Amen!

 What a wonderful sight these young men are for me.  All of them gather around the piano and share before and after church. 

 Rod was showing them the transpose function of the organ, making it change as they played.  It was pretty fun.

 It doesn't get much better than this.  We went back to our old area and Ashley had her piano out.  She was eager to show me her new hymns that she'd been learning.

 Ashley's dad had a gunny sack half full of these avocados that he'd picked from his mom's tree.  We're in avocado heaven right now.  These are the largest of the 6 we've been given in the last week.  We tried Audrey's idea of deviled eggs made with avocado instead of mayonnaise.  I couldn't get Audrey to ask the recipe, but I tried putting in culantro, kind of like cilantro, because Rod is sick today and wouldn't be eating it.  I liked it better with the culantro.  I'm getting used to it, I think.

One of our bishops works in Panama City and is seldom home. He sends roses to his wife, and when we visit to teach his kids, I enjoy the roses.  When they droop, she cuts them off and puts them in pyrex to prolong their life.  They look prettier than the photo shows.

Yesterday after we finished a lesson, one of the students was giving the closing prayer.  She talks FAST and our brains go into the mode of just listening for tone of voice so we can say amen at the appropriate time.  Unfortunately for Rod, but wonderfully fortunately for our enjoyment, he got it wrong and said "Amen" just after she said how grateful she was for these talented people who were teaching her.  Her brother chortled, almost snorted, and Rod lost it, too.  It reminded me of some of our family prayers.  I am sure the Lord has a sense of humor.

Recognize the hand of the Lord in our lives

This picture is in one of our students' homes.  There are 2 bishops, a counselor in a bishopric, and a counselor in the Stake Presidency.  I like to think that this mother held family home evening.  We have several of her grandchildren as students.   Strong families are needed in the church.

Here is the baby bird again.  I can hardly believe it, but Sister Polacio assured me that it is one and the same.

These next photos are of the road we have to travel to reach the Polacio's home.  We've been wondering since we came here in the dry season how it will be in the wet one.  So far, so good.  We haven't had to walk it in a rainstorm yet.

Exposed water pipes that people drive over.

A daunting prospect for our carrito.  A student taught us a new word last Friday, llamativo.  It means calling attention to oneself, or flashy. He told us our car is llamativo.  Rod has always said it appears to be saying "Rob me, rob me".

And here is my new hair cut that Rod said made me feel like a "new man".  I do love it when it is short.  Apologies to all who don't.  I just feel better.




Guanabana

Warning -- this part may require more than 13.6 seconds to read.


It may be going a bit too far to take our own advice:  (or not)


This week my spiritual lesson for the students is from Elder Christofferson's article on "Recognize the hand of the Lord in our lives".  The examples I have been using from our mission is that most of the time when we have to change appointment times for a student, we usually have to shuffle others (a big hassle), but it will often turn out for the best.  The other is that this week (on Sunday) we picked up three new students -- a bit pushing the envelope for making by end of July -- however, we didn't have a piano to share for them to practice with (no envelope to push).  The same day, a student called saying she didn't want to practice any more -- come take her piano.  [She was a student of the 9 month class put on by the stake here that just terminated.  It was a different approach, bring your piano to the stake center once a week for a class of (originally) ten students.  They actually had several of the students accomplish quite a bit, but it wouldn't serve most students because of having to travel weekly, basically learn most things on your own with little teacher help.]

So on Saturday after the last class (that of the three new students) Janell get this feeling that it would be nice to go to an activity in Concepcion -- there are times I wonder (grind my teeth) about relationship people!
We have been meeting with people (>60 hours of teaching appointments) all week, she just can't get enough.

So what happens -- just afterward, she gets a call from the Concepcion District Relief society president about an activity at 6pm -- well, actually we'll start at 6:30 en punto.  We were on the way home from Boquette (the mountain branch of the David Stake) and had caught the three new students who live part way up there on the way back, SOOOO if we just kept going when we hit the 4 lane, we could get there in time -- likely they will feed us -- always top of mind since we didn't eat lunch.  Sigh, senior companion relationship person gets 'her' way again.


