Meet A New Family Member and Company Comes Calling

Meet A New Family Member

We were at the open air farmers market last week and my Mother saw a young girl around 7 years old, kick a kitten. She called me from the truck, to check on the kitten. I went over to the neighboring  vegetable stand  and a orange and white scrawny flea-covered kitten came up to me. The mother of the young girl sat eating and would drop a bite of rice or two for the kitten to eat. I scooped the little kitten up and it started purring. I was hooked, as it snuggled into me and let out several desperate little mews.

I asked the woman three times if she would sell me the kitten. She kept telling me it was her daughters and pointing at her. I came back to the truck and shrugged and told Mom “We cannot take all the kitties we fine”.

When our maid got back from finishing the vegetable shopping, Mom told her to ask the woman about the kitten. Well, by that time the woman’s husband was there and we watched him pick up the kitten and bring it over to the truck and dump it unceremoniously in the back seat of the truck cab.

Matter settled. We were the owners of a new cat.

Just wanted to add, this was not the kitten my Mother saw kicked. It was a black kitten and had scurried off after the assault. We wished we could have taken it home as well.

Meet Stuart Little the newest member of our tribe of cats

Company Comes Calling

I had been out working outside and walked into the house and in the middle of the living room floor, of all things– sat, a crab.

The Crab

I started calling out for our maid and for my Mother, asking “Hmmm, Where on earth the crab came from… ????” And one by one the cats surrounded me and began to investigate our uninvited house guest.

“Hi! My name is Ed the Cat. Nice to meet you little fellow.”

“Ouuuuuu–uch He got me guys! He got me!”

And by the time our maid and my Mother came onto the scene, all of a sudden “Mama Crab” released around 30 babies, which soon were scurrying across the tile floor in every direction.

Mama Crab and her 30+ babies collected off the tile floor and  ready to be released by the creek

One of the things about Panama, you never know what is around the corner.

New Pastures

The last couple of weeks our workers have fenced in the open side of the driveway. We now have two pastures there. We have moved the ram there with his ‘harem’, so he doesn’t have to live alone anymore in his solitary pasture. He is a happy fellow! Our five youngest calves currently occupy the other pasture.

I also planted a row of lemon grass alongside the new fence line. I think it will finish it off nice, as it matures and mirror the shape of the pineapple plants on the other side of the driveway. Plus lemongrass makes a nice tea.

The pasture as you enter the driveway

The second pasture as you near the house with our baby calves

Another view of the second pasture

Everyone here is well. Steven will be here tomorrow and we get to spend two weeks together, before he goes back to work again. We are both looking forward to our time together.

We are going to start putting up the greenhouse and we would love to get it completed during this time, but if we do that will be a surprise. We have over 140 pieces of bamboo to cut and assemble, then to add the plastic and insect netting. We also hope to complete our remodel of two rooms in my Mothers home, which we combined into one room, so we would have more private quarters at the end of the house. So little by little.

I pray you all are doing well– happy and healthy dear friends and family!

Much love from all of us in Panama~Rose

P.S. A picture of the beautiful sunrise this morning. (Pretty soon Steven, you will be here to sit and enjoy it again! I have missed you.)

Digging in Our Heels

As some of as you may know we have been trying to sell our farm here in Panama since August 2012. We have had a lot of interest and one very serious buyer, who needed some time to sell some of his assets. He just emailed and told us he and his wife would be ready to buy this winter.

However, we made the decision two months ago to dig in our heels here and stay in Panama.

Smith and I never really wanted to leave Panama. We knew the advantages of living in the states, being close to family the best reason, but we felt there was so much we had not done here to leave so soon. For Moms sake, we were willing to move, if we could find a nice farm in the states and do what we were doing here, there.

When the decision was made to stay, we all three felt very peaceful and happy about continuing our lives here. It was good just to have a definite plan and begin work here, which had not been done or had been left uncompleted.

Things have really started coming together.

I was blessed with one milking Saanen and one Mama goat with three triplet half Saanen girls. The same day we picked up those five  girls, we saw some goats in a field and stopped by to see if any were for sale.

Those goats in the field were not for sale, but a lovely Panamanian woman next door, had Toggenburgs and Toggenburg cross for sale for a decent price. I bought two pure Toggenburgs and one Toggenburg/Alpine cross.  These girls were around three months old. I have invested an hour every day and to date, all of the young girls are very friendly and come up to me for scratching and rubbing. I am so happy, as this is so much better than our first herd, which most were a bit cautious to downright loco with only a few tame girls.

So the goats we raise up now, will all be friendly. I love that. (Special thanks to Mike, the goat man in Boquete, for loaning his Big Mama to our farm and letting us buy her babies and in the future we also plan on letting his Saanen doe go back as well to him, but right now she is our only milk goat. And also to Idania for parting with some of her Toggenburgs. I am in love with these sweet spirited gentle little goats.)

