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I finally got my phone service straightened out.  I had to suspend my US cell service and now I have Vonage service with a local number so I can talk freely with my family and friends, in the states.  I also have a local prepaid cell which is practically useless right now because I only have five numbers to call; two are taxi drivers. 

I have spent the past few days going through my contact list and calling people about my new service so they can update.  This is actually a good thing because I have talked to people that I normally don’t talk with and I have had some wonderful conversations, particularly with my Aunt Catherine, whom I adore and a childhood friend that I happen to run into a couple months ago.

These impromptu calls have been such a blessing that I honestly recommend that perhaps during your downtime, that you go through your phone list and call a few people that are just  posted in your contact list collecting cyberspace dust.  Give them a call just to catch up and I promise, you will feel great once you talked to someone that you have been, ‘meaning to call’ for months, perhaps years.

Also, I am pleased that my family and friends are coming to Face Book in ‘twos and fews’ and we are keeping contact with each other. This is a blessing to me because I am so far away and instead of being in contact with one or two, I can keep track of several people in a few minutes. 

Also, on a whim, an old friend from my teen years popped into my head and I decided to see if she is on FB.  I believe I’ve found her and I sent her a message, however, from the looks of it she doesn’t check it much.  I 99% sure it’s her because I don’t think I forgot her smile.  I hope she will respond soon.  I haven’t seen her since we were in high school.

I haven’t said this in a long time but I just want to remind everyone to take some ‘DOWNTIME’ for you; this way you can renew and refresh yourself for the coming holiday season.  The major holidays are coming fast.  This will be the first time I will spend them away from ALL my family.  My birthday is also coming up in just over two weeks.  I don’t know what I will do to celebrate.

If you are a WISE woman or want to become one, please sign up to receive updates by RSS or your Email inbox and leave your comments. Please keep your comments valid to the posts.  You can also reach me at onewizeone@yahoo.com. I will reply to you.  If you have a blog leave a linkback so others can visit your site as well.

Tags: Contacts, Down Time Suggestions, Old Friends

I am trying to go out every day just to work on my shopping skills and to get a better understanding of my new life.  Quickly, I have come to be known by my ‘corner store’ owner across the street.  My realtor states they are Chinese.  He, his wife and infant greet me with a smile when I walk in the door.  All I know is that they speak very little english just like almost everyone I have encountered in this city.  They do their best to understand what I ask for and he even programmed my phone card that I bought from them. 

Today, I went to a small drug store down the street and there was a woman with three small  boys sitting on the steps outside.  The oldest was about seven or eight and she was instructing him to go into the store with me to pick out the milk she wanted.  She was a beggar.  Although, she did not speak english, she managed to speak two of the few words I know in Spanish, leche and comida.  Milk and eat unfortunately are in my small vocabulary.  I folded like a towel. 

I am conscious of the ‘beware how you treat strangers’ verse in the bible and I am a sucker for hungry kids.  They followed me from that store to the supermarket across the street, where I proceeded to buy a large bag of rice, a bag of red beans and some hot dogs.  A customer walked up behind me and in his broken english told me to be careful.  i told him I would. 

Mom wasn’t satisfied with my purchases for her.  Did I mentionI had bought the milk at the pharmacy?  She, then, wanted me to take them to a restaurant.  Eating out here is relatively inexpensive in local restaurants.  I don’t know what she was saying but I did pick up the word casa, she repeated it several times. I don’t know if she is homeless or what and in a way I was grateful that my vocabulary is limited.

Meanwhile, her middle child, who looked to be about five, had managed to talk someone into buying some cereal and milk while we were in the supermarket.  He is fast becoming a young beggar pro and it saddened me.  However, I drew my line in the sand and refused the restaurant invite.  I had spend almost five dollars plus the milk and that was my limit. 

I know I cannot give to everyone who asks and I know she will not get anything else from me,   I usually have a good radar about beggars and I have always asked the Lord to help me know what to do.  So, I don’t know if this was a test or another beat tactic.  I do know that the children were hungry, confused but very obedient to their mom’s commands.  I pray that they will get the help they need.

If you are a WISE woman or want to become one, please sign up to receive updates by RSS or your Email inbox and leave your comments. Please keep your comments valid to the posts.  You can also reach me at onewizeone@yahoo.com. I will reply to you.  If you have a blog leave a linkback so others can visit your site as well. 

Tags: Beggar Family, Kid Beggars, Panama Beggar