Talamanca

Trying to catch up on all the entries that have happened over the holidays...I finished school on December 16th and the very next day we were off on a trip to Talamanca, the indigenous reserve along the Panama border for the Festival of Smiles 2011. It was our first missions trip as a family and quite the experience for all of us. It rained the entire weekend, so we got some real good use of our rain boots. Elena loved them!
The girls did really well, even sleeping in our cramped quarters that we shared with another missionary mom and 2 year old daughter. Gera was with the guys so it was just Katy and I on an air mattress and Elena in the crib.
While there we went to two different areas to share the gospel, give presents to the kids and clothes to the adults. The first day was huge, over 800 people! Here we are lining up the kids at the beginning of the event.
By the end of the afternoon there was only standing room inside as well as people in all the windows. It was crazy! The girls participated pretty good. Elena is not as shy as Katy and sat by herself most of the time, she even went to sit on the laps of some of the older kids towards the end! Katy warmed up to a little girl (below in the brown), but we didn't get her name. Although most kids speak Spanish, many also speak their native dialect as well.
The next day we went to a closer village and did the same, but with fewer people because the event the day before ended so late and many people didn't make it home that night due to the rain and high rivers needed to be forded. I was in charge of the clothing distribution and it broke my heart. I learned two things that morning. The first was to really see where the clothes that get donated go and how I've never put faces to those clothes before. Lots of the clothes were heavy pants, wool skirts and blouses that were impractical for these women who live in the middle of the rain forest. It was interesting also that most of them wanted skirts, no pants and definitely no shorts:)

We were only able to give 3 pieces of clothing per person and I will always remember two of the women, and I really should only say young girl for one of them. They didn't speak Spanish, so we talked to them through an older lady. We tried to explain to them that they could only take 3 pieces, but the look of panic in their eyes was impacting. The older lady explained that the had walked two days to get there and this was probably their only time this year that they would have the opportunity to get clothes. Needless to say, we let them have more than just 3 pieces, especially since they were taking mostly baby clothes.

Having gone once, I now know better the needs of these people, how to pray for them and how to help. If you would like to know more, let me know and I can send you our prayer letter-let me know in the comments or email/fb me.

The girls may not looked thrilled in this pic, but they really did have a good time. They ate well, played well and tolerated the rain/mud amazingly. Also, as a side note, this is the last picture with Elena and her nuk/pacifier! We are free!!!