Big Mama and her triplet girls– Ruby, Nellie and Madeline

Anne, Bebe, Julia and Pearl

If any of you remember all the time and trouble we had finding goats in Panama before, will know how blessed we feel to be the proud owners of this little herd, which came about so very quickly.

Mom also went to the auction and bought two cows… A bit of a fiasco. I will not go into details, but it was a discouraging moment. But as angry to discouraged to frustrated as I was– all in the matter of 15 minutes, all I could help but see was the clear hand of the multitude of good things which were happening in our lives and paving the way for us to make a life here once again. Quickly, all of the negative feelings disappeared and all there was left was a peaceful feeling.  So on the way home that evening, our worker told us he had met one of our neighbors at the auction, who would sell us ten of his young cows for a very fair price. This was the confirmation of the feeling I had earlier, that indeed we were being watched over and good things were being given. Not to lose faith.

Danilo and Ebenor working with the cows

Ebenor moving our calves into another pasture

I have cleared (with the help of one of our workers) a 4,000 sq ft area for our future greenhouse. Now we just need to design a plan and get that built.  We also are working on cleaning the pastures, adding pastures, moving fences, and improving some of our pastures. I have plans for a moveable chicken pen, worm bin, Boshaki compost bin and a rabbit hutch. A lot of work here. But that is nothing new! Welcome to life on a farm.

One day this area will house a very large bamboo greenhouse supplying our family and animals with fresh vegetables

Our new horses– Emma and Chespita (Just waiting for our saddles to get here  from the states) –I love my Emma!

So life is very good here. For the first time in many months, I feel  hopeful and happy. So joyous in fact, my little seed of faith which was buried so deep inside of me, seems to have been revived and renewed. The Most High still has his eye and this girl and those she loves. Thank you, Great Mysterious One.

I have not forgotten any of you at all. You are in my thoughts and in my prayers, my family and my friends… I have much time to think and reflect about all those whom I know, while being kissed by the sun and working in the quiet of the outdoors.

Love, Rose

4,000 sq ft Spanish Style Custom Home on 27 acre For Sale near Volcan, Panama

As some of you already know, late last summer the decision was made to leave Panama and make a move back to the states. It was a difficult decision, but it will much easier for my Mother to be cared for back home.

We spent the last six months completing the finish work of the home– granite counter-tops, cabinetry, vanities, painting of the outside and inside of the home– and the the list of completed work goes on and on…

The home truly is a lovely jewel tucked away in the mountaintops and we really pray someone will move here, who will love it as much as we have. If you know of anyone who is interested in a private and secluded, off the grid home, please contact us.

Muchas Gracias– Rose n Smith

Home Tour:

Property Tour and the Outside of the Home:

General Information:

4,000 sq ft Spanish style custom home on 11 hectares m/l.
Fully Titled. 19 year property tax exemption.
Designed and built to American standards.
Almost completely off the grid.
No electric bills. 1840w solar set-up runs house, except a generator runs the washer.
Community water approximately $30.00 a year.
End of the road–ultimate in privacy.
Internet available.
Wheelchair accessible.

About the land:

Beautifully landscaped with an array of vibrantly colored hibiscus, gardenia and jasmine, as well as other tropical beauties. Various palm trees.
Banana, orange, lemon and lime trees abound. Some mature avocado and mango trees, as well as young almond trees and papaya. Over a hundred pineapple. Mint, lemon grass and culantro.
Flowing creek runs through the entire property.
Views of Volcan Baru.

Property is fenced and cross fenced. Ready for horses, cows, sheep and/or goats. Various shelters in place. Pastoral views. Lush pasture.

About the home:

Large and spacious 4,000 sq ft Spanish style home.
5 bedrooms and 4 baths.
Recessed ceilings and custom moldings throughout.
Huge picture windows bring forth lots of natural light and stunning views.
Custom wrought iron french doors throughout the home.
Custom tile work.

Formal entry with chandelier.
Formal living room with large picture window and views.
Formal dining room with gorgeous chandelier and large custom French doors exiting off onto terrazzo.
Spacious family room with ceiling fans and large picture windows and single French door exiting off onto terrazzo.
Huge office space with large picture window.

Large well equipped kitchen with custom cabinets and granite/butcher block counter-tops.
Pastoral views from two large windows.
Deep and well constructed walk in pantry in kitchen.
Laundry area off kitchen includes deep laundry sink. Newer washer and dryer.
Large walk in linen closet.

Master bedroom is airy and spacious with grand his/her walk-in custom wood closets and private ensuite bathroom with deep soaking tub, two person shower and double sinks.
French door with privacy glass off the master bedroom opens to a sun bathing porch.

