La Gringa Más Latina

Tico Tuesday, February 14th

2012-02-14T20:16:00.003-06:00

¡Feliz día del amor y la amistad! Here Valentine's day becomes "Love and Friendship Day" in order to be more inclusive. My favorite part was when my beloved Ismael ran up to me to hug me. Then he told me, "I love you" in Spanish and English! Sometimes I really wish I could just take him home with me. I mean it! I was so happy to say, "I love you too" from the bottom of my heart! Another favorite part of the day was when a volunteer asked me how he could pray for me. What a beautiful expression of kindness and love from someone I'd just met! God's love is so amazing!

The picture is of the super-fun birthday party I went to on Sunday night at Roblealto's new house for adolescents. More about that and a video of a dance they made up on the blog!

May your heart be filled with God's love!

Love,

Carrie

I felt really special and honored that I was even invited to this birthday party, especially since I'm not very close with the birthday girl. (Yorley is the older daughter of the house parents at Roblealto's new Adolescent House.) I'm looking forward to getting to know her more though. Anyway, Mami Yorleny sent me a text and told me not to miss it, so I didn't! We had a blast. I had a lot of fun talking with Mami Yorleny and hearing her share stories about her experiences at the Bible Home. It was also pretty hilarious to watch a whole bunch of hyperactive boys watch a classic Liga vs Saprissa game (Think Red Sox vs Yankees kind of rivalry but in soccer). It was so great to eat together and then have a spontaneous dance party. It was really funny, because the boys are in that stage where they're all embarrassed about everything. I got to help break the ice with them a little bit. It was so funny - once there were a couple people dancing in the middle of the circle, others weren't afraid to join. And oh man, some of these boys still don't know how/bother to dance in a less sensual way. Watching them was kind of funny, but it was pretty sad and eye-opening to see the influence the world has had on them. After that, all the boys were trying to do head stands. I'd show you a video of that, but I'll spare you from seeing a whole lot of boxers. Anyway, a couple of them actually succeeded, but Papi Nayland and I definitely showed them up. Oh, the birthday girl and the 8 boys at the house made a dance that they performed for us. I'll show you a clip of that. It was a great night!

Tico Tuesday, February 7th

2012-02-07T19:52:00.003-06:00

Whew! Enough happened in this week, if not this day for a whole new Chronicle! Do I tell you about the lovely breakfast we had last week that honored those of us who work in development for Roblealto? They gave me a really adorable mug! Or do I tell you about the special family day at the Bible Home with its fun games, not so fun sunburn, yummy lunch and time for sharing with children and parents? Do I tell you about the fun translation night we had last night and how much I enjoyed not only interpreting for the volunteers, but getting to know the children of my dear Eden house better? Or what about getting to see my sweet Fanny and her siblings today? Or Anielka passing her social studies exam so she can officially start classes on track tomorrow? (The school year here is from Feb-Dec) Or one of our new arrivals coming up to greet me very cordially and respectfully- twice! What about all those wonderful volunteers that are painting almost the entire school inside and out in less than a week? And the rest of the volunteers that are siding the Arco Iris house and putting up wallboard? God has sent us some wonderful workers! Have I worn you out yet? Speaking of wearing out, I could also tell you about my 2.5 hour bicycling adventure that took me much higher and closer to the (dormant/inactive) Barva volcano than I expected. Well, I guess not too much is going on here. ;-)

Thanks to all of you who shared about your favorite hymns with me last week. I really enjoyed that!

May we be the hands and feet of Jesus this week and always!

With great love and appreciation for you all,

Carrie

Tico Tuesday, January 31st

2012-01-31T19:20:00.003-06:00

This picture isn't exactly the one I had in mind, but I was too happy and distracted to pull out my camera at the LAM hymn sing we had on Sunday. Imagine a house with a view similar to what you see in the picture, but better, especially because it has the Bible Home in the foreground! Then inside, a few hundred years of missionary service in Costa Rica with willing hearts to sing rich praises to our King. Now that is a beautiful sight! A dear retired missionary who had a hip replacement last year still accompanies us and plays all the hymns from memory. He just wants a hymnal to sing along "all those second verses" and beyond. We all call out our favorite hymns, but make sure everyone has gotten to request at least one before we close down with voices tired but hearts still going strong. How could we not end with the Doxology and then in prayer, feeling a special closeness with one another and our Creator, Savior and Lord whose praises our souls compel us to sing? I wish we could do this more than once a year, but it's always hard to find a time when people are free. So many missionaries, so much going on.

May we all worship while we work, that each action may be a note of praise to the One who has given us work, life and everything else.

Love,

Carrie

PS I dare you to pull out a hymnal this week... or even just look up a hymn online (a real hymnal is better though). I'd love to hear your favorites!

One I heard for the first time on Sunday and loved is below:

O Master, Let me Walk with Thee

1. O Master, let me walk with thee   in lowly paths of service free;   tell me thy secret; help me bear   the strain of toil, the fret of care.   2. Help me the slow of heart to move   by some clear, winning word of love;   teach me the wayward feet to stay,   and guide them in the homeward way.   3. Teach me thy patience; still with thee   in closer, dearer company,   in work that keeps faith sweet and strong,   in trust that triumphs over wrong;   4. In hope that sends a shining ray   far down the future's broadening way,   in peace that only thou canst give,   with thee, O Master, let me live.

Tico Tuesday, January 24th

2012-01-24T20:25:00.004-06:00

Friday was a big day for the Roblealto Child Care Association: we inaugurated a new house for 8 adolescent boys! People were dreaming and planning for this to happen over a decade ago, but everything came together for the house to open on Friday. We had a lovely little ceremony and got to tour the very freshly decorated house. One of my favorite parts is the little ledge they have in the dining room with a whole bunch of framed pictures of the boys and the foster family that is taking care of them. My favorite part of the ceremony was when a couple of the guys talked about what it meant to them to live in the house and what some of their goals are. They were pretty overcome by typical adolescent embarrassment, but my buddy Alex was able to pull it out. "I know I have my problems, but I want to work through them, obey Dad, go to college and move on with life." THAT'S MY BOY!! I'm so proud of him! (he's one of my many favorites) The Bible Home staff have some wonderful, special stuff planned for all these boys so they can grow into great, exemplary men who reach their dreams and break out of their family's cycles of dysfunction and poverty. I'm so excited about it! Please pray for these 8 boys and the foster family that is working with them. Thanks!

I challenge us all to be an encouragement to an adolescent this week! Write to me or post on my fb wall what you did!

Love,

Carrie

Tico Tuesday, January 17th

2012-01-17T19:07:00.003-06:00

Traveling Mercies

A few wonderful things and answers of prayer have come to me lately, and the ones I'm going to share have to do with travels.

I went to my dear Isla Venado again this past weekend. I went by bus, since it isn't worth it to take my car when I go by myself. But, another family had been visiting Pastor Eladio and doña Epi and they had a car. They gave me a ride all the way from the boat dock to the bus terminal in Puntarenas! When I got there, the terminal was overflowing. After buying my ticket I had to go back outside and join the end of the line that wound around almost half the building. I was wanting to get home as soon as possible because I had to get up early for work, but I figured with the line so long, it would probably be a while. Well, I hadn't even been in line for 2 minutes and someone from the bus company came out another door right by where I was standing and announced 4 open seats on the bus that was about to head out. I couldn't believe it! If that isn't God's goodness to me, I don't know what is. I quickly stepped forward and the bus pulled away less than 5 minutes later. Once getting closer to home I had to switch buses. As the evening wears on, buses tend to pass less frequently, but God answered my prayer and the bus I needed was there waiting as soon as I stepped off the first bus! I made it home in record time!

God again showed His incredible grace to me this morning, when He woke me up with time to catch the bus, even though I forgot to set my alarm. (Tuesdays are the only day of the week I have to take the bus to work.) Then on the way home, I was getting out my money to pay my bus fare and I was 5 colones (1 penny) short of having the right change. I asked God to let me find a 5 on the ground and about 10 meters before my stop, there it was! I'm so spoiled!! This is a good reminder to me, to have faith and ask, whether it's just for a penny on the ground or $2 million for a new child care center. God is faithful, loving and oh so good!!

Blessings on you the rest of this week!

Carrie

PS The picture is of my yummy supper on Isla Venado Saturday night. No nutcrackers there! They gave me a rock and a cutting board but everyone else just used their teeth. Wow!

Tico Tuesday, January 10th

2012-01-10T19:56:00.002-06:00

Happy happy Tuesday from Costa Rica!

I think this is the first time in my life when I've actually been happy to go back to work after vacation. Don't get me wrong, vacation was WONDERFUL and much needed, but if I hadn't mentioned it before,

I really love Roblealto! :-) Today was the Spiritual Retreat for all the Roblealto personnel. We had a number of special presentations, worshiped together, heard lots of beautiful testimonies of what God has done through Roblealto and kicked off our year-long celebration of Roblealto's 80th anniversary. Yup, the Bible Home, Roblealto's first program, was founded in 1932. It started with 8 children. Now we serve 700 children and adolescents and work closely with their families as well. More about the day, including one of my favorite parts on the blog!

