It's almost midnight, and we're all excited and exhausted after today. We spent the morning and afternoon in Curundu, probably the poorest area in all of Panama City. We got off to a late start after taking the van to a place where we were hoping we could get the window fixed (in a day, not usually Panamanian process), then rent another one, and then get everyone picked up from their host families. It was a long morning, but praise God, everything fell into place (even the van window...we picked it up at 11:00 tonight!)

At Curundu we worked with the Crossroads church plant and school there. We actually held theh clinic in the multipurpose room of the church (they are transforming an old bakery). It was a lot of fun, and the kids responded very well.

Then came probably the hardest part of the day. With an armed escort, Pastor David took us on a walk through the fringes of the shantytown that makes up much of Curundu. (We weren't allowed to take any cameras, so we don't have any pictures. It was too dangerous to go any deeper, but our hearts were broken as we saw the poverty and darkness many people live in. It opened our eyes to a lost and hurting world, and listening to our players comment on what they had seen.

We then prepared for our second clinic outside after lunch. Several men showed up and our guys played them some 5-5 for a while, then we started the clinic. Ashley G and Adam did a great job sharing their testimony, and many kids responded.

We drove to Mark and Kelli's and did absolutely nothing for two hours except shower, rest and eat. It was so good. The team is tired (both emotionally and physically...please pray for us) and it felt good to be together with nothing to do.

At 6:30 we left for our games tonight. The women the boy's high school team, and the then our combined team is played the men of the church for a fundraiser for a family who is heading to the mission field. The team won convincingly, but it was a fun game. Slim had several crowd-pleasing dunks, but K.C. was the MVP of the night. Not only did she hit 3 3's against the boys, leading the women to victory, but at halftime she buried a half-court shot on her first try that won the family $1.000! The gym went absolutely crazy. It was fun to relax and play for fun, especially after our sobering time in Curundu.

Tomorrow is a big day...please pray for us. We start out with a clinic for the Kuna Indian community (outside, no roof, concrete court). We then pack up, get a quick bite to eat, and head to the guy's next game (they're down 0-1 in a best of 3 series...can't afford a loss now). Then we head back to the Kuna community to do a church service with them. Coach Jaderston is preaching with Johnny translating. Please pray for energy, endurance, and most of all God's power!

Need some sleep...will write more tomorrow...