A red Spanish-tiled terrazzo filled with an array of potted green leafed foliage– expands the entire back of the home.
Beautiful views of the lush hillside to David, Costa Rica and even the ocean on clear days.
A perfect place to listen to the singing of the tropical birds or the whir of hummingbirds or the gentle babbling of the creek.
Paradise found.
The ultimate place for entertaining or relaxing.
An outdoor bathroom and shower are also located on one end of the terrazzo.

About the outbuildings:

Large attached secure storage area.
Smaller attached storage area.
Large detached storage area for farm equipment and/or tractors, ATVs, etc.

Miscellaneous information about the location:

The house is located off of via Volcan mid way between Bugaba and Volcan, about 20 minutes off the main road on a typical bumpy Panama dirt road.
The house is situated at the end of the road, in a small Panama community of gentle, kind hearted people.
It affords privacy and seclusion, but less than 40 minutes to Bugaba and Volcan. Less than an hour from David. About an hour and fifteen minutes to Boquete.
This home has never experienced any crime or the loud noise of blasting radios at fiesta time, like homes closer into the cities do.
Currently employed at the home is an excellent housekeeper and field worker, both live near to the home and would probably be happy to keep working at this home, if you decide to keep them on. (It is hard to find good reliable employees.)

Ideal weather year round, approximately 80 degree average with a slight constant breeze– Cooler than David at sea level, less rainy and cool than the mountain village of Boquete.
New international airport opening in David near the end of 2012 with direct flights from Florida and Europe.
David is Panama’s second largest city…. Rapidly growing with major shopping facilities including Price Smart (Costco), KFC, Domino’s Pizza, TGI Friday’s. etc.

Land area….. approx 11 hectares m/l (approx 27 acres).

House total area…..approx 4,000 sq ft.

Selling price is $ 480,000.00 Full Price includes formal dining room table/chairs and china cabinet, formal living room leather sofa set, family room leather set, rugs and master bedroom suite.

**Please note** The home is almost had all finishing work completed– There is one more custom roble wood closet to be finished. Estimated completion of finish work is by the end of December 2012.
My parents were not able to carry out this work for the last two years due to my Fathers poor health and recent passing. We are now almost done completing the work on this farm, which was a labor of love to my Father.

For information contact Robin @ leethegil@gmail.com.

Horsing Around~Meridian and Samson

I thought I would share a couple videos of our horse and goat.
They are up to some new antics these days!

Makes me laugh a little each time I watch it. Sam the goat loooooves Meridian.

And Meridian is sure wishing Sam were another horse… They learning to make the best of the situation.

Love you all and be blessed~ Rose

For All the Snake Lovers– Can You Correctly Identify This Viper?

According to our blog statistics we get dozens of  hits every week from people searching for information about the snakes of Central America.

I thought I would share with you some of the most recent photos and video of a snake which was killed recently on the property.

Danilo and the Viper

Eeeks– Look at those fangs and notice the venom on the machete

A close up of the vipers head

A close up the skin

Bad kitty, Hey Ed keep away from the snake!

Can you correctly identify this viper?

Peace~Rose

The Circle of Life

(Please excuse me in not posting these past months– I have started and picked up this post a dozen times and until today, have not been up to completing it.)

The last three months–March, April and May– have been a whirlwind of activity from leaving to be with my daughter and son-in-law to be at the delivery of my first grand baby to spending six weeks with them after the baby’s birth to working for several weeks in Louisiana to rushing back to Dallas to getting a same day passport for my grandson (not an easy task), so my daughter, grandson and I could fly out to be with my Father before he passed.

Waiting for take-off with my beautiful daughter and grandson.

Unfortunately, we were unable to make it back to Panama before my Fathers spirit departed his body, as he died the same night we flew out of Dallas.

The biggest heartbreak in it all was not having the opportunity to introduce my Father to his first great-grandson and namesake-Gabriel ‘Lee’.

My Father had told my Mother just a day or two before he died, how he wanted to hold and ‘kiss that baby’ and gave my Mother explicit instructions for his care and made sure she had everything readied for Gabriels visit.

We really tried to make it in time, Dad. I wanted you to be able to have Gabriel in your arms– if just once–for a moment, before you left us… I am sorry.

My Father– Lee Gilbertsons Funeral

I have placed these pictures here for all the family and friends back home, who I know would have been here with us, but could not because of the many miles between us at this time…

For me it was an unreal day–It felt like I was moving in slow motion.