May God fill you with joy in your work this week!

Carrie

Having lunch with some of the instructors from my favorite child care center was really fun, especially when we started confessing our chocolaholism (addiction to chocolate), but that wasn't my other highlight of the day. Jijiji. After lunch, we were split into 3 large groups and went to 3 different stations, one of which was a sort of museum, with lots of pictures of Roblealto past and present (and a bit of Roblealto future too, with the model of the Los Guido Child Care Center we are hoping to build ASAP -please pray for God's $$ provision!!). There, we also watched a little drama of a doctor and his assistant taking care of a girl that came to them in really rough shape.

They gave her an IV of Jesus and gave her the bandages of... oh man I can't remember, but a couple were Limits and Unconditional Love. Then they gave her Prayer cream and some other kind of ointment-it was a beautiful, very creative metaphor of the care that Roblealto provides to the children who come to us.

The children truly do come to us in really rough shape. I have written a handful of entrance reports of suicidal children. Children! I don't even see how suicide could even occur to a child! But I don't understand how neglect could occur to a mother either and abandonment to a father. Sadly, those are both pretty darn rampant. I have started to see just how blessed I have been to grow up in a loving, healthy Christian home, but I know I still have not grasped just how much I have taken for granted. So many things that seem so natural and basic to me are an unknown or only a dream to so many children and families. Having both parents live together, be married and have a good relationship, having parents who care and are involved in their children's lives, having parents who show their love in affirming ways, not having to live in poverty... So, once more I thank God for the wonderful family He has given me and ask for the grace to be able to understand and empathize more with the children and families we serve. Please pray for the children of Roblealto: our child care centers and the Bible Home will officially open again on Monday. We have a lot of new children coming in that need a lot of attention (and we're going to need a lot of new sponsors too!) but we also have hundreds of other children coming back that still need a lot of attention as well. Thanks for your interest in this awesome ministry!

Tico Tuesday, January 3rd

2012-01-03T20:48:00.003-06:00

Quality time and conversations, reading to my niece and nephews, holding hands together and praying/singing the blessing together before eating, going to a church that sings the same version of the Gloria as my home church in PA, playing Settlers of Catan and Uncle Wiggily, watching my niece and nephews tirelessly do somersaults and play outside in the SNOW, reading John Stott's "Radical Disciple," going for a run with my brother and another with my oldest nephew, eating my sister-in-law's amazing food, spending some time with my great aunt and her daughter, going on the carousel with my niece and nephews, celebrating my brother and sister-in-law's 7th anniversary and a whole lot more. It was a great week! I'm very happy to be home though. I have a lot to do before I go back to work on Monday!

I'm looking forward to reviewing the year 2011 and making new goals for 2012. Have you set any New Year's resolutions? It's never too late to set a goal and start anew-thankfully God's mercies are new every morning!

Blessings on you in this new year!

With love,

Carrie

Tico Tuesday, December 27th

2011-12-27T15:18:00.003-06:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! What wonderful gifts God has given us!
They say a picture says a thousand words....
Love,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, December 21

2011-12-21T22:42:00.004-06:00

Tico Wednesday Greetings from Sierra Vista, AZ, USA! I can't believe I totally forgot to write yesterday! Anyway, I want to tell you briefly about my weekend at the Bible Home. Friday night was the 6^th grade graduation and Christmas/Year End party. We had a blast watching fireworks, eating together, taking pictures, roasting marshmallows in the fireplace and catching goodies from the piñata. Jajaja, that was really funny. There was nowhere from which to hang it though, so Mami Mayela's son just stood on the table, ripped it open and flung all the candy, goodies, peanuts, flour, money and other contents of the piñata all over the dining/living room. It was hilarious, but what a MESS we had to clean up Saturday morning! Later that morning, all the children's parents arrived and we had a closing ceremony and celebrated the year and and 17 children who's family treatment plans have been completed, glory to God!! Also, 8 boys will be inaugurating Roblealto's house for adolescents in January. Praise the Lord for all the good things He's doing!

May you all have a blessed and merry Christmas, full of the joy and love we have in Christ.

Love,

Carrie

PS I confess this picture is not mine. I'm having technical difficulties. We did set off Roman candles though and I'd never seen one up close before.

Tico Tuesday, December 13

2011-12-13T20:06:00.003-06:00

This past Friday I was honored to be invited to my first ever slumber party with kids from the Bible Home! The mom of the Eden House invited me about a month ago and I can't tell you how privileged and special I felt! I don't have any pictures of the actual activity because I was too busy being with the kids, but the picture is evidence of what we made. For a while now, I've been wanting to make cinnamon-applesauce Christmas tree ornaments with some kids and this was a great opportunity! We made the ornaments after our yummy homemade pizza (I was a really good sport and ate most of the mushrooms on my piece). The kids had fun picking out what shapes they wanted to use and then pressing the cutter into the dough. Then, we cleared the living room of all furniture and brought in our mattresses and snuggled down to watch "Facing the Giants." I'd never seen it before. It was sweet though. What was even sweeter was having A snuggle with me and her little sister D fall asleep leaning on me. I was so happy I could have died. I wished we could have stayed that way all night. Have I ever told you how much I LOVE Roblealto? It was really fun and special to be with the kids and get to spend some time with just those 10. This coming Friday I'll be at the Nido again (where I had Thanksgiving) for their Christmas party and last night at the Bible Home for the year. They'll all go home for about a month of vacation. You can be praying for that! More on the blog!

Love,

Carrie

Roblealto staff are superheroes that run a marathon every day. The instructors, teachers at the school at the Bible Home and the substitute/foster moms have the most direct contact with the children, but even still, the members of the interdisciplinary teams, house helpers at the Bible Home, and even all the administrative staff have so much work to do and it is NOT easy! They get national holidays off, and 3 other flex days during the year, but other than that, this upcoming Christmas break is IT for the year. Needless to say, it is a desperately needed vacation! Good for them, and sort of good for the families we serve-it provides them with a time to be together. But, also, it can be really hard for the families. They might get vacation too- but no work means no money, and money is hard for them to come by anyway. So, we do our best to help. Over the past few weeks we've been raising money for food baskets for about 110 (approximately, maybe more like 130) of the families we serve. (We serve a total of about 700 children, many of them have 1-4 siblings in our programs as well, so though not every family gets a basket, a good portion of them do). This food will help them make it through vacation without going hungry, and I'm not exaggerating. Moms have told us they've never had that much food in their house before. What a beautiful way to bless these families and show them that we care for them and that God loves them and will always provide for them! You can also be praying for these families because during vacation, all the typical family brokenness, stress and issues are still there and they always need prayer. But, I think they need prayer especially because these things are often magnified/intensified during holidays and make things a little more difficult and bittersweet than desired. So, please remember them in your prayers! Thanks!

Tico Tuesday, December 6th

2011-12-06T21:34:00.003-06:00

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! The resolution for my traffic court hearing came through this morning and it is in my favor! Thanks and praise be to God and thank you everyone for your prayers!

And now, to Tico Tuesday:

Sunday night was the most fun I've had since setting up the México stand for AWANA Missions Sunday in October. What made it so much fun? Hanging out with my AWANA coleaders! We went bowling at the new lanes near my house and had a total blast. We bowled, coached and cheered each other on, moved to the rhythm of the background music and were just plain silly together. This was followed by a food fight at McDonalds. Ok, maybe not a full-fledged food fight like you see in a movie. More paper products flew than french fries. But seriously, what a hilarious, amazing bunch of people! Even though AWANA is now officially over for the year (SAD!!!), I hope we continue to hang out. These people are so pure and positive, it is really refreshing and encouraging. Oh, and I came in 2nd place in our lane. :-) As they say here, ¡que se repita! Let's do it again!!

Love and blessings,

Carrie

Tico Tuesday, November 29th

2011-11-29T19:53:00.003-06:00

Happy Tuesday once more!

This past week had a lot of highlights, but of course I have to tell you about my Thanksgiving Birthday. :-) It occurred to me to make Thanksgiving dinner for one of the houses at the Bible Home in early/mid-October and it became my dream.

I was so excited I couldn't fall asleep Wednesday night. There were some crazy things that happened, I'll elaborate on the blog, but I made it to the Nido (Nest) house and we only ate dinner an hour and a half late. The kids were so eager to help me. Alex, one of my many favorites did a great job helping with the sweet potatoes and the green beans. Ismael helped crumble bread for the stuffing and saved me some time with that too. Having helpers is wonderful and makes a huge difference! Everything turned out really well and utterly delicious. Thanksgiving has always been one of the most special days of the year for me, and that it was combined with my birthday made it superspecial! So, I made sure to spend it with some superspecial people. The substitute/foster parents in the Nido house are really sweet, loving people, the kids are some of the ones I'm closest to and my friend Fausía and her husband Andrés (who both also work at the Bible Home) have become very special people to me as well.

Of course, one of the best parts of the day was getting to talk to Mommy and Daddy. I'm getting really excited to see them for Christmas!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. I am very thankful to God for each and every one of you!

