Day 9 Time to say goodbye

What an incredible week! We were ready to be home, but there was still so much exploring I wanted to do and see! I wanted to see the sunshine and feel that heat one more time, (preferably at the beach). I wanted to see more animals and explore more jungle. I wanted to keep eating out and not have to cook! Cooking in Panama is not pleasant unless you are blessed with AC! 

But I was ready to get home to my bed and my pillow, the a place where things are a little more sanitary and I could speak the language. I was ready to get out of this crazy awful traffic! Oh it was so bad. And my dad navigated it like a champ. It wasn't just the bad drivers you had to watch out for, someone was always in the middle of the street trying to sell you something or wash a window just to make a buck. The homes were sad and seemed to be built right on top of each other. 

As we drove towards the airport I was reminded of just how blessed I am. 

From clean running water, to toilets that flush, a warm home and comforts of life, I was feeling so much gratitude. Grateful we could see the work my parents have been doing and meet the fruits of their labors. I'm glad we got to experience missionary love that is so pure and real. 

I'm grateful to my parents who went faithfully not knowing what to expect who endured hard trials and did it with a smile on their face. There were times I thought over and over again of what a Saint my dad was. He multiple times had to leave to help someone or give a ride or translate or was needed in some way. They were both so busy and incredible examples to me of resilience. 

We piled into our shuttle to get us over the airport after returning our car. And the airport was decorated in Christmas so we of course had to take pictures. It was nothing like in international airport that we are used to. We walked in and went straight into security. 

Goodbyes were hard, but made a little easier knowing my parents would he home in about 65 days. I still cried though. Its a comfort to be with your parents. The Ortegas came too and wished us well with hugs and smiles and tears. Such good people. 

Home again home again, jiggity jig. The flights were uneventful, our 3 hour layover was a little painful and when we stepped foot back on American soil I was so very glad! I'm proud to be an American and live in the blessed land that I do! 

This was an experience I'll remember forever and I hope my kids do too. 

Day 8 at the Panama Canal

Day 7 we got to visit the Panama Canal, this was on Chad's bucket list. We first got to go into a theatre and watch a 3D show about how the canal was built and why and how it works. Wow. It is a modern day miracle. They load each ship with hundreds of shipping containers the size of train cars and float them into the locks. A series of pressure changes adjusts the water to where the ship needs to go and then they can manuever these GIANT ships through the canal that is only about 100 feet across. The ships nearly touch the sides when they are in the locks. It was quite crazy to see and I wish we could have seen a ship coming in. 

It was decorated for Christmas so we got some cute pics. That was the strange thing about being in Panama is that it didn't feel like Christmas. Town wasn't as festive and home is, there aren't really christmas lights to look at and very few decorations were around. It felt strange to be dressed in shorts and a tank next to a large candycane or Christmas tree. 

There is a pic of how narrow the locks are.

Our friend who had a child pass away, asks friends to take Gentry rocks with them and leave them throughout the world since he will never get to travel. I took a few and left one near the Panama Canal so that he could watch ships come in. What little boy wouldn't love that?

Then we were off to the Albrook Mall! This mall is huge and has over 200 stores! My mom talked it up a lot but Justin summarized it well when he said it was a glorified Temu. They did have American stores that I hoped were cheaper but they were just as much and possibly more in Panama. My girls begged to ride the merry go round so we let them. They picked a chair they could spin and boy did they spin! They looked like psychos on the calmest ride in the world. 

The big large tree covered 2 stories and was so pretty! 

And we ended the night with more games with the sister and the Ortegas. At this point Carter and Kaynie were wanting to talk but had to communicate though google. But it worked well. 

At the end of the night, we said our goodbyes and wished everyone well as we prepared to return home. For knowing these good people for only a few days, we sure grew to love them! Carter and Kaynie exchanged Instagram and whats app numbers and planned to stay in contact. 

We hugged these guys multiple times before they had to go. They will always be special to us. 

We don't want to leave this beautiful place but there are certain things that I am excited to be back in America for. We live in SUCH A blessed land. 
 

Day 7 Best Dec 1st ever

Good Morning from Panama! We woke up to another cloudy day and we were bit sad we weren't going to get sun for our beach day. Luckily it was still warm, so we were ok. We took a few pictures around my parents property because there are just so many fun things to see. 

