Tico "Tuesday," April 27th

Happy Tuesday to you all!

Another week has come and gone and there is much work to be done! In 2 months (the end of June) CCI will be sponsoring/going on another missions trip! This time we are headed to Isla Venado (the same place I went to drop off Christmas presents in December). We are collaborating with another church from the US, 1st Baptist of Batesville, Mississippi. The trips is mainly medical missions, with some evangelism as well. There are still many details to be hammered out, so I'm only going to get busier until the time approaches, but please be praying for everything to come together (especially the medicines that need to get through customs). The picture is a lovely vista from the island. Not bad, eh?

God's blessings be with you,

Carrie

Oh yikes. I had every intention of posting again here this weekend, but I didn't get to it. Sorry for being a slacker of a blog-poster. The whole time Brenda was here it was like, “this is so crazy, I can't believe you're here!!!!” but at the same time it felt so natural to have her around!! Part of that may be because I had to pretty much maintain my normal schedule and routine throughout the week-and Brenda adapted very well to wacky life at the Viera house. Oh was it a wild week! 11 people slept in our little house one night. Abuelita's sister and brother-in-law are here visiting and Tía came back from Honduras with Regina. Then Tía went to the US for her son's wedding and Regina is here taking care of Abuelita. And don Jorge and doña Esther were here a couple extra nights too. Talk about nuts! Everything is working out well though. Thanks be to God for 3 bathrooms!!!

I know I raved about Brenda last week too, but the visit wasn't even half over yet. I so much enjoyed getting to talk and share life with her. It means so much to me to have a good friend from the US experience life with me. And it was really great to just talk. There are very few people I can talk to here that I feel like I am on the same level/page as. A lot of my friends are younger than me, and maturity and education level do actually make a bit of a difference. I think part of that is just cultural as well. But it does make me appreciate my good friends here even more! Age differences aren't near as much a big deal as they were when I was in college though. A lot of my friends here are still high school age and in a lot of ways I see them as peers and can relate to them, just not exactly on the same level.

And yeah, I was going to post this last night, but then I ran out of time and then when I got home the internet wasn't working for some ridiculous reason (but I think it was actually the internet and not my dying old compu!). So, there ye have it!

Tico Tuesday, April 20th

Happy Tuesday to you all!

This is a very exciting week because one of my good friends from college is here visiting me! Brenda graduated 2 years before me, but we formed a strong friendship in the time that we shared together. And she is a fellow New Englander, so we have been able to not only keep in touch but also see each other from time to time when I've made it back to the Maine/New Hampshire area. We started the week as beach bums, Sunday in Puntarenas and yesterday in Jacó (pronounced hah-CO). The rest of the week won't be quite so exotic since I have to work. But we will continue to enjoy each others company. It is such a blessing to have her here. More on that on the blog. And make sure to tell me when you're coming to visit!! :-)

May God use you to bless lots of people this week!

Carrie

Brenda (or Brender in the Northern New England area, jijiji) was one of the amazing juniors that I met my freshman year at Grove City College. We bonded especially because she was a fellow New Englander and she was just a really cool girl. I remember her telling me that she prayed for God to give her new freshman friends-and God made me an answer to that prayer!

But now, talking and hanging out with Brenda... college feels SO long ago! I graduated almost 2 years ago. We have both definitely moved on from college life, but thanks be to God we have been able to maintain several friendships that God gifted to us in college.

We have had a blast thus far. I picked Blender up at the airport Saturday night. And though it was almost 11pm Eastern time (9pm here), she had adrenaline pumping, so we went to watch the men from CCI play futbol 5 (“indoor” soccer-the building isn't totally enclosed, but it is artificial turf and 5 on 5). They usually play every 2 weeks. It was a great chance for Brenda to meet some people from church too (which really means a lot to me). We didn't stay the whole hour because she began to crash, but it was enough to introduce her to people, watch some of the game and chit chat.

