Switching over..

Just an update:

I am currently in the process of switching all the posts from this blog onto my regular blog : www.a-splash-of-color.blogspot.com . You will be able to view all of the posts from this blog on there under the label "panama 2012".

Also, I didn't get a chance to post during the trip as much as I'd have liked to, so I'll be adding/back loading more stories from Panama onto my blog. Please check there for updates!

Rachel

Panama!

Just as a little recap from Miami, Tuesday and Wednesday were spent in intense drama training. We trained for two to three hours in the morning, and four to five in the afternoon, with just a few breaks. In between that, we had language and cultural training, and of course, FUAGNEM every night.

On Thursday, we left for Panama. Check in went really smoothly, as did our flights... it was only a few hours long, maybe three I think. I was SO SO SO excited to finally get to Panama! Our hotel is big, but our rooms are small. :) There are seven of us in our room, and we don't have beds either, just mattresses on the floor, which is fine. We also have hammocks on the balcony, which makes up for not having beds. :) Panama is a beautiful country, and our hotel really is smack dab in the middle of the rainforest. It is great, so peaceful, with really, really amazing views and you can see all kinds of monkeys and other rainforest-y animals outside of our windows.

Today was our first day of ministry, and it was really amazing. Our first stop was a school, which had somewhere around 200 or 300 kids, from preschool up on through sixth grade or so. One girl shared her testimony, and then we performed our drama. Our stage was a little bit small, so we altered a few parts a little bit, but it was totally fine. We got to go out and talk and play with the kids for a little bit. I started playing with some of the littlest kids... they were so cute and fun even though we couldn't talk to each other. I let them play with my China Doll fan, and I painted their faces. There was one little girl who came over and sat on my lap, but wouldn't talk to me, wouldn't even smile. I asked her teacher her name, and it was Michelle. Her teacher says she hardly ever talks to anyone. It was sad, but at least I was able to give her lots of hugs, and paint her face.

When we got to our second drama site, some kind of open-air shopping mall, I realized I didn't have my camera. All of our leaders and LITs tried to help me think of places where it could be, but after we had emptied out my bag and searched the bus, we deemed it must have gotten knocked out of my pocket in the school. One of our leaders called the school, but no one answered. They assured me we would go back and look for it, but in the meantime, we had to perform the second drama. We got to perform in the mall, and then we talked to the people again, as we always do. A couple of people came to Christ, and I got to talk to one teenager about my age who accepted Christ.

After lunch, we went back to the school, and sure enough, we found my camera right away! I'm still not sure what happened, or how it even fell out of my pocket, but at least we found it. No more putting the camera in my pockets!!!

Our third ministry site was some sort of basketball court. I had prayed at the beginning of the day for God to give me someone to look out for to talk to after one of the dramas, and I felt that I should look for someone who was pregnant or had a young baby. At the mall, I had seen a bunch of ladies with little babies, but none of them were able to stop and talk. As we were doing the drama at our third site, I was watching the audience, and there was no one that had a baby or was pregnant... I thought, "Well, maybe it's just not going to happen today." About five minutes before the drama was over, I saw a lady walk up and sit down, and I thought, "Hmm. Maybe that's her... she looks pregnant."

After the drama, I took a translator and went over to talk to her. I explained the whole drama to her, since she hadn't come in until right at the end, and then I asked her if she understood. She said yes, she did, and she wanted to accept Jesus as her Savior. I was so excited for her, and we prayed together, and then I asked her if she was pregnant, and she said that yes she was (She was 8 months along). We got to pray for her baby too, and then we went back to the hotel for dinner and FUAGNEM.

The food here is really good, and of course, FUAGNEM is as well. I got asked by my leaders tonight to speak at FUAGNEM when they asked for some people to come up and share stories from the day, so I did. (I hate speaking in front of crowds!) Now, I'm getting ready to go up to my room - curfew is in just a few minutes.

Thanks so much for praying for us! We are seeing God do amazing things and we are having so much fun. I will update again when I can. :)

Miami - Day 1 Recap!

I was scheduled to leave Sacramento at 12:30am on July 2nd, but we sat waiting for over a half hour after we had boarded the plane before we actually took off. I had a layover in Houston around 6am (that's Houston time) and I felt kind of sick, but I'm feeling a lot better now. I arrived in Miami around 11am (Florida time) and there were leaders waiting for me at the airport. We got back to the hotel just before 1pm, and I was able to check in, get my name tag and devotional and such, and eat some lunch.

