Yesterday I embarked on a two and a half week, 11 state journey. I now have one night and 4 states down! West Virginia and Maryland barely count, but I drove through them, and in accordance with Smith family tradition, honked as I drove past each state welcome sign.
After I finish this journey I will have seen all 5 of my Mommy's siblings in the last year. That is pretty impressive, considering how spread out they are! (NY, NC, NM, SC, Southeast Asia-I didn't go to SE Asia, they are here in the US right now). I will also get to meet my newest nephew, Isaiah, who was born October 9th. YAAY!!
So, I'm not sure how often I'll get to post while I'm here. I'm really looking forward to seeing so much extended family and getting some quality time with my brother's family and my parents as well.
I am curious to see how all this driving will go. I really only have one really long day planned (11.5 hours if all goes well). And I have a backup plan if I can't make it all the way. All the rest of my travels are broken up. 6 hours is the next longest, and that will be the push home. And I do have lots of books on tape to listen to. I know Mommy doesn't like them, but I am curious to see if I like them and can follow them.
Yesterday's 6 hour trip was painless and smooth. That was largely due to the fact I had a passenger though, my dear friend Chrissy. I am am her house now, writing this as she tries to sleep off the nasty post finals cold that has her in its nasty grip. But, I am very content, Mannheim Steamroller Christmas music is playing. It doesn't take much to please me. It is a sound of home for me, and I am really enjoying it.
The concept of spending Christmas away from my parents has been really hard. I won't see them till Dec 30th. I will be with my cousins and grandparents, which will be really nice. It will just be different. I am still learning to adjust. I know I'm going to have a lot more things to adjust to in the near future, and it won't be easy. But, I'm just learning to take it all one day at a time and keep telling myself, God is my Rock. New and different is ok.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Carrie's Cartwheel?
I don't really know who reads this blog. Feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me to let me know that you do. As far as I know I have 4 faithful readers-my parents (who count as one reader), one of my former youth leaders, my Cuban mom from the LAM, and another LAM missionary appointee. As you might know, I am a bit of a communication addict-especially in regards to e-mail.
Anyway, I am assuming that you, faithful reader get my Carrie Chronicles and my Carrie Cartwheels as well. Why on earth did I name my "serious" missionary prayer letter "Carrie's Cartwheel," you ask. Well, I'll give you the obvious reasons you're thinking of first. Cartwheel starts with C. So does Carrie. I, like Cookie Monster, have a serious affinity for the letter C (and cookies!!) Yaay! Alliteration!
Why else Cartwheel? Yes! Indeed, I was a gymnast for a few years. Doing cartwheels was one of my absolute favorite things to do on the floor in gymnastics. I was only starting to get the hang of a back handspring before we moved and my dream of being the next Shannon Miller with Bela Karolyi as my coach came to an abrupt end.
I will admit though, I had more than these things in mind when I chose that name. Cartwheels are neat because you do a complete circle with your body, yet at least one appendage is touching the earth at all times. (I know your body is always touching the ground in a somersault too, but cartwheels are harder and look way cooler). I like to think of my life as a long series of cartwheels. It is crazy: I go upside down, I am not always balanced perfectly on my feet, the motion seems to never stop. But, God is my Rock, and He is always under me, supporting me. And no matter what, part of me is always in contact with Him. Of course, this isn't a perfect metaphor. I just like that there is always a part of me being supported by God. And even though it may just be one hand and all my weight is resting on it, I can keep going in peace, knowing that the Ground under me can not be moved.
So, there you have it, dear reader. And if you have never gotten one of my Cartwheels, please let me know and I will do my best to remedy that as soon as possible. Megan-yours is coming. :-)
Anyway, I am assuming that you, faithful reader get my Carrie Chronicles and my Carrie Cartwheels as well. Why on earth did I name my "serious" missionary prayer letter "Carrie's Cartwheel," you ask. Well, I'll give you the obvious reasons you're thinking of first. Cartwheel starts with C. So does Carrie. I, like Cookie Monster, have a serious affinity for the letter C (and cookies!!) Yaay! Alliteration!
Why else Cartwheel? Yes! Indeed, I was a gymnast for a few years. Doing cartwheels was one of my absolute favorite things to do on the floor in gymnastics. I was only starting to get the hang of a back handspring before we moved and my dream of being the next Shannon Miller with Bela Karolyi as my coach came to an abrupt end.
