DATELINE PANAMA:
EASTWARD HO!
Or
Enlarging our cords and strengthening our stakes in the medical missions ministry
We have reached a new milestone in the medical mission’s ministry. For years we have been developing that ministry in the jungles of Panama. Last year we had the opportunity to extend medical missions to Mexico which represented an hour time change. This year our sense of adventure and our desire to explore new possibilities lead us to travel east … to the tune of half way around the world that included a twelve hour time change.
The travel route was not quite as easy. The Panama contingent of the medical clinic team traveled from Panama to Miami, to New York, to Frankfort Germany, to Singapore, to Medan Indonesia. A day later we would travel another hour on a local airline to Nias Island.
The Panama team made this a spiritual effort from the beginning. Brother Milton first asked for four people to help in the clinic. We started praying to know the members most likely to be used. We had to pray for finances as well because we had no money for this kind of a trip. First airline quotes came at almost $5,000 which we considered ridiculous. We kept praying and investigating. Fares fell to $2,700 per person and then to $1900. Brother Milton ended up selecting all five people available for the ministry effort.
Panamanians needed to get their visa from an Indonesian consulate in Mexico City. That turned out to be rather complicated. We were trying to side step confusion within the Indonesian government since the local government was cooperating fully and was assisting in getting the clinic set up. But there was doubt that the central government would be so receptive. We were trying to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Visas arrived just two days before departure day.
I was in the U.S. so the team was working on their own to get the U.S. visa before sending their passports to Mexico for the visa to enter Indonesia. We scheduled to meet up at the airport in New York.
Go east young man!
The Panama contingent left early in the morning from Panama City and I left in late afternoon from Cincinnati, Ohio. I was scheduled to arrive at JFK a couple of hours after the Panama team. It would be my first visit to the airport. Upon arrival we were able to find our way to the Singapore Air Lines counter. I was disappointed to find the Panama team members not present at the terminal. I was getting fidgety because of the fact that there was no way to contact the team to know what was going on. With little time to spare they came through a side door. It seems American Air Lines did not want to wait for them to pass through immigration. American was apologetic and did get them on the next possible flight. They made it by less than an hour.
At JFK the entire team meets and travels on to Indonesia, that is, with the exception of Jan Milton … who has been in Indonesia for at least a week in order to help Tom Crawford do the advance work for the medical team. My journal does not include the set up process since I am not involved in that. I am familiar what brother Crawford is going through since that has been my responsibility for years. I am glad it is someone else’s turn.
We board a 747, a first for me. The travel is long and boring. I do not like spending a lot of time on a 747. The TV screens are individual and are located above the service try that must be in the upright position at landing. That makes the screen very close to your eyes, especially when the person in front of you reclines their seat. I have to put on reading glasses to see a clear picture because the screen is so close. Service was first class all the way and the stewardesses were notably small and had distinctively different floor length uniforms.
The Panama team has been in ¨travel mode¨ for about 40 hours before arriving in Medan, Indonesia. The rest of us were some-what less, depending on the origination city. The team came from Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina. We were scattered all over the plane.
The airports were not much for the most part. The most modern was Singapore. JFK was a big disappointment, much less modern capabilities than Singapore. Frankfort wasn’t much to brag on (glad we did not have to be there long) and the least modern was Medan, Indonesia.
The Panama contingent ended up getting a visa better than the tourist visa that the American team would be getting at the airport.
They passed through rather quickly and some of the Americans struggled as we waited in different lines … paying for a visa, getting the visa, passing through security and customs, picking up our luggage. The luggage was a confusing mess as they were trying to sort out individual luggage plus all the equipment and medicine that came with us.
This includes a second order of medicine since the plans of shipping with Samaritan’s Purse was somewhat in doubt. The departure date for everything was delayed since some of Samaritan’s Purse cargo was delayed getting to the container loading site.
Our last thing at the airport was exchanging some money. I gave them thirty dollars and got two hundred and fifty thousand rupies.
