Crabs in the shower!!

Crabs in the shower!!

Ok so for installment 3 I wanted to share some experiences and some Pictures of the congregation and the territory. We start out with the Kingdom Hall. Its small fans only, no air which is common. In the Theocratic mtg I killed a jumping spider, and had to zip my bag cause a gecko kept trying to come home with me. Since DR they have followed me for some reason haha. Then as if that wasn't enough when I get in the shower I see a crab leg sticking out and moving. I'm thinking there is no way this crab can fit under the tile lip on the shower to come out. Well I was wrong!! As soon as I cut the water off guess what was waiting for me all steamed up.. yep Sebastian, wait is he a crab or lobster? hmmm, either way this thing was no cute Disney Character. I swept him outside, and to bed I went, sleeping with one eye open of course.

 The next few pics are pics of the territory while we are preaching. Yes that is the view pure water and palm trees.The houses are bright colors and so beautifully decorated.

 Thursdays we go to an Island called Bastamientos which is one of the many groups of Islands here that make up Bocas del Toro. This is where I had the best plate of food I have ate since I been here. It was simple rice and beans and chicken but it was coco rice.. YUMMYYY… so side thought every time I got to NYC I have to stop and get rice from this place called Ruby Foos that makes this sticky rice that is like a drug. However , the coco rice here honestly gave NYC some competition. I am quite a fan of rice, green rice, brown rice, sticky rice, I just like rice haha.. I digress. So the picture below is of my plate there, and then the friends in the congregation at lunch.

 I have been on several studies since arriving as that seems to be the majority of the people’s immediate desire. One study we were on the lady told us that she worked helping the elderly out and that one day she was cleaning a ladies feet and her big toe and the one beside it came off in the tub of water she was using. < insert gasp and horrified facial expression here>  According to the lady she was shocked but continued to do her job. I think I would have quit.. :-o

I started my first study on the first Sunday I went out. It was a quiet day for service so only 4 of us out and I was working with a substitute CO, who is super animated and excited about the ministry. So we walk up to this door and we start speaking English to this lady who keeps responding in Spanish, and I think ok no point in continuing here. He keeps speaking to her in English however and she keeps speaking in Spanish and he starts asking about her family and her plants basically everything and finally she starts speaking English with him. It was hilarious how he wore her down and how excited he got her to talk with us. Then we were able to sit and go through part of the Watchtower on pg 17 and set up the study for return next Sunday. I saw her  in the street like two days later and she recognized me I went up to her and was able to have a brief chat, she is eager to start learning. Ok so another side bar..we live on an island, it’s very small, you see the same ppl all the time and everywhere so of course the ppl you are studying with, preaching to,  living beside, you see them ALLLL the time. Its interesting how many times you can speak to one person in the same day.

 

FYI: We picked House #2, we had all the space we needed the great beach view, access to the hotel beside us and the owners are super nice J

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Welcome To Bocas Del Toro

Loosely translated, a mouth of the bull. I learned that islands with strong currents are sometimes named Bocas.  So we arrive to a place called Almirante at 5:30am on Monday July 2, 2012 and take a water taxi over to Bocas. Upon arrival after spending the night on a bus from the city we are exhausted, find a hostel, eat breakfast and pass out. After waking up we decided to get ourselves oriented, and get on the house hunt. 

Welcome to House Hunters International Bocas.

 

Below there are three videos of apartments we went to look for. Can you decide which one we chose?

Click http://youtu.be/7pX-2G10l2k for House #1

Click http://youtu.be/kSvYp9Usbzo House #2

Click http://youtu.be/9ZjjTweJfZA House # 3

Sorry the Video on Number 3 is really bad, you may have to tilt your head to the left…hope you don’t get dizzy--lol

Enjoy!!..coming up next week pictures of the preaching and experiences we have had .

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A Dream Of Black Sands Come True

Life Changing trips are a part of staying youthful, I decided to take on Panama this time, and since I already have this blog might as well use it to my advantage. 

Bethel Panama

Ok so this is my attempt to kinda keep everyone posted at once, while also posting some great photos. So we spent the first few days in Panama City where I got the chance to work at Bethel Panama, which they are closing but is operating at 1/2 the capactiy ~ 37 people currently. I worked the day in the kitchen. It was soooooo much work, I mean crazy work. I was actually very surprised by how exhausted I was. I started cleaning the freezer out and I hate cold so I was thinking mannnnn, but it was actually a lot of fun. At the end of the day my eyelids hurt I was so tired.

                                                                                  

Morning Worship

Cleaning the Freezer, I had to put on big gloves and a huge coat and I was still freezing.

The Kitchen Crew - Cleaning and Cooking

Assembly hall, on the campus of Bethel

Bethel

Black Sand at night :-)

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Facing Spring!!

What better way to face spring than with a custom facial. So I got inspired watching one of the prettiest faces I've seen. Rozonda "Chilli" from TLC is gorgeous. On her show she went and received which looked like the most heavenly spa facial EVER!! Of course on the road to beautiful skin one has to have facials included. Well there are two ways, a DIY facial or finding a great spa deal. Spa week usually has great deals, Groupon of course and Living Social but also try checking your local spa's website. Often they have a monthly special that is perfect timing. I came across a DIY facial for those who would rather keep it short and simple but get a good cleanse..

DIY Facial: Courtesy of Glamour.com

Fill a bowl with water and add 10 drops of lemon juice. Wash your face with baby shampoo, then rinse with the lemon water. Finish with a light application of grapeseed oil.

Also..tea tree oil can be used to draw out those pesky black heads if you need a bit of target.

Have fun!! I sure did as I have added this to part of my road to A rich 40.

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Friend Zone

Everything on the way to a rich 40 is not about foods, sleep, spa days, facials even though there are tons of those goodies on the way. One of the most important parts of staying stress free is keeping close friends and more importantly staying close to them. Studies show.. and what studies those are, idk...you can look it up yourself. Just kidding.. check out some of these sites that reference the importance of a strong social network. Well that lovely thing called stress causes wrinkles, causes fatigue, breaks down all the work you do to remain beautiful. Combat it!!! Do not accept stress defeat.. Do what I did,  I got a group of my good friends together and we had a girls night, but not like the typical haphazard one. I got us reservations and movie seats, and we hit up a cupcake spot to make sure we had lots of yummy indulgence. My February step to being on my journey...friend zone.  Next on the pipeline a group trip!! How much more building of that social network can one do?  :-)

Strong Social Networks: http://www.stress.org/topic-emotional.htm
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/social-support/SR00033

Cupcakes bought to this night by:
http://www.gigiscupcakesusa.com/champagne

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