A Jesus Lizard

Jesus walked on water. 

 So does this lizard found 

in the rainforest here.

Hence the name.

Bleu caught this one in his net and it didn't want to let go. 

I had to help him pry its toes and mouth out of the netting.

He's not really sure if he feels good about holding it.

They run standing up and VERY fast.  

It took Impressive hunting to grab him.

Liam choose not to partake in the holding of the huge lizard.

And now he lives in a box in my kitchen.

He eats vegetable scraps

because we haven't found any

 snake eggs yet that they love to eat.

An island Sunday...

We went hiking on Bastimentos island on fathers day 

and found this little church half way up the mountain.

The people speak  Guari Guari which is 

sometimes refered to as creole english.

A lot of them speak spanish as well.

The service was given in spanish by the pastor 

and then translated into Guari Guari.

They honored the dads as well as gave them a strong charge 

to lead their families and stay clear of alcohol, drugs and violence.  

3 of the main problems this community has.

The children in the church performed an exciting drama.  

Acting out how Satan uses drugs, 

alcohol and all types of sin to keep us down.  

Then Jesus came and a real tug of war happened, 

I mean my kids were a bit frightened on the front row, 

but in the end, Jesus won, and the sin was crushed.

Heavenly voices.  

I love their variations of songs we sing at home as well.

We sang and worshiped together 

with this beautiful little church and 

felt so blessed to be so far away from our community 

but yet surrounded by one that so strongly loves the Lord.

Surfing Horses..

We didn't really believe there were 

wild horses on the island that came to our beach and swam.

But this morning as we ate breakfast they came.

At first they were just resting in the shade of the palm trees.

I couldn't believe they let us touch them.

Then the boys decided to swim with them.  

I thought for sure they would run but they stayed out 

there for a long time with them splashing around.

Even petting them

And when the boys came in, the horses followed..

moving around the island...

Our house is a mile outside of town on 

the one road that runs around Isla Colon.

We are on a beautiful bay and have acres of jungle behind us.  

So far, we have used many different modes of transportation.  

My favorite is when we can walk out of the house 

and wade in the ocean for a water taxi ride.

to visit Carenero island it is 1$ a person. 

Wills favorite..

At first he tried to pump Liam this way and mama said no way..

It is only a 10 minute ride to town.  

You have to ride very straight however because the road is 

very narrow and the taxis pass you with about 6 inches of room to spare..

The baskets are great for when we grocery shop in town.

Sometimes we walk.  

It is dusk and Zeb is afraid of bats 

so he walks with his hand on his head.  

Although there are vampire bats here, they don't 

commonly swoop the streets and bite little boys heads...

We are heading to town to get a water taxi to 

visit Bastimentos island today.  

They have an organic chocolate 

and coffee farm there I want to tour...

Beautiful Feet...

Beautiful feet are the feet that bring the good news Jesus said.  

And  a woman named Vivianna brought it to me today.  

She is a traveling pedicurist,  A mother of 5, 

grandmother of 1, and a strong christian Baptista.

She has lived in 

Bocas del Torro all of her life.

Today she brought me the good news.  

A reminder of Jesus' love for me 

and his gift of himself.  

He will never leave me nor forsake me.  

Jesus himself IS the Good news and Vivianna was his messenger today.

AND she gave me beautiful feet while we visited!  

There has been NO hot water since arriving on the island over a week ago.

But oh sweet mercy she boiled some water in our kitchen for my nasty feet.

Feet that walked all over town barefoot

 looking for new flip flops after a shoe blowout.

This is the center of Bocas town.

Not very clean to say the least...

I found some great gold flip flops for 3$ here..

And now I feel all clean and right side up again.

Heres to another day in Bocas!!

Chitras on beautiful Carenero island

Chitras, Sand fleas, No-seeums.  

Whether you speak English, Creole, Spanish 

or a mix of all three 

these words bring terror to your ears.  

I am about to show you a verra, verra  humbling photo of my 

verra

 UGLY legs.  

Words cannot express how itchy these tiny bites are, and how long they last. 

I feel like I am 10 with the chicken pox again. 

All of these bites came from one afternoon.  

Our second day here. 

We ventured over to the beautiful 

tiny island of Caraenero in this water taxi.

Beaches are beautiful, 

surf is amazing and the snorkeling is great.  

I thought I was prepared.

I even bought this great oil for the bugs from 

the local guy George that everyone swears by. 

 A mix of coconut oil, citronella, and tea tree and eucaliptus oil.  

Not one boy got a bite.

They must have a preference for women.  

The locals see me and laugh-

Chitras love fresh blood, they say.  

Now I wear pants, especially on Carenero. 

 Dont let those beautiful, pristine beaches fool you-

we are still in the heart of the jungle.

As I pray and ask God to spare me from 

Leishmaniasis- the nasty tropical disease these things carry.  

I am reminded again to trust in the Lord for even if I do... 

I know he will work all things for the good of those that love him.

On the Road again....

I wasn't going to blog this trip. 

I didn't want to go on this trip.
Our family has been in a state of chaos since January. 

I am tired, overwhelmed,

 sad and more than a little in need of a daily chill pill- 

.... thankfully Will puts up with my  daily panic attacks,
he coaxed me into packing,
even scheduling a counseling session so a professional could back him up
and tell me that we were 

INDEED heading to Central America for the summer with the family.

Will is an optimist, but he also knows when our family needs to rest,
regenerate and let God do a work in us as we refuel.

I am grateful for Will leading our family and hopeful our boys will learn to lead like him.

No South America this time.  

My beloved Ecuador- nothing can compare you.  

Those mountains and their beauty. 

The people we encountered  stole my heart and 

I will continually long to return. 

But this year we needed to stay closer to home. 

So we are off to the tiny archipelago of Bocas Del Toro, Panama 
 The the island of Isla Colon to be exact.

Where you can't touch the frogs because they are of the poison dart frog variety 

and the monkeys in the trees will swing down and grab your food as you are walking.

And don't touch the sloths as they carry a flesh eating parasite.  

A little boys paradise

 “it was the furthest point west that Columbus reached off the coast of Panama, and perhaps because the South American Handbook stated with its habitual frankness, ‘No tourist ever goes there.’ ” 

This is what the Conde Naste journalist Steve Stevenson 

penned about Bocas that made it a 

MUST SEE on the Bannister Boys list.  

http://www.cntraveler.com/islands/caribbean/2013/01/bocas-del-toro-panama-islands-caribbean

So after 4 days of travel. 

 Spending the night in the Miami airport during a tropical storm.

ALL our luggage gone missing for 2 days.  

2 missed planes and a 

4:30 AM hopper plane we are finally here, 

 all boys are safe and sound asleep.  

In their new Casa by the sea.