I can remember the different sounds– the tropical birds singing happily from the safety of the dense green trees, the far off wailing through the breeze of a radio playing fiesta time music, the speaker giving the eulogy, muffled somewhere in the background–

I can remember the different sights–watching two dogs playing and running over a portion of the green grass not more than 50 ft from where I stood–healthy, happy and alive… And seeing the four freshly earth covered graves in line with my Fathers and wondering who they were and how their families and loved ones were coping and sending prayers to all of them…

I remember the different feelings–the warm embraces from all the Panamanian friends of my Fathers–as they came to me one by one, each whispering soft comforting words in my ear in their native tongue –not understanding the Spanish words with my head, but understanding every word with my heart. Each and everyone of my Fathers friends to me were the voice and embodiment of God on earth, giving us strength and solace and support on such a challenging day.

And most of all I remember the knowing this day would come, but praying it never would.

My Father– Lee, was buried in a small little graveyard in Chiriqui Province dedicated to the working common people, as we knew he would never want to be buried in the other cemetery in town used exclusively for the wealthy.

Our friend, Cove led the service in Spanish and then in English,  speaking a few words about Lee and his life and shared several  passages of inspirational Scripture with us.

Everyone was able to share a few words about how Lee touched their lives. My daughter shared with how much my Father, was more than a grandfather in her eyes, but like a Father in her life and how much that meant to her.

My Mother tossing a single red rose a top my Fathers simple pine casket before the burial.

 The Burial .

The men take turns shoveling dirt, showing respect and honor to Lee and his family.

Supporting each other.

 Roses laid on the grave– It is finished.

I just want to thank all of you dear ones, for your dear thoughts, prayers and support for the last year. It has meant so much to us.

Blessings~Rose

P.S. And a deep heartfelt  thanks goes out to my parents friends, Cove and Bethany and family, who handled everything before and after my Father passed–They handled the multiple dealings with the health department, brought food, organized the neighbors, the funeral arrangements and much much more.

P.S.S. And a special note of thanks to my Aunt Karen, my Fathers sister, who lovingly put together an obituary  in the Seattle Times, to help bring closure to all the family and friends back home.

“The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

Numbers 6:24-26

The Pan-American Highway is Closed (Again)

Last month the Pan-American International Highway was closed for eight days due to roadblocks by the Ngobe-Bugle, one of the indigenous tribes of Panama. The Ngobe covered parts of the highway and roads in other towns as well with sticks, pieces of metal, rocks, tires and themselves, in protest to the goverments removal of a law that provided enviromental protection to their land and would allow hydro-electric power and mining in their region. (Their land  is home to Cerro Colorado – the second largest copper deposit in the world – but it also holds several other but significant sites already under exploration by foreign mining companies. )

The Ngobe leaders and the goverment had been in negotiation for the last couple of weeks up until today, but apparently the talks have failed and the road is closed again.

Trucks unable to get to their destinations due to road closure (Photo from holistichealthinsider.com)

For those of you who do not know it, the Pan-Am Highway is the only road from the Panama Canal/Southern Panama to Northern Panama. Thats it.

So with the road being closed, it means no more fuel, food or supplies being brought to where we live. We did alright last month, as we had stocked up a little on food and gas, but if the road closures go longer than a couple weeks this time, we will certainly be homebound, due to no fuel. And eating a lot of rice and beans.

Last month the road closures cost the people of Panama-millions of dollars in those 8 days, but I am not convinced it hurt the pocketbooks of the goverment nor caused them as much discomfort as the people of Panama. (“The closure the American Highway by the Ngobe-Bugle Indians has caused losses to the agricultural sector estimated at $3.2 million, however, the figure may be higher, said Oscar Osorio, head of the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA),” reported Prensa.com.)

Personally I do not understand why the Ngobe believe the road closures will assist them in changing the mind of the goverment. (Let us be clear-I am not saying the Ngobe should back down from their convictions. I just do not understand their methods.) I also am afraid this second go round might end up getting a little bloody and I hate to think of it.

I will keep everyone posted of how things are going down south of the border. Keep us in your prayers, as we do you.

Blessings to you all! Rose

Welcome Little Jerusalem & A Love Story

~Welcome Little Jerusalem~

Today a newborn goat was found.

One of our neighbors had passed by the house this morning and noticed a baby goat lying in the ditch that runs along our pasture. Several hours later, he noticed it was still there.

All alone.

The neighbor called out to Steve and our worker, Danilo, who were both working in the field, making sure they knew about the baby goat. They did not. So Steve carried the little kid up to the house.

Danilo was sure the baby had born a day or two ago. And perhaps that was so. The baby was dry and clean. The umbilical cord was dry as well. It seemed a little weak, but not as weak, as one might imagine a totally abandoned baby.

I warmed a half bottle of milk for the baby and as I fed it, I kept thinking of the Scripture in Ezekiel 16 about the orphan ‘baby’ -Jerusalem, who was left lying in her blood and abandoned by her parents. So I thought I would name her Jerusalem. It seemed fitting.

We welcome you to the world little Jerusalem!

