So we’ve been in Panama for 3 weeks now. We’re staying with a lovely family called the Caballeros who have a coffee plantation up in the mountains very close to the border of Costa Rica.
After 2 short flights from Atlanta and a 7 hour bus ride from Panama City we arrived on the family property at around 8pm. We had been met at the airport and accompanied on the journey by Tony – an eccentric young family friend of the Caballeros from Oklahoma who has been working for and helping to connect the family on and off for the past year.
As we entered the house and met the family, any anxiety in our group about what life might be like for us over the next month was immediately put to rest by an overwhelmingly warm welcome from the Caballeros, who we very quickly saw are a family centered around generous love and laughter. All of our names were written on the wall beneath a huge ‘Welcome!’ sign and every effort was made to ensure our comfort. Apart from the cold showers, there’s been nothing lacking in the daily provision for our needs that differs from the western lifestyle to which we’re all so accustomed. I’ve been better fed here than I was close to being able to manage for myself at home, so missionary living and a life of ‘abandonment’ so far is agreeing with me. Great coffee, great food and a wonderful and lively family atmosphere.
Right now the Caballeros (chiefly the two brothers Enoc and Elias) are working on building better housing for the indigenous workers in their employ on the plantation, so our ministry this month is helping out on the building site, hoping to move the project closer to completion. My previous construction experience coupled with the considerably more liberal approach to health and safety practiced by the Panamanians – one which aligns much more comfortably with my own – has meant that I’ve been able to throw myself into this work wholeheartedly (and let’s hope emerge whole-bodily). My injury count so far has luckily not exceeded my supply of bandages and Elastoplast, but I’m learning to do without safety goggles for angle-grinding, and place the drive belt for the table saw on its cogs AFTER the engine is running (it won’t start otherwise). Spirit levels are loosely utilised, but in general the dimensions of the interior walls have taken on a bit of an Alice in Wonderland themed aesthetic. Very pleasing.
Each new challenge on the work site – loss of power, absence of materials or tools, vehicles in ditches, etc – has been met only by laughing and joking from the Caballero brothers, who are phased by nothing. This laid-back approach to struggle is something I love watching, particularly combined with their powerful work-ethic and strong drive for better meeting the needs of their employees. They seem to have the balance just right, and God is clearly at the heart of what they’re doing. Tony’s contribution the the group dynamic has been unique, considerable and invaluable. His energy is contagious and his jokes are mostly funny. His appetite for coffee is worrying.
Despite the fairly rigorous work schedule and the time and energy required to host and feed us six, the family has spared no effort in arranging activities for us on our time off, whether spontaneously or with a little planning. Multiple trips to the local border town, swims in the river and their son’s school parade in the nearby town of Volcan (incredible musical talent there from kids as young as 6) have given us plenty to write home about. I joined a Caballero cousin for some downhill longboarding last weekend as well which was a first-time and unforgettable experience. I’m ashamed to say I only reached 60km/h – nothing to his 80 – but it was by no means a last attempt.
It’s been wonderful to see how God is providing for all of us in and outside of all of this. Having the space and the shared desire for intentional friendships and an active prayer life is already guiding each of us down a path that I know personally I’ve struggled to find so much more than I seem to be now; continuously distracted and preoccupied as I was by day-to-day life at home in London. I’m grateful for the hard work and the community, the inward and outward growth that I’m already seeing (my beard is slowly being restored to its former glory).
It’s strange to think that this is just the first of 11 different experiences we’ll be living over the next year. Life here has been so engaging that it’s been easy to forget about what lies ahead and that this is just the beginning of the journey, and I’m thankful for that. I hope that each month brings its own new set of lessons and encounters that will occupy us entirely in the present, without us ever looking to the future or wishing the time away. Let’s see what happens!