Sunday we got up early and went to Puntarenas with my friends Vivi and Christian. We went to the little aquarium there. It was fun. I hadn't been to an aquarium in a long time. It reminded me of the Woods Hole aquarium (Cape Cod, Mass) we used to always bike to when I was little. But the animals were a bit more tropical. There were turtles and crocodiles instead of seals, and tropical fish instead of striped bass. It was pretty small-pretty dumpy compared to a big city aquarium, but not bad for Puntarenas. They had a neat exhibit on the Isla de Coco, a Pacific island that belongs to Costa Rica. The whole thing is a national park (Costa Rica is really into national parks), but has a lot of endangered animals because of ruthless fishermen, treasure hunters, etc.

We had fun walking down the Paseo de los Turistas, looking at all sorts of souvenirs and chunches (thingamabobs). It was interesting for me-looking like a tourist and kind of acting like one, but not really wanting to admit being one because I live here. It's ok. There is nothing wrong with being a tourist! I did get a lady to knock down a price a little bit for me. That made me happy. I wasn't going to buy anything, but something leapt out at me and screamed the names of 2 friends, so I had to buy it for them.

We did actually get to beach a bit too, but we didn't have much time because we wanted to get back for church that night. We did make it back and had just enough time to shower beforehand. We'd contemplated not going so we could have more time at the beach, but it meant a lot to both of us for Brenda to come to church. I wanted her to see what it was like and meet the people, and she really wanted to go too because she loves worshiping in Spanish and it's always neat to go to a church in a Spanish speaking country. (Brenda studied some Spanish in high school and college, so she can understand and speak some, but needs more time to process things. She also got to spend several weeks in Bolivia one summer during college.) So, church was nice. There had been a wedding there the day before and they left a ton of delicious smelling lilies and roses behind. That was a wonderful little detail.

Monday we decided to go on an adventure to Jacó. I'd never been, though I'd heard about it before. It is a really popular beach because it is one of the closest ones to San José. It was nigh empty yesterday though. We walked all the way to the other end of the beach. It was great to go for a good long beach walk! We found some yummy smoothies for rehydration. She got pineapple strawberry and I got mango-maracuyá (passion fruit). YUM! Then we went and got ice cream. :-) Getting coconut ice cream was on Brenda's to do list in Costa Rica and I was happy to help her cross it off. I got “pasión queuqe,” which my friend Cadorsil introduced me to went we met up and hung out the other week. It is basically carrot cake ice cream -SO DELICIOUS!!! For not being chocolatey, it is fantastic!! I LOVE carrots, carrot cake, pretty much anything with carrots in it. Oh and it had yummy plump raisins in it and everything. Oh so good!

After poking in some touristy shops, (there was one guy that we enjoyed talking to. He is an artisan and makes a lot of the things he sells. And he did a good job at not being too pushy a salesman. He also highly complimented my Spanish. :-) Oh yeah and Sunday in the bus terminal on the way to Puntarenas somebody asked me if I was from Argentina!! That made me happy too.) Anyway, after poking in the shops we took turns playing in the waves. Even though there weren't a lot of people around we still knew it wouldn't be the most brilliant idea to leave the backpack with cameras, money and my phone for the taking.

We took the last bus out of town... the original plan for the day was to go to the beach just north of Jacó, which is much calmer. But, we ended up running out of time. That's ok though. It was neat to watch some surfers actually get up and ride out the waves.

So, that's been life with Brenda here thus far. Oh I was going to tell you what a blessing it was to have her here. It just means so much to me to have a friend from the States come and see what my life is like here. I have to work the rest of the week, so our exciting adventures are over, but I know there is still much left to enjoy. I've really appreciated our conversations. Brenda and I are on the same page in a lot more ways than I am with most people here. And she and I are both verbal processers, so talking through things enables us to understand them better. And we are opening up and learning things about each other we never knew before! Thanks be to God for friends like Brenda!

