Girls at the Hogar

We have three new girls and 4 have gone to live with parent or parents. Two of these graduated from 9th grade, one, an older sister of one of the graduates and the 4th at her request after finishing sixth grade.

Today Ihad promised myself that I would add to my blog! BUT - I can upload pctures today.

Tia Sue

Happy New Yearfrom Tia Sue and Firecat

Happy New Year from Firecat who is adjusting to living in an apartment. While he lived in Gamboa with friends he was and indoor outdoor cat. Now he is an indoor cat who wants to go out. At first he tried hard and in the meantime destroyed a couple of screens. He found a way to het out through the wrought iron door even though it had screen all over it! Now he can't get out through the door. Recently he goes out on a long leash attached to a harness and tied to a chair. I have to stay with him as he can remove the harness!!! He is by my side as I write this.

Here is a view on Ancon hill with the Panamianian Flag. It's the view from my front door. As you can see it is a summer day - dry and a bit windy. We are in the dry season.

Blessings, Tia Sue

Christmas Cards from the Girls

The girls made Christmas cards for members of the Junta Directiva. Here are some. If you click on the picture it will enlarge. This is Daliana who just finished 8th grade. Remember that the school year here is from March to December.

Sinilda with her card. She and her sister were the first women in their families to go to school. They have both finished second grade with flying colors and both can read well. Also, their niece (who is the same age) went to school this year and also their younger sister went to Kindergarten.

Johana with her card. She has done well in the 5th grade this year. Johana has been with use since 1st grade.

Chochi or Maria Isabel is Sinildas sister. She had the highest average of the primary school students, 94!

Stefani has just finished 2nd grade and has done well. Stefani really likes to help.

More this week, Tia Sue

Felíz Navidad desde Panama

Christmas party at the Home. We have finished our Christmas lunch (ham, potato salad etc. and are now giving out gifts. Santa Clause this year is the director and her helper is Yanitzia. Here Maria is receiving her gift. We are outside the chapel, living rrom and study area for the girls who can study independently.

Sinilda is showing off the doll she chose from a fine assortment of dolls given to the girls by a friend of the home.

This is the Nativity scene outside St. Pauls. It has a little fence around it as it is on the side walk near the entrance to the building. The star is my contributation, made from foam with a sticky side so it is adhering well to the wall. The custom is to put a few coins in a little cup when passing by.

Celebration of the life of Elizabeth Leigh

Today we celebrated the completed life of Lizzy Leigh. The service was in the Balboa Union Church, which she attended a lot, switching from St, Lukes to Balboa Union and sometimes to St. Mary´s a Catholic Church nearby. She often went to two of these on a Sunday. Her ashes are in a simple metal box under the veil. (If you click on the pictures they will enlarge.)
The service was at Balboa Union because the Episcopal Cathedral is getting a new roof. Lizzy is holding John about 29 years ago. Mary, her daughter, pulled together a lot of pictures which were stuck to a large bedspread downstairs in the parish hall.

As you can see the church was full - I estimate between 400 and 500 people. For about 40 minutes before the service were a number of musical offerings, solos, choir and instrumental, celebrating Lizzy´s contributions to music, choirs, helping young musicians.
The Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of Panama was the celebrant. Rev. Michael Dresbach helped plan, coordinated, and preached the sermon. We sang a number of wonderful hymes: What is This Place, My Life Flows On, Earth and All Stars, Come My Way My Truth My Life, Come Down O Love Devine, Sing My Tongue the Glorious Battle and All Creatures of Our God and King. (You can look them up by name using Google.)
At the commendation of the body, the Bishop asked us to applaude her into heaven, like an applause for an encour. For the Prayers of the People, all of the members of her family got up and each one read a section. The service ended with the choir (Cantemus) and instruments proforming Worthy Is the Name of the Lord, from Handel´s messiah. Lizzy´s sisters Martha and Kate and her daughter Mary joined the choral group. One the left is her sister Martha and on the right Kate.

Elizabetth Leigh (Lizzy)

My very good friend Elizabeth Leigh died Saturday morning of heart failure. She had been in the hospital in intensive care for more than 4 weeks. Here she is sitting in her living room. Lizzy was a singer and played the Viola. She sang in just about every choir in Panama in the more than 30 years she had lived here. She was also active in The British Aid Society which provided care and visits for, at first, elderly Afro-antillians and later anyone who had no one to care for them. Lizzy was know for her extra delicious baked chicken and here she is showing us the one we are about to eat. You can see from the background that her house was full of a great variety on wonderful thing. Books and baskets and carvings from wounan indiginas were one of her joys. She acted as a middle person for the sale of indiginous arts and crafts - always paying up front.

. Here she is at her dining room table. Her husband, Dr. Egbert Leigh, (a senior scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute here in Panama) is in the background. Lizzy and Bert and their Children Mary and John have been my extended family for more than 20 years. I learned a lot from lizzy - a lot of practical things. One was how to pick up a snake without getting bitten. This lesson was when a small BOA (12 to 15 inches) fell from a rafer under her house where a group learning basket weaving was working. Unter her tutaledge I have also learned to make delicious chocolate sauce from scratch.

She will be greatly missed by her friends and colleagues.

Multiplication

Three primary school girls are playing a multiplication game found at www.multiplication.com. It is a really fun and effective way for kids to practice. Here they are playing the video game the can play after answering 15 facts correctly.
Another picture of the same thing.
Guissell is concentrating on doing long division. The format for division is always 3579 : 16.