Tico Tuesday, December 20th

Pre-Christmas greetings from Portland, Maine!
I arrived here safely and soundly at dark, frigid wee hours of the morning and am very happy to be able to spend the next several days here and celebrate the incarnation of Jesus our Savior with my parents.

This weekend I was able to distribute a little thank you to many of those who were small group facilitators this year. It was just a small token of heartfelt thanks to them for their service this year and inviting them to the training retreats we are planning next year, but many people were very touched by the mini-card and chocolate. I wished I could have given them so much more, but many responded with deep gratitude, giving me a big hug and telling me thank you for the support I provided to them over the course of the year.
Then yesterday before flying out I had breakfast with one of the women on my small group core team. She posted a picture of us on facebook afterward and the words she wrote to accompany the picture touched the depths of my heart and almost had me in tears. "...Thank you for your love...your friendship and your wonderful representation of Jesus...Growing by your side has been a great blessing." Well if that right there doesn't make me feel like all my labors and efforts from the year have been worth it, then nothing will. I had not felt any doubts about my service this year, but receiving such kind words makes it all feel worth it a hundred times over.
God has been so good to me this year and it is a great joy and blessing to be an instrument in his hands. Thank you again to all of you for your support in every way. Words can never be enough. (No Tico Tuesday next week as I try to disconnect as much as possible while I have time off, but a Chronicle will come out shortly after the first of the new year).
Merry Christmas to you all, and may God's peace and joy fill you to overflowing as we celebrate his miraculous birth and await his return!
Come, Lord Jesus!
Carrie

Tico Tueday, December 13th

A smattering of news:
I am going to get to go to the island in the Caribbean that has a piece of my heart! Thank you to those who have already started donating to the cause. A team of 8 from my church is going and I'm really excited. We'll be focusing on children's ministry and small group training. Also, this week I was able to get my plane ticket to Spain for the Life Coach training for less then I had expected. Praise the Lord! So now the total I need to raise (formerly $2900) for both the island (Jan 8-16) and Life Coach training (in March) is $2400 (also taking into account what has been given already). You can give here.

Working hard in PT!

Speaking of travel: I'm going to Maine for Christmas! I am really looking forward to some time off and getting to spend time with my parents. If you are in northern New England and would like to get together, let me know and we'll see what we can do! And since I will be in Maine shortly before I go to the island, I will be taking donations with me to take to the island, so if you would like to donate: new or lightly used children's clothes, candy, face paint, balloons, stickers (preferably not with English writing on them), or if you happen to have 120 units of the same, small toy please contact me and we'll see how close I can come to my baggage weight limit! (Hooray for free bags on Southwest!)
In other news, I have two, just TWO sessions of physical therapy left! And the last one my therapist and I are going to play tennis with some other people from church. Hallelujah! This recovery process has been really hard work and very tiring, but it is paying off. I continue to feel better and stronger each day. I can't wait to see how impressed my orthopedist will be when I have my followup appointment with him on Friday!
I ask you to please join me in prayer for the staff of my church. On Thursday we're having our big annual planning retreat. Pray for unity, efficiency, creativity, and great wisdom for us as we look at each area of work and evaluate 2016 and plan 2017, striving to be obedient to God and grow his kingdom here on earth.
Thank you so much for everything! You are an amazing support team and I am so thankful for you all, for every prayer, for every gift, every email! Thank you!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, December 6th

The other day one of the small group facilitators wrote to me, ecstatic about the experience her group had at supporting our church's biweekly ministry to the homeless. They brought the food, led the singing, and spent time pouring love into those who came. The small group facilitator sent me pictures, including this one, and several of her small group in action. Then she included several screenshots from their group chat, in which multiple members expressed the joy of serving together, how happy they are to know each other and be part of a spiritual family together, all sorts of warm, fuzzy feelings. The facilitator's joy brought me joy, and it was beautiful to see how God has been working in this group. This facilitator is one who came to most of the trainings we had this year and I can tell she has really been trying to put it all into practice. This is one of the greatest small group success stories I've heard this year and I thank the Lord for what he's been doing!
Another small group facilitator and I were texting recently as well, and he was among the group from my church who was able to go help with relief efforts from Hurricane Otto. He is planning a special gathering to share with his small group what God did in that time. He shared a testimony with me: the day they left, the team had a light breakfast. They had brought some food to eat later, but gave it to the people they were serving because they had nothing. The team ended up not eating again till the evening after a very hard day's work: and the Lord sustained them and gave them energy all day. He told me he wasn't even hungry that night. As he told me that, a verse came to mind: Jesus said, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me" (John 4:34). I believe serving others was the food of my brothers and sisters from church that day, and it was a beautiful act of worship to the Lord, and God rewarded them in multiple ways beyond their comprehension and mine.
Praise the Lord for his ways and his works!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, November 22nd

I guessed I skipped a week! I'll tell you why in my Chronicle which will be out in the near future. :)

But for now, I am very happy because I finally have a picture of my small group core team!! I'd meant to get a picture of us at one of our meetings, but always forgot. So, at the annual party the church staff throws for all the volunteers, I made sure to get us together so I could show you these delightful ladies with whom I've been working this year! Shirley and Yuli have been faithful, dedicated, hard working companions who have a great love for God's people and have come up with a number of great ideas for a number of areas within the realm of small groups. I have had a wonderful time not only getting to work with Shirley and Yuli, but also getting to develop friendships with each of them. They have taught me much and are great at keeping me from committing cultural faux pas and understanding why it's best to do (or not do) certain things. It has been a real honor and blessing to get to work with them and I'm very glad they were both able to come to the fiesta on Friday to celebrate them.
At the party for the 450 volunteers we have at church, we served them a delicious meal, recognized one outstanding "volunteer of the year," prayed for and blessed all the volunteers, and had karaoke to various Christian songs. It was a lot of fun. In order to keep the singers who help lead worship from monopolizing, we encouraged someone from each table to sing and many were brave enough to go for it! Sometimes the whole table ended up singing together.
It was challenging trying to plan the party without counting on any volunteers to help. We wanted it to be a night to celebrate them and not have them work at all. So, the staff worked hard all day preparing and decorating. I wore myself out in the morning, so had to go home and rest in the afternoon before the party, but thankfully had the strength to make it through the evening. Being operated on is very tiring. Thankfully, I'm continuing to make good progress though. My physical therapist is very pleased and last night he gave me the go ahead to ride my bike again!
Also, before I sign off, I ask you to please pray: Hurricane Otto is heading straight towards Costa Rica and Nicaragua and could do a lot of damage (and be quite a literal wet blanket on Thanksgiving/birthday). May God calm the winds or keep the storm out to sea! Thank you!
I'm thankful for each and every one of you!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, November 8th