After little Jerusalem drank down a half bottle of milk, I carried her out to the field where all of the Mamas were grazing in the warm sunshine. Jerusalem started making soft little cries and I encouraged her, as the other goats starting calling back to her. But out of the 30 plus goats in the field, only one came running up to us and called out in a distressed voice.

So Mama Martha and little Jerusalem were reunited.

The baby starting suckling right away without a problem and I was not sure if she had been abandoned or simply left in the ditch in the shade, while Mama  had went out to graze in the field…

~A Love Story~

For those of you who do not know the beautiful love story of how the Lord blessed and raised up ‘orphan’ Jerusalem, I wanted to share it with you now, as it is found in Ezekiel 16:

  A message came to me from the Lord. He said, ²“Son of man, tell the people of Jerusalem the evil things they have done. I hate those things.

  “Tell them, ‘The Lord and King speaks to Jerusalem. He says, “Your history in the land of Canaan goes back a long way. Your father was an Amorite. Your mother was a Hittite. On the day you were born your cord was not cut. You were not washed with water to clean you up. You were not rubbed with salt. And you were not wrapped in large strips of cloth.  No one took pity on you. No one was concerned enough to do any of those things for you. Instead, you were thrown out into an open field. You were hated on the day you were born.

  ” ‘ “I was passing by. I saw you kicking around in your blood. As you were lying there, I said to you, ‘Live!’ I made you grow like a plant in a field. Soon you had grown up. You became the most beautiful jewel of all. Your breasts had formed. Your hair had grown. But you were naked and bare.

 ” ‘ “Later, I was passing by again. I looked at you. I saw that you were old enough for love. So I got married to you and took good care of you. I covered your naked body. I took an oath and made a firm promise to you. I entered into a covenant with you. And you became mine,” announces the Lord and King.

 ” ‘ “I bathed you with water. I washed the blood off you. And I put lotions on you.  I put a beautiful dress on you. I gave you leather sandals. I dressed you in fine linen. I covered you with expensive clothes.  I decorated you with jewelry. I put bracelets on your arms. I gave you a necklace for your neck.  I put rings on your nose and ears. And I gave you a beautiful crown for your head.

  ” ‘ “So you were decorated with gold and silver. Your clothes were made out of fine linen. They were made of expensive and beautiful cloth. Your food was made out of fine flour, honey and olive oil. You became very beautiful. You became a queen.  You were so beautiful that your fame spread among the nations. The glory I had given you made your beauty perfect,” announces the Lord and King.

  ” ‘ “But you trusted in your beauty. You used your fame to become a prostitute. You offered your body freely to anyone who passed by. In fact, you gave yourself to anyone who wanted you. You used some of your clothes to make high places colorful. That is where people worshiped other gods. You were a prostitute there. Things like that should never happen. They should never take place.

  ” ‘ “I had given you fine jewelry. It was made out of gold and silver. You used it to make for yourself statues of male gods. You worshiped those gods. You were not faithful to me. You put your beautiful clothes on them. You offered my oil and incense to them.  You also offered them the food that was made out of fine flour, olive oil and honey. I had given it to you to eat. You offered it as sweet-smelling incense to them. That is what you did,” announces the Lord and King.

  ” ‘ “Then you got your sons and daughters who belonged to me. And you sacrificed them as food to other gods. Wasn’t it enough for you to be a prostitute?  You killed my children. You sacrificed them to other gods.

 ” ‘ “You did not remember the days when you were young. At that time you were naked and bare. You were kicking around in your blood. But now you have done evil things. I hate them. You have worshiped other gods. You have not been faithful to me.

  ” ‘ “How terrible it will be for you!” announces the Lord and King. “How terrible for you! You continued to sin against me.  Your people built up mounds for themselves in every market place. They put little places of worship on them.  They set them up at every street corner. Jerusalem, you misused your beauty. You offered your body to anyone who passed by. You did it again and again.

  ” ‘ “You committed shameful acts with the people of Egypt. They were your neighbors, and they were filled with longing for their lovers. You offered yourself to others again and again. That made me very angry.  So I reached out my powerful hand against you. I made your territory smaller. I handed you over to your Philistine enemies. The people in their towns were shocked by your impure conduct.

 ” ‘ “You also committed shameful acts with the people of Assyria. Nothing ever seemed to satisfy you. You could never get enough.  Then you offered yourself to the people of Babylonia. But that did not satisfy you either. There are many traders in the land of Babylonia.

  ” ‘ “You can’t control yourself,” announces the Lord and King. “Just look at all of the things you are doing! You are acting like a prostitute who has no shame at all.  Your people built up mounds at every street corner. You put little places of worship on them in every market place. But you did not really act like a prostitute. You refused to let your lovers pay you anything.

