October 22, 2005

Dear Friends,

In my last newsletter back in August, I mentioned that I was about to work with a group from Mississippi at our campground in Santa Clara. We painted the outside of the chapel, the kitchen and one of the cabins. We then had Spanish lessons in the afternoon. It was great to meet all of the young adults who came. I later learned that a few of them were affected by hurricane Katrina because they live near the coast. I have been praying for their safety.

Michael worked hard on a prayer book for the Congress of the Commission for Theological Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (CETALC) which was in Panama from October 5 - 10. The booklet consists of the Daily Offices of Morning Prayer and Noonday Prayer as well as the Holy Eucharist in four languages: Spanish, English, French, and Brazilian Portuguese, laid out side by side for anyone to follow the service easily. The booklet also includes all the readings for each day in all four languages, as well as the music to be used. The booklet took most of Michael's time and was a challenge considering he doesn’t speak either Portuguese or French. He was also in charge of all the liturgies and music for the congress.

The theme of the CETALC conference was “Globalization and its implications in Latin America. About 250 people came to it: bishops, clergy, and lay persons from all over Latin America. There were workshops, small group discussions, and,of course, services. Michael was also active playing guitar during some of the services. The final service was held at St. Luke’s.  Michael played bass with Bernie Murray on keyboards. The service lasted about three hours. Bishop Murray moved down the aisle with the gospel to African drums and Janina Walters, a dancer who is great with African style dance. The service was beautiful and to be remembered by all who attended.

A new person has joined Mrs. Kelley and me at the girls home on Mondays.  He’s Frank von Heiland, a 17-year-old Florida State University student. The girls love him. He’s a great asset to helping out with the first and second graders. Lately, I’ve been helping some of the older girls with English.  My impression is their teacher doesn’t speak very much English herself.  I’ve seen some really strange sentences that the girls copy in class. They claim they have copied the sentences correctly.

We were able to replace our computer with a wonderful Mac Mini. We want to thank you for your generosity to making that possible. We can now get NPR and listen to Prairie Home Companion. We haven’t heard it in years.

This week, when I was at the girls home, the director came up to me and told me that the cartridge for their printer had run out of ink. She was hoping Mrs. Kelly and I could donate some money to help by a new cartridge. She needed $25.00 for it so I gave her the $20.00 I had in my purse. This is the first time in all the years I’ve been going there that she has asked me to help out financially. The home is going through a difficult financial period right now. They don’t have money for the printer, for maintenance, or running the van especially with the higher gas prices. There are some companies that make regular donations, but more is needed to help run the home. Money for food and school supplies are always welcomed and needed, too. If you’re interested in helping out, please make your check payable to Panama Mission Fund and mail it to: Saint Mary's Church, 3916 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104. This is where Sue Williams, one of our long-time missionaries at the girls home receives donations for the Hogar. If you
like, contact me and I’ll be happy to send you Sue’s most recent newsletter so you can read more about activities at the Hogar.

Your missionaries in Panama,
Mona and Michael Dresbach
mgdbach@hotmail.com  -Michael
mldbach1@yahoo.com  -Mona

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' web site at
www.stfrancisepiscopalchurch.org, which includes an archive of our letters
and pictures of our mission.