Tico Tuesday, April 24th

It's Tuesday once more! For those of you who didn't receive last week's Tico Tuesday, I apologize. I had some technological difficulties. You can always head to my blog to catch up!

This week, I'm happy to share with you about the experience I had on Sunday. We have a church plant at our drug rehab center, and I was invited to give the message. It was a great honor and a great responsibility. I received some nice positive feedback and wow, what a blessing and privilege it is to be used by God! I had been a little nervous going into it, but I know a lot of people were praying for me, and a couple friends were able to come along and give me some moral support. One of my friends drove, which was nice, since it is a curvy mountain highway with frequent fog/rain. And thankfully, the heat was not as oppressive as it could have been.
Afterwards, the director of the center invited us to stay for lunch, and it was such a treat to share with her, a couple of the guys that are currently in the program there, as well as a couple alumni who were visiting. Praise the Lord for what he's doing through this ministry! He is transforming lives, and the center is now expanding to include a program for women. There are a lot of needs, but God is continuing to sustain his work there. It was a joy and encouragement to see this.
Please continue to keep me in your prayers. I am trying to do a lot this week as next week I'll be at the UWM regional conference and the two weeks afterward will be full of teaching at our Bible Institute and final preparations for our first Small Group Facilitator Retreat of the year (May 19th). Thank you!
May God fill you with joy and provide you with the encouragement you need this week!
Love,
Carrie

TIco Tuesday, April 17th

Happy Tuesday to you once more!
Last week was Juan Santamaría day (a national holiday, April 11th), so I went on a hike with a couple girlfriends to this beautiful waterfall! Unfortunately, it was raining while we were there, so it could have been a bit more pleasant, but still, the waterfall is a mesmerizing one! And, it's quite close! The hike is 9 miles round trip, but we set out just a few kilometers up the mountain from church. It's started raining some already (it's been a very short dry season this year), so the trail was quite muddy and that made for slower going, but it was lovely to be in fresh mountain air and enjoy being surrounded by God's beautiful creation. There were lots of people out: I ran into my landlord on the trail! I would have preferred there not be so many people around, especially right at the waterfall, but, having so many people around made us feel safe, so that was good.
It was nice to have a fun outdoors part of the day as later I had to go to San José for the wake of the dad of a lady on my team (who has also become a good friend). It was an exhausting day physically, mentally, and emotionally. Thankfully, I feel like I've been able to recover from it. And I definitely look forward to going back to this waterfall in the future!
A few brief prayer requests: for my friend and her family as they grieve this loss, for the UWM Central America and Caribbean conference May 2-6, and for the small group facilitators retreat May 19th. And this Sunday I preach at the church plant at our drug rehab center!
Thank you so much for your prayers and support. I am so grateful for you all!
Love,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, April 10th

It's Tuesday again!

And, I am excited! I live in a two bedroom apartment, and ever since I was given a desk in the office at work, my second bedroom has been a largely useless space. My drying rack is there, and I store stuff in there, but I've been wanting to give this room a more noble use. I just haven't known what to do with it though. Recently, I started thinking about making it a guest bedroom. We receive special guests at church fairly often, and I could help people/church save on paying the hotel. And, I like hosting people.
Well, it so happens I went to a friend's house a week ago Saturday, and noticed a mattress she had leaning against the wall. I mentioned I was thinking of turning my extra bedroom into a guest room and she offered to give me the mattress: a queen with a thick, soft pillowtop in excellent shape! Talk about divine confirmation! I'm talking with someone who can clean it, last night I bought bedding for it, and the other day I found someone who recycles wooden pallets to make beds. So, I'm going to have a Spare Oom, though not in the land of War Drobe. (If you don't get it, please read The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe as soon as possible. It will make your life better, I promise!) I already know who my first guests will be (unless somebody else beats them), and there might be another couple coming soon too! Maybe you can be next!
Thank you so much for your faithful support and for keeping me in your prayers. Two brief, but important requests right now are 1. For a friend and her family, as her dad is dying of cancer and will soon be gone. 2. For my small group team meeting this coming Saturday and just for me and small groups in general. There is so much to do!
Thanks so much!
Carrie