  ” ‘ “You unfaithful wife! You would rather be with strangers than with your own husband!  Every prostitute gets paid. But you give gifts to all of your lovers. You offer them money to come to you from everywhere. You want them to make love to you. You are not faithful to me.  As a prostitute, you are the opposite of others. No one runs after you to make love to you. You are exactly the opposite. You pay them. They do not pay you.” ‘ “

 You prostitute, listen to the Lord’s message.  The Lord and King says, “You poured out your wealth on your lovers. You took your clothes off and made love to them. You did it again and again. You worshiped other gods. I hate them. You even sacrificed your children to them.

  “So I am going to gather together all of the lovers you found pleasure with. They include those you loved and those you hated. I will gather them against you from everywhere. I will take your clothes off right in front of them. Then they will see you completely naked. I will hand down my sentence against you. You will be punished like women who commit adultery and sacrifice their children to other gods. My anger burns against you so much that I will sentence you to death for everything you have done.

 ”Then I will hand you over to your lovers. They will tear down those mounds you built. They will destroy the little places of worship you put on them. They will take your clothes off. They will remove your fine jewelry. And they will leave you naked and bare.

  “They will bring a crowd against you. The crowd will put you to death by throwing stones at you. And they will chop you to pieces with their swords. ⁴¹They will burn your houses down and punish you. Many women will see it.

   ”I will not let you be a prostitute anymore. You will no longer pay your lovers.  Then my burning anger against you will die down. My jealous anger will turn away from you. I will be calm. I will not be angry anymore.

 ”You did not remember the days when you were young. The things you did made me very angry. So anything that happens to you will be your own fault,” announces the Lord and King. “You added impure conduct to all of the other evil things you did. I hate all of those things.

  “All those who use proverbs will use this one about you. They will say, ‘Like mother, like daughter.’  You are a true daughter of your mother. She hated her husband and children. And you are a true sister of your sisters. They hated their husbands and children.

   ”Your mother was a Hittite. Your father was an Amorite.  Your older sister was Samaria. She lived north of you with her daughters. Your younger sister was Sodom. She lived south of you with her daughters.  You lived exactly the way they did. You copied their evil practices. I hate those practices. Everything you did was so sinful that you soon became even worse than they were.

 ”Your sister Sodom and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done. And that is just as sure as I am alive,” announces the Lord and King.

  “Here is the sin your sister Sodom committed. She and her daughters were proud. They ate too much. They were not concerned about others. They did not help those who were poor and in need.  They were very proud. They did many things that were evil in my sight. I hated those things. So I got rid of Sodom and her daughters, just as you have seen.

 ”Samaria did not commit half the sins you did. You sinned even more than they did. I hate those sins. Compared to what you did, you made your sisters seem godly.  So you will be dishonored. You have given your sisters an excuse for what they did. Your sins were far worse than theirs. In fact, your sisters appear to be more godly than you. So then, be ashamed. You will be dishonored. You have made them appear to be godly.

  “I will not only give you back what you had before. I will also do the same thing for Sodom and her daughters. And I will do the same for Samaria and her daughters.  That will make you feel dishonored. You will be ashamed of everything you have done. You have made them feel better because you sinned more and were punished more than they were. Your sisters Sodom and Samaria and their daughters will return to what they were before. And you and your daughters will return to what you were before.

 ”In the past you would not even mention your sister Sodom. You were proud at that time.  That was before your sin was uncovered. Now the daughters of Edom make fun of you. So do all of her neighbors and the daughters of the Philistines. Everyone who lives around you looks down on you.  You will be punished for your impure conduct. I will also punish you for the other evil things you have done. I hate all of those things,” announces the Lord.

 The Lord and King says, “I will punish you in keeping with what you have done. I sealed with an oath the covenant I made with you. You hated that oath. And you broke my covenant.

  “But I will remember my covenant with you. I made it with you when you were young. Now I will make a new covenant with you. It will last forever.  Then you will remember how you have lived. You will be ashamed when I give you Samaria and Sodom. Samaria is your older sister. Sodom is your younger one. I will give them and their daughters to you as daughters. That can’t happen based on my old covenant with you.  So I will make my new covenant with you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

  “I will pay for all of the sins you have committed. Then you will remember what you have done. You will be ashamed of it. Because of your shame, you will never speak against me again,” announces the Lord and King.  

To me the most beautiful part of this story is the enduring love the Lord had for Jerusalem and even though she played the harlot, He was faithful to His covenant and did not divorce her. How many men are able to love and keep covenant like that?

I hope everyone is having a great day. We certainly are as we have been blessed with another beautiful baby girl kid! Yippee!

Much love~Rose

P.S. Dad you asked for a picture of Roger, your little colt, so here he is! He came up this morning to visit me and I petted him, then snapped a couple pictures of him….