Love,

Carrie

PS More pictures should be hitting facebook eventually. Don't forget to head for the blog for more Thanksgiving Birthday details!

I meant to make the pumpkin pie ahead of time. If I had, we would have probably eaten on time, or close to it. (The kids typically go to bed around 8:30, so eating at 7:30 kind of threw things off. but, it all worked out.) I went out for a birthday dinner with my friends the Jespersens on Wednesday. We had a really nice time. I got home a little later than I wanted, but was still planning to make my pie. Well, I started geting the ingredients out and -AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! There was no powdered ginger!! I tried calling and texting Ana since she was out and near Walmart (the only place that was still open at 9pm), but to no avail. So, I planned to go on a ginger hunt as part of my bike ride on Birthday morning. However, as I was walking to the back door to get my bike, the very gray skies opened and canceled my bike ride (which I had been very much looking forward to, even before the ginger thing). So I did tae bo inside.

I couldn't go to the store right at 8 because that's when the Macy's Parade was starting, and since it had worked out for me to get the whole day off work, I REALLY wanted to carry on tradition and watch the parade. So I did. I got really nostalgic and Mommy-sick during the first part and was practically in tears the first 20 minutes, but then I recovered (and the Broadway performances weren't so moving).

I headed to the bank in Heredia for the residency renewal appointment. I needed to get some $ out of the ATM first though. Well, I didn't have enough $ left in my account here, so I needed to get money out of my account in the States. And horror of horrors, between my excitement for my afternoon/evening at the Bible home, the nostalgia of Thanksgiving, my desperate need for ginger, eagerness for my residency to be renewed, and a couple silly digits, I totally forgot my PIN!!!

I was really freaking out. And yeah, I punched in the wrong PIN enough to have them deactivate my card. But, thanks be to God, I was able to pay what I needed to with the cash I had and what was left on my Costa Rican bank card. Oh man was I scared though! Things started looking up after that. I got my ginger, came home and got my card reactivated, threw half the kitchen into the car and headed up the mountain to my beloved Bible Home.

I spent all afternoon cooking up a storm. It was wonderful. Mami Marielos (of the Jardín House) lent me her oven so I could bake other things... not much fit in with the turkey in Mami Mayela's kitchen. As I cooked, the kids made me birthday cards. Mariana made me an awesome cardboard purse with a beaded strap and lots of chocolate inside. A number of the kids even had me spell my name for them so they could write it correctly. That was nice. Carrie is not an easy name for Spanish speakers to figure out.

Mami Mayela and her son Jhon decorated everything beautifully-not in a very autumnal fashion, but lovely nonetheless. The kids were very patient about the meal, I think Papi Gerardo was the most impatient one, and that was semi-joking. The kids loved the food (and then ate off all the marshmallows from on top of the sweet potatoes, jajajaja!!). Well, everybody loved the food. I explained briefly the origins of Thanksgiving. Then, we did the Smith traditional Thanksgiving alphabet-going through the alphabet and saying what we're thankful for for each letter. I had hoped to do more traditions, but time was of the essence.

My birthday cake (which should be decorated like a turkey when my birthday falls on Turkey Day) wasn't really decorated like a turkey, but I know that was a tall order and Mami and the house helper really didn't have time for it anyway. It was 1/2 chocolate and yummy.

The pumpkin pie was too. Pumpkin pie with whipped cream! Fanny helped with that. :-) Oh and they gave me a whole bunch of sweet little presents, along with more cards and letters from the kids. So sweet!

I left the Bible Home shortly after 10 (they held the gate open for me), came home, cleaned thawed turkey nastiness out of the fridge, put the cooked turkey in the fridge and called my parents. Then I finished unpacking the car and started packing for the weekend mini-vacation at the beach with my co-workers from the office. Whew! It was a full, fun, wild and crazy day, but aside from the ginger stress and the money situation, I would re-live it in a heartbeat. One of my favorite parts was when the kids came home from school. They kind of trickled in and it was such a joy to see them come in the door and have them come and hug me. I LOVED IT!

Tico Tuesday, November 22

2011-11-22T19:25:00.003-06:00

Wow, it's hard to believe only 1 week has gone by since I last wrote. There was a lot to choose from, but I decided to share with you today about "Saturday's Suicidal Squirrel."

Saturday was the LAM picnic, one of the few opportunities we have each year to gather as a family of LAM missionaries. People were still arriving when all of a sudden there was a big "Boom! Boom!" It sounded like 2 fireworks had just been set off. I wondered why anyone would be stupid enough to do it in the daylight. I thought I saw a spark though and maybe something fall out of the corner of my eye. One missionary's soon soon pointed out the dead squirrel on the ground and we figured that the little guy got zapped. Unfortunately, he made the power go out too. So, the hanging out and lunch parts of the picnic were unaffected, however, we had to get innovative in order to be able to carry out the time of worship, sharing and honoring missionaries whose complete number of years of service is a multiple of 5. Not only was there no power, but it was pouring rain, so that made it nigh impossible to hear each other. So, what did we do? Hook up the keyboard to a car, write the words to the songs out on big pieces of paper, and when we all introduced ourselves, we passed around the megaphone. It was hilarious!! It was fun though. And thankfully, the rain died down in time for the presentations and we were able to spend some nice time sharing with and praying for each other and other LAMers who weren't with us. More on the blog on why I want to be the next Margaret Weir.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Love,

Carrie

Who is Margaret Weir? An amazing woman of God who is celebrating 40 years of service with Roblealto and the Latin America Mission. Margarita, as she is known around here, came to Roblealto when we were first opening our child care centers.

She was the Coordinator of Christian Education for a number of years and is now the Roblealto chaplain. That means she gets to meet with people and pray for them and encourage them: staff, various members of families we serve, a ton of Roblealto "alumni" (people who were in one of our programs when they were younger) and lots of other people. As Suzanne, Roblealto's current Nursing Coordinator shared about Margarita on Saturday, Margarita is always sending people notes of encouragement. They occasionally come with chocolate. :-) She often sends out prayer requests too. Talk about a woman of prayer. Suzanne also talked about going out for lunch with Margarita and how she would pray as she ordered her subway style sandwich. But what an amazing example! I want to be like Margarita because she shows others what Jesus is like. She knows and remembers so many people, she is gentle, a good listener, so kind to others and she is just great! She made me feel special on Saturday when she told me that she mentioned me in her monthly update-about the time I led the inductive study on John 15 in the devotional at work. I'd honestly almost forgotten about that, but she spoke of it very highly. I feel no obligation to return the favor and brag on her, I'm all to happy to do so! I don't know if I'll be around Roblealto for 40 years, but whether I do or not, she will always be a good role model for me to follow.

TIco Tuesday, November 15th

2011-11-15T19:24:00.002-06:00

Friday night we FINALLY got to do it!! For months, the leaders of Chispas (Sparkies) 1 had been trying to plan a special activity for the kids in our AWANA group. And finally, we got to do it on Friday night. 2 microbuses full of leaders and children headed down the mountain to go to Wendy's. It was a real treat for the kids. And we brought a special surprise for them: one of our awesome leaders' brother is a clown! It was fantastic. He was very entertaining, but also spoke very straightforwardly about God being our perfect Father. Just what these kids need to hear! The kids also went nuts over the balloon animals, watches and swords he made them. It was a lot of fun and the kids all behaved really well; even A, a new boy who is not very good at practicing the virtues of obedience and respect. He makes a superb helper! He did a great job passing out straws and clearing the tables when we were done eating. After dinner (and before heading to the playplace), we taught the kids a song to sing in AWANA on Sunday for Friendship Day. Wow, did some cool stuff happen on Sunday! More stories about that on the blog!

May God bless you in a special way this week!

Love,

Carrie

Sunday was so much fun. As I mentioned, it was Friendship Day in AWANA, so we had a few special things take place because of that. During our opening exercises/time of worship, we took a moment to have a couple children come up and say something nice to the leaders. One little girl who just came to the Bible Home a couple months ago seized the moment to say something not really to the leaders, but to announce that she wasn't going to fight with another girl in her house anymore. Awww! A hand went up, and a boy (one of my favorites) apologized for not forgiving another boy who had asked him forgiveness (and forgave him). Another hand went up. Another boy apologized for misbehaving and having a bad attitude at a baseball game/event on Saturday. It was amazing and beautiful. I'd seen this happen once before at the Bible Home, when a boy publicly apologized for having a bad attitude. So powerful! Praise the Lord for the good work He is doing in the children! They are learning how to behave, how to ask and give forgiveness, how to have healthy relationships and more. Hallelujah!

During opening exercises on Sunday, we also had a few minutes to go around and greet and bless one another. Oh my goodness. If you're familiar with the 5 love languages, talk about filling up the love tank! Going from one person to another, hugging, speaking words of blessing, kindness and friendship, kids coming up to me and throwing their arms around me, another one of my favorite boys coming up behind me and putting his cold little hands over my eyes. AHHH! It was so wonderful! Seriously, people, you all need to come to Roblealto!