OK, Grumblino and Relationship Person got there -- so what?
or Upshot of Hand of Lord:

Keli, our student that has been living with her aunt taking care of a 1 year old, is going back home to Panama (we thought in two weeks, actually tomorrow).  She and her cousin both earned their keyboards, but we didn't have one in hand to share just yet for both.  So we were trying to connect her with some keyboards in Panama that a young man has from a class that he finished there.  We had called him and he said if she would come to church at his ward (basically across the city from her parents house, so a long bus ride) he would let her have it and not turn it into the mission offices.  We texted her cousin with the info.  He was now quite interested in making the connection as in the phone conversation he got the feeling that she was a 'special' girl.   He is a music student and was concerned she wouldn't have a teacher in Panama city to help her.  H-mmmm.
Her parents are not members and we are concerned that she might get lost as she got baptized while living here in Concepcion.  The membership system doesn't allow records to be sent, they can only be requested.  We do hope that music will aid her as likely her ward needs a pianist.
Short story long -- she hadn't gotten the text-- so we made that connection.  She also thought bus fares were 25 cents, they are now government buses and are 5-10 times that.  So we helped her there.
Basically, we were able to make that connection (and provide her a simplified hymn book -- we had just one extra) and it only took guardian angel overtime and extra inspirations (I'm counting Orlando's 'special' feeling) to get it done.

For our benefit, Janell has been anxious to get a hair cut, but we only visit Concepcion, where a member cuts her hair, on Sundays -- sooo -- yes after the activity, we took her (Sister de Romero) and her granddaughter home so she could cut Janell's hair.  At least I was able to get in a comment about it making Janell looking like a new 'man'.  It is short, but Janell likes it.
And in true relationship person form, Janell worked with Irvin, a grandson and star student on some new hymns and a start for Fur Elise.  He has been kicked out of school (probably bored) and the music has been good for him.  We did get home just in time to talk to Blythe and Talia for about two times the length of Talia's attention span and then our BOM chapter and z-z-z-z-z.

Guardian Angels:  "All in a day's work -- high fives all around!"

Cool beans

 Gabriel Miranda and his brother, Carlos, have been worrying me because they like to memorize, not to read the music.  I expressed that fear to Gabriel last week at his lesson.  He said, "Hermana, give me a song, make it hard so I could never have heard it before, and I will learn it."  I selected "While of These Emblems", the second tune, that doesn't exist in the Spanish hymnal.  He began to work, and in less than a half hour he had learned about 5 new chords and had learned to play the melody.  Case closed!  He can learn more.  The best part was that he proved it to himself as well.  It was a wonderful night.

 Bishop Zarate showed Rod some of the things in his garden.  Although many mango trees didn't produce much fruit this year, this one has plenty at least on this branch.  This is a different variety.  Maybe we'll get to try it when it's ripe.

 This is black peppercorns before they are ready to harvest.

 Here they are ready to harvest.

 This variety of beans needs to be boiled three times and the water poured off before you can eat them.  Amazing to discover how to eat something like that.  Someone must have been hungry.

This fruit has beans inside.  They are medicinal and must be boiled and the water poured off.  The tree is rare, and our friends are trying to plant one.  It's pretty hard, so I don't think you could sword fight with it like with carrots.

Friday night we finished at 7:00.  I was SOO looking forward to a few hours reading a book.  I got a call from two of our students of Saturday afternoon saying that they were traveling to Panama City.  I decided to call the other two and make sure they would be there.  The first one said there was a Super Saturday for seminary in the morning, so we decided to see if we could schedule the other two here and save a 45 minute trip.  I called the seminary teacher, then the other student.  To make a VERY long story short, I arranged to meet them here, but they were to call me back and tell me what time.  I didn't receive a call, so Saturday morning I called again.  They hadn't connected and the one student had a cold and if we could come to her at her house alone she would receive us, otherwise, no.  The other boy was going to work and call us if he got home in time.  This branch isn't  doing so well.  Saturday, which seems like it might be the best day, is actually the worst.  So, after $5 in phone calls and no time to relax, I accomplished exactly zero.  Hurray for me.

If the truth be told, I hope the Lord was listening and knows I tried.  Missions are a lot about trying and what happens to the missionary as he/she tries to figure out how to love others better.   One of the surprising things is how often scheduling problems work out for the best -- this time, it seemed to be working, but didn't.

Moved and back connected (Thank Heaven for the Internet)

My prediction of early death for a baby bird fed bread and cream didn't materialize.  He's growing fine and getting feathers.

 This bird is an adult like the baby bird.  It can say "run" or "corre" in spanish, but it chose not to the day I was videoing.

