Scott and Amber David, Panama

A Weekend Back in Bocas Plus Other Events

2012-01-21T19:53:00.000-08:00

We ended the old year and began a new one with the assembly in El Espino near Panama City. We are still using the assembly hall there at the Branch since the property hasn't been sold yet.

The friends that live in the area of the assembly hall volunteer their homes for all of us who travel far to stay with them. Scott and I stayed with a young single brother who had an extra bedroom and bath in his apartment. Scott stayed on with him for a week after the assembly to attend the elders school.

Five baptism canidates. Three of which were from Changinola. In the last year, seven new publishers in English are from Changinola.

The boys have grown in the year since we left Bocas. Here is Connor, Riese, and Wes, with Sean Bones. Sean is from Hawaii and visits Bocas often to live and help out.

LAS LAJAS

We have great sunsets at Las Lajas beach. It's about an hour and a half drive from David. It is the Pacific Ocean. We really like this beach because the waves are gentle, which makes it is safe to swim and boogie board there.

In the evening when the sun is setting the hermit crabs find their way onto the beach. This one is trying to find out what is preventing him from his travels.

There are covered shelters all along the beach. However, they have been replacing the branches on the roofs for several weeks. They have not gotten very far so we didn't have shade. But we go to the beach in the afternoon and it's not too hot. We enjoy sitting in the sun anyway and then cooling off in the water.

The sunsets are amazing.

WEEKEND IN BOCAS
After having been away from Bocas for almost a year we went back for a weekend.

On the water taxi that takes you from the mainland, Almirante, to Bocas.

Although the sunsets in Bocas are not as vibrant as over in David, they still are beautiful.

The English congregation in Bocas had the CO's visit the weekend we were there. Here's the group photo after the meeting Saturday morning.

Ixa in her bicycle shop. There is more competition for bike rentals on the island but still she does well.

Ixa had a very large dog named Rex that was given to her as a puppy and he was her baby, we all loved him. Unfortunately he was hit by a taxi and died. So her brother, wanting to help her with her grief, gave her this poodle and now she is Ixa's new baby. Kitty is very famous on the island. Ixa takes her every where with her in a bag and on her bike.

Some of us got together Saturday night to say goodbye to our brother Don who has to go back to the states unexpectedly. He is the one at the end of the table in the gray shirt. He has been coming to Bocas for the past couple of years from Colorado.

We were fortunate enough to stay with friends from Canada that now live in Bocas. They live in a house that is next to Bluff beach. It's about a half hour drive along the muddy beach road to the jungle. Next to where they live is a small one room house that they use as a vacation rental for income. We got to stay in the house and it was wonderful. Here is Scott sitting on the deck of the house looking at the beautiful jungle view.

The house is surrounding by a deck. Here is the sink with running water. And there is a small cart for kitchen items.

View from the house. Three of the walls open so you can enjoy the ambiance.

Todd installed a toilet on the deck. There is a bathroom down the hill but who would want to go down there in the middle of the night?

The comfy bed. We light up the room at night with candles. No electricity.

The hammock is a great place to relax, sleep or read. Here I am waking up in the morning not wanting to go any where. It really makes you slow down when you are there. Nice.

An unusual flower I had never seen before.

This strange fruit stems from the same plant as the flower. It grows in clusters just straight up from the ground. Very Jurassic looking.

The house that the Sherman's live in. They are living in it without charge until it sells. They have cleaned and fixed it up so much. This house was shifted by a mud slide so they are hoping it doesn't sell and they can continue to live in it.

Todd airing up the tires. Two were flat in the morning when we tried to go into town. He has a handy air compressor that uses the battery power of the car.

Scott and I taking a picture before the meeting at the Sherman's house. The house is open to the jungle, we are in their living room and you can see there are no walls, only a ceiling.

Ixa insisted we ride her scooter all over town. She can't drive it until she gets her drivers license so she wanted us to and we loved it.

Here's Ixa and Kitty going on a bible study. I went with them. We took a boat taxi over to another island. Kitty knows exactly where the study is, as she walks along the path on her leash she turns on the correct path to the house and greets the householder. Then during the study she sits in Ixa's lap, very content. She is very popular where ever she goes with the bows in her hair and pink painted nails.

THE COTTRELL'S CASITA'S
The past year the Cottrell's have been building two casitas on the property next to their house. They rent out these very lovely rooms to vacationers.

The entrance

The grill area that is shared by both rooms.

Looking back at the entrance. The pool is between the rooms and shared by both casitas.

Scott and Steve

View of one of the casitas. They were both occupied but they are one bedroom with a bath and a small kitchen area and tv with a couch. To the left is the beach. They are very close to the water.

Me and my buddy Riese, I bought him this shirt when I was in the states.

After a great evening spent with the Cottrell's playing football on the beach and going out to eat they drove us back to our little house in the jungle and got a tour. Quick tour. But the fun part was hiking up the muddy hill to the house in the dark.

Unfortunately we had to return to David after only two days. We took Ixa with us so she could do a driving course and get her license.

We had a great lunch at a place Ixa knew in Almirante. She was born and raised there so she knows the place well.

We stopped and checked out the progress on the kingdom hall build in Almirante. This project will take about three months to complete. There are about twenty volunteers that travel around Panama doing the builds.

Inside the hall.

A couple of the brothers in charge of the project with Cheryl, me, and Ixa.

The ride home was nice and relaxing. I drove half way and everyone in the car feel asleep including Tookey and Ixa's dog Kitty. Tookey will be with us a few months while the couple who usually look after him are in the states. He'll go back to the island right about the time we need to go back to the states to work this spring.

So that was a few highlights of what has been going on with us. The trip to the island was so enjoyable and refreshing. It was good to visit old friends and return to our first home in Panama.

The Ministry and English Group in David

2011-12-26T08:32:00.000-08:00

When we left David in April we had four publishers in the English group. We had many friends from Spanish helping out too. Now we have come back to a great, big group. We have, I think, fifteen publishers now. The Spanish friends are mostly going to only there own meetings now, the brothers said they must choose one or the other. So we are all from the states. Us Woodall's from Wisconsin, The Dansler's from Michigan, The three Boyd's from Kentucky, Desiree from Panama, Angel from Arizona, The Gombale's from North Carolina, The Walkers from Wyoming, Roger Elder from Oklahoma. Naomi from FL. Hope I didn't miss anyone. We have a family of four from Florida but they moved to a different town last weekend. There is a couple from North Dakota who are here for six months. They just arrived last week. Also, a single sis from AZ I haven't met yet. We also had our C.O. visit last week. What a busy week of meeting's and eating. :)
Our C.O. and wife are from the states but became C.O. when they moved to Mexico nine years ago so the Mexico branch sent them here recently. They are the Klien's, Larry and Provy. From Arizona too, hmm.

Paul, Scott, and Curtis.

Not all can be glamour shots... We walk the territory a lot and use our umbrellas to keep us cooler.

We are doing a searching for English speakers in the territory in and around David. Here's my presentation: "Buenas Dias, estamos buscando las personas que hablan engles. Algiun en su casa?" (Hello, we are looking for people that speak English. Anyone in your house?) Then hope you understand what they say back to you.

Amber, Desiree, and Brian. We are standing under a huge grapefruit tree but you can't tell so I cropped it to show the important stuff, us. :)

Here's Desiree with her study Carolin. We studied in a park down town. We were nice and cool under the big trees there. It started raining later. Make sure you always have your umbrella! We had a lot of rain when we first arrived and for most of the month of December. Mostly it would rain in the afternoon. Then one day last week the clouds parted and we have SUN and beautiful, gorgeous, days around 80*. Wow, come for a visit any time.

Here's some of our group in the ministry. The family with the little ones are the ones that moved. They are the Lee's from FL. So we have Terri, Ileinne, Amber, Jade, Blake, Jesse, Baylin, and Sara.

I won't attempt to tell you who everyone is here. But not everyone is in our group. It was the CO visit and so we took a picture since it was so big. The CO and his wife aren't even in it. I think he was taking photos and so was one of the sisters father who was visiting from Louisiana.

Great group, future of English in Panama, secure. :)

November 25th, Return to David

2011-12-26T07:55:00.000-08:00

We've been in the states seven months and we have returned to Panama. We are now living in David in a two bedroom house and have a car. Things are a bit different from living on the island but we like it here too. Here's some photos of our return through Costa Rica. We decided to fly into San Jose and take the bus from there to David. Bus cost is about $37 each person. When we got to the border we took a taxi to our house for $35. It was worth it. Our bus air conditioning died at the beginning of our eight hour journey so it was very uncomfortable and hot. When the rain started and the windows fogged up I got claustrophobic and had to sit in the front of the bus by the open door. But we made it to David, put our car battery in our Honda Accord and it started right up. We washed off all the dirt and Scott went to the grocery store for some vittles. We had several days of late nights cleaning and organizing but all is settled now.

Hot on the bus. The funny thing is the driver and coworkers took out the belts for the fan and so we had NO air movement. Fine for the driver and helper, they were at the front with a door and a window. But behind them, where we were was completely closed in.

We had to cross the border from Costa Rica to Panama. First we check out of Costa Rica and then into Panama. Two bus loads at a time plus semi drivers and locals. It took two hours, at around 10pm we were headed home in a taxi that was about forty five minutes from the border.

Scott wanted me to remember how much fun it was to be on a hot, humid bus and wait in line for two hours. But somehow the agony melts away once you arrive at your destination, sleep, eat...

Why does he look so happy!?

Our yard was overgrown and the plants were twice the size than when we left in April.

These lovely flowers took over the corner. When we moved in the house in February they were just a few little ones that I nursed back to life. They are crowding my flowering bush now too.

This was our back yard. It was about four feet tall. Yikes! I don't want to find out what was living in there. But the lawn cutters came and we got it sorted out.

Crazy Banana

2011-07-04T07:52:00.000-07:00

I found this photo while checking my SIM card. I had forgotten about it. We were traveling from David to Panama City to move back to the states this summer and Scott bought a banana when we arrived at the Humansor's house.

Two in one!

Is Scott's mouth big enough? Yup.

