On Sunday, we visited the pastor and his village again--this time, we worked on his home, which is a tiny structure made of wood and plastic. We helped install wooden beams to provide more support, and we covered the roof with tarp and black plastic to keep rain out (the intensity of rainy season is right around the corner for Panama). This is only temporary, though, because the bigger plan is for his home to be completely re-built. It was a blessing to be a part of the work in progress, though! The pastor's eyes were full of life and thankfulness, and he was so eager to help us in any way possible. The same can be said for the other men in the village. They were willing to help with all the digging, moving dirt, hammering...
Sunday evening we had dinner with the Cottons, the missionaries living here at Casa Paraiso. They have been a blessing to us all week, cooking meals for us and providing us with what we need. Then, yesterday morning, Dan Cotton took us to a National Park! We ran miles through the rain forest, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells. Before we knew it we had run quite a while! We saw GIGANTIC trees, swinging vines, an armadillo, a snake, over-sized spiders, and a beautiful rushing waterfall.
The waterfall was the highlight of our early morning in the rain forest. We climbed off the path to get to the streams... we followed the rushing waters into two pools of water, in which we jumped with a SPLASH! The water was so refreshing, especially since we were sweaty from our run. After continuing to follow the stream of water, we came to the waterfall--and climbed down it! It was careful going, since the rocks were slippery. We all made it down, but of course we had to climb back up! Water spraying in our faces, we gripped the rocks and steadily made our climb. It was a BLAST.
Yesterday was our rest day, and it was much needed. We spent the day with each other, sight-seeing and doing some shopping. What a beautiful place Panama is!
Highlights:
-Trying a really funky fruit! (The shell was really spiky)
-Swimming in the waterfalls
-Having one "tourist" day in Panama (it's a lot different than being a missionary, for sure!)
Go Team P!
Chao,
SJ and Liz
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