Tico Tuesday, November 28th

The past week was as amazing as it was intense: 2 Thanksgiving celebrations (including one planned, led, and mostly cooked for by me), the annual volunteer party, teaching in the 201 CLASS again, a special activity with the counseling ministry, a little birthday party for me, church, all of Sunday afternoon at church for the family weekend, hanging out with a friend in San José, talking with my parents and one of my brothers, etc. It was exhausting and wonderful.

It was a joy to share Thanksgiving with most of my coworkers and the family who I've become very close friends with this year. Thanksgiving is right up there with Christmas and Easter for me, and it always means a lot for me to share with people here. At the first Thanksgiving, the Pilgrims thanked God for the Wampanoags and the kindness and support they provided to help the Pilgrims adjust to life in the New World. And every Thanksgiving here, I seize the opportunity to thank people who have shown kindness and support to me and helped me as I live in a different world and culture. I share the history of Thanksgiving and how it has grown to mean more to me as I live in a foreign land, and I can't make it through without getting choked up. God has been so good to me! We had a wonderful time of celebrating and giving thanks together. It was really special. And I think most amazing of all is that I've spent Thanksgiving with a different group of people every year! A couple people have repeated here and there, but I am blown away to think God has put so many special people in my life over the past 8 years! My heart overflows with thanks.
And of course, there are no words to express my thankfulness for you. Thank you for all you do to partner with me and support me as I serve here. I couldn't do it without you! Thank you!
May we live giving thanks each day,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, November 21st

Tuesday greetings to you! Last Tuesday I wasn't able to write to you because my eyes had been dilated and everything was blurry. It was my first time seeing an eye doctor here in Costa Rica and he insisted on dilating my eyes. Last week I had a couple of other appointments as well: my orthopedist said I never had to see him about my knee again! Thanks and praise be to God!

We made a Thankfulness Tree at the retreat! (and now the cafeteria has a nice floor & ceiling!)

This past Saturday we had our last small group retreat of the year. It was a fun day of celebration, thanksgiving, growing, and sharing together. Turnout wasn't as great as I hoped, but I know a lot of people are still catching on to the idea that small groups are about being healthy disciples together and not just to do a 6 week study together. The good news is, a lot of my new facilitators came, so they are getting the right DNA/understanding from the get go. I think my biggest challenge right now is raising up a group of community leaders, people who are willing and able to accompany and support other facilitators. I can't oversee them all. It's too much work! So, please be praying with me for that. And please pray for wisdom as my team and I meet next week to evaluate this retreat and year and work on our planning for next year. You can pray for the pastoral team as we meet to evaluate and plan in the coming weeks as well.
Thank you so much for your continued prayers, encouragement, and support. I love to hear from you guys! I hope you all have a very happy Thanksgiving and enjoy giving thanks with and for people dear to you. I can't express how thankful I am for each of you!
Love,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, November 7th

And now back to your regularly scheduled Tico Tuesdays...
It's so good to be home! This is a sentiment I have often expressed in the past week. I loved my time in the States: it was a great blessing to me spiritually, emotionally, relationally, psychologically, etc. I even had a couple people buy shredded wheat (not the frosted stuff) just so I could have it for breakfast while I stayed with them! It was a wonderful trip!

But, it's really good to be back in Costa Rica: To be back in my apartment that is now clean and decked out in fall/Thanksgiving decor, to be back at church worshiping with my brothers and sisters here, to be back at work and focus on small groups again, to be with my coworkers again and see my friends and start catching up with them, to have more of a routine again, and have more control over my diet again. It's nice to say hi to my neighbors and not need the GPS pretty much every time I get in the car. And it's great to share about my trip with those who want to hear about it and tell them what God has been teaching me.
My return from this trip has been drastically different from the one from my trip in July. In addition to what I'm learning about God's love, I'm also learning about vulnerability, and I'm experiencing more freedom to be me. I think I've suppressed some of my silliness in recent years in the name of "cultural adaptation," and often allowed work to consume too much of life. So, I'm working on having more fun and enjoying the life and personality God has given me more fully. It includes a lot more dancing!
Thank you so much for continuing to walk with me on this journey. May God bless you and continue to grow your love for him each day! And please keep our new series "40 Days in the Word" and the new small group I'm opening for young adults in your prayers!
Love,
Carrie