Tico Tuesday, April 13th

Yep, missionaries play pool. Don't forget, we are still people. I have to remind myself of that time to time, and I know it doesn't hurt to remind you either. :-) Yesterday I got to meet up in San Jose with a fellow LAM missionary, Cadorsil. It was great to get to know another member of the LAM family! We had a really nice time talking, telling each other what our orientations were like and various things that God has taught us. It was good to again remember that missionaries can and do get migraines, have allergies, act silly at the dinner table, have a salsa/merengue/cumbia lesson, play cards, etc. As we read in cell groups last night, followers of Jesus are to live in and among the world, but live such upright lives that even though we are accused of wrong our good actions will prove otherwise (1 Peter 2.12).

How I got the chance to play pool and a have a day full of exciting fun on my blog!

May God give us the grace to be upright and pleasing to Him this week!

Carrie

Sunday I got to go to El Castillo again! (I'd only been one other time before several months ago). El Castillo is a country club type place where you pay some expensive fee to be a member and have access to cool stuff. And you're allowed to bring friends! So on Sunday, the young adult ministry, Soporte (which is different from the youth group Jovensus) got to go because one of the leaders is a member! Yaay! Pause. Sunday morning my Thursday morning running buddy Albeiro and I went for a run as well. And since neither of us had anything to do but go to El Castillo, we went for a longer run. It was the farthest I have EVER run before in my life! Normally we just stick to San Joaquín and our neighboring pueblito of San Lorenzo. Well, we made it over to San Roque, which is in the next cantón to our northeast, Barva. (We live in the cantón of las Flores). Here is a link to a map showing what we ran. If that doesn't work, try this. It was some 11+km, but that doesn't take hills into account, so it was actually farther. Wow! It was great though. We didn't bring water since we didn't know we were going to go so far. So, thanks be to God some guy was outside watering his plants and let us have a drink from his hose.

Anyway, we went to El Castillo. After everyone introducing themselves and talking briefly about Zephaniah 3.17 (The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.") we headed off to play. A lot of people payed basketball first, but that is NOT my thing nor Albeiro's, so we went and played pool, which we enjoy much more. I lost, but that was to be expected. It was still fun though. Then we played another game with 2 more girls and just barely lost because they put the 8 ball in before we got the chance to do so. Lunch was in the restaurant upstairs. It has a small area where you can eat outside. We ate inside, but went outside to look around. Unfortunately it was a foggy, drizzly day, so the visibility wasn't that great. But if it were clear we'd be able to see pretty much the whole central valley. Amazing! We could still see San Jose somewhat foggily. Oh and for dessert we enjoyed some delicious tres leches (3 milks). It's some kind of cake drenched in 3 kinds of milk, condensed, evaporated, and heavy cream, or something like that. Oh and this one had an extra flavoring of something else that gave it a yummy special kick. And it had raspberry and green something drizzled on top. Not bad for a dessert that doesn't contain any chocolate!

Then came a big highlight: ICE SKATING!!! I hadn't been in YEARS!! I think the last time I went was with Angelika Guy, my first and only time at Ingersoll Arena in good old Auburn, ME in 2003 or so. (My other times in Maine were all at Central Maine Civic Center which is now known as the Coliseé or something like that). Well, I was excited to go again, but most people had never even been before at all! So it was an hour of bliss. Albeiro and I helped Richi's daughters, Michelle and Yuly learn how. It was really fun. Pretty hilarious though. The rink there is TINY!! It's gotta be less than half the size of a normal hockey rink. It's a square and I wonder if they use a zamboni to smooth the ice. Maybe they have mini ones? It's a square, and zambonis don't do corners very well. Hmm, well, maybe special ones exist? I don't know. Anyway, the rink was puny and was in DESPERATE need of a zamboni to make a trip around. The ice was all chewed up and not smooth. Especially around the edges, so poor Yuly and Michelle didn't have it very easy at all. Albeiro caught on pretty well. The toe pick often got the best of him though. I told him about hockey skates and he said “THAT's what I want!!” It reminded me of The Cutting Edge (movie), “toe pick!”