The Bible lesson was a lot of fun. It didn't have anything to do with Friendship Day, but I'm going to tell you about it anyway because I want to. Before digging into the lesson, we had a round of Chubby Bunny. Note: it's better to do it with big marshmallows and not the mini ones. We completely lost count. It was totally hilarious though and I think the activity was new to all the kids as well as my fellow leaders. Anyway, I got to teach on the feeding of the 5000. So, I pretended I was the big sister of the boy who had the loaves and fish. I compared the mountain to the volcano the Bible Home is near and told them there were as many people there as could fit in the new National Stadium. I had a couple kids come up and be my little brother, Jesus and the disciples and then had them pass out the chocolate chip pancakes I made. I'd also brought 2 cans of tuna, but we didn't open them. I knew I had to get really creative, because I either had to do something kind of crazy or end up with something kind of lame. The lesson went really well though and at the end I explained how the one boy's act led to the feeding of a multitude is similar to how Jesus' one act of dying on the cross paid for the sins of not just a multitude, but everyone. God totally answered my prayer on how to include the Gospel in the lesson!

Before we got into game time, we sang our friendship song to the Chispas 2 group. They sang a song for us too. Oh and in manual time, both my kids were well behaved. My boy maintained a good attitude and my little girl (who usually cries at some point each week) didn't cry!

Sadly, we only have 1 AWANA left this year. I'm going to miss it like crazy, but I'm thinking I may still go up to the Bible Home every other week to worship with the kids. We'll see!

Tico Tuesday, November 8th

2011-11-08T21:20:00.003-06:00

Happy Tuesday!

Life has been so insanely full but wonderful I don't know how it is all happening. Anyway, this past Saturday was the national AWANA conference here in Costa Rica. Sadly, only a small percentage of churches and leaders were able to be present, but those of us that were there really enjoyed it. I know I did.

We received workshops of disciplining with love and using the model of virtues to build character and modify behavior (presented by Roblealto's own Child Psychologist from the Bible Home!), learning styles and memorization techniques for helping out kiddos learn their Bible verses. It was neat to have lunch with people from other churches and hear about other AWANA clubs in the country. At my table, we actually had leaders from 4 countries represented. Along with this gringa and the ticas there, we had a girl from Colombia and a lady from Greece. So cool! Anyway, some people traveled quite a ways to be there. It seemed to me like everyone who lives outside the Central Valley made a much greater effort to be there than those who were from places closer by. I was the only leader from the Bible Home that ended up coming, but I plan on sharing what I learned. It was fun to see my fellow LAM missionaries (Costa Rica's national AWANA directors) in action too.

The church sanctuary we met in had some sweet decorations, like this cute balloon girl!

Have a joy-filled rest of the week!

Carrie

Tico Tuesday, November 1st

2011-11-01T19:30:00.004-06:00

Happy All Saints Day! And, Happy Birthday Month! (I celebrate all month. It's kind of a joke, but only kind of ;-) )

Anyway, today I'd just like to share a snapshot of the beauty of nature. Isn't that beautiful?

It's not sparkling with dew drops (which would have been even more gorgeous) and it doesn't say anything about a pig (think Charlotte's Web). But even if you don't like spiders it is just a simple, natural, beautiful thing. Don't you think? I thought it was a lovely greeting to me when I got to the office up at the Bible Home last week. Today I was working at the Bible Home again, and it rained, again. But, for some reason the beauty and the wonder of rain just kind of hit me again like refreshing drops on thirsty skin. Water falling from the sky? How can SO much water be up there and defy gravity for so long? I remember learning about the water cycle in 3rd or 4th grade and more in depth in 9th grade. But, as in medicine and many other scientific fields, just because we know how it works doesn't mean we can't be in awe of it anymore. Perhaps we should be even more in awe! Who but God would think of this? Makes me think of a Psalm I read this morning. It talks about the rain, God's worthiness and praising Him.

Beautiful! Glory to God!

This week, may we all stop to ponder and wonder at God's marvelous creation for it truly proclaims His majesty!

With love and joy,

Carrie

I was really grateful for the spider web and the reminder of how fascinating rain and the water cycle is. I think it is important for me to remain in awe of God and His creation without going to my beloved Grand Teton National Park. It's amazing to be in places that just seem to be blaring God's glory fortissimo, but it's neat to tune in to the things that are more subtle and piano. God is the composer of the great symphony of creation and sometimes the very contrasts just make it that much more amazing. I LOVE IT!! Praise the Lord!

Tico Tuesday, October 25th

2011-10-25T20:45:00.005-06:00

I went to my beloved Isla Venado this past weekend. It was a quick trip, since I didn't have a long weekend, but it was totally worth the approximately 14 hours of round trip travel time. As I think I'd mentioned last week, the sun has been pretty impossible to see around here lately. The island was no exception when I got there. But, due to all the rain, the chorro, (a waterfall/watering hole) was flowing and full! I'd heard about this place on a previous trip, but didn't have time to go. Then when I asked about it on another trip it was during dry season, so everybody looked at me like I had two heads. But this time, I arrived on the island and before I even got to Pastor Eladio and doña Epi's house the kids were telling me we should go. Twist my arm! Unfortunately, the picture does not capture neither how wet I am (I was pretty drenched. I wrung out my shirt when I got home. I was wet from both the chorro and and steady rain) nor how beautiful the blue stones on the walkway are. They are all smooth and a lovely blue-green. Gorgeous! The trip to the chorro was especially wonderful because we got to go exploring further up the stream. Stream-adventuring is something I really love in life. It was on my bucket list until I came to Costa Rica. Head to the blog for the story of "My Umbrella Adventure."

Much love,

Carrie

So, it's been raining a lot. All over the central valley and western side of Costa Rica. I don't use an umbrella too often because now I travel by car more often than not and tend to just run between buildings and wherever my bar is parked. However, I know it is still important to have one and try to keep one in my purse just in case, because you never know.... Well, the one I kept in my purse was really cheap and falling apart. The other one wasn't in the best shape either. I decided to bring that one with me to the Island. However, I didn't take it with me when I got off the bus in San José Saturday morning. So, I figured I'd buy one in Puntarenas before getting on the ferry. Well, the place I always go to buy things didn't have umbrellas and I have to go to 2 others stores and then ask at a bakery before I found one. And of course, it was raining in Puntarenas and I was getting wet. I doubt my new umbrella's quality, but really didn't have time to fuss. I usually walk to the ferry. I should have gotten a taxi, but I didn't. So I ended up running that last couple hundred meters.

Thankfully I did make it. But of course it started to rain harder those meters I was running, and I didn't want to stop and open my umbrella, which would have only been a hindrance anyway. So I bought an umbrella and didn't use it. Saturday afternoon when we went to the chorro we were planning on getting wet so we didn't bother bringing umbrellas. And then Sunday, LO AND BEHOLD, THE SUN came out!!!! It was amazing, and beautiful and glorious and just so good!! I should have put more sunscreen on... or used my umbrella as a parasol. So I came home with a bit of red skin.

But, when I got to San José, it was raining again! And I had to wait for the bus for almost 20 minutes. That goes to say: I'm so glad I bought my umbrella!

Tico Tuesday, October 18th

2011-10-18T20:06:00.003-06:00

Happy Tuesday, everyone!
Most of you celebrated Columbus day last Monday. Well, here, for some reason, they passed the day off to yesterday (otherwise I'm pretty sure we would have had a random Wednesday off). So, I was ok with having Monday off instead of Wednesday. Anyway, we currently have 2 girls from Honduras here visiting us, so yesterday was a perfect day to go do some sight-seeing. Well, perfect opportunity. The weather hasn't exactly been what I'd consider perfect for the past 10 days (the sun hasn't dared show itself completely or let the sky bare itself for us all to enjoy the wonders of its beautiful, deep, blueness). Anyway, we went to Zarcero, a place that is very famous for the park located in front of the Catholic church in the center of town. It has all kids of topiaries, including a ton of topiary arches. It is really cool. There are also some lovely flower beds. I saw some cables and wiring, so I'm pretty sure they light the place up at night. I'd love to see that some time! Zarcero is up in the mountains and on the way we passed a ton of little stands that sell fresh, homemade cheeses and a host of other locally made, typical foods and treats. It was a lot of fun. We went to another town on the way home, but I'll save that story for another day. You can find a few pics of Zarcero on the blog. I'll see if more can make their way to facebook sooner or later.
Enjoy the rest of your week, no matter what the weather!
Love,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, October 11

2011-10-11T20:09:00.003-06:00

This Thursday is my one year anniversary of service with Roblealto! This is a picture of my microwave mug cake I made to celebrate. As I was chatting about the occasion with Pam (my supervisor) today, I began to reflect a bit (as I'm wont to do. I'm such a verbal processor!) So much has happened in the past year. God has done such phenomenal things in my life. I'm definitely not who I was a year ago! It's a relief to know the dark difficult time I passed through was now a year ago too. The past year has definitely not been easy. It has brought a lot of unique challenges I've never had to face before. But I must also say it has been one of the best year's of my life. I have learned so much and gotten to experience so many things. I LOVE LOVE LOVE serving in Roblealto! I don't think there are words to express what an honor and privilege it is to be a part of this ministry. Being a part of God's work, being His instrument in the transformation of one life after another after another after another after another.... there is truly nothing better. I'm convinced this is what I was made for. And this is only after one year! I'm excited for what God has in store for me in the future!

