Decameron Resort August 25-29, 2014

The Martins end their mission near the end of October or beginning of November and they wanted to go to the Decameron Resort during maintenance, but didn't want to go alone, so Bjarnasons and us went along. We love the Martins! Hermana Martin, Celia, has become a cherished friend! President Martin, Andrés, has been very good at helping Jim progress in the temple. He's letting Jim officiate using audio phones. They are from Argentina and will be missed when they leave!!! 

This is a picture driving over the Bridge of the Americas. It was constructed in an attempt to have the PanAmerican highway connect North and South America, but there is still a gap near the border between Panama and Colombia. The ships go under this bridge when entering or leaving the Panama Canal. 

This picture shows some of the beach and the coastline in the distance. This is called Panama Bay, I believe. It is on the Pacific side. 

This picture shows some of the housing and part of one of several pools throughout the resort. We didn't know we'd be able to do stuff like this, so we had to buy shorts and bathing suits. 

This is a view from near the location of our rooms. At first I was disappointed that our rooms weren't overlooking the beach and ocean, but it was quieter up higher and it afforded exercise because there was a lot of food. 

Another poolside picture.

This is overlooking a small wading/kiddies pool and the fitness hut. 

This is one of the many staircases we had available to get to the beach. This one was right next to our building. Here is Jim with the Martins on the way to the beach. The Bjornasons usually used a ramp that went down to the beach. They saw about 6 bearded dragons and iguanas along the path one morning on their way back down to the beach. 

This is the bottom half of the stairs that Jim and the Martins were descending.

The landing near the bottom left corner of the picture is the upper part of the previous photo. Very long stairs!

A man would bring these horses to the beach. We saw a few people getting pictures taken on the horse. There's also the possibility that those who came to sell their wares came on the horse. 

These are some of the treasures I found on one of the many walks along the beach with Hermana Martin. I eventually found three beautiful conche shells, varying sizes. 

One afternoon we went kayaking with the Byarnasons and President Martin. The yellow kayaks are for two people and the green one is for a single person. 

This was my meal on the last night we were at Decameron. It was delicious! It was coconut prawns and mashed potatoes, plus a salad and dessert bar. Jim and I usually shared our meals, so I've already got some of his clams, shrimp and squid on my plate. 

This was a mural on one of the walls in one of the buffet restaurants, the Panamai. It represents some of the cultures around Panamar, Panama Viejo and Casco Viejo (two sections of Panama City from the 15th and 17th centuries), some of the flora and fauna, and the canal. 

I couldn't get this part of the mural into the previous picture. It shows the San Blas Islands and the Kuna Indians (or Guna Indians, as they call themselves) who inhabit these islands. The islands are on the Caribbean side of the country. The temple president is going to take us there on Monday for our P Day. 

This picture is for Rachel. This couple were practicing the silks for the evening show. Grandpa and I felt so close to you while we were watching them practice. We are so proud of the many things you have accomplished! Rachel have you ever thought about writing up some of these accomplishments as Personal Progress goals? I think you'd surprise yourself at how many goals or projects you've already accomplished through gymnastics, circus and track. 

Driving back over the Bridge of the Americas on our way home. 

This is a cargo ship we saw getting led toward the Miraflores Lock.

 

Jim's Birthday August 24, 1944

 Jim's birthday was on a Sunday this year. It was a quiet day, like most Sundays. 

Our ward is very unique because it is mostly bilingual. There are a lot of members who are expat Americans who are living in Panama now. One family have lived here for over 20 years and have raised their family here. There are several families who have one or both of them working at the American Embassy. Another couple, the Vandors, are from Sweden and are only here for a few months to adopt a couple of children. I'll talk about them in another blog. We have a few Columbian families, a couple of Mexican members, and a Canadian family. The Canadian family, the Flickingers, have spent most of their marriage working in the US. Sister Flickinger was recently hired to be the director of the international school the Carmack's daughter attends. Anyway...the ward, Cárdenas, usually has at least one talk in English and one song in English. The Sunday School lesson is Spanish one week and English the next. Both of these meetings are translated, as well as the Relief Society lesson. 