I will admit though, I had more than these things in mind when I chose that name. Cartwheels are neat because you do a complete circle with your body, yet at least one appendage is touching the earth at all times. (I know your body is always touching the ground in a somersault too, but cartwheels are harder and look way cooler). I like to think of my life as a long series of cartwheels. It is crazy: I go upside down, I am not always balanced perfectly on my feet, the motion seems to never stop. But, God is my Rock, and He is always under me, supporting me. And no matter what, part of me is always in contact with Him. Of course, this isn't a perfect metaphor. I just like that there is always a part of me being supported by God. And even though it may just be one hand and all my weight is resting on it, I can keep going in peace, knowing that the Ground under me can not be moved.
So, there you have it, dear reader. And if you have never gotten one of my Cartwheels, please let me know and I will do my best to remedy that as soon as possible. Megan-yours is coming. :-)
Thursday, December 11, 2008
"Holp!!!"
Jajajajaja! That was my favorite line from Bobby, Trixie Belden’s little brother. It’s just cute. (And yes, I know I just laughed in Spanish, but if you haven’t figured out by now how crazy I am, just keep reading.) Trixie Belden was a member of a good gang that solved mysteries. If you are near my age and haven’t read her books, ask your parents and maybe they have heard of her. I highly recommend the whole series. It’s wholesome and exciting!
Anyway, this post I am going to make you laugh at me. Hopefully it won’t be too hard. I was just looking at old pictures from the team I went on a missions trip with to Guatemala. Ok, let’s rephrase that. I went on a missions trip to Guatemala my freshman year of college. More on that some other day. (I know I also owe you an explanation of my awesome Honduran family, the Vieras and more thoughts on abiding). Briefly, it was awesome, I got a new perspective on God and had the sweetest fellowship with other believers I have ever had in my life. We still hung out together after the trip and the pictures I was just looking at are from a dinner we had several months after our trip together. I am a noisy person and tend to interact with my computer (please understand that in the cleanest way possible). So, I saw this picture of us I hadn’t seen in a very long time and just started going “AawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwOhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!” or something like that. It’s a good thing I’m home alone!!
And then, after I stopped sounding like a bugling elk I had a very rapid thought process and a few things happened. I got a SWEET e-mail from Abuelito Jack, the current president of the Latin America Mission. If you ever want to become a missionary of the LAM I recommend you apply now (more like a few weeks ago might be better) so that you can go to orientation in January and meet him before he moves on. The new prez is coming in for the January orientation and I am excited about him, but I know Jack now and think the world of him. Maybe I’ll think the solar system of the new president once I meet him. That would be great! Anyway, Jack wants the Carrie Cartwheel I just sent out last night to be used as one of the examples for other new missionaries who need ideas for prayer letters. Wow! That’s so exciting! (If you would like a copy please e-mail me and I will send you one)
Then I thought about-well I’m not even sure. I think I wished I had someone to share that exciting news with. I don’t know, I have had so much change in my life-especially in the last 4 years it has just been INSANE!!! Seriously, if it weren’t for God, I would be in the loony bin or drunk on the streets...or somewhere scary and icky. But anyway, another reason why I am really excited to get to Costa Rica March 15 is that means I will be there in time for Semana Santa (Holy Week-the week before Easter). If I am there for Semana Santa that means I will have been there for Semana Santa 3 years in a row!!! That is amazing! That last time I was somewhere three years in a row for a holiday was from 2002-2004 when I spend Christmas (and Thanksgiving and the 4th of July) at home, all three years in a row. Mommy, correct me if I’m wrong. But ever since 2004 I have spent the holidays all over the place. There’s nothing wrong with that. Overall, it’s been fine and I’ve really enjoyed it. I’ve had some great opportunities to see people. But after so much change and traveling, I’m excited for some stability. So, there’s my “nother” reason for going back Costa Rica.
Yeah, so at some point I decided it would be nice if someone were here. I’ve spent most of the day by myself. Actually in the last 2 months, I’ve spent a lot of days mostly by myself. It gets kind of lonely after a while. But, it’s been fine. I have fun, and that way it’s ok for me to shriek at my computer like an elk or laugh at ridiculous e-mails or pictures.
