Tico Tuesday, October 29th

A couple boys at the Bible Home have been weighing on my heart big time. The more you get to know people, the more you love them, and the more you love them, the more they have the potential to hurt you, right? Well, not only have I been feeling closer to these boys, but I've learned about some things they've done and found myself on the verge of tears because of them. I know I'm no mom, but I know I'm getting a taste of parenting. How difficult it is not only to hear disappointing news, but to be lied to, taken advantage of, and even manipulated! Ugh, it's awful. But I know it is a good reminder of how my sin makes God feel... We talk about things breaking our heart in English, but in Spanish, things part one's very soul. I like that expression.

A few of my loves with the nurse at the Bible Bee

But anyway, I am very happy to report to you that there is respite from the soul-splitting words and heart-wrenching behaviors, and even the most difficult children can fill my heart with love and glue my cracked soul back together. Case in point: last night I babysat in the Bethesda house again. The last couple times I'd been there, the kids were pretty wild and it was hard to get them to settle down. But last night, I was in a house with 13 angels (10 from the HB and 3 from the substitute family-- though one is 15 and a great help). I walked in the house and to my surprise, D, one of the most challenging boys, was the first to run up to me and hug me. Most of the rest followed suit, with kisses and all. I'll take that kind of greeting anytime I enter a house! It was so sweet! They had wonderful behavior the whole time. D swept the dining room by himself and did an excellent job, one girl volunteered to help another with the dishes, the kids were able to remember what they'd been learning in devotions and they paid great attention while we read and and talked about the parable of the Good Samaritan. My favorite part? Tucking them all in and praying for them. I let each one briefly mention a prayer request and then prayed and kissed each one good night and told them I loved them as I shut the door. Coming out to the living room and finding that the Red Sox were winning couldn't even compare to the joy, love and warmth I was feeling. God is at work in these children, and he is doing such marvelous things! Thank you for praying for me, for the children, for the house parents, and for the rest of the staff. Please keep it up...we need it! (I especially request your prayers as I have a number of assignments due in the next week and not much time in which to do them!)
With a heart and soul full of gratitude and love,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, October 22nd

It's Just a Spirit Thing
Having a broken dehumidifier was really driving me nuts. Mold was growing on my walls. YUCK! So, I cleaned it off. With what I thought was a strong bleach water solution. That took 2 hours... and about 3 days later it was growing back. AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!! And then the other night I felt like it was starting to smell yucky in my room. I noticed mold on my feather-down pillow. Stress. Angst. Desperation. It was bad. A friend had offered to help me look in to getting my dehumidifier fixed and he finally came to pick it up the other day so he could take it to the guy to have him look at it, but I was sick of waiting. I went to the biggest local hardware store and asked what they had for dehumidifiers. My little one that sucked around a half gallon of water out of the air in 3 days cost me around $95 last year. It was an expensive bugger, but I'm glad I bought it or else I would probably be living in a different apt by now. The local hardware place only had one. It was big (more normal dehumidifier size), and cost a whopping $340. I was feeling anxious about the mold in my room, but that was way out of my range. The disappointment continued. Until yesterday morning. I felt a little urge inside of me telling me to look for used dehumidifiers online. I'd never seen one on there before (and in various seasons I've checked these websites with some frequency for appliances), but I listened to the Holy Spirit's nudge and went onto craigslist (yes, we have it here!). It took me straight to the appliance page and WOW!

There at the top of the list was a dehumidifier! I couldn't believe it! So, I wrote to inquire more about it, and the lady told me somebody else was interested in it. I stressed briefly, but I knew God had set it apart for me. The other guy just had to decide he didn't want it. I prayed. (Part of me really knew it was mine, but another part of me wondered if it really was. How do you find that line between faith and arrogance?) God was, and is, faithful! I got an e-mail last night saying the guy had refused. Praise the Lord! Oh and the price? $80. It was not the most pleasant 75 minute ride through the mountains in heavy rains to pick it up today, but I knew I was not alone. God is good, and he cares about the horrible mold in my room (which I cleaned off this morning with a really strong bleach solution. You can still see some stains on the walls though).
As my former supervisor told me the other day, we have to give praise and glory to God and recount his great deeds to others! He is continuing to provide funds for the Los Guido Child Care Center in amazing ways. And he sent me a blessed, good brand, energy star dehumidifier that can do what my old one used to do in 2 hours.
What is something great God has done in or around you lately? Tell others and write to me so we can glorify God together! (Psalm 34:3)
Giving thanks to God,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, October 15th

