Moving on to the city of David

 Dajana is one of our Volcan students.  We never got a photo.  I included it because I didn't feel frumpy when I looked at it.  We were in the street the other day and Rod said "There's a woman wearing a skirt like yours".  I looked and he was right, and she looked decidedly frumpy.  And here I've been feeling just modest.  Oh well.

 We had the car too full with boxes, so Rod transported students in Boquete and David and I waited on the rocks.  It was a beautiful day, cloudy and with a bit of a wind and very pleasant.

 Our new kitchen.  The apartment looks like a stripped down model in the states.  Significantly nicer than what we have been living in.  Too bad it's in a "zona roja", red or danger zone.  We'll have to empty our car every night, and we're on the second floor.  We keep telling ourselves it's only for 4 months.

 It's too late to worry about picture order and we won't have internet for a while, so you get what you get.  This little girl was showing us her pet chicken who plays dead and wears a bib.  She was pretty proud of her.

 Here's the chicken with her bib again.

 Our living room.  We have no furniture for it except a table for our computer.  We really don't need more space.  The other wall is a green about the same intensity as the blue.  We don't spend much time in the apartment so it's all right.

 We have said goodbye to our hot shower.  This is our new one.  The wires above it are for hot water, but the landlord was quick to say they didn't work, and anyway, in David, the hottest city in Panama, who needs hot water.

 This little girl in Boquete made me think of Edyn's family and their hatching the chicks.  She was really enjoying it.  The chicken was enjoying it less.

  Here she is again.

 This sign makes me laugh.  I like the Se Vende Grama.  Really it's sod, but I still enjoy it.

I decided I wanted to remember mornings here.  It is so quiet and peaceful, until the rooster crows, which he does every few minutes from 5 on or so.  He usually goes until 10 or so at night as well.  He makes me laugh. 

Morning sounds in Bugaba

Next door to our new apartment in David we watched this man cutting down a tree limb.  Amazing.  It looked like he had a long way to go and then he hacked once or twice on the other side and it fell.  It wasn't kind to a bit of the roof, but it was amazing that it did so little damage.  These guys really know how to use a machete.

I turned around in the district conference and there was a kid with a squirrel in his shirt pocket.  I didn't get that, but I did get the squirrel.  I always love seeing animals. Pretty fun.

This move is an exercise in obedience.  We wouldn't have chosen it, but it may bless our lives.  As Elder Packer says "Obedience is nearly a spiritual cure-all".  I want to make the life of our mission president easier.  I like my job much better than what I see of his.  Still feeling that the gospel is true and it's a blessing to be part of the work.

Have a great week.

Students -- New and Old

One day in Puerto Armuelles at Maria's home, we met this couple.  They'd ridden up to visit Maria from David.  They expressed interest in our program and we told them we'd take them as students when we changed locations.  We met them at our sign up day and made an appointment.  When we got to their house we actually had 4 students and eventually 5.  A few weeks ago Ruth and Alejandro got married and she got baptized.  Last week we visited their ward and the younger brother, Carlos, played his first two hymns.  It's harder for the older ones.  We surely have a testimony that learning in your youth makes sense.  We love the spirit in their home.  They are smiling and enthusiastic.  This is the guy I told Audrey reminded me of her.

This is a wild rabbit that the Zarate family tamed as a baby.  He is part of the family but has been relegated to the back of the house since he bit the cord off the piano.  Luifred, our younger student, loves it when he escapes.

Their mom wanted to take a photo, so we took advantage.

Carlos plays well by ear.  He wanted to learn to read music and learn to play hymns.  We taught him some, but now he is off to the University, too far away to continue.  Rod offered to let him learn the theme song from Titanic.  He began to play it in its real form.  It was rather funny, as our simplified version doesn't sound too good by comparison.

Jo

Joanna is from Volcan.  Her adopted grandfather, David, sees that she can have music, bringing her to lessons on Friday nights (a 45 minute one way drive).  So far, the whole family has come.  David isn't really concerned that she isn't practicing really well (he thinks few kids do, and I certainly have to admit I was one of them), but he just wants her to have the joy of music.  He is a North American, very colorful, but I have huge admiration for him for simply making a difference in the life of one family.

