Truth is...
Truth is….
Truth is…. I’ve been meaning to write this update for months now. Eli and I desire to do this way more often than we have, to keep our friends and family up to date on what’s going on with us and our ministry here in Panamá. From time to time we’re able to give updates via Facebook, email, Skype, and personal phone calls, but we desire to send out more formal updates. So here it goes….
WARNING: This is long!
Reality is, we have three children ages 11, 4, and 1 year. Thing is, living abroad, we have no family living close. Eli and/or I are with our babies 24/7, which we LOVE don’t get us wrong. But fact is at the stages each of them are in, well, each stage comes with a different set of needs. And these needs, along with the housework, the ministry, and just everyday life keeps us going literally from sun up to way past sun down. I’m so thankful for my handsome husband who without fail, does his part and more to help us keep things going. He’s one in a million and I couldn’t do what I do without him!
On December 1st, 2015, we literally packed up our lives in the Dominican Republic within three weeks and moved here to serve in Panamá, obeying God’s calling our lives. This means we have lived here for a little over one year already. Whew, time sure does fly!
During our first 6 months or so of living here, it sure was a bit of a challenge! From working on getting everything settled in our home, to finding doctors, a school for Lanny, etc., taking public transportation like buses, taxis, and rentals, all with two young kids and me being over 6 months prego! Thankfully in time, the Lord provided the right vehicle for our family.
Soon after moving here, Eli researched every, and I mean every school in Panama City for Elianny to attend, all but two were full. Out of those two schools, God definitely lead us straight to the one He had in mind for Lanny. We all love her school and it has been a great blessing to our family. Elianny started her 2nd year of school here on March 7th. She is now in the 6th grade and I have to add, we are so proud of her for her hard work as she received an overall 4.7/5 in her first year of school here. We thank God for His faithfulness in helping her to accomplish this! We also thank God for her awesome teacher (an American from Arkansas!!!) who she also has again this year. With all of the changes for Lanny, leaving everything she ever knew, family, the home, her school, her friends….she has just adjusted like a pro and we are so proud of her! Lanny celebrated her 11th birthday on November 10th. For those of you who haven’t seen Lanny in person in the past year, you would be shocked at what a growth spurt she has taken on! She loves to play outside, constantly doing gymnastics, and can almost beat Eli and I in arm wrestling! To me it’s just amazing to see how she has grown into the beautiful young lady God is creating her to be. I want to add that there is something that I am super extra proud of her for! Most of you know that when Elianny and I met back in 2011, I basically spoke no Spanish and she no English. Let me tell you, communication between us was rough! (And I think we drove Eli crazy, depending on him to be the translator! 😀). But with a few classes and us speaking mainly English in the home, she is pretty much fluent in English! So I want to add that Lanny also loves to help translate for the teams while they are here. She really is a special girl and God is good!
Esteban (Beban) Phineas celebrated his 4th birthday here on January 24th. We celebrated by sharing Mom’s fresh baked Oreo cupcakes with his little school friends, and then with a pizza/cake/piñata party at the playground with our neighbor friends. It seems as if Beban has blossomed in such an awesome way this past year! He is now extremely fluent in English 😀, and is working on his Español. He began his very first day of school ever at a little learning academy this past September. In his school he is taught English, Spanish, French, Chinese, American Sign Language, along with writing and math skills. Beban enjoys going to school and loves to tell us about his time with his little amigos (and his occasional “Time Outs” 😀 ). His school has also been a great blessing (other than all of the cold-causing germs 😷) to our family and we thank God for always providing financially at just the right time so he is able to attend his little school.
On February 24th, 2016 God blessed us with our sweet and beautiful little Esther Rose. Wow! What a blessing she is! The Lord knew our family needed her and she seriously completes La Familia Soto. I delivered Esther via C-section at an extremely nice hospital in the city. I know there are many people who assume because we live in a foreign country that the medical care is at least a notch down from that of the U.S. Let me tell you from my first hand experience, this was seriously one of the most beautiful, nicest, cleanest, most organized hospitals, with the most professional staff that I have ever been in. And as God took care of me in DR when I had my C-section for Esteban, He was also faithful to me here in Panama. Most of you know I am still not completely fluent in Spanish, I mean I understand a lot but my grammar is not perfect. But you know what? God provided the most wonderful bi-lingual Doctor for me! He even went as far as providing a bilingual anesthesiologist as well! I can honestly say, even with surgery and all, I really enjoyed my experience at this hospital. (Or maybe a lot of it had to do with it taking surgery for Eli and I to actually have a “date night” with no kids! 😀) We were so impressed and could not be more thankful that God provided such an amazing and safe environment for our precious Esther to come into the world. So if you’re thinking of coming here to Panama to deliver your small bundle of joy, I highly recommend Hospital Nacional! 😃
We celebrated our sweet Esther Rose’s 1st Birthday here on February 24th. It was such a blessed time celebrating her with a nice little party and it was extra special to have Grandma and Papa Marlatt here with us! Little Esther is such a joy to us and is a solid 28 pounds! As most of you know she was born with a condition called “Laryngomalacia” which affects her breathing. Let us tell you again, God is so Good! Thank you to everyone who has been praying for our baby over the past months, God has been answering prayer! She is at least 99% healed of this condition and we give God all of the glory for that! Little Rosey (she has many names 😊 ) has been walking since the day before she turned 11 months. She is even running now and she certainly keeps us super busy! She also has rhythm just like her Papi! 😀 She loves to dance to “Ole McDonald,” “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” doesn’t really matter which music, she just loves to dance! She now has 8 teeth and her first word was “Mama.” She even called Eli “Mama” until she learned to say “Dada!” We just love her so much!