Here's our dog Roy in David. He used to sleep under our car and would crawl out when we came out of the house to drive somewhere. Then he would crawl into the drainage tube in the ditch. It was his way of keeping cool. But one day he had a horrible infection in his face, it was swollen with blood coming out of his nose, so that is when I stepped in and started feeding him and got meds from the vet. Now as you see we left him in good enough health. I hear from the ladies staying in our house he still comes around for his food and he barks to warn of approaching strangers, which they like.

Another neighborhood dog. I haven't named her. She has pups somewhere and comes around for food on occasion. She needs training, she's still a pup herself. Look how thin she is. Sigh. It's a good thing for the paradise to come we will all take care of the animals they way Jehovah intended. In the meantime, they got me and others like me. Softies.

Our House in Madison

2011-07-04T07:36:00.000-07:00

We bought a travel trailer to live in while in Madison. Here it is.

This is our site and the trailer being parked the day we arrived in April the 23rd of this year. I can't believe it's only been two months we have been back. It seems longer...

Our bedroom. It has a queen bed and just enough space around the bed to walk around it then closet space.

Our living area. We are busy doing paperwork this morning so don't mind the lived in look.

The kitchen opposite the couch. The TV flips around so you can watch it in bed. That's our room through the door. Then the other door goes to outside.

Second bedroom makes a good office for Scott because of this table set up.

Then beds opposite his desk for company. There is also another bed above the table.

The bathroom sufficient space for what it is needed for.

That is our home. We really like it. It's great because we don't have to buy anything for decor or furniture. It would be nice to have in Panama too for the simplicity. But we have it in a mobile home trailer park and it's $450 a month for lot rent. In David we have a two bedroom house for $300. Even cheap here really isn't cheap anymore.

Convention in Green Bay Wisconsin, May 2011

2011-07-04T06:29:00.001-07:00

Scott and I have settled in a congregation in Madison which is simply called East. We have a congregation for each direction in Madison. We used to be in South. But we live in the territory for East and that is where we ended up. Our convention is in August this year but my parents and two of my brothers and their families went to the convention in May and so we attended the Sunday session. It was nice to see some people we haven't seen in years. I saw a great couple from my teen years in Milwaukee, Dave and Sue Spielvogel. It is good to see them still faithfully serving Jehovah with zeal. They were a great encouragement to my young mind and still are to my older mind now.
Here are some photos of our family at the convention.

Scott and I, Bob and Pat, Mike, Kim, Eli in the back.

All of us with my parents, Robert and Norma

Bob and Pat with our nephew Eli, Mike's kid.

Scott and I with unsuspecting Eli.

Me and Gail another friend from teen years. She was once a missionary in Bolivia and speaks Spanish well. She now lives in the same apartment building as my parents up in Shawano, WI.

So that's a few of the latest. Not much is going on in Wisconsin other than Scott working making gutters. He has been very busy with installing gutters on houses that had hail damage. We hope to save lots of funds for our return to Panama. It is still our goal to return to David and continue helping with the English group there. Until then we will keep busy and keep our life simple so we can return.

Our Stay In Wisconsin

2011-05-03T08:23:00.000-07:00

We recently decided we needed to come back to Wisconsin to work. Scott has been keeping his business going for two and a half years while living in Panama and let me tell you it has created a lot of stress for him. So, as a way to keep his sanity, and mine, we have come back to Wisconsin for seven months to work. Our plan is to return to Panama December 1st. We are living in a travel trailer that we bought. It is very nice with two bedrooms and sufficient living space. It has a slide out in the middle with the kitchen/living room/dining room. We are very comfortable and happy to have it set up. It took us just a few days to buy the dishes and food. We were shopping on a holiday weekend so were limited as to places we could look but we found all we needed and now have a little, comfortable home on wheels. Today I am going to visit my parents and older brother and his lovely wife. They live in Shawano, WI. I will drive up on my own, Scott is doing a big job on a hotel and will stay home. He is freezing and gets wind blown. He's been spoiled with hot weather and no working outside for a couple years but he's enjoying working and getting things done. That's what makes him happy, like most people.
We have not decided which congregation we will attend. We have a lot more choices than we did in David. The hall closest to us has three congregations in it. So far we've visited one. So, this week we will make our decision after visiting another. It's fun to see people from years ago but, at them same time, it's strange that they are still in the same congregation after eighteen years or more. (Things change so much in Panama with people coming and going for short or extended stays.) We were in South Madison for twelve years and we would probably still be there if we didn't take a leap and leap. It's been good for us to experience a new country and meet so many friends from all over. We really miss our English circuit in Panama and look forward to seeing how much it will have changed by the time we get back. So, that's our up date and hope to post pictures of our home on wheels and stuff around here, soon.

Rescued Kitten

2011-04-20T07:17:00.000-07:00

Wish I could tell you a happy ending. This little kitten was abandoned. She was meowing loudly by the side of the road. As we drove by I heard her and we stopped, I found her, and a sister in the car agreed to take her home and mother her. She named her Brilla, a version of Sunshine in Spanish. So she had a lovely safe home for four days and then yesterday she became sick and died. She was so cute and sweet but was less than a month old and just couldn't make it without her mother. Here's the photos of us helping her.

Ileinne held her for the ride to the vet.

She was very active.

She was trying to get milk from Ileinne's finger.

The vet gave her parasite medicine and told us how to feed her. She was healthy as far as she could tell.

Here's her sweet face, after her struggle with the vet she was tired.

Feeding Brilla with the sirenge. She was so cute and her little self just couldn't make it. Bennetta and Desiree had her for about four days. So she had a good ending to her short, little life.

Memorial 2011 David, Panama

2011-04-20T07:03:00.000-07:00

Here's a few pictures of our English group Memorial. We had 38 in attendance. I had one bible study attend and she really enjoyed it.
The photos are from Scott's phone again and they are smaller than normal.

Scott gave the talk.

Many friends from Spanish came to support us. We are four publishers in the English group.

The last song.

My student Thays. She teaches English at a school in Volcan to kindergarten and first grade.

Liz, Ileinne, and Lady

Our House In David

2011-04-08T11:53:00.000-07:00

I have finally taken pictures of our house at the request of my dad. I had to use Scott;s cell phone because I cannot find my camera. We think it is in Bocas in the luggage we left there to be shipped backed to David. We hope. Last weekend we went to Bocas and organized the vacation rental we had there. It is finally not ours anymore. We are happy to be free of it. We are feeling our life is more simple now, like it needs to be. We have a few items that will be shipped to us today from the house and the majority of the furniture will stay there to be used by another family that is coming back to Bocas for several months. It worked well for both of us. We needed to get rid of stuff and they needed to buy stuff. They also knew what it all was due to the fact they stayed there last year for three months. But, we are done there and now here's our house in David.

Bedroom, kinda obvious. But it is much smaller than our other one. And why not you just sleep there, right?

El bano, It's actually bigger than our other one. For some reason it's very common to have very little room between the front of the toilet and the opposite wall. Sit sideways.

Scott's office, it's bare but we have all cement walls and have put enough holes in it hanging curtains that we are not hanging anything at the moment. In time, maybe.

Living room view1

Living room view2

Dining room only big enough for the table and cat food.

We are really happy with the kitchen, it's big with a lot of counter space.

And the outside view, and our car. We also have a dog now. Not by choice. He was sick and pitiful and we are helping him to get better. So he stays by us. Noone claims him so he must be ours now. I named him Roy. Future blog will show dog.

Fair in David

2011-03-22T08:33:00.000-07:00

There is a huge fair happening in David right now. We went last night with Jeremy and Karis. There were a lot of fun things to see and buy. When Scott and I went to the one in David earlier this year we had chicken burgers and Scott got sick. So we didn't eat anything this time. They did have a Dairy Queen, we did not indulge.
There were a lot of things to take pictures of but with it being dark many didn't turn out. But the first thing we did was bumper cars. I wanted to take photos of that but it was too dangerous to have out my camera. So here are a few subdued things we did.

Scott, Karis, and Jeremy at the entrance. $1.50 per person.

The policeman exhibit. He let me sit on his motor cycle.

Serious get up. Not scary when the guys made of wood.

This guy is real. They dress like this to watch the Columbian border.

Another fella demonstrating how they look in their jungle hiding clothes. You can only see them breathing. And they stay in their work for two weeks at a time.

Let sleeping cows lie?

Pretty cows, they have very soft hair and wrinkly skin. And they are very large. This is a very common cow in Panama. Just not in this good of condition usually.

Scott and Jeremy got into a soccer match while there.

Jeremy was not intimidated.

So, that was a little bit of the fair. Maybe we will go again in the day time so I can get some good photos. But this gives you an idea. We heard a couple of Mariachi bands while there too. One sang "I did it my way" in Spanish. It was very good. I was the only one interested in the animals so we didn't see but a few cows. But here are some photos of my bible studies new puppies.

Stretch, it's so difficult being a puppy.

Cement is cool on a hot day.

It's a face anyone can love.

Cheryl's visit to David

2011-03-18T09:35:00.000-07:00

Well we went to Boquete one day when Cheryl came to visit us in our new home. So really these aren't of David. We went to a very nice development called Las Molinas. Swanky.

Outside the restaurant is a pool and jacuzzi over looking the valley.

Plants grow so well in Boquete. Actually all over Panama things grow well. But I have one of these in Bocas that never did get big enough to flower for me. Hydranja, not sure the spelling. But I love how they look.

Look at those clouds and beautiful clear blue sky. Scott and Cheryl chilling, waiting for me to finish taking pictures.

Ok, so we are going down there? Yes, we are.

There were sort of steps made. They were varied sizes and condition. Not for sissies, Cheryl's no sissy, but I am. Couldn't hardly walk for two days after this. It's only about a fifteen minute hike to the bottom and about twenty minutes to get back up.

Awe, nice photo.

I stuck the camera in the river and took this photo. Thought it was pretty.

There were trees with these fuzzy flowers.

View of the valley and the mountain Baru.

The Restaurant, and Scott airing his underarms, sorry you had to see that. So after the hike we were ready for lunch.