Going ice skating puts me in even more awe of amateur and pro figure skaters. I couldn't lift my foot more than 6 inches of the ground for fear of falling. And I didn't even try to skate backwards. My spins had at least a 5ft diameter. And the thought of jumping was equivalent to the thought of falling. I did managed not to fall though (oh what pride!). Maybe I should have tried something and let myself fall. Oh and this is funny-another friend of mine is a member at El Castillo and he told me he plays ice hockey there! I don't know how they do it! It must be like 1 on 1 or something. 5 people per team would make the ice WAY too crowded. They wouldn't even have to skate around! It might sound like I'm picking on them for having such a puny rink. That is not my intention. I'm just used to a normal sized rink and a little one was entertaining for me. I was happy though. Very happy.

Next I headed to the pool with Yuly and Michelle. Richi (their Dad, one of the pastors of CCI) got in briefly too. The pool was almost as warm as a bath. And it was unfortunately full of people, so swimming laps was a nigh impossibility. Oh well. Time was of the essence anyway. In the 10 remaining minutes I had I made it straight for the jacuzzi. Ahhh! How wonderful and relaxing! I on;y wished I could have stayed in longer. But we had to go. Needless to say, I was a tired girl!! I'm still catching up! But it was a wonderful day!

The Extreme Smith Family Vacation

I said I'd tell you about going rafting in Maine, and I try to keep my word when I give it. So here is a taste of the Smith family vacation of August 2004. It was a few short weeks before I moved in as a freshman at Grove City College and my brother proposed to my now sister-in-law. She came along on the trip too. We stayed in the little nigh nonexistent town of Millinocket, Maine. The hotel did have a sweet pool and jacuzzi though. Daddy hung out at the hotel and Mommy, Dan, Sarah, Zach and me went off to adventure on the Penobscot River. I think there was another couple with us in our raft. Our guide-I think her name was Marta did a fantastic job at instilling the fear of God in us. True, we did need to pay really good attention to her. None of us had ever rafted before (I don't think) and we had up to class V rapids (basically a small waterfall). Poor Mommy was scared out of her wits and would repeat every direction with even more urgency and volume than the guide. She (Mommy) was great though and I was really proud of her.
Dan and Zach did a wonderful job at leading in the front of the raft. They have that natural brother mind connection so we were really good at staying in sync rowing (very unlike the raft I was in here last month). It was hilarious though. Zach would dig in so hard and strong with his paddle he was actually steering the boat! I have STRONG brothers!
The water was pretty cool and it wasn't the hottest day, so I didn't take advantage of the opportunity to get out and float when the river was calm. I don't think anyone did. Remember, this is the mountains of Maine. It never gets very hot.
We were on the river for several hours. Lunch was served on the side of the river. I can't remember what it was but I know it was delicious! I think there was a choice of a burger or chicken or something like that. Mommy almost wussed out at lunchtime, but between the river company people and us kids we were able to convince her to stick it out.
And that's all I remember. BUT, vacation wasn't over yet! The next day we hiked Mt. Katahdin!! Yup, that would be the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail! It was SO great! It was a long, tiring day, but so worth it!
There was one part in the guide book that said we had to go through a boulder field. Boulder field? Sounds like a field with a whole bunch of boulders in it (that you just have to go around), right? WRONG!! No, that means scrambling up boulders-as close to rockclimbing that you can get without actually rockclimbing. Well, it was a lot like climbing. There were a few spots that had iron rungs stuck into the rock because otherwise it was pretty much impossible to get up (without extra equipment). I think that part of the trail is known as the Devil's Backbone, or something like that. It was crazy. It was a great hike though. We ate a lot of yummy GORP that Mommy made. GORP stands for Good Old Raisins and Peanuts. It's a kind of trailmix. Ours also included chex and M&Ms. Such delicousness!! And a good energy booster for the hiker!
We left really early in the morning and were back down by 4pm. It was a wonderful day. I think I'll have to hike Katahdin again someday... maybe after I do the rest of the AT first.... :-)
Oh and sorry to not have any pictures, but I'm pretty sure this was before I had a digital camera. You'll have to visit my parents, Dan or me to see some shots of our amazing hike.

Tico Tuesday, April 6th

JESUS IS ALIVE!! Christ is risen!

