Tico Tuesday, June 30th

Happy Tuesday to you all!
This week includes another chapter regarding the churches in Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí that have been having trouble. (See the the May 19th Tico Tuesday entry) Minor has been working with these churches for 2 months now and progress has been made, but there is still much left to be done. This past weekend 2 men from the States that helped found these churches came down to visit and touch base again with Minor and the churches. We had breakfast together at Denny's here the day they left. (and boy is Denny's here expensive!!!)(Left to Right Stacy, Pastor Rolando, Pastor Minor, Sandy)

I think the whole collaboration between them, us, and the churches in Puerto Viejo is a wonderful thing. Please continue to pray for all the parties involved, especially the churches that are still in such great need of structure and healthy teachings.
A more detailed update is on the blog http://smithcj1.blogspot.com/

Thanks for your interest! A few other churches have approached Minor, asking him for assistance and training. There is a huge need for good training for pastors in the campo!! Many of them have multiple churches because everyone is so poor there is no way they could live off the offerings of one church alone. And many of these pastors have received little or no theological training. So, right now we are in the process of forming a federation of churches that will lean on one another and be under the covering of SLIM (Spanish Language International Missions - the organization that Stacy founded). Minor is going to continue as supervisor of the federation and will continue to offer his support to these churches and to strengthen and teach them. The church of La Esperanza is likely not going to join the federation, at least probably not with the man that is serving as pastor right now. There have been some discouraging things there. But, God is in control and will work things out according to His good plan and purpose.
Please continue to keep praying for these churches and pastors! Thanks!

Help?

I've decided. Help is a lame word. It is overused, undervalued and should probably just be removed from our vocabulary except for occasions when it would be exclaimed, as in "HELP!!!" Like you are carrying your grandmother's china set and 3 teacups are about to fall and shatter into 974 little pieces or you are hanging on to the side of a burning building with your fingernails and can't hold on much longer. But, I'm thinking about it-we say "I'd like to help," "Let me know if you need any help," "Can you help me?" etc. But, I've learned that most of the time when someone offers their help, they have the nicest intentions in the world, but they do not commit themselves to actually doing anything. You rarely hear "How can I help?" or "Tell me what I can do to help you out." Those are also acceptable uses. But if we're going to eliminate "help" from the vocabulary (which I think could do us a lot of good) we should use cooler words that are more powerful/specific, like contribute, give, do, assist, serve, bless, etc.
And "help" DEFINITELY should not ever be used in reference to anything with God. We certainly can do nothing to help Him (He chooses to use us-we just have to let Him), and He can't help us. If we ever try to do anything on our own we are doomed to fail (As one of the confessions for daily prayer reads "and there is no health in us"). So, even with God's "help," it's not possible for us to do anything. The replacement word there would be GRACE. With God's grace, things are indeed possible.
So there you have my weird little rant. If you really desire to get involved and do something constructive with your life to edify others, do it. I strongly encourage that. But don't just say empty things, even if they are nice. This goes for me too!!

Tico Tuesday, June 23rd

This past Thursday my cousins and I got the chance to be triplets for the last time while we were all single. We have always been triplets-my identical twin cousins were born 24 days before me, so our Grandma has always made us all matching nighties, dresses and other outfits. My aunt (the twins' mom) has also gotten us matching dresses and tops over the years. It has been so fun-especially since I have never had sisters. In the picture you should be able to tell what the triplet outfit is. Also in the picture are my cousins (the younger siblings of the twins) and a good friend of the family.As you might remember, I was in the States for Courtney's wedding. More stories about that on the blog! http://smithcj1.blogspot.com/
Have a blessed rest of the week!
Carrie


