Medical Team to Panama

Panama City skyline...Beautiful

Dear Friends and Family,

Finally I have a chance to write about the great experience in Panama City with a medical team from Arizona. Tami Buell and I left in the afternoon on a Friday, boarded a tour bus and headed for the border. After 15 hours of travel through the night, we arrived safely in Panama City at 5am. After resting for a few hours in a hotel, we met the Medical Mission Team at the airport.

It was a blessing that all their medicines and equipment arrived safely and without incident, even clearing customs without a hitch. We then traveled to a local church which served as our living quarters for the week. Altogether we numbered 14, and soon found that number to be big when there is only one shower. Sleeping on air mattresses was more comfy than I thought possible and the cold water felt good after a long hot day. Here you see a photo of Tami Buell and 3 from the Arizona team working hard in the pharmacy.

We worked for 5 days in four locations serving more than 60 patients each day. The record was 120 patients in one day…WOW! Lots of people were helped. The local water company allowed us to use this building and the electric company set up the tent to shield us from the rain and sun.

A highlight was visiting the area of Paso Blanco where David and Eric had worked with a Maximum Mission team only a week before this trip. They helped to construct the frame for a new building which will serve as a dining hall for a feeding program and in time a new church. You can see here a photo of the old building they are still using for the feeding program. It won't be long and they will be using the new facility. You can see the new building in the blog from two weeks ago. We spent two days ministering in this area.

Friday was the tour day and I was excited to view the Panama Canal. It is quite an amazing thing to see and we were blessed that there were two huge ships passing through side by side when we were there.

It was wonderful to get back home to Costa Rica after 9 days of travel. David managed to help the children study for their final exams and the kids are pleased the school year is over and they have more free time.

Grandma Preussner arrives tonight for a 5 day visit so we’ll be heading off to the airport soon.

Til next week,

David, Shelley, Joshua and Kayley