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