An Iguana, Shopping in Panama and A Bus Ride to Remember

The last couple of weeks have went by very quickly with my daughter visiting. She enjoyed her time here; from the beauty and tranquility at the farm nestled in the countryside of Panama to the excitement of going to the Farmers Market. We just hope next time her husband will be able to come down with her and of course Gabriel will be out and about as well. We are already looking forward to that visit!

An Iguana

On one of the first days here we spied this 3 foot iguana in the goat pasture. This is the largest iguana I have seen in Panama to date. He was very handsome and posed for this picture.

The iguana hopes and prays we do not believe the lie that everything tastes like chicken!

Shopping in Panama

My Mother, Molly and I left a day before Mollys flight back to Texas, for a trip to Panama City.  We went shopping at the Indian store and exploring the mall. We had a fun time together, acting goofy and laughing a lot!

My Mother bought her great grand son a Panama t-shirt! (Molly models it over her belly)

  Trying on dozens of pairs of sunglasses at a shopping center

My Mother was apparently missing my Father, as we found her with this large horned fellow

 Saying our good-byes at the airport

A Bus Ride to Remember

My Mother and I took the bus from Panama City to our home in Chiriqui. It is an 8 hour bus trip. The buses are fairly comfortable and they play movies during the trip. (Unfortunately the movies are in all Spanish, so we try to watch and figure out the plot in spite of the language barrier.)

The inside of the bus seats about 51 people

I have taken the long trip to Panama City and back to Chiriqui, over a half-dozen times now and have always been concerned with what my Mother had warned me about while taking that trip on the bus and that is you can only urinate in bus bathroom. On one bus my Mother told me there was a warning on the bathroom door, that stated there was a fine of $20.00 if you deposited anything, but urine in the toilet.  

Now 8 hours is a long time, especially during the day, when I imagine most people defecate… right??? So every time I take the bus from Panama City, I have am overcome with a little trepidation concerned with the resounding question in my mind“What if I had to go Number 2… What would I do….???”.

The bathroom door was right behind us this trip- The sign boldly states                                   “ONLY FOR URINE”

So on the way back home this week, I am sitting comfortably in my seat on the bus, watching the movie that is playing, as Mom is sleeping soundly away, when I smell a horrible smell. My god, I think, someone has horrible gas… Within a minute the smell seems to dissipate, when I get another waft of a sickening stench and I furrow my brows, thinking someone is not doing too well… Wowser. I look over at Mom; she is still asleep, softly snoring, looking quite peaceful. Two minutes later the smell has not gone away, but has gotten increasingly worse… and I think, this is not fair; she gets to sleep through this unpleasantness. 

So now I casually look around for the offender. I don’t see anyone to the front of me, who looks guilty, so I glance to the aisle beside me and back. I see a woman there with her shirt pulled up over her nose and she starts speaking rapidly to me in Spanish, waving her finger. I can tell she is in obvious distress over the aroma. I nod her way and wrinkle up my nose to let her know I am in distress with her. She is not alone.

About this time, the bus attendant, who stays at the front of the bus, walks to the back of the bus and the woman behind us starts talking very excitedly to him and waving her finger back and forth, obviously upset. With all of the commotion, my Mother is now awake and she wants to know what on earth smells so bad. I tell her-I don’t know, that I thought someone had bad gas at first, but now I am thinking that someone had a bowel movement in the toilet and we are just now smelling it. I am wondering who the guilty party was, as I was watching the movie and had not paid attention to who had walked by me and back.

The bus attendant is now speaking loudly and in an agitated voice. I turn around. He is attempting to pull open the bathroom door, but it keeps being closed back… I see a glimpse of a man in there, trying to keep the door closed. The guilty party has been found and is still at the scene of the crime!

The bus attendant is asking him “Que Pasa…?” (The bus attendant could not figure out what was happening in there…??? I think everyone in the back of the bus could have gave him a pretty accurate idea.) The bus attendant continues to question the man rapidly and continues to try to open the door… I turn back around- a little shocked.

 I find everyone sitting in the front of the bus, looking to the back of the bus… Some people have their shirts pulled up over their noses and others are fanning their faces. I am not kidding when I tell you it smells literally like the man had not taken a bowel movement for over two weeks. It is baaaaad smelling and apparently the mutant odor has spread throughout the entire bus.

Mom looking a little green around the gills and tries to protect her nasal passages and lungs behind the safety of her shirt

As my Mother and I discuss the situation at hand, we feel sorry for the man…. I mean when you gotta go, you gotta go, right…? Shit happens. Literally.

We find it a little unreal the bus attendant was yelling at the man and trying to pull the man out of the bathroom while he was still on the toilet… Suddenly the whole scene becomes a bit hilarious and terrifying all at once… We keep thinking what if it had been us on the toilet… Would the bus attendant have yelled at one of us? Would he have tried to pull us off the toilet..? We quickly try to think if in the future if there a way to avoid taking the bus… Do we need to pay more money and take the plane from now and avoid the possibility of such a vulnerable position? Or could the problem be solved if one were able to poo in a bag and just take to the front of the bus and tell the bus driver, you need to throw the bag off the bus…?

