead of two lanes in each direction, it becomes three in the busy direction and one lane in the other. Each direction is as crowded as the other, with no passing in the single lane. The surface of most streets was constructed by that French contractor, Mssr. deTour—very rough.
We are all immersed in Spanish day and night. Our speech rhythms will be ruined for weeks after we return home. Hearers will think we are talking down because we speak so slowly and distinctly. We are so used to acting out each word for non-English speakers that it is dangerous to stand too close while we are talking. I will have to sit on my hands for the first week after returning. Last night all my dreams were in Spanish—didn’t understand a word. Here, it does not matter, because everyone is both friendly, and too polite to point out errors in our pidgin Spanish. Well, some errors are so funny (or embarrassing) that the hearer cannot stifle a laugh.
The English readings are all taken from the Bible. Every day we discuss how we plan to explain unusual words in the next lesson, and in the process we have many disagreements about vocabulary. As a result, we spend several man hours daily gaining new insights into stories we thought we knew well.
Panama City cannot be Damascus, Syria, because there is no street called Straight. The streets follow watercourses, and run around any unevenness, rather than the straight and level cut-and-fill that I am used to. During morning rush hour, counter-commute traffic is as terrifying as commute traffic. Instead of two lanes in each direction, it becomes three in the busy direction and one lane in the other. Each direction is as crowded as the other, with no passing in the single lane. The surface of most streets was constructed by that French contractor, Mssr. deTour—very rough.
We are all immersed in Spanish day and night. Our speech rhythms will be ruined for weeks after we return home. Hearers will think we are talking down because we speak so slowly and distinctly. We are so used to acting out each word for non-English speakers that it is dangerous to stand too close while we are talking. I will have to sit on my hands for the first week after returning. Last night all my dreams were in Spanish—didn’t understand a word. Here, it does not matter, because everyone is both friendly, and too polite to point out errors in our pidgin Spanish. Well, some errors are so funny (or embarrassing) that the hearer cannot stifle a laugh.
The English readings are all taken from the Bible. Every day we discuss how we plan to explain unusual words in the next lesson, and in the process we have many disagreements about vocabulary. As a result, we spend several man hours daily gaining new insights into stories we thought we knew well.
They're Here . . . .
They’re here!
The rest of our team arrived late Monday night, finally getting to bed by 1am. Our hard working folks hit the ground running working a long day in the tropical heat without the benefit of a good night’s rest. Great spirits continued through the day as the reading team continued to work with their readers and the construction crew worked at digging footings, hand mixing cement in wheelbarrows, and pouring new footings. Walter’s house is a crowed, chaotic, wonderful hub of all kinds of activities. I am happy to report that Shelia and Gertrue have successfully invaded the kitchen. The bad news is that we are now two days SPAM free, already we have the shakes… perhaps we can sneak out and get some SPAM. We continue to ask for your prayers for the work here and the people we are touching.
Mike Crowley
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
MLK Kaiser Lunch Project. . .
The feeding project went wonderfully yesterday. 300 + volunteers from Kaiser and various other organizations were fed lunch yesterday by 25 great volunteers from the Community Response Team. The Beans and Potatoes were nice and hot, plus tastey. A lot of hard work to make sure these volunteers had a good hot meal. It was a great day and a lot of fun. Thank you to all the volunteers that made the day a success.
Second Team Arrives in Panama Safely . . .
Here's the picture of the second Team arriving at the airport to make their way to Panama.
Monday, January 19, 2009
.jpg)
.jpg)
News from Panama . . .
The Warden
We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the rest of our team. Lord willing we shoud be re-united tonight at about 10:30pm tonight at the airport to cheer their arrival. Already we veterans have some words of advice for the new arrivals to experience a smooth transition to tropical living. First of all, it is very important that you make friends with the Warden. Our first Monday here in Panama we discovered that Walter is the Warden of the house. I got up early to attempt to go for a run before the temperature rises to the typical suffocating humidity. As dawn was breaking, I prepared everything I needed for my trial run, “wick away clothing,” proper shoes, extra water etc. The other thing I was missing was a loud horn to blend into the typical Panamanian traffic, maybe next time. So… I was ready to embark. However, I discovered that each door is double dead bolted, each with their own individual key. The most important thing was that these deadbolts are key access only, whether from the outside or the inside. So there I was, already dressed up and ready to run, but no way to get out of the house! Bars secure the windows, steel double dead bolted doors, this place was locked up like a prison! Rather than wake Walter and Delores I just decided to pass on the run. With nothing else to do, Jack and I brewed some coffee in preparation for breakfast. By this time Terry and Taylor walked up to the door from the house where they are staying each night. Jack and I started laughing as we could not yet open the door, Walter was singing away in the shower! What could we do??? We opened the side windows by the door and handed them coffee to drink while we waited for Walter’s aquatic concert to end. So there was Terry and Taylor, sitting on the front steps drinking coffee while we visited with them through the iron bars of the window. Who knows, if we are especially well behaved, the Warden may let us out early!
Mike Crowley
Habitat For Humanity, MLK Day celebration and build
Today the Community Response Team is teaming with HFH to feed the 300+ volunteers at the Hope Village work site. Hope Village will eventually be home for 20 families in South Modesto. The taters are wrapped and ready to placed in the oven. The supplies are all purchased. We will hook up the trailer and leave within the hour. Whether its Modesto or Panama God will be served today by Davis Park. Pray for the team of individuals who are on their way to Panama today.
Grace and Peace,
Buddy
Grace and Peace,
Buddy
Saturday, January 17, 2009
God can do anything . . . Report from Mike Crowley, 1-17-2009
“God Can Do Anything”
As many of you know, we are in Panama City, Panama in a neighborhood called Brisas de Golf to assist our missionary, Walter Leonard, in reaching out to the lost in Panama. The approach that we are using is providing free opportunities for Panamanians to practice their conversational English skills. We are using “Let’s Start Talking” or LST materials which have selected passages from an easy to read version of the Gospel of Luke. Our task is to help bring out the theme, or “seed thought” in each lesson. The main “seed thought” for the entire series is “God Can Do Anything!” We have seen this truth displayed powerfully every day here in Panama! For example…
One of my early readers is a man named Edwin Garcia. The first day he was very skeptical of our program. He questioned Taylor is Spanish very intensely, continuing to ask if the program was really for free or if there was a “catch.” He left very skeptical and I honestly thought he would not return. To my absolute amazement he returned the next day, after leaving me on pins and needles by being about 20 minutes late. The next two days saw incredible discussions of infant baptism, and self-flagellation. By Friday I was opening my Bible and we were exploring English verses together!
Edwin brought his wife and children to our Friday night fellowship. Our party went well, providing many bridge building opportunities between us and our new friends, there’s nothing like a spirited game of bi-lingual Pictionary to create a lot of fun and laughter! After the clean up the entire team sat down with a fulfilling sense of exhausted contentment. Walter began to tell us an amazing story. It seems that Edwin has a degree in Psychology and Law. He has put his education to use by creating and leading a preschool with 6 teachers and about 45 students, including a summer program and after school daycare. He talked to Walter in an animated way as he explained that he was so excited about what he has been learning that next time we come, he wants us to use his school facilities for free! Air-conditioning, YES !! He has been telling his teachers and all the parents about the program. In fact, he invited one of the parents to our next course while he was giving us a tour of the facilities today! We immediately stopped last night upon hearing this news and bowed our heads in prayer in amazement and thanksgiving. God turned our greatest skeptic into our greatest recruiter. God Can Do Anything!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