The wedding festivities were wonderful. Friday we had a bridal luncheon with 21 people (also the number of china plates Aunt Debbie has). We switched the dining room furniture with the living room furniture-which was a fascinating change a lot of us actually really liked. We had yummy food and had a lovely time together. Friday night was the rehearsal dinner, and Saturday was the BIG day. I had the honor of being the guest book attendant, which was really fun. I got to see and meet a lot of people I might not have gotten to run into otherwise. I have always been amazed at how involved I have gotten in my cousins' lives. I have met so many of their friends, fellow church members, and family members from my Aunt Debbie's side (Aunt Debbie is one of the two amazing ladies that actually got to marry in to the Gates family of which I am VERY proud to be a part).
The wedding itself was very simple and traditional. But it was a nice ceremony. Christianne, Chelsea, and Caroline (all siblings of Courtney) were the bridesmaids and looked gorgeous. The poor ring bearer's tux was WAY too small-his trousers were like knickers on him and his mom had to make an emergency Walmart run with him to find him some pants and shoes that would fit him. He was a cutie. And my little cousin Jennifer was the flower girl. She was so adorable!
The reception had a yummy chocolate fountain and live music by Jenny and Tyler-cousins on the other side of the family. A lot of my aunts and uncles and cousins had come, so it was great to see them. But out of all the people that came for the wedding I must confess I was most excited to see my brother Zach and my mom. It was REALLY good to see them! I hadn't seen Zach in a year and I hadn't seen Mommy since mid-January.
Oh-and I got to be part of the crew that decorated the getaway car. That was fun. We filled it with balloons, crepe paper, and yes, Scripture. We used sticky notes and put one word per note and stuck them all over the car. It was great. We also wrapped the outside of the car with crepe paper and had some coming out the trunk. The bride and groom insisted on not having anything sticky or dirty on the outside of the car so we used saran wrap and painted on top of that. Where there's a will, there's a way.
I'd write more, but I somehow managed to contract some kind of illness-fluish thing while in the States and I need to take a rest. Hopefully soon I'll write more about the trip and about memories with my cousins.

Tico Tuesday, June 16th

Announcing, the Virtual Tour of the Viera House! You can watch the slideshow on the side panel of my blog (http://smithcj1.blogspot.com/), but the pictures are small, so I highly recommend clicking on one so it will take you to my Picasa thingy where you can see the pictures better and read all the comments I made on them. If I had a better internet connection and were genius enough to just give you a link straight there I would. But this makes you go to my blog, which has lots of other interesting things to read, so I'm ok with that.

Side note: I'm flying to the States tomorrow for my cousin's wedding. Please pray for safe travels and sanity for all involved and for God to bless our time together catching up and celebrating the unity of Courtney and Jonathan. And Praise God I get to see my Mommy and one of my brothers!!!


Thanks for coming! Please let me know what you think of the slideshow! You are welcome at my (the Viera's) house anytime! The pictures have enough comments on them so I won't say anything else here other than CLICK ON A PICTURE!
Just kidding-I think I might do a virtual tour of my church next-what do you think?

9/11

I know September 11^th is months away and the September 11^th that we all think of happened years ago, but I have a few thoughts I'd like to share. In the last couple months here in Costa Rica, I've seen multiple fotos, short videos and other media that show the Twin Towers (whole, burning, and an actual recording of the second plane crashing). And I must confess, it's been weird. I won't go as far to say that it is disturbing, but it's close. Costa Rica is obviously not the US. It was not affected near as much as the US was by 9/11 and it is more of a removed situation, so I don't think it affects them quite as much. (Think for a second-how much do we react when something terrible happens in another country? If it's a natural disaster we send money and people to try to help-and whether or not our help actually helps is a road I'm not going down- but most of us are not personally affected by the tragedy. And a week later when it's no longer in the headlines of the news, we completely forget about it.) I think we like to think it was a global tragedy, and I think there is a good argument for that, but it was clearly most tragic for our nation.

9/11 is now a nigh sacred day in the US. It is always going to be a remembrance of that fateful day in 2001. I'm pretty sure we can all still remember exactly where we were and what we were doing. I was in the basement hall of Edward Little High School (near the bathrooms by the cafeteria) on my way up to chemistry class. My friend Joel told me that planes had crashed into the Twin Towers and I thought he was joking. Then my friends Michelle and Alice came behind him and told me the same thing and I remember getting a sinking feeling in my stomach. It was awful.