I just finished spending my 4^th Holy Week in a row in Costa Rica! I hope you all had a wonderful week and that you will continue to rejoice in the Resurrection of our awesome Savior! Here I am on Sunday morning. On the blog you'll find a picture of the sunrise (well, slightly after. The sun beat me out of bed, even though I tried to get up first) and a couple more pictures as well as some fascinating things I just learned about the first Holy Week! It's so cool to live with people who have a rich understanding of Jewish traditions!

Have a fantastic, joy-filled rest of the week!

Love,

Carrie

Ok, first the pictures. I think I'm going to do this every year and see how much I change from year to year. Last year-chubby cheeks!!! white white girl! Dirty hair and moister lips. This year, skinnier face! Wahoo! More tan! Jejeje... still with dirty hair (I do shower and wash it regularly, really!), and chapped lips from the beach. What a hilarious contrast! Oh and here's the newly risen sun.

So, a few weeks ago I was reading somewhere in the Gospels and Jesus talked about the sign of Jonah-how He will have to die and be buried for 3 days and 3 nights, just like Jonah was in the fish for that same period of time. I got confused, because if Jesus died on Good Friday, there aren't 3 nights between Friday and Sunday morning! That's only 2! And I KNOW Jesus wouldn't be wrong. He couldn't be. Bur normally we just pay attention to the 3^rd day aspect of it and say Friday afternoon, Saturday, and Sunday morning. But that actually doesn't work-the Gospel of John says that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb while it was still dark and Jesus had already risen. The other gospels says that people approached the tomb at dawn. And the tomb was already empty! So, I don't think that the day of Sunday can even really count. So that brings us down to 2 days and 2 nights. Yikes!

But, this is what happened. Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples, right? Normally we say that was Thursday. Well, it was according to the Hebrew calendar. But, that was actually on Wednesday for those of us who follow the Gregorian calendar. This might get a little confusing, but I'll try to explain it right. Stick with me. Remember that the Jewish day begins at sunset. So, Jesus celebrated Passover Wednesday night (which for Jews is actually Thursday). The day after Passover is the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, so that would be Thursday night, (which is actually Friday according to the Hebrew calendar). The Feast of Unleavened Bread is a very holy day, so it is actually made a Sabbath day too. No work can be done on that day, just like the Sabbath, the 7^th day of the week (Friday night to Saturday). This is called “Shabbaton” -big Sabbath. Because, there were 2 consecutive days of rest, Friday (which begins Thursday night) and Saturday. This doesn't happen every year. The Hebrew calendar is lunar, so there is a lot of variation year to year, but that is how it happened to be the year that Jesus was crucified. We know that Jesus our spotless Passover Lamb was sacrificed for us, but also-he was the Unleavened Bread of Life.

Anyway, all the hullabaloo of Gethsemane, betrayal and sending Jesus back and forth before officials and all that was on Wednesday night/Thursday morning. He was crucified Thursday afternoon. It is said that the 3 hours of darkness was a solar eclipse. I'm pretty sure that's true. Josue has been trying to look it up, but finding the date has been harder than he thought. But, they wanted to get everything done by sundown because day 1 of Shabbaton was beginning. The holy sabbath day due to the Feast of Unleavened Bread. So, Jesus died Thursday afternoon. Day 1 (parts of a day count as a day). Thursday night. Night !. Friday. Day 2. Friday night. Night 2. Saturday. Day 3. Saturday night. Night 3. Then as a fantastic Gaither song says “THEN CAME THE MORNING!!” And the tomb was empty! The stone was rolled away and Jesus our Savior and Redeemer was ALIVE and incarnate on the earth once more!!! And the sign of Jonah was indeed fulfilled! Oh yeah, and that Sunday was the Feast of Firstfruits. How's Jesus for the best Firstfruit ever?

And the sweetness of following the church liturgical calendar? Easter (I prefer calling it Resurrection) is a SEASON!!! Yeah! We get 6 weeks of celebration, and then we celebrate the Ascencion and then Pentecost and it's just great! Jesus the Lord deserves all the celebration and praise we can give!