Greek salad. No kalamata olives but it was still good with just black olives.

Pastrami sandwich and baked fries. I liked those fries with my salad.

A chicken wrap with A LOT of chicken in it and she ate the whole thing! After that hike, of coarse.

We have the maranon tree across from our kingdom hall so we picked up a couple.

It's where the cashew comes from.

Careful of your ears on this video. There are a lot of cecada making an amazing amount of noise.

Views

2011-03-13T08:20:00.000-07:00

Waiting for a bus in Golfito. We were talked into a taxi ride instead for twenty dollars to the boarder.

Golfito, Costa Rica

Driving to David

Fruit/vegetable stand on the side of the road.

Scott bought veggies.

Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.

English Group David

2011-03-13T08:12:00.000-07:00

Here are some friends we had at our house for a party. One couple, The Evans, are gone back to the states to work for a few months so we had a meal and played a game.

This is Nabil, Scott, and Bonetta. Nabil is helping with our meetings, he's in our Spanish congregation, he reads and does the microphones. Bonetta is visiting from Mississippi for three months.

Nabil, Amber, Scott, Michele, Tyler

Front: Maria, Desiree, Bonetta, Luciana, and Paul

Our first gathering at our house. It was a success.

Marty Rausch from WI. He gave the talk, no air conditioning, wool suit. Need I say more?

Sarah Backus from WI, Ilienne, her mom Liz, Debbie Rausch from WI, Desiree, Jorge, Paul, and Garby

Some of our group, plus others.

Golfito, Costa Rica

2011-02-25T20:06:00.000-08:00

We have been having a relaxing time here in Costa Rica. We are in a sleepy town called Golfito in Drake Bay. Our hotel is just right for taking it easy and swimming in the little pool right outside our room. We could not take our car over the border. I guess it's only possible if we are residents of Panama. Scott thinks that all the weird laws they make like that are to foil the drug runners from Columbia. I guess I go along with those ideas or it would be more frustrating. The Panamanian government makes becoming a resident very difficult so we have our hands tied.
Here are some photos of our three day stay. We had to take the bus and we parked our car in some business' parking lot for $5 a day. We hope it's there unharmed when we return.

Here's our bus from Rio Claro to Golfito. We had one from the border to Rio Claro that was very uncomfortable but this one was much better. We ride for about a dollar each.

Scott was still in a not so good mood because of the car deal. We had wasted about three hours trying to get it over the border and even paid a guy to help us. So he's drinking his veggie smoothie trying to recover.

Cemetery. I think they are very interesting looking compared to the ones in the States.

We had dinner at a seafood restaurant. Scott ordered what he said was a delicious soup. Here's some of the critters that came in it.

I had some fish balls that I really liked even though I'm not into sea food.

We found a friend outside our door at the hotel. Handsome fellow, huh?

A road near our hotel that we jogged every morning. Friendly people say hi to us all along the way.

Fake jogging for the photo.

View of the water, it's like this all along Golfito.

This one titled: dog on a wall

Went to Zancudo. Cost us $50 by boat. About twenty five minutes from Golfito.

This one titled: birds in tree

Someone built a nice boat dock.

We saw a croc! Going to the island and when we left. And we still swam in the water, on the other side of the island.

Tipico Costa Rican food. It's very much like Panama's tipico food.

There are many tipico restaurants in Costa Rica and Panama. I think people try to come up with a way to make a living and this is a very popular way to do it. Not much else to do except taxi driving and hotels.

It is very quite and calm when we arrive. This town has maybe five hundred people.

The Zancudo beach is so vast.

No critters except a few crabs and snails. There were some pelicans here and there too.

On the way back to Golfito. We saw another croc. But no photo, he was shy and quickly went into the water.

So that was a day in Golfito. We went to the meeting Friday night. It was in Spanish so we listened intently and didn't understand much. But we are working hard to learn. We are speaking to each other more in Spanish trying to get used to it. We had a great time at the meeting because we could practice when talking to the friends. There was a sister that lent us her books who lives across the road from the hall. She didn't go to the meeting the same time we did. There are three congregations that meet in that hall. There were a few friends in the congregation that knew English so they were able to practice with us. We really had a great time and enjoyed attending the meeting even though we were on vacation. Costa Rican's are very friendly and mild people. But we go home tomorrow and stop at the border to check out the free zone shopping.

Our Fifteenth Wedding Anniversary

2011-02-20T06:21:00.000-08:00

We are having a good time setting up in David. Learning the city and finding our way around is a challenge for me but Scott does really well. We just had our fifteenth wedding anniversary on Thursday so we went out to eat, twice. On Friday for lunch and Saturday for dinner.

Chinese restaurant for lunch. Had some delicious tea.

Scott ordered pork medallions. The wine was Shiraz from Argentina. Wow, smooth.

Chicken with mushroom sauce. The food was just ok but the restaurant had a nice atmosphere.

Scott's cheesecake

My apple pie

The spoon was too small for Scott so he took a different approach.

I never use spoons so it was a given for me.

Here's the blissfully, overjoyed, ridiculously happy couple. We reminisced about all the memories we have from our fifteen years together. It's a fun exercise. I recommend it.

When we were still on the island Cheryl took us to a lovely restaurant for dinner that was really wonderful. But my camera was out of working order at the time so no photos. We are going to Costa Rica next week to renew our visa. We are taking a different route than we used to because we are in David now. So we will go to San Jose from here and go through the border over here instead of by Changinola. We are taking our car too which we've never done so that will be a good experience. Scott give's the talk in Volcan on Sunday, hope we make it back!

We Are Moving to David

2011-01-28T07:17:00.000-08:00

Here's an update on the Woodall's. We have been tossing around ideas of what to do with ourselves for a few months now. For quite a while we have needed to try a new place to live. We need to be closer to a doctor and have more conveniences that we don't have in Bocas. So we thought at first we would go back to the states for an extended stay. Then we thought of David. We spent some time after the SAD in David and the surrounding area and discovered it would be a great place to try for our needs. So a couple weeks ago we went to David and found a house to rent. It is a nice two bedroom that doesn't need any work, very important, and is outside the city but close to the Kingdom Hall. Then Scott flew to Panama City last week and bought us a used car. It's a nice reliable 2002 Honda Accord. This will be our third Honda Accord together.
Now today we are packing the final things in our house, tomorrow we are packing the truck, and hopefully by Sunday we will have it all unloaded in our new house.
So that's the latest with us.

Dracula Orchid Farm in Volcan

2011-01-25T11:00:00.000-08:00

Monkey face orchid. Uncanny isn't it?

This farm has over 7,000 varieties of orchids. Wow, who knew there was so many? Not me.

There were many in bloom and many still in the green house. We saw the ones in bloom. Then walked through the grounds. It is amazing what grows in the rain forest.

The Dracula Orchid, the farm is named after this one.

Not a Botanist but this one looks like a variety of grass.

Almost looks like corn on the cob. But it's a flower.

Scott, Cheryl, and I posing in front of a beautiful tree.

These remind me of bleeding hearts, but they're not. :)

I love how plants will grow on anything. This stump didn't stand a chance of being alone.

Impressive stature.

These are very tiny plants growing on trees. I had to put the camera on macro to get it. You can also see the roaring creek behind the tree. A lot of rain there for growing lush plants.

Also a very tiny plant. It's amazing what you find in nooks and crevices.

Someday I hope to be growing lettuce of my own and it looks this good.

The road to the Orchid farm like most in Volcan are horrible. The rain washes away the dirt and you're left with huge rocks.

That was our outing to the Orchid farm. We then went to eat lunch and had a huge salad no doubt from the farms around town. Volcan and Boquette grow almost all of the veggies for the entire country of Panama.

Special Assembly Day December 2010

2011-01-25T08:41:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful assembly in Volcan this past December. It was in a mountain town called Volcan. It's cooler there so we were wearing jackets comfortably. It rains a lot there too so we were under cover outdoors. We had about 165 in attendance and 3 baptized. Scott and Chris Greer helped with the baptism. We had to drive to another location located on a brothers property. He built this pool years ago for this purpose. Many people were calling it a fish pond so I expected fish and lily pads but is was very clean and cold as you can see from Scott's reaction.

Yes, it's cold Scott, be brave. Chris is demonstrating how it's done. Grin and bear it.

He will soon forget the cold. He's got a job to do.

Number one, Rodger an older gentleman that has grown up around the truth his whole life. His new Panamanian wife started to study so he decided to make progress as well.

Number two, Melba, she started studying in April, studied everyday and by August finished to book. Now she is our baptized sister. She is from the territory in Changinola.

Number Three, she is also from Changinola, her mother is a witness and now her father is a studying. She missed her school graduation to be here.

Scott was successful in his job, no toes up, no hit heads. Now he can get out and get warm.

The crowd. We stood and waited while the candidates changed.

More crowd. People from all over. We had fifteen countries represented at the assembly.

Our modest stage. The baptism candidates.

Scott's part with a demo by the Cottrell family.

Cheryl had an interview: how she was encouraged to remain in the truth.

So that was our special day. We had a wonderful time. We all had somewhere to stay with the friends who opened up their houses. Scott and I stayed with a nice couple who are retired and have five children as well as grandchildren they left back in the states to come here to experience the joy of serving in the English field in Panama. Wonderful blessings for all who put Jehovah first in their life.

Boat Ride in the Rain

2011-01-24T08:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a good day in the ministry. We had two bible studies then headed back home from Bastimentos. The sea has been very rough with the bad weather so we took a video to show you what it's like. It really isn't the full effect when you aren't going up and down with the swells, the boat hitting the other side, and feeling it on your bum and back. But here it is anyway.

Here's another addition to our little kids study group with Jennifer and Jonathan. Their little sister. I call her the Hola Machine. She waves her little hand so fast. That's all she says and it makes her very happy. This is the first time she hung out with us and there's another little one still in the house. That makes five so far.

I need to learn their names but they are not as easy as Jennifer and Jonathan.

The sun came out for a few minutes then it rained again. Can Scott look a little more happy. Yes, I think so.

Wonder what they use this one for.