Here's a picture of Jim blowing out his birthday candle. His birthday cake was a stack of No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Coconut Cookies. President and Hermana Martin brought over pear juice, crustless tuna sandwiches and Pascualina. 

The Bjornasons brought over zucchini bread. The Borens and the Panamanian temple missionaries had gone to their homes during the break. 

It is so wonderful being here serving The Lord in His Holy House! This is going to be a year that we will never forget!

August 22, 2014 Out and About with the Massaros

I forgot to mention that while the temple is closed for maintenance we obviously are not able to work in the temple, so the two previous blogs, this one and the next two are showing what we did during maintenance. 

We've been wanting to learn how to use the bus to go to a variety of locations, so Elder & Hermana Massaro offered to show us around. 

This is Hermana & Elder Massaro. They arrived in Panama 2 days after us. President & Hermana Carmack, Panama Mission President & wife, invited us all to their apartment for dessert so we could all meet each other. The Massaros stayed in the Temple Patron apartments for a couple of weeks, and then President Boren, the temple president, gave them permission to stay in one of the temple missionary apartments until they could find an apartment in downtown Panama City. During this time we got to be good friends. They are the Panama Mission nurses. It's nice to have someone on whom we can bounce health issues. This is their second mission. Their first was to Spain as medical missionaries. 

We went to the Panama Mission office first, and then to the small church where Massaros attend church. (Elder Massaro has been called to serve in the bishopric as a counsellor. I think this is odd that a ward, who should have sufficient priesthood to be a ward, would need to call a missionary to do this calling. He said that Pres. Carmack said it would be okay, but he can only dedicate Sunday to this calling. The bishop agreed.) this artisan market is just across and down the street from the church. It's a market we'll bring those who come to visit. 

This is at the Panama Viejo museum, which is just a short walk to Panama Viejo. Panama Viejo was destroyed when the pirate, Captain Morgan, came to plunder the city of the gold the Spaniards had brought in to ship back to Spain. 

The mud in the middle of this picture is a result of low tide. I should have taken a picture of the sign that explained that once every year a group of migrating birds fills this space. I'd love to see this! In the distance is modern Panama towering over Panama Viejo (Old Panama). 

After we left here, we caught a bus back to their apartment for lunch. Hermana Massaro made the most delicious homemade buns! She even gave us some to take home. I'll have to get her recipe because I know it works here.  

About a block away from their apartment is a furniture store nearby where Elder Massaro found a shoulder strap for their umbrella and it had the name of the store on the cover. The Bjornasons have been asking the Massaros about getting them one, so we stopped in to see if it was possible for them to buy one. The store gave us all an umbrella with their logo on it, plus a bottle of water. (This is the umbrella we were given.) They had a pillow inside with a Canadian flag design which they were selling for $95. I was tempted!

We get to see the Massaros every time they come to the temple. They are such a positive, happy couple!

Boquete, Chiriqui, Panamá (August 18-20, 2014)

We decided to go to Boquete with Elder and Hermana Bjornason. It is a town in the Chiriqui province near the Costa Rican border. There are a lot of expat Canadians and Americans who live there. Boquete is a cooler climate than Panama City because of the altitude.  

While we were waiting for our bus we were able to play with some children who were travelling with their mothers. What delightful children! The little guy had the most gorgeous smile! The mother looked very young and was travelling with her three small children. Their bus wasn't leave for David until midnight. They were natives from the Boquete/David part of Panama (I can't remember the name of this group of natives). 

We caught a bus at 11 pm, thinking we'd be able to sleep on the bus. It was very uncomfortable. I think I had the worst sleep, followed by Elder Mathieson. The Bjornasons seemed to be sleeping every time I looked over at them. The bus was a double decker and our seats were on the second level. The picture above is a picture of our bus tickets. The bus only went to David, the second largest city in Panama. It got in around 5:30 am. From there we had to catch another bus to Boquete. The bus was a retired school bus from the US. The bus stopped often to pick people up for work and school. It got very crowded. It cost us about $1.75 each. Boquete is about 35 kms from David. We got off the bus a short distance from the house of the senior missionary couple who are serving in Boquete. 

