76 DAYS LATER

76 days ago we boarded a plane leaving the life we knew to pursue a new calling for our family.

It took two days to celebrate our first party (turns out there is an expat from Seattle also living in Boquete who has the same birthday – October 31 - on the same year, as I do – what are the odds?), a couple anxious days to get access to our bank accounts, nearly a month (and two interim rentals) to find a house to rent, then another couple weeks to make some needed repairs and improvements (with the help of some very appreciated highly skilled friends), less than a month before I was playing bass with the Apollocians (a local blues-rock-country band), just over a month before getting an invite to play bass with a local jazz band (known as The Fantasy Jazz Band), then another couple weeks to get an invite to play bass with a local blues band (believe it or not, known as The Paul Day Blues Band – it was formerly named the Bud Smith (the former bass player) Blues Band), almost two months before I could get out to the Comarca (it’s always a weather permitting and river-level passability decision), about two months before we could start constructing the aquaponic farm (check out some of the pics at www.deadwheat.com under the media tab and “hydroponic model project” – more pics to come soon), almost 2 months before we got Dead Wheat International Foundation formally approved and operational, just over 2 months before being asked to speak a local faith gathering.

It feels like I’ve done “lots” and “a little” all at the same time. Maybe it’s the result of not living in the world of deadlines, or living in a world where there is always “manana”. Or maybe it’s the result of leaving a life as a pastor and psychotherapist for the life of a humanitarian, musician, and apprentice handyman. Or maybe it’s the result of leaving suburbia for the tropics, or the manicured lawns for stunning vistas of the ocean from the mountains. Or maybe its leaving the complexity of life in the first world, for the simplicity of the rest of the world. Whatever it is, this life is actually starting to feel more and more like “home”.

Through it all, I’ve learned to trust God more than ever before. Still got a ways to go, but I’m grateful for the slow and unsettling growth curve God has invited to me - and more grateful that God is proving to faithful to us in our new life in Panama.