Our final days in Panama... For now :)

As our time in Panama came to a close, all of us couldn't stop thinking, "No! Where did the time go? It can't already be Wednesday!".

We made the most of the time we had left by returning to Malambo in the morning to spend some time holding and feeding the babies. We also were able to finally work with 2 of the girls with cerebral palsy, Angelica (age 7) and Milarose (age 9). Of all the children with special needs in Panama, these two would appear to have the "best" care of all the orphanages in the country. Meaning these girls are fed, clothed, and bathed, and there are no apparent signs of abuse. But besides that, these girls are left alone and unloved. Both times we came to Malambo, we walked in the house finding Angelica lying on the tile floor, while all the other kids played around her. We hadn't even seen Milarose the first time we came. We were told these girls may see a physical therapist for an hour once a month or once every two months. With no follow up or caregiver education, how much good is really being done for these precious little girls?

The attitudes toward disabilities or special needs in this country are similar to those of most developing nations. These children are unwanted and seen as a liability, even for the most affluent of parents looking to adopt. Angelica is adoptable, but everyone knows that her only hope is international adoption, for someone to want her from outside her home country, if she is ever going to have a family. Milarose was higher functioning than Angelica, and could benefit tremendously with appropriate care- but just basic needs, let alone therapy and medication, are often unattainable for orphans in Panama.

Seeing these two girls really illustrated for us the dire need for Casa Providencia, the new orphanage for special needs children. Children like Angelica & Milarose will have a place to stay, with caregivers who know how to take care of them, with medication and therapy that will allow them to experience a quality of life never before possible for them here. This orphanage is going to change so many lives, we cannot wait to see all the little miracles to come.

Angelica

Milarose

Wednesday afternoon we had lunch with Matt & Misty, and met their awesome family (shout out to Peter, Rosie, & Isaac!). We had a great talk about our suggestions, wish lists, and plans for future groups to join in supporting them in creating this orphanage. That evening, we went with our good friend Adrian to celebrate birthdays and meet a whole host of new friends (Panamanians are so social and friendly- I LOVE that!!).

Thursday morning was filled with packing and last minute purchases (plantain chips, anyone?), and going to the airport with Blanca & Jorge. Reflecting back on this week, I felt as though I was constantly in awe of what we were experiencing, the people we were meeting, all the things we were able to see... plus all the fun!! I feel so lucky and blessed that we were even able to return, let alone become a part of something so much bigger than ourselves. It is my hope that this partnership continues, and that more and more students can experience the beauty and fulfillment I have found in Panama.

Look out for more information on Casa Providencia & the work of Heart's Cry Children's Ministry: http://www.heartscrychildren.com/

Thanks for all of your support! We could never do this without you all!

Love always, Jordan

Tag! You're It!!

Tuesday was amazing! We spent the day with Jenny Jack, a lawyer from the States who is now the principal of Academia Cristiano Doulos, a pre-K through 4th grade school in Chillibre. Chillibre is a small, poor town outside of Panama City, with children who had no other access to education before this school was founded 4 years ago. Driving to the town itself, I was struck by the stark differences between the modern, wealthy Panama City, and the forgotten poverty of this town. We spent our day with different classes, acting as teacher aides, helping the children with math and their letters, and of course playing great games at recess! They loved the swings and the monkey bars, and most of all LOVED to be chased!! We definitely got our work out in! It was so great to see those kids excited about learning and having so much fun in their classes.



We also took a trip to Metro Amigo orphanage, the place where unwanted children end up. We were not able to go inside, but just seeing the property and hearing the stories of what goes on in that place were enough. The orphanage shares a kitchen space with the jail, the children don't go to school, they are considered the lowest of the low and would have to fight just to find a way out of that system and those circumstances. My heart was breaking for those kids, and I hope that with this new orphanage, at least some of those children will find a way out of that darkness and be able to create a new life for themselves.

(We took a quick stop to take some BANNER pictues!!)