This is Hermana and Elder Presley. They are from California. They started their mission July 1, 2013 only one day after he retired. They were involved in a serious car accident near the beginning of the year. They were travelling about 80 km down the highway when Elder Presley was startled by a wasp. I think he said it startled him because he's allergic. Their car went off to the side of the road and the guardrail went through the windshield and cut through the middle of the car. Elder Presley lost his right pinky finger, had glass embedded in his hand, broke his nose, had something just miss one of his eyes, and a few other cuts. Hermana Presley's lower lip was cut open and her skin was peeled back from the lower half of her face. I believe she said she also had to have oral surgery. They both had to have plastic surgery to repair damages, but feel they had excellent surgeons and medical care. 

Presley's fed us breakfast, and then took us to a farmer's market where they have a table to share pamphlets and Books of Mormon. We met up with Peter and Donna Wendt. They are American expats who now live in Boquete. The Wendts had us all to their place for lunch. 

This is Peter and Donna Wendt. They met in Hawaii prior to his mission. He is originally from Germany. 

This is a picture of the cabin the Wendts are renting. They have a lease so are living here until it expires. They own two condominiums in Boquete. 

This is the back deck of the cabin and where we ate lunch. It was an absolutely beautiful setting!

Elder Mathieson and I spent the night with the Wendts. This is inside the cabin. It is a really nice place!

Donna and I had just finished making breakfast. 

Elder Mathieson and me on the back deck of the Wendt's cabin. 

Just enjoying the serenity. 

A beautiful flower on the vine along the side of the cabin. 

A side view of the flower. Colours are so vibrant here!

After lunch the Wendts and Elder & Hermana Presley drove Elder & Hermana Bjarnason and us around the Boquete area. 

Hermana & Elder Mathieson, Elder & Hermana Presley, and Hermana & Elder Bjarnason in front of a really cool rock wall. 

Here we are in front of another section of the rock face. Isn't nature wonderful!

This was a dead tree that someone carved alongside the road. You can see these all around Boquete. 

Boquete is the part of Panama where coffee is grown. They claim it is the best coffee in the world...we'll never know. 

Just to show you the size of a coffee plant I took a picture of Elder Mathieson next to a coffee bush. 

We drove up a mountain to a waterfall. 

Panama is a beautiful country!

Farmland on the side of a mountain. 

An interesting flowering tree. No one knew its name. 

Another interesting, beautiful flower hanging from a tree. 

Chickens along the road. 

Elder Bjarnason crossing the footbridge to go to the area where Hermana & Elder Presley visit teach and home teach. 

Elders Mathieson, Bjarnason and Presley with Hermana Bjornason on the path alongside the river. 

This is a little girl who was filling containers from the white plastic pipe coming out of the side of the hill. I asked her if I could take her picture. Afterwards she came over and I showed her the picture. What a sweetly!

If you look very closely you'll be able to see a house in the middle of the picture. This is the little girl's house. The people are quite poor who live here, but seem to be very happy. We could all learn from them!

This is Baru, a dormant volcano near Boquete and is the highest place in Panama. We chose not to go up to the top of the volcano because we didn't have very much time. They say you have to hire a guide because too many people have gotten lost and have not been found again. It's safe to go with a guide on foot or in a 4x4.

 

This is a picture of the pool outside the back of the Presley's house. They let the kids that live in behind their house swim in it, only when they are home. The ward does not have their own chapel. They rent two rooms on the upper level of a strip mall, so the Presley's pool doubles as a baptismal font. 

The children in this photo are part of 11 people who live in a three bedroom tin house Elder Presley and some members built for them. It was originally built for a family of five, but the brother of the man brought his family to live with them. Prior to the house being built for them they lived in a very ramshackle of a structure without a bathroom or water. Now they have water, a bathroom and a missionary couple who have Family Home Evening with them and bake them cookies. Hermana Presley also bakes them birthday cakes to celebrate their birthdays. The children are very sweet!

It was a nice, but tiring trip!