Tico Tuesday, July 28th

Happy Tuesday!

Surprised that you haven't heard me talk much about futbol (soccer)? Well, for one thing it's not futbol season here right now. And, soccer isn't that big a deal in my (Honduran) family. Futbol doesn't run in the blood of all latinos as you might think (just most ;-). It is still wicked popular though.

This past Saturday my church sponsored a futbol tournament that we used as an evangelistic activity. We were given free time at the local semi-indoor canchas and had 4 teams of guys come to play. Halfway through we had a talk from Richard Smith, a famous Christian tico ex-futbolista that scored 2 goals against Mexico in a really famous game. He shared about the transformational power of Christ in one's life and how only He can truly satisfy our hearts. I think 14 of the guys “prayed the prayer” along with him to receive Christ and start a relationship with Him. We are hoping to follow up with them and get them involved with our youth group. Please join me in praying for these new believers!

Update for those of you who are wondering how I'm doing re: the homesickness I talked about in my last post. Well, it got worse before it got better. Thursday I was seriously lacking motivation for anything and was just tired and frustrated and still really missing my loved ones in the US. But, a good night's sleep, a weekend (with minimal time spent at church), and some good conversations helped. I want to say it was a relaxing weekend,and I guess it was. it was also very busy. Saturday morning was the soccer tournament, in the afternoon I went to chorus for the first time. I am joining a chorus here because I am not involved in anything outside of church and I need to get outside the bubble. I like it so far. Interestingly enough the pieces we worked on are all sacred (a brief mass, a spiritual, and a pretty Ps 23- in Latin, English and English, respectively), but it is definitely a secular bunch of people. Saturday evening was relaxing and wonderful and I went to bed at about 10pm. :)

Sunday I went to church in the morning with Abuelita (Dona Ruth). The service was quite long because there were a lot of special announcements and blessings and prayers. I don't think it's ever a good idea for pastors to say they are going to try to make the sermon as short as possible. But, that's ok. I ended up going to the poorly publicized baptism. We had a really sweet, simple ceremony and I got to be the photographer (look for pics in the soon-coming Chronicle). Sunday afternoon I got to relax and do laundry and at night I went out with my "siblings" and a few friends. I have never had more fun at a McDonald's before! I got a Happy Meal and had a blast playing with my flip-head dinosaur (it has an angry head and a happy head) from Ice Age 3. Who knew that a dinosaur could make me laugh so much? I was really hyper and kind of helped our table pull a few stares from fellow patrons. But really I think it was just me releasing stress. I needed to laugh a lot and have fun with people here. And now people here know just how crazy I really am.... ;-) I think they weren't totally frightened off. That makes me happy. So, yeah. I am doing better. I will continue to miss my family, friends, and home church, but I know God will give me the contentment I need, for He is my Rock and He alone can satisfy my every longing and need.