Tuesday evening we had dinner with the Fultons, this AMAZING family originally from Chicago. Don is a pilot for Copa Airlines, and lived in Ireland before moving with his family here to Panama City. We met in such a God-way that we all knew it was part of the grand plan. They made us a DELICIOUS chicken barbecue dinner, with papaya, potato salad, coconut, and smoothies, plus pineapple cake from Rio de Janeiro for dessert! The best part was spending so much time talking with them, laughing, and making some great new friends. He also called over one of their friends, Karen Bivven, who is a PT here in Panama. We love making new friends, and here in Panama we have met some of the most amazing people on the planet. We are so incredibly blessed to be here and to have this experience!

(Our beautiful hairstyles by 5-year-old Aofie :)


Love, Jordan

Monday morning, it was finally time to see where the new orphanage is going to be! Graciella picked us up and we headed to Colon to meet up with Matt. We had driven through Colon on our last trip, and were a little uneasy returning; Colon is an extremely poor area of Panama and is known for its gangs and criminal activity. What we got, however, was a nice little neighborhood even with some new houses just outside of Colon where Americans used to live. The building for the orphanage is an old American hospital, and although there are numerous renovations needed, we were extremely impressed by it! It is a three-story building with a great sized yard and plenty of space for all of their needs. Matt led us through the site and shared his vision with us, which will require a lot of work, but we could see the amazing potential it has. It was very cool to think that the next time we return, the building will look completely different and new, and we took a moment to let that inspiration sink in.

We arrived back at the hotel early in the afternoon, and we had lots to discuss! We were very excited with the ever-increasing motivation and inspiration that came from seeing the orphanage itself. We put our heads together and came up with lots of ideas for both the actual orphanage and for spreading the word to the SU community.

At night, a large group of us went to TGI Friday’s for dinner, including our beach group and Blanca’s parents, along with some of their other friends. It was a blast, and we stuffed ourselves to the brim with burgers, fries, and desserts. Then, we rode to Casco Viejo, the colonial-style part of Panama that we all fell in love with the first time around. We went to the Tantalo hotel/restaurant/rooftop bar, which has an absolutely amazing view. To the left, you see the Panama City skyline all lit up and colorful, and to the right are the old city buildings. It was a beautiful place to sit with friends and chat and just have a relaxing night.

-Brittany :)

All day Saturday was spent on the beach at San Carlos, and we couldn’t have asked for a better day (especially since it was my birthday)! The weather was beautiful, the water was clear and gorgeous, and the music was blaring! After a whole afternoon out in the sun we were tired and hungry, so we hung out at the beach house for the night, starting off with a surprise birthday cake! Then, grill master Jorge with his helpers Blanca and Monica made some delicious barbecue including ribs, chorizo, and cheesy tortillas, among many other yummy options. Stuffed and sleepy, we hung out talking and laughing and called it an early night.

Sunday morning, Doris and Chicho joined us at the beach house for an amazing breakfast… that’s right, more food. The girls made up a huge spread of eggs, chorizo, jucca, and bread, and once again we ate until we were stuffed. After a short morning of walking on the beach, it was back to El Dorado for a day of relaxation. Jordan, Brittani, and I decided on a place called Sushi Express for dinner, just down the street from the hotel. We were a bit taken aback by the menu; we couldn’t decipher most of the ingredients, and most rolls seemed to contain queso and/or salsa, but we gave it a whirl! It turned out to be amazing sushi; we were all pleasantly surprised. Full and laying by the pool on a beautiful night, we called it a day early to prepare for our day in Colon with Graciella and Matt to see the site for the orphanage. We are very much looking forward to it; should be a day to remember! 

Art Festival, Cholo's, & Fun with Friends

Viernes! We took our time in the morning to enjoy hotel amenities, and met up with Blanca around noon for the artisan festival. The 36th Artisan Festival (36 Feria Nacional de Artesanias) was held at the Centro de Convenciones ATLAPA in Panama City, and was filled with hundreds of booths selling all kinds of goods, food, and desserts. Plus, they had cultural and folk dancing on the stage throughout the day. We were able to see a few different dance groups, including a team of young kids! They were so precious!!