May God bring each of us to a place of joy and contentment!

Enjoy the rest of the week!

Carrie

PS Head to the blog for more thoughts and pictures of my cake rising in the microwave!

Jajaja, I knew picture of cake in the microwave would bring you here... ;-) It's just so cool to watch the cake rise and not spill over the sides like I would naturally assume it to.

Hmm, well I said I would share more thoughts. I suppose those could relate to Roblealto, but I could also tell you about the "fluff novels" (as my parents call them) that a friend gave me, enjoying the Sing Off a capella competition, the current total lack of sunshine in this country for the last couple days, me laughing at a woman giving birth on a TV show (she was yelling "get it out of me!" I laughed, and then stopped, because I'm pretty sure I'll also be that crazy lady who shouts crazy things while I'm giving birth too), or... I know. I'll write more about culture shock.

I'd say I'm pretty used to life here in Costa Rica. This is my life right now. This is where I live. I feel quite comfortable here and am very content, as you read above. :-) I remember going to MAC (Ministering Across Cultures), and IV cross-cultural training event. It was very well-planned and put together. At the time I didn't feel like I was learning much and wasn't sure if it was really worth it, but with time I'm realizing just how much I actually learned and what valuable knowledge it is!

We talked a lot about red-lining vs green-lining - what kind of posture/attitude we were assuming about the host culture. When you're redlining, you don't have a very good attitude. You think things should be the way you've always known them to be and do your best to maintain things the way you want them to and think they should be. You're not very open to accept new/different things. When you're greenlining, you have a much more open mind, heart and attitude. You assume the posture of a learner, understand that you'll make mistakes, but want to learn from them and be able to fit into the culture.

I heard someone say recently that here in Costa Rica the whole "it's not wrong, it's just different" thing doesn't apply so much and it's more like "it's not wrong, it's just stupid." I would tend to consider that redlining, though I will confess I would agree with the statement in a few settings.

In the 2.5 years I've been living here, I have learned a lot. Especially over the past year I've been able to pick up on a lot more subtle cultural things. I felt kind of silly for not catching on sooner, but 1) I think some of these things really take time 2) I can be really dense. I'd like to be more observant and sensitive to things.

So, in some ways, I really feel like I have a ways to go. But in other ways, I feel like I fit in pretty well here. People started calling me the most latina white girl they knew for a reason! I know I'll always be a gringa and can't deny my history, cultural background or upbringing. But especially as I've met other gringos in Costa Rica, I tend to identify myself a lot more with ticos (Costa Ricans) than gringos. I remember talking with a group of gringos about Costa Rica and talking about Costa Rica in the first person "We here in Costa Rica... In Costa Rica we have...." They picked up on it and I thought it was pretty neat...

Like I go to the airport and immediately enter culture shock. Everyone assumes I'm a gringa adn speaks to me in English. I am a gringa and English is my first language (though I can't get my prepositions right any more), but I'm so used to speaking Spanish (and much prefer speaking it if I know my Spanish is better than the other person's English) it is really weird to have people assume I don't speak it at all (or would rather speak English).

Another example, this Sunday I went to the International Baptist Church. I'd heard it was really good and was looking forward to it. I hadn't communally worshiped in English since May, so I felt like it was about time. I walked in and suddenly had the urge to walk back out. What was I doing there? I felt so out of place. It was like going to a church in Anywhere, USA, but in the FREAKING MIDDLE OF COSTA RICA!!!! It was really, really bizarre and I kind of had a hard time getting past that. I enjoy worshiping in Spanish and greeting everyone with a kiss on the cheek and struggle with that every time I go back to the States.

So, living in another culture requires a regular heart and attitude check and a lot of humility and openness. I know I still have a lot to learn, but it's been great so far!

A New Perspective

2011-10-07T20:22:00.003-06:00

A week ago Wednesday I opened an e-mail from the social worker from Roblealto's External Services Dept (she deals with all the families who came and solicit Roblealto's services). The e-mail explained that we were taking a new boy into the Bible Home, and that his mother was very poor and that she had a new baby that had been born just a few days beforehand. We occasionally take a collection when we come across a dire need, so I made a contribution so they could buy whatever the mom needed most and carried on with life. Last Friday, I had a meeting with Pam in the afternoon and then was heading straight up to the Bible Home after work to help my fellow AWANA leaders with our supercool Mexico display. As Pam and I headed into the meeting, I saw a mom with three small children sitting in our reception area. I ran into the External Services social worker and she told me that the mom sitting there was the mom we'd taken the collection for. They were waiting for someone from the Bible Home to come and take them up there.

Pam and I had a very productive meeting. It was getting close to 4 and we took a brief break. Out of the blue it occurred to me (ie the Holy Spirit nudged me) to ask the social worker if the person from the Bible Home had left yet to come and pick up this mother and her 3 sons. It wouldn't make any sense for someone from the Bible Home to drive all the way to the office and back (an hour trip, 1 way, when the traffic is flowing) if I was heading right up to the Bible Home after work anyway. She called and the person who was coming had left the Bible Home, but only a few minutes before. They decided to take my offer to give the family a ride.

Traffic wasn't flowing smoothly, so it took us a good hour and a half (or more) to arrive. The poor mother doesn't even have the money to buy her sons diapers, so, my car began to smell when we were approximately halfway there. I thought about stopping, especially because I was hungry and I figured they were too, but I also knew the folks up at the Bible Home had been waiting for this family to arrive all afternoon, so I figured the sooner we got there, the better. It was a little nerve-wracking to have 3 children in my car and no car seats (that's the word, I couldn't think of it the other day), but at least they were all buckled. When the oldest undid his, we pulled over until he put it on again. The middle one and the baby went in the same belt with their mom. They all fell asleep at some point, and when they were awake I told them about all the cool things about the Bible Home.

I mentioned that the boy would be living with a substitute family and the poor thing totally didn't understand, he just said, "But I already have a family." Oh man... I'd never thought of that very much before. I read all our entrance reports and write them in English, so I know what kind of situations these kids are coming from. Placing children in a place like the Bible Home is the absolute last resort, so the fact that they are there implies that they are at too much risk at home and they have no other viable options. But as Daddy pointed out, even abused children love their parents. The emotional ties are there, even if horrible damage has been done. I can't imagine myself in the child's shoes or the mother's shoes. How could you not feel like a total failure at life if you have to have your own children separated from you? (Hence the awesomeness of the camp for mothers!) This mom is clearly so poor and right now she has no way to provide for her children. So, we are helping her and we will be working with her (she is illiterate and we suspect she might have some other challenges too), but it's got to be hard for her too. Harder that I would have thought before.

Oh and the other thing is, the kids at the Bible Home typically seem pretty happy. The only time when they seemed mopey and were missing their families was at a translation night we had the night after they came back from being home for 2 weeks in July. The rest of the time they seem quite happy there. (Of course they have their issues and their moments, but I'm speaking in general terms.) But, to actually consider a family being split up is a very saddening thought.

Did I mention yet that no one in this family had anything? It's rainy season and the mom doesn't even have an umbrella. Not like she'd have the hands to carry one. But they didn't even have a bag or suitcase for the boy who was staying at the Bible Home. I found out later his mom brought him his stuff later, but the kid arrived to the cool mountain literally with only the clothes on his back, which wasn't much.

Needless to say, this was a very powerful experience for me. I've seen a lot of poor people, but interacting, conversing, and being to help in such a direct, practical (though small) way was totally new for me and I had a lot of processing to do. I can't even imagine though. Seriously.

Thankfully, we were able to make a special space for the middle son at the Bible Home and he went up there the other day. Please PLEASE pray for this family: for the mother and her baby, for the 2 boys at the Bible Home and for the substitute mothers and the rest of the Roblealto staff that will be working with this family. As we said in AWANA on Sunday, Jesus Christ is the Hope of the world. He is the Hope for this family and thank God Roblealto is able to be an instrument of hope. Have I ever told you what a privilege it is to be a part of this amazing ministry?

Tico Tuesday, October 4th

2011-10-04T19:06:00.004-06:00

Sunday was Missions Day for AWANA at the Bible Home! It was SO GREAT! Each club chose a country, researched it, made a display with information, and gave a presentation in front of everyone on it.Talk about a lot of work! It was totally worth it though! Everything went great on Sunday! The group I'm with, Chispas 1 (Sparkies 1), had México as our country. So, the leaders all dressed up and one of the guys made adorable little sombreros for the kids. It was so neat to talk about missions and tell these kids of the different people and cultures around the world that also need Jesus, and that one day, they can go to other parts of the world and tell others about Jesus! One girl pointed out though that we can be missionaries wherever we are, and that's true too! So after a lovely mix of worship and country presentations, we moved into the cafeteria and everyone was able to walk through each country's display and learn more. We spent HOURS putting the display up, but it looked fantastic. I encourage heading to facebook to see the pictures I put up and then to the blog to read of the adventure of putting the display together. It was so a-maz-ing!