Greetings! As you (hopefully) read at the end of my Chronicle last week, I had an arthroscopy on my right knee on Friday. Since then, several people have been helping me very generously: bringing & preparing me food, helping me with the ice machine I have to use on my knee every 4 hours, just being present while I bathe and then helping squeegee the shower floor so it doesn't get slippery, etc., etc., etc. I have never had to be so dependent on people before. It's challenging. But I am hugely grateful. I am grateful for the success of the surgery (both my family practice doctor and my orthopedist were present and pleased with the outcome). Basically my patella was moving a lot horizontally upon contracting my leg and surgical intervention was the best solution. It had been causing me pain for some time and I hadn't felt it very newsworthy, so while maybe it seemed I had a sudden surgery, I've been dealing with knee pain most of this year (and on various occasions in past years as well). I pray I won't deal with future knee pain from here on!
While it is tiring to sit around all day, this has been a wonderful opportunity to grow friendships. This evening a woman near my age that just started coming to young adult group came over and we had a lovely time getting to know each other. I doubt that would have happened had I not had surgery, or at least not this soon after meeting each other! Yesterday a woman from my mission brought me a lovely lunch and we got to catch up. Normally I only see her at UWM activities a couple times a year. Today, the staff from church came to visit me and pray with me during lunch time (see photo). Numerous friends are checking in on me via text message and I have a long list of people I know I can call on in time of need.
I had a really helpful cultural conversation with Rudy (my head pastor here) on Thursday. He told me ticos rarely taking initiative is a cultural thing. It is something that often frustrates me, but hearing a tico tell me not to expect ticos to reach out to me was really helpful for me to hear, even though I sure don't understand it. That makes it a lot easier for me to reach out and call on others though. Sometimes it has felt tiring and it's been tempting to wonder if people actually care about me. This surgery experience is proving me that they really do! I'm learning a lot about my need to depend more on others and more on God. I can't do anything on my own! I praise him for his faithfulness and thank him for all the loving, supportive people he has placed around me, both near and far!
Love,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, October 25th

I meant to have a little house warming/house blessing/open house in my old apartment shortly after moving in. But that never happened. So, this time around, I decided that it doesn't matter if I don't have everything decorated yet. I'm unpacked and feeling quite settled, and with end-of-the-year festivities fast approaching, I needed to just pick a date and invite people. So I did.

It was fun having a few of my worlds collide: my good friend Liz who is also a UWMer came (with adorable baby Lucía!), and my fellow single missionary friend Kayla (holding Luci in the picture) came too. Everyone else was from church. It was a pretty small crowd, but I was ok with that. It was interesting to see who all showed up. I am grateful. I am so, so grateful. I often feel lonely, but over the past week, God has been speaking to me a lot about that. What I think I need and what God knows I actually need are sometimes very different things. I love knowing people and having lots of friends (and I'll confess I really like being the center of attention). But, I can't have a lot of deep, close friends. It doesn't work that way. And even though I am quite an extrovert, I would rather have one or two close people I can share my heart with than a bunch of shallow friends. I feel like I am starting to develop a couple deeper, closer friendships here, and that means so much to me! It is truly an answer to prayer! Please continue to pray for these relationships to grow.
Sunday evening we had a lovely time: Rudy (my head pastor here) led us in a prayer of blessing for my apartment before he and Luisa had to go and then a few more friends arrived and one brought a guitar, so we had a little time of singing praise to God as well. In between we ate, talked, and played dominoes. It was a really nice evening. God is so good to me and he shows his incredible love for me in so many ways through so many people.
May you see his goodness and love all around you this week!
Love,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, October 19th

A day in the life...
5:55 Alarm goes off. Do my devotions and get ready for the day, make myself a peanut butter banana sandwich to eat for breakfast in traffic.
7:25 Leave for Migration. Sit in traffic and wait.
8:35 Arrive at Migration (it is a 5 mile drive). Watch an unruly 2 year old boy and his parents from somewhere in Southeast Asia and try to not to get too tired of the boy running around everywhere and yelling. Parents of toddlers, I salute you! Work on reviewing Psalm 27, read, text, and email about all manner of things as I wait.
10:30 Get to the window at Migration to present my request for permanent residency.
10:31 Get told I need to pay $200 and get some official stamps. Even if I bring them back today, I will have to wait in line all over again. Otherwise I have 10 business days to get it all done.
10:40 Realize my debit card doesn't work at the ATM at Migration. Buy the official stamps from a guy with a newspaper stand at the entrance to Migration. Determine that indeed my plans with friends fell through and that I do have time to pursue Migration stuff today if I hurry and get back before it closes at noon.
11:00 Go to a nearby ATM. Drop by Office Depot across the street for a mouse and wrist pad my physical therapist told me to get for my wrist.
11:30 Get to the bank at Migration. Wait. Pay the money.
11:45 Get inside Door number 4 at Migration with 15 minutes to spare!
12pm A worker comes around giving people numbers (like you get at the deli at the grocery store) and writing their names on the back of them. I decide to not use Carmen, the name I normally give at restaurants when I order and they want my name. Carrie is really hard for people to pronounce here because the long "a" doesn't exist in Spanish. I brace myself, preparing for the man to have me repeat it multiple times and then butcher it in written form. He approaches, asks me my name. I say "Carrie" as clearly as possible and watch him write. It unfolds almost in slow motion: C-a-r-r-i-e. WOW! A miracle has just unfolded before my eyes! I congratulate the man and thank him profusely. I am convinced the Holy Spirit was whispering the letters in the man's ear. My Father is so good to me!
12:24 My landlady texts, asking if I can buy the tickets for the World Cup Qualifying match between Costa Rica and the USA next month. I'm going with her husband's family. (She can't go because she has to take care of the baby, but other women are going). After some trial, error, and frustration with the confusing system, I manage to buy the tickets.
1:31 I make it to the window once more. The woman accepts my papers and tells me to come back in 3 months and be checking the status of my paperwork online. Easiest migration process ever!
2:00 After driving into the heart of San José and buying myself some plantain chips and some coconut yogurt with chocolate chips and almond slices, I settle in a covered patio of the Clínica Bíblica to watch the end of a Real Madrid soccer match (a star tico is the goalie).
2:56 Get to the Radiology department of the Clínica Bíblica for my 3pm arthroscopy (an MRI where they inject my knee with fluid beforehand to create higher contrast in the results of the MRI). Wait.
3:30 Get called up to the reception window to check in. Wait some more.
4:15 Get taken back. Find out they are also injecting my knee with lidocaine so my knee will be numb and I won't be able to drive home right away. There's lots I want to share about the MRI with you. Please keep reading below.
5:45 The MRI is over and my knee is still numb. The doctor suggests I take a coffee break and walk around a little before attempting to drive in rush hour traffic. I wish I had brought someone with me for moral support and to drive me home. I text my supervisor who is teaching a course I attend on Tuesday night to let him know I'll be late.
6:00 After walking around a bit, I feel I can drive safely. Nosh on a fun size packet of M&Ms and wait in traffic.
7:10 Arrive at home, put socks on (my feet got wet and cold in the rain earlier in the day and they were cold in the MRI). Grab my book for the course on listening to God at church and turn around and head back out the door again.
9:10 Get home
9:55 Lights out!