Ok, I’m dancing around this, but I’ll just say it-I get lonely here. I’m weak. Sometimes I wish I were married just so I could have someone to share my day with. I am a verbal processor so if I don’t talk or journal through something, the thoughts don’t develop and nothing happens and that’s no good. There will be a lot of other bonuses (and plenty of challenges) that will go with getting married too, but I am looking forward to knowing and loving and becoming one with my life companion. That sounds selfish and I know God really is enough for me, but I’m just being honest and open right now. And don't worry, I'm not about to go nab any human with a y chromosome. I have a lot of waiting and growing to do.
But here is a tough thing about relationships. As I mentioned in my post about my birthday and Thanksgiving, there is nothing like family-those people who have known you your whole, entire life. Ok, maybe some of you have actually lived in the same house your whole life and so did all your neighbors and your whole town, but that is NOT the case for me. I have lived all over the place (though mostly in the general northeast of the country) and had to change friend circles as many times as you change partners in a square dance. Part of that is really cool. If I hadn’t lived in all those places I wouldn’t have experienced so many different things and met so many people. But, it’s hard to keep meeting new people and have them not know anything about your previous life. Obviously that is part of getting to know someone. But…I don’t feel like I’m explaining myself very well. Hopefully you’ll just “get it”. But I’ll give you a brief example. I made friends with this guy named Luciano this summer. He’s from Honduras and he’s awesome He’s also 37, so don’t get any ideas about anything on the romantic end. We had the same day off and had so much fun hiking together, eating together and working on his English. He is also a Christian and we had a lot of great conversations. God provided us with one another so that we wouldn’t totally shrivel up from lack of fellowship over the course of the season. We got to know each other pretty well and learned a fair bit about one another and made a lot of good memories together (like that ridiculously long day in which we went on a float trip, hiked 8+ miles, ate amazing pizza at Dornan’s, watched my friends go cliff diving in Phelp’s Lake in the southern end of the park and went up to Huckleberry Hotsprings at the northern end of the park). But, there just seems to be this barrier that exists because, well, he hasn’t known me my whole life. He knows me well, but there’s just a lot about me he doesn’t know. Maybe more of that would come with time. But, I don’t know. That might seem like a poor example because we grew up in different countries, but this is the case with other friends I have as well.
Hmm, this part of the post isn’t so funny. Oh well. You had to know I would settle down a little bit. ;-) or maybe not. Well, time to run. I have to go babysit and write on the backs of more prayer cards after the girlies go to sleep. Thanks for all the grace you extend to this loquita!!! (little crazy girl)
Anyway, this post I am going to make you laugh at me. Hopefully it won’t be too hard. I was just looking at old pictures from the team I went on a missions trip with to Guatemala. Ok, let’s rephrase that. I went on a missions trip to Guatemala my freshman year of college. More on that some other day. (I know I also owe you an explanation of my awesome Honduran family, the Vieras and more thoughts on abiding). Briefly, it was awesome, I got a new perspective on God and had the sweetest fellowship with other believers I have ever had in my life. We still hung out together after the trip and the pictures I was just looking at are from a dinner we had several months after our trip together. I am a noisy person and tend to interact with my computer (please understand that in the cleanest way possible). So, I saw this picture of us I hadn’t seen in a very long time and just started going “AawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwOhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!” or something like that. It’s a good thing I’m home alone!!
And then, after I stopped sounding like a bugling elk I had a very rapid thought process and a few things happened. I got a SWEET e-mail from Abuelito Jack, the current president of the Latin America Mission. If you ever want to become a missionary of the LAM I recommend you apply now (more like a few weeks ago might be better) so that you can go to orientation in January and meet him before he moves on. The new prez is coming in for the January orientation and I am excited about him, but I know Jack now and think the world of him. Maybe I’ll think the solar system of the new president once I meet him. That would be great! Anyway, Jack wants the Carrie Cartwheel I just sent out last night to be used as one of the examples for other new missionaries who need ideas for prayer letters. Wow! That’s so exciting! (If you would like a copy please e-mail me and I will send you one)
Then I thought about-well I’m not even sure. I think I wished I had someone to share that exciting news with. I don’t know, I have had so much change in my life-especially in the last 4 years it has just been INSANE!!! Seriously, if it weren’t for God, I would be in the loony bin or drunk on the streets...or somewhere scary and icky. But anyway, another reason why I am really excited to get to Costa Rica March 15 is that means I will be there in time for Semana Santa (Holy Week-the week before Easter). If I am there for Semana Santa that means I will have been there for Semana Santa 3 years in a row!!! That is amazing! That last time I was somewhere three years in a row for a holiday was from 2002-2004 when I spend Christmas (and Thanksgiving and the 4th of July) at home, all three years in a row. Mommy, correct me if I’m wrong. But ever since 2004 I have spent the holidays all over the place. There’s nothing wrong with that. Overall, it’s been fine and I’ve really enjoyed it. I’ve had some great opportunities to see people. But after so much change and traveling, I’m excited for some stability. So, there’s my “nother” reason for going back Costa Rica.
