Joyful Journey

Last trip: The men working on the 2nd floor windows On our last trip to Panama, we stayed at a wonderful mission house, which we enjoyed, but it required an hour each way to get to  and from Casa Providencia.  This trip Bob looked into the cost difference if we stay at the Hotel Melia, which is literally around the corner from Casa Providencia. When he looked at the savings in gas, it ended up being the same cost.  With our breakfast included, we were able to leave the hotel rested and ready to start the day. Each team member was eager to see the progress on the inside, as we had driven by on Sunday and seen improvements.  We met Matt and began the tour.  What an encouragement!! We began by riding the elevator up to the first floor.  The guys had helped on last trip with building some of the structure that was needed before the elevator could be installed. We arrived on the first floor and the first thing I noticed was the windows.  The guys on...

Although the team was all a bit tired, we were excited to begin our time and enjoyed a lovely buffet breakfast at the hotel and waited for Donny from Heart's Cry Children's Ministry to pick us up and take us to their office for a time of orientation.  We were warmly welcomed by Misty, Ana and Peter.  As Ana shared with us again the vision of Heart's Cry, we looked forward to assisting in a small way in helping Casa Providencia be able to open its doors to the special needs orphans of Panama.  They began the orientation we needed before we could visit one of the 53 orphanges in Panama that afternoon.  We were briefed on how to interact with the children there. Our team We had hoped to attend Gambo church again, but the roads there were under construction and so it wasn't practical to try to attend.  Instead we visited Crossroads Bible Church and were greatly blessed.  We enjoyed singing in English and Spanish. (So glad they had the words displayed vi...

Lobby of our hotel I had truly hoped to write these blog posts while in country, but I was not able to connect to the internet on my tablet (only my phone) and photos took a looooooong time to upload, so I jotted down notes to share after we returned home. The reason I blog is primarily selfish.  I want to have in writing what I have seen God do in my heart and life through many different circumstances.  I am so prone to forget; I want a way to prod my memory from time to time of His faithfulness towards me, sanctifying me to be more like my Savior. Although the blog is personal, I will also share things that we as a group shared, either informally as we were working together or during our devotional times together.  I'm not going to include everything that happened on the trip, but do hope to share enough posts that anyone reading will get an insight into what the Lord did in our hearts during this trip, as well as what He did through our time there. I must sta...