More about the MRI
As the nurse took me back, she was relieved I spoke Spanish. After I got changed into the hospital gown, she talked with me while we waited for the doctor to come in. He too was relieved I spoke Spanish and did a brief exam of my knee. I had to lie on the hard, cold stainless steel table. That was uncomfortable and made me feel like the procedure was more serious than it would. The doctor explained more about what he was going to do to me. It was a little nerve-wracking, especially the part about not being able to drive right away. The injection was not pain-free, but the lidocaine (local anesthetic often used in dental procedures) started working very quickly. As it all happened I was reciting Ps 27 and Ps 23 to myself. I felt a little lightheaded walking over to the MRI machine, but thankfully didn't pass out. Maybe it would have been better to accept the wheelchair they offered me though.
In the MRI room, I was freezing so they kindly gave me two blankets instead of one. For an MRI, they give you headphones because the machine produces a lot of loud noises. Some sound like machine guns, some sound like long deep bass blasts (think of the horn on a barge or some large ship). They remind me of this really cool Louis Giglio presentation (9 minute version here and full version... I lost it. sorry. But it's out there and worth listening to!) So, laying there as still as possible, I was singing in my head "How great is our God"--because the Bella pulsar really does make sounds just like the MRI machine. And then I went into "Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other...." At one point, one of the frequencies actually produced musical notes. It was awe-inspiring. Then another frequency sounded like it was just saying "happyhappyhappyhappyhappyhappy...." really fast over and over and over again. I had to keep myself from bursting into giggles. In spite of it being such a long and tiring day so far, God had indeed been so very good to me and I was happy and grateful. My stuff at migration was by far the easiest I've ever had to deal with. I had people I was texting with throughout the day (though interestingly enough my sweet landlords seem to be the ones taking most interest and concern in my knee issues). I was happy. I was also very tired, so much that even with all that racket I was starting to doze off for milliseconds (or more?) at a time. I'm very grateful for the Israel Houghton music and M&Ms that kept me awake on the way home. It was tempting to get mopey and feel lonely, but no one but Jesus could be with me for the MRI anyway, so it all worked out. I could have gone for a hug when I came out and someone to drive me home, but God brought me safely home. And now you know why Tico Tuesday is now here today and not last night. :-)
Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and support. If God lays it on your heart to give towards the $200 migration fee, you are welcome to do so. My parents are gifting me my ticket to the soccer match for my birthday. And thanks be to God, my health insurance through the mission covers every penny of every appointment and procedure here in Costa Rica and the Clínica Bíblica is one of the best hospitals in all Central America! God is so good! May you see his goodness all around you throughout this day and always!
Love,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, October 11th

I've been sitting here for over an hour trying to figure out what to write to you about: the miraculous birth of my friend's baby after she was told her body was like that of a woman in menopause and her marriage almost disintegrated? How Walmart has had Christmas decor in it for like a month now? How much I love David Ortiz and am so sad the Red Sox lost last night? How the new church office space is coming along?

Most of the pastors will have cubicles in this space

 How the last small group training of the year had a disappointingly low attendance level and how God showed up there? And how glad I am that I didn't plan to use a computer and projector because the power was out for most of the meeting? Yes, I think this is a good thing to tell you about, even though there are no pictures of it. Although we have around 70-75 small groups that were active during this series on Life-Giving Relationships, only about a dozen people came to the final training of the year a week ago Saturday. Apparently there was a tremendous rainstorm happening down in Heredia centro and that made it hard for some people to come, and I suspect it discouraged others from venturing out. It is difficult to work hard to prepare something and then only have a few people come and learn. Especially when people come to me later with concerns about things they would've known how to address if they had come to the trainings. I've been learning a lot though. It looks like we are going to revamp quite a bit next year and aim for fewer, longer trainings and make them even more interactive and dynamic. I'm working on planning a closing evening for the facilitators to thank them for their service this year and encourage them to be more committed to trainings next year. I know I still have a lot more to learn, but I'm really thankful for my team that helps me keep in tune with the culture and come up with good ideas for the future. So, please continue to keep the Small Group core team and me (and the facilitators) in your prayers, and for God to raise up more people for the core team. Thank you so much!
Love,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, September 27th

Over the course of the year, I've been wondering whether or not I should stay in this apartment. When I first moved in, I hadn't realized how poorly built it was. I don't think I've shared many of my apartment woes with you, but I've had a few different flooding issues which have led to kitchen cabinets being wrecked, mold growing on my laundry room and bedroom ceiling, and water seeping in under my front door when it rains hard. I wanted to finish out my year contract here, but the issues just got to be too much. My landlords live several hours away and that makes it hard for them to respond to issues well and in a timely manner.

My new apartment! (Before)

I've been keeping an eye on apartments off and on over the course of the year, and on Thursday I discovered one that seemed to fit my criteria. I was able to go and see it that day, a friend was able to accompany me and hear me process everything, and Thursday night I could barely sleep I was so excited about moving! Thankfully, things have worked out well with my current landlords: I only gave two weeks notice, but am moving out in one, so I don't have to pay next month's rent (and might still get some of my deposit back!). My new landlords are excellent! I ended up hanging out with them for two hours on Saturday when we met to talk about dates and review the contract. I am so excited and grateful! This place is well built, is nicer, and I think it's bigger! And it has an electric gate (living with a non-electric gate has been hard, especially in the downpours!) and covered parking! It is in a more central location and my landlords live just behind the apartments. I haven't felt comfortable in my apartment all year, and I already feel more comfortable in the new one! Please be praying for me this week as I am working, packing, and participating in a number of activities and meetings. I am moving on Saturday morning and have small group leader training in the afternoon. It's going to be a full day, but thankfully, I have friends who can help me and a friend is sleeping over tonight and helping me pack.
Thank you so much for keeping me in your prayers! I'll let you know how the move went next week! May God guide each of us in all our tasks and the decisions we make!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, September 20th

I was going to write and tell you about the fun Independence Day celebrations here last week (195 years of independence!), but yesterday something quite newsworthy happened. Our local active volcano Turrialba decided to spew ash, rocks, etc. 4km (about 2.5 miles) into the air. From what I've heard, there hasn't been this big an eruption in some time and the ash fall last night was the worst in a long time. 

The back window of my car last night

I was on my way to visit a small group when all of a sudden I felt like I was driving through a fog. I couldn't tell if it was actually fog or if there was just some dust accumulated on my windshield. So, I cleaned my windshield and all of a sudden, I could see again. I was grateful for that, but was perplexed because I thought I hadn't driven through anywhere that was particularly dusty. Well, when I arrived to the small group they said Turrialba had erupted at various points during the day. I am clueless about the news because I'm terrible at following it and I'm intentionally spending less time on facebook, which is how I normally find out about significant (and not so significant) events. Visiting the small group was delightful and I think it's perhaps one of the better groups I've visited. By the time we finished, we went out and what they say about ash looking like snow on a car is not so far from the truth. It's just like fine, dirty snow. Thankfully, it rinses off pretty well, but my car still definitely needs a good bath. Please pray for it to rain soon to help clear out the air. We're in rainy season, but I don't think it has rained since Friday and it's supposed to rain hard at least for a bit every day! 

As far as I know, there hasn't been any damage or serious injurious due to the eruption. People know what precautions to take and the ash is more a pain to clean than anything else (unless you have a plane to catch, or asthma). I even saw one post on facebook commenting what a blessing it is that our pollution here is totally natural and will end up being good for the earth. Of course, Costa Rica isn't pollution free by any means, but I thought it was an interesting perspective to take on the heavy air pollution we got yesterday.  

