No, we are not having a baby!

The "news" we want to share is not that we are having a baby. Oh, please, we know thats what you were thinking:) In fact, living down here has made us realize that we probably won't have any more children.

We have decided that Panama is going to be our second home. Our plan is to stay in Vermont for the summer, and return here to Volcán for the winter. A tourist visa is good for 6 months, so we will try to stay that long. We did not come here expecting that we would feel this way. Panama has a strong pull on us, and many who have traveled here on vacation have ended up staying here semi-permanently for years.

We haven't figured everything out, but we know that this is what we need to do. We have become so much closer as a family, and are so much happier after having been refreshed the past few weeks, physically and spiritually. We really feel that it would be a bad decision not to come back. We are trying to figure out housing down here, as some places rent for as low as $100 a month, unfurnished, and $200 fully furnished. We won't need a car, but we may end up buying a horse, as that is more practical than a bike out in the jungle:). We can work in VT for 6 months, and have enough to survive down here for close to a year!

As far as our housing in Vermont.... Not to sound derogatory of this country, but Panama has really lowered our standards of what you really "need" to live. There is something to be said for living a simple life. Less to worry about, less to fix, less to buy, less money needed. It's really wonderful. We would like to buy a travel trailer when back in the states, and will probably end up keeping it on my in-laws property in NY, which is where we were living before we came down here. That might sound crazy to many, but it is really the most practical. We can go anywhere, visit family, or help with relief work if there is a natural disaster somewhere.

One month in Panama was only enough to whet our appetite. There is so much potential down here to do good. Continuing to learn Spanish, preaching on horseback, or just enjoying life.... These are the things we want to do. And that is what we are going to make happen. I know that everyone back home will appreciate our decisions, even if they don't completely agree or understand. No, we haven't been drinking the Kool-Aid! I challenge any of you to live down here and not fall in love with it as we have!