Zapatilla

2010-12-28T10:03:00.000-08:00

Every time we go to Zapatillas the sand around the island is different. This beach was not there the last few times we've been there. It was also cloudy when we went this day but it was still enjoyable. If any of you are knee deep in snow and need a warm island fix here's your video.

Cheryl and I walked around the island. It takes about half an hour. We spotted this beautiful bird just sittin'.

Painting at Ixa's

2010-12-14T08:53:00.000-08:00

Our sister Ixa has built a bigger area to live in her shop. It's now two rooms, the kitchen and a large bedroom. It's like a castle compared to what she had. We helped her paint and hang shelves after it was constructed.

Ixa, Amber, Wes painting the bedroom. She chose a light green. We had to mix a gallon of white with a gallon of darker green. The store didn't have what she wanted. Pretty normal in Panama.

First we put a base coat on everything.

Wes, Connor, and Riese were there. We got a lot done but oh the mess.

Ixa hates painting and such so she was glad to have the help.

Cheryl didn't get to help because she had broken her arm. How convenient.

One end of her kitchen. It's sort of long and narrow. The next week we painted it light blue.

Ixa stepped in the paint pan. He he. I will get finished photos soon. I'm waiting for her to get her bed and stove. Then it will be really finished.

Well, that was painting at Ixa's we had a great time and it was a lot of work but she really is enjoying her new place.

Stuck in the Sand

2010-12-10T18:56:00.000-08:00

We took some friends to the beach and on our way the taxi got stuck in the sand.

The taxi driver said he had been stuck there three times before. Hmmm...

This guy came along and pulled us out.

Whew.

Surfers at Paunch.

Craig and Scott waiting for a wave. Scott's on a boogie board on the right and Craig is on the board sticking up.

Rana Azul pizza place

2010-12-10T18:15:00.000-08:00

We went to a restaurant on the other side of Dolphin Bay. It was owned by a couple from Austria.

This is the pizza oven she cooked the delicious pizza in and quickly too.

Scott ordered a cappichino and it came in this hilarious cup.

Steve and Angie enjoying the pizza and drinks.

This pizza.

Nate and Heather Goad from Colorado. They come to Bocas during winter in the states.

The owner gave us some games to try. Riese is trying to make the propeller spin.

Then he gave us a pellet gun...

It didn't shoot straight but it was still fun.

Wes shooting with his eyes closed.

Amber and Scott

The friendly owner of Rana Azul.

Wes and Riese are obsessed with gum right now. This is their favorite.

At fifteen cents a pack it's not a bad obsession.

Jack Fruit

2010-12-10T17:28:00.000-08:00

Here's Scott showing us how large this fruit is. This isn't a very big one, they get larger still.

Jack fruit is very, very, very, sticky. We protected the table with plastic and clean up afterward is just us and the knife. We use coconut oil to get off the sticky.

The inside is somewhat complicated. Each section has a big seed in it. So we have to separate it by hand.

And here's what's left. Yummy fruit and eatible seeds. Cheryl took the seeds home to try.

The Ministry

2010-12-10T14:29:00.000-08:00

Augustin and Robin visiting us from Panama City for a vacation.

Cheryl and Robin working in the park.

Riese, Garby, Wes, and Connor after a meeting at the kingdom hall.

Taking a break at a studies house on a very hot day. Drink plenty of water.

Wes tries to avoid the camera but I won't have it.

This yard has a beautiful garden with flowers taller than me.

Young parrots that belong to a bible student. They just hang out in the tree outside the house.

Going for a hike to a farm to speak to Cheryl's study and buy fruit.

It's not a nice trail.

Did I mention it was a long hike?

It was worth the hike. It's so beautiful on this farm. The owner has various natural pools and swamps for run-off rain.

Many ponds make beautiful scenery.

This is my favorite. Although they all are gorgeous.

Coffee beans drying.

One of the fruits we bought. It was a beast to carry back. But Riese did it and had very weak arms after.

Scott studies with Roman on the beach. It's very cool and breezy. A great place to sit and rest after a long hot day.

This little dog dug a hole and kept cool in the sand. He also kept me entertained.

Ginger stole some kids bike and went for a ride.

Betty consoling the kid. "She'll bring it back I promise. There's only one sidewalk on the whole island. She can't go far."

Cuties.

Cheryl probably handing out stickers. She does that if they remember God's name, Jehovah.

Friends from Panama City who came to Bocas to preach to the deaf and Chinese.

Fun With Kids

2010-11-12T17:20:00.000-08:00

We meet a lot of fun kids in the ministry. Some are so curious to see what we have in our bag and if we have gum or treats to give them. These kids are neighbors of one of my studies in Bastimentos. They have a rough life but we try to read them a story or two out of the Bible Story book in our bad Spanish and teach them a little. They like stickers. I put them on their for head and they just leave them there.

Scott read a story to Jennifer. She lives in the bush with her grandmother and doesn't go to school. It's common for Ngabe to not send their kids to school. So the government started paying them to go. Still her father won't send her.

The two in the front are Jennifer's brothers.

This is Idell, my study Naida's baby. He's almost a year old. It's fun when you see the person pregnant, then there's a baby, and then get to watch the little baby grow. Every week he's bigger. This week he was practicing walking.

This week he also had a new hair cut. He is really busy now and it's more difficult to study. But she finds someone to watch him in the community.

Cheryl Broke Her Arm

2010-10-25T11:43:00.000-07:00

Cheryl was playing catch with Riese and Wes and slipped on a wet log. She fell, broke her arm, and now has a cast for six weeks.

After the fall she was lying down to get over the initial pain. Then Troy found things to make a splint. Belts, paint stir stick, old t-shirt. It felt better, she said.

We had to go to Chaninola the next day to get her a cast.

It was a long wait. There were many people ahead of us.

Under water October 2010

2010-10-25T11:30:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things to do in my free time is to snorkel. I also like to take photos of what I find and try to learn about it on the internet. So far I have very little knowledge of what I see but with time...
Sometimes we are able to go about once a week. Yesterday we took some friends to snorkel then to Bluff Beach. The water yesterday, however was full of jelly fish and one of them got stung. Two weeks ago we went and I was stung three times. The sting goes away pretty quickly though. In about a half hour. But here are some photos.

Cuddlefish of the squid/octopus family. They have no defenses so they change colors in an instant.

These make great photos. Anenome

This is in the jellyfish family. It has little strings of different color light running through it.

The water has been so clear and warm.

I don't know what kind of rock this is but it looks like a sponge.

I like the colors of these, the pink and the blue.

This little fish is so cute. It's the one talked about in the Awake! The boxy one that the car is designed after.

Friends from Panama City and Spain. Dagmar, Ainhoa, and Pablo

Feather duster worm, all alone.

Parrity and me

Some kind of star fish. Haven't figured it out yet.

Love these bright polka dot fish.

Well, these are some of the photos. I enjoyed taking them. If anyone would like to join me in person, you are welcome.

Missing Photos: Convention 2010

2010-10-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

We had a great convention in September. We stayed with a nice Panamanian family that has a little apt attached to their house. Cheryl got back from the states just in time to go with us so she stayed at the same house. We rented a car which was nice to have. But getting around Panama City is NOT easy. Non of the streets are marked except the main arteries. So we drove in circles a lot.
Unfortunately Scott's computer decided to have a melt down and he was not able to get emails and keep contact with his employees back in Wisconsin. But Cheryl had her computer which helped but all his information was on his computer. So after the convention when we planned on touring the area and vacationing a bit we went computer hunting and trying. Finally, he did get a computer he liked so we went to Casco Viejo for an afternoon before returning home. Scott, however, had to go back to Madison to work and I was alone again for about two and a half weeks.
Living in Bocas is fine by yourself but I prefer to have a partner. So, when we parted I gave Scott the sd card from the camera so now I have no pictures of this trip, yes, he cannot find it. But we are hoping it will show up somewhere, sometime and we will be excited to see the new/old photos.
We had three baptized at the assembly. Riese was one of them and the young son of the family we stayed with was another. We have nice pictures of that, somewhere.
Also, the drama was very fun. It was a great subject. And now because we know almost all the people in the English district we knew all the people in the drama. Who knew they could act?
Casco Viejo is a very old part of Panama City that has nice shops and a beautiful view of the Pacific. We also got to see the Panama Canal. I had taken video of a ship going through the canal. It was a lot more interesting then I thought it would be. While Cheryl was there looking at the ships going through she saw two sisters in our congregation on a tug boat. I guess you can do that. Go on a tug boat through the canal, supposedly for free. So they did. Betty and Ginger. Hilarious. And Cheryl seeing them right at the right moment.
The branch here in Panama is closing so there was a big party on Monday, after the convention, at the branch for the missionaries and bethelites and who ever else they invited. The Cottrell's were there and we heard it was great fun. Saw photos...
I got to meet the missionary couple who have been in Panama for 19 years when we were there. They are fun to talk to. I look forward to seeing them again. There are forty missionaries in Panama right now.
Well, that's all I can think of for now. And if we find the pictures I will post them. In the meantime, I will make posts of stuff that happened after that. (More snorkeling:)

What to Look Forward to

2010-09-08T10:18:00.000-07:00

So next week we are going to the District Convention in El Espino. We are going to stay with a family who has eight conventioners staying with them. Cheryl will be with us also. She has been in the states for a month working out her SS paperwork. So, we will help clean the assembly hall on Thursday and probably go to a huge mall or something of that sort. Then sit and listen, eat lunch, for three days and then come home. But of coarse we will see all the English speaking friends in the country. Most of them anyway. So upon our return you will see some fun stuff on our humble blog.

Under water August 2010

2010-09-08T09:49:00.000-07:00

Since I've moved to Panama I have found a few things that are interesting for me to look for and take pictures of or just enjoy the challenge of looking for them. One of the things I like is called a Christmas Tree Worm. It is one beautiful little worm. It's about one to two inches in length and has these amazing antennae it uses to breath and eat. Have a look at one we found last week while snorkeling a spot near the Cottrell's, that, by the way, they have not known it was there for four years. But I have found is a perfect spot for finding my fun little friends.