I felt like a millionaire! Viki, our dentist was overly excited about all those zeros on the paper.
We turned in our baggage claim tickets and customs papers and went out the door where we were met by brother Lukman, a national pastor. He had several vehicles to transport us to the hotel including a BBF missionary from Japan. Brother Hirose and his wife would be with us the entire time and he and his wife were a special blessing as they chipped in on every hand to assist Brother Crawford’s effort.
We were taken to an international hotel a short distance from the airport and we were all checked in. It was early afternoon. We would rest awhile and scheduled to meet back in the lobby before walking to Kentucky Fried Chicken for a supper. Brother Suh, one of our U.S. doctors that has been on all the medical trips, decided we should have a prayer meeting in the lobby. We prayed for a successful ministry on Nias Island and for the people that surrounded us in a strange land. Americans and Panamanians prayed in our prayer circle.
After supper we came back to the room to rest. I could not find my passport. I was frustrated and searched my luggage three times. Nothing! I went back to the airport but the international section was closed. We did check with the police and nothing was reported to lost and found. I have been in Panama 27 years and never lost a passport. I can not believe that was a possibility on a trip literally half way around the world.
In the morning we traveled to Nias Island but not all on the same plane. Some would go in the morning and some in the afternoon.
Some of the Panama team had to stay behind and I did not like being separated from them. Brother Lukman said it would be no problem to make this flight since we were not leaving the country. I could worry about my passport when we get back from the medical trip. We know the U.S. Embassy is in Jakarta and that is a longer flight than traveling to the island. I was anxious at the airport because I had no official identification to show. Brother Lukman was right as we were processed without problem.
We arrived at Nias Island about an hour late. When you leave late you arrive late. Jan Milton met us at the rural airport on Nias Island. It looks much like rural airports where I have landed in Panama. The climate and the foliage looked very much like Panama.
The team moved out after Jan gave an orientation using a large wall map on the wall of the airport. We do not have anything like that in our Panama airports. The team packed up and left in three vans. Jan would stay to meet the next group and I would stay as well in order to translate the orientation the second time.
Once the team headed out, Jan took a van to the next town where he knew of a restaurant. I loaded my suit cases into the back of the van with space limited to force me to stand them on their side. We drove for about a half hour and I could not believe the place we were entering. He called it a dependable restaurant. It had the appearance of a restaurant …. tables, chairs and bowls of food on display in the front display area.
The Nias driver ate as well with brother Jan. Indonesians do not use silverware. They use their fingers … even the rice. They are served a small bowl of water to dip the fingers in when they get too sticky though. To Jan’s credit, he did ask for silverware. I just watched. I was taking typhoid pills but did not have the cholera shot because it would not go into effect for 30 days so it would have been a waste of money.
I found out rather quickly that these people drive on the wrong side of what road does exist. I also found out they use motor bikes more than other moving vehicles. We go back to the airport and wait for the plane to arrive. We are not surprised that is much later than the morning flight. I also have another cultural challenge at the airport. They do not have commodes in the bathrooms. Just holes in the floor! Some areas are more luxurious. The holes are ceramic, but others are just cement slabs with a trench leading to the hole. Flushing requires dipping a pan in a reserve of water and pouring into the “designated area”.
The world war two vintage bombing raid siren sounds and we know the plane will be arriving in just a few minutes. The alarm goes off to warn local people to get off of the runway. The other team members arrive including several from the other islands that will be part of the evangelistic team.
Jan gives his orientation and we pack up the other vans. We start what turns out to be about a three hour ride around the island. The island in not that large although one million people live on the island and there are no major cities like we have in Panama. Rural towns are the best we saw. Travel time was extended because the road conditions were not all that good. Just a few minutes from the airport there is a bridge that leans at about a 30 degree angle. The people solved the problem by just pouring fill dirt and rock on the bridge to create a somewhat level surface so that cars and trucks could pass. Before the week was over we would see other engineering feats to deal with destruction caused by the tsunami and the earthquake that hit the island a few months later. At one point we crossed a twelve foot space on four palm trees – two for each tire track.
