Is it time for bed yet?

Buenos Noches!

Whew, it has been a day. First though I have to tell you about yesterday. I did something I have never done before, I helped kill chickens. Yup, I'm a murderer. It was a crazy thing and I did not want to do it but cirilo made me. We hung them up on a tree by their feet and then the boys killed them. After that you take them and dip them in boiling hot water, which makes the feathers come off easier. Then I helped pluck out the feathers. After that they took them and cut them up and put them in bags. It was disgusting... BUT I DID IT!!! They told me my reward was getting to eat the chicken for lunch today... and we did. The whole time though, I was thinking about those poor chickens lol. I can now add that to my expieriences haha.
Other than that my day was pretty normal. I went with Mrs. Judy to the grocery store and she took me on a little drive up into the Mountains. It was really pretty!

Today has been a long day. I woke up a little late and decided to stay in my room and finish my powerpoint for my class tomorrow, so I did that till it was time to pick up the kids from school. Came back and ate lunch then it was nap time! I have gotten to experience my first Panamanian downpoor! I have never seen so much rain fall in my life. There was really not any reason to use an umbrella! haha Anyways it has been raining all day which has made me very sleepy! =) After my nap was work time. Today I raked leaves and then planted a ton of bush things! I was covered from head to toe in mud and I have blisters on my hand and feet. It was hard work but I enjoyed it. At 5 I came back to the house and took a long shower. I really miss hot showers! O well a nice cold shower is nice after a long days work! Then it was dinner time. I realized tonight I have had an allergic reaction to something I ate so I am having to be really careful now till we figure out what it was! I took some Benedryl and now I am falling asleep, so I will write tomorrow!
Good night!
Beth

Busy, Busy, Busy =)

Hola amigos!
 I am sorry that it has been a few days since my last post, I have been kinda busy the last few days. I finished up my first week at the seminary on Friday morning. I have really enjoyed getting to know all of the students, they are a fun group of people. On Friday the students left as soon as lunch was over to go to their weekend ministry assignments. After everyone had left we were all tired so we took naps. I was awakened by one of the loudest noises I have ever heard! Apparently lightening had hit the transformer outside our house and it had blown it! Talk about an alarm clock! =) After my heart calmed down we realized we had no electricity and it was pretty hot in the house. About 5 we headed up to the next big town(that has stores) Coranado, to get some dinner and do a little grocery shopping. We had a good time and it was nice to be someplace cool for a little bit! I am really enjoying getting to know Mr. Steve and mrs. Judy and I am learning alot from them! After grocery shopping we came back to the house and unloaded the car and put the groceries away(in the dark!) As soon as we finished that the power came back on, thank the Lord!! We watched a TV show (in English) and then we went to bed. On Saturday morning we got up and fixed breakfast did some laundry got our stuff together and then we headed to Chitre which is about 2.5 hours away for a concert. The young people at at the church in Chitre sponsored a concert Saturday night. It was really neat and there were 186 people in attendence. Saturday night I stayed with a lady in the church. She has three girls and they were all very nice. They did not speak much English though but it was ok. We got up Sunday morning and I got ready for church. Sunday School was interesting since I don't speak Spanish but I picked out a little bit here and there. We were talking about how David loved Absolom even though he wanted to kill his father and how it is a picture of how much God loves us. It was pretty good. Then Mrs. Brenda asked me if I would like to help with CHildren's church and i was like "sure!" but I did not know what I was getting into.=)It was fun but it was alot of work and it was sooooo Hot in the room we were in. I really enjoyed it and Mrs. Brenda gave me some wonderful ideas of things to do with children! We ate lunch and then we headed back here to chame. This time however there were 3 other people with us so it was a bit tight in the backseat! Lino, one of the guys here at the Seminary, was sitting in the middle and he kept falling asleep and it was really funny watching him. We got back and cooked dinner and all of the students came back. We had a short meeting where everyone told about their weekends and what God is doing at their churches. It was pretty cool. After that it was bed time (my favorite part of the day! jk). i woke up really late this morning so I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Which reminds me I have been volunteered to help Cirilo kill the chickens today! I do not want to but he is insisting that I help him! So I may have some interesting stories tomorrow. Well I just finished my spanish lesson and now I have to get my lesson plans done for my class on Wednesday!
Hasta Luego!
Beth

I thought this was supposed to be Summer!

