First of all, I apologize for not having written in a while! Things are non-stop around here- just the way I like it.
A few weeks ago I went to a woman's conference with some ladies from my church. There was an excellent turn out (apparently uncommon for things like this), some people gave their testimonies and I went to a seminar on "How to be a Proverbs 31 woman." All in all, it was a great day.
Last weekend I headed down to the "precario." It was a poor, slum area of about 2,000 people living on 3 acres of land. Rusty houses and dirt floors were more than enough to remind me how much God has given me. A group of us (I went with a team from the organization "A boy with a ball") crowded inside a small room to tutor children for a couple hours. It's one of those things where you realize how much you really NEED, and how much you actually have. I walked away with a grateful heart and a hungry spirit of wanting to give back to people like my friends in the precario.
Tutoring has been going wonderfully! I absolutely love it. Today is my last day of intensive classes, but my teacher and I are going to continue for the last month I am here. My tutor, Alejandra, and I have grown to be good friends and I've really enjoyed my time with her.
A countdown begins with only one month left- I can't believe how fast it's gone! But I know I can't be two places at once, so I'm trying to keep my mind and heart focused on where I'm at and what God has for me HERE. 1 month to go, but I know God still has a lot He plans on teaching me.

Earthquake!

Today I was sitting in my chair, doing some homework when I felt like my chair was wobbling. Confused, I put my pen down and shook my chair a little to test its sturdiness. Pleased with its apparent balance, I continued writing. The obscure shaking continued for a few more seconds and faded. I thought I was becoming delusional (as I shook my chair one more time to reconfirm its perceived caliber) or possibly getting dizzy from the combination of extended reading mixed with lack of sunlight infiltrating through the frosted glass window. Since I couldn't make up my mind, I went on studying and writing. Later on during my tutoring session, my teacher asked if I felt the earthquake earlier? It happened around the exact time as the puzzling chair episode during my study session. I knew then that I had experienced my first earthquake. As if that wasn't exciting enough, at about 3:00 today, while I was sitting at my desk, fully intrigued by the foreign language I was attempting to understand written on the board, the classroom windows started rattling, and that old familiar "wobble" returned. This time I was certain (after my convictions were verified when I saw my teacher run to the door and stand beneath its frame). Thankfully no one was harmed and no damage was done, but I couldn't help but be a little excited about today's adventure :]

Safe and Sound

I'm happy to report safe travels to and from Panama, except for the part where we broke down for six hours, and the other time we had to return to camp and leave the next day because a part broke. Other than that, our pink tour bus was a trusty friend.
The ministry in Panama is absolutely exploding! The missionary directors there, Traci and Mirco, were so vibrant and welcoming. Their passion for the ministry there is unbelievable and their goals for the upcoming years are quite inspiring. We arrived for the last week of camp, which happened to be the sixth week running. They plan to have 2 more weeks next year. There were about 250 campers the week we were there. They want to build a school, followed by a bilingual school the year after that, and eventually an orphanage- all starting now. She's housed many orphans, friends and missionaries in her home. Her goal is to start by buying a home for children which will subsequently turn into more homes, and finally into an orphanage. Please pray God will provide and meet there needs and bless the missionaries in Panama that are doing a wonderful job of serving the Lord and spreading the gospel.

In other news: We visited the Panama Canal- which I have to admit was surprisingly interesting! We hiked one early morning to the tops of some surrounding mountains, went to an Indian market, played a lot of sand volleyball, and enjoyed shopping a little in the astoundingly inexpensive country of Panama.
Thanks for your prayers as always. It was a wonderful trip and a blessing to be able to be apart of the amazing ministry taking place in Chame, Panama.