8 April 2002

Dear friends,

We were a bit late putting together the newsletter for February, so we decided to combine February and March. As we write this newsletter we are entering the second week of Easter, and we hope that you had a blessed Lent and are having a joyous Easter!

This year's Lenten Series was a Bible study that Michael put together.  It took place every Friday evening during Lent.  It was based on one of the readings for the up-coming Sunday. Three to four different translations of the reading were provided, along with some open-ended questions for discussion. This was the first year that we had a bi-lingual Lenten Series. After the Bible study the lay ministers of the parish led the Stations of the Cross.

Michael also attended a Clergy Retreat in Arreján, a town just on the other side of the Canal. Bishop Ortíz from Mexico was the leader, and the focus was prayer and meditation. Michael provided the music for the various worship services. It was a good retreat and he was able to get to know some of the priests from the Interiór better.

The swimming lessons with the girls at the Hogar de las Niñas went very well.  Missioner Sue Williams and I tested them in the third week and at the end of the lessons. I was amazed that they actually were learning!  This is my first attempt at teaching swimming since I was 18 and a real challenge due to my lack of Spanish skills. They started school on March 11 and hopefully are able to continue swimming lessons on occasional week ends and during their school break at the end of July.

Most of my attention has been going to running the 'Dresbach Bed and Breakfast.'  At the end of February, Michael Stanley and Jen  Drganc (pronounced Dergens) arrived on the same night, but not together. Jen, the Youth Director at St. Mark's Washington DC, stayed for a week.  She was looking to see what public service her teens from the church can do during the summer for a week or two.  She visited several places between the Interiór and Darién looking at several missions that could use the help.  She chose Tortí in the Darién where a lot of work needs to be done; new roofs are needed, churches and other buildings need to be painted.  We're looking forward to seeing her again and meeting her youth group.

Mike stayed at Casa Dresbach just over two weeks.  He's a missionary with the Young Adult Service Corps (YASC) program and is teaching History and Religion this year at the Instituto Episcopal de San Cristóbal.  The school principal was able to find him a home that is closer to the school.  He had also been working in the D. C. area as an Aide to Senator Paul Sarbanes of Maryland and was right in the middle of all the anthrax action.  He will be in Panamá until mid-December of this year.

Another guest we have in the house now is Yasuri and her baby.  Yasuri and Anne met here in the neighborhood after we first moved to Paraíso.  She was in need of a place to stay and asked if we had a room to rent her.  Of course we did, so we are now the Abuelos ( Grandparents) of Alejandra, her darling one-year-old.  She moved in the day Jen left.  They've been a real pleasure to have around.

In February there was a fire in a very poor area of Rio Abajo called "Bocatown" in which several tenement buildings were destroyed and many families were left homeless. The families were moved to a neighborhood gymnasium and little rooms have been constructed for the homeless. St. Christopher's has been collecting clothing and food for these families and it has become a regular event for us every Friday to drive to the Gym with another load of supplies. We have no idea when new housing will come
available for these families.

Michael has just been appointed to the Commission on Ministry for the Diocese of Panamá. He is helping design different programs for different educational needs of those in the ordination process in Panamá.

Michael was a substiute teacher at the Florida State University-Panama campus during March. Our fellow missionaries, the Rev. Seth Polley and Dr. Lori Keyne, are both teaching at FSU and needed someone to fill-in for them while they were in the U.S. for a short trip. Michael lectured on "Cults and New Religious Movements" for Seth's comparative religion class, and spoke about his experience as a Rock musician and record producer in the Bay Area in the 1980's for Lori's Popular Music class. Michael figured he must have done alright as no one tried to sneak out and they actually stayed past the end of class.

Holy Week at St. Christopher's was wonderful.  Both the English and Spanish-language services had joyous Palm Sunday processions and dramatic readings of the Passion according to St. Matthew. Next year the choir at the English-language service is hoping to sing the Passion. Our Maundy Thursday service was well-attended and we had foot-washing, the Stripping of the Altar, and our chapel was decorated as the Garden of Repose for the Reserved Sacrament. Because the neighborhood is not very safe, we did not have an all-night vigil of the Reserved Sacrament. We had the service of the Three
Hours for Good Friday, with Stations of the Cross, various meditations, and the service from the Book of Common Prayer. Michael sang the entire Passion from the gospel of John. Saturday night at 7:00 we lit the Paschal fire and followed Deacon Caceres and the Paschal Candle into the darkened church as the Deacon sang "La Luz de Cristo. Demos gracias a Dios" for the Easter Vigil. Michael sang the Exsultet, but he is hoping that Deacon Caceres can sing it in Spanish next year. We didn't have any baptisms this year, but we renewed our baptismal vows and then, with the proclamation "Alleluia! Christ is Risen!" all the lights came on and we all rang bells and sang the Gloria. All our Holy Week services were bi-lingual this year, and we feel that we are making a lot of progress in that area. We had a Sunrise service in English at 6:00 Easter morning, and our Spanish-language Misa de Pascua at 9:30 AM with an Easter Egg hunt for the Escuela Dominical (Sunday School).

So ends our up-date for February and March. May you all have a joyous Easter and Pentecost!

Your missionaries in Panamá,
Mona and Michael Dresbach
mgdbach@hotmail.com -Michael
mldresbach@hotmail.com -Mona

The Inn is always open; if you need a place to stay while visiting Panama,
please contact us at the email addresses above.  If you would like to make
donations or a monthly pledge to our mission, please contact St. Francis
Episcopal Church, 1205 Pine Ave., San Jose, CA 95125, 408-292-7090.  Please
feel free to check St. Francis' website at www.stfrancisepiscopalchurch.org
which includes an archive of our letters and pictures of our mission.