You can see the little guy on the side of the coral shelf. Wes' keen eyes found this one for us. They come in all different colors. We found a black and white one and an orange one when snorkeling this spot another time.

Each worm has two "trees". See it's head above the trees?

Wow, these little things are an amazing example of the variety of creation. Among other things in the ocean.

Ok, last one of this little bundle of awesomeness.

While this is not my idea of a favorite thing to look for in the reef. It was interesting.

I've never seen a green star fish. Hmm, not sure it looks right either.

I like these plants because they look like feathers.

Here's an example of a different kind of sea urchin.

So, even though there are many more under water pictures, I don't want spoil you too much with them. I'll save some for future blogs. Oh, yes, there will be more.

Visit to Wisconsin

2010-09-08T09:28:00.000-07:00

I won't bore you with all the pictures of this trip. They are mostly family of my mom's that we haven't seen in years. I saw most of them for the first time this day and first time in thirty years. But here is the most resent look of my immediate family. My oldest brother Bob and his wife Patricia. Scott and I, Mom and Dad (Norma and Robert). My second oldest brother Mike and his son Eli, and wife Kim. We had a good time getting together with everyone. It was a slow starter because no one knew each other but by the end we all were chatting nicely.

My sister in-law Kim and I.

So my mom has three sisters and three brothers that are still living. One sister died long time ago. They had not gotten together for so long they decided it was time. So here's my mom and her siblings.

The Bouvat-Lauderdale's

Yuca

2010-07-08T10:13:00.000-07:00

Here's a yuca tree in our yard that bloomed. It's pretty but isn't fragrant.

Every thing has blooms. We just don't always get to see them. That's a metaphor for life.

Cats at the Woodall's

2010-07-08T10:05:00.000-07:00

No blog of the Woodall's would be complete without some photos of their cats. We have a big responsibility taking care of them but they really wouldn't have a better place to go if we didn't take them in.

Monte really loves being under things, the table is her usual choice.

Tookey is always sleeping on this bench. It's full of hair or burrs and scratch marks on it every where. He's also very fat. He eats all-the-time.

Monte has beautiful green eyes. She has been really sick with an infection in her mouth and we thought we would have to put her down. But Scott took her by plane to David to a vet who did a biopsy and he was able to determine the kind of infection she has and which antibiotic to use and It's Working! She a different cat. Sweet as sweet can be. We would miss her.

This photo kinda speaks for itself. Tookey will lie on his back and wait till you walk by and attack your feet. We make a lot of allowances for him, he's so great yet so irritating. But we love having him around. Besides he forced himself in. He chose us. We couldn't say no.

CO Visit July 2010

2010-07-08T09:55:00.000-07:00

We had a great visit with Shane and Misty last week. They were able to stay in our guest house and get some rest before moving on. Shane helped Lucho sand some wood after lunch one day. He took off his tie and got to work. Lucho and Sylvia, his wife, let us eat lunch every week at their hotel. We would not have a clean or cool or relaxing place otherwise. We really appreciate their kindness. So Shane thought he'd show his appreciation by doing something for them.

Fumigation

2010-07-08T09:48:00.000-07:00

We were waiting for our boat to take off and the fumigators were working next to us. It's disturbing how they fumigate but understand that it is necessary for health. But sometimes you have to wonder if it's helping in one area but hindering in many others.

Trip to Changinola and Almirante

2010-07-08T09:33:00.000-07:00

With two English groups in Changinola and Amirante we sometimes have to travel there to give talks on Sunday. One meeting is at 11:30am and the other 4:00pm so we can do them both the same day.

We leave home at 9am.

We walk to our street and wait for a taxi.

This taxi ride is only fifty cents a person and takes about five minutes to get to the boat launch.

A calm sea today and this boat ride takes thirty minutes and is $4 a person.

We arrive in Almirante and walk over to the bus station to take a ride to Changinola. That takes forty five minutes and costs $1.20 a person. We arrive in Changinola and get a drink and snack at the grocery store.

The hall is behind the stores on main street. If you didn't know it was there I think it would be difficult to find. We had a nice meeting and when we left the hall we met some of the friends waiting for the Ngabe meeting.

The older brother in the middle knows English really well. The kids are his grandkids and the older lady is his wife. The smiling happy sister on the right is Mercedes. She has been a Special Pioneer for thirty three years! Only the last two in Ngabe. She's fifty three years old, if I remember right. She spoke English really well too. She showed me the song book in Ngabe and it contained only 56 songs. But they were all so proud to have it. The rest of the literature they use is Spanish and they have to make their comments still in Ngabe.

After this we went to lunch. The Chinese restaurant in town is good. We had sweet and sour chicken. Delicious! Then we get back on the bus and take the forty five minute ride back to Almirante. The meeting there lasts just long enough that if we don't leave right after we miss the boat back to the island so we leave immediately after. Scott conducted the WT as well as gave the talk. With Chris and Lucy gone there are no brother there.

So we got the boat taxi by 6:30pm and were back home by 7:15pm.

It was a nice day of activity and we met some great people.

Rainy Day Beach at Zapatilla

2010-07-08T09:09:00.000-07:00

Brittany is going home and wanted to do a couple things she had not gotten to so Zapatillas was on her list. Even though it was cloudy and raining we still had a great time. It was very peaceful, relaxing, and beautiful.

Chris getting ready to hop into the boat. Well, gently lower himself into the boat. He has a bad back. No hopping.

The water was completely flat. This is so unusual. Normally we have at least a small amount of wave to deal with. But this year has been like this a lot.

We all just spent a lot of time swimming and floating. Did I mention it was very calm and relaxing?

Brittany, loving the water.

Shannon and Brittany have been room mates for the last few months. She will be going back to the states in two weeks. We'll miss these girls.

Underwater shots are great. Never know what you're going to get.

It's hard for some of us to keep our bodies under the water, we float. Yet others can go down no problem.

This is Devenye, she is visiting Cheryl with her friend Amy from Tucson, AZ.

Amy and Devenye.

For some reason it's hard for me to stay underwater and to hold my breath without the aid of pinching of my nose. So this is what we get.

This is hilarious, I couldn't get everyone in.

Here's the other half. This is Kendra, Brittany's friend from PA on the right.

Chris trying to find fish. There aren't to many around the sand but if you find rocks there are more. Mostly sand here though and with the clouds it's harder to see underwater.

The rain doesn't stop a true beach-lover.

A couple of umbrellas try to keep our things dry. Mostly food.

Naomi is vertically challenged so Chris gives her a lift.

Kendra and I took a walk around the whole island. There are many interesting plants to look at. Here we found an almond tree.

Almonds.

Madusa. These grow on trees. This is a pretty big one on a small branch.

Huge dead tree that floated to and became stranded on the island.

When the Livingston's were here this beach was really small. Now with the water low there is a lot of sand to play on. And last time we were all there it was a holiday and this beach was packed with people. The rain scared away the ones that came this day. We had it all to ourselves.

Take a deep breath, can you smell the fresh salt air?

Still beautiful with the clouds and rain. Hear the waves?

See you next time Brittany. Don't forget to come back.

Our mosaic

2010-06-08T08:15:00.000-07:00

One of the projects Wes, Riese and I did. My table was a cheap press board wood and it would bubble up when we put a glass of water or something on it. So I decided to make it one of our craft classes and fix it. Wes did the fish and turtle. Riese did the starfish. And I was the one who did the sand water and grass. It was a lot of fun to do and we have done a few small ones since. Like most things our technique and ability will improve with time. But I think it turned out pretty good for our first one.

My Hobby

2010-06-08T08:06:00.000-07:00

I've never had a hobby before. And one that would bring me money at that. So Riese, Wes, and I figured out how to make some awesome magnets. When I was in WI I found the epoxy I needed and when I came back to Bocas we went crazy making these magnets. I named them RAW Magnets. It's an anagram for our names. I took a few pictures of some of the ones we created.

These are ones we put sand and shells in. We like the idea of sending people home with pieces of Bocas.

Wes likes to draw and paint intricate houses.

I just think it's important to have them say Bocas and/or Panama. They seem to be a hit. When I give them away people are drawn to them.

Riese saved this crab for three weeks and protected it like a mother hen so he could put it in a magnet. Looks great, speaks for itself.

So we are going to set up a display and sell them. It will take a couple of weeks to see how well they go. Will let you know.

Progressive Bible Student

2010-06-04T08:36:00.000-07:00

This is Hilda. She is doing well attending meetings and was at both assemblies this year and plans on attending the convention in September. Angie studies with her and Riese and I play with the cat.

Global Warming/Polo Beach

2010-06-04T08:27:00.000-07:00

We had a nice outing with Chris and Lucy earlier this week. They were given a new assignment so we had a sort of going away excursion with them. We all love Polo Beach so we went there. Here are some photos of the day.

We are all going on Max's boat to Polo Beach and the water is so calm. Calmer than we've ever seen it. And it is very hot.

Along the way we see the water is very low. And the salt is drying on the rocks that usually are covered. The coral is burning in the sun.

But it is still beautiful. This is Red Frog Beach that usually has great waves for boogie boarding. No waves.

This little island is extremely exposed. Air smells of rotting plants and critters not used to being exposed.

When we arrived an indian man on the island has his three dogs and a pig. I asked his name but he doesn't have one. Any guesses why? You don't name food.

I see why they say pigs make great pets. He was really sweet. He kept dragging his snout in the sand to uncover the cool sand underneath then laying in it. So Wes buried him.

Scott has been having bad rashes with the heat so he tried to stay out of the sun and keep cool. Here he is reading and looking at the ocean view.

I found a flounder right away. Can you see it? The water was soooo clear but hot! Yes hot! It's usually cool and refreshing to snorkel but with the water low and no waves we were hot. Imagine the creatures in the water. We did find a lot of dead crabs and a small lobster among other things that couldn't take the heat.

The hut we use for shade and eating.

Ixa and Rex. Rex is eight months. He is so sweet and loves his momma.

Rex is a good swimmer. He wanted to be with Ixa. And wanted to eat the pig. So he was tied up for a while.

Shannon and Brittany. Our visitors from Minnesota and Penn. They are hard workers in the ministry with us.

