Goats and Parties

So, apparently, I am the new expert on goats.  If you have a question regarding birth and/or the proper care of abscesses and infections, give me a call, write me a letter, send a shout-out.  This may sound like I’m exaggerating but I’m serious this time folks.  My new job for the next, oh, month or so is to be chief caretaker of our goat Nifty and co-chief of our other (pregnant) goat Lady.  The humor God has in store for me!

This morning, Ginna—our animal and garden expert here at the house—left for Michigan for an internship for 2 months.  That means we have to cover for her while she’s away.  Nifty, the male goat who is super friendly and cuddly, has an abscess on his neck that we are going to get taken care of tomorrow.  And since one of my cats in the past had the same thing and I was the one to take care of it, that automatically promotes me to the expert level.  So now it’s my job to nurse him back to health.  Never mind that goats and cats are very different or anything… :)  Also, the other goat Lady is pregnant and is going to have her baby very soon.  So, late last night, Ginna gave the whole house a PowerPoint presentation on goat births and what to do if there are complications.  Too much information, let me tell you.  If you’re curious as well, there are various videos on Youtube of goats giving birth.  It’s enough to give you nightmares…  But I am confident to say I feel pretty equipped to handle the birth when it comes.  Well, as long as the PowerPoint is nearby.  And I’m going to need to be ready because apparently I have the second smallest hands here so, if anything goes wrong and Luli (who has the smallest hands) isn’t here, I’ll need to insert my hand and either turn the baby around or flip it or whatever.  Yippee.  Please pray that every goes AMAZING and no human intervention be needed.

Tomorrow is also the 1^st of May, a national holiday here in Costa Rica.  It is also the same day we are going to have our first big promotional event for our project Bola Bola.  And, coincidentally, the soccer court we are trying to fix up is located in the Primero de Mayo barrio, which translates to “the 1^st of May neighborhood.”  So we’re having a big party on the 1^st of May for the 1^st of May community—how cool is that?!  This event is going to be primarily run by the kids (we’ll be there to help out and make sure things run smoothly) and will be complete with activities like face painting, dance and acting performances, team challenges, and group sports.  Last night, a big group of us (15 kids in all) went door to door handling out flyers and advertising for the event.  It was great to see the kids rush from house to house in the rain passing out the flyers we made; it really showed their level of commitment to this project because normally in this culture, when the rain comes, everyone stops what they’re doing and no one goes outside.  Not these kids though!  With a couple of umbrellas and a few rain jackets, we were all set to go.  Now we just have to hope that people will be interested in coming.  But, if all things go according to plan—a.k.a. if the kids remember to bring their stuff and show up on time—it should be a wonderful day for the entire family. 

And my brother and sister and two of my friends are coming in less than a week!!  Please pray that I can focus on what needs to get done first before they come (as you can tell, I’m having a hard time keeping my mind on the present) :)  Stay tuned!

Smell the Roses

As I sit here, the song Sail by Awolnation plays throughout the house (courtesy of your truly), a breeze drifts in through the many open windows, the sun shines brightly outside, and the smell of cooking beans makes my stomach rumble.  It is a beautiful day.

I have many things to be thankful for this week, and many are blessings that I could easily overlook if I didn’t slow down and “smell the roses” so to speak.  The beautiful weather.  Fresh food in the fridge.  Consistent internet.  Cuddling with Maya.  A roof above my head.  Flushing toilets.  A piano, guitar, ukulele.  Great company.  I could go on and on about things that I take for granted every day.  Today is a day for me to slow down and recognize them.

Meal time at Casa Adobe

Sunday morning, Tali and I woke up at 5 in the morning and went outside to paint.  There are wood panels surrounding our keyhole garden and Ginna wants each member of Casa Adobe to paint their own panel, to bring a little bit of color and life to the otherwise dull brown wood planks.  Like the crazy people we are, Tali and I decided to wake up long before it would be hot out and enjoy the early morning light by painting.  It sounds silly, I know.  Especially for me.  But I loved it!  Though I am no artist, I am proud of what I painted.  Maybe if I’m brave enough, I’ll take a picture and share it with you :)

(Left to right) Tali, Izayana, Susi, Ashly, Sharon, Kendall

The project Bola Bola is going great—kids are participating, things are getting done, meetings are happening, the community is helping.  I couldn’t be happier.  The kids’ attention spans and capacity for remembering things is challenged every day and, though sometimes I get frustrated, I see improvement.  This is so amazing.  I am just so proud of them for committing to something that’s challenging and requires them to dedicate time and energy to doing things that sometimes are not so fun.  To keep their spirits high and their hearts a pumping, we are planning occasional celebrations:  a movie night, a pizza party, a soccer tournament, etc.  After all this hard work, we deserve to have a little fun, right?

