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.