We arrive at the base camp late in the afternoon. There is so much that reminds us of Panama here, with the exception of the rice patties that remind me of a few movie scenes out of the past. I noticed the water in the rice fields, which is different than how we grow rice in Panama.
I also notice the creek right next to the base camp. This is a multi-use water supply. Before the week is over we would see people using this area in different ways. It was a swimming hole for boys coming home from school and it was a local laundry for washing the clothes of all who lived close enough to walk to the creek. One morning Simeón saw one guy adding his urine to the watershed and another person brushing their teeth with just the space of a narrow bridge between them.
By the time we arrive brother Tom Farrell has already left for the village where we will conduct the clinic in the morning. This is part of our evangelistic effort and it also serves as a way to give out tickets to attend the clinic. In cases like this we must limit our attendance so as to maintain our credibility and testimony. We do not want to be turning away people at the end of the day. That would be bad for our image.
We settle in and find we have just enough bed space to have wall to wall air mattresses with a couple of slim isles to allow movement. There is a table towards one side where food will be served and on to the left we have our military food items stored so we can get an entrée and one of those neat heat bags that require you to open the top, add the entrée and a little water. Chemical reaction heats the meal is about ten minutes.
The ladies are sent to the pastoral area of the complex and the guys are staying in an open area. We have a roof but no walls. Privacy will definitely be a challenge during the week. We are also wall to wall air mattresses in our area as well.
As I unpack, my passport falls into my hand. It is right on top when I make my first effort to arrange things, which I find amazing since I had unpacked and repacked my suitcase several times in my effort to locate it when we were in Medan. I purposely brought a ball of rope for a clothes line (something I learned with experience) so I was preparing to hang clothes and reroll the pull over shirts to try and limit the number of wrinkles my shirts would have when I put them on. What a relief! I sense that either the Lord did a miracle or someone has been messing with me.
We would rest a while and then eat. Everybody is ready to go to bed early, especially since we are getting up before daylight to drive 15 minutes to reach our trail entrance.
Head’em up, move’ em out!
We load up the vans and move out. Brother Crawford has contracted six vehicles
for the week and they are there on time. In a few minutes we are at the site
where we change modes of transportation. From here we walk. We have been
warned about the trail and the difficulties that are before us. We have to wait
a few minutes for daylight to clarify our path and we start out single file. It
rained the night before so we know that is going to make things a little more
challenging.
We are moving along mud trails and slopes that take us up and down. Engaging them becomes a challenge and an art. Jan and I are having a contest to see who can get the pants the muddiest. Before we arrive at our destination I decide that we should all take ski lessons before coming on these hikes. Keeping your balance could keep you clean. I have come prepared with my back pack full of a change of clothes, some snacks, several bottles of water, etc. We were warned to get prepared for this so I have been walking on a regular basis. I am dealing with the walk a lot better than I anticipated.
We have forded a number of gullies walking across fallen trees or the end piece of a tree that has been cut down and divided into boards (just like they do in Panama). I was glad to see they had the sense to put the bark side down and the level side up. The gullies that had just tree trunks (usually about four or five inches across) required balancing skills and not all of our team was gifted with that skill. On several occasions we improvised temporary hand rails … not for support, just balance.
Our Panama dentist is having troubles meeting the physical challenge of the hike. There is a combination of blood pressure and heat from keeping her light jacket on during the two hours she has been hiking. The major portion of the team goes on but a couple of us stay with Viki until she can recuperate her strength.
We finally make to what is known as the last hill to climb. It didn’t live up to its reputation for steepness. Viki was still having trouble recuperating and one of the Indonesian pastors extended a stick and told her to grab it. He then began to pull her up the hill.
We arrived a few minutes after most of the team and the different stations were being set up as brother Crawford directed different people to where there stations would be. We would be using a number of houses in this village in order to do the clinic. Right where we came into the village they set up registration on the right side and pharmacy on the other. After that was the holding area where Brother Farrell would be preaching. On up to the right were several stations: Triage, pediatrics, general medicine, and dentistry. On the other side of the pathway was a house being used by the three Indonesian doctors who were participating.