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers for me and my wellbeing and protection. They really mean a lot to me!

May God protect you and keep you safe in all you do!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, September 13th

On my day off on Thursday, I went to the beach! It was a much needed getaway with all that has been going on and thankfully there is a beautiful beach with calm waves just about 2 hours away-a perfectly doable day trip. And thankfully, a friend was able to come along with a friend of hers so we were a gringa, a tica, and a Salvadorian. It was really fun.

So why am I telling you about my day off? In addition to enjoying sharing happy things with you, I'm also telling you because I learned a lesson I'd like to pass along to you. Lately I have been going full speed ahead. Always trying to practice good self care and sleeping and exercising and eating well, but still pushing myself hard and sometimes feeling overwhelmed with everything. I was at the beach though, just sitting there, enjoying the waves. I looked out and saw the sand, a few shells and rocks and leaves, the receding tide, the crashing waves, the cloudy sky. But as I sat still and kept on looking, I began to see one, two,... five, six, hermit crabs making their way across the sand (interestingly all in the same direction!). Then a bigger crab, camouflaged by the sand half outside a hole, then another crab, walking around in plain daylight. The longer I sat still and observed, the more I saw, even though I was looking at the same things. There is often more than what first meets the eye, and I wonder how often I've missed things because I've been in a hurry? What beauty have I missed? What opportunities have floated right before my eyes without me seeing them? I don't beat myself up for what I might have missed. But I do sense an invitation which I believe I've shared with you before: S L O W   D O W N! Slowing down is hard. Really hard. I know I need to, but I will right after I... and then it never happens. I want to slow down and be more aware of God and his presence and his work throughout each day. I want to be connected to him, lift my eyes to him, not just keep my eyes down focused on whatever task I'm doing. It's a process. As I learned in my spiritual formation training through my mission, I'm on a long, slow, deep, difficult, particular journey. Thank you for praying for me and walking alongside me on this journey. Please keep it up! I hope what I share encourages you on yours!
Love,
Carrie

PS. I find it delightful and fascinating that though larger crabs walk sideways, hermit crabs walk forwards! God's creation is amazing!

Tico Tuesday, August 30th

Thank you so much for your prayers. Leading Vigía on Friday night went really well!

We had several new people come and everyone participated well in the different activities I had us do. It was a really lovely time. First I explained a little about Psalm 119 and how it is an acrostic of the Hebrew alphabet. Each letter of the Hebrew alphabet has 8 verses that start with that letter. What an incredible task! Yes, Psalm 119 is indeed the longest chapter in the Bible. And it is all about love for God's Word: his laws, his teachings, his statutes, his promises. The psalmist is deeply passionate for God's word and shares about the blessings that come from loving and obeying it: peace, joy, understanding, protection, worship, etc. Often when people hear Psalm 119 they think it is long, boring and repetitive. My hope was to give people a different perspective on it, and I feel that my mission was accomplished! I read the last 16 verses of the Psalm with my partner and when we finished she exclaimed, "¡Qué lindo!" How lovely/pretty! That was the best reaction I could have dreamed. It was a joy to see people enjoying the chapter so much and having God speak to them through his Word.
As a response in worship, I had each pair compose 3 verses that all started with the same letter. Then I had everyone read their verses in alphabetical order, composing our own acrostic psalm. It was really neat! I heard lots of positive feedback afterwards. People saying they'd never done anything like that before, how fascinating the activity was, etc. Thanks and praise be to God! I love the Bible and I was very grateful to be able to share my passion for it with others and help them interact with it in different, creative ways. God is so good!
Small groups started meeting to do the series last week. Please keep them all in your prayers. Talking about Life-Giving Relationships is turning out to be a lot more confrontational than we thought and is bringing a whole bunch of life-sucking relationships to light. There are also a number of relational crises taking place. The enemy loves to attack the very area we are trying to strengthen! Please pray for the church staff and all the individuals and families participating in this series and for life-giving relationships to grow and abound!
May God bless you with rich life-giving relationships--thank you for the life you give me through your friendship and support!
Love,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, August 23rd

This past week was a very full one for my church. We had our quarterly 101 welcome class in which over 50 new people officially joined our church, a beautiful Mother's Day party, a meeting of the core leaders of our church, and a family fun weekend with baptisms followed by fun with bouncy castles, ping pong, pool, soccer, volleyball, other activities, and food that completely sold out.

On Sunday we sold over 110 books for the series: over 1.5x what we sold last weekend, which had been our biggest selling weekend so far! The series officially started on Sunday as well, so small groups started using the materials in the series in their meetings last night. We have several new groups opening with this series: some from people who have been part of my church for several years, and others who went to the 101 class last Tuesday night and then filled out the Small Group Facilitator form as soon as it ended. I'm really sensing a need to add to my small group team. There is a lot of work to be done and I can't put too much weight on the two women who are currently on the team with me, and I only have so many hours a week. Please join me in praying about this, and pray for all the facilitators (new and old) and the small groups as we dig into this series, Life-Giving Relationships.
This coming Saturday we have our 2nd to last small group facilitator training of the year and the following we have the 201 class on discipleship, in which I'll be teaching the section on prayer (and the following week I'll likely be teaching on Sanctification for our Bible Basics course). And I'm going to be teaching/leading an activity on Psalm 119 at young adult group this Friday night. And over the next several weeks I'll be visiting and supervising multiple small groups.
My plate is full, but my cup runneth over and I am so grateful and happy to be here and have all these opportunities to share my gifts and passions to help others grow in their relationship with God.
Thank you for being a part of this and for all your faithfulness, generosity, and kindness to me.
May we all continue to use our gifts and passions for God's glory!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, August 16th

Happy Tuesday!

The last couple weeks I have been swamped with work as we prepare for our next church-wide series, in which the sermons and small group material complement each other, and a 6-7 week season when all small groups are in full swing and many new groups open. It has been a bit stressful at times, but stress in this job doesn't feel like stress I've had in other jobs. I don't know if it's the job or if it's the ways I've grown and changed, but while I've felt pressured to get lots done with little time, I haven't experienced the same kind of underlying fear/angst I've felt in the past, and I am so glad!! Thanks and praise be to God! I think this is the best and healthiest work environment I've ever been a part of, and I am so, so grateful. We care for, serve, and support each other, and it's just beautiful. I'm still feeling a bit overwhelmed with work and have a lot of things coming up over the next couple months, but, I'm trying to keep my eyes on Jesus, stay organized, and keep plugging away.
In the midst of all this work one of the neatest things that has happened is that, as I called people who filled out those commitment slips I had to staple to the bulletin a couple weeks ago, I was the first person from church to reach out and contact them. I got to talk with people that are really excited about my church and what God is doing in and through it. Several people want to open a small group and haven't even been to the welcome/membership class yet! I hope they will make it to the class tonight so they can open their groups!
Thank you so much for keeping my church and me in your prayers. God is at work and it is my desire to see people get plugged in and meet with other people to grow together through worshiping, sharing, studying, serving, and evangelizing together. There is much to be done, but it is God's work. He is doing it, and it is all about him and it is all for him. To him alone be the glory!
Thank you so much for coming alongside me and helping make my service here possible through your financial, emotional, and spiritual support.
May God continue to use you to be an instrument of blessing to those around you,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, August 9th

Today has been an interesting day here in Costa Rica. My friends' children, who go to a private school here, had school canceled due to a protest staged by the "official" taxis. These red taxis are known for taking advantage of the system and not always providing the best service. They've essentially had a monopoly for a long time and are very unhappy with Uber as an unregulated competitor. Since Uber has been in the country (around a year), they have been complaining about Uber stealing their clients. So, to get the government's attention, today they blocked all the major entryways to San José. In response, Uber offered service for a thousand colones, which is less than $2.