Mushroom or fungus of some kind. Just thought it was pretty.

Trees on the beach make great shade.

No waves so Max tied up his boat and stayed with us for the day. Out this way was great snorkeling. Usually the waves are too big to get out there but this day... perfect for snorkeling. But the water was still hot.

The boys played football but no one got hurt. This is the beach where Troy hurt his knee then had to get it operated on. Now he is back working in the Changinola English group. We are glad he is better.

So that was our day at the beach with extremely hot water and weather. It was very relaxing and enjoyable to be with each other and Chris and Lucy. The day before Scott, I, Cheryl, Wes, and Riese had gone to Bluff Beach and were able to swim there with no waves. It was heaven. But like bath water. The Columbia Survivor team was setting up a set for shooting their film there. But we were able to enjoy ourselves anyway. The town or some activists put an end to the sand mining at Bluff, for the Turtles that lay their eggs there, but now Columbia is tramping all over. Oh, well better than all the sand being taken away. Our beach in town here called Wikiki is being ruined by a huge hotel out by Cottrell's. They dump their poo in the water and now the beach has poo stink all over it. No more swimming there. Man is definitely ruining what Jehovah gave us. Looking to the future with confidence though. Because we know he can fix it.

Eye Can't Believe That Happened

2010-05-21T08:27:00.000-07:00

Wednesday started as any other day. We were invited to go boating with the Cottrell's in the afternoon and stop at Star fish beach and snorkel along the way. The Cottrell's have guest's who are witnesses and didn't know it till after they booked the room. So they thought it would be nice to take them on the boat and snorkel. We arrive at Star fish beach and after a short while figure out the group of people down the beach are Special Pioneers and Missionarys from Changinola and David. So we were all having a great time swimming and talking and I was wandering off looking at critters in the water down the beach. Well the guys decided it would be fun to play football. I think it was all going well until Steve got poked in the eye. That ended the game and it was time for all of us to leave any way. We hop in the boat and wave good by to the other friends but Steve's boat wouldn't start. So we sat adrift in the water for about an hour waiting for a guy from Basitmentos to come save us. All the while Steve didn't say much at all. When Humberto arrived we tried to use his battery to start the boat but it would'nt so he towed us back to Bocas. It took about forty five minutes. We got home around 6pm. But Steve was very uncomfortable and not able to do much due to his eye bothering him. Angie by this time was getting very worried and I think Steve was too. So they went home and showered and I and Scott did too. Steve didn't want to go the doctor here cause they just aren't up on stuff like you'd think and he didn't want anyone poking around in his eye. Well, I went down to the hospital because we live right next to it and asked around trying to find an eye specialist. There wasn't one. Just the doc in the emergency. So I called Angie and told her he has to see the eye. She brought Steve in and he took a look at the eye and said there was no damage to the rhetna (don't know how to spell) but there was a huge gouge out of the white part. Someone's nail had scratched him good. So he and Angie and all of us really were quite relieved to here that it was only that and we could all fell much more easy. We all had horrible thoughts going through our heads of Steve losing his eye because he couldn't get off the island and get to Panama or David soon enough to save it. But all is well now and Steve is just staying home to let his eye rest and recover. Whew.

Circuit Assembly: Safeguard Your Spirituality 2010

2010-05-10T09:12:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful two days of spiritual feeding this weekend. Scott and I and Chris and Naomi each were interviewed on the symposium about couples. Scott had the watchtower study and did a fantastic job. Scott also had the privilege of baptizing the only sister who was baptized.

We had so many students attend, it was a historical event. In the seventies English in Panama just kinda died out but now we have a resurgence and it's here to stay. We were encouraged to be pillars and support of the truth here in the English and endure long term to help the congregations to grow. That was the needs of the circuit.

Many friends that have moved to help out in English are older and have kids and grandkids at home and it is a challenge for them to be here without being around them. Also many Panamanian friends have moved from the city and left good paying jobs and travel to help out. We are really blessed with being here at the time we are. It's a very exciting time and we really love being a part of it.

One brother from the Mill's congregation who's heart language is English came to the assembly this weekend and said it was the best day of his life to have heard the truth in English. Many locals appreciate hearing the bible's message in English. An older man was telling his friend, that's the only was to hear the bible, in English.

Chris and Lucy have been preaching to some of the ships docked in Almirante and have found a couple of guys from the Philippines who are interested. They attended both days of the assembly. One of the men, his wife is a witness in Philippines, called his wife and was able to tell her he went to the assembly. Interestingly, these men on the ship from the Philippines do not speak spanish, only Tagalog and English.

One brother had a Chinese study attend who also does not know hardly any spanish but was able to enjoy the assembly in a language he knows. He was trying to quit smoking and Josh gave him the newest magazine about quiting smoking in Chinese. He said, "This is Chinese!" Josh said, "I know and you're Chinese." He was on his third day without a cigarette, Sunday, at the assembly.

We had a study from Bastimentos attend both days of the assembly and watched the baptism intently. Afterward her told our CO's wife Misty. "That was nice. Maybe next assembly it will be me getting baptized." So, those are a few of the wonderful things that occurred this weekend. There is much more, of course, but time and space does not allow me to write it. Here are some pictures to share the experience.

This sister was the only baptism candidate. Our congregation gave the comments for the bible highlights. In the back ground you can see the sisters husband and daughter. The daughter is also studying and is in college. The husband is from England and is already a witness. His wife and daughter are from Argentina. They live in Vocan. We stayed in one of the houses they buy and fix up for need greaters to stay in when we attended the Special Assembly Day in Volcan. Kelly, Katie, and Liz will remember.

Here's the rest of us commenters. It was no stressful because we were able to stay seated and there were so many of us together.

Our sis standing up answering the questions all by herself.

We rented a country club for the assembly so there was a large pool.

Scott's first baptism. We had to practice how he should tell her to hold her hands. :)

Whew, it went perfectly. No toes popping up.

Our District Overseer and his wife. Antonio and Elda Lackwood. They are in the Circuit work for fifteen years and have fifty years of full time service between them.

The Woodall's interviewed about being a couple. How do we do it? !

Scott standing under a gigantic breadfruit tree. This fruit is good if you cut it and fry it like french fries. I have yet to try it but hope to soon.

So that was our assembly and we enjoyed it immensely. Peek attendance: 141. What a great time to be in Panama during the growth of the English field.

Tragedy in Almirante

2010-05-10T08:31:00.000-07:00

Not sure what else to call this but a pure tragedy. We had a sister in Almirante die last week. While riding her bike in the ministry she was run over by a semi trailer. Her name was Sarai and she was with a Special Pioneer sister named Lucy. Lucy was not willing to go on the street that they were on but Sarai wanted to take the short cut and the semi did not see them. Lucy said she was almost run over as well but had peddled her bike faster to avoid the trailer going over her too. Lucy is very traumatized by the whole thing but was able to attend the assembly we had this weekend and we went out to dinner with her and Chris. They are headed to Panama City this week for some time off and she will see a therapist while there.
So this accident happened last Tuesday morning right when our CO and DO where traveling through Almirante to come to Bocas for their visit with us before the assembly. We were the host congregation for the assembly. They saw the bike under the semi but didn't know it was one of our sisters who had been hit. While on the boat they found out who it was and had to make many changes to meetings during the week so they could be ready to attend the funeral. As it was the pioneer meeting was changed to allow the brothers to attend the funeral. In Panama it is the law to have the funeral a few days after the death due to not having embalming. So it happened Tuesday the funeral was Friday.
There was so many that attended the funeral the hall was over flowing. I did not personally know Sarai but had met her briefly once and she was a very sweet endearing person. Lucy had gotten to know her very well because of going in the ministry a lot together lately. Ixa had grown up with her so was very upset by her death. The locals say that the spot where the sisters were was where two children were hit a couple of years ago. It's not a good street to be on the side of the road. So, time will heal the pain and we have a wonderful hope for the future. We are not as those who have no hope and we wait for the time when Jehovah will call all those in the memorial tombs. What a happy time that will be after having lived in these days with so much tragedy.

Here we are after having had dinner with Chris and Lucy at the assembly. She was very happy to have attended the assembly, she said it was the best thing for her. You could really tell it helped her too at the last day she was more relaxed than before.

Wisconsin Visit

2010-04-26T11:29:00.000-07:00

Scott and I had to return to Wisconsin for him to work. So I got to see my family and a couple of sweet friends.
Here are some family photos.

While staying with my brother Mike in Milwaukee we visited the Jelly Belly factory. We didn't actually get the see how they made them. That's a secret but they showed us around the warehouse.

The anticipation is so unbearable.

The little train to see the history show. We had to wear the hats, it's the law.

Me and Mikey on the Jelly Belly train.

What happy people after the tour, free candy.

My pops. Robert the Jelly Belly display man.

My friends Sherry and Amelie came to visit me from Madison before I went to Shawano which is where I stayed with my parents.

The girls. Julie and her kids, Amelie and Charlotte.

Adorable aren't we?

Eli, Mike, and Kim at home on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Me and Amelie....

Charlotte was sick but was still very good. And how cut is she? Wow, she's beautiful.

My mom and her sisters. Bonnie, Jeannie, my mom Norma and me.

Bob and Pat. They wore matching colored shirts that day. So cute.

Me and Bobbo. My oldest brother.

Memorial 2010

2010-04-26T11:08:00.000-07:00

We had a nice memorial season this year. As last year we had two. One in Bastimentos at the school and one in Bocas at the hall. Total attendance was 65.

Scott and I ready to go to the Memorial.

Our group waiting for everyone to arrive at our usual spot. We go to Bastimentos from here.

Two of our favorite visitors. Liz and Katie from Wisconsin.

We took two boats to the island. Here is one. We are in the other. :)

Here are Ixa, Eunice a bible student and Chrystal from Hawaii going up the hill to the school.

The Memorial emblems at the school.

The full moon over the water we saw from the boat on our way back to Bocas for Memorial number two.

Memorial emblems at Kingdom Hall in Bocas.

Scott gave the talk at both locations. Very nice.

Some of our visitors from New York who helped us with the campaign. Very great young people serving Jehovah.