May God use you as His instrument this week to bring others closer to Him!

Love,

Carrie

Friday afternoon the leaders of Chispas 1 met at the Bible Home to put our display together. Everybody else met on Saturday to do it, but some of our key people couldn't that day, and it was a good thing because we took up almost the whole cafeteria! We got cardboard donated and brought/had a lot of other materials.

A friend of a friend of mine grew up and México, so we were able to have a whole bunch of stuff that was truly authentic. That was really cool! And my fellow leaders are superstar creative artsy people. We made a great team. Everyone diligently worked away into the hours of the night. We slowly lost people, but there were still 6 of us at the end. I arrived late because I had to work all afternoon and got out a little late because I was in a meeting and then traffic was awful. but, there was still plenty to do even when I got there.

(More on my trip up to the Bible Home in another post-my perspective on poverty and the Bible Home got rocked this weekend.) So, of course, since I arrived late, everything was my fault. Any little thing, I got blamed for it. It was hilarious. It kind of reminded me in high school when each day was somebody's fault (random!). It made me feel really good though, because I knew that meant people had the confianza (they'd built enough trust/knew me enough) to tease me.

Kind of like getting thrown in the pool at camp in April. And it was actually some of the same people. It just felt so good to feel truly comfortable around other people. We were all totally comfortable and at ease with one another. We could tease and laugh, but we were also helping one another and bonding. It just felt like a totally positive, safe environment. I loved it! I felt totally free to be me and like people really loved me for who I am. That display of God's love is so awesome!! It was a great night. And of course, as the night drew on we got crazier.

It was getting close to midnight (or maybe it wasn't even that late) when all of a sudden we had all grabbed a decoration or prop of some kind and were all dancing around like totally wild, happy/crazy people. Tatti had the flag, Nawaf a piñata, Jeffrey one of the giant cardboard chiles, Laura a giant sombrero, me the axe with the blade of obsidian and Fausía had the poor, ridiculous palm tree on her head! It was SO FUNNY!! (Ok, maybe you had to be there.) Check out the song. Make sure you listen in far enough to be able to recognize the rollicking gospel tune! Jaja, just hearing it again I'm bursting out laughing. I

agree with Fau, I'll never be able to hear this song in the same way (or with a straight face) again! We did a little encore on Sunday morning once the activity was over, but it wasn't quite the same (and by then our poor palm tree was in really rough shape!). I love my fellow AWANA leaders! we had so much fun! I'm so excited to continue to spend time with them!

Tico Tuesday, September 27th

2011-09-27T19:45:00.003-06:00

Race Time!!

I LOVE running! One of my goals for the year has been to run 10k in under 48 minutes. I had a better race time than that last year, but since then, I've dealt with shin splints, pain in one knee, and then pain in the other. I slowly built back up and am finally able to race again!

A couple weeks ago my running buddy Albeiro and I did a 10k route around San Joaquín in 49:03.

I was pretty proud, especially considering I hadn't run that distance for a year! This past Sunday we did a race and it was wonderfully easy. It was downhill the whole way!! (I tried to be good to my knees.) I still don't have my official time, and even still it won't be totally accurate since most of the races here are still done without chips, but I heard the people in front of me say they finished in about 49 minutes. Oh yeah, and this was more like 11k, so I'm pretty sure I easily reached my goal. I'm excited to do another race that is flatter or has some uphill parts to it too and see if I can do that in under 48 as well. The picture is of Nawaf (a friend who helps in AWANA as Albeiro and I do), Albeiro and me.

For a compare/contrast of racing in the US vs Costa Rica, head to the blog!

May we all continue to work towards our goals this week!

Carrie

So, I've only done one race in the States, so I'm not sure how qualified I am to talk about this, but I'll share my take on things anyway. I can't talk much about the registration since I've actually always had someone else sign me up. That's kind of funny, actually.

The race I did in the States gave me a cotton t-shirt. The races I do here give me nice breathable tanks that probably make paying the $10 or so for the race worth it just for the shirt. They are also typically very uh, visible colors (orange, bright yellow or white).

Start and finish. The Beach to Beacon (the race I did in the States) did this phenomenally. They had signs posted according to pace. You started with your pace group. So, if you run a slower pace, you start behind the faster pace people, and that way the start isn't such a mess. The other bonus to the race in the States was...a CHIP!! Running with a chip means my time starts when my foot crosses the start line and ends when my foots hits the mat on the finish line. Of the 4 races I've now done here in CR, only 1 has had a chip. Chipless races means my time starts when the whistle blows and my time stops when I cross the finish line and someone spots my number and writes down my time. Chipless races also make for HORRIBLE starts. We are like a herd of cattle breaking out and it usually takes a few minutes for the crowd to thin enough in order to for us to not all be on top of each other. I'm really hoping chips catch on more here... fast!

Hydration. In the Beach to Beacon we had to drink out of Dixie cups. It's really hard to drink and run and you have to have a good cup folding technique so the water doesn't all slosh out before you get to drink any of it. Here, water comes in a small, sealed plastic pouch. You grab one (or a few) from the person or the table, bite off the corner and happily suck your water down without spilling a drop. Perhaps not so environmentally friendly, but way better!

In both places people spray you with hoses (which feels great at the moment, but can later give me chills if the wind is a bit strong) and stand along the side of the street and cheer you on. That's always nice. I encourage you to go to road races and cheer for people, even if you don't know any of them. It's a great random act of kindness!

Post race food, hydration and freebies. At every race but this last one I did post race hydration and fruit has been great. They are right there are cups of water and/gatorade are waiting for me and the line for fresh fruit (typically a banana and something else-an apple or a watermelon or pineapple slice) is moving right along. The race I did on Sunday had a line that was nearly eternal and I was starting to cramp up because I couldn't cool down and was in desperate need of fluids and calories. And I couldn't find Albeiro, who is typically waiting for me in a very obvious spot. So I was a VERY unhappy, somewhat lost girl. This race had some freebies, which other races I've done here have not had. That contributed to the long lines though and was therefore totally not worth it. The freebies at the Beach to Beacon were awesome though. We walked around and they gave us free awesome root beer, hot dogs, and lots of other cool, random, sometimes useless little things.

So, huzzah for racing, huzzah for chips and huzzah for good hydration. When do you want to come run with me or watch me race?

Tico Tuesday, September 20th

2011-09-20T20:29:00.004-06:00

¡Hola! Last Thursday was Independence Day! I went up to San José de la Montaña to watch all my kiddos from the Bible Home march with flags, the band, rhythmic movement, or by/on the float with the theme of "Diversity." (Head to the Roblealto Association page on facebook for pictures!!) I was so proud of them!
To play in the band, they had to keep their grades up and of course, be able to play the lira (like a marching xylophone), drums or cymbals. It is so awesome to see these kids, who the world considers "failures" being totally successful and growing and learning and improving. I LOVE IT!!! After the parade, all the kids from the Bible Home had a picnic and then in the gymnasium next to the plaza (soccer field in front of the Catholic church that marks the center of pretty much every town in Costa Rica) they had a whole bunch of games. I participated in the jump rope contest and won! I did 115 jumps. A girl from the Bible Home did 97 and one of the boys that just came to the Bible Home a few weeks ago did 121!! What a champ!
More about Independence Day Festivities on the blog!
Have a great rest of the week!
Love,
Carrie

PS Don't forget to go to the Roblealto Association facebook page for pictures!

There's something in Latino culture about celebrating things the day before, or at least getting things started. Here, Dec 25 is NOT a big deal. It's all about the 24th. On September 14th, they get the Independence festivities going at 6pm.

In pretty much every town in the country, everyone gathers on the plaza and sings the national anthem. (I learned the anthem for Independence Day last year. Now
I really know it by heart!) They have a torch that, like the Olympic torch, is passed through all the countries in Central America who share our Independence Day (The torch's destiny is Cartago, the original capital city of Costa Rica). Then, after a little traditional dance presentation, they have a parade around town. All the children make faroles, some kind of lantern-ish thing that is usually either a traditional house, oxcart, or something else symbolic of the country. Talk about some major creativity! In the olden days they would always light the faroles with candles.

(Remember, by 6pm it is ALWAYS dark here!) Some still do, like my little hermanita tica Verónica.

Others use flashlights, which are much safer. It's tradition to burn the faroles afterwards. I think that's sad to burn so much hard work so quickly, but, what I think doesn't really matter.
And then we had... fireworks!! They released them right formt he plaza so we all got sore necks from staring up into the sky, but it was great! Not a bad show for a little town! It was a wonderful evening spent with my tico family!