We just had some free time in the afternoon while everyone was arriving. I was able to meet up with a couple of old friends from last year, as well as meeting all the new people on my team this year. :) Everyone seems really nice :) We had pizza for dinner in our rooms, and finally, FUAGNEM (Fired Up And Going Nuts Every Minute, our evening youth service) at 7pm. I was SO excited for FUAGNEM. After FUAGNEM, we had team time and drama tryouts.

I got the part of the China Doll. It's one of the toys in the drama. Ironically, that's the costume I had to bring as well - but I'm excited about my part in the drama. :) After drama tryouts last night, we went up to our rooms, got ready for bed, and had tuck-ins. Tuck-ins are basically when one of our LITs comes in and talks and prays with us before bed. We didn't end up getting to sleep until after 12:30..... or maybe even 12:45. Thankfully I was able to sleep well, even in the hotel bed.

Please be praying for strength, health and rest for us - our days will be filled to the brim with training and FUAGNEMs and team times and such. Also, pray for team unity and that our team would continue to bond - so far, it seems like a really great mix of people, so thank you for praying! And pray that we would be able to learn the drama quickly and be able to perform it well!

Thank you so much for praying! I'll try to update again tonight. :)

Before I go....

I feel like it would be incomplete for some reason not to write one more post before I take off. So here I am. I am so, so, so excited. :)

It is still hard for me to believe that we'll be leaving for the airport in just one hour. How crazy is that? How did we go from filling out applications, to fundraising and buying plane tickets, to shopping for needed items, to packing, to... to finally being ready to go? Where did the time go? How did this happen?

I'm all dressed in my trip shirt and such, bags packed and waiting. I still feel like I'm a little bit in a dreamlike state. I mean, WOAH! Is it really here already? I feel like I'm just waiting for someone to jump out and pinch me to wake up, to say, "Just a dream, Rachel - It was just a dream." But, no! It's really happening... and I am so excited.

As a random side note, I have decided I do not like late-night flights. Usually whenever I fly somewhere, we get a flight as early in the morning as possible, so it's like, wake up and then go straight to the airport. When it's late at night... well, its just ongoing waiting all. day. long. After I got home from church today, I have been just waiting, waiting, waiting - everything is ready to go, just counting down until it's time to go. I've been getting more and more anxious as it gets closer. ARGH! All of this waiting is driving me nuts. :)

My flight leaves tonight, so please be praying for safety and health, not only for myself, but for everyone on our team.  I'll try to update as much as I can while in Miami and Panama.

Again, thank you so much for your continued support and prayers. :)

Next stop - Miami, Florida!

I leave tomorrow....

It's true. I can hardly believe it myself, but time has gone by SO quickly! It feels like we are still weeks away, but slowly I am coming to understand that I leave in only a day and a half.

I am so excited. I am almost finished packing - my big suitcase is done, and my carry-on bag is nearly finished. Just a few more small things to add and I'm ready to go.

Now, on my list of things I like to do, packing is somewhere around #523. And packing everything you'll  need to spend three weeks in another country into one suitcase and one backpack - well, it's not an easy task. Thankfully, after much sorting, folding, shopping, and procrastinating, everything is packed away and even ORGANIZED!



Packing, packing...




... and DONE!

 Now that I'm finished packing, I am just getting more and more excited as I wait for the big day to arrive. I have done everything I can think of that needs to be finished before I leave, and I am so excited!



Please be praying for us as we head out in the next few days! All of our Leaders and LITs are arriving today to do some prep work and training before we get there, and all of the students should be in by Monday evening. Please be praying for safe travels and that everything would go smoothly and according to plan. Also, our team will be meeting together for the first time upon arrival in Miami, so be praying for team bonding and unity. While we're in Miami, we'll be training for two days to learn the entire drama, so pray for us to be able to pick it up quickly and perform it well. Last, but definitely not least, be praying for health, safety and that God would be preparing our hearts, minds and bodies for Panama. Pray that He would open the hearts of the Panamanians to hear the Gospel and respond to it.

God is going to do amazing things on this trip. Thank you SO much for your support and prayers - they mean the world to all of us going.

Time flies, doesn't it?

Eleven days from now, I will be in Miami, beginning training for our trip to Panama. I am incredibly excited!

Many, many things have happened since I last posted on here.

I finished paying for the trip (Yay!) with help from Dad. (Thanks, Dad!).

Our packing list was sent out! Mine is nearly six pages this year, because I am going on the extended trip. We have been shopping a lot this month, picking everything up and making sure that I have everything I need. We received our costume assignments as well - I was assigned to bring the costume of a China Doll. That doesn't necessarily mean that I'll be the China doll in our drama - once we're in Miami, we'll have drama tryouts and our leaders will decide who should play which part, and we'll switch costumes after that.



