February 22, 2009: Panama City to Fannin Bayou

Today we took our bikes into town to attend the First Baptist Church of Panama City. The church had three services each Sunday morning and today was their last day before entering their new Sanctuary which seats 2400. We enjoyed the wonderful music of the service, the chiming hand bells, the swelling orchestra, the full choir and the uplifting, joyful congregational singing accompanied by pipe organ. The people were very friendly and enthusiastic about their church family. Tom and I were somewhat overwhelmed by the contrast between this church and the tiny concrete block church in Belize where we worshiped just a few weeks ago; but both were genuine in their worship of God.

On the way back to the boat, we stopped at Chef Imondi’s where they were serving a buffet brunch. The food was OK but the live piano music made it a great place for lunch. Another stop included getting eggs at the grocery store.

We crossed back across St Andrews bay this afternoon and saw a huge freighter in the Panama City harbor docks. We cruised by an anchored shrimp boat, the Sara Lynn. Tonight we are anchored in the Fannin Bayou. We had waffles for supper. The sun going down made the sky glorious.