Missing Grace

A wave of homesickness just crashed over me. I would say ever since I got back from Courtney's wedding in the States I have felt totally comfortable and at home here. This is my life. I live in Costa Rica. I have friends, adoptive families, a church, a great home, and easy access to Heredia and San Jose. I am used to speaking Spanish all the time (and love it!) and feel kind of weird when I'm with a lot of other gringos. I went to a chapel service at the Language Institute on the other side of San Jose last week and it was the first time I'd worshiped in English since I was last at Grace Anglican Church (Grace/GAC), my church home in Slippery Rock, PA. It was kind of weird, but it was nice. It did make me miss Grace though.
So what made me homesick? Multiple e-mails from close friends in the States and some REAL physical mail that brought tears to my eyes. My Spanish professor sent me a cute little magnet reminding me to be me. (That's another story for another day. I find myself identifying with latinos more and more and with gringos less and less and I don't want to take that too far.) I also got a big envelope with a lot of love in it from a good friend from GAC. My friend is a fellow Grove City alum and a teacher at the little Christian school in Grove City. We have spent some wonderful time cooking and talking together. And like my mother (stellar compliment!!!), she is really good at asking me questions and getting me to process important things.
This dear friend (one of my many Megans) had me share in her class in the Christian school about Costa Rica and what I was going to do here. I sent the class a postcard a while ago and in the envelope from Megan were homemade postcards from each of the students! They have some pretty impressive artwork on the front (one with a map that excludes Nicaragua, one with a great baseball field, and a couple with some nice palm trees) and really sweet stuff on the back, asking me good questions about life here and tellling me what they are learning in school and that they pray for me every week. What a blessing!
There was also a lovely card from Megan-and this was the icing on the cake-she included an article on my pastor/rector Ethan that appeared in the diocesan newsletter! I was so happy to see the picture of this man of God through whom I have learned and grown SO MUCH!! The article included parts of his testimony I hadn't heard before and just warmed the cockles of my heart (as he would put it). The quote from is article that is most sobresaliente (excellent/outstanding) and summarizes well what he does is-
"It seems so completely obvious now, but I had forgotten along the way that Christianity is about what Christ has done for us, no what we could do for Christ."
Amen and AMEN!! And that is what Ethan has made church and all his sermons about. We are broken people covered by God's grace. He loves us as we are and uses us in spite of and even because of ourselves. It is not about living a life of holiness and doing good things to please God. it is about loving Him with all we are. If we are walking with Him and letting Him have our way in us, the good works will come all by themselves. There is nothing we can do to pull ourselves up and make ourselves beter in God's eyes. It is about the simple truth of the Gospel, God's love poured out for us on the cross, taking our sin and punishment upon Himself that we might be redeemed by Jesus and reconciled to God.
Unfortunately, too many churches (including my church here in Costa Rica and most of the others I have been to) are too caught up in being relevant and telling us how to apply the Bible to our lives and be good Christians. Really, the Gospel is the most relevant thing out there and it is so much more powerful than principles for a holy life. The Gospel is what changes our lives, and it is for everyone and it is to be taught and heard over and over again. That is what makes Ethan's sermons so good. He can start with any passage and ALWAYS bring it back to the Gospel. Sound boring-hearing the Gospel every week? AU CONTRAIRE!!! I love it! I thirst for it when I don't get it (we'll say I've been getting pretty darn thirsty here). It is the most beautiful, renewing, exciting, glorious thing! It is all about God! NOT us! That is so refreshing and peace-giving! There is no need for us to impose law upon ourselves once more. We are no longer under the law! We are free to love and obey Christ with all that He has made us to be.
So, yeah. I got some great encouragement today. I miss Grace like crazy (as well as my friends and family). But God is good. He is at work here. This is where I'm supposed to be. May He continue to guide me and fulfill His purpose for me. And if you have any responses, questions or comments regarding anything I've said today I would be delighted to e-mail or Skype with you about it. God's peace, grace, and joy be with you.

Tico Tuesday, July 21st

Happy Tuesday!
Yes, this is a picture of a girl you don't know leaning over a rock that is actually a sculpted head. But what I'd like you to take note of is the dog that is in the left side of the picture. This is another one of those pictures that I took as a student here and ended up inadvertently capturing a cultural difference. There are stray dogs all over the place (especially near the meat shops). Some people have dogs as pets, but pets aren't near as common here as they are in the States. And there is no Bob Barker telling everyone to get their pets spayed or neutered, so the little dudes can reproduce themselves too. (If you don't know who Bob Barker is or recognize that famous line I'm very sorry you never got to enjoy the gameshow "The Price is Right." I enjoyed it best with graham crackers, a smiley cup of milk and Grammy.)
So, there is a tico moment and a childhood memory for you! Have a blessed week!
Carrie

Oops. I realize I didn't post again this past week. I had every intention of doing so, but between being busy, enjoying my 2nd 500+ page Frank Peretti book, and technological complications at home I neglected to post. I'll tell you I've started my Perspectives on the World Missions Movement class I mentioned a couple months ago and it is FANTASTIC!! The readings are GREAT! I was a little nervous about the class, since I'm getting graduate credit for it through some seminary, but it has yet to prove itself to be as hard as any class at Grove City. I hope to include soon some of my thoughts and comments on what I've read as well as cool things I've learned. And I will start highly recommending this class now. (You don't have to take it for credit). Check it out! http://www.perspectives.org/site/pp.aspx?c=eqLLI0OFKrF&b=2806295

I'll share one cool thing now while I'm talking about it. Jesus frequently referred to Himself as the Son of Man (and that name is mentioned an awful lot in Ezekiel and Daniel). In Hebrew, Son of man is ben Adam. I get 2 things out of this. 1- that Jesus as the Son of Man (and not the Son of David or anybody else) shows Himself to be the Savior for the WHOLE world and not just Israel. I think we have a pretty good grasp on the fact that Jesus died for everyone and not just Israelites, but the Israelites had a harder time with that. 2- This makes Paul's parallels about Adam and Jesus even more powerful. The whole "Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead" Second Adam thing (see Handel's Messiah....or 1 Corinthians 15). I love getting to study the Bible more!