Unfortunately, this peace-loving country is not always so peaceful. I suppose the fact that a taxi protest is a big deal for us makes it look like there aren't many big issues here, but indeed, even here in one of the happiest countries in the world, things are not perfect. I've been realizing the government here is a lot more corrupt than I'd thought (and there are a number of other issues I won't get into here right now). And today, there was some violence: a policeman lost a few teeth in an incident with a taxi driver. Thankfully, I don't think there was anything beyond that, but still, it's not a matter of comparison. There was no need for any violence at all. It was a day of concern for many.
Please be praying for Costa Rica as a country. It faces many challenges: trying to be like a developed country, yet still very much in development. Bigger cars on the same narrow roads with no shoulders. (Not to mention the potholes and little to no street signs). There is poor/limited infrastructure and a rapidly growing population. Pray for the Body of Christ here to be centered on Truth and to unite and act to bring God's kingdom here on earth. I know my church is doing the best we can to bring light to our dark corner of the world and am proud to be a part of it. Yet there is still a long ways to go.
May God use us all to be bearers of his light and love wherever we are,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, July 26th

July 25th is the annual celebration of the annexation of Guanacaste. Guanacaste is the most northwestern province of Costa Rica and the vast majority of the country's cultural richness comes from there. To celebrate, people dress up in more "traditional" clothing and enjoy typical music, poems, and food. So, at church, everyone who was working in the lobby as part of the fellowship team or at a stand wore something traditional, or as close to it as possible. It was fun to do something a little different and celebrate the richness Guanacaste has brought to Costa Rican life.

Yesterday we had a cookout with several UWM people in the area, and one of our national colleagues who has lots of connections invited a well-known Costa Rican musician and composer. He shared with us a little more about the history of the annexation, and how Guanacaste had gone between belonging to Costa Rica, belonging to Nicaragua, and independence. When it decided to join Costa Rica, it had been independent, which is good, because we've already had (and continue to have) many border scuffles with Nicaragua. He also shared for us a song he composed, "Soy Tico" ("I'm Costa Rican"). That was a fun cultural experience, though I felt a little embarrassed of myself for not learning more about the history of the day beforehand. I feel like history generally goes in one ear and out the other for me though...
Anyway, things were relatively quiet at the Grupos Pequeños stand at church this past weekend. Only three new facilitators signed up, but I'm excited about them! I expect the stand to be busy to swamped the next 4 weekends as we sell the booklets for our series starting August 20-21, encourage everyone who is not in a small group to join one, and encourage more people to become facilitators of small groups. Thank you for praying with me for God to strengthen and grow my church through small groups!
May God continue to strengthen and grow your relationship with Him as well!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, July 19th

Happy Tuesday to you once more from Costa Rica!

On Sunday, I was invited to join the leadership team and some other faithful attendees of the young adult ministry of my church to talk over some things and plan our next special event. It is amazing how much the ministry of Vigía 360° has in common with small groups! I feel like I was able to share a few comments and suggestions for Vigía regarding things I've been learning about small groups, and that was really neat. And, now I'm talking with the leader of Vigía (my good friend Pri I've mentioned before) about implementing small groups in Vigía! Exciting stuff. As in the rest of the ministries and areas of church, this is a special time. We are adjusting to being in our own building and lots of new people are coming. We are doing our best to keep on growing in the Lord and moving forward and living into the fullness of all God has in store for us. We talked at the meeting on Sunday about the importance of keeping our eyes fixed on the Lord and not worrying about numbers. Attendance at Vigía has dropped this year, and we are working on providing more followup and personal invitations to people, but we also know it's not just about quantity. We want to be a welcoming community that is passionate about God. We believe if we keep our eyes on him, he will direct our steps and take care of the rest.
Please keep this ministry in your prayers--we are excited for what God has in store for us! Please also keep praying for small groups. We are going to be recruiting new facilitators the next couple weeks and then starting to sell materials for our next series, Relaciones de Vida (Life-Giving Relationships) that starts in just a month!
Thank you! May God bless you with rich community and life-giving relationships!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, July 12th

Stop and smell the...geraniums?

Over the past few weeks I was housesitting for some good friends here. Along with taking care of the dog, I had to water several flourishing potted geraniums. Having already killed a chrysanthemum and basil plant of my own, I was hoping the geraniums would not suffer under my care. Thankfully, they continued to thrive and one was sprouting this beautiful new blossom just yesterday when I watered them before their owners returned. Why am I telling you this? Because I've realized I've been living full throttle lately and I need to slow down. I need to admire the flowers as they unfurl (I wish I would have had time to sit and watch this one!). I need to take time each day to stop. To re-center myself on the Lord. To take some deep breaths. Maybe life wouldn't be so crazy if I stopped interrupting myself in whatever task I'm trying to accomplish 17 times an hour. Ok, so I made that number up, but my point is, I want to be a better steward of the precious time God gives me and I want to be more focused. More focused not only on whatever I'm doing in the moment, but more focused on God--more aware of him and what he is doing in and around me. I want to learn what it means to do everything as unto the Lord. And I've realized part of what helps me focus is   S l o w i n g   D o w n . Closing my eyes and taking some deep breaths. Engaging fully in the moment and enjoying it --not constantly letting my mind move on to whatever is next. That's not easy. But I am convinced it is very important. What helps you focus, slow down, and be more aware of God?
May God attune our hearts to his and draw us closer to himself each day,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, June 28th

What happened over the course of the past week at church is really wonderful and exciting in a number of ways. Bathrooms, light fixtures, the rest of the platform, and new projectors all got installed, mud was covered over, areas were finished and painted, and while cleaning and cleaning and cleaning, I was able to get to know several people from church better. And God was doing some work on my pride--reminding me that all my hard work should be an offering unto him, not so people could see me and say what a good hard worker I am.