Yeah, so at some point I decided it would be nice if someone were here. I’ve spent most of the day by myself. Actually in the last 2 months, I’ve spent a lot of days mostly by myself. It gets kind of lonely after a while. But, it’s been fine. I have fun, and that way it’s ok for me to shriek at my computer like an elk or laugh at ridiculous e-mails or pictures.
Ok, I’m dancing around this, but I’ll just say it-I get lonely here. I’m weak. Sometimes I wish I were married just so I could have someone to share my day with. I am a verbal processor so if I don’t talk or journal through something, the thoughts don’t develop and nothing happens and that’s no good. There will be a lot of other bonuses (and plenty of challenges) that will go with getting married too, but I am looking forward to knowing and loving and becoming one with my life companion. That sounds selfish and I know God really is enough for me, but I’m just being honest and open right now. And don't worry, I'm not about to go nab any human with a y chromosome. I have a lot of waiting and growing to do.
But here is a tough thing about relationships. As I mentioned in my post about my birthday and Thanksgiving, there is nothing like family-those people who have known you your whole, entire life. Ok, maybe some of you have actually lived in the same house your whole life and so did all your neighbors and your whole town, but that is NOT the case for me. I have lived all over the place (though mostly in the general northeast of the country) and had to change friend circles as many times as you change partners in a square dance. Part of that is really cool. If I hadn’t lived in all those places I wouldn’t have experienced so many different things and met so many people. But, it’s hard to keep meeting new people and have them not know anything about your previous life. Obviously that is part of getting to know someone. But…I don’t feel like I’m explaining myself very well. Hopefully you’ll just “get it”. But I’ll give you a brief example. I made friends with this guy named Luciano this summer. He’s from Honduras and he’s awesome He’s also 37, so don’t get any ideas about anything on the romantic end. We had the same day off and had so much fun hiking together, eating together and working on his English. He is also a Christian and we had a lot of great conversations. God provided us with one another so that we wouldn’t totally shrivel up from lack of fellowship over the course of the season. We got to know each other pretty well and learned a fair bit about one another and made a lot of good memories together (like that ridiculously long day in which we went on a float trip, hiked 8+ miles, ate amazing pizza at Dornan’s, watched my friends go cliff diving in Phelp’s Lake in the southern end of the park and went up to Huckleberry Hotsprings at the northern end of the park). But, there just seems to be this barrier that exists because, well, he hasn’t known me my whole life. He knows me well, but there’s just a lot about me he doesn’t know. Maybe more of that would come with time. But, I don’t know. That might seem like a poor example because we grew up in different countries, but this is the case with other friends I have as well.
Hmm, this part of the post isn’t so funny. Oh well. You had to know I would settle down a little bit. ;-) or maybe not. Well, time to run. I have to go babysit and write on the backs of more prayer cards after the girlies go to sleep. Thanks for all the grace you extend to this loquita!!! (little crazy girl)
Monday, December 8, 2008
I Don't Know 'Bout You, But I'm Stayin' in the Vine!
I'd like to share a couple songs with you that have been particularly meaningful to me in these past couple months. The first one is the second verse of "Be Thou My Vision" (though the other verses are very significant for me as well) and the second is "The Solid Rock." Below you're find my thoughts on these songs and why I hold them so dearly.
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
The Solid Rock
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.
Refrain
On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
Refrain
His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
Refrain
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
Refrain
When all of my life is transient and I am living out of two suitcases and a backpack there is one thing I can cling to -Jesus Christ, The Solid Rock. When I don't have a clue about raising support and becoming a missionary, He is my Wisdom. He is always with me and will never, EVER let me go. Even though I get distracted by various things and just generally mess up, my Father still loves me and calls me His beloved daughter. His grace is sufficient for me and His power is made perfect in my weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). I am "faultless to stand before the throne." Wow. Praise the Lord!
