2RetireesInPanama: ROOM COMPLETE AND READY!

On our final day of the week at House of Hope last Saturday, Thea and I finished up the painting (more paint still required, but the beds hide the bare area for now). We wanted to get our room complete before we hopped on a flight to Cartagena, Colombia for a quick vacation from retirement. Mission accomplished! When we were at the house the day before, MC had told us there was someone that wanted to visit House of Hope, and she was hopeful we could give her a ride to Penonome. This girl is the first one to sign up for the "Second Annual It Takes a Village Event". This is a fundraiser and by raising the most money and over $1000, the award is $1000 for that person. Go to this link for more information and to sign up! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgvZAsn3bQ0&feature=share&fb_ref=share

Ray and Greg also going accompanied us and helped with the cleaning of the room while we completed the painting. We were also told that two new girls would be arriving to the house, and since our room was finished, they would be moving in that day!

Early Saturday, Ray and I met Greg and Thea at our usual McDonald's along with Marta, grabbed coffee and stopped at Novey for more paint and other incidentals for the room. Marta is an eighteen year old lovely girl from Canada living in Coronado and working as an Au Pair. She was getting ready to attend the University last year, but she was a little unsure of this decision. She wanted to travel, and also major in AstroPhysics, of course. While talking with a friend of her father's and learning that he and his wife had a room available in their condominium in Coronado, she gave thought to moving to Panama. Through this couple (who happens to be Skye Wickyord, President of JLMChristianFoundation), she was offered another place to live and an Au Pair position where she would receive pay along with room, board, a car, and here she is today. And now, along with working and traveling, she hopes to help MC with her mission and House of Hope. She was the photographer for the day, she helped clean, and she practiced her Spanish with those already living in the house.

When we arrived to the house, MC was just leaving for the bank. Since her car was in the shop, Ray drove her to first look at light bulbs (our room was having electrical issues with the overhead lights) and then to the bank. Since it was the last day of the month, the bank was very crowded, so Ray left MC there, and, once back at the house, he scraped paint off the floor and baseboard tiles. Greg cleaned and applied a polish to the wardrobe. Marta got into the top of the wardrobe and wiped out all of the mouse and gecko droppings. The girls at the house moved their clothing to another closet (they don't have a wardrobe in their room yet). Thea and I painted. Hardware was replaced. A mirror was hung. During all of this, a man came to measure the bunkbeds. He was going to make another set of beds for another room. Michele, the accountant for the Foundation, and her husband came to the house, also. It was good to put faces with names. We were there for a few hours and the guys did all that we asked them to do for us. The room needs a few more items, and we will be adding all of this eventually. We met one of the girls that would be living in this room, and another girl was to arrive later in the day. There is another woman working on a room in the house, and she was there after we left putting the finishing touches on her room. Two more rooms now complete! (Pictures of her bright and cheery room are below.)

On our drive back to Coronado, we spoke with Marta about her future travel plans and also her plans for helping with MC's mission. Since we just returned from our trip to Cartagena, it is now my goal to finish the painting this week. I am also meeting a couple this week who have followed my blog and are visiting Panama from Canada. She read my post about House of Hope and sent me an email stating that this was the first trip she wouldn't be bringing anything to the country she was visiting, but now she would be bring school supplies to me. How great is this! Ray and I are looking forward to meeting this couple this week. They are staying at Paul and Nancy's bed and breakfast in Sora http://www.sunrisesunsetgh.com, so I know they will have a wonderful introduction to Panama! I am happy this blog is bringing good to House of Hope and to MC's mission!