Family

By this point, we are all a family. If we weren’t family, would we be able to talk about our bowel movements (or lack there of) over the breakfast table? It’s amazing how close you become to people as you work, live and play beside them, especially in a foreign country. Even though we still have a couple of days, things are beginning to come to a close. Tomorrow is our last day with the kids, and tomorrow night, Dick and Barbara are headed to a resort for a week. Jesus too, I assume, will be leaving us when we return to Panama City. Why is it that when you realize the end is near, you want to spend even more time together, treasuring the time? Why don’t we do that from the beginning? But then again, isn’t that the greatest lesson we can learn? To treasure every moment we have?

We took our nightly run to the grocery store and the golden arches, singing a song Jesus introduced us to on the way there and on the return. We shared stories and laughed at things that had happened on the trip. And, I’m not sure how or why it started, but we all sang the Addams Family theme song together, right in McDonalds.

After our assembly line for the crafts the kids will do tomorrow, we decided to teach Jesus and Chalino a very challenging game: spoons! They both caught right on and loved it. Despite the language barrier, we can really always tell what Chalino is up to, and he was a hoot to play spoons with. We laughed and yelled and cackled, surely disturbing the creatures at the camp, but we were “soaking in” sometime with teach other, and so it was all well worth it.

Families may not be what you expect or plan, and they may come in all shapes and sizes, but surely after this trip we must qualify as a family.

This morning, as I was brushing my teeth (with my bottled water), I looked out the open window (which is so much better than a mirror) and watched the puppy chase a chicken. Despite the fact that my mouth was full of toothpaste, I couldn’t help but chuckle and think about what a special place this is.

Speaking of special, we returned to playa negra this morning. It was just as deserted and just as perfect as two days ago. The tide was lower though, so I was able to do some treasure hunting. I found purple, blue, pink, orange, and white shells. I guess I do have a good bit of my father in me, although shells are not nearly as heavy as rocks!

Our time with the kids is just priceless. I love watching them intently doing a simple craft, or soaking in a story, or learning a new dance. Today in recreation, Barbara had purchased some type of special balloons that were long and thin. When you inflated them and let them go, they would fly about in wild patterns as a typical balloon would do. However, these went a much longer way for a lot longer. The kids were absolutely hysterical running around as a clump trying to catch the balloon.

As any teacher would do, at the beginning of the story, I ask for the children to tell me about what we’ve learned so far. Although I’m not sure they understand the true meanings of all of the parables, I believe they remember them. In all honesty, they will remember us being here and the kindness we showed for a lot longer than they will remember the words I have said. But I still hope that I have planted these stories into good, rich soil.

Each afternoon, we seem to end up sitting on the porch of cabin one discussing the day, snacking and resting. Several years ago my parents were on the first crew that helped to lay the foundation for cabin one. I remember hearing stories about how many corners the building had and how hard the ground was. I love sitting on the porch that they started. I feel connected to them and I love it. I love being connected to my family.