Dentistry did not have a busy day here as people were superstitious about having their teeth pulled. They were chewing on some- thing called beetle nut. This was a crude natural item that produced more by product than chewing tobacco. When they spit it out it looked like red paint. The locals believe it is a natural treatment for their teeth. But when you check out the population, older people who chew beetle nut do not have many teeth.
The day moved along pretty good but there were a few hang-ups and frustrating moments along the way. Our lady running the pharmacy is doing so for the first time and is learning the ropes as she goes. Pharmacy is backing up because they did not package things like we normally do. We put prescriptions is zip locks and normally prepare common prescriptions in advance for easy access.
By three in the afternoon we were in the “wind down” mode although the pharmacy was still backed up. Jan did not want the entire team waiting on the pharmacy to close up. It was evident that was going to be a while yet. Jan had me lead most of the team out while a few people stayed to manage pharmacy.
We get into a formation and head out. We have a different guide taking us a different route four our return. It would turn out to be longer but not as rough. There were a few more ups and downs but nothing near as steep as we had on the other trail. Before long the guide is out of sight. He had no patience to wait on the slow Americans. All of the Panamanians kept up with him except for Viki. Viki was having a hard time but no worse than others. She got herself into trouble drinking too much water. I stayed by her side and rationed her drinking water. She was ok with that as long as she could pour over her head what she was not allowed to drink.
From time to time I would stop the team. Viki would take a drink and wet down her head. She would be ready to go again and I would have to make her wait because others were still trailing. It was not all that hard to figure which way to go although some team members were verbally questioning my abilities. It did not help calm their fears when I told them I was relying on my Indian blood to keep us on track. Only a few places presented splits and I always chose the one with recent footprints and cookie wrappers or plastic bottles thrown on the grown. Some Simeón did on purpose knowing I would be looking for clues.
The team is getting more and more disillusioned with our exit strategy. Each new hill brings another round of protests. When the team gets the most vocal Simeón reappears to tell the team we are just a few yards from the road. That is encouraging although we have no idea what road he is talking about since we have done a semi circle and have a nice view of the ocean for a short period of time.
The team continues to enter the roadway in a fragmented fashion. Nothing looks uniform or encouraging at this point. We figure that Jan and those who stayed to close down pharmacy are just now getting started and will be negotiating part of this trail in the dark. Not a pleasant thought.
We meet up with the guide and the few that kept up with him. They beat us by about twenty minutes. I could tell that cars would not be coming down this road. At that point I looked around and saw one of the vans down the way. It was parked at the main highway. When we arrived there we recognized the town we were at and were able to buy a few cokes before loading into the vans.
Soon we were back at the base camp everyone ready to take a bath, eat and rest. The bath was something else! Remember the creek water? That is also our bath water. Remember the pans needed to flush the toilets? That was our delivery system for getting water over our bodies. As I take a so called bath I remember Johnny somebody song … I washed my hands in muddy water.
The bathroom complex is somewhat better than my grandpa’s three seat outhouse. The bathroom has three stalls and each stall is a multi-purpose area. That means you can take a bath or go to the bathroom. Whichever meets your fancy. One corner has an elevated area where the hole and trench are strategically placed. There are also two gallon trash cans that are for water storage. This water is for bathing or flushing and the sauce pan in the water is the apparatus for completing whichever task you have taken on. This place looks better than my grandpa’s old outhouse but it has that same distinctive aroma to it.
We get cleaned up and have supper. The nationals are cooking but I am eating my snacks I brought and the military menu. No one has to be encouraged to go to bed early.
Another day, another 350 patients
Today we did not have to get up early. We will travel by car to the area where we will do the clinic. Brother Crawford´s men have been busy getting everything in place and making arrangements for us before we ever arrive. We have our regular breakfast and I always have the same thing: Military bread (seems to keep for months or years, I did not look for an expiration date) and jelly.