Tico Tuesday, July 14th

If you can identify this flag without looking it up, you get major gold stars, big smiles and I wish I could send you cookies. If you can't, I hereby make a sad face. :-(

Hints:

Its borders are with Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, the Caribbean Sea, and the Pacific Ocean

The people I live with are from this country

The capital city is Tegucigalpa and the currency is the Lempira.

One of my best friends from the Tetons is from this country, as is one of my coworkers here

It's president was just deposed because of unconstitutional behavior (and the guy is in cahoots with Hugo Chavez, the socialist of Venezuela)

Got it? I sure hope so. If not, I recommend you start paying a little more attention to the news. But don't worry, there is grace for you. It's Honduras!

I'll share on my blog a few thoughts and stories of what I know regarding Honduras. Http://smithcj1.blogspot.com/

Thanks for coming to read! Apparently the media has not been painting a very fair picture of the situation in Honduras. I am guessing it is worse in the US than here, but I'm not there, so I don't really know. I do know though that the US is supporting Mel Zelaya, the deposed prez of Honduras, and saying that he should be reinstated. Hold your horses, folks (and world). Boosting Zelaya was actually legal and constitutional. However, it's execution wasn't perfect. The military took some extra liberties that were not necessary. So, both parties are truly guilty. But if we are going to talk in relative terms, the wrongs of Zelaya FAR outweigh those of the military that ousted him. The guy had Hugo Chavez, the socialist president of Venezuela with perpetual presidency, illegally send him ballots for a referendum to make Zelaya perpetual president of Honduras. And then after the ballots got there they were confiscated, but Zelaya had people break in and steal them. Talk about a brilliant guy. And that was really just the straw that broke the camel's back (thought it was a very fat, heavy straw). This deceptive guy has been bad news for a long time. The vast majority of Honduras is supporting Micheletti (the former legislative leader that is acting as president until the country's elections in November) and is ready for life to move on. They want the Zelaya chapter over and done and they don't want the man back in the country. Chavez has threatened to take out “Micheletti, Confetti, or whatever government is set up” until Zelaya is reinstated. The two Honduran presidents are currently going through mediation with Oscar Arias, the Nobel Peace Prize holding President of...Costa Rica!! Apparently Zelaya gave an ultimatum the other day saying the mediation will not have been successful unless he is allowed back into Honduras. Oh brother! Please pray for this country!!

In other news, I met two Hondurans that came to Costa Rica within the last 5 days-both are here to study. One will actually be my roomie for a while. She is a sweet, quiet girl. The other went to CCI Tegucigalpa when he was in Honduras and is pumped to get involved at church here.

We have had some really good prayer times during church for Honduras. There are 3 Honduran families that I know of who go to my church here. Now there are more individuals. Please pray for them, their families, and for the church in Honduras. God has big plans for that country!!

Hearing God Speak

This is an interesting and sometimes controversial topic, but I've been wanting to share my thoughts about it, so here we go.
I always wanted to hear God's voice. I can remember in middle school, when I was really starting to walk with God, that I really wanted to hear God speak. I'd heard people tell stories before of how God spoke to them, and I wanted that too. Let's just say my motives weren't so pure. But, I remember sitting there in the corner of my room, trying to imagine what God would say to me and how I could say it to myself and be convinced that it was really Him and not me. I wondered what it would be like, if I'd hear a voice, if it would really be audible...but I wanted to just hear something.
Over time a lot has changed. I've learned and grown a lot, thanks be to God. And I will be the first to admit I still have a LOOOOOOONG way to go. Now, I could go into the various ways in which God works and general and special revelation, but I'd rather just fast forward to the more recent past. I've come to realize a lot of times that God is telling me something when I really just thought of it as one of those "oh, the light bulb just went on" kind of moments. Credit must be given where credit is due. And I've also realized that God works in different ways in different people. So, what I'm saying is what has been true of my experience, but I believe God knows how to best get each of our attention. He might speak to you through dreams and not that way to me. And that's ok. He knows what He's doing-who are we to say how God can and can not work? Obviously it has to be in line with His Word and His character, but I don't want to get into any of the controversial stuff.
Anyway, more recently, there have been a few occasions in which God has clearly communicated to me. I haven't heard a voice, but something in me has made a few powerful, clear statements that have been incredibly encouraging and liberating.
What did God say? Yes, I will share that with you.

