Thursday and Friday

Hello again everyone. It has been a long and rewarding week. We finished up early today but have mixed emotions about the end of our trip. We have had a lot of fun and much of it has been due to the individuals pictured above. The gentleman on the left is our bus driver and all around handyman. The one on the right is a full time Metodista missionary here in Panama. They are both very funny and they play as hard as they work! (and vice versa)

The Ngobe language is not the same as Spanish so sometimes we need a Ngobe to Spanish translation. The gentleman pictured above provides that service to the clinic. He is tireless at the age of 72 and was at the clinic the entire time it was open. He does this everytime a missionary group comes to the clinic. He is pictured with his granddaughter.

These wonderful ladies are responsible for us getting to eat lunch each day. They cooked every day for the clinic workers and the food was excellent. There are also Ngobe women who cook for all of the patients. Some of the patients walk for hours to reach the clinic and a good meal goes a long way - so to speak.

Either at lunch or in the evening, we tried to read a passage from the Bible and discuss its application to our mission. This particular day, we discussed how we are all members of one body in Christ Jesus. That each of us, whether Ngobe, Panamanian, or American, is a part of the body of Christ in our service here in Panama.

This picture was just too good to not post. This is a group of Ngobe women displaying their handmade goods outside the clinic. Vera Bradley has nothing on them. They make the bags you see here, necklaces, bracelets, hats, and dresses. The lady in black has a squirrel in her bag. We were told we could buy it for ten dollars. Several of us were interested but we couldn´t figure out how to get it through customs!

The young lady with the tambourine lives near the clinic and is the organizer of all of the activities at the clinic. She was there everyday to open up and close down the clinic. After we left she saw to it that the clinic was clean and ready for us the next day. She also arranged to feed all of the workers and the Ngobe people. The picture was taken today during and impromptu farewell gathering. There were accolades, gifts, and a lot of tears.

What better way to end our last post than with a picture of the children. Children are children no matter where you go. The Ngobe are no exception! They are curious, happy, and just want to have fun. We each seemed to have a special child that attracted our attention during our stay. We watched them play, dance, sing, and recite poetry. We even saw some take a dip in a 55 gallon drum during a rain storm!

Tomorrow we will start our journey back home. We take with us much more than what we left behind as we leave. Thank you for you prayers, love, and support. We give praise to our God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ for the opportunity to serve here in Panama!

Day 3 in the Clinic

Sorry there was no post yesterday. The dental folks were very busy and we got back late. We only had time to get cleaned up, eat, and get to bed. Even if we had time, the internet access was down in the hotel. The following picture is the dental clinic in action. We have an oral surgeon and a general dentist on our team. There is no shortage of work for them.

Today was our busiest day yet. We registered over 80 patients. The clinic ran smoothly and we wrapped up the day just as it started to rain. We did have to send one patient to the hospital as he had an abscess with fever that we were not equipped to handle. The picture below is of one of the regular missionary docs, an interpreter volunteer from the local church, and one of our patients.

Pictured above is our pharmacy in action. The formulary is quite small but meets most all of the clinic's needs. If something is missing, it can be picked up at the local Farmacia and brought to the clinic the next day.

Over the past two days we have been able to go "over the river" and "through the woods" to visit the home of one of the Ngobe. It is not an easy trek as the river bank is steep and the trail is long. The first house is about a quarter of a mile down the foot path. Also, in the rainy season you have to swim or take the bamboo bridge.

We were greeted with open arms and fresh mangos. These were picked from a tree that provides shade for their house. We ate them on site and on the way back to the clinic. In addition to the mango trees, there are cashew trees everywhere. The cashews are ripe but they have to be properly roasted to be edible.

This is the son of the Ngobe pictured above. He uses a chinese replica of a Singer sewing machine to make the dresses worn by the Ngobe women. It is a pedal driven machine like the ones that our grandmother's used. He is very talented and is one of the few Ngobe men does not earn a living working in the fields.

The Ngobe children appear happy and healthy. The girls in this picture are wearing dresses typical of the Ngobe women. More to come! Thanks for your prayer and support!

Day One in the Clinic

Say hello to some of the pharmacy staff. We have representatives from the USA and Panama in all areas of the clinic. In the first picture you can see some of the goods for sale made by the Ngobe people.

Today was a light day in the clinic. It took us until around noon to get set up and we saw around 25 patients. (The waiting area is pictured above.) We took a break around 2pm to have some delicious rice, beans, and ground beef. (Break time pictured to the right.)

We finished clinic around 4pm and took a walk to the river. We met some interesting characters on the way. We also got to take a look at the new bamboo bridge across the river.

This is a natural bridge where two trees touch across the river with bamboo rails. It is about 20 feet above the river which only has about 8 inches of water in it right now.

After returning from the river, we traveled back to the hotel for supper and a short devotional.

Thank you for your support and prayers!

Hola! From the Benton, USA Crew

We are all well! We attended services this morning in David at the host church. The Pastor spoke about Paul´s prayer for the church at Colossus. How he was concerned for the maturation of the church and it´s members. It was a great service expect for the part where we sang. We couldn´t even get it right in Ingles!
Tomorrow we start early with breakfast and then a bus ride to set up the clinic. We hope to be seeing patients before noon. Thank you all for you support and prayers. More to come!

And the rains came

The rains have been heavy. If they keep up the Ngobe will have trouble reaching the clinic. If it is going to rain Monday is the best day so we can organize the clinic.

The team is in good spirits and we are ready.

Team of 13 Health Volunteers En-Route to Panama

Medical/Dental/VBS Team To Panama

Our team all first met in Atlanta en-route to Panama City.  We had e-mailed and communicated by telephone during the planning phase.  The group hails from Shreveport, Louisiana, Ava Missouri, Venedocia, Ohio, Glen Ellyn and Effingham Illinois and Ft. Wayne, Indiana.  Six members of the group have visited the mission in Cienaguita on prior trips and seven are volunteering for the first time. Today (Saturday) is a day of sightseeing in Panama City and travel to David, Panama, which is near our mission site.  Sunday we will worship with our partner host church in David, get better acquainted and began preparations for our first day of clinic and VBS.  Stay tuned!

May Group Gears Up for Dental, Medical and Children's Services

A group of 13 volunteers from hailing from Shreveport, Louisana, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and southern Missiouri will depart for Panama on Friday, May 6 for a 9 day stay.  The United States group consists of  three physicians, two dentists, 1 EMT, 2 RNS, 1 Pharmacist, 1 Respiratory Therapist, 1 Childcare worker a Respiratory Therapist, who will assist with dental care and a child care helper.  The U.S. group will partner with local Panamanian Methodists who will serve as nurses, translators, child care helpers and registrars.

We hope to update this blog daily during our experiences in Panama (as time permits) so that our friends at home can follow our activities.  Please check back on a regular basis to stay up to date with our activities.