We pack up like the day before and head out. We are moving in a more relaxed mode since we do not have to walk to our destination. When we arrive we get the station assignments and start setting up. Today we are on a main asphalt road and our complex is stretched out for about 600 yards. In the center is registration, preaching and Triage. Leaving triage people would go left for general medicine or left for dental, pediatrics and pharmacy.
Mr. and Mrs. Abbott are here doing crowd control this week. Triage and crowd control efforts allow us to treat more patients in a day’s time. Sometimes crowd control escorts people from triage to the next desired station. Today it is a little different because of the set up. Mrs. Abbott is in the middle and is a relay person. She has also taken on the self appointed job of teaching some children a couple of courses. “Deep and Wide” comes. They are only catching those three words clearly. Sometimes they catch another phrase temporarily but by the end of the day kids are running all over this little town singing their new found language of English. The vocabulary is limited to DEEP AND WIDE and I HAVE THE JOY JOY JOY DOWN IN MY HEART. It sound like a skipping record but it is amusing to some degree.
We have more people today than yesterday. Pharmacy is keeping up better which means experience must have taught them a few lessons on day one of the clinic effort. Mrs. Abbott remains lively all day. Most ladies want to see the Panama pediatrics section instead of the Indonesia doctors. Brother Crawford had to insist on different occasions that groups migrate to the other doctor sections because Kenia and Almida would not be able to handle the entire thing. Just after lunch time they had 100 people at their station. That is why Brother Crawford had to keep leading groups off to other doctor lines.
Dentistry was more active today that yesterday. Evidently the word got out that the doctors were in fact using anesthetics before pulling teeth. We were told that a good number of the people we are seeing (especially in the villages) have never seen a doctor in their entire life.
We can work a little longer today since we do not have the long hike out. The highway runs right through the area where we will
With Brother Crawford distributing the patients, most doctor stations are closing down about the same time.
Things close in this order: registration, preaching, triage, dentistry, general medicine, pediatrics and pharmacy. We are packed up and ready to go at a decent hour.
Now it is back to our base camp to repeat the evening events that change very little. Clean up, eat, rest and then to sleep. The guys are having a snoring contest. Jan has taught me how to do that pretty good over the last few years. But Brother Farrell says I am a sissy compared to doctor Suh. I am glad I lost that competition.
Please Mr. Custer, I don’t want to go!
Today is another hike day. For some reason most of us were dreading a repeat experience of our first day and for some reason the old country song kept popping in my mind. I could not remember the song per se, but I did remember the phrase PLEASE MISTER CUSTER, I DON’T WANT TO GO! That seemed to be my flesh wrestling with my spirit I guess. Locals can not decide if today’s effort is easier or worse that our first day out. Brother Jan has offered to let the Abbott’s stay at the base camp as he is not sure they can handle another day like our first day. The Panama team was not sure as to what Viki should do. They had a prayer meeting and decided Viki should not go on this trip. By the time we got to the village we were convinced that the Holy Spirit did in fact lead that decision.
The pastor in this village has been to several of the medical clinics so he could see before hand how the effort works. He was going to use his information to set up an effective layout in the community. We leave early but not before daylight. We drive back to the town where we ministered yesterday and took off down a path leading us between a local river and some rice patties. Within eye sight of the local village we have to negotiate a swinging bridge. It would not be an interesting effort if all the boards were in place in the flooring the bridge so of course there was a section of “make shift” flooring. Please read “limited walking space”.
The path seems somewhat easier than the first day in the beginning but creates a greater degree of difficulty as we get closer to the mountain village. The team is back to groaning at every new hill. It was not a good time when the Indonesian pastor announced that we were only about half way. When we finally got to the village we were informed that we still were not where we needed to be. Our clinic would be set up in town but at the next street over. This town was a two street town and the roads were parallel.
We sere surprised to find out about 1500 people lived in this village.
The pastor had done his homework and had everything in order and could send different team members to their stations as they arrived. Within a matter of minutes we were set up and registering people. Within a half hour there was a preaching time and those people moved on to fill up triage. In another 15 minutes every station had patients.