-The first one wasn't as clear a statement/phrase, but the promise was real. "Your home is with Me (and not on the earth)." If you have been a faithful reader for some time now, you will know that the whole home issue has been a big deal for me. I knew for a long time before this that my true home was with God, but e-mailing with another LAM missionary finally made me "get it." And what a blessing that has been! I can't wait to truly be home!
-The second came during worship at church one night, and hence was in Spanish, "Estoy dentro de ti." "I am inside of you." That was clear. It is way too easy to forget that the Holy Spirit is dwelling inside of me. What a powerful thing! And what a beautiful reminder that I am never alone!
-Next came "You are mine." I think this one came during my devotions one morning. So often I tell God, "I am Yours, I am ALL Yours." How much I actually mean it is under scrutiny, though I want to mean it with all my heart every time I say it. I know I have no right to me. But, to have that turned around and to have Him so clearly say to me "You are mine" blew me away. Yes, I have been bought with the blood of Jesus. He has every claim to me and He will NEVER let me go. Nothing can "pluck me out of the Father's hand" (John something: 24-25-I remember memorizing it in AWANA so many years ago. Ok it's John 10:28-29. I was close.) I am His beloved, adopted daughter. And since there is a song for everything, the song "You are Mine" by Third Day has become very dear to me, especially the chorus (in bold)

It doesn't take much
For my heart to break
And you have done it
For what's seems the millionth time

Whenever I hear
Of your saving grace
And how you gave your life
In exchange for mine

Sometimes I wonder why you even love me
And why you ever chose to call me child
Then I remember
It's by your sacrifice
I can say that
I am yours and you are mine

It doesn't take much
For me to shed a tear
And you have done so many things
To make me cry
Whenever I think
Of all that I've done wrong
And everything that you have done
To make it right

It doesn't take much
For my heart to break
And you have done it
For what's seems the millionth time

I know when the song says "you are mine" it is us saying God is ours, but it has still reminded me that God has said to me "you are mine." We love Him because He first loved us (1 John).
-The next one came while blowing my nose in the bathroom. I'm serious. God speaks at any time. I'm pretty sure I had been journaling or e-mailing someone, but God chose that moment to tell me, "He's not yours." Sound like there's a juicy story behind that? Don't you wish you knew. But if there is or not, it's not something I feel the need to share. I'll just say that God has been chipping away at a lot of things in my life I've been clinging to and really liberating me to be more content in Him. And it's brought me so much joy!

So, keep walking with God and keep your spiritual eyes and ears open, you never know when God has something important to impart!

Tico Tuesday, July 7th

Today was my church's children's retreat. I was invited to go along as an assistant and I had a BLAST!! It was at a nice little retreat center in the mountains, so the temperature was glorious, and I knew all the other adults that were serving there, so that was good. And it was a great opportunity to get to know more of the kids at church. I am planning on working with them more soon. Educating my church about missions isn't something that is going to be directed solely at the adults-it is for EVERYONE!!

The picture is of the kids doing reciting and doing the motions to a sentence that we taught them "YO SOY UNA CREACION UNICA DE DIOS" -"I AM A UNIQUE CREATION OF GOD" (they had to shout it).
Check out the blog to see how I fulfilled one of my life dreams today... http://smithcj1.blogspot.com/


One thing I have always wanted to do that I thought would be SO great was to go exploring up a river. Well, maybe not a river, more like a brook, creek or stream (and I don't have a clue what the difference is between those things anyway). I especially wanted to go exploring up Pilgrim Creek in the Tetons, but I never did it. Someday I will! But, today I at least got to fulfill that dream of exploring up a stream! We didn't reach its mouth/origin-that would have been too cool! But we still had a blast. Who is we? (L to R) Jorge, Andres, and me. Jorge led the way and did a good job finding where to step. I went next and Andres pulled up the rear.

In the next photo you can see where we headed. I don't know exactly how far we went. I don't even really know how long we explored since we removed all cell phones and watches and cameras and electronics before we set off. We wanted to go farther, but it was good we turned around when we did. We just barely made it back in time for the afternoon round of games we were leading.

Both boys ended up getting pretty wet (ok, I was pretty damp myself, but I had sweet quick-dry North Face pants on). And none of us completely fell into the water. The rocks weren't near as slippery as most rocks I have encountered that have water constantly running over them. That was a very pleasant surprise. Anyway, in the last picture, the boys are pretty much soaked, but they decided to stick their heads in the water, so it is completely their own fault, and they were ok with it. Apparently Andres and his brother Daniel always carry an extra change of clothes with them, so Andres was able to change and and Daniel lent Jorge his spare outfit so he could change too. I dried pretty quickly, and was glad of it since clouds started rolling onto the mountain about a half hour later. What a great day!!