After the festival, we packed up the car and headed to San Carlos with Jorge, Blanca, and Monica. We found out what Panamanian rush hour is like (just as fun in the USA), then stopped in Coronado for dinner at Cholo's Mexican Restaurant. Cholo's is owned by a "gringo" named Owen, who was born and raised in Panama before living in Virginia Beach and Hawaii before coming back to Panama and opening his restaurant. He spent a lot of time talking with us, laughing along with us, and all around getting to know some new friends. All of this, and the food was INCREDIBLE!! Brittani said they were the best enchiladas she's ever had, and I ate a burrito that was literally the size of my forearm. He & his crew even brought out dessert in honor of Brittany's birthday!!! How cool is that?!

Following a very entertaining trip to the grocery store, our friend Adrian met us up in San Carlos, and we settled in at the Navarro's beach house. We spent the evening hanging out and teaching each other fun party games from each other's countries... leading to a LOT of laughter and inside jokes! Awesome day :)

<3 Jordan

Hospital del Niño, Malambo Orphanage, and Bling!!

On our third day in Panama, we set out with Graciella to tour Hospital del Niño (the only children's hospital in the country) and Malambo Orphanage, which is just outside of Panama City. At Hospital del Niño, we were able to see exactly what physical therapy was really like in Panama. The main goal of this visit was to see what sort of PT equipment the hospital had and to visualize what we would need to help Matt and Misty get for the orphanage in Colon. When we first walked into the physical therapy unit, we were all surprised as to how busy and chaotic it appeared. Despite this, we were able to walk around and view all of their equipment, along with meet all of the physical therapists and student physical therapists. After seeing the physical therapy unit, we then went to the Gastroenterology, Hemophilia, Orthopedic, and Burn units of the hospital. It was amazing to compare and see the differences of the hospital with those in the United States! 

After touring the hospital, we set out to the Malambo Orphanage in Arraijan, Panama. When comparing Malambo to Divino Niño, we were all shocked! At Malambo, the orphanage was really nice and the children had great living and playing areas. Additionally, there was even a library for the children to go to and study! First, we went to the house where children who were born HIV positive. There were only about 6 or 7 children who lived in this house, so it made it easy to spread our love to all of them equally! While here, we met a little girl named Maria who we were able to spend a lot of time with while the younger children took their naps. She was so full of life and just wanted someone to give her love and affection. When we were taking pictures with the children, I ended up giving my phone to her because she wanted to take pictures of Jordan, Brittany, Graciella, and me. She was so fascinated with taking pictures of us, and she just constantly laughed while she took our pictures. After saying our goodbyes to Maria and the rest of the children at this house, we made our way to the house where school-age girls (ages 5-7) lived. Once we got there, the girls were changing out of their school clothes and finishing their lunch. After they were finished, we went outside to play. While some of the girls fought over the jump ropes we brought them, we hugged and played with the others. It was really saddening to see how much a 7 year old thrived to get a hug from the one of us. But the good thing was, between the 3 of us, we had plenty of hugs to pass around to them all!! Before leaving this house, we played a Spanish version of Ring Around the Rosie with the girls and it was so much fun that I don’t whether the girls or we had more fun. Next, we went to the house for children ages 0-2. Here, our major goal was to simply hold and love on the babies, which was completely fine with us! The babies were so precious and absolutely beautiful that we could have stayed there all day just holding them. Unfortunately, we had to leave and head back to the city. It was really sad knowing that we had to leave the babies and older children, but it made us feel a little better knowing that they did have a good place to live.

Once we got back to our hotel, we got ready to go out for a fun night. We had planned to go to Bling at the Hard Rock Hotel, which is a new nightclub for Panama, with some of our friends that we made during our spring trip here with GCP. Adrian, one of our friends, picked us up from our hotel at 9:30pm and we headed out for the night! Once we arrived, we were immediately in shock by how beautiful the hotel itself was. And once we made it up to the nightclub, we were even more shocked because it was so gorgeous inside. After having a few drinks and dancing till we dropped, we were ready for our beds since we knew we needed some sleep before we traveled to San Carlos beach for the weekend to celebrate Brittany’s birthday!! :)

Love always,
Brittani <3