Such unique flowers. 

 And lizards! I think we counted about 10 at one point. They just hang out on the bank of this little canal. 

Then we were off to our beach day at Tortuga (Turtle) Beach. It was so charming and cute and we had nearly the whole beach to ourselves! 

The first item of business though was family pics. I didn't want to come this far and not have a nice family pic on the beach so we planned for it, and dad was our photographer and it turned out pretty well! 

It was a dream photo shoot and I only wish they were more professional but you can bet that these made our christmas card! 

And of course they couldn't stay dry for it. 

 Then it was time to play! We were so stoked that it was December 1st and we were in the ocean! We got a good 30-45 min in of playing before the rain HIT! Oh man did it dump rain. And at first I was sad. Who wants to be at the beach in the rain? My Utah kids who are warm blooded did! Here is where Mollie started out, in a hammock under the shelter, but she eventually moved to the water. It was awesome to be in that big of a down pour and be warm!

At one point we were wondering what we should do, pack up and go home or just embrace it. The vote was that we were wet in the water anyway, so why not just go play?! And play we did and it was so fun. The kids learned to boogie board and ride the waves and loved it. Bri and Ry don't remember much of the ocean and so it was like it was their first time there! 

It was so fun to play with my dad in the ocean. At one point the waves did get pretty big and we all took turns getting crashed on by a wave. Mom even got in a bit but said the current was too strong for her today. And there was a pretty good current. 

We ate lunch on the balcony while it rained. It was a really good meal and we just enjoyed being the only ones there and soaking in every moment. 

Carter even got a turn in the hammock. 

And oh the shells were so beautiful with so many different colors. We had a great time gathering shells and comparing what we found. We brought a LOT of shells home. 

And here's my obligatory beach pic of where we are. Panama '25 you've been incredible! The fun isn't over yet though! 

Sunday Day 6 in Panama

Sunday we got to attend church at my parent's branch. They are one of the few unique branches in that they sing and have talks given in both English and Spanish. That has been a nice thing for my mom and because of that, there are many Americans in their ward. We got all hooked up with the translator and earbuds so we could understand. 

Everyone was so kind and multiple people came up to me and told me how great my parents were and how much they loved them. That confirmed to me again, that they were just where they needed to be and that I was happy to share them with these good people. This branch had not had baptisms for several years and while my parents and the sisters were there, they baptized many! 

This is our kids with Kathryn's kids that we did the service project with. Carter and Kaynie (in the maroon dress) were starting to enjoy each others company ALOT. 

This is Kathryn. Not a member yet, although her kids were newly baptized members. She belongs to another religion that is a little more like a party at chuch with good music and dancing and bands. She also has been relying on a man who helps her by giving money in exchange for certain favors. She's between a rock and a hard place. She also grew up in similar circumstances of the families in the dump and was on the run by the time she was 12 growing up in the streets. She refuses to let her children experience a life like that and will do just about anything to keep their heads above water. She is such a good lady with the BIGGEST heart in anyone I've ever met. She was the one going from home to home in the dump hugging people, kissing babies and children and talking to people to see where the greatest need was. She truly is an earth angel. 

It was different to see a chapel that looked like ours but it all had tile. No carpet anywhere. It was beautiful nonetheless. 

Here wer are with the Ortegas and sister missionaries that we grew to love too. 

Rylee was happy to see her friends again from Thanksgiving and were trying to arrange another hang out, but the girls had school and we had plans! What cuties! They took her to primary and she even learned a song in spanish. 

We attended the youth class because they were having a special missionary class and they asked my parents to attend. They had 2 returned missionaries, a sister and a brother, talk to the youth about missions. The hard parts and the good parts. It was a really great meeting and they also did it in spanish and english so we could understand. 

We saw more of these monkey things after church. 

While we were in church we could hear the rain coming down hard. It didn't let up for quite a while like it does in Utah. It poured rain for a good few hours. When we got home the girls wanted to play in the rain since it was a warm rain. Sure, whatever. 

Carter got a little wet but was ok not jumping in puddles. 

 The rest of the day was spent relaxing and playing games with the sisters. Mom and dad taught many of them Nertz so we played and, wow, Sister Dunn was incredible and so fast. Tommorow is beach day!