Memories of Costa Rica

Because we are getting ready to leave Costa Rica, I am doing an acrostic of memories of living here and things I love about Costa Rica.

C - Climate- I love the climate here!
O - Oceans - If anyone knows me they know I love the beach, and Costa Rica's beaches are so different.
S - Spanish - Learning the spanish language has been fun and a lot of work but I LOVE it!
T - Time - We have had lots of time with great friends here that we will never forget.
A - Appreciation - The feeling I have for all of the people who pray & support us to spread God's love.

R - Repetition - The more you say a word, the easier it is to stay.
I - Irreplaceable - We have made some wonderful friends who are irreplaceable.
C - Confusion - Have you ever sat through a class in a language that you don't know?
A - Absolutely in awe of the beauty of this country.

Prison & Sex Ed

These past couple of months have been extremely busy at school for our family.  We have extra classes because it is our last trimester and they are trying to fill us full with all of the spanish they can before we leave.  This week we had a few ministry opportunities that made all the school work & studying worth it.

We have a friend here that is a member of the local christian business men's association and he invited Clint to come along with him and some other members of the association to the local prison to preach and lead worship.  Clint studied hard and put together a wonderful sermon to share with the inmates.  Several people received prayer and Clint was encouraged to be able to take a break from studying to minister.

While Clint was busy at the prison, I was offered the opportunity to help with a ministry team from Va.  It was a lovely group of ladies who came to work at a Latin America Child Care afterschool club, Chicas de Promesa.  I had a blast at the club the few times I was able to go.  The girls and I laughed and made up sayings to go along with the slang word here "chuncha" which means thing-a-ma-jig.  

My favorite part of the time at the girls club was the day of ministry that the team taught sex education to the girls.  The area where the girls live is poverty strucken and a very high risk neighborhood.  The girls were taught that they were valuable to God and that God had a plan for their lives.  There were testimonies told of abuse and the girls were taught what to do if they had been abused.  It was also very good for my spanish vocabulary.  It's amazing those words have never been on our vocabulary tests (hee hee).  The word for sperm in spanish is 5 syllables.  

I was blessed to be able to spend time with the girls, to embrace them, and to let them know God created them like they are for a reason and even if they had been abused, God still loves them and has a plan for their lives.

5 Things I Have Learned Living in Costa Rica

I anticipated change in my life  when we were preparing to move to Costa Rica but, I never anticipated change on the magnitude it has occurred in me.  I thought it would be fun to share with you 5 big things I've learned this year in Costa Rica (it's hard to choose only 5).

1.  To depend fully on God as my best friend and comforter.  I have been so blessed throughout the years to have friends that are literally closer than family.  They have always been there for me to laugh with, to cry with, and for advice.  I know they are still here for me but it is different when you are so far away.  I found that many times I reached out to friends when really I should have been reaching out to God.

2.  How to cook.  Anyone who knows me knows that I am famous for takeout, baked rotisserie chicken, or anything else that doesn't require effort.  Costa Rica's prices are double that in the US and that really cramped my style when it came to quick easy meals.  I have learned to cook, I mean really cook - from scratch.  It's a miracle, I know.  I'm still praising God for it.

3.  Family time is so valuable.  The sun goes down here at 5pm.  We don't normally go places after dark because our method of transportation is as my grandma says "Pat and Charlie" and it's not recommended to walk in the dark here in the city.  This has given us many nights to talk.  I love our nights.  Our children are growing up so quickly and I really value this special time we have together.

4.  Spanish.  I love the language and yeah, that's what we came here for so it had to make the list.

5.  To have patience.  No matter how many times you raise your voice, emphasize your words, or throw a hissy-fit it will not change the outcome of the matter in Latin America.  You may find something at the grocery today that will not be at the grocery for another 6 months.  Deal with it.  It's part of life.  People are late a lot.  It can be complicated to walk or take a bus, hence tardiness as the norm.

That Woman

That woman who wears her dress a little too short or her top a little low, does God love her?  Should I love her?  

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend a human trafficking conference to learn more about the subject, to open my perspectives, and to find out what I could do to help.  It has taken me this long to blog about it because it was such a heavy subject.

My mind has been opened.  "That girl" doesn't always choose to be "that girl", and sometimes when she does at the time it's a decision she feels like she has to make.  

Too often she is marginilized and treated like trash when God sees her as beautiful.  Human trafficking is a horrible thing that is happening all over the world.  It is taking the lives of many women and children and we need to pray for God to intervene.

We also need to educate our young men about sex, about how beautiful it is, and what God's design for it really is.  If it were not for demand from men, trafficking would not happen.

"That girl" was made in the image of her Creator.  Let's stop looking at her the way we do and see her in His image. 

Who Am I?

This question seems silly.  I know I am a child of God.  I know my idenitity comes from Christ.  But who I am as a person is changing so rapidly I can barely keep up with me, with who I am.