Happy Fourth!!

Haha, well, the chances of you actually reading this and it still being July 4^th are very slim, but that's ok. I'll confess, I'm feeling a little homesick. Well, maybe homesick isn't quite the right word. I want a fireworks show and to get stuck in a huge traffic jam on the way home. And, I miss life the way it was. My family used to always spend the Fourth of July with my Grandparents Smith. They lived on Cape Cod in Massachusetts (and there was a time when my family lived on the Cape too). My uncle's birthday was today and my Daddy's is tomorrow. So, Grammy was in her element, hosting family and making lots of yummy food, and as always, making all of us feel superspecial.

In the morning, we would get up, hop on our bikes and go downtown to the Falmouth Green. There was always a group of men dressed as the Falmouth Militia. They did a military salute to the Thirteen Colonies with fake gunpowder in their rifles. They always had the flags of the 13 colonies too. One year Mommy realized they didn't have New Jersey's flag and made sure the next year that they did have one. That year my brother and I got to hold the flags for South Carolina and New Jersey. I remember getting sent a certificate for participating. The salute was always one of my favorite parts. There was always a town chorale too that sang America the Beautiful and other patriotic songs.

A story about America the Beautiful-if I can remember it right. Katherine Lee Bates wrote that oh-so-famous song. If I recall correctly, she was from Falmouth, MA. The street the library on is named after her. I think she wrote it after she was inspired by the view from Pike's Peak. But, she was a good New England girl. Anyway, there was a 200^th anniversary of her writing that song one year (in the 90s) and Grammy got everyone in the family America the Beautiful shirts that were made to commemorate the Anniversary. I tell you, this lady was the glue to our family and I can't tell you how much I miss her!!!! I just got rid of the shirt a couple years ago. It was super worn, sweat stained, and much thinner than it used to be. But I can't tell you how much I loved that shirt. Maybe I still have it, actually. I don't know. If so it is in Arizona (and I certainly am not).

Anyway, after the festivities on the town green we would usually continue to the beach on our bikes and climb around on the rocks at Trunk River or hang out for a little bit at Surf Drive. Then we would go back home (to Grammy & Grandpa's) for a yummy lunch. My brothers and I were usually recruited to husk the corn. We'd sit on 5 gallon buckets and husk away, sometimes having pleasant conversation, sometimes bickering, as young siblings are wont to do. I would often beg Grammy for us to eat outside. I loved sitting around their brown, round picnic table with the big orange umbrella with white fringes and putting paper plates in their wicker paper plate holders.

Grammy always decorated some kind of yummy cake for Uncle Mike and Daddy. It usually consisted of stripes of raspberries or strawberries and a top left corner of blueberries. YUM!!!!

Then we would play games together or just sit around talking. (Oh and there was usually watermelon that my brothers and I loved eating and then spitting out the seeds at one another. It was great fun!)

The highlight was at night though. We would all pile into out Previa and go down to Surf Drive hours before the fireworks were actually going to start in order to get a good parking spot. We would make rounds every half our or so, picking out the 5 cent refund cans out of the trash like good grandchildren (Grampa used to always go canning multiple times a day and would make a fair bit of money from it). We'd watch the barge with the fireworks on it go out and take its place. And then, finally it would get dark. I would climb through the sunroof of the van and sit up there, whistling patriotic songs, getting more and more excited for the fireworks to FINALLY start. Then at last, the fireworks would begin. They would shoot up into the sky, looking like they were going to fall right on us. The waves gently crashed on the sand in the background in between the BOOMS. It was so beautiful. So fun. So special. It was really weird when Grammy died to not go back to Falmouth for the Fourth. In Auburn, ME they did the fireworks over Great Falls, which was nice, but not near as cool as fireworks being set off from a barge. But at least they were still near water. It was really weird for me though, my first summer I was away from home for the Fourth of July, I didn't know where they were going to set off the fireworks if they weren't near water!!

Oh well. Well, tonight, someone in town set off a few fireworks. I heard them all, but only managed to see one. I saw a few on TV in the news, but that doesn't count. So, this is the year of one firework. Other years I haven't seen any, being in national parks and all (2 years ago I did go to Jackson though to see the fireworks there). But being out of the country did make me want to actually see fireworks.

Ok, I think that's enough reminiscing for now. Thanks for reading! Happy Independence Day!!!