We had a party for our students here in Bugaba on Friday night.  I have been giving a lesson to one student, David, but then I decided to use the same time and invite all of them.  10 came, and we had a nice time, playing Go Fish in English, and playing piano.  We shared the Flight of the Bumblebee from YouTube as well as some of the videos from the mission.  The girl on the left is Karyn.  This is the first time she has allowed us to photograph her.  It isn't my favorite.  I love to think of her concentrating on playing a hymn.  I pray we can have made a small difference in her hard life.

Juan was inactive when we came.  His mom has been super active in the past and has become active again as well.  He is still studying with us as he started late. They were fascinated with my purple weights.

Karyn, Harold, and Nicole.  Nicole also is still studying with us.  She is a recent convert who started early and quit out of fear that she would have to play in church.  She started again, and last week played in church.  Unfortunately there is no way we can be there when all of them play.  Rod is making a list of new songs added to send to music  coordinators in the wards, and he added 30 new songs this week.  We are progressing.  I LOVE THIS WORK. 

This is the kitchen, where we had 3 pianos set up.  Kids just came through and played throughout the night.

I offered to go visiting teaching.  I do so wish we could get that going here.  My companion and I haven't received an assignment after 2 months.  In all fairness the president has had a baby and is living with her mom because there is no electricity in the house.  She is also the wife of the branch president -- it would be nice if they learned to delegate -- but our suggesting hasn't helped.
At any rate, Janell went with the mom of Juan Carlos, a student.  She is a prior relief society president and took us about 20 miles out to visit a sister who had had a bunch of skin cancers burned off -- they looked terrible.  They have a pickup and come about 1-2 times a month.  Pretty good for being so far out.   Janell's companion was given some raw milk to take home.  We enjoyed the bottle.
They live out on a small farm, having sold off the larger one 25 years ago.  The final stretch of road was pretty rough.  They use rocks here instead of gravel, when it is not paved.  With our little Yaris, we would appreciate sorting out some of the larger boulders.  However, the Yaris does pretty well, as long as we don't high center.  Frequently, taxis here are Yaris or equivalent, so they can handle it.  The counselor in Aguadulce has a Yaris taxi with 550,000 kilometers on it.  He said the government requires the taxi to be retired when it goes over 1 million (625,000 miles).  I have been wondering, if we don't care for our cars carefully enough, but the taxi next door is getting an engine job, so maybe it is just that we aren't willing to put the time in for repairs.

The visit took quite a bit of time, they were grateful to see us, but it would be hard to keep busy if we were just home/visiting teaching and also hard to evaluate the effectiveness.  We are grateful for having the music program and for having discovered how to make it effective.  We are at the stage in David where we are starting to lose students that discover they have to practice, but currently we have over 60 hours of teaching appointments each week (and 7 hours driving time) with about 70 students and 45 keyboards lent out.

These oil palms were planted in rows.  They are not yet large enough to start harvesting, but one can grow lots of 'exotics' here.

Yesterday we traveled to Boquette.  It is up by the volcano and a bit cooler.  Our first appointment is at 9am with a family part way up.  While at that appointment, the branch president called and canceled his 11am appointment for himself, his wife and the two member boys that live close by.  He is moving to David, where he has found work.  We decided to swing by and then see a bit more of the town (further up the road than our appointments).  The branch president, Pedro, has been living in the house of his uncle from Canada -- who is in the process of moving down.  At any rate, we got there just as the uncle was leaving for David, so we could pick up the keyboard (the boys don't have electricity and weren't progressing, so 4 less students.  It was a very nice 'coincidence' to be able to make that connection simply.  We then went on and decided to stop at the church on the way through.  Turns out they had changed the time of seminary and it was about to let out, so we were able to teach both students that had attended.  Then a third student was in town and we connected to give her a ride home and teach her.  I slept in the hammock while Janell gave the lesson.  On the way, Janell chewed out the mother of the other student who had gone to David for the day without telling us (she didn't have money on her phone (text for $.15), but enough for the bus ticket).  So we were able to accomplish pretty much all that was possible for that day (with some help).  I'm looking forward to meeting our guardian angels and finding out what percentage of their hints we manage to take up on.  Basically, how frustrated they were with us and then thank them.  We have really been much more successful/coordinated that one could expect.
Gracias a Dios!