The inaugural weekend itself was amazing. We opened with a worship concert on Friday night. Our youth group's band did a very nice job opening and the band that followed them led us in a wonderful time of worship as well. Then the inaugural ceremonies were Saturday and Sunday evening. We had two identical ceremonies so everyone could fit. There was singing to the Lord; brief performances from the theater ministry out of which our church was born and a glimpse of the circus that has also stemmed from the theater; a video of our church's history; a children's choir; glow sticks (symbolizing being light in the world); video greetings from Marcos Vidal (a Christian musician from Spain who did a concert for us a few years ago to help raise money for the building), Rick Warren, and others; a homily; prayers; and then the cutting of the ribbon, followed by a high energy song declaring God's greatness and strength. (I wish I had a video! Here is a similar version.)
The final surprises of the night started with a cimarrona (see-ma-ROH-nah), a band very typical of our beloved province, Heredia. It consists of percussion, a couple brass instruments, and a saxophone, and is accompanied by people in giant masks/costumes who dance around. They led us outside where we then had fireworks! As you can see, there were a number of different elements contained in the ceremony. They all served to remind us who we are, whose we are, and what we are to do. But above all else, it was a big fiesta celebrating God and his grace, faithfulness, love, provision, power, strength, nearness, holiness, and desire for everyone to know, love, and worship him. And we all got to dress up to celebrate--that was fun and made it even more special.
My heart is overflowing with thanks and praise to God: a year ago I was just arriving to Mexico, not knowing what God had in store for me. Now I have had the privilege of being back in Costa Rica for six months, being a part of this special time with my church! Praise the Lord! I look forward to what he has in store in the future! He is so GOOD!
May you see his goodness in your life this week,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, June 21st

It's the final countdown! This weekend my church is having our big inauguration!
The staff meeting this morning was intense with final details about how many volunteers and who will do what where and reserving seat for special guests and logistics for some of the surprises we are inviting. There is a lot of adrenaline flowing and a lot to do by the end of the week. There is some stress and pressure because there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. Yes, the tico style of inaugurating is quite different. We are still very much in the process of construction. Things need to be painted, bathrooms and a few more doors installed, the office space above the lobby isn't finished yet, the outside of the building needs to be painted, etc. But we are so excited and grateful to have a space that is our own and solely dedicated to proclaiming and worshiping God! The inauguration weekend starts with a worship concert Friday night with the band from our youth group ministry followed by one of the worship groups from Vida Abundante Coronado, our "big sister" from whom we were founded. Then on Saturday and Sunday we will have our big, formal inauguration ceremonies. I can't tell you everything that will happen yet, but it's going to be very powerful and exciting: lots of different elements, each one to remember and celebrate something. Rudy, our head pastor, has been planning this for months with a team of people and we can hardly believe the big weekend is just a couple days away! We are excited, we are a little stressed, and we are in need of a lot of prayer: for all the staff, members of the church, and for all the special guests who are coming from all over Costa Rica, and some from the States and other places. Please pray with us for everything to come together and go smoothly--and that we would do everything for God's honor and glory. And pray that God would use this new building so that even more people may come to know and love him. Thank you!
To God alone be the glory! He is worthy of all our praise!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday. June 14th

Happy Tuesday to you!

This past week we recorded the videos that we'll use as the primary material for my church's next series, which will start in August. My supervisor don José found the material in English and really liked it, but it didn't exist in Spanish, so he translated the whole thing and then got the church staff and a few other people from church to be recorded. I was a little surprised that he wanted the gringa to be recorded too, but part of it talks about small groups and it definitely made the most sense for me to do that part. Putting this video together has been a ton of work, but we trust that this series on Life-giving Relationships will powerfully impact the lives of everyone in our church.
Things continue to progress in small groups. On Saturday we had another training. Not many people came because the Father's Day activity was that morning and the last training was only 3 weeks ago, but I felt it was important to not cancel. Also last week I ended up having a 4 hour meeting with my small group team. We are getting more organized and are about to call all the facilitators in order to build a relationship with them and provide better support to each group according to its needs. And God is answering our prayers! This past week I had 2 people contact me and say they are interested in helping more with small groups! I'm not sure these people will end up on the core team I'm working on building, but still to have people interested is a wonderful blessing! The small group ministry needs lots of helping hands! Thank you for your prayers, and please continue to pray for this team and for the calls we'll be making to each of the facilitators. Please also be in prayer for my church in general. It is an exciting time and we are growing and great things are happening, but that means we need to remain all the more humble, united, holy, and flexible, as Rudy our head pastor has been preaching.
Thank you so much for walking with me on this great journey! How great is our God!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, May 24th

Greetings from Costa Rica!

The last week has been absolutely insane--full of wonderful activities and lots of emotions. First, I HAVE MY NEW CAR! At last! Praise the Lord! Thank you so much for your generosity that made it possible for me to get this vehicle. It is such a wonderful blessing to me! My mechanic was very pleased with the car when he test drove it and I am really enjoying being a couple inches higher, being able to fill up my gas tank faster (my old car had a defect that made me spend about 10 minutes at the gas station each time!), listening to CDs, being able to pull a U turn instead of a 3 point turn, giving people a ride without have to move seats, and riding more smoothly, and feeling more safe, secure, and comfortable. I miss having a clutch pedal, but am truly thrilled and delighted with this wonderful blessing from the Lord. I pray it will be an instrument of blessing to many. I was able to pick up my car on Wednesday last week, and a friend was even able to come along and accompany me to a couple government agencies to get all my proper stickers and everything. It was nice to be able to share the experience with a friend, I was very grateful.
I would also love to tell you about an impressive 60th birthday party I went to for a fellow staff member at church, the great core meeting we had for church leadership, the small group facilitator training I gave, and more, but right now my priority is to ask you to please pray, pray pray for the trip I'm going on to Cuba. Twenty of us are going. I'll be totally out of touch while I'm gone, so I will happily respond to all emails and texts after I return (June 1st). I'm feeling a little nervous, but also excited and full of anticipation. I look forward to sharing some stories of the trip with you once I return!
Please keep all twenty of us in your prayers! Thank you so much for your faithful prayers, support, and encouragement!
Love,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, May 17th

Happy Tuesday to you!

This past Saturday, the young adult ministry partnered with the ministry from church that provides a meal and Christian teaching for the homeless every other weekend. I'd heard a lot about this ministry, but never had participated. It was a really interesting experience. Of the approximately 40 people there, only one was a woman, and she had a little girl with her. All the rest were men, a few young ones, but I suspect most were between the ages of 40 and 60. The vast majority of them, if not all of them are substance abusers. Some were quiet, some almost started throwing punches at each other at one point, some reeked, some looked quite well taken care of for living on the street. We shook all their hands as they came in, and as I watched them while we sang and listened to a woman share how God changed her life and helped her get and stay off the streets for good. And the thought that came to mind was: These are the least of these. These are the ones Jesus would rub shoulders with were he to walk the earth today. Jesus loves these people just as much as he loves me. Jesus died for these people too. The homeless generally don't have much dignity. It's easy to pass them by, ignore them, judge them. But, they have names, personalities, and stories that people in my church are getting to know. And not long ago my church assumed responsibility for a drug rehabilitation center that's about an hour away. The goal is that we can use this biweekly ministry as a bridge to send people to the rehabilitation center. It's really exciting! Please pray for God to transform the lives of these homeless men and women and for them to experience true freedom and love in him--and for me to see and treat them more like Jesus.
May God continue to use us to be his hands and feet!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, May 10th

It's Tuesday once more!