Tico Tuesday, September 13th

2011-09-13T20:45:00.002-06:00

The past few weeks I've been heading over to El Manantial, one of our child care centers after work on Tuesdays to translate for Dee as she teaches moms to make chocolate cakes in mugs in the microwave. Dee and her husband are new "finisher" missionaries with the LAM and are wonderful people who are very supportive of Roblealto. I'm really enjoying getting to know Dee better and working with her. We make a great team! Each week I've been meaning to take pictures of the cake making workshop, but I get so busy helping and microwaving that it just totally slips my mind to document the experience. So, what you see in the picture is the only remains and proof I have of the happy experience. I know the activity in itself is much more important than the documentation, but you know I like you to see what goes on in my life. :-)
The recipe is on the blog!
Have a great rest of the week!
Love,
Carrie

3 Minute Chocolate Cake in a Mug (by Dee)

In a MICROWAVE SAFE mug mix
1/4 c flour
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c chocolate baking powder (or sweetened chocolate powder/hot cocoa mix and less sugar)

In a separate bowl mix
1 egg
3 tbs milk
3 tbs vegetable oil
a few drops of vanilla

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones. It helps to make a hole in the dry ingredients or push them to the side so the liquid ingredients will fit. Stir well, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom so everything is evenly mixed. Add a generous tablespoon of chocolate chips. (They don't need to be stirred in since they'll sink to the bottom anyway). Microwave on high for 3 minutes and enjoy!

Dee always has me make the example for everyone and then we sample it. It turns out different every time, so feel free to play around with it. The cake will rise out of the mug in the microwave, but doesn't spill down the sides. Huzzah for delicious fun!

Tico Tuesday, September 6th

2011-09-06T20:57:00.003-06:00

Hello dear ones!
As I mentioned in my Chronicle, I got to lead an inductive study of John 15 in the devotional at work on Friday morning. We have devotions every Friday (and the last Friday of each month we have a birthday party). This trimester for July-September I'm on the committee with a fellow worker. We had to rearrange some plans and ended up with an open Friday. So I seized the opportunity to do something I LOVE to do with others- a manuscript Bible study! We pulled out the colored pencils and basked in the Vine, making observations, asking questions and asking God what He would have us take away from this passage and apply to our own lives. It was really neat.
I've studied the passage a couple times before, but I love how God shows us something different each time. And in a group setting, the discussion is always unique! This time, as I prepared and studied the passage on my own, it blew me away how much our relationship with Jesus is like His relationship with the Father. He loves us as the Father loves Him. WOW!!! And, we are to love others with that same love! Yikes! Talk about a tall order! But, as we abide, obey and love Him, that love will indeed flow through us and our joy will be complete. Love it!! So, as we repeated at the InterVarsity Fall Conference where we studied this passage I'll say to you: I don't know about you, but I'm stayin' in the Vine!
Love,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, August 30th

2011-08-30T19:39:00.002-06:00

Friday I participated in 3 very different, but fun, special birthday celebrations. And had 3 different yummy cakes at each one. Chocolate at 2 out of 3 wasn't bad!! Especially considering chocolate isn't as popular down here. In the morning at work, we had our usual last-Friday-of-the-month party and celebrated my supervisor Pam's birthday (and it was on the actual day too!) and Margarita's birthday. Margarita is another missionary with the LAM. She has been here for close to 40 years and is an amazing woman! After work, I shared the devotional with some parents from the Bible Home (another story for another day-maybe on the blog this weekend) and went to a surprise 50th birthday dinner for don William, who I have adopted as my "tico dad." It was sweet and he was surprised. Then, at about 10 I got home and a few people came over to celebrate Hazel and Samuel's birthdays. (Hazel is the one with me in the picture) That was a rather brief party, but I was ok with it. I was exhausted!
Then, last night we had a special little birthday party at the Nido house at the Bible Home. I got to be there because it was translation night for the volunteers. We had each child say something to the birthday girl-that was really sweet. And then Papi Gerardo, the substitute father had us sing every version of Happy Birthday to her we could-even in English! I hadn't done that in a while! It actually felt really good, even though some of the kids were singing "Sapo verde" (it's a pronunciation joke, don't stress if you don't get it though). Then, he told us how she never talked for her first 4 months at the Bible Home. She is still a quiet girl, but now she even participates in dramas and speaks in public! Praise God for the life of this precious young woman!
May we all enjoy the life that God has given us!
Love,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, August 23rd

2011-08-23T21:21:00.001-06:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Last week, I mentioned that we had just celebrated Mother's Day here in Costa Rica. Then I proceeded to talk about my trip to the beach. This week, I want to tell you about the Mother's Day celebration we had at the Bible Home on Sunday. Balloons, flowers, nice tablecloths and centerpieces, a raffle for gifts, food, music, brief theatrical presentation by a few of the children, games and a brief reflection all made up this special celebration for mothers who have children at the Enrique Strachan School (the school we have onsite at the Bible Home), mothers of the children who are currently living at the Bible Home, the substitute mothers who live and work at the Bible Home, and some mothers who are friends of Roblealto. It was a fun afternoon. My participation included: helping set up, writing out the numbers for the raffle "tickets," participating in the icebreakers, going to one of the houses at the Bible Home to make sure the kids didn't do anything dreadful to themselves or each other while their substitute father went to sing for the mothers, acting out 3 aspects of a virtuous woman (for the devotional) and of course, helping with cleanup. The whole afternoon was great and very special, and the final touch was... a mariachi! The women loved it! One of the teachers of the Enrique Strachan School made sure to run around taking pictures of everyone with big sombrero on. I just hope nobody had lice, because they got me towards the end...

God bless you and may we all bless our mother's this week (and every week!)

With joy,

Carrie

More later-it's bedtime!!!

Tico Tuesday, August 16th

2011-08-16T19:36:00.004-06:00

This weekend was a long weekend due to Mother's day here in Costa Rica. (Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!) I wanted to take advantage of it and go on a beach adventure. I invited my friend Diana. Originally, I want to go to a beach that is in Guanacaste (sort of far away), but she had a limited budget so we decided to go to a closer beach I'd never been to. Then I saw Ceci and invited her. Then I saw Ana and invited her. I went to the grocery store and bought us food, I also made a fantastic pizza so we could bring the leftovers. We were all set to leave at 5am and have a great day at the beach. Then, Ana woke me up at 2:47 in the morning. Change of plans, we were going in a microbus with some other friends and we were leaving at 3:40. Ok! We went to a different beach I'd never been before. It was great to be on the beach at 6am! We went to a really pretty nice one. What you see in the picture is what we had to hike over to get there though. The beach is part of a snazzy private resort here, but we entered the ahem, local way. Beaches in Costa Rica are public property though, so we were allowed to be there. Pretty sweet!
The moral of the story is: be flexible, because you never know what's going to happen while you're asleep. More of the day's adventure on the blog!
Love,
Carrie

The other moral of the story is, bring food when you go to a secluded beach. Or else you have to leave and everyone will be too lazy to go back. At least we had a few, truly blissful hours there. After spending a good hour or so at Subway, we headed to Jacó, a very famous beach here that is much better for surfing than swimming. I actually didn't get back in the water again because of that. And it was rocky. and shade was really hard to come by too. It was still a pleasant afternoon though. A number of us learned to surf (not me, not my cup of tea). I walked on the beach some, napped a little and got to read some.
My Bible still often opens to Psalm 94 - the passage that I passionately clung to last year. I re-read it there on the beach on Sunday and tears almost came to my eyes as I once more reflected on how much (in) my life has changed in the past year. Essentially EVERYTHING has changed - my workplace, my job and responsibilities, how my relationship is with my supervisor, how I get back and forth to work (I drive now instead of bike), who is at home when I come from work (Tía is back in the States and Abuelita passed away last September), where I sleep (Ana painted our room and we got bunk beds), PLUS emotionally and spiritually I am a totally different person. I'm not who I was. God has freed me and given me new life. He has taught me so many things and is helping me grow, mature and deal with conflict and life better. And Hallelujah! He's not finished with me yet!
Anyway-that's pretty much it for the beach story. I was really tired in the afternoon since I didn't sleep much the night before. We had a smooth trip home and it truly was a great day on the beach with friends. :-)

Tico Tuesday, August 9th

2011-08-09T19:35:00.005-06:00

Last week was probably one of the best weeks I've had at Roblealto. I was with a group of volunteers working in one of our child care centers and it was just amazing. It is such a blessing to get to work with volunteers, staff and children of Roblealto! This group of volunteers was the mens and women's soccer teams of a Christian college in the States. They did crafts and all kids of semi-spontaneous games and activities. The children were so happy! The volunteers also had a testimony time each day and shared relevant truths and a number of Bible verses with the children. Everybody ended up being blessed like crazy.
Then on Friday, I went to another one of our child care centers to help with another activity. While I was waiting for that to start I hung out in the patio and soaked up the attention of the children who were having their outdoor play time. The 5-6 year olds were all telling me their names and then asked for paper to write them. They told me how to write their names in terms of sticks, mountains, circles and humps. It was the most adorable thing!! Didier needed some help with his capital "D". He wasn't doing too badly though. I didn't even figure out what his name really was until I looked it up in the system today. These children are so adorable! I could write you a novel, but will try to just leave some highlights on the blog.
May God use you to touch someone's life in a special way this week!
Love,
Carrie

Yeah-so the group from Trinity was fantastic. This was the most I had ever worked with a group of volunteers by myself and it was phenomenal. I loved it SO MUCH!!! They were creative, flexible, spontaneous. They did wonderful activities and just poured love into those kids and gave them lots of attention - I had 28 volunteers for 9 classes (about 150 children) who typically just have one instructor each. It was beautiful! One girl offered to buy a clock for one of the instructors because there is no clock in her classrooom. Once I saw a small group of them gathered together praying. These kids totally had the perfect attitude and were just great!
One guy who shared his testimony was fantastic-he shared how his parents had a conflicitve relationship and divorced - and how God gave him peace and joy. They also shared the Gospel in a really neat way-explaining salvation in terms of someone doing push-ups in place of the losers of a soccer juggling competition. So cool! The last day they also gave gifts to all the kids and it was crazy, but beautiful.
I'd love to rave more, but I must post and go to bed. When are you coming to Roblealto???

