WEDDING BELLS BE RINGIN'

I am sososososo excited and honored to let everyone know, my BEAUTIFUL and LOVELY cousin is getting married!! I am beyond ecstatic for this and can't wait to be standing alongside her on the biggest day of her life. Wedding planning and gushing and pinteresting has already commenced! I've got my book all set up and devided into categories we will be going through, jotting down notes and endless starbucks dates start now. WOOOOO 

Love you girl <3

I can't wait for what the future holds. 

Love you girl.

More Places I Want to Go!!

These are a few places I want to go swell!!!

Still Breathin.

I know its hard for me to think of this but yes, everything is still alright, i am still alive and still breathing. things and just life in general have gotten REAL busy. School done within 3 weeks, planning my practicums, giving 'notice' to my french teaching job that I will be away for two and a half months but delighted to hear they welcome me back with open arms when my practicums are finished! ..planning to leave for Quito in just under 3 weeks, and planning crafts and starting to brush up on my aerobics for camp at MSBC this year! all of this is a lot to handle. a lot to take in and a lot to do. I am so so  so excited for all that is to come and so thats what keeps me going. pure passion. 

i can do this.

never stop believing in yourself. 

Panama Journal Entry #7

Better late than never right.....

School Day6AM - I could not sleep last night. I kept needing to go the bathroom - but i am too chicken to go by myself. In the dark. I finally mustered up the courage and got up and began my travel to the glorious hole in the ground. It was terrifying, but I did it. 

                Now it's raining Ayiyiyiyi and we are walking to the school today, I think it's about a 3 hour hike. Then we are stopping off at one of the men's houses that came out to our 'Jesus Film' last night in Quito to say hello! I think he lives on the way to the school. Then we are going to have some River Time!! Im bringing my water shoes! 

So. The entire time we stayed in Panama, there was baby chicks running around the entire time, they would let us hold them and pick them up, play with them but, Mackenzie just threw a chick at me. we were sitting at the table and he picked one up without me noticing and said, 'wanna chick?' and shoved it in my face. Loser. 

Devotional. 
2 Peter 1:5-8 if you are all these things, you will be effective.

We were told to dress up for the school because the children will be in their 'Sunday best' so we must wear our skirts and dresses, and long pants. 

The school went well, the children didn't tell their administration that we were coming until yesterday though, so that was fun. the school didn't have anytime to set aside for us, ohwell. We did our skits and dramas and then we were on our way. It was all very fun and full of laughter! Then we were on our way back to our chicken coop. On our way we stopped at that man's house from the Jesus Film last night, he wanted us to come by and just sit with him, pray with him and sing with him. He offered us some juice he had gotten from some fruits, but we had to kindly turn it down. we were told not to drink anything offered to us in Panama because it could make us sick, so to be on the safe side, I did not. 

One of the many Mandarine Trees we passed on our hike

A horse that we passed on our hike, it was crazy to see this free, wild horse, considering there are considerably none, anywhere.

On our way to the river afterwards, 2 boys we had previously met, met up with us on the trail on their horses and came down to the river with us! Man thinking about it now,  I wish I had gotten on that horse! That would've been something, 'travelling on a horse bareback in the jungles of Panama going to swim in the river!'  At this time Colleen and I realized we had to go get  changed in the jungle, so we had Derek come and guard the path and make sure no one would pass where we were changing and we quickly got into our bathing suits! Then we headed down the hill to the suspension bridge. Mackenzie and the guys were jumping off giant rocks into the water, then JD, Mackenzie, Derek, Mark and Steve started to PEE on rocks and 'claim' them as their own. So I went right up on top of the rock and stood beside mackenzie and 'claimed' him haha. it was great. Then I curled into a cannonball and plunged into the river. 
After that grand fiasco, Mark, Mackenzie and Eduardo are shovelling out a bunch of rocks and debris from underneath a huge rock, making a sort of cave and tunnel underneath it or a passageway. They swam back and forth underneath it, it was terrifying to think Mackenzie could've gotten stuck under there, but he didn't. so it was all good. 

They did find quite an interesting under water bug/insect ...I tried to sketch it out. 

Eduardo and Derek have started playing baseball. With a stick and a Lemon. Great. When we had been travelling from the school to this man's house at the top of the hill we had come across a small hut on the side of the road, and we all bought cheeses and juice boxes for 5 cents each. and of corse we hung out with the roosters. Eduardo bought 8 of the cheesy puffs. 

The weather is so so so beautiful here. I wish I lived here, it is so nice, that I was able to have a bath in the creek, with my bathing suit of corse, just brought down a bar of soap, washed my hair and everything! 

At this very moment, the boys are playing baseball in the creek, Keith is standing on a rock and pitching a lime, Mark is batting and derek and Mackenzie are fielders! So funny; only in Panama. The boys also had fun diverting their attention to a bigger rock and set up some smaller rocks on top, then they proceeded to have a little target practice, they enjoyed it. A lot of rocks smashed into a billion pieces though! haha.

We then made our ways back home and got changed, ate dinner, which was so great, we had the usually rice and beans, it was delissh. Then headed over to the field to set up the Jesus film & Dramas. We decided on new dramas to teach tonight, the lost sheep and the lady with the lost coin. On a higher note, on our way to the Jesus Film, mackenzie made a spear with a thorn branch from a Mandarine Tree, Weed Grass and a Long Stick. He's quite crafty when he wants to be. 

So, I failed to mention earlier, when we were sitting around just chatting before dinner, Rosa (our hostess and cook) picked up a chick off the ground and put it into Shannon's hood. Man that was funny. I think I cried. 

Akeil's shoes are never on the right feet. 

I ended up having to resort to fashioning a camera strap out of yellow rope, and tied it around my side then through the loop in the camera case. It's great, now I don't have to take my camera out of my bag every time I want to take a picture! Because I was wearing something with no pockets and Mackenzie was carrying the back pack so I made a camera case! 

Akeil thinks 'high five' means chocolate. haha.

So we are now at the Jesus Film & Steve has asked us to each share something we will never forget/bring back to Canada with us. 
This was mine:
"This is my first time on a Mission's Trip and I was not expecting the level of love, joy and hospitality that we have received, Thank you."
&&
"Using a Machette - no machinery"

Colleen just got bit by something and it stung her I think? She says her whole foot is on fire, I'm scared for her!! - The stinger is now out but she says it still really hurts. 

Now it is time to rest and gear up for our long trek home tomorrow to Panama City! 

Goodnight Quito