So that was our Memorial this year. It was a lot of work after having the Special Assembly Day. But of course everything got done and was a great success.

New Look

2010-04-25T15:25:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Scott's savvy computerness we are able to have a new look to our blog. Hopefully now it will encourage me to write new posts more often. Hope you like the new look. It's more fun, huh?

Please Send Email Address

2010-04-25T15:22:00.000-07:00

Hello fellow blog readers. I am just writing this blog to ask a favor. We have been getting a lot of people contacting us about going to some country or even here to check out moving or visiting a need great area and then not being able to contact that person due to either me being computer illiterate or some other odd reason that I don't know. So if you can please give us your email in your message so we can contact you, phone is not too easy so email is best. Then I can write you back and we can have a nice interchange. Thanks for your help.

Sleep? Who Needs It?

2010-04-04T07:55:00.000-07:00

We now live in a country where it's not at all illegal or considered bad etiquette to play extremely loud music and keep half the town up all night. It's been two nights of deafening music and partying at a bar on the beach not far from our house. There is one more night left according to their sign. So once again tonight little or no sleep and then maybe back to peace. We can only hope.
When you have no sleep in you and are trying to sleep when it sounds and feels like a party in your bedroom your mind gets kinda crazy and you begin to hate everyone and everything. So, that's been our weekend.
We are headed to Wisconsin for two weeks on the 8th of this month. Scott has to work and I get to spend all my time with my parents and who ever else feels like hanging out with us. It will be a nice break from our project with the house although it's just about finished. We have had two sets of visitors that have rented from us. It's nice to be able to offer a comfortable place.
We are getting inquiries from VRBO also. It's going to be a learning process to figure out how to say just the right thing and book people and keep track of everything.
Today we are going to the beach with our new friends from VT. They are here till Sat. and the brother, Lance, gave a nice talk at our meeting yesterday. Not to mention the sisters are doing the talks on the school Tues. Gotta love em.
We also have our new members of the congregation here now. Chris and Naomi Greer, just arrived Friday to live in Bocas. It will be so nice to have them. They are staying with us until they find a place to live. It seems unreal that they are going to stay permanent because all the other people that have visited are here just as temps.
The weather has been soooo hot lately. Yesterday Scott and I went in the ministry but were sweating so much it looked like we took a shower with our clothes on. And with the lack of sleep we were not very motivated. We had to sit in the shade after an hour and call it a day.

The Special Assembly Day in Volcan

2010-03-23T07:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of the assembly in Volcan. We also went shopping for decor and needed items afterward.

Shane Flemming, our Circuit Overseer.

Interview with Shane and Misty. He made the truth his own when he decided to get married and "find a good wife". He found her. They were actually assigned to Panama as missionaries. Now they are our CO and they will be working in Panama City doing business territory for three months.

Lother Mehank, our special speaker.

(Livingston's, Carmen wanted me to be sure and say hi to you from her.)

Scott had interviews with the Blackers, Tom and Andrea.

Also, Katie Wysocki and Liz Bare from Wisconsin.

Cheryl was interviewed about being single.

So here's Scott's part, Exercise Soundness of Mind During Youth and Steve with Cheryl's interview, Anxious for the Things of the Lord.

It was a great day of talks and interviews. We were fortified to continue in our work.

Here's part of our group from Bocas traveling to Volcan in a van together. It was $18 a person to go from Almirante to Volcan, about five hours.

Here's some of us at the table where we ate some great pizza after the assembly.

When Scott, Cheryl, Angie, and I went shopping in Boquette the next day the Cottrell's car got a flat tire Scott had to change. This is him doing it incorrectly but we soon put it to right.

Scott and Cheryl in Boquette.

Scott working at the pension we stayed at. For he and I it was only $15.40 a night with bathroom in our room. Cheryl paid $9.90 for a room with a community bathroom. It was very clean and comfortable and we will definitely stay there again.

The bird at the pension. She was very pretty but I don't touch. That beak can be dangerous. But she liked her picture taken.

Remodeling a House

2010-03-23T06:51:00.000-07:00

We have decided to remodel and rent out the house next to us for income. Here are some of the pictures of the process.

Bathroom before.

Bedroom one before.

Bedroom one after.

Bedroom two during.

Bedroom two after.

Pilippe helping refinish the doors. Panamaian physic.

Armondo helping with the stairs.

Cheryl made the curtains. Beautiful.

Scott was very helpful :). The brains. Lots of braun.

Kelly was willing to help while she was here too. Miss you.

Simon is our major helper. Invaluable.

The kitchen during.

Here's a mural we painted on the wall in bedroom three.

So when every thing is done we will have three bedrooms that sleep seven total. We will call it La Isla Guest-house. Scott is making the website and hopefully soon it will be ready to rent.

Special Assembly Day in Volcan

2010-03-14T19:12:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely assembly in Volcan today. The weather was cool and refreshing. The brothers got to keep their suit coats on today. In Bocas we would have roasted. But aside from that we had a very well done program. Our visiting speaker was brother Mehank from our branch office. He always is enjoyable to listen to. He and his wife Carmen are such a positive happy couple who have had over thirty years of full time service. Scott and Steve had talks with interviews. Katie and Liz visiting from WI were interviewed on Scott's part and Cheryl was interviewed on Steve's. The attendance was 115. And in Panama they had another English SAD in Feb. and had about 235. So together the English assembly was quite large. We had a lot of friendships to renew with people we only see during the convention and assemblies. But since we've been here over a year we are finally getting to know people and getting to know history and stories of how people are able to be here as need greaters. It's so nice to see the fellow workers in Panama.

So tomorrow we go to Bouquete and shop some in David. Then home on Wednesday. We are having a nice little vacation away from our project of remodeling our vacation rental. I will post pictures later.

Congregation Announcement

2010-02-03T05:23:00.000-08:00

Our small group of nine publishers is now a congregation!! We are the fourth English congregation in Panama.

The Goings-On In Bocas

2010-02-01T11:04:00.000-08:00

Our kittens are really growing. One of them is now part of the Cottrell family. The other is promised to a home but he is still with us waiting for the vet to take him. The vet found the new home for him and is going to transport Spike but has yet to do it. But Tookey, the gray cat, is spending more time in our house and is behaving well so we're hoping he will soon be an inside cat. Monte, the momma of the kittens, had her teeth worked on and was spayed so she seems to be feeling ok. Her gums were so badly infected for who knows how long. But she had a hard time chewing and swallowing. Now, she seems better but not great. Time will tell.
Yesterday Scott and I rearranged plants in our yard. They are so large that it took some digging to get them out. But then we put them in areas we preferred, along the fence and house and then some in the neighbors yard. Our noisy neighbors moved out and left a lovely mess in the yard and house. So Scott suggested we put some of the large plants like a fence in their yard to block the view. So if we ever get messy neighbors again we won't be able to see it as much. The couple from Kansas are seriously thinking about coming back to Bocas to live and would like to rent the house next to us. We can only hope.
Last week Wes, Riese, and I made a mosaic on top of my little coffee table that sits in front of the couch. It's a fish, turtle, star fish and some grass. It turned out really well for our first mosaic. Now we are trying to find many more places to make them. I will post a picture of the table as soon as I get my charger for the camera.
My friend Kelly from Racine, WI is coming for a visit. She should be here Friday. We have ordered many things on line for her to bring to us. I ordered some skirts, Scott ordered fins for boogie boarding. And some other important stuff.
We are also getting a visit from Donny and Veronica Carson and their little boy Devon. They will be here next Friday through Wednesday. Donny will give the public talks on Sunday and Devon and Veronica have parts on Tuesday. They are old friends from my days in Milwaukee as a teenager so this will be a great treat for me.
Right now we have visitors from Canada. They are three sisters and a brother who know Ben and Amelie, our friends who lived here for almost a year. They also have a young brother from South Carolina who is one of the sisters nephew. Made me look to the future hoping my nephews would come visit me in Panama when they are old enough. There is also three young bothers from Kansas that know the Floyd's. They made me think of Scott and my brothers at that age visiting Belize. Two of them are eighteen and one sixteen. Seems such a young age when you're almost forty.
Our public talk and Watchtower study will now be on Sunday at 10 am in Bastimentos and 5 pm here in Bocas. We are hoping the change will be better for more people to attend. I like the idea of being in Bocas at night for the meeting instead of Bastimentos. A lot easier to get home and not so late.
Kelly and her two friends will be staying on Bastimentos for the first month they are here. Well Kelly is only here for three weeks and the other two for two months. I am interested in seeing how that goes for them being over there and traveling to Bocas for service and groceries and such. Hopefully the boat drivers give them a deal on the fare to Bocas. They will make the trip a lot.
It's been raining today off and on. But it is good for the plants we just transplanted. Tonight we are having the Floyd's over for cards and so we must have our family worship before they come. We have been listening to the year book on line. It is very fortunate we have most of the literature online. We have not gotten our year books yet or our song books. We are supposed to start our new song book in March. But Scott and I have been practicing them already. We have been given a song book by a visiting sister, how nice for us!
Our SAD is March 14th in Volcan. Volcan is closer. It will be so easy to attend compared to going to El Espino near Panama City. We are looking forward to it very much. We will stay with friends there and then possibly have a little vacation while there.
Scott started a new job working on line doing web development. Thanks to his nice cousins he got a good referral. Now he is learning a computer language that will take some time but he has been working on it for a while and continues to put time and energy into it. Like most things it takes time and the progress is slow. He is hoping to sell his gutter business but right now during winter nothing is going on with it. Winter is always slow for construction. But computer work is not weather sensitive. :)
That's all for now. We continue to hope all is well with everyone and you all are busy in Jehovah's service as we try to continue to be. Better is a live dog then a dead lion.

