Tico Tuesday, January 27th

Another Tuesday is come and is on its way out the door. I won't brag to you about the temperature or lack of snow here. It was cool and rainy, if that makes you feel any better. ;-)

Sunday we had our annual hymn sing with the missionaries and friends of UWM. It's an activity where I always help lower the mean age, but what a wonderful, rich time of worship! Sometimes when I sing hymns, I'm just singing and not paying attention to the words (ok, sometimes when singing more contemporary songs too). But, my OneWord for this year (if you haven't heard of it, it's like just picking a word/theme for a year instead of making a list of resolutions) is engage. I'm wanting to engage more fully in life, since I spend way too much of it just cruising through and not engaging in and making the most of many rich opportunities and gifts God sends my way. So, by God's grace I was enable to engage well in worship while hymn singing, and indeed, "Oh what a foretaste of glory divine!" Singing my awesome, holy God's praise through rich, old songs with people that have a combined total of over 500 years of mission service (and I think perhaps even closer to 1000!!) is just an amazing experience! I know I write about this every year, but I hope you can understand why. Maybe one of you will have to join us next year! Our 88 year old piano player who played for Billy Graham's crusades in Boston in the 50s won't be able to play much longer. We are certainly enjoying him as long as we can though.
God has done amazing work in Costa Rica and Latin America in the last couple hundred years, and there is still much more to be done!
Thank you for faithfully supporting my service to the Lord and the people he has made and placed in this part of the world. Thank you also for your prayers. I highly covet them!
May you make time to spend in rich worship of the Lord this week!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, January 20th

Happy Tuesday to you!

They say you never know what you got till its gone. Although I am very happy for Chrissy's engagement, I am already mourning losing her as a roommate. We've only been living together for a few months, but it's hard to imagine what life was like without her! We are excited to make the most of the time we have left as roommates though. And I feel very honored to be her "bridesmaid-in-residence." I got to go wedding dress shopping for the first time last week and I'm getting to witness the planning of a crosscultural wedding firsthand. I will tell you straight out: That is not for the faint of heart!
Changing topics...How are the kids at the Bible Home? The ones I've seen are quite well (they just came back). Today we had a few new ones join us, more will continue to over the course of the week, and some more will be come after that. For the first year ever, we are starting the year with 8 houses open. YES! EIGHT! Normally it's been more like 5-7. Praise the Lord for blessing us with wonderful house moms and for having them stick around (and a previous one return)! That means we only have one house that is sitting empty right now, and we are praying for another house mom to come so we can fill it and serve the maximum number of kids the Bible Home can hold. Please join me in praying for a new house mom, and for all the adjustments going on at the Bible Home right now, both for returning children and brand new ones. Leaving one's family isn't easy, even if it is a horribly dysfunctional one.
Thank you for all your love, support and prayers! You play an important role in God's work here!
May God remind us all to be grateful for the blessings he has given us and not take them for granted,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, January 13th

It's Tuesday again and I'm back in Costa Rica once more! After a very short night, long flight, and an 85° degree (minimum) change in temperature, I had left home and arrived back home. I feel like that's just a really good way to say it. My heart is in two places, and while that's hard, I'm learning a lot of life is hard and there will likely be a lot of suffering...that's just the way it is. I have to accept the fact that I live in--and am a part of--a very broken world. But it's not a hopeless one!

A former house mom who continues to give hope to her kids!

I am part of a hope-giving minstry that gathered all its personnel together today to turn our eyes back on Jesus and encourage us to be faithful, prudent servants of our King and Heavenly Father. I took part in a short drama of the scene Jesus describes in Matthew 25 when the King on Judgment Day says, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." I was reminded: What we do to others is like doing it to Jesus. And, really, since we all bear the image of Christ, it's true! That'll make me think twice before I do a lot of things...and will hopefully lead me to being someone that can infuse a lot more love and hope into broken lives.
May God use you as an instrument of hope...and may we all be mindful of how we treat others this week and always!

Tico Tuesday, January 6th

Happy Epiphany from Maine!

A lovely view of the harbor!

We are now back to regularly scheduled Tico Tuesdays...(and if you don't what what Epiphany means, it is the celebration of the arrival of the Magi to worship the Christ Child). I have less than 36 hours remaining with my parents here in Maine. I have had a delightful time with them. My mom and I have exercised together almost every day, and my dad has beat me in 5 out of 6 games of cribbage. We've had Christmas and Broadway sings around the piano, and wonderful times of just being together. They will be hard to leave, but I'm looking forward to the year ahead in Costa Rica. I know I don't know what the year holds, but I know that God is in control and wants to draw me closer to him and make me more like him. I'm up for it!
Thank you so much for your continued prayers for me. This week you can be praying for my trip on Thursday (I am leaving at dark hours of the morning in the most frigid temperatures of the week here and then have a 50 minute layover in Newark) and for a good return to the Bible Home next week.
Thanks! May God guide and bless you in this new year, and remind you each day that his mercies are new every morning,
Carrie