I think both of these songs are so powerful to me because they have something in common that leaps out at me. To me, the lines "Thou in me dwelling and I with thee one" and "O may I then in Him be found" seem to come straight out of John 15, one of my absolute favorite Scripture passages. The whole theme of John 15 is abiding. Remaining in God, resting in Him. The Message puts it as "making our home in Him." That's a neat little twist. And over the last 2 years or so, abiding has been a theme for me. I want my relationship with Jesus Christ to be one of abiding. Yes, I want to serve, worship, give, reach out, and do all those other things Christians are supposed to do. But, if I'm not abiding, those things are empty and vain. In John 15, there is a sort of cycle/connection thing between abiding, loving, and obeying. We are to abide in the Vine and His love. How do we abide? We obey. How do we obey? We love. What does love lead to? Abiding.
So, "when all around my soul gives way," and things are stormy and unstable, I am again reminded to abide, to stay in the Vine. Maybe I'll share more thoughts on abiding soon, but this is long enough for now. "Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches, His banner over me is love..."
Oh, and a very random, silly, unrelated note about "The Solid Rock." It is the only place where I have EVER seen the word "whelmed" alone. One of my friends once showed me a quote "You can be overwhelmed and you can be underwhelmed, but can you ever just be whelmed?" I guess so! ("His oath, His covenant, His blood, support me in the whelming flood" Ok. That's all for now.
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
The Solid Rock
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.
Refrain
On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
Refrain
His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
Refrain
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
Refrain
When all of my life is transient and I am living out of two suitcases and a backpack there is one thing I can cling to -Jesus Christ, The Solid Rock. When I don't have a clue about raising support and becoming a missionary, He is my Wisdom. He is always with me and will never, EVER let me go. Even though I get distracted by various things and just generally mess up, my Father still loves me and calls me His beloved daughter. His grace is sufficient for me and His power is made perfect in my weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). I am "faultless to stand before the throne." Wow. Praise the Lord!
I think both of these songs are so powerful to me because they have something in common that leaps out at me. To me, the lines "Thou in me dwelling and I with thee one" and "O may I then in Him be found" seem to come straight out of John 15, one of my absolute favorite Scripture passages. The whole theme of John 15 is abiding. Remaining in God, resting in Him. The Message puts it as "making our home in Him." That's a neat little twist. And over the last 2 years or so, abiding has been a theme for me. I want my relationship with Jesus Christ to be one of abiding. Yes, I want to serve, worship, give, reach out, and do all those other things Christians are supposed to do. But, if I'm not abiding, those things are empty and vain. In John 15, there is a sort of cycle/connection thing between abiding, loving, and obeying. We are to abide in the Vine and His love. How do we abide? We obey. How do we obey? We love. What does love lead to? Abiding.
So, "when all around my soul gives way," and things are stormy and unstable, I am again reminded to abide, to stay in the Vine. Maybe I'll share more thoughts on abiding soon, but this is long enough for now. "Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches, His banner over me is love..."
Oh, and a very random, silly, unrelated note about "The Solid Rock." It is the only place where I have EVER seen the word "whelmed" alone. One of my friends once showed me a quote "You can be overwhelmed and you can be underwhelmed, but can you ever just be whelmed?" I guess so! ("His oath, His covenant, His blood, support me in the whelming flood" Ok. That's all for now.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
A Miraculous Event and a Few Other Blessings
Miraculous Event
I do my best to keep in touch with my Pastor down in Costa Rica, Rolando. But, I tend not to hear from him very often. I usually have to write him a second time before he actually responds, which is often comes 3-4 weeks after my first e-mail. In a way, it's understandable because he is the very busy senior pastor of a 500+ person church that is continually growing. But, it can also be a little frustrating. I want to communicate well with my readers and supporters so that you all can know what's going on down there. And if I don't have good communication with them, I can't have good communication with you.
So, Rolando had sent me this 48 page document all about Centro Cristiano Internacional Heredia: its strategic location, how it runs, descriptions of all the ministries, etc. I read it on Tuesday. After reading it, I had some questions and just needed some clarification to make sure I understood everything. And I had one question that was REALLY important to me. Seeing as how I'm going to be the coordinator of the missions actions of the church, I think it would be optimal for me to arrive before the annual missions conference. Last year it was in April and I wanted to know when it will be in 2009 so that I can set my deadline for arriving before then. In my long letter of questions I asked that he just answer that one question right away, and the rest could wait. (I am working on sending out more information about me going to Costa Rica and I really want to include the day I want to leave.) My e-mail went to Rolando Tuesday mid-afternoon. Yesterday (Wednesday) about mid-morning I received an e-mail from Rolando - and in it he answered ALL the questions I had asked!!!! I did not expect that!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!