That means tonight I'll be attending my third session on a prayer seminar my supervisor from church is teaching. This seminar is based on Philip Yancey's book Prayer and is being offered to approximately 40 of the students who have already taken the Bible Basics course through my church. (Hence why Tico Tuesday is coming out before most of you are in bed.) So far, it has been really good. I still like Richard Foster's Prayer better, but I'm still learning and growing and very appreciative of this little course on prayer. It's incredible what a vast topic prayer is. So far we've talked a lot about perspective--how differently God sees things than we do, and how truly other he is. He is far beyond our comprehension, yet longs for us to know him and draw near to him. I look forward to seeing what all else we learn in this course. And I also look forward to continuing to get to know my fellow students better. I see and interact briefly with a lot of people at church, but this is a great opportunity to get to know some of them a little better.
Change of Topic: I have started sending out my Chronicles via Mailchimp. If you haven't gotten the last couple, please be sure to check your spam filter!
And, as I mentioned in last week's Chronicle, I hoped to have my new car in my possession by now. Unfortunately, things continue to take longer than I expected. So, maybe next week by this time I'll have it? Please pray for things to go smoothly and no further complications.
Thanks so much!
God's blessing and peace be with you!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, April 26th

Welcome to Guararí (pronounce wah-ra-REE with the r's flipped so they sound a little more like d's), the poorest part of my province Heredia.

My church partners with a local ministry here that provides children with tutoring, Bible clubs, a free meal once a week, women with discipleship classes, sewing classes, and a host of other activities. Today, several players from Heredia's soccer team came to meet some of the kids and serve them lunch. It was quite a to do! While we waited for the players' arrival, the man who directs the ministry and some of his fellow clown friends led the kids in some fun songs. When the players arrived it got pretty chaotic, but what do you expect when a couple hundred kids meet famous people? All the local news stations were there interviewing the players--I wasn't so impressed by that. But they had the press come to the activity instead of their training session today (and they are currently the number one seeded team and heading into semifinals). I understand the press' desire and the desire of the team to look good, but I also understand the children's desire to hang out with some of their favorite players.
I had fun getting to meet and interact with some kids. They were having a blast getting their faces painted and balloon animals and such. I saw one boy swinging at the grass with his balloon sword much like people cut grass with a machete here. Thankfully he didn't seem upset by his balloon popping.
I'm grateful for this opportunity to visit this ministry of my church and see the bridge we are helping them rebuild (which is literally falling into the polluted stream below and therefore quite scary to cross. You can see part of it on the left side of the picture). It was quite an experience! And thankfully, God held off the rain until just after we finished.
May God continue to teach us to see his hand at work and be his hands and feet to those in need,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, April 19th

I've had some great meetings in the past week.

 I visited a couple small groups and tonight my supervisor and I met with the leaders of the Crown Finance ministry (pictured) of our church to figure out how we can make better use of their knowledge and materials in small groups and the rest of our church. This morning before the weekly staff meeting I met with Shirley, my right hand small group woman, and last week I had a really good meeting with my supervisor. Needless to say, it's been a productive time.
While I definitely still feel like I'm adjusting to my new role, I feel like I'm slowly gathering a better idea of how things will be and how to go about them. It will not be an easy task and I have a lot of learning and growing to do, but I know that God is at work--in me and in my church. It's a busy, exciting time as we prepare to move up to our property and our first church building!
After the series we are currently doing on the war against temptation, we will be strongly encouraging all small groups to keep on meeting! In the past, the tendency has been for only a few groups to meet year-round, while the majority only have met when there is a series (6-7 sessions, 2-3 times a year). I'm working hard on developing resources for small group facilitators to use when we're not doing a series. Please pray for me as I build a team to work with, develop materials, plan trainings, continue to visit small groups, etc., etc., etc.!
In other brief news: 1) My car is in the country! Please pray for all the paperwork and everything to go smoothly so that I can have the keys in my hand by the end of the month!! Thank you again to all of you who made buying it possible! 2) Please pray for the team I have joined who will be going on a short term trip to Cuba next month! It will be a challenging time, but I'm really excited for this experience!
Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and support!
Love,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, April 12th

Happy Tuesday to you once more!
The ups and downs of this week were a little more exaggerated than normal. It's not every week a good friend has a baby with a bit of a scare right after the delivery (thankfully baby and momma are now well and at home), I get to go to an elegant 25th anniversary party/vow renewal with mariachis and fireworks, and I have to deal with some extra-tricky cultural situations. But thankfully, God is present and at work through it all.
I was particularly grateful my friend and small group member Angie (pictured) was at the anniversary party. There weren't many single people there and while I know I would have been fine without her, I was very happy to have a buddy there. Angie is one of the few people who kept in touch with me while I was gone last year, so she is really special to me. I've really been enjoying getting to know her and the rest of the members of my small group. We're starting to develop a stronger sense of community and I'm really excited about it. I think I've mentioned it to you before: the last time I remember being part of a good small group was college!
I've started visiting other small groups now too and am really enjoying that. Last night I was really impressed by a leader that is reaching out to her neighbors and teaching them from God's Word, even looking up extra passages not mentioned in the study to share with them. From the little I know about this woman, I can see that what she is doing is a really beautiful act of love and service. It's a wonderful blessing to get to know and work with these people, encourage them, and provide them with a listening ear, support, and resources as they obediently serve the Lord. I'm so grateful to be a part of the Lord's work here!
May we be obedient to the Lord and selflessly serve and love others too!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, March 29th

ALLELUIA! Christ is risen!!
It's finally Resurrection-tide!! I've been waiting for this for so long! Yes, every Sunday is a remembrance of Christ's resurrection, but to focus our celebrating on new and eternal life, promises and prophecies fulfilled, freedom, and forgiveness just makes me burst with joy!! Especially when I think about this year and how God has brought me back to this place. How he has given me a fresh start in a place I deeply love and has clearly been blessing me since my return and indeed confirming that this is where he wants me at this time. I am so grateful! Life isn't without it's challenges (my driveway was recently all dug up and a mess for several days and my knee has been acting up lately, and of course ministry is full of challenges), but it is good. It is very good.

We celebrated Easter at church under our roof! The school where we currently meet decided on Wednesday that we couldn't meet there, so as almost everyone in the country went on vacation on Thursday and shut everything down, the staff and some wonderful volunteers ran around like crazy and managed to coordinate everything for us to have our services at the property and inaugurate the roof! It's amazing how God works things out! Typically attendance on Easter Sunday is low because lots of people are away enjoying the long weekend. But, it appears a whole bunch of people came home from the beach early to inaugurate the roof because we had the highest attendance ever this weekend! We had over 1400 people come over the course of the three services! Praise the Lord! And even though we didn't have all the signs and everything for the small groups stand, some people still came to get material for the series we are doing right now and several people asked me to help them get plugged in with a small group. God is at work! Please keep me in prayer as I'm continuing to get oriented and figuring out how to structure and proceed with everything.
More good news! I only need 8 more special gifts of $50 to reach my fund raising goal for my new car! I'm buying the car from a company that is importing it from the States (because it's always better to be the first owner of a car here), and Lord willing, my car will be here April 13th! Just 8 more people! Gifts of any size are welcome if $50 is too much of a stretch--or if God places it on your heart to give more. Will you help me reach this goal of having all the funds before it arrives? Thank you so much! You really are an amazing support team and I'm delighted to share this journey with you!
May we all continually rejoice in Christ's victory over death and sin and the new life we have in him!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, March 22nd

To wrap up our monthly meeting of the church's core leaders on Saturday, we went up to the property to see the progress on the new building. It was so exciting!