I have to admit though, working with kids day in and day out is tiring.  By the end of the day I am exhausted.  I want to quit sometimes, throw in the towel, walk away, give up.  But God has provided me with a surprise: my very own cheerleading team.  The girls here at the house—Luli, Guiss, and Tali—have not only been working on the project with me but also have been pushing me along, encouraging me when I feel like my head is going to explode.  I couldn’t keep going if it weren’t for their gentle (or not so gentle) nudges.  Also, Ginna, Chabe and Daniela (the other girls who live here) are always making me a cup of tea or massaging my shoulders or something nice like that, anything to help me out.  I just don’t know what to do with all this love!  I feel embarrassed at such a showering of attention but secretly I enjoy it and wouldn’t have it any other way.  With such a community of love and support, I feel like I can do anything.

I just want to end by saying thanks.  Thanks to everyone for everything.  I can’t name you all here—there’s simply not enough room.  But know that I truly do appreciate every moment of encouragement, every word of prayer, every smile, every hug, every joke, every laugh.  You are my community, my family.  I wouldn’t be who I am or where I am without all of you.  So thank you!  Stay tuned :)

What's the Point?

I close my eyes, quiet my mind, and do something crazy—I have a conversation with the empty air in front of me.  Actually, it’s more of a monologue.  The air doesn’t talk back.  In fact, I’m quite alone.  If anyone walked in on this little personal performance, I’d be admitted for sure.

So, in case you missed it, I was describing above what prayer looks like from an outsider’s perspective.  In their eyes, prayer is essentially a long, boring, pointless activity.  No one is going to listen let alone respond to your prayer because THERE IS NO ONE THERE.  As a Christian, I know this is not the case.  God hears and answers.  But sometimes it may not feel this way.  Sometimes, it does feel like I’m talking into thin air.  This begs the question: why pray?

This past week, prayer has been not only on my mind but has also been the center of many conversations here at the house.  What is the point of prayer?  How often should you pray?  How can you pray a good prayer?  Does it work?  These questions permeate our thoughts, questions that are sometimes not that easy to answer.  How do you explain logically something that is thoroughly based on faith?  The answer is: you can’t.  “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1).”  Faith is funny like that.  You either believe or you don’t.  There’s really no middle ground.  Faith and prayer go hand in hand—without the one you cannot have the other. 

So, what does the Bible reveal about prayer?  Well, there are enough sermons out there to explain that in detail so I won’t waste time here.  But I do believe that, taking all the verses about prayer into account, there is a common theme, a thread that connects all of them together: prayer is a conversation.  I said it above: prayer can seem like a monologue.  But, in reality, prayer is a dialogue and we must remember that in our prayers.  Prayer serves no purpose if we do all the talking—it would be like sending 100 text messages to your friend but never waiting for a text back.  That, my friend, is what we call a diva.  God doesn’t want divas.  He wants his children to come to him, bringing Him their concerns and thanksgivings and then listening to the peace and love he gives us back. 

Prayer also needs to be very personal and, in a sense, tailored to every minute.  Imagine if you only said four sentences a day to your family, the same ones day after day: “Good morning.  How are you today?  I’m doing fine, thank you.  I hope you have a great day.”  And that’s it.  Nothing more, nothing less.  The result: you wouldn’t have much of a relationship, would you?  Prayer cannot be the same way.  We cannot recite the same prayer every day and expect it that to be enough.  Don’t get me wrong, saying prayers like the Lord’s Prayer is not a bad thing.  It is a bad thing when we start reciting it without the words penetrating our hearts and minds.  A prayer told from the mind and not from the heart, filled only with words but not with love, is like a resounding gong, a clanging cymbal, essentially a bunch of pointless noise.  God gave us the incredible opportunity to speak with him in prayer—let us not become lazy and “abuse” this gift. 

I also believe prayer to be communal, a way of bringing brothers and sisters in Christ closer together.  God asks us to intercede on behalf of others.  He wants us to remember that we’re not the only ones in this world, in His world, and praying for others is an excellent reminder to us.  Praying for others, with others, brings our praises and sufferings into the light and allows us to share in both the joy and in the burdens others carry.  This past month, Casa Adobe has been regularly praying together in the mornings, beginning first with a short prayer Ruth wrote and then finishing with personal additions.  I would just like to share our communal prayer, a prayer I feel both humbles our human selves to the power and sovereignty of God but also establishes us as his children and followers here on earth.

“Our Father, Community-of-Love,

We begin this new day recognizing your presence

In the beatings of our hearts,

In the freshness of the morning,

In the song of all of Creation.