A Good Day

2010-01-18T13:21:00.000-08:00

Today was a great day for me. I started out slow but was in high gear by ten o'clock. We had an English group pioneer meeting here in Bocas. What was special about it is all the pioneers from Almirante and Changinola came to enjoy it with our pioneers in Bocas. This included the Special Pioneers. After the meeting they all went to the Floyd's for lunch and off to the beach for some fun in the sun. I, however, did not go. I was home with Riese and two young sisters that came from Changinola with their parents, while the meeting was going on. This family is from Missouri and are checking out Changinola to move to. So the three kids came to my house. In the mean time my study Heidy came over for her study and I made cookies to take over to the lunch. We finished our study, and the cookies, and walked over to the Floyd's to eat and everyone was going every which way getting ready for the beach. Heidy and I sat and ate and watched all the commotion as the house emptied out. We then went to Ixa's bike shop so I could help customers while her employees were taking their lunch hours. So Heidy and I sat and enjoyed visiting and her little brother came and got a new tire for his bike and after the employee came back I came home to rest and Heidy went home to do laundry. This was the first time Heidy and I have spend some time together other than in Bastimentos at her house for her study or the meeting so we really had a nice time together. After I see her I always say, "I will be surprised if she doesn't come into the truth." I pray for that and hope I can be a good teacher for her but our whole group is taking part in helping her. And of coarse Jehovah makes it grow. So with patience and time I know our efforts in the ministry here will see a small group grow to a large one to Jehovah's honor.

Our Visitors Are Refreshing

2009-12-29T11:05:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately we've lost our battery recharger for the camera so our photos for the blog will be limited until we arrange for a replacement. So many interesting things have been happening it is difficult to find a starting point. We have had many visitors lately and more are coming over the next few months. We had our circuit overseer visit recently. The Flemmings are the couple in the center of the photo. And the Floyd's are here for three months, they are the two on the outside. The Flemmings and the Floyds knew each other from many years ago. Our CO and his wife are missionaries who are permanently substituting for the English circuit in Panama. We enjoyed their visit very much. Misty is a great teacher and her husband Shane is also a great speaker and teacher. She has some great, simple illustrations for bible studies. Shane was sick while here so I have a feeling we didn't get the real Shane. He and Misty stayed at my mother-in-law's house. We fed them lunch and dinner three times. With the visitors here it was much easier on our group as far as meals. Ixa set them up with bikes and our week with them went very smoothly.

Troy and Parrity Murray

Troy and Parrity were a delight to have in our group for a month. He helped to put our territories on the computer and now we are able to make any changes to them and print them out at will. Almost immediately they acted as they have belonged here. They made themselves at home and were very helpful in the ministry and at the meetings. Troy being an elder he was able to give two public talks and various parts on the service meetings. And Parrity was always willing to give talks on the school. They left us on Sunday and we feel their absence already.

This is Andrea, she came for a short time from the Murray's congregation. She is enjoying a pipa in this picture.

Here's Cheryl with a couple of studies. These pictures are really tiny aren't they? I stole them from Troy so it's gonna hafta due.

Here's our group after, or maybe before, a day in the ministry. The lovely lady next to Cheryl is a sister from NY who came to see if she'd like to move where the need is great. Her name is Sashi and she's pioneering. The last day she was here we all went to the beach so she could experience it before she left. It was raining and overcast but we had a good time.

Here are the Paul's and company. They came for a visit from their vacation in Costa Rica. The girls have been helping out an English congregation in Limon in Costa Rica. They are checking out different areas to move to.

Busy in the Ministry

2009-11-27T13:38:00.000-08:00

Wes is reading the Bible Stories book to one of my studies neighbor kids. They are Jennifer and Jonathan. She says she's eleven and he's eight. She does not have a concept of numbers yet. And he doesn't talk yet. But they are sweet kids willing to learn.

Here we are, Ixa, Tony, and Wes working territory along the ocean front today. The waves were coming up over the side walk.

Tie Dye Mania

2009-11-27T13:32:00.000-08:00

Wes, Riese, and I have been doing arts and craft classes every week. We are learning tie dye t-shirts.

Riese likes the freedom of wildly throwing color about.

We have decided to make this a way to gain income for living here. I think not only will it be lucrative but fun!

Can you see why the magnetism? If anyone comes to visit bring white t-shirts. We will make sure they do not stay that way.

New Babies

2009-11-27T13:23:00.000-08:00

We have two new baby kittens added to our large cat family. Yes, we now have six cats. Ugh.

They were born last week Thursday the 19th.

Awe, how could you not love that face?

A roaring lion seeking to devour some momma's milk. They are opening their eyes now and getting fat.

No, we are not keeping them.

Pretty Silly Kitty's and Stuff

2009-11-17T10:05:00.000-08:00

Yes people it's an addiction but I see no reason to quit when something is harmless and makes you this happy.

It's Madi and her mini me. Wes mad the fluffy Madi look alike and she doesn't seem impressed.

Yawn, reading the bible makes me so sleepy.

Well, watching a movie makes me sleepy.

Yay, we put together the whole puzzle my dad sent.

Fat Moma Kitty

2009-11-17T09:55:00.000-08:00

This girl is gonna pop any moment. When she does you will see the babies, hopefully, in a future blog.

I've seen the babies moving in her belly. Very fun.

Don't be jealous. It a hard life, really.

Boy Catches Fish

2009-11-17T09:50:00.000-08:00

His mom made dough and he put it on the hook. The line was wrapped around a plastic bottle.

He accidently dropped the bottle in the water after putting the hook in the water first.

As he was getting the bottle out of the water a fish grabbed his hook then he pulled it up. He he.

He promptly took it to his mom to cook.

The end of this day came with a storm. We had to wait it out for an hour or so.

This was before it got dark. It was very beautiful.

Water Apple Tree

2009-11-17T09:36:00.000-08:00

Provides shade and food

Apple blossoms on the ground.

Blossoms in the tree. Wow, a lot of apples coming.

They're spikey peddles.

To be continued. Next time on blog: The Apple

Odd and Ends, Some More Odd than End

2009-11-17T09:17:00.000-08:00

Naomi and Chris are going to move here to Bocas and be in our group. They think it will happen by March of next year. They came for two weeks and stayed with Cheryl. They are a lovely couple. Both pioneer and are excited to help out.

Sometimes you see interesting things while in the ministry. They boy had a huge piece of styrofoam and was using it like a boat. Kids may not have a lot materially but they find creative ways to play.

Wes and I saw a moma bird fly away from a bush and heard her baby birds chirping. We found her nest and took picture of the babies.

My study Nayrobi was getting extensions in her hair one day when I went to study with her. She still studied with this going on, a novella on the tv and kids running around the house. Whew! I had to talk loud. :)

Here's one of the kids at her house. She put a chicken bone on the couch next to me then wanted to get into everything I had, like most babies her age. She had fallen on the cement face first so had these scabes and scars on her poor face. But I've seen her sense and she's looking good.

Steve's step dad Ernie gave the talk in Bastimentos one Saturday and then we all went to the Thai restuarant afterward.

We walk throught the jungle in the mud so we had to leave our shoes by the entrance when we arrived at the Restaurant. It's called Island Time.

We called ahead and had twelve people. This is on a deck perched out over the jungle. It was dark when we went so there are no scenery pictures.

The Thai cook. She and her husband own it. She does all the cooking herself.

Steve's parents were visiting so we went there for a treat with them. This is Ernie and Betty Smith.

Steve and Angie

Ixa tried Pad Thai for the first time. She liked it. This was some hot Pad Thai though. Yikes!

Scott and I posing for the picture. Scott has us look away from the flash so his eyes will be open.

Wes exiting the restaruant with his Pepsi.

Trip to the Beach

2009-11-17T08:42:00.000-08:00

One Sunday Angie organized a trip to Red Frog beach with some of the kids we study with. There

were 22 people on the boat. Max is always our boat driver and his boat does not go fast with just our group of nine in it.

Eunice and her girls, Alle and Grace, and her niece Amy.

A truck took the group across the island to the beach. Usually we walk.

Cheryl's study Shakira

Wes' study Josiah

Playing football.

Grace

Nice end to a nice day.

Nature outing

2009-11-17T08:30:00.000-08:00

Sea grapes.

One Sunday afternoon we took a bike ride with Steve and Angie out to Bluff beach. It was supposed to be an easy leisurely ride but we did end up going through a lot of huge mud areas. The road is being fixed so soon maybe it will be easier to bike. But for now it's still an adventure in beach road biking.

A vine growing across the sand.

A crab cleaned his hole out and left this interesting design in the sand.

Wave bubbles

Bluff beach. The most beautiful beach we have but you cannot swim there. The waves are too dangerous. But surfers do go there but they stay out in the water. People drown here.

Happy, dirty, sweaty bikers

More happy, dirty, sweaty, bikers.

We met a man on the beach walking this crazy dog. He was obessed with tearing apart coconut shells. ( the dog not the man.)

The vet and the vet assistant

2009-11-17T08:15:00.000-08:00

Tookey was fighting to much and roaming the hood. So to calm him down and hopefully lessen the wounds he comes home with we decided to have the vet neuter him. We set up my kitchen table as the surgery and went to work.

Here's Tookey getting sleepy after his shot.

I got to hold him and get the supplies ready. At first I couldn't look then I got used to it. The whole thing took about an hour and a half and cost $45. Should have seen him come out of the effects of the sleeping shot. He couldn't walk but he insisted on it. So he would walk a few steps and fall over. This continued all evening. The next morning he was back to normal and back outside.

Some of Hospital Point and some other stuff

2009-10-05T15:23:00.000-07:00

UUO (unidentified underwater object)Can you spot the flounder?Here it is swimming. Pretty groovy huh? Both it's eyes are on top. See them? He swims flat.
A very tolerant dog. These chicks like to climb on him and peck at what ever it is they think is on him.
Have you seen anything so cute? Yes, I love chickens.

Look Amber L I got a picture of that tiny blue fish with the bright green spots.
Can you see the spider crab on the side of the rock? He was shy. But I had just learned about them and saw them right away.
HUGE brain coral. It's bigger than I am long.
Wow am I excited to be snorkeling.
Wes tired of being in the water.
Great get-up.
I can float on my back, just in case the need arises.
The water was blurry that day because the warm and the cold water would mix and it would be impossible to take a clear picture. But this one is actually clear. But it was late afternoon and there was no direct sunlight. Next time I'll do better.