Our Panama Trip

The time came for us to renew our passport visas to give us another 90 days in Honduras.  This time our trip took us to Panama!  We decided to fly this time, which was less adventurous than driving to Belize, but was still quite a process!  (5 planes, plus airports in 4 different countries when all was said and done!)  

We only had two days there, and only saw Panama City, so please don't consider this post as anything definitive about Panama!  Our first day we took a taxi ride up a big hill in the city, where we had great views of the city, the canal, and some wildlife.  I'd been hoping to see monkeys, but they were hiding.  We did see a "mountain rabbit," a beautifully colored gigantic caterpillar, and some gorgeous butterflies.  The views of the city were pretty cool too.

Next we went to Albrook Mall, the largest mall in Central America and 13th largest in the world.  It was extremely crowded, even on a Monday afternoon.  Too much noise and commotion for my tastes, but we did kill a few hours there.  We went bowling, rode the carousel, and then went to dinner.  

The next day was the big event!  We got to ride a boat half-way through the canal.  (The full trip would have been too many hours on a boat for our kids and too much money for our budget, so I had to let go of my perfectionism and settle for half-way through.)  We rode from the Pacific entrance to the center, going through three locks that raised the boat up a total of 85 feet--from sea level to the level of the man-made Gatun Lake.  This was all built just over 100 years ago, and it's really amazing to see how it works!  

New locks are also being built that will be able to handle the modern "Post-Panamax" gigantic ships, which are currently too big to fit.  These new locks are supposed to open in April, and we saw them laying the dynamite charges in preparation for blowing up the temporary dyke that holds back the water.  

I tried to add a video, but it was too big.  If you'd like to see the locks in operation (gates closing, filling with water), click HERE.

The next day we flew from Panama to Costa Rica to El Salvador to Honduras, and ended the trip with  the 2+ hour drive back to our house.  A lot of travel for a short visit, but definitely a cool experience!

December Newsletter

Merry Christmas from Honduras! December has gone by quickly, and it's hard to believe Christmas is just days away!  Especially since it's still 80 degrees on many afternoons!  Honduras has many of the same Christmas traditions that we have in the States . . . similar songs, Christmas trees, red and green decorations, giving gifts, and celebrating the birth of Christ.  There are some differences though, the biggest being the use of fireworks!  Since November the sound of firecrackers and fireworks surrounds us every day.  And the boys in our family have joined in the fun, taking advantage of being in a place where fireworks are legal and cheap! La Providencia had its Christmas program last week, and it was really fun.  I (Erin) had been working with each grade to prepare a Christmas song (singing and/or playing recorder).  It was really neat to see them perform after all those weeks of work!  There were also skits and dances, and the families all seemed to have a good time being there with their children.  (Check facebook for lots of pictures!) On Friday night was the La Providencia staff Christmas dinner.  This was a very special (and funny!) time that we all enjoyed.  At the dinner, we welcomed the new couple, Edis and Patricia Rios, who will be joining La Providencia as parents in the third house! Speaking of the third house, it's almost finished!!  Some of the latest pictures are below.  And the fourth house will be started very soon.  It's an exciting time for Heath and Ethan to be a part of La Providencia's building crew. It's time to renew our visas again, and this time we'll be going to Panama for a few days.  While working out the details of these trips is anything but simple, we are looking forward to seeing another country and the once-in-a-lifetime chance to visit the Panama Canal! School resumes January 4th, and we're excited that we'll have several visitors from the States in early 2016. Please continue to pray for La Providencia:  for the parents and children who will live in the new house, for the students at the school, for the children who live at La Providencia, for the people of Siguatepeque, and for strength and joy for all of us who work here.  Praise the Lord that He is keeping all of us in good health and giving us strength for one day at a time.   We appreciate each of you very much. Have a blessed Christmas and a wonderful 2016!

All He Wants for Christmas . . .

When you're really determined to get some money from the "tooth fairy" as soon as possible, 

there's no limit to what you'll accomplish . . .