Panama Day 2: Yaviza!!

The team had to wake up so early this morning... 6:30 panama time. that means 4:30 Las Vegas Time. we got to shower, which was nice... (it's our last real shower for the next 5 or 6 days!! yikes!!!)
We started our journey to the small town of Yaviza. Driving out of Panama City was amazing- there were lots of tall buildings since new condos and luxury hotels were being built in the area. It was so nice interesting seeing the different culture!!! the buses were different.. they were old American school buses that were painted in a childlike professional graffiti colorful style. it was so cool to see!! The walls of the highway were also painted graffiti style, with sayings like 'God Bless Panama' and pictures of sunsets and skylines. It was so cool!
We stopped at this place equivalent to a walmart. the food court there had cheap but good food so that was our stop for breakfast. (I got to enjoy chicken and fried bread. that's new!!)
The team played signs while we waited for the store to open. it was very fun!!! We ate, bought anything we needed to buy, (mainly things for children's ministry) and were off. during the next 7 hours, I saw all sorts of new things. Natural growing palm trees (so much more majestic than landscaped ones, natural ones are so beautiful!!!) banana trees, and so many other new plants and trees than you could see in one day on the history channel.
I got to know Ugo and Chris a little better. this is when I found out that they are extremely silly when they want to be. they know how to have fun when it's allowed and how to be serious when they need to be, which is very cool. Ugo used the word 'Inconceivable!' for the first time, and it is now my most favorite word to use!!! Go ahead, try saying it in a British accent. it's wonderful! the team played another new game called 'zip' where you have to say Zip, Boing, or Who-oo-oop! to pass turns to another player. The part that makes it hard is that you can't show your teeth or your out, and watching people say Zip and Boing with their lips covering their teeth makes you want to laugh. I didn't get very far in that game, not this time at least.
I've seen all sorts of wildlife so far: cows, goats, chickens, geese, pigs, horses, and mules. it's been very interesting seeing the towns go from so urban to so rural. i know it will only get even more rural the closer we get to union choco.
I've also been paying attention to the houses. It seems you can tell the wealth of a person by their house: some houses aren't enclosed all the way (due to lack of air conditioning, perhaps??)
the lesser homes seem to be made of wood, the nicer ones made of cement bricks, and the nicest ones are painted. I've also noticed that the houses vary a lot between tin roofs and roofs made out of palm and banana leaves. it's quite interesting.
You can tell that the boys (the 2 jesse's, actually) are getting bored because they let the girls paint their nails. it was quite sad and there were too many jokes about them not being manly men anymore. then again, a lot of the boys at my church are kinda weird.
We are also introduced on this trip to the rest of the Panamanian tea,m. Santiago, 2 pastors, (pastor tito and i don't know the other's name), Jessica, Maribel, and Maribel's husband who is also a pastor. They seem to be a very nice team, but none of them speak English so we had to communicate through strange methods of sign language and the translational arts of Pastor David. Pastor David also showed his appreciation for us being there by getting us all bracelets and hats that say panama on it. Considering his strict budget, this is a huge blessing. I felt truly welcomed and was glad to have a good Panamanian team with us!!!

Now we're finally in yaviza. we have a pretty view of one of the rivers, which is nice. the river is very dirty, so i don't think we'll be bathing in it any time soon. we blew up one of the beach balls we had, and played with the kids. we taught them hand clapping games which was fun. Pastor David took us all aside and showed us where we were staying {in his church}. We were showed our room, where to set up the tents, and were told to come check out the upstairs.
When we were upstairs i was in a playful mood, so i pretended to push ugo off the ledge. (the second story wasn't built yet, so we were technically on the roof....) later he came up to me but instead of a small push, he half threw me over the edge and pulled me back and then {while laughing} said to me, "Go tell your mom i saved your life." we went to go back down stairs, and my 'afraid of heights' senses kicked in when i realized i had to make it back down the stairs. it normally would have been fine if the stairs weren't so small, close together, and very steep. thankfully, one of the Panamanian pastors saw me, laughed at me, and helped me down. it was sweet.
Dinner was good, the best Panamanian chicken I've ever had! and 'banana fries' as they were called. I'll have to learn to like those, i heard plantains come with every meal. yay.
we played with the kids more... i let two little girls do my hair, and i got to braid theirs too.





I shared a tent with angel, and we didn't sleep till 11:00 because we were talking!!! i didn't sleep very well after that, though. a side effect of the malaria pills I'm assuming.
Tomarrow, we canoe to Union Choco!!!