T-shirts for our trip came in the mail. We'll be wearing these to travel to Miami, and again when we travel to Panama. They are a light green color... almost minty. It is hard to tell from the pictures. :)

Team lists were eagerly awaited, and finally arrived the beginning of this month. I am on Team 6! I have already contacted some people on our team, and everyone is great. I am excited to be able to meet everyone when we arrive in Miami.



Back of the shirt

I started packing yesterday, and I am a little overwhelmed with the idea
of having to pack for three weeks. I am fairly sure that everything I need will fit in my suitcase, and I have been working out various ways to pack things for a few weeks now, so it should all work out eventually.

That's about it for updates right now. The rest of this week and all of next will be left to finish packing and finalizing little details. I am so excited to be going to Panama, and I can't wait to see all of what God is going to do while we are there.

I will try to update once or twice more before I leave, and I will definitely try to update while I am on the trip if I can.

Thank you, everyone reading this, for your support. You are so important to me, and I couldn't be going on this trip without you!





A Little Bit about Panama

Panama is a beautiful country with a rich and diverse culture. I am so excited for the opportunity I have to travel there.

Panama has a tropical climate, with two main seasons : Wet and Dry. We'll be visiting Panama during their wet season. The average temperature for Panama during the time we're visiting is between the 70s and 90s, with 80- 90 % humidity. That's definitely way more humidity than I'm used to, but I'm sure I'll survive. :)



Some Panamanian fruits



Panamanian meals are simple, typically including meat, coconut rice, and beans as well as local fruits and vegetables. Some of the most common produce includes yucca, squash, and plantains. Breakfasts often consist of fried corn tortillas filled with eggs, meats and other goodies. Fresh fruit, eggs and toast are often served as well. And, if you're big on coffee, I've heard Panamanian coffee is delicious.  



From an Embera village.


We'll be staying in a hotel that is located in the heart of the tropical rainforest of Panama, near the Panama Canal and the River Chagres. We'll be visiting a few Embera tribes along the Chagras River.




Panamanian sloth



Panama also has many diverse species of animals and other wildlife. Panama is home to many different types of birds, including quetzals, macaws, amazons, parrots, toucans, and the national bird, the harpy eagle. Panama also has many different kinds of monkeys - white-faced capuchins, squirrel monkeys, spider monkeys and howler monkeys. Tropical fish, sea turtles, whales, dolphins, sloths, anteaters, and a host of other interesting animals can also be spotted.

I'll give a post with some information about the San Blas islands (our destination for week 3) soon. Please continue to pray for my fundraising! Only 142 days left until I leave for the trip. :)

January Update

 

Monkey in Panama

Embera Village in Panama

It's almost the end of the month, which means its time for another update. I'll start updating more often as the trip goes closer, but for now, once a month seems about right. As I sat down to write this, I took a minute just to think back over the past month. Looking at things from a day to day, or even from a week to week perspective, it seemed like there hadn't been much going on. However, when I took a minute to look back over the whole month, and give myself a broader perspective, I realized that a lot had changed since I last wrote on here. :)



On the San Blas Islands

First, the original plan was for me to travel to Panama for two weeks. Around the beginning of December, I looked into an extended trip option that the Never the Same Trip was offering, for an optional third week to the San Blas islands. I really wanted to go. I prayed about it, and thought about it, and I finally decided that I needed to go on the extended trip. So I am now heading to Panama for three weeks next July. The first two weeks we will spend in Panama City, and the third week we will spend on the San Blas islands, ministering to the people and kids there, and also doing some work projects for them, much like what we'll do the first two weeks. I am super excited to be able to have this opportunity. It will cost an extra $1480, but I am praying and trusting God to provide - and I'm working on new fundraiser ideas. :)



San Blas Islands



Another bit of progress I've made is I've been able to purchase the plane tickets from here to Miami! I bought them tonight - It took me awhile to find a flight that was compatible with the flight schedules Big World Ventures (the place that organizes the trip for us) had given us, but eventually I did. The airline websites had also been super jumpy, with the prices of the flights changing almost hourly. The cost of the tickets were already up almost $100 more than when I had checked in December, so when I saw they were down this afternoon, I jumped on them. :)

Those are the two  biggest things that have happened over the past month. Hopefully I can get some info. up on Panama and their culture soon.

 156 days to go! :)


**All photos courtesy of Steve Goley (Big World Ventures).