Guest Blog Post

Guest Blog Post

Hello all! If it seems like it’s been months since we’ve made contact and updated this blog it’s because it actually HAS been months.  I AM working on a recap of some of the highlights, but in the meantime, I am so happy to present our first-ever-post on this blog by a guest!!! Two friends from our church back home, Melissa and Ben, came to visit us this month!!  Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Melissa after a nice three week visit. 🙁  It helps to ease the pain having Ben around until the beginning of October, but we all miss Melissa’s sweet, fun presence around here!  I love the intention with which she engages people in conversation.  She asks great questions, and is transparent and open in her own answers.   Melissa is quick to...

Well

Well

Well… we just recently had a team from HydroMissions and Rowan Engineering School drill a water well on our property to serve the neighboring village.  They packed in all of the well drilling equipment, hand pumps and other well paraphernalia from the US.  They arrived on a Sunday after an overnight bus ride from Panama City, put on their games faces and started drilling. Over the next week they drilled three wells and settled on one that had such a high replenishment rate that even bailing it out as fast as possible didn’t seem to have any effect on the water level – awesome!  This in the midst of (what we are told is) the longest dry spell here in remembered history.  The creeks are dry, the ground is hard, hotels are running out...

Quick update!

Quick update!

If you read through the last blog posts, you might recall us asking for prayer for Orlando who was spiritually in a state of actively seeking God, but not yet ready to surrender to Him completely.  About three days after that post, Orlando shared that he was ready to receive the gift of salvation and is now a brother in Christ.  What a joy it is to know one day we will be together with him worshiping the Lord together!!  Thank you to all who prayed for him, please continue to lift him up as the Spirit leads you. Camille made a celebratory, so-glad-we’re-brothers-and-sisters-in-Christ cake, and we had a little get together to celebrate this new life in Christ. We continue to meet weekly with Simon and Amalia, and Orlando and Yamilet for a Bible Study...

A Long, Long-overdue Post, part 2

A Long, Long-overdue Post, part 2

Here are some random highlights of life around here the past month or two: Here’s the vegetable stand we go to every week for our produce.  This is what it looks like empty, right before they begin unloading the truck on Tuesday mornings. Here are some South African friends, Steve and Di, with whom we love spending time.  We love visiting with them on their sailboat or having them over and I have to tell you, the most delicious meals come out of this little galley and into our bellies.  Amazing!  Have I ever mentioned how much we love South Africans???  Ethan took most of these photos: More fun times with Steve and Di and good friends Chris and Pam, people who make our life here richer!   And more gourmet foods from Di’s kitchen. ...

A Long, Long-overdo Post part 1

A Long, Long-overdo Post part 1

Well, I confess that it’s been so long since we’ve written a blog update, I had to go back and re-read what we’d already written to even know where to begin!  I will attempt to set aside my predisposition for giving way too much detail and summarize the past few months as briefly as I can. At the end of October, our beloved friends who are more like family, Seth, Janelle and their three kids returned to the States to relocate to a new surgical position in the NW.  Our kids felt the pain of saying goodbye to these precious friends…and of course, so did Bobby and I!  I can’t overstate the fact that when you are in community with “soul” brothers and sisters, it’s beautiful.  It’s whets my appetite for deeper,...

Busy Tropical Life

Busy Tropical Life

It has been many months since our last blog post.  Life here on the island has been quite busy and it’s been hard to make time to recap and write blog posts.  Although, the great thing about writing an update is the fact it causes us to reflect on our lives and see where we’re going, where we’ve been and all of the amazing things God has done in our lives.  So here it goes… Arrived home from the US, here on the island in early August.  We had an AWESOME time visiting friends and family back in Washington.  Sometimes we forget how much easier life is in the US.  Grocery stores with stocked shelves, good internet, shipping to your door, roads and ice cream – mmmmmm.  But best of all, our wonderful friends, family and church...

In The US

In The US

Hello family and friends! We made it home after a really long but really smooth two days of travel from Panama! The kids were beyond excited as the day to leave approached.  Even Ethan actually seemed to understand the concept that we had to get on a total of one boat, three planes and a few car rides before arriving at our final destination, our favorite airport in the world, PDX. 😉 Stunning Mt. Hood as we prepared to land in Portland! The beauty of the Northwest! Here is what was waiting for us on the other side of the security check point after getting off of the plane. I wish you could hear the cheer and hoots that accompanied this Welcome Home crowd! So...

Almost Moving Day

Almost Moving Day

We are soooo close!  We have been working, pushing and wanting to move now since we started the construction in December 2012.  Well, now it looks like we’re moving at the end of the week.  What a construction journey this is, huge ups and huge downs but in the end the Lord’s plan prevails.  We are so excited to build deep relationships with our new neighbors, to start reaching out with Community Health Evangelism, and Lord-willing, opening a medical clinic.  Please be in prayer for us, this journey is taken its toll on us, we are worn out, many new gray hairs for me (Bobby), and down to our last dollar – trusting God daily for His provision, which He has always provided.  We are so hopeful for the future, may God shine His light from this...

