Hello all…
It has been some time since I posted here, and I am sorry for that. The end of school is always a busy time. Combine that with getting ready to leave Panama, coming back to the States for some time with family and friends eating at restaurants we miss, and strutting through the frozen food aisle at Publix…and then actually coming back to spend time with family and friends and restaurants and Publix…and, well, you get a pretty good excuse in my book! Hahahaha!
Anyway, the school year ended in usual style…you know, hurrying up to finish curriculum, reviewing for exams, writing exams, administering exams, grading exams, cleaning up the classroom, etc…
It was a good time. The seniors graduated and went on their way. Many are either at or soon will be at their college of choice soon. I’m thankful for having been able to spend time with those seniors and in particular for being able to teach some advanced level biology to 4 brave individuals! And I pray that God grabs hold of them mightily and increasingly conforms their will to His will.
The rest of the school was happy to leave and most of them will be returning next year so I will see them shortly!
We flew out of Panama on June 19th and landed in Atlanta. We got our bags and brought them over to the conveyor belt to put them on our next plane. After that we had a couple hours to kill before our flight to Orlando departed…so we bought lunch…Chick-fil-A!!! The funny thing was that since my Spanish is a little bit better than Ali’s, she began telling me her order and the kids’ orders as well. I said to her, “You do realize that they can understand you here, right?” So that was funny.
We took off and landed in Orlando. My parents came to pick us up and we made it back to Orange Park.
We have been housed with Ali’s parents and the boys with my parents.
Coming back here after a year I really noticed how much Spanish I had actually learned. So that was very cool! Oh, and Target is even better now than what I remember. Oh, and Publix is still the BEST! I’m just saying!
It has been an ongoing joke that I pretty much lived at Publix when I lived in Florida…and it’s sort of true. I simply got into the habit of buying whatever we needed for the day as opposed to buying a lot of stuff for a lot of days! So, yes, I was always there. And then, of course, there’s the frozen food aisle.
I love the frozen food aisle at Publix! They have these motion sensor lights that come on when anyone walks by. Anytime I was feeling “blue” I would make sure to get to Publix early in the morning so the crowds were small…why…because with too many people around the motion sensors were keeping the lights on in the aisle all the time!
Anyway, I would go to Publix in the mornings when the crowds were small, and STRUT! Yes, you read that right…strut! Just bring up your memory banks of the Travolta movie, “Staying Alive” and you’ll remember “the strut” at the end!
So to pick yourself up when you’re feeling blue, simply go to your local Publix, find the frozen food aisle, and wait for the lights to go dark in the doors. Then strut and watch all the lights turn on to shine on you while strutting your stuff!
If you’re interested, yes, there actually is video now! It’s on Facebook and I’m not smart enough to know how to save it to put it here, so send me a friend request and then go to the following link!
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=475277289151507&set=t.1059015038&type=3&theater
We’ve also been eating our way through our visit here. Cheesecake factory, Rosy’s, Outback, O’Steen’s, Cantina Laredo, Don Juan’s, Bonefish, Crispers, Columbia, Ale House, Sushi House, Lime Leaf, Bowl of Pho, Farrah’s, Yum Yum Tree, Sonny’s, Everybody’s Restaurant, G’s BBQ Hut, Ming Moon, Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, IHOP…you know, standard fare…Oh, and eating at people’s houses as well! Yumm!!! I do appreciate the hospitality, that’s for sure!
Oh, and I think I’ve put on 10 pounds! Yikes!
We also got to go to Crossroads Family Worship Center, Christ’s Church-Mandarin, Old Providence Baptist Church, and Harvest Bible Church-Jacksonville. Wonderful places of worship!
We even go to speak a couple times and explain what it is we do in Panama…so many stories to tell!
I am tired at times from all the running around…and eating and strutting…but I am very much rejuvenated and ready to get back to Panama. I thank all of you here for putting up with me and being hospitable to me and my family so we could get some rest and have some fun and see some faces and catch up! ‘Twas wonderful!
We head back to Panama on the 19th. I’m going to have to take another trip to Publix, I think, to get my strut on one more time before departing…
So what’s coming up?
- Well, let’s just start with the fact that we are still looking for at least one teacher to fill a spot…two teachers would be better. Math? Science? Math/Science? If you know of anyone that fits that bill, let me know…{wink}
- Classes begin August 9th, so pray for me and for the other teachers at CCA and for all that goes into getting students into desks and information into minds!
- Pray for the office staff and the administration and the board so that things can run smoothly in the classrooms and Jesus can be glorified.
- Ali and I, along with a handful of other folks, will be attending PAAM training this Fall. PAAM stands for Panameños Alcanzando al Mundo…Panamanians Reaching the World…and trains people in Panama as missionaries so that they can go elsewhere and work. So we’ll have that going on.
- We are also going to be facilitating a marriage small group study through Crossroads Bible Church called “Love and Respect”…I suggest you “Google” it and check it out…it’s awesome!
- We will possibly be doing another study of “The Truth Project” with high school students again…maybe in the Spring.
- I’ll be working with the youth at Crossfire again this year.
- We also have some families (friends of ours) coming to Panama to visit and to do short term mission work, so that’s cool!
- Lastly, Ali and I are signed up with RCE too. What is that? Well, it will make more sense if you read our Support Page…{wink wink}! Basically, for those of you that support us financially or want to support us financially, this group will replace what you have had to do before with actually writing paper checks and mailing it, etc…Bleh! Things will be able to be done online and automatically if you so choose! Yay! But more to come on that issue later on!
Lots and lots going on!
Oh, and I’ll be pushing El Rey to get motion sensor lights for their frozen food aisle so I can “strut!”
Thank you for reading…thank you for praying…And I’ll be back soon!
Soli Deo Gloria!
PilliOddsAndEnds 