Great progress has been made and we are counting the weeks until we get to have our own building! (10, Lord willing!) I'm particularly excited about the new building because it means I won't have to lug a bunch of boxes around in my trunk all the time. The high school we are meeting in used to lend us two rooms as storage space and now only lends us one. There isn't room for everything! In the new building, I won't have to lug boxes around, I won't have to set up a table and banners and signs. It can all just stay there! That will make life so much easier and save a lot of time! And not just for small groups and discipleship, for the fellowship ministry, for our little bookstore, for every other ministry that has a stand each weekend. We can't wait and are praying hard for the construction to continue to advance quickly and for everything to go well. Please join us!
I'm here in the picture with my friend Pri. She is now the leader of the young adult group and over the last couple months has quickly become one of my closer friends here. She kept in touch with me while I was gone last year and has been a wonderful support and blessing to me (and hopefully I have been the same to her!). I'm so thankful for her!
Car update: God is so good! Last week I mentioned I needed 26 people to each give $50, and now I only need 18! Praise the Lord! I only have a few more weeks to raise these funds. Will you be one of 18 to make a special gift of $50 to help pay for this vital means for ministry? It will be such a joy to drive it and think of all you who made it possible for me to do so! Thank you!
God's peace and joy be with you this Holy Week! Sunday is coming!!
With love and gratitude,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, March 15th

What a week it has been! Thursday through Sunday was our annual UWM Costa Rica retreat. On the way up to the retreat, I stopped at some AMAZING, beautiful botanical gardens. It was phenomenal. I could write a whole post on that and how I felt like it was the closest thing to Eden I could imagine and what a glorious time of worship and communion with God it was. Please make sure to look at the pictures I posted on facebook!

But, I also have to tell you about getting together with my fellow missionaries here, hearing some of their stories, receiving excellent teaching from the Word through some of my colleagues from the office in Charlotte, starting to work on a strategic plan for the year, roller skating and playing with scooters, singing to the Lord together (next year I'm going to record us singing the Doxology because wow, what gorgeous harmonies!), sharing and praying with the other women, and more! It was a wonderful, encouraging time. Chad, our spiritual formation director who is now in charge of strategic planning too gave an excellent overview of the book of James, helping me see it as never before. We also spent a fair bit of time in small groups. One highlight of my group was when someone compared a hard season in life to a chick hatching out of its egg. What a beautiful, hope-filled metaphor! That's way better than thinking of a long dark tunnel, despairing that the light will never come!
Back to strategic planning: UWM has all of its missionaries create annual goals in collaboration with our ministry partners. Then there is an annual review process. This helps keep us focused and accountable in our ministry (part of the report goes to my supporting churches). In my new role as small group coordinator, I've been feeling like I could really use some strategic planning! The role is new and I tend to not be much of a big picture/visionary kind of person. But, thankfully, this strategic planning process is really helping me. Chad gave me some good ideas, and today I met with my supervisor don José to talk about them and get his ideas too. I have a lot of praying, planning, and work to do. Please continue to pray for me in this new role!
Car update: I'm now over 35% of the way to raising the funds for my new car! If 26 of you gave a special gift of $50 that would be enough! Will you consider being 1 of 26 and helping meet this ministry need? Not having to take my car to the mechanic's every few weeks (and get it back days later) and not having to worry about bottoming out all the time will be so wonderful! Thank you so much to those who have already given and to those who give on a regular basis! I am so thankful for my amazing support network--and that includes a lot more than financial partners with UWM!
May you see God's glory this week and be filled with his hope!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, March 8th

It was a big weekend at church.

I believe I mentioned previously that my pastor's father passed away a couple weeks ago. Well, this weekend, with that grief still quite fresh, he had to accompany a family whose father/husband died in a terrible, tragic way. Saturday morning he did the funeral at 8, a wedding at 10, went to a birthday party with his son in the afternoon, and then preached Saturday evening and at both services on Sunday (and spent time with and helped his wife and baby daughter at various moments too). And this wasn't just any sermon, but the opening sermon of our first series of the year, so there was a lot of hype about that. Thankfully, God gave him the grace to make it through the weekend and he takes his Mondays off very seriously. But still, as someone who cares deeply about my pastor, his family, and my church, I ask you to please pray with me even more for my church, my pastor, the rest of the staff, along with the small groups and their facilitators --particularly over the next 8 weeks as we go through this series, "Invisible War: Winning the Battle against Temptation." We know there will be temptations and raging invisible battles; in fact, we know there already are. We have action plans to move forward and are in need of God's constant guidance and grace. Please cover us in prayer. We know God is going to do amazing things in this time, that his work will not be without resistance-- and that he is greater and more powerful than the evil one!

Update on my car: I already have about $600 of the $2000 needed! Thanks and praise be to God! This car will be an essential ministry tool for me. Will you be God's instrument of blessing and provision to me?
Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and support. Each and every one of you is a blessing to me! I am deeply grateful. One final prayer request: This Thursday through Sunday is the annual UWM retreat/conference. We will be focusing on strategic planning--something I know I need! Pray for God's wisdom, for us to be attentive to his voice, and for him to bless our times of sharing together.
Mil gracias for everything!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, February 23rd

A beautiful long bike ride on my day off, my pastor's father passing away, the second small group leader training, family weekend at church with baptisms, construction of the new church building's roof being slowed because of too much wind, the excitement of being on the church property and seeing the construction, having a flooded kitchen thanks to a clogged pipe and finding out the septic tank is full, my car's transmission not working well, getting complimented 3 times in front of groups of people by my supervisor being impressed and pleased with the work I'm doing... What a roller coaster of an amazing, intense, exhausting week it has been! I have felt on top of the world, I've cried in empathy with my pastor, I've felt in my element leading part of the training, I've brimmed with excitement and joy over the progress in the building and am praying very hard for the construction to not have any more delays and even for lost time to be made up! And, I've had a couple excellent opportunities to practice trusting in God.

Trust is one of my key words for this year. As I'm reading through the Psalms, every verse with "trust" in it leaps out at me. I was nervous my car would break down before I got it to the mechanic's today. I was stressing about it, but decided to pray and trust that I would be able to get there safely--and not have to arrive via tow truck. Thanks be to God for answering that prayer!
It wasn't until late Friday night (several hours after the funeral) that I realized my pastor's wife probably wouldn't be able to give her part of the training for the Small Group leaders the next day. I was kicking myself for not thinking of it earlier, but decided to sleep in peace and trust God to work it out the next day. I texted in the morning and indeed, she was not up for the task, but she coordinated for another staff member from church to give her part--and it turns out this staff member had been preparing a training on almost the exact same topic and she couldn't give her talk on Friday because of the funeral, so she ended up being able to give it anyway on Saturday (and tell her people to join us)! God worked everything out better than I could have imagined! And I didn't stress about it! It was amazing. His plans and ways are so much greater than mine! And stressing really accomplishes nothing.
Please continue to pray for me to have wisdom, trust God, seek him first, and cling to him through all things, and for him to bless my times of recreation and rest. Thank you!
May God continue to reveal his greatness to you and may you feel his presence wherever you are on life's roller coaster!
Carrie