As of September 9th, we are back in the states & on that date, we also were blessed to have our 4th grand-baby, Grant Franklin Bartley, making it 3 grand boys & 1 grand baby girl in our household coffer. Also, as of September 20th, we have opted to take a leave of absence from the Mission Board and as of this time we are traveling to see & reconnect with family & friends. We are not sure where or what type of ministry the Lord will lead us into, but we are sure that He knows & will let us know at the appropriate time. We would appreciate your prayers with us concerning His leading & direction, that we may hear & obey, which is our heart's desire.

 
Did you know Panama is divided into North & South America? This is the Bridge of the Americas; when you cross it from our side, you are in North America, our side is South America! We now have our driver's license for Panama & our residency; we also receive a senior citizen's discount, on food, lodging, etc; sometimes up to 50% off some things, plus free entrance into Miraflores Locks of the Panama Canal!

 
 
 
This last team was from Missouri; we worked in Portobelo, Portolindo & Cacique for 4 days & being right on the beach, it was very hot & humid, plus we fought the mosquitoes & they won, with me anyway. The beauty of the place was marred by the poverty & violence; it was a sad place to work in. We did door-to-door evangelism, open-air preaching & showed movies on Sat & Sun nite.

 
 
 
 
We made a trip to the Darien Province, west side of Panama, to see what connections we could make; what churches were there; potential places for teams. Travel time was about 4 days.

 
 
 
 
This is a recent trip into the mountains & rivers of Bocas, the northwestern part of Panama. We visited several villages along the Changuinola River to determine if there was any evangelical presence there. In the village of Guayaba, there were no churches, with the exception of a cult called 'La Luz del Mundo' (The Light of the World). This church believes the True Apostle lives in Mexico City & the people of the village earn money to give to the True Apostle. Please pray as we try to establish a Baptist work there.

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Today we went to the National Arts & Crafts Festival here in Panama City.

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This is where we will be living at least for the next 3 months here in Panama. It is in an area called La Boca. It is in the vicinity where the people from the States lived while working for the Panama Canal; they had their own high school & grade school. It is beautiful; I will paste pics of it as soon as I can.

 
 
 
 
Our 3rd team in Panama was spent in the region of Chiriqui. We worked in David with Pastor Ricardo. His church is in his home & we were hoping to build other cell groups in the neighborhood. The response was good from the people we visited. The children had a great time of playing soccer, watching a movie & they enjoyed the presentation of the Gospel in an effective & demonstrative manner; many thanks to the team from Berea, KY.

2nd Team in Panama from NC

 
We worked with a team last week from Troutman, NC, to construct a soccer field for the community in Vera Cruz. Many obstacles, including weather, had to be overcome. On one particular night, we received over 4 in of rain. By the grace of God & perseverence their work was completed. This is the Pastor Anibal & his wife; they are from the Cuna People Group. She looked beautiful in her traditional dress.

First team of young nationals

 
 
 
 
We worked in Limon with a group of young nationals, this past weekend, who were a delight to be around. The Pastor of the church is pictured with his family; keith & hermano Jose, a great evangelist, by the way he is "only 80 years old" as he says, trekked those hills very well.

 
Kids are kids in Panama; they loved their picture being taken.

 
We visited a school in a small community on a mountain in Limon; this is kindergarten with about 12 children; they sang for us.

 
These are boats waiting to go thru the Canal.

 
Here in Panama we are in the process of making a new home. This is a picture of the Bridge of the Americas over the Panama Canal.

Yes, we have been to many churches & conferences for stateside from January til May, but the bestest times were spent with the grand-children. This one loves the drains for some odd reason (he's all boy) & we loved watching. We have had the opportunity to spend time with our 2 others in OK & have passed the test to even keep them by ourselves.

We spent Christmas in OK and Thanksgiving this past year, both times I was sick. Now this is Jan & Keith & I both have had bronchitis - I really think we are allergic to the cold. We experienced the 'worst snowstorm of the century' in OK and TN does not seem to be far behind in that. Needless to say, we have done much travel from VA to OK in the last 3 months. The picture is a Willow Tree creech that Mel had in her dining room for Christmas.