Moving on to the third group of students

Many thanks to our Pleasant Grove ward for the Christmas aprons.  They are filled with messages of encouragement and we enjoy them.  Getting them was another matter.  They came in two packages.  One package was delivered here locally, the other we were required to drive half an hour to David because they said it was too big for this post office to handle (it was identical to the other!).  The post office was closed for holidays for about 3 weeks on our regular day in David.  When we finally went, we received a parking ticket while we were waiting in four lines to get the package.  We found out (of course the hard way) that one must go to the city offices and buy cards for 20 cents apiece which must then be dated and left of the dash of the car. The ticket was only a dollar. Rod says it's amazing that anyone would bother to try to collect the dollar, but with a hyperactive wife he obediently went down and paid it.  We have a stack of cards in the car which we will likely never use, and might forget anyway.  Panama!!!

We had our last lessons in Puerto Armuellas this week.  These younger siblings of students took advantage of it.  Our students are teaching them to play.  (Not the hymns, but chopsticks of course)

Chopsticks.  Sometimes there are magic moments with beloved students.

Here is our farewell "concert"  It wasn't well attended, but those who were there enjoyed it.  Hermana Hermalinda helped us with the food, flowers and tablecloth, and then did the clean up leaving us free to visit and begin our drive home before it was too late.  I am so grateful for wonderful friends who support us in the work.

Raul has been learning music for a long time and has practiced English since he was a small boy and began to be friends with missionaries.  He is a returned missionary and continues to work at the music.  He likes to play the fast hymns with GUSTO!!  He approached us this night to tell us that he had encountered our nephew, Britton Watson, on facebook and they had made the connection.  Pretty fun!
Tairyn, who is directing, has beautiful hair that is admired by all the American elders. She earned her piano.  We hope it will be a blessing for a long time.

And here is the entire group of students in this tiny branch.  Jayniss, far left, is not a member.  She is very involved in school and went to the U.S. during the course of the lessons.  We thought she would just stop, but she had a goal and she worked hard.  She has played in church, and she won her piano.

Thursday night we had our concert in Volcan, another small branch.  These are our students.  We don't understand why, but we had far less success here in terms of gaining the pianos.  We did involve more people in the community.  Joanna, the shortest in front, found us through her adopted grandfather, an American who came here, found a youth who needed him, and has blessed their lives.  He bought the piano for her and is encouraging her in her music, to the extent that he is willing to drive her here for lessons (since we are discontinuing our visits to Volcan) even though it is a 45 minute drive. When we get our schedule fixed for David, we hope we can squeeze her in.

At his last lesson, Henry sneaked over and lived a bit of his dream, finding himself behind the wheel of a cute blue car.  He is such a friendly, outgoing boy.  I have loved teaching him.

When we first came, I made pumpkin bread for a baptism.  The mother of our student, Katherine, on the right, asked if I'd teach them to do it.  They never a fixed a date, so I offered to do it at our last lesson.  Katherine won her piano and plays with confidence.  I love to watch her.

Yesterday was our day of miracles.  We'd made an appointment to visit Henry and have him play his 10 hymns at 9:30.  When we were ready to leave we couldn't find the phone.  We knew we'd had it the night before, but it was nowhere.  We went back to Katherine's, and it wasn't there.  Home again with no luck.  We decided to go teach our last lesson in Solano.  Sister Garcia suggested calling it (are we not techies or what?).  We went home, charged our old phone, and the lost was found.  It was in the bathroom on the tank, hidden by the sink.  Our bathroom is tiny.  The funny part to me was that all morning I was very calm knowing that Rod had had the phone and I was guiltless.  I can be very patient with him but not with myself. When we found it, of course, I realized that I had had it last.

We went to David to fix a schedule yesterday.  We'd made an appointment with a student to show us where people live.  He was sleeping and didn't want to come.  Another youth was at the church and took us.  We found about half the homes we need. Then we went on to another ward where missionaries were to meet us.  One was new to the area with a hurt foot.  It was a miracle for both sides that he could learn his area in  the luxury of a car and we could learn our area.

Elder Nelson said we should be looking for the hand of the Lord every day.  We found it this week.