Appreciating My Life

Today I had yet another experience that put life into perspective. I got the opportunity to go to the Wounaan Village to visit the indigenous people that live in the rain forests of Gamboa, Panama. For some reason I hadn't really mentally prepared for the day and was expecting to be picked up in a large boat like the one that transported us to another Island over the weekend. Boy was I wrong! When it was time for us to leave 3 men dressed in basically nothing pulled up to the dock in motor powered canoes. After witnessing many shocked faces our group not so gracefully got into the boats and we set off for the Wounaan Village back in the deeper Rainforest. The boat ride reminded me of the very long 5 hour similar boat ride that I took with my family in the Amazon. Luckily this one was only about ten minutes.



When we arrived we received a friendly greeting, plopped on our attractive and comfortable rain boots (not!) and headed up into the center of the village to meet the people. One of the things that I have noticed about Panama that is very different from the places I have been before (Ecuador, Peru, Tanzania) is that the people actually respect your personal boundaries. I was expecting a lot of prodding and pressure to buy things and an invasion of my personal space but that was not the case at all. It was the same way in the market in Panama City, so that was a nice surprise.



Then two men from the village began by leading us around the forest behind where they lived. They basically went over what we have been learning for the past week here in Panama and explained how they build their homes from certain trees and what kind of plants they use for medicine.



After the tour of the village we had the opportunity to buy their crafts and jewelry and listen to another explanation about how things work in the Wounaan Village. I was surprised to hear that most of their children now get primary and secondary education. Ecotourism is what supports them these days because they are not as close to the mainland as they used to be so it is not as easy for them to sell their crafts. One of the goals that they have is to send two of their people to the University as soon as they make enough money. They explained that not all of their people live in the village in order to support their lifestyle. Some of them work in the resort in Gamboa while others work in the city or find other jobs. I got the impression that the money is all pooled together and split to pay for food and schooling. They told us that their main diet includes plantains, which are similar to bananas, and fish. They do not eat meat because they can't afford it and they are not allowed to hunt in the rainforest because it is a protected area. Occasionally they get rice or seasonings from the city as well.



I spent a lot of my time while other students were buying things, trying to interact with the children of the village. A 12 year old girl brought us her pet monkey george and it crawled all over everyone who wanted to hold him. She told us that he was abandoned by his mom which is why they took him in. He was so sweet and made me want a pet monkey! Most of the Wounaan people speak spanish but they also speak their own dialect to each other. None of them spoke english but the guy who spoke to us the most said that it was one of his dreams to learn english and be able to speak to tourists directly, without a translator.



Being at the Wounaan village was another one of those times that made me really appreciate all that God has blessed me with. It is so easy for me to get comfortable with my life and forget how many things that I have. There are so many people all over the world who don't even have enough food to survive, let alone their own room, a closet full of clothes, a college education, the opportunity to study abroad, and so on. It was a good for me to remember that God has blessed me in so many countless ways and I never should doubt that He will provide for me. He is so gracious to answer my prayers and continue growing me and leading me towards his future plans for me, but if He were to never again answer my prayers I would already have so much more than I could ever ask for. I'm really hoping that this spring break or over the summer I can go on a missions trip and give back a little to people who don't have the same opportunities that I do and show them the love of Christ that I have experienced.



Today was a great day and it's not over yet! In a few hours our group will be going frogging. I'm not exactly sure what frogging entails but it will be yet another adventure!



Love always,
Shelby