Final Campaign of 2015

We landed in El Salvador at 10:15 p.m. on Tuesday, November 24, spent three quick days at home, and flew out at 7:00 a.m., Saturday, November 28.   The early morning (4:00 a.m.) airport trip was a flashback to the previous trip on November 19.  In fact, we checked in for the same Panama flight, but this time we had an hour layover before our flight to Bogota.

The last campaign of 2015, with Iglesia Bautista Vida Nueva, Bogota, started on Saturday evening.  Only two team members arrived in time for the Saturday night event in the La Felicidad neighborhood, near Pastor David and Pastor Alex's apartments.  The small, but mighty group, along with members of the church, shared one-on-one before the family festival.

Instead of an inflatable (which isn't safe due to the frequent high winds in Bogota), there was a trampoline for the kids.  Pastor David's wife, Carolina, brought her popcorn popper and the kids (and some adults) loved it.  They also had a gentlemen who did a short, dog show with his two dogs and it was a big hit.

John and David did the gospel presentation and there were hands up among the crowd.  At the end of the evening, there were 25 professions of faith. Praise the Lord for a great start!

Last IDEM Thanksgiving

Our IDEM (discipleship group) has been meeting together for three years, and as I wrote about earlier, we finished our final series of lessons earlier this month.   But, that didn't stop us from celebrating Thanksgiving together one last time.  

We shared turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, pecan pie and several traditional Salvadoran dishes on Thanksgiving eve, if there's such a thing!

Six Days in Panama--Part 4

Monday and Tuesday were our last two days in Panama.  We walked, walked and walked forever on Monday to see the area called Panama Viejo . . . . when we got there it started pouring and we were stuck waiting it out under a tree.  This part of the city pre-dates that of Casco Viejo, where we visited on Friday.  

The site includes the ruins of the first European settlement on the Pacific Coast of the Americas, as well as traces of the first inhabitants of the Isthmus.  Panama City was founded by Pedrarias Dávila on August 15, 1519, and reached 10,000 inhabitants in the XVII century.  In 1671 the city was destroyed by an attack led by the English pirate Henry Morgan, and it was never rebuilt. The remains of the old city were abandoned for more than two centuries.  This radical abandonment allowed for the long-term conservation of the historical and archaeological remains of the important buildings and structures, while the city’s activity was transferred to what is currently known as the Old Quarter or Casco Antiguo.

So, as you might expect, this area is really just ruins. 

The old city in front and the current skyline in the distance.

Monday after we got back and got dried out, we walked to the theater at MultiPlaza to watch Mockingjay, Part 2. 

Tuesday we took a taxi to see the Bio-Diversity Museum--it's a relatively new museum which was designed by Frank Gehry.  The taxi dropped us off on the corner; once we got closer we realized that there weren't any people around.  

Sure enough, it's closed on Tuesdays!  So, we took pictures of the outside and then walked all the way down the causeway.  We took another taxi back to Casco Viejo, ate lunch at Super Gourmet again and had natural, artisanal popsicles at PalettAmerica.  After a long walk back to the hotel, we connected with our airport transport and got to the airport 2 1/2 hours before our 9:00 p.m. flight.

It was after 11 when we got home, tired but happy.  All around, there couldn't have been a better way to celebrate Stephen's birthday. 

Six days in Panama--Part 3

Saturday we walked to the subway station, took the subway to Albrook mall and hailed a taxi to take us to the Miraflores Locks on the Panama Canal.  We didn't get to the locks until about 1:00 p.m. so we were a little concerned that there no boats would come through.  But, no worries--we saw four different boats.  Now you know that there are going to be big boats going through the canal, but when you actually see them, you realize they are really BIG!

The first to come through was a container ship.  According to the information we read, the biggest ships that come through can hold 4,500 containers.

Sunday morning we took a taxi to Iglesia Bautista El Dorado--a church that was recommended to us by Ryan Blackstock, a fellow missionary and our small group leader here in El Salvador.  

 

Six Days in Panama--Part 2

We celebrated Stephen's day of birth on Friday, November 20.  We made our way to Casco Viejo--the old part of the city--and one of the highest rated restaurants on Trip Advisor.  The best thing for Stephen was that they serve breakfast all day.  So even though we didn't arrive until 11:00 am, he was still able to have eggs and bacon; and, then, because it was lunchm he was able to have a complimentary chocolate cupcake with a candle!

The old town was fascinating--quite a mixture of very old ruins, remodeled old buildings and new buildings.  There were lots of restaurants, old churches, the presidential palace (they wouldn't let us get close) and very narrow streets.

We walked back to the hotel along the Cinta Costera (path along the ocean) and met this fun family.  

We took a quick dip in the pool--it was really pretty cold considering how hot is was.  After a couple hours of rest, we walked to La Vespa for dinner.  It was great Italian food and the servers were very nice.

It was a happy, happy 65th birthday for Stephen.