As a part of it, we groan inwardly as we wait for your re-creation.

We need your forgiveness.

We confess your sovereignty over all that we are and all that we have.

Extend to us your grace

That we may live out today in the light of that confession

Loving as you love,

Serving as you serve.

Make us instruments of your peace,

Make us workers for your justice.

Your Kingdom come.

Your will be done

In our lives,

In Casa Adobe,

In Santa Rosa,

In Costa Rica,

In your world.

May the words of our mouths

And the meditations of our hearts

Be pleasing to you, oh Lord!

Amen.”

To close, I would just like to share some prayer requests on my behalf:  please continue to pray for our Bola Bola soccer court project with the kids; please pray for a fellow community member here—Damaris—as she is considering leaving due to an incident that happened here (we’re still trying to sort it out); please pray for safety as Ruth, Jim, and Rachel are traveling; and please pray for me as I will be left “in charge” while Ruth and Jim are away for the next 2 weeks.  Thank you so much for supporting me, for being a community with which I can share both my joys and my sufferings.  The phrase “I love you all” is not enough.  But know that I do.  Thank you again and stay tuned!

I'll Meet You at the Next Meeting

I’ve decided I never want to be the president of an organization, general of an army, the leader of a nation, the big man (or woman) on top—there is just way too many meetings with those jobs.  Much better, put me on the ground, in the field, on the streets doing something with my hands and feet—teaching, learning, making, growing.  But, alas, God has other plans for me this month.

My week has been booked with meetings nearly every evening, meetings with our kids for the soccer court project Bola Bola.  As I mentioned in a previous post, there are three work committees (promotion, donations, and governmental support) that meet weekly and a coordination team that meets bi-weekly.  Guiss, Rachel and I are “in charge” of one group each as well as meet with the coordination team—this way we are all involved but don’t have to be in charge of every aspect of the different groups.  However, Rachel is gone this month so Guiss and I have to cover her team.  I know, this sounds like no big deal.  Just one more meeting a week, you may say.  Lies.  Her team essentially is a team to set up meetings with governmental bodies each week to gain permission and support.  So it’s a meeting to make more meetings.  Let’s just say I can’t wait until Rachel is back in the country again because I miss her so much :)  And the whole meeting thing wouldn’t be so terribly bad, if everyone showed up and did what they were supposed to do that is… it’s hard to get anything done when kids skip meetings, when governmental representatives cancel meetings last second, and when people just don’t follow through. My daily frustration and disappointment are apparent… but there is only so much I can do.  I can’t make anyone do anything.  I can only be there to encourage and to push and to support and I fear at this point it’s an uphill battle.  But I shall grit my teeth, put that smile back on, and face this battlefield head on.

The kids I work with are great, don’t get me wrong :)  But they are kids.  Learning, growing, making mistakes, missing meetings, goofing around, and not paying attention are all part of the job description.  As you can probably tell, my week has been a long and arduous one, filled with challenges and “failures”.  As such, my faith has been tested daily, forcing me to either rely fully on the strength and wisdom of God or attempt to do it all myself.  Thankfully, God is a patient and loving God who never leaves me when I stray and always catches me when I stumble.  Each and every morning he sends me a gentle reminder of His Presence through my devotions, that even before I begin my day He is there beside me.  So no matter what battlefield or warzone I find myself in on that day, He is already there working with me through it.  What a comfort and joy it is to know that I don’t have to rely on my weak and fallible self!  To me, it is no wonder that people without faith live such depressing and shallow lives—they place too much faith in themselves and, when they are disappointed by their own failures and missteps, depression and apathy become instant companions.  I thank God that He has spared me from such torture.

I would like to close by sharing the words of Sarah Young once again, from the devotional for April 5 in Jesus Calling:

“Let Me fill you with my Love, Joy, and Peace.  These are Glory-gifts, flowing from my living Presence.  Though you are an earthen vessel, I designed you to be filled with heavenly contents.  Your weakness is not a deterrent to being filled with My Spirit; on the contrary, it provides an opportunity for My Power to shine forth more brightly.

As you go through this day, trust Me to provide the strength that you need moment by moment.  Don’t waste energy wondering whether you are adequate for today’s journey.  My Spirit within you is more than sufficient to handle whatever this day may bring.  That is the basis for your confidence!  In quietness (spending time alone with Me), and confident trust (relying on My sufficiency) is your strength.”

I ask that you please pray for me this week: that I rely on God and on His Strength, for my patience and understanding to be in abundance, and that I can find joy despite the many challenges.  Thank you for all your support and stay tuned until next time!

