missionaryMAC

​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...

​My future in-laws ( suegros ) came to visit! Josh's dad, a Lutheran school principal, took advantage of GA's unique schedule of breaks, and both his mom and dad applied for passports to leave the country for the first time since their honeymoon in the Bahamas. They arrived on a Sunday afternoon and left on a Friday morning (the same day I left for - spoiler alert! - Panama), so we basically had four full days to show them our beloved island.  Day 1: Beach Day  I was too relaxed - and paranoid about getting sand in my phone - to take any pictures! Day 2: Puerto Plata Pico Isabel de Torres (the famous cable car is still undergoing maintenance, so we drove up) It was too cloudy for much of a scenic city view, but... Parque Central Independencia We stopped at the Chocolala chocolate factory in Quebrada Honda on our drive home. I've done the tour numerous times but always see and learn something new.  Cranberries (obviously not the Ocean Spray variety)! We've since locat...