April, Almost May Already? Crazy!

April, Almost May Already?  Crazy!

Time truly does fly.  Where does it go?  We love to keep up with our blog to update all of our three fans out there, mom, mom and dad.  But sometimes life gets incredibly busy.  We have been busy hosting teams, building at the new property, living life and building relationships.  God has been so good to us, He is faithful to provide for all of our needs, He has been faithful in keeping us safe and He has been at work in connecting us with tons of people in every sphere of society.  God truly is good, all the time. Praise the Lord for sending us help!  An awesome group of four men from South Africa stayed with us for almost a month doing hard labor: digging septic holes and building a long road from the dock to the multi-purpose building.  It was a great...

5-7-12-28-14

5-7-12-28-14

Random numbers, wouldn’t you say?  No, they aren’t plays from a football playbook or an old combination to my high school locker. 😉  God really knows what this little family of five needs and in the past few months we’ve experienced living in community with 7, then 12, then 28 and now 14.  Community living is great.  It’s hard, it’s rewarding, it’s complicated and stretching yet in many ways much more efficient, simple and fun.  God hones and shapes us and gets to the deeper, “meatier” parts of us that aren’t always exposed and are more easily kept hidden.  It isn’t about God trying to expose us in front of others so that we feel shame.  It’s about iron sharpening iron and revelation for...

Busy Times, Good Times…

Busy Times, Good Times…

It has been over a month since our last post.  Between having very poor internet, Christmas, birthdays, the wonderful Thompson family arriving, a fun-loving 16-member team from Belize arriving, construction and farming of the new property and remote island living – we have been swamped.  God is so good and He is at work, in our lives, our community and in the islands.  We see the seeds being planted and pray that God waters those seeds. Now begins a huge number of photos taken from multiple cameras (hence the random order) recapping our time here: Ellie shows the Thompson girls the ‘secret water hole’ With built-in water slide Ellie head...

Nana y Papa y Noviembre

Nana y Papa y Noviembre

Much to our delight, my parents made a trip to visit us for two weeks in November.  Because of the uncertainty of my dad’s health, Mom thought it best not to share the news of their plans to come down with the kids, just in case they had to cancel plans at the last minute.  With much prayer support behind them, a wonderful doctor’s kit filled with “in case of” meds, and armed with gifts and goodies, they arrived a day earlier than we expected (yay for no night-stay in Panama City!), and here is the reaction of the girls… I (Shirlene) put a movie on for them to avoid any early detection of my parents as they came up the walkway. I let my mom and dad in, and they walked into the room where the girls were watching their movie.  It...

Bat Cave

Bat Cave

To the bat cave! We heard about a bat cave fairly close to where we are living.  Chris and Ashley (Terry & Liz’s son and his wife) were visiting at the time and love adventures as much as Shirlene and I do.  Terry and Liz graciously offered to watch our kiddos.  Shirlene & I headed over to where Chris & Ashley were staying, across the bay and while we were there, Chino, a local Ngobe man who’s family owns the land the cave is on, offered to drive us in our cayuco.  So, all five of us piled in and headed off towards the bay of Bahia Honda.  In the bay we started towards a small clearing in the mangrove which was a creek that headed up into the hills.  As Chino navigated the creek for about a half an hour, I was glad he was driving. ...

October Photos

October Photos

 Some October photos in completely random order for your viewing pleasure.  Ethan’s downward dog.  Bella and Ethan love to play on the hammock.  Ethan looking for “Lih” (Liz).  Rides on the “wee wee.”  Moving day for Terry, Liz & Odie.  They are heading to Potrerillos, Panama to work with the YWAM base there.  We will miss them.  We spent 6 crazy months with them here on the island.  😉  Ethan tries to start every motor he finds.  He has the form down. Loading Gene’s cayuco – it was awesome!  We needed to tie down the mattresses so they drove some nails into the sides and tie downs were born.  The precious mattress.  This is Terry & Liz’s incredible memory foam mattress.  The...

Oh Glorious Day!

Oh Glorious Day!

Oh Glorious Day! Many of you know that my parents are about to board a plane to begin to the journey down here to see us.  Oh glorious day!  I can’t tell you how ecstatic I am!!  We left PDX airport in the middle of March, making a stop-over in Virginia to say goodbye to dear friends, and arrived in Panama on March 29th.   It’s been 7 ½ months since we’ve seen any of family “in the flesh” and in the words of our Bella, “that is just too long, Mommy!”  I agree.  One of the downfalls to having a wonderful, loving family, in case you were wondering, is that when you are apart from them, the pain is much greater! Because of Dad’s uncertain health (he’s been living with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia for over 25 years now, a beautiful miracle...