The day went well and things ran rather smoothly. The most difficult task was trying to keep spectators from peeking through the windows while patients were being attended. As we were shutting down, Doctors Suh and Waller would do the different surgeries they had scheduled. These were basically procedures to take off cists and growths on or under the skin.
Shutting down went as smooth as yesterday and we were hiking out with more spunk than we had on the first day. Jan was having the most trouble get up the last couple of hills and I stayed back to be with him. The Indonesian men decided to help Jan out. One got on the left side and grabbed an arm. One positioned himself on the right side in the same way. Another decided to give some extra horse power by pushing Jan up the hills. The bad part was these guys got to walk in dryer areas while Jan had to cut his path straight through the mud. It was done as an expression of love and Jan did not complain although at times the guys made it rather rough on him.
Back to the road and back to the vans. We had to wait on a few people so I had time to find a bottle of Coca Cola. There is no refrigeration in these areas but that was ok. I needed something wet.
We get in the vans and head for the base camp. We saw the van in front of us run a motor bike of the road. The driver did not stop and we passed as the two men were picking themselves up and examining their machine. It seemed to be rather new. They had uniforms so I assumed they were government officials.
It is not long until someone brings the two men to our base camp. The driver of the van in question took off after dropping his passengers. I think I know why! Our doctors took care of the men. Kenia was the first to attend the men. They did not like having sterilization liquids applied to their scrapes any more than I do. One man tries to resist but a group of team members held him and would not let him leave or touch where it was burning with medicine. In a little while they had both men patched up with bandages and gave them medicine for pain.
They stayed around even though that had been treated. They were invited to eat with us and they seemed glad for that opportunity. We all have supper and get ready to go to a service. The church can not meet where we are staying because all of the benches are covered with mattresses. The pastor decided to have a meeting in the town, about a quarter of a mile down the road.
When we get there, there is a crowd. The Panamanians sing a special in Spanish. Rain comes towards the end of the service but most people stayed close by. The crowd moved out of the open air and took refuge under business awnings and continued to listen to the message. The church gave out tickets after the service. They were supposed to give out 350 tickets but gave out 600 instead. That was going to make for a challenging day on Friday.
We walk back to base camp after the service. The rain cooled things off a little and we were not suffering from the humidity like we would be suffering in Panama. Time for a few snacks and then off to bed. It will be a busy day tomorrow.
One more day of clinic; but who is counting?
The next day we are up early. It is definitely easier to get up early when you go to bed early. We have breakfast and Brother Farrell is saying good bye to us. He will leave early today because of his other commitments. He will be traveling to Okinawa for a week end meeting. He calculates that there have been around 450 professions of faith up to this point. We still have our clinic to do here as well.
We have to set up our base camp for the activity as we will have the preaching here and the triage station. The pastor was able to set most of that up yesterday while we were wondering through the mountains of Nias Island. Houses close to the church will be used for different stations. Pharmacy is over the bridge on the other side of the creek I have mentioned. The rest is to the right and very closely located. No one will be walking far today.
We have more problems with maintaining order because these people are not used to orderly activities. People do no like to wait in line and they look for ways to get around all the efforts to block short cuts. Sometimes they are patient enough to wait until you get hung up on something else so they can scoot behind you when you are distracted.
Since this is the home church, people are coming in trying to get favors … jumping line, getting more tickets, etcetera. This is making things more confusing and more complex. Early in the day we determine we are not going to be able to see everyone because of the 600 tickets given out. We have decided to open for a half day on Saturday in order to take care of those who received tickets and forms but were not able to get to the different medical stations. Saturday will require little if any triage work since most people with a ticket showed up today ready to be processed.
Once we get past the mad rush of everybody wanting to be first, we were able to get things somewhat under control. We moved on at a good pace. Pharmacy was getting behind like the first day so I spent a couple of hours there counting out pills into baggies so the prescriptions could be filled with little effort by the staff there.