So, the date for next year's missions conference has not yet been set, but he said it will be in late March or early April. Therefore, the deadline I am setting is MARCH 15, 2009! Please join me in prayer that all my support come in and all the little logistical things come together so that I can leave for Costa Rica on that date. This way I will definitely get there before the missions conference. I may even be able to help with some of the final details so that when I help plan it in the future I will have a clue of what to do.
Few Other Blessings
Despite the fact that I spend hours a day on my computer, I am not the most computer savvy person. Well, for this stuff that I am going to send out with more info about me going to Costa Rica, I want to include a pie chart of the breakdown of my support. A lot of people like to know where all the money goes, and I thought a chart would be the best way. Out of all the Microsoft Office programs, Excel and I probably have the most distant relationship. I expected it to take at least an hour for me to figure out the silly thing. Well, God gave Excel a phenomenal understanding of what I desired, because it only took me about 15-20 minutes to figure it out and have it be just the way I wanted it to be!!! He is SO good to me!!!
Yesterday the sun was out ALL DAY!! I was pumped with excitement about hearing from Rolando, setting my departure date, and the ease with which my pie chart was created. And to have relatively warm sunshine made me nigh manic!!! Unfortunately, the weather tends to affect my moods. And even more unfortunately, due to its poor geographic location, it is cloudy all the time in Grove City! So having a really sunny day is very impressive around here and truly a reason for rejoicing. But I know that whether the sun is shining or not, God is good!
I do my best to keep in touch with my Pastor down in Costa Rica, Rolando. But, I tend not to hear from him very often. I usually have to write him a second time before he actually responds, which is often comes 3-4 weeks after my first e-mail. In a way, it's understandable because he is the very busy senior pastor of a 500+ person church that is continually growing. But, it can also be a little frustrating. I want to communicate well with my readers and supporters so that you all can know what's going on down there. And if I don't have good communication with them, I can't have good communication with you.
So, Rolando had sent me this 48 page document all about Centro Cristiano Internacional Heredia: its strategic location, how it runs, descriptions of all the ministries, etc. I read it on Tuesday. After reading it, I had some questions and just needed some clarification to make sure I understood everything. And I had one question that was REALLY important to me. Seeing as how I'm going to be the coordinator of the missions actions of the church, I think it would be optimal for me to arrive before the annual missions conference. Last year it was in April and I wanted to know when it will be in 2009 so that I can set my deadline for arriving before then. In my long letter of questions I asked that he just answer that one question right away, and the rest could wait. (I am working on sending out more information about me going to Costa Rica and I really want to include the day I want to leave.) My e-mail went to Rolando Tuesday mid-afternoon. Yesterday (Wednesday) about mid-morning I received an e-mail from Rolando - and in it he answered ALL the questions I had asked!!!! I did not expect that!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!
So, the date for next year's missions conference has not yet been set, but he said it will be in late March or early April. Therefore, the deadline I am setting is MARCH 15, 2009! Please join me in prayer that all my support come in and all the little logistical things come together so that I can leave for Costa Rica on that date. This way I will definitely get there before the missions conference. I may even be able to help with some of the final details so that when I help plan it in the future I will have a clue of what to do.
Few Other Blessings
Despite the fact that I spend hours a day on my computer, I am not the most computer savvy person. Well, for this stuff that I am going to send out with more info about me going to Costa Rica, I want to include a pie chart of the breakdown of my support. A lot of people like to know where all the money goes, and I thought a chart would be the best way. Out of all the Microsoft Office programs, Excel and I probably have the most distant relationship. I expected it to take at least an hour for me to figure out the silly thing. Well, God gave Excel a phenomenal understanding of what I desired, because it only took me about 15-20 minutes to figure it out and have it be just the way I wanted it to be!!! He is SO good to me!!!
Yesterday the sun was out ALL DAY!! I was pumped with excitement about hearing from Rolando, setting my departure date, and the ease with which my pie chart was created. And to have relatively warm sunshine made me nigh manic!!! Unfortunately, the weather tends to affect my moods. And even more unfortunately, due to its poor geographic location, it is cloudy all the time in Grove City! So having a really sunny day is very impressive around here and truly a reason for rejoicing. But I know that whether the sun is shining or not, God is good!
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