Semana Santa

My first real vacation since I’ve been here and I still ended up leading—you know me, I can’t just say no J 



Luli and I by the pool

Last week I was blessed to be able to travel with the Padilla DeBorst family (that’s right, just Jim, Ruth, Tali, Luli and me) to a spiritual retreat in Pochomil, Nicaragua.  While we had quite the border experience (we got stuck there for 4 hours waiting for them to approve our car to cross the border), the trip itself was fun, if a bit awkward at first with me being the only non-member of the family… but I got over it thankfully J  The hotel we stayed at in Pochomil was beautiful, right on the beach, complete with a pool, a beach volleyball court, a bar, and plenty of hammocks.  And I got to room with just Tali and Luli—it was like a sleepover every night!  This retreat is for CRWM missionaries and their families who are living in Central America to come and hang out, study God’s word, and in general have a good time.  This year’s speaker was the head pastor, Mario Vega, from Elim church in El Salvador, the biggest church in that country and supposedly the second biggest in the world.  It truly was a treat to hear his story and learn from his experiences.  I also enjoyed immensely the time I had meeting the other missionaries and reuniting with my friends from El Salvador—I missed them so much! 


View from our bedroom window

One evening, Luli and I led the hymn sing (I played the ukulele) and it turned out beautifully despite the mistakes that we made—it always seems to turn out that way, doesn’t it?  Another night, Luli and I once again led an event, this time the fun night.  We were the judges and encouraged everyone (on penalty of losing and not getting ice cream) to participate in several fun and sometimes embarrassing games.  It was a hoot!  So, I didn’t have much free time what with all the planning and organizing but it was worth it.  In all, we were there for four days, long enough for me in the heat but way too short of a time to be with friends.

 

On the way back from Nicaragua, the family and I stopped in Monteverde, Costa Rica for a few days of true vacation.  What a change in climate!  Whereas in Pochomil the temperatures were pushing 90 every day, in was chilly and misty in Monteverde.  Monteverde (literally “Green Mountain”) is a national park and is a protected cloud rainforest.  This means that it has all the wildlife and nature of a rainforest, but is higher up in altitude so it’s generally cold.  Way cool! 
One afternoon, Luli and I went horseback riding to a coffee plantation and let me tell you, the coffee tastes wonderful.  And yes, my butt is still sore from that ride.  Before dinner one evening Tali pointed up in a tree and, before my very eyes, there were monkeys swinging from the branches.  How cool is that?!  The girls were so surprised that this was my first experience seeing monkeys in the wild.  I literally pointed to myself and said, “Uh guys, I grew up in MICHIGAN, remember?”  Jim had a good laugh at that one.  Another day we all went on a hike through one of the parks (you can rent mud boots for $2—yeah baby!) and I got to see beautiful trees and flowers and birds and insects (including a very pretty centipede and the gorgeous blue Morpho butterfly) all the while being lightly rained on.  It was amazing!  God is so good.  I also found out during this trip that I am randomly allergic to pineapples now.  I wasn’t before but now I am.  Who knew?  This trip was a great bonding experience for all of us, for me to see Jim and Ruth outside of the office and more relaxed than I have ever seen them, and I am so incredibly thankful to have been a part of it.

I need to also mention a few things about Semana Santa, or Holy Week, since it’s seriously the biggest holiday here in Central America.  For Holy Week, everyone gets off of work and school and basically hits the beaches.  I was told that more people die during Holy Week than any other time due to car accidents and drowning incidents—yes, it’s that crazy.  Since I was on vacation, I didn’t get to directly participate in any Easter event, but I did hear/see about several traditions.  For example, I briefly saw someone pulling a bull out of a catholic church on the day before Palm Sunday, all decorated and such.  I’m not sure what it was for, but by the large crowd that circled the bull, I’m sure it was something important.  We also passed by a tree where a dummy was hanging from a rope by its neck—Jim explained to me that this is the “Hanging of Judas”, another tradition that people do during Semana Santa.  With Mass every day, and the beaches packed with families and friends, and loud music playing from every corner, the whole week felt like a festival.  I highly recommend you experience Central American Semana Santa once in your life—you’ll never forget it.

Before I end, I would just like to ask for your prayers for this month especially.  Rachel has left to visit with her family for the month of April, a huge blessing for her.  This means, however, that Guiss and I are loaded with more responsibilities with this project to fix the soccer court.  I’ll admit, this is making me a bit stressed.  Ok, a lot stressed.  And not only that but both Jim and Ruth will be traveling this month, leaving me in charge of the office/household for a bit.  I know I won’t do it alone but it is still a daunting task to me.  Please pray for peace and confidence to get through the challenges I’ll face.  Thank you and stay tuned!