Hola!
 Well I thought this was summer break but guess what... I am going to school here too! =) I have been very busy the last few days. This is my typical daily schedule: 5:30 am, wake up and get ready. 6:30 go up to the place where we eat our meals and start setting up for breakfast. This includes setting the tables, setting out the mugs for coffee, and serving the food. 7:00 is breakfast. After we are done eating I help clean up and do the dishes. Then we have chapel at 7:30. We sing and they do announcements and then someone gives a short devotion(it is very similar to our chapel at FWBBC but they sing more.) Classes start at 8 and go for 2 hours each. During this time I am usually working with Mrs. Judy on something(except on wednesdays) or I'm working on my homework or whatever I need to. They have a break at 10 and the next class starts at 10:30. This is my time when I do my devotions (except on wednesdays when I am teaching my English class. Then I do my devos in the morning.) At 11:20 I got with Mrs Judy to get the kids she picks up from school and we take them home. When that is done we go get ready for lunch. Lunch is at 12:30. After we clean up and the dishes are done it is free time!( or for me it is nap time!!) At 2:30 all of the students meet and we are given work to do until 4:30 or 5. Today I helped clean windows and we swept and mopped the whole classroom building and chapel. At 5 we all meet up and play some type of sport (volleyball, basketball,soccer, etc.) Then supper is at 6. After supper is free time until we go to bed. So I have been staying pretty busy and I am exhausted! =)

Today I overcame one of my fears about this trip. I taught my first English class. I was so nervous I wanted to cry and throw up!  I have been preparing for it but I was just afraid they wouldn't understand and they would be bored. However it actually turned out to be alot of fun! They are so much fun to be around and they put me right at ease. We were telling each other about our families and one guy told me his sister was like a horse( he said it in spanish first so I said huh? then he tried to explain it to me) , it was so funny. I had them come up and practice their conversations and they were really trying to be actors. I really enjoyed the class. I did get done very early though so next week I will have to plan  more things for them to do! So it ended up turning out well, thank you everyone who was praying for me, it worked!! =)

Keep praying for me that I can keep up with my classes too while staying busy. I have alot of reading and paper writing to do. I'm signing off to work on homework!

Hasta Manana!
Bethany

Sunburns, Bug Bites, and Sweat

Those are the words that discribe the day. Today was the first day of classes this quarter at the seminary. I got to meet all of the students. There are 11 students here and I am enjoying getting to know each one! It finally rained last night. This is the rainy season but I made the comment yesterday that it hadn't rained since I had been here. Well it was so loud I didn't hear my alarm go off at 5:30! Thankfully I woke up a little after 6. I got up and got ready and made it to breakfast by 6:45. We had french toast and Charrizos for breakfast! After Breakfast we had chapel. I recognized two of the songs! One was Shout to the Lord and the other was In My Life Lord Be Glorified. It was neat. After chapel the kids went to class and I went to the office with Mrs. Judy to work. I am trying to get my lesson plans together for my class on Wednesday! A little while into our work Mrs. Judy told me the vegetable man was here. We got all of our vegetables fresh off of his truck! It was pretty cool! After this I went with Mrs. Judy to pick up Michael (his parents are dorm parents/ students here) from school. There are actually several other students that ride home with us and it is fun talking to them! When we got back it was time to serve lunch. We had chicken(pollo), rice, beans, and platano and a new kind of chicha called arroz con pina. It was soo good! I sat by two students, Benjamin and Dinyka, and they were helping me with my spanish, it was cool! I now know some new words! =) After lunch I had about an hour of rest time in which I worked on my homework and took a short nap. At 2:30 I joined the other students and we were split up to do jobs around campus. I was put on window duty. By the time we were done I was tired and hot and sweaty! Then it was "playtime" =) I played 3 on 3 basketball and then played Volleyball. It was hot but it was fun.

I have now taken a shower and have a few moments of rest. I realize my face is sunburned (even though I had sunscreen on!) I have 3 bug bites the size of quarters on my feet that are itching like crazy,but it is all in a days work! I'm exhausted and headed to bed!

Buenos Noches!
Beth

Your're the God of this City

You're the God of this City
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You are

[Verse 2]
You're the Light in this darkness
You're the Hope to the hopeless
You're the Peace to the restless
You are

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

[Chorus]
For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater thing have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Buenos Tardes,

This is a song by Chris Tomlin and today it has a totally different meaning to me than it did two days ago. I am exhausted by I enjoyed my time in Santiago so much. The group that came down were from a place called San Vincent and they were wonderful. They went out Saturday morning and passed out invitations to the community to "The Night of Drama" that they did last night. While they were out one group was able to pray with 4 different people who asked Jesus into their hearts! The program they did was wonderful. Even though I didn't understand many of the words, I could see what they were acting out and I could see the love of Jesus in them and at the end a guy named Julio gave a short message. There were actually 23 people from the community who attended!! Please pray with me that these seeds that we planted will be able to blossom!

I have met several new friends in the last few days. I got to meet one of the missionary familes here, The Collins. They are the ones starting the new work in Santiago. They have three wonderful children and I Loved getting to spend time with them!
One girl Amy did not know English but we were able to communicate through other ways and we "talked" for a while last night. She was so sweet and I enjoyed getting to know her.
Then there is Julio who I mentioned earlier. He is a young man who graduated from the seminary here last year.He has now moved to Santiago to help the Collins! It was such a blessing to talk to him and see what he is doing there. He also has a great sense of humor and you better watch out or he might play a joke on you!! =)
Another guy I met was Os. He also graduated from the seminary last year and he is now in Pananome helping with a new work there! His English is very good and we stayed up talking for a long time. He loves American praise and worship and he plays the guitar very well. He knew "You're the God of This City" in Spanish and he had me teach it to him in English. As we were sitting there singing this song, it took on a whole new meaning. God is at work here and I am so excited to be a part of it. God is the God of this city and this nation and these people! Pray for them!I am falling in love with this place and these people, two months is not long enough!

