Tico Tuesday, March 22nd

Happy Tuesday!
What does this, the Hospital Clínica Bíblica, have to do with Roblealto? And what do they both have in common with the Latin America Mission? Their founders! Harry and Susan Strachan are two people who God has used to do phenomenal things in Latin America. They did a huge Evangelism-in-Depth campaign with native speaking preachers and excellent follow-up, they founded the Templo Bíblico, the Hogar Bíblico, la Iglesia Bíblica, el Seminario Bíblico, la Clínica Bíblica, etc. I think you get the point. And contrary to the typical assumption, neither Harry nor Susan was from the States! (They were from Scotland and Ireland, respectively). So, there are some fun little trivial facts for you this week. I'll tell you on my blog why I got to go to the Clínica Bíblica the other week!

Yes, I got to go to the Clínica Bíblica. I had a really great time too! And no, thankfully I was not injured or sick (though I have been battling a nasty cough for a couple weeks, but I'm on antibiotics now).

I'll start from the beginning. A couple weeks ago I got to go to the Bible Home (Hogar Bíblico!!) for a night of translation. Volunteer groups from the States and Canada come to Roblealto on short term mission trips and help us with needed maintenance and construction projects (of which there are many!). They also get to play with the kids and love on them and bless the substitute families and it's just a wonderful experience for everyone. Every other night, the volunteers eat with the kids and substitute families. However, this is a bit of the challenge, since most volunteers don't know hardly any Spanish and most substitute families don't know hardly any English. Smiles and gestures go a long way, but one night a week we provide them with a translator so the volunteers can have a richer, higher quality interaction with the kids and substitute families. I LOVE GETTING TO DO THIS!!!!!!!! Anyway, I got to go to the Bosque (Forest) house. The volunteers there were a couple and their 26 year old daughter. We had a wonderful evening. Most of my translating was for the wife, Lynn. She is an amazing, loving woman and it was really special to get to interpret for her and mami Yorleny. Well, Lisa and her family stayed in Costa Rica to vacation a bit after the rest of the group left. And unfortunately, there was a freak accident and Lynn got to get airlifted to the Clínica Bíblica. Thankfully, she is ok and it was nothing too serious. But there was some serious concern before the x-rays and all the tests came through. I'm not sure if Fabián and I were sent or permitted to go visit Lynn, but I was really glad to get to see her again and encourage her a bit. We got her a card and had a beautiful visit in the Clínica Bíblica. It was truly a time of sweet fellowship. We all shared together and it was just beautiful. I could feel God's presence so powerfully in that room with us! So, that was a great visit to the Clínica Bíblica (though of course, the circumstances were all too unfortunate). It's too bad about Lynn's accident, but thanks be to God she is doing much better and He was indeed glorified through it all! Later in the evening Pam (my supervisor), Mami Yorleny and another substitute mom went too and had an even more incredible experience!

One moral of the story I learned: visit people in the hospital. It's not just an old-fashioned pastoral thing. It's really meaningful. Going out of the way and making an effort for others is a great blessing for all! And thank God for the Strachans!