Off on a camping trip?

Hi everyone!  Unfortunately I don't have pictures to post at this time.  That's the bad thing about an internet cafe, you don't have all of your stuff with you.  But I thought I'd take some time to update you on all that is going on with us. 

We've been in Panama now for about 2 1/2 weeks.  We spent the first two weeks in a town called David, about an hour from the Panama/Costa Rica border.  We worked with many schools and lots of kids while we were there.  Because the YWAM base was too small to house us all, we got split up into groups and we stayed with individual families.  Jake and I stayed with a family from Wisconsin...well, all the Americans there were from Wisconsin...and they were the nicest people.  The first morning we woke up, they had coffee and a plate of cookies waiting for us.  The 2nd morning was coffee and banana bread.  They told us to help ourselves to anything and to make ourselves at home.  It was so nice to feel that kind of warmth and hospitality.  We didn't want to leave!  But alas, we had to move south to Panama City.

Panama City is HOT and HUMID!! This is the most humid place I've ever been.  We've been working in a local elementary school giving the outside a face lift.  Yesterday I got to so curtains for the school (it was quite nice having a day inside an air conditioned room!) while others continued to paint.  Tomorrow, we leave at the crack of dawn to a couple of indigenous villages for the next 10 days.  The cool thing is that we get to travel by canoe to the villages, after a 6 hour car ride.  I am sure I will have lots of stories when we come out of there!!

God's doing some awesome things here and will continue to do so.  I don't have much more time here at the internet cafe, so this is a short post.  I just wanted to keep you all in the loop as to what is going on. 

Please keep us in your prayers.  We are in the last 1/2 of outreach and that can be a tough time because you can see the end so close and it can be harder to have grace on the people that are always around you.  I've (Michelle) been reading the book of James over and over again, feeling oh so convicted about my heart and my tongue.  I am processing it with God and feeling growth coming out of it.  But there's a reason there are growing pains with growth!  :)

Love to you all,
Jake and Michelle