 We found a new fruit stand in our area that I'm very pleased with.  I bought several dollars worth of produce and then the owner couldn't make change, so I told her she could give me grapefruit instead.  She filled a bag with horrid looking grapefruit, but they were delicious.  I found a sprouted seed in one, and look, it is a "Middle SEED".  Bad Rod joke.  It did look like a note [maybe not middle C], though, so it was fun to find.

One day when we were driving, this lizard ran across the road and up a wall.  The wall is made of full sized cinder-blocks, so you can see that he was pretty big.

We have decided that it was a blessing to be 'forced' to move. The assistants to the president came to our house on Sunday night with the other couple who moved into our house.  They put their things in the upstairs bedroom.  I had hired a sister to come help me clean and Rod had dismantled the bed, so we were ready.  Monday morning the elders came for breakfast at 7:00.  By 9:00 we were moved into our house here (everything was in) and we were only 5 minutes late for our teaching appointment.  Those elders were magic.

Water is a problem here.  We expect to have little or none during the day.  One morning Rod was taking his shower when the water went away.  He'd just soaped up.  I had filled a bowl earlier just in case, so I helpfully poured it over him.  What I didn't realize was that this water was several (SEVERAL) degrees colder than the water coming from the shower.  He had his eyes closed and it was quite a shock. Unplanned vengeance for his holding Myles up with the garden hose to get me in the shower when Myles was 4 or 5. Some things one doesn't forget.

It's hotter here, and we're upstairs with the metal roof, so it has been hard to sleep some nights.  Also we are in a "zona roja" or an area of the city that is considered dangerous.  Our neighbor told us that people break out the windows of cars when it is raining hard because with the noise of the rain on the roofs no one hears them. We're trusting the Lord to take care of us -- and we are more vigilant and take everything, including the radio out of the car.

 There are GREAT things about being here, like being able to come home for meals and when students cancel.  Before we just had to sit in a hot car, not our idea of fun. Our mornings are a bit less rushed because we don't have to drive half an hour to our appointments.  And it's very nice not to have to drive half an hour home on our 8:30 p.m. days.

We hosted young adults for a week end activity Thursday and Friday nights.  We were privileged to have Mihally, our favorite student from Chitre who introduced us to the chord method, come to stay with us.  We also got a family, as the activity was for marrieds as well.  There was a 3 or 4 year old little girl.  Her parents are musicians, so my guitar got played WELL for once, and we had fun with the piano as well.  We sang from Myles' songbook and I gave them one.

They paid a price in comfort, as they had to sleep on a tile floor with only our exercise mats, and Mihally had our two cushions in a corner.

Mihally was our connection (like Hansel and Gretel) to bread crumbs that led from her to Sister Brown of Saint George to Brother Theobald of Saint George.  He taught Janell the method we use -- which turns  the church music approach upside down.  Instead of teaching music and then learning to play, we start playing and with each hymn learn a bit more music.   Instead of 5 or 10% of the students sticking with it (which is where we were headed) we get close to 50% earning their keyboard (play 10 hymns ready for church and learn a new one on their own).  We are glad Mihally kept going and wanted to learn more so we could discover a better way.


Apartment
We grumble about the downsides of the apartment and had to learn a bit of obedience to come, but it is working out well and so don't listen to all the grumbling and there are real upsides.

[Rod] Speaking of washer person,  just before we moved my back starting acting up again.  This would be bad with our students to not be able to sit.  Therapy is to lie down or stand up.  So I was worried and realized it was probably from not shifting the heavy water rinse buckets properly - the prior wash day.   I explained in prayer my situation and that I would appreciate His help in resolving the inflammation as we needed to finish and help our students stay close to the Church (music is secondary, we think).  I felt a sensation go over my body, somewhat like washing clean.  At any rate, I could move freely and after a few days even the warning twitches have been greatly reduced.   Lovely blessing.

Also, this week one of our students asked me if I were an apostle.  I'm not sure if it was my dignified manner, comportment or ...  probably since she comes from a small branch, Boquete -- she doesn't know any other old people who wear ties and do church work.  Anyway, nice that I can be mistaken for an authority.



Sensitive plant
Do you like my new socks?  They are more visible than the plant's movement.


In this Easter season, we are especially grateful for the atonement of Christ.  I can't imagine living at peace with myself if I didn't know there was Christ's help to straighten out my mistakes.

Happy Easter