Cess pool, baby parrot and sleeper cabs

 I love it when students just take off.  Kenneth learned two hymns and played them in church inside of a month.  He loves it.  It was fun to watch the bishop's face when I told him Kenneth was ready to play.  Sometimes unlikely youth really take to it.

Ana enjoys the time we spend if she could just learn faster.  Kenneth is her brother, and it's hard for her not to compare.  She has a beautiful smile, and she shares a wonderful sunset with me each week as we work.  

 We passed this tree which looks like cotton.  The neighbors called it tree cotton.

 Here you can see the blossoms in various stages.


Here is a video of a baby parrot being fed.  The family expects to raise it for sale.

 Myles' family told me a story of a woman who loved birds.  One year her favorites died with a virus.  The next year she finally heard a pair singing.  She rode her bicycle all over, but found no others.  She prayed that her birds might return--and they did!  I've loved this statue ever since we first saw it, so I decided I'd snap a photo and add the German story.

 Here is the family of one of our students with their new cesspool.  The rocks are really pretty large and would be very heavy -- my guess 200 lbs or more.  This dad and a friend moved them by hand. They will cover it with concrete and it will become part of their driveway.  They don't seem to use drain fields much, which I thought were quite a bit better way to deal with the sewage.  Yes, she is one of our younger students.  It may be the dad wants her to play piano much more than she does.

 Here is something you won't see in the states.  It is a gravel hauler with a sleeper cab.  Normally, gravel is a low value commodity and won't get shipped very far.  So why a sleeper cab?  Because many of the trucks in the US are for long haul with sleeper cabs and it turns out Panama is a good market for used trucks.  Thus sleeper cab on a short haul outfit.

Well, Apryl asked for a mission picture for our plaque (I hope and assumed that she didn't mean the sticky deposit on teeth in which bacteria proliferate.)
We are reverse proud, so didn't get the wrinkles fixed.  But the hair did come out less gray than it actually is.

It catches some of the fun we share.  Rod was patient to get it taken.  It might be nice to do it soon before we get home if we're going to do it at all.  Poor Apryl who receives our TO DO list.  We appreciate the help of our family. We are blessed to be part of this work.

Walls (rock on rock): Will our work be as enduring?

 We had several students from Concepcion that didn't quite have enough songs learned to earn their pianos.  We said you have two months to earn them; we'll be back to test you.  Today, two of them got tested (one for the second time) and both passed.  High 5's from all sides.
Here I am doing math homework with Henry.  He earned his piano a couple of months ago and Janell was giving the test to Karyn at his house.  Anita has passed earlier (we get an early day home and Janell likes to fill them).  At any rate, I can still do equations with numbers to various powers.  Sister Garcia said I should come back once a week to help -- she would provide Popsicles.

Here we are at the home of the Boquette branch president.  He and his wife are students as well as two boys from the neighborhood.  I think he takes them to church each week as well.  Nice young men, but they were having trouble learning to direct.  Their house has no running water or electricity.  They smell of smoke, but not tobacco;)  They are having a little trouble learning the chords,  melodies and reading music, but are friendly and nice.
Last week when I gave the branch president his assignment for weekly practice, he said OK I will practice it this week.  I said, NO! EVERY DAY.  Oh...
Well, he did practice better, so he and his wife are now doing fine.  Playing their first hymn both hands.

 On our way up into the mountains (towards Volcan Baru -- highest point in Panama).  We have a number of fields with rocks all over them -- on the other side Volcan, there are fields of rocks also, but also deep fertile soil fields.
We talked to a rancher and he said the walls were there since he was born -- 73 years ago.  It is hard to show the effort that must have gone into them.  Rocks, of course, are heavy and they are just placed in the wall, no mortar.  Lot of work just so the cows can eat and not go wandering.

 Some big rocks would seem harder to move.

There are also piles of rocks in the middle of the field -- different method needed to clear the land.