That was now almost 8 years ago. If you were to ask me (especially before I came to Costa Rica), I would say we have pretty much healed and recovered from that day. Life has definitely gone on. I think it's fine and good to remember it, though not necessary to make it as sacred as some might-and I have no condemnation for those that don't do much to commemorate the day. But I was surprised at how raw I felt when I saw those images again. I don't even know anyone who died or did anything heroic. Maybe it was just that I was seeing history from my country while in another country and it struck a patriotic chord in me. But, visual things tend to have a greater effect over us than things we just hear. And we aren't at the point (if there is even a point we can ever get to) where we can see those images and not feel something sear our hearts. I don't know though...maybe I'm being an emotional woman. Maybe not. Just writing this is making images of the attacks go through my mind again and sending the shivers down my spine.

So, there are some thoughts for you from this girl who is afar. This post feels like a bit of a downer since it's serious. But, I guess you know I really do have some serious thoughts and I feel comfortable sharing with you here. Thanks for reading!

Tico Tuesday, June 9

Today I just want to share a little portrait of life with you. As you may recall from previous e-mails, it's rainy season here in Costa Rica. We happen to have these gorgeous pink and red roses in front of the house and they just look lovely with rain droplets on them. You can't see them quite so well in this picture

(head to the blog for a close up and a couple other portraits of life here http://smithcj1.blogspot.com/), but I chose to send this one to you all because you can also see what my house looks like. The house (condo) in the background isn't mine because I took the picture from my front yard. But, it's basically a cookie cutter neighborhood, so almost all the houses are identical. So, now you at least have an idea of what my house looks like. Someday I'm going to take a lot of pictures and give you a virtual tour of my house. I'll let you know when it's done!
Have a blessed week!

Love,

Carrie

So our front yard (which is actually a space that is about 6ft x 6ft, so there's nothing there but pretty plants and a wee bit of grass to fill in the holes) has the beautiful roses. But the backyard is full of life too. Last week while I was bouncing on my trampoline I was looking out into the yard. I'd noticed a bird's nest before in between a drainpipish sort of thing and the roof and lo and behold I saw mommy and daddy birdies bringing food and baby birdy heads sticking up and opening their little beaks as

wide as craters to get food. One especially was elongating his neck so much I couldn't believe his head stayed connected to the rest of his body and retracted back to a normal form. They are so precious. I am watching them again this week and it is so fun to that they are already bigger and have more feathers.

I can distinguish now that there are three birdy heads that stick up from the nest, begging for food. Unfortunately you can see things very well in the picture, but at least you know what to look for.
The last little thing I want to share today is of a fun sight I saw out the front window of church last week. I looked outside and there on the other side of the street was a chicken, strutting along like anybody. It was one of those “when in Costa” kind of moments. I'm sure there are a lot of other places in the world where seeing a chicken on the side of the street is an everyday occurrence, and I'm sure it even happens in some areas of the States (though not where I have ever lived). But, it was just a funny moment for me and a reminder that I am in another world-one that I haven't grown up in and don't completely understand. Well, I'm not sure I can say I completely understand life in the States either, but I think you get my drift.

Thanks for reading and taking interest in my life!

Those Moments that Make it All Worth It

It's really hard to believe that my first three months in Costa Rica are almost over. Time has absolutely FLOWN by! Yes, but also in my twisted perception of time it feels like I've been here for so much longer than 3 months! A lot has happened, to say the least. I've had a lot of fun and am enjoying growing old relationships that started 2 years ago when I was a student here. I've also really enjoyed getting to know some new people too and God is really blessing that.
I've also run into a lot of challenges and frustrations. At first, work was really hard. It's getting better, but I still let my feathers get ruffled more than necessary when things aren't as I wish they could and think they should be. And of course there is sometimes that little wondering voice that tells me that I'm young and inexperienced and that I don't know what I'm doing and that there's no way I can ever accomplish anything here. He needs to get squished more. He does have a couple good points though-I myself can't do anything here. But God can. And in spite of my weaknesses and "disadvantages" or whatever you wish to call them, God's grace is enough for me. He has brought me here. He has a purpose for me, and he's going to complete it (and I'm really hoping it's more than just the husband that all the ladies at Wednesday morning prayer are praying about, though I think we all know I'm not opposed to Horace-as my mother calls him- stepping into my life at some point in the next 3 years).
Anyway, I've been meeting individually with all the people that signed up to be on the "missions team" during the Missions Conference a couple weeks ago. God has really been blessing those meetings and teaching me a lot from each person. Last night's was especially sweet. Thursday and Friday were frustrating for various reasons and I let the frustration get to me more than I should have. Anyway, I met with Giselle and asked her basically the same questions I'm asking everyone. When I asked her "What can I do to serve you as an individual and also to serve the church as a whole?" she said "Nothing. I just need you to be you. I've been wanting to get involved in missions and have been praying and asking God to put someone in my path that can help me with that. And then you came. You have already been such a blessing to me. You just need to keep being you. It is obvious that Christ is first in your life, etc. etc. etc." I was floored. I love how God uses us when when we don't even realize it, because then we can't get in the way and get all proud of how wonderful we are. Because really, we're not wonderful. We are just broken people being used by God to minister to other broken people. I can get frustrated. Things can go wrong. I can feel useless, clueless and purposeless. But moments like that make it all worth it. May this broken vessel continue to be used by God here in Costa Rica and wherever else He may take me. And may He guide me that He may be glorified to the max in and through me.

