Did you hear the angels sing?

There are so few times when something is JUST SO AMAZING.

Let me tell you a story.

A dear sister was approached and asked to donate money to one of the children's orphanages here in Boquete. She said (to her own surprise) "I do not donate money, however, as one of Jehovah's Witnesses I would be happy to donate some books about the Bible History and teach the children so that their children will not end up in the same situation."

(And again to her surprise) The man said that would be wonderful. He told her to come by and talk to the director and even gave her the phone number. So (much to my surprise) she invited me and Carl and another sister who speaks Spanish to join her.

We went. The director wasn't there but we left some sample literature. 

We were walking on cloud 9.

Then after some time and communication, we went to the school to meet the director and to show her the tools we will use. But, the kids are on vacation... except for about 35. Can we just do a class now???

Okay. Not what we expected. Not what we had planned. So while she gathered the kids we had a quick counsel. We only had my little machine, but we made it work. And after a short session, while Brandy and Sharon went to talk more to the director, Carl and I had fun with the kids, making animal noises and jumping up and down like a fool... I mean like a kangaroo!!! hahahahha

 

Cloud 9 - begone!!!!! We were walking on AIR!!! Carried on the wings of Jehovah's loving-kindness. This kind of a feeling can only be a sample of how we will feel in the new system!!! How can one explain the feeling of utter contentment ... of having seen the shining faces of such precious ones begging to learn about the Creator... of hearing the angels sing.....

We have since learned that they have a computer room with a projector screen, so now we go online and have www.jw.org on the projector screen. We use the Caleb videos in Spanish and then in English. Then we do a little fun thing, like singing "head, shoulders, knees and toes" and then we do a lesson in "My Bible Lessons" I think it's going very well. And the kids, while very shy because of the Ngobe indian culture, are starting to respond wonderfully.
Interesting side-point.... Carl was taking the lead, as a brother should, but the kids just wouldn't respond. So I would jump up and start directing (I have a hat!) and they would immediately pay attention. Then Carl would try and they would barely look at him. However, when we leave and he goes out of the classroom, they all gather around him and he plays with them. Maybe throws a ball, or high fives, or just loving on them. They love him.

   

Brandy (the instigator of this affair)

Sharon and her daughter Christy

So I've been paying attention, and it seems like in the Ngobe culture, the mother is the authority in the home, and the father takes care of all other things. I see families together all over town, and this seems quite plausible. The Ngobe children are SOOOO well-behaved. And this group of people is SOOOO clean. They wear really beautiful dresses that are handmade. And they have not one spot on them. Which is very surprising to me because most of the Ngobe homes are in the woods and sometimes up very steep dirt hills. They don't always have indoor sinks, so they wash in the river sometimes, or in a shop-type sink outside. They rarely have electricity, so how does everything they wear look like it's been pressed? And let me tell you... I sweat down here. Probably don't always smell so good....... we walk everywhere and uphill a lot. BUT even when we are on the busses or jammed into a cab with these people, I don't smell one single bad smell.

Some of the Gringos get up-in-arms about the way the Ngobe live and about some of their cultural activities which are very different from typical Western culture. I'm sorry, but I will not go into some of the rumors that I've heard. But it's what they are used to and frankly there isn't one culture on earth that is doing anything that Jehovah would approve. No one lives up to His righteous standards. I'm grateful that He has taught me how to try to get close, and to live in harmony with His standards as well as I, an imperfect sinner, can.
And how grateful are we that we can then teach people about those wonderful, terrific standards.

There is a Ngobe Congregation in Bajo Boquete, where the downtown is. I would love to attend this meeting at some point. However, as of right now I only know one word ... hello... pronounced "yawn-torrie". It is a phonetic type language and I have no idea how to spell it. But I do know that most of them don't even know how to read their own language anymore, because the children are taught Spanish in school, not Ngobere. HOWEVER..... The wonderful organization that we belong to has several publications, including the Bible Stories Book, on the website, in Ngobere. And some of it can be listened to in an audio download. I am blown away by that.