Part of that is that I am learning to look at things from another perspective.  I am becoming a little less american and a little more latin in my mindsets.

Our niece is here to visit this week and I have noticed how different I now am by looking at her and how she acts.  So many things that are just everyday normal activities or sights or smells or foods to us, are so different to her.

I'm not sure what to think about all of this.  All I can do is trust God that He is molding me into who He wants me to be.

I thank God for being an american and will never lose my patronage to my home country but I can say I'm not a normal cookie anymore.

People are Staring

For those of you who don't realize it, culture shock is a real thing.  Most of the time I love living here and enjoy the culture but for the past month I have been extra sensitive.  I thought it would be fun to try to paint a word picture for you a little about living in another country.

The one thing that is constant is people staring, I look different, I talk different, I think different, I act different, I eat different.  So of course I am always a freak show for those around me and get asked daily "where are you from" and the response that I don't like to say because it's a tongue twister is estados unidos.

Another thing that gets to me is constant waiting.  If your appointment is at 4, you may get seen by 6.  Don't worry, they will give you coffee in the meantime, never mind that I DON'T REALLY LIKE COFFEE but have to drink it because it's the polite thing to do.  If something breaks the technician may come out, look at the problem and tell you they will be back the next day only not to return for a couple of days.  Time is just a thing, we have plenty of it...Right?

And the grocery store thing...First I walk to the store, getting whistles and looks along the way because I am a "gringa" then I get to the store to realize the thing they just had yesterday, they now don't carry.  So I walk to several other stores and finally give up after being exhausted from all the walking and searching.

Sleep...It is something I don't get alot of these days which may be why everything else gets on my nerves so much.  Latin America is just noisy in general but here in the city it's extra noisy.  Last week we were awoken at 4 in the morning by a taxi's horn outside our apt.  That night we were so exhausted we thought yay- tonight we will get in the bed a little early.  We hopped in the bed at 9pm and as soon as we   layed our head on the pillow a mariachi band begins.  I just smiled and sighed.

Oh how I wish I were more like the Apostle Paul and had joy during all of this.  How I pray to have the "pura vida" attitude.  Lord help me to be a better servant for you.

Firebreathers

When you walk or drive down the streets of San Jose, there are people everywhere selling things, begging, juggling, and doing other things to earn money.  The knife jugglers freak me out because I'm always afraid I'm going to witness someone get stabbed, but the firebreathers fascinate me.  

In the night, I look for them.  When they start, sometimes they juggle torches of fire, and sometimes they inhale it and breathe it back out.

Everytime I watch them I wonder why.  How did they begin doing such a dangerous thing?  Don't they know it can kill them?  Does it give a thrill, a high?  

Yet, I am fascinated.  It is cool to watch.  When my spanish is better I'd like to talk to one of them.  Everybody has a story.  

What is something strange that fascinates you and why?

Thank the Lord the Power Went Off!

Last week I was caught up on my studies so I stayed home an extra hour in the morning.  I had in my mind what seemed like a million things I wanted to get done that day before class.

As I was drying my hair, I heard a click, the power went off.  So as cool as a cucumber I sat the blowdryer down and went onto my next task.

I thought well now would be a great time to call and pay that bill.  As I picked up the phone, I realized the phone only works through the internet and at that moment it didn't work because the electricity was off.

So I turned on my computer, pulled up my e-mail and started reading a devotion.  As I got to the middle, I needed to click on a link to read the rest, and you guessed it, it didn't work.

Next I went into the kitchen and all of the cereal was gone and the stove didn't work.  Obviously I wasn't getting to eat.

Suddenly the thought came to mind I will just sit in the Lord's presence just me and the Bible and talk with God and read His word.  I don't need an online devotion.  The Lord desires that I spend time with Him sometimes without anything else.

That morning my time with Him was wonderful and I left feeling refreshed and renewed.  Sometimes things that seem bad are a blessing in disguise.  I thank God for the power outage that day.

My Motto -Work Smarter, Not Harder

This phrase has somewhat been my motto for some time now.  I am notorious for finding short cuts and easier ways to complete a task.  I am one of those "task oriented" people that is obsessed with deadlines.  However, lately I have come to realize my motto is not always the best thing to do.  Sometimes the hard work is necessary to get the result that God wants from us.

In His word God tells his disciples that some things come only by fasting and prayer.  Fasting and prayer is pretty hard work!  I have been searching for the past 10 years for a shortcut or a simple formula, only to find out the practice is necessary.  There aren't any lasting shortcuts.  We must continue to be persistant in prayer and disciplines in life.

A few years ago I read a book called So you Want to be Like Christ?.  It was a wonderful book and helped me to think on disciplines.  The book talked about wanting a result but not wanting to go through the work it takes to get there.  For example most young men want to be some type of professional athlete but very few put in the hours that it takes to perfect the sport.

For me, I long to learn the spanish language.  Although I am learning, I wish there were a shortcut, an "easy button".  But the language is going to come through hard work, fasting, and prayer.