Tico Tuesday, June 2nd

When was the last time you pulled a voluntary all-nighter? I'm pretty sure I hadn't stayed up all night for something other than paper writing or packing ever since high school. That changed Friday night. The young adults from my church here put together a night full of worship, prayer, games, food, and fellowship. Well, I must confess I didn't make it all the way through. I had to crash on the floor for a while. I must be getting old. ;-) Please pray for the young adults as we seek to establish ourselves as an intentional ministry.


(Check out the sweet new sign we got for church! I tried to get a picture from Friday to send you, but no dice. This is a good picture to see too!)

Read the blog to learn about my high school all night adventures http://smithcj1.blogspot.com/

When I was in jr. high and high school I was heavily involved in my church's youth group and every year in the fall we participated in the Superbowl (the Word of Life one, not the silly football one :-P ). We'd go to a Pirates game, Portland Pirates that is. Not those pitiful Pittsburgh Pirates. And these Pirates play HOCKEY!! What else do you expect in Maine? Anyway, we'd go to a game and after it ended all the youth groups that had come for the Superbowl would stay and listen to a presentation of the Gospel. Then there would be a version of “Let's make a deal” (Sorry, learning Spanish has made a mess of my English capitalization) in which basically they would call people down and give them prizes. There would also be foosball contests and bowling with frozen turkeys and sled pulling races on the ice. Those were always hilarious to watch!

Then, things would break up and half the youth groups would be sent bowling and the other half roller skating. After 2.5-3 hours we'd switch and then finally go home and sleep. Those were fun times. I would usually get a second (and sometimes a third wind) and in my naïve, sleep deprived classic “little sister-ness” I would run around to everyone and make sure they were awake. Now that I think about that I'm sure it was very obnoxious. Oops! I was afraid I might get one of those crazy bursts of adrenaline this past Friday, but as you can tell, that was definitely not an issue. I would have been very put out (Princess Bride!!) if someone had obnoxiously tried to keep me awake. I supposed I would have deserved it though for all the times I tortured others. There's a picture of God's mercy for you!

Anyway, one year when we were riding home on the bus and all but about 5 of the people on it were asleep somebody happened to look out the window and see freshly fallen snow on the ground. Within seconds everyone was awake admiring our October snowfall (remember, this was in Maine. October snow did fall from time to time). When we arrived at church there was a frenzied snowball fight before peoples' parents arrived and we entered into many hours of much needed slumber. It was pretty funny. I think peoples' aim was seriously affected.

Another year they they added another option along with roller skating and bowling-a gym full of those hilarious inflatable thingies. I don't know how to describe them. Just think of the biggest plastic toys you can; some inflatable and some just cushy, and one of those trampolines you can get strapped into and do flips on in a more parentally approving manner- and there you have that place. I remember putting on a huge padded sumo wrestling suit and getting my butt whipped by my friend Frittany. My head piece kept on falling off and my socks made me slip all over the mat. It was crazy!

My last couple years of high school we didn't do the Superbowl. We'd been winning the “largest youth group” prize for a few years in a row so we started doing our own all-nighter. It was pretty cool. We'd go to a concert and then I think we went to the field house of a local college and had all sorts of activities-including a climbing wall and games and...honestly I can't really remember. I know there was a LOT of junk food though. Oh the life of a teen!