A Taste of Fall
Fall is one of the things I miss most about the States, especially since, unlike Shredded Wheat, you can't just beg someone to send you some in a package. But, it can sort of come with someone on a plane. Allow me to explain...
This weekend I had the opportunity to house sit for some fellow missionaries here because the wife's mom came to visit and they all went to the beach. This family is from the north as well, so they miss fall too. But, the dear visiting mother brought some beautiful REAL leaves and pretty fall placemats. I can't go to the foliage, but indirectly, it came to me!
Yes, I got excited about 7 leaves taped to a window. They were a real blessing to me. And the juxtaposition with the banana plants and other tropical vegetation in the background was just too wild. God shows up in the most amazing ways sometimes... Hopefully someday, somehow, I'll get to soak in some foliage and go apple picking again and all those wonderful autumny things.
In the meantime, I appreciate your prayers. I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed by all my schoolwork, working out plans for my trip to the Carolinas for seminary next month, keeping the mold off my walls since my dehumidifier broke, and several other things. In the meantime, God is pulling at me over and over again, reminding me to seek Him, to put Him first, to take time for Him. And it's true. It's so easy to squeeze Him out and give him the leftovers (which is never much). Just an honest missionary girl confession. But when I do take the time to be with Him... it's so beautiful and satisfying! Please pray for proper use of time and for great productivity so I can do everything I need to! Thank you so much!
Love, 
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, October 8th

Didn't I just write about a Bible Bee last week? Well, yes, but the one we had this past Friday was just for the kids at the Bible Home and the Enrique Strachan School (that we have on site) and it was very different this year! Instead of just having teams with color names, this year we had a food theme. We used 6 foods mentioned in the Bible: milk, eggs, figs, honey, bread, and figs.

Each group had breakfast with the typical gallo pinto, eggs, and bread, plus the food that corresponded to their group. Some people got really creative. The milk group had arroz con leche (like rice pudding), the fig group had fig ice cream on top of graham-like crackers and a couple mini-marshmallows on top. During that breakfast/snack time, the leader of each group gave a short Bible lesson about the food that corresponded to their group. (The picture is about the one on milk. As you can see, the leader went all out!) Then, the children went from station to station: bowling, "fishing," playing Jenga, memory, and more in order to review everything they've learned over the course of the year in their devotions. It was a lot hard work, but there were many hands to make it light, and everything turned out splendidly (even in spite of a couple snafus). I hope to get some pictures on facebook in the next few days here. Some kids have already given me some great feedback about the activity. I am blessed to have such amazing coworkers and so many people that were willing to help and make the day special for the kids. I'm continuing to learn a lot about putting this activity together and am already looking forward to planning and coordinating it next year!
Thanks for your prayers and support. God is doing wonderful things in the lives of our children here!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, October 1st

Fun in the Word!
Friday was the Roblealto-wide Bible Bee. 20 children were selected to represent each program and came together to participate in a special fun-filled activity. We started off with a little ceremony to receive the Costa Rican flag, the Christian flag, and the Bible, and then had each group perform its presentation. Like last year, I was bursting with pride for my kids from the Bible Home. They all looked so sharp in their shirts from camp, and the presentation they did was impressive! 2 house moms made gorgeous posters and other visuals for the kids to use during the song. I ended up holding a banner so I couldn't take pictures of it, but I'm sure it looked great! The presentations of the child care centers were really good too, but the HB outdid itself!
After the presentations we mixed all the kids up and split them into 4 teams.

Then they passed from station to station, getting to participate in each game. The station I helped lead was great. It was like a giant board game. So, after throwing the enormous die and advancing the piece, they had to answer a question. If they got it right, they got to do a challenge. This might have been rolling a ball down two pieces of string and then making it drop into the bucket below, bouncing ping pong palls into water, flipping a shoe off one's foot onto a table, or as you see pictured, bobbing for candy in a bowl of water and then having to do the same in a bowl of flour. What a mess! (And that poor girl with glasses took forever! I don't know why she didn't take them off...) It was so much fun though. The kids had a blast and everything went really well. (The other stations were neat too. One was based on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, one was Blongoball, and the other required lip reading in a mirror). Thanks so much for your prayers! Please keep praying for this Friday's Bible Bee at the Bible Home to go well!
Love,
Carrie