At the end of the day we attended close to 500 patients I would think. Evangelism has been going on all day and in the morning’s brother Crawford and the missionary from Japan were doing the preaching in Tom Farrell’s place. More one-on-one was going on throughout the day as well. The evangecubes turned out to be a very effective tool in this area, just like it is effective in the jungle regions of Panama.
We are doing some clean up this evening getting ready to pack up some personal items. I had to five Almida one of my suitcases because hers was damaged beyond use in route to Indonesia. I was planning on leaving most of the stuff I used this week so it was no problem for me. I am sorting out the dry dirty clothes and the wet dirty clothes, making things somewhat organized. The somewhat wet dirty clothes were being exposed to sun and breezes in order to leave everything dry. Wet enhances the aromas that my clothes seemed to accumulate during the week.
Finally things are straightened around and we are ready for bed. Another day comes to an end.
Beyond the call of duty
Today we are finishing what we started yesterday. Normally four days of clinic is about all we want to handle. The effort starts moving into tiredness and frustration. We do not want to leave a bad image in the community by leaving patients frustrated with no medical attention. Part of our goal is to lift up the name of Christ and show God’s love to a community. That can get blurred in a hurry if things are left to hap hazard techniques.
The morning routine is normal and we get things in order rather quickly. Even with double the normal medicine supply we are running out of some medicines.
Our idea is to cover the patients with tickets to make sure there is no backlash on the pastor for having made the mistake of giving out a lot more tickets than we can handle. The translation work has slowed down our capacity to do as many patients as we have been able to do in the past. Sometimes we work back and forth with Spanish, English, Indonesian and Nias. It all takes time.
Adding to the problem this morning is the fact that some people want to do special favors for their friends. We have seen people working at the clinic who decided to give out more tickets … recycling what came in yesterday. We got that stopped in a hurry.
We have to keep this controlled or we do more damage than good to the image of the church and the missionary.
We do get things processed by noon and we finish as scheduled. We have altered our plan by staying here. We are now required to get up super early in the morning and move out in darkness. We will travel all the way to the airport allowing the first group to board the airplane.
A small group will remain until the afternoon flight and that group can attend church this morning where Brother Crawford is preaching. I volunteer to stay with the luggage so the others can go to church. All the Panamanians were in this group and were eager to see a regular service in Indonesian. They came back all enthused.
After the service it is a matter of us waiting for the siren to announce the approaching aircraft. It is later today than it was the day we arrived. We process rather quickly and board the airplane. We will fly back to Medan and spend another night at the same hotel.
We get back in the evening and the team goes out to eat together. It is our last night together since a good number leave early in the morning and others will leave late at night. The Panama contingent leaves late at night. We will all meet up together in Singapore and be on the same 747 back to New York.
After supper it is time for bed and we are all ready to catch some sleep in an air conditioned room.
Homeward bound!
Today we will all leave Indonesia. I am kind of glad we did not have to spend our day at the airport in Singapore. Brother Hirose and his wife took us out for the day and we shopped at one of the malls in Medan. That was a more enjoyable way to spend the day. I bought a new suitcase since mine wasn’t doing so good and I would need a second one when I returned to Panama.
We ended the shopping spree by taking the missionaries out to eat. The Panama team chose Pizza Hut and nine of us ate for about twenty dollars. After that we collected our luggage and went to the airport. It was a good thing we went early because everyone was having problems at the counter. We made it through with little time to spare and did not really relax until we were on the plane to Singapore.
At the Singapore airport we saw a store that sold the stewardess uniforms and added accessories. Most of the ladies wanted one of the dresses so we stopped to buy them. I had to find some place in my carry on bags but we were soon ready. I bought Phyllis the dress and matching sandals in case we could use it for a mission’s conference in the future in Panama.
We do not have long to process through security and board the plane bound for New York. We are all dreading the flight home and the jet lag we have heard so much about. As I board the 747 I am mentally telling myself this medical effort is over. It will really be a couple of more days before that become a reality.