As I begin to write about my handsome husband, let me first say that I am so thankful God has blessed me with such a great man. And I don’t say that lightly. Oh sure, don’t get me wrong, he’s not perfect. Sometimes he drives me so crazy mad I could run all the way to Michigan. 😉 But guess what? I’m not perfect either! God knew this man would be perfect for me. He truly is such a hard worker. Any of you who have served alongside him would agree. He has a true heart to serve God. He loves his family to no end. I couldn’t ask for a better man to share this journey of life with. When Eli isn’t here “slaving” 😀 at home helping out with the kids or housework, he’s at the office, visiting possible future projects, or answering his never ending phone messages and emails. He loves to take early morning runs and to draw closer to the Lord daily.
As for me…. I’m a Mom. My full time position is to care for, love, and meet the needs of our three children. I want to say, I CANNOT thank God enough for allowing me to be home full time with my babies. Don’t get me wrong, I lose my mind and sanity from time to time! Keeping up with all of the cleaning, cooking, and laundry for five, along with my Mom duties is a bit frustrating at times. But I WOULD NEVER want it any other way. I know there are many Mommies who are not able to be home full time, so I take this as an honor and high privilege. Yes, I am human. I lose my patience pretty much daily. There are moments in my Mommy life I wish I would have handled differently. But what I know for sure is that I love these little people with all my heart and even though it’s not easy being “needed” 24/7, I know these days won’t last forever. I know I will never regret these precious times. Not missing one “first.” I seriously appreciate reading posts and hearing advise from empty nesters, about how us “in the moment now Mom’s” will miss these times, and how one day our hearts will ache for these days. I believe it. Just the other day I thought of this. The baby was fighting her nap fiercely, crying horribly each time I layed her in her bed. I thought, “I’ll let her cry it out.” But as she cried and cried I remembered how she is teething. She needs a little extra of Mommy. So I scooped her up and sat in the rocking chair. As I held her, her crying immediately stopped, and she soon fell asleep. She just needed me. As we rocked and I looked down at her precious little face, I realized, this stage won’t last forever. One day she will be off to college, most likely in another country. She won’t be here needing me in this way. I will be here missing her. Tears ran down my face as I asked God to help me to appreciate my time with our children more and to help me to always be a better Mommy. There’s no higher calling than to be a Mommy, and I desire deep in my heart to be the best wife and Mom I can be.
During our first year (2016) here serving, we had a total of 10 teams who came to serve the people of Panama through Work & Witness. It has been a joy having the teams here with us! And it is an extra special blessing when we have our returning teams come who have become like family! It’s always like having a piece of home here with us!
So truth is…. it has been an extremely busy time for us, an very busy year. Truth is…. little by little everything has been falling into place. God is faithful! And even though this has been an extremely busy, and at times, challenging year, God has been faithful through it all. One of the biggest things I’ve learned this past year is no matter how much we DO NOT deserve God’s great love and mercy, for some reason He continues to love us right through it all. He is faithful. His love endures FOREVER.
Prayer List.
How you may pray for our family:
1. A spiritual rhythm for our family as we continue to adjust to our new lives in Panama.
2. Good health for our children, especially since unfortunately they have already battled many viruses in the past year.
3. Strength, rest, and patience for Tammy to care for our three children every day along with all of the household duties.
4. That Eli and Tammy would always draw closer to God together as a couple.
5. For financial provision for Elianny and Esteban's schools. We are thankful for the church who provides help for us to send our children to school through WEF. We do have additional expenses we need to pay including transportation, food, materials, etc.
6. That the Lord would continue to provide financially for our family through ministry partners who would support our ministry monthly.
How you may pray for our W&W ministry in Panama:
1. For a vehicle (a truck will be a plus!) for the WW work in Panama. Eli has learned A LOT of the public transportation during our year here in Panama. It takes MUCH more time and money to do everything he needs to do for the ministry without a truck.
2. For Strength and wisdom as we seek God’s will for our WW ministry in Panama:
a) For provision of volunteers.
b) Financial resources/support to create a strong ministry to serve the church in Panama.
c) Grace of God to send WW teams to help us.
d) That we can teach the people of Panama a sincere way to serve one another through our
examples.
e) To understand the needs here and help in God’s way, not our way.
Our family appreciates your prayers and support! If God is leading you to donate financially, please visit: Eliezel and Tammy Soto deputation giving page
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