May 21, 2002

Dear friends,

The parakeets have invaded Paraíso this year.  We have never seen or heard so many groups of them before.  They are incredibly green and never stop chirping.  It is also hotter than usual for this time of year.  The rainy season has not yet reached us.  We're hoping for a break in the weather soon, but so far it doesn't look like it'll cool down for several more weeks.

In the beginning of April, we went next-door to the First Baptist Church of Paraíso to help celebrate our friend and neighbor Rev. Renaldo Toppin's 25 years as a pastor there.  He had choirs from all around sing two songs each at this joyful occasion. This included choirs from the Episcopal Church (St. Christopher's), the Nazarene Church, Baptist Church, Evangelical Church, Methodist Church, The Men's Extravaganza Choir (an all male choir composed of men from both the Pacific and Atlantic ends of the Canal); a truly ecumenical event.  Michael even played guitar and sang a couple of songs for everyone; one song was dedicated to his grandmother, who we learned two hours earlier had passed away. His grandmother, Helen Johnson, was a missionary for 13 years in China, several years in the Philippines and imprisoned in a Japanese Prison Camp during WWII.  She was a wonderful and interesting woman who will truly be missed by all of us.

Michael and I attended a wonderful installation of officers for the Association of Retired Federal Workers.  Michael said the Invocation, Bishop Murray performed the Swearing-in of new officers, and the Rev. Dennis Josiah, the retired Rector of St. Christopher's, gave the Benediction.  Mr. Claudio Carter, a parishioner at St. Christopher's, started the organization back in 1986 right after he retired.  It is for all retired Canal Zone Workers.  The purpose was to help retirees to bury their loved ones.  He remembered as a boy how Jamaicans would ask for donations when a family member died because nobody made enough money.  Everyone in the community would help each other.  This was his contribution to his people.  They also go on excursions and have a lot of fun.   Claudio is in his late 70's, is the former Sunday school Superintendent and still an active member in the church.  He is also the newly elected president of his organization.  He is a real inspiration in the community.

Last month, we started to buy extra food each grocery trip to give to the poor who came to the church asking for donations.  Other church members have begun to do the same. The idea is always to have a supply to donate to people going through hard times.  There is so much unemployment, (even I can't get a paying job) that many people are seeking help.  Michael hired an unemployed man who comes around often to wash his car every week, so he would earn some money instead of begging for it.  Now St. Christopher's is
exploring the establishment of a Food Pantry so that we have the "canasta basica" or staples of rice, beans, sugar, flour, and canned meats available. We also receive quite a lot of used clothing, as Michael requests it for some of the missions in the Interiór, plus we still receive donations for the victims of the Bocatown fire (which we mentioned in our last newsletter). Darla Brown and Omira Johnson, two of the jovenes (young persons) of the parish usually sort the clothing for distribution. They found some of the clothing was too dirty to give away but would be fine after being laundered. Michael and the Senior Warden, Mr. Keith Green, have been interested in keeping clothing available for the usual disasters such as fires and floods (the neighborhood of Rio Abajo floods often during the rainy season). They also learned that many of the jovenes do not know how to use a washing machine or iron clothing, so they have come up with an idea: they are looking for a used washing machine and a couple of irons and ironing boards which will be placed in Casa Amarilla, the church's "multi-purpose center" and Darla and Omira will supervise the other young people in sorting, washing and ironing the donated clothing which will be stored at Casa Amarilla for emergency situations. This way, the young people get a home economics course and we have clothing ready for the community.

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.

If you would like to make donations or a 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 or our mission.