The seminary students should be getting in at any time and the new quarter starts tomorrow. I am going to go help Mrs. Judy make pizza for our dinner!

Chao!
Beth

Santiago

Hey friends!
 I am in the city of Santiago for the weekend. It is about a 2 and a half hour drive from where I am staying in Chame. There is a new work starting here and they are having an event. A youth group from Panama City that came down to do some dramas and we came down to cook and help out. On the trip down I got to see alot of the countryside. It really is a beautiful country. You really cannot tell when you have left one area and gotten to another. On our way we got to stop in a place called Santa Clara and we went to the beach. We only stayed a few minutes but it was wonderful to walk in the sand and put my feet in the water (which is warm!) It was the first time I have ever seen the Pacific Ocean too which was cool! It is so hot today and I wish I could go jump in the water right now! =) I have a new favorite flower its so pretty and pink... I do not know what it is called though lol. I have been doing a lot of cooking but the food is wonderful. I have learned you can make chicha out of anything and Platano can be fixed 500 different ways. Well my computer is dying so I'll write later!
Chao!
Beth

Busy Day!

Hey,
 Well yesterday was quite a busy day. We went back to Panama City and spent most of the day there! It was neat to see the city in the day time. It was wierd though to see beautiful skyscapers on one side of the road and then small rundown looking homes (compared to the states) on the other.There were several familiar things though like McDonalds and KFC, office Depot and a place that is alot like Sam's club. We did some grocery shopping and then we went to dinner.

So far I am enjoying the food. I have tried a few new things but my favorite has been platanos that we had at lunch yesterday. It is something like a banana and you can fry it to make something like a potato chip. It is delicious.

Church last night was a pretty cool experience. We went to a church in the area known as Bethania which is Bethany in Spanish which was kind of cool. The women here dress very nicely for church even on a wednesday night. There was alot of singing at the beginning. I could pick out some words I knew and there were two in paticular that I liked very much! After a little while the pastor of the church came up and gave a greeting and things like that. Then he turned the service over to the Lytles. Mrs. Judy gave a powerpoint on missions around the world and then Bro. Steve preached out of Zephania chapter two. After the message we then had a prayer time for needs of countries all over the world. It was really neat and although I could not understand the words I could understand the emotion and feeling behind them. It was a blessing to me. I think church was over about nine and then we made the trip back to Chame. By the time we made it home I could barely keep my eyes open so I headed for bed.

Today has been a relaxing day compared to yesterday. I got up at 6 and got ready. We had breakfast at 7and I had something that tasted kind of like a funnel cake and it was yummy. After we cleaned up I had my official orientation for the summer. I am quickly falling in love with this place and the people. After the orientation we had company so I helped Mrs. Judy fix lunch. We fixed in her words a "typical Missouri meal." =) We had American food including Mashed potatoes which are hard to find here. We did however have a drink that you make with fruit and water. It was really good. It was a different experience sitting at the table with 7 other people and not having any idea what they are talking about. I am starting to pick up words here and there so I hope it won't be too long till I learn it. O and I almost forgot, I got to see two monkeys today that live in the neighbor's yard. They are so little and cute. Well We just finished cleaning up the kitchen and doing the dishes and now it is siesta (nap time!) So I am headed to sleep.
Love,
Beth

Finally Made it!

Hey everyone,
 I have finally arrived here in Panama safe and sound. They weren't joking when they said it was hot! That was the first thing that stood out to me. The drive to the Lytles from the airport was about an hour and forty-five minutes. The driving is different here but at the same time it is similar. Once we got to the house they showed me to my room and i put my stuff in there. Then I helped Mrs. Judy and Mrs. Brenda divide chicken into small bags. That was an experience! After the chicken was taken care of I was exhausted and went to bed. However I realized when I woke up this morning that I did not bring an alarm clock or a watch or anything to use to tell time. So I got up at 7 instead of 6. I have a busy day ahead of me and I will try to write later!

Love,
Bethany

Panama... Step one

Hey everyone!
 It is 10:55 PM and I cannot sleep. I have so many emotions running through me right now. I am SO excited to see what God has in store, I am a little nervous about being so far away for so long, and a little sad to tell my family goodbye. I know God is in control and I am reminded tonight of all the ways he has blessed me to get to this point! Thank you to everyone who has given and prayed to help me to get to this point! This trip would not be possible without each one of you! It has been so amazing to hear stories of where each dollar has come from.

Keep me in your prayers tomorrow, and also my friend Chris who is flying with me. He is going to another part of Panama, but it will be nice not to have to fly alone! I have to be at the airport by 7:30 in the morning so I will sign off for tonight! I'll let everyone know when I am safe and sound!

Love,
Bethany

Here I Go!

Hey guys!
 I am starting this blog so that I can share my experiences this summer in Panama with you! I will try to write and update as often as I can!


Love,
Beth