missionaryMAC

​When a team immediately following H&H  but in another field that would have nearly doubled my time away from home didn't materialize, I gladly volunteered to stay on in Panama and support what was rumored to be a sizable FORO. While it wound up being fairly manageable - five volunteers from the week prior plus Kris, the Mission Board chair from my home congregation in St. Louis -  it was a chance to beta test some of the processes I've helped implement in the DR elsewhere, bringing standardization to the LAC FORO experience region-wide.  An "introvert day" of barely leaving my hotel room on Friday rejuvenated me to kick off the weekend with a Lebanese feast that evening.  Saturday's long day of presentations began with Matins in the sanctuary.  I took minutes from my seat on the corner of the "L" on the right of the photo.  Deaconess Marina deftly did simultaneous translation nearly all day.  The youngest member of the FORO was Pastor Alejandro Ló...

​Josh's airport taxi service was up and running the morning of Friday, February 20; his parents left at 6 am, and I took off for Panama around 8 am. On the surface, there was nothing unusual about my being on the ground to support a volunteer team, except in this case I'd actually be supporting TWO teams functioning as one. The team leaders' last names, respectively, were Holland (TX) and Hartwig (IA), so I dubbed the merger "H&H" in my files.  The TX contingent's original flight was cancelled, so they came in a day early, on the same flight as me. I left them to their own devices until the "mission trip" officially kicked off with a Saturday afternoon airport run to pick up the IA contingent. Fun fact: I've hosted this particular congregation more times than any other, in four different countries.  We took our "show" (an eyeglass clinic with children's activities on the side for neighborhood kids or kids whose parents were get...