What are the gringos doing now?

The week of Easter is referred to here as "semana santa".  On Monday the city of San Jose begins to slow down and by Wednesday almost everything is closed and traffic is almost non-existent.  On Friday there are many processionals of the resurrections of Jesus throughout the cities of Costa Rica.  It is quite surreal.  The Roman (tico) soldiers march through the streets and then near the end soldiers are carrying a huge float of Jesus on the cross.  The next float that comes by is one of the Virgin Mary.  What a site!  Friday is a day that is highly celebrated here.  It is a significant day in our history-the cruxificion of our Lord Jesus.  

But on Saturday everything reopens and life continues as normal on the streets of San Jose.  There is no Easter candy on the shelves in stores, no peeps, no cadbury robin eggs (my favorite) and no mention of Easter Sunday.  My heart was burdened that there was no mention of the resurrection-the HOPE of glory!

So on Sunday we decided to have Easter dinner with our missionary family here.  A wonderful church in NC had sent us baskets for our children for Easter and some eggs.  So we invited some of the children in the neighborhood and one of our fellow missionaries organized an Easter egg hunt.

I cannot imagine what the neighbors were thinking as they witnessed us "gringos" running around the park with baskets finding eggs.  I couldn't help but giggle to myself thinking what it must have looked like.  However, for our children it is important to keep as many family tradition as we can.  

That evening we had fried chicken, homemade macaroni & cheese, potatoes, deviled eggs, green beans, and it was SO yummy!  Even though we didn't have our family from the US, we are so grateful that the Lord has given us friends here to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and what we fondly call "Easter".

It's 4:01 Beware of the Bugs

This past weekend some of us students here at Cincel decided to rent a house on the Caribean side of Costa Rica for a short get-away.  We had been warned that this side of Costa Rica is very rustic and let's just say "different".  We found a house that was a good price and we all loaded up to go.

The first night was a mess!  The house was very open and none of the rooms had doors.  Also, the house didn't have an air conditioner and we forgot to bring along fans making the house super hot on our first night at this house in the jungle.  When nighttime came the amount of bugs that had accumulated in the house was overwhelming.  Children were crying, us women were screaming and we were all hoping this dream would quickly come to an end. I felt so bad because I was the person that actually booked the house that I searched for several hours for another place to stay.

I had no luck finding another place and the lady we rented from said she would not refund our money at this point.  So I decided to go on to bed and made up my mind I would tell myself I was camping. Shortly after my husband came to bed and informed me he killed a scorpion on the front porch.  I thought oh my goodness we are going to die here in the jungle and no one will ever find us!

I began to cry out to the Lord and ask Him for protection and for peace.  (I know we are a bunch of spoiled brats!)  After that I fell fast asleep.

The next day was much better.  We got up and had a wonderful day exploring.  I made sure that when I stopped at a store I bought some incense looking things that are supposed to repel bugs.  That night one of the ladies with us lit so many there was not a bug alive in the place!  It was SO smoky but I didn't care because the bugs were gone.  We slept much better that night.

Monday finally arrived and we waited on the guy who takes care of the keys to come inspect the house.  He asked how it was and we told him how crazy the bugs were.  He acted like "what were you people thinking, this is the jungle?"  He smiled and said "did you close the doors and windows at 4 o'clock like  I told you?"  We looked at each and said "no."  I don't think I paid close attention to what he was saying when we first arrived at the house but I sure wish I would have paid attention to that.  He repeated "at 4 o'clock you have to close all the windows and doors and then you not have troubles wit bugs."

I thought to myself "how absurd!  Like bugs know what time it is."  I joked about it but then when we got home to San Jose I decided to test his theory.  Although we don't have crazy jungle bugs here we do have our fair share of mosquitos.  Guess what?  It works!

I was taking a walk today and this story about the bugs ministered to me.  The bugs know what time it is, what season it is.  The Bible says a whole lot about christians watching for signs of the times.  I believe now more than ever we are quickly approaching the end of times and it is time we are on high alert!

God did not create us to wander aimlessly but He created us with a purpose.  For some your time to act is now and for others now is time for you to prepare.  I do know this for sure, if God gave the bugs a sense of time how much more should we be sensitive to the times in which we are living.

Do not wait until 4:01!  Act when the time is right.

From Cold Water to A Hot Frying Pan

Our first trimester of language school is coming to an end.  As I reflect on this trimester it brings tears of joy and sadness.  Our family arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica on January 5th to learn the spanish language and culture of Latin America.  Although we have learned a lot of spanish and culture we have also learned so much about God and life in general.

We had been warned about culture shock but shortly into our time here culture shock became very real to our entire family.  We missed our church in the US, our friends and family, the food, the language, we missed everything.  Several of our friends and even people we do not know from the US have sent us cards and gifts and that has helped us tremendously to adjust to this new country.

We have no doubt of the calling that is on our lives because of the opposition we face.