Querida Carrie, bendiciones. Disculpa que no he atendido tu correo como mereces. Estoy involucrado en las acciones de ayuda, consuelo y socorro para gente en la zona del terremoto. Necesitamos la solidaridad de todo el pueblo de Dios... hay mucha gente afectada. Apenas pueda te hago una nota. Nosotros estamos deseosos de tu venida... te esperamos entonces para marzo... necesito hacerte luego consultas sobre nuestro trámite con la LAM.
Dear Carrie, blessings. I'm sorry I haven't attended to your e-mail as you deserve. I am involved in the actions of helping, comforting, and getting aid to people in the earthquake zone. We need solidarity amongst the people of God... there are a lot of affected people. I am just barely able to write you a note. We really want you to be here.... we'll expect you then in March... I need to talk with you later about our connection with the LAM.
My favorite part about that was "estamos deseosos de tu venida." Literally, it means "we are desirous of your coming." What joy that brings me! What an uplifting thing to read! I would love to be there right now, helping and serving and whatever way I could. And to just have somebody say that is so meaningful. I love to be invited to be a part of things, to matter, to have people really want me with them. It may seem a little selfish, but I feel like it's just one of those intrinsic desires that we have. I think I would be going too far if I placed my self worth on that (and I know God is the only one who can truly satisfy my inmost desires). For me this is just yet another confirmation that I am supposed to go to Costa Rica. Oh, Lord, please let it be soon!!!
I have been following some of the earthquake's effects. It totally wiped out a chunk of an important "highway" (think winding state route that hasn't gotten any attention in 5-10 years) near a very touristy spot (the La Paz Waterfall Gardens), it destroyed a lot of strawberry crops, it was really close to a volcano so an even closer eye is on it now, and I was just reading that it also is affecting a major hydroelectric plant. There is a lot of dirty water from mudslides that happened, so that water can't be used to make hydroelectricity. Some 95% of the country runs on hydroelectric power, so this is a bit of a concern. They think they have things under control right now, but they may have to have scheduled "black outs" like they had when I was there in 2007 because the previous rainy season had been so dry. The joys of centralized government. (sigh)
At least I've been through the blackouts before. And as long as they're not too long, they're actually kind of fun. It's one of those forced no tv, no computer (forget that the laptop has a battery!) times that can really cause good conversation and bonding with others. And I'm bringing my headlamp, so I'll be ok.
FUNNY STORY!!!
Once Upon A Time.... I went to Guatemala on a missions trip. We were told that we were going to go camping in the jungle. My leaders were instructed to have everyone bring a sleeping bag, pillow, flashlight, etc. The leaders did not pass on such instructions. On purpose. We were going to bring down as many suitcases as we could FULL of donations and my beloved leaders wanted us to have more room for donations, so they figured we could make do without camping gear. I'd brought a tiny flashlight with the name of some drug on the side of it that my parents had given me. I'm not sure why I brought it. I don't think I was told to, but I thought it might come in handy. So, the day we were going to go camping we had a team meeting and the leaders told us the plan. One of them asked, "What do we have for flashlights?" Someone said, "I have a little one, but it's not very good." I offered, "I have a small one with a drug's name on it." And then, one of the guys spoke up enthusiastically, "I have an LED light on my keyring!!" "So," said my leader "we're all set for flashlights!" It was one of the most hilarious moments of the trip. So, if you're ever going to a 3rd world country, bring a flashlight! You never know when you're going to need it!
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