As we ponder dozens of scenarios of how to save face if you poo on the toilet and the craziness of what just happened, we cannot stop laughing and we laugh non-stop for a good 15 minutes.  I don’t think we came up with any definitive answers. Just take heed and be aware, if you ever come to visit us and take the bus from Panama City to get to the farm-Don’t say I didn’t warn you about the bathroom on the bus!

Have a good weekend my dear friends and family! You are loved and we think about each and every one of you more often than you know.

Peace to you all, Rose 

 

A Visit with My Daughter and My Father Flies to Tijuana, Mexico

Good day dear readers. I hope you all are well and blessed. I have missed sharing with you the last couple of weeks.

My daughter came to visit us last week and it was a joyful reunion! She is 8 months pregnant and we were very excited to get to finally meet Gabriel Lee. Unfortunately my son-in-law was not able to come due to work constraints, but we are hoping after the baby is born, all three of them will come down together. We look forward to having them all here!

My daughter and Mom on the Atv for a ride down our road

Steve and Scoot

Taking a break under shady trees by the creek

My Father flew to Tijuana, Mexico yesterday.

We had been praying for direction in the treatment of his cancer. I have always been an advocate for natural alternative treatments after many years of seeing the suffering and severe side effects from the chemotherapy and radiation that was given at the U of W Medical Center, besides my personal religous views on the matter. However I encouraged my Father, to do what he felt he needed to do, whether it was traditional chemotherapy or alternative treatment. Cancer is aggressive and needs aggressive approaches, whether you choose a traditional or alternative approach. I believe how a person chooses to fight cancer or not fight cancer  is a personal decision and no one can answer what is best for another to do, particularly if we have never walked in those shoes.

So as most of you already know, my Father began his treatment at home with alkalizing foods, cancer fighting herbs, juicing, green smoothies, etc…

My Father then pursued consultations with different oncology doctors in Panama City in January for traditional chemotherapy and radiation treatments. After a few weeks of consultations and trips back and forth to Panama City, he decided to stay home and continue with and pursue other natural alternative treatments for a couple of weeks and wanted to see what happened.

After the two weeks, I told him “You need to do something because the tumor in your neck is getting bigger and I am not sure if it is just getting bigger from cancer or inflammation of cancer cells getting killed, but I think you need to do something more aggressive.” My Father was looking at natural protocols for killing cancer, but not following a protocol in totality… And it was driving me crazy. Plus I thought even if he wanted to follow a holistic natural alternative treatment, he needed a doctor or coach that could counsel him and give him the best advice for fighting cancer. All of the natural alternative protocols he was reading about, stated this was one of the most important things to do.

The shortly after this, we were at the Farmers Market in Volcan, a week and a half ago, a woman came up to us, looking for the person, who had cancer. My Mother told her, “Well my husband has cancer…” So the woman sat down and told us about the cancer treatment she had and that she was now “cured of cancer”. She had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells and was found to have a couple of tumors in her bone. She had received a treatment in Tijuana called IPT (Insulin Potentiation Therapy). After her treatments, she was found to be cancer free per her blood work and her scans showed there was no more metastasis (she showed us her bloodwork and scan report). Her traditional Dr had told her “I did not want you to go to Tijuana, but I am so glad you did. I could not have done what they did for you.” She also boasted she had absolutely no side effects from the treatment. So after we met her we checked into IPT treatment by searching the internet.

An IPT treatment would look something like this: You are given a dose of insulin, which drops your blood sugar, to a very low-level of around 30. You are then given intravenous traditional chemotherapy at about 1/10th of a dose. You are then given dextrose to raise your blood sugar to a normal level.

The idea is when the insulin is given- it targets the cancer cells because cancer cells have highly active insulin receptors. The chemotherapy then targets the cancer cells more specifically. Thus the chemotherapy is much more potent, much less chemotherapy can be used and little to no side effects is experienced. So after hearing this woman’s testimony and our prayers for direction, my Father decided to pursue ITP treatment. It made sense to all of us. It does not have the severe debilitating side effects of chemotherapy and he will be able to continue with any other alternative treatment, as well as receiving IV vitamins, minerals and supplements at the clinic.

Here is a link to Dr Garcia Perez and about IPT, if you would like more info: http://www.iptldmd.com/medical-services/how-iptld-treatment-you.html

We continue to be ever hopeful and appreciate all of your support and prayers.

My Father in the greenhouse before leaving for Mexico

Keep me posted on how you all are doing… I would love to hear from you!

Yours always, whether near or far~Rose