Tico Tuesday, August 2nd

2011-08-02T18:13:00.003-06:00

Happy Tuesday!
Here in Costa Rica I'm enjoying having some extra days off – we get Mother's Day off a week from Monday, we had today off because it the the Day of Our Lady of the Angels, the patron saint of Costa Rica. And we had last Monday off as well because of the Annexation of Guanacaste, Costa Rica's northwestern province that decided it preferred belonging to Costa Rica instead of Nicaragua. We celebrated the day at our last-Friday-of-the-month breakfast/party/birthday celebration. Everyone from the office brought a different kind of typical food, some of us wore sort of “traditional” wear and we had lots of fun making up and reciting “bombas” - a traditional kind of 4 line poem about daily life. Many of them are about love and romance, but they can really be about anything. For one activity we had to write “bombas” for the birthday girl. Some people are really good at making them up! I memorized 4 to say during the party. Head to the blog if you'd like to see them and their translations – and make sure to look at the pictures I posted on facebook!

Enjoy the rest of this week!

Love,

Carrie

When I was on Isla Venado, doña Epi and pastor Eladio's grandchildren were all memorizing bombas to say at school the next day when they were going to celebrate the Annexation of Guanacaste. I had no idea how I was going to find bombas to say at the party on Friday, so I quick copied down a few so I could participate in the party.

El bejuco cuando nace

nace hojita por hojita

Así comienza el amor

Palabrita por palabrita

When the plant (generally like a Tarzan swing kind of plant) sprouts

It sprouts leaf by leaf

That is how love begins

word by word

Yo soy el que siempre he sido

y nunca dejaré de ser

Yo soy el pajarillo

que canta al amanecer

I am the one I have always been

and will never cease to be

I am the little bird

that sings at sunrise

Vos no podés negar

que yo tengo mis razones

Cuando uno quita la piedra

se acaban los tropezones

You can't deny

that I'm right

When one takes the stone away

the chance to stumble is no more

Ay mamita

qué zancudero

bajate el toldo

porque me muero

Holy cow

what a bunch of mosquitoes

Let down the cover

because I'm dying

So, there's a little piece of Costa Rican culture for you. (Translations mine) :-)

Tico Tuesday, July 26th

2011-07-26T20:59:00.003-06:00

It was another wonderful weekend on Isla Venado! Wonderful journaling on the ferry (plus a typical dance presentation by a group of high schoolers), more special bonding time with doña Epi and her daughters (and daughters in-law), learning to make chorreadas (homemade fresh-ground fried corn tortillas), learning more about the people and families and issues of the island, going to the beach, biking around the island for the first time (in 37 minutes, which I was told must be a record! Jajaja!), having great times of fellowship and worship at church, both at the youth and the traditional services, etc, etc, etc. Also, there was a group of people there that brought 50 packages of food to give to the people since they have been in veda (prohibited to fish so the fish can reproduce) since June 1^st. Fishing is the main source of livelihood for almost everyone on the island, so veda is a very difficult time. I loved how they handed out the food-praying with one family at a time and sharing with them before handing the food over. It was beautiful! Picture will appear on facebook very soon!

Love,

Carrie

Tico Tuesday, July 19th

2011-07-19T18:52:00.004-06:00

Do you ever get jealous of me and my missionary life? I live in a beautiful, tropical country and serve children and families who come from slums built into beautiful hillsides. Do you ever wish you could serve God more/better or be more involved in something "for God?"
If so, I invite you to read the following quote I received in an InterVarsity alumni e-mail. If not, that's ok, and I encourage you to keep reading anyway. "If a vocation represents a call of God to serve him in the world, then that vocation is sacred because it comes from God. It therefore makes no sense to speak of a secular vocation; such a phrase is a contradiction in terms. A vocation, because it comes from God, is sacred." (Gordon T. Smith)
So, please, don't belittle your current occupation/line of work. You can do accounting, nursing, teaching, engineering, sales and a whole lot of "boring paperwork" all for the glory of God right there where God has placed you. I think He likes us to "bloom where we're planted." Not to downplay missions - but rather I say this to you to remind you that the Great Commission doesn't just apply to "vocational missionaries." Sharing God's love and truth is the responsibility of all who claim to follow Christ and we all have vitally important roles that God has given us! So, let's stick close to the Head Gardener and bloom wherever He puts us!
Love,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, July 12th

2011-07-12T19:42:00.003-06:00

Friday night my friend Heather and I capped off the week with pizza and ice cream. We had a wonderful time chatting all about life, our stories and what the future might bring. I'd packed the week superfull and it was all great, but Thursday and Friday were especially wonderful. I was at our 15 de Setiembre Child Care Center with a group of 8 high schoolers that were doing games with some of the children. I got to explain to them about Roblealto and how we work. Their Spanish was quite good, so they didn't really need me to translate. It was wonderful to be at the center though and get to see some of the kids I write about and meet a little girl I wrote about today! She didn't want to participate in musical chairs anymore, so she sat and chatted with me for a little bit. I continue to be amazed by God's work in Roblealto and how the children change and become more sure of themselves. More stories about children on the blog!
I pray God also amazes you with His work this week!
Love,
Carrie

So this little girl that came and sat with me is adorable. Her name is E and her cousins used to be at the 15 de Setiembre but now they are at the Bible Home (and one of them is in the Sparky AWANA club I help with). Unfortunately, her dad is an alcoholic and her parents' relationship is not in very good shape. There was another little boy that didn't really want to participate in a game either. He and his 4 siblings come to our child care center because their dad has to work and their mom is in prison for 20 years. Poor kids! He and his siblings all watch out for each other, but when I read and wrote their entrance reports, it was clear that he and his sister (the younger ones of the family) have been more affected by the absence of their mother. So sad!!
Not all the kids are withdrawn though. Many have a ton of energy and just can't get enough attention. I watched the most extreme, intense of duck, duck, goose ever-with the kids running multiple times around the circle, leaving the circle and running around other parts of the room, cutting through the circle, etc. It was hilarious. At first, the volunteers would only play the traditional way, but before long they started playing the intense way too. It was HILARIOUS!!
One of my other favorite moments was when one of the slightly older age groups came into the cafeteria where we were playing and a girl I'd never seen or met before just came up to me and hugged me and talked with me. It was awesome!
I took some pictures with the camera from work but forgot to save them onto my flash drive, so they'll come later. It's bedtime!

A Brief Thought

2011-07-12T07:50:00.003-06:00

So my Daddy wrote this "Praying through the Psalms" book. He writes a little comment and prayer that corresponds to each Psalm. It's wicked cool. This morning I read Ps 22 - one of the most blatantly prophetic Psalms that points us to Christ's ugly, painful crucifixion. Between reading the Psalm and the prayer Daddy wrote, something (the Holy Spirit) just kind of jabbed me again and reminded me: my sin drove Jesus to the cross. Each sin I commit deserves the death penalty. And Jesus died for every one. And He would die for every one again and again if He had to. Diay!And He didn't die just for my sin though-He died for every sin ever committed by everyone! His sacrifice is sufficient for us all. But let us never forgot its great cost, nor the victory and freedom we have through Jesus' RESURRECTION!
So let's spread the word!

Learning to Love

2011-07-07T19:01:00.002-06:00

Have you ever been in a Bible study or read something that encouraged you to read 1 Corinthians 13 and stick your name in all the places that say "love?" Carrie is patient. Carrie is kind. She does not boast, is not proud, rude, self-seeking, does not envy, etc?? Jajaja! I sure can't make it through without laughing! Me, patient? Who are we kidding? Me, kind? I like to think so. Doesn't boast and isn't proud? Hmm, you must not know me too well. I think inserting my name there is one of the best ways to show me how NOT loving I am. I think that is part of the purpose of the exercise. But here's the thing:

On the one hand, it is WONDERFUL to know that I'm not perfect and still have a VERY long ways to go, and that God still loves me and forgives me in spite of that. I have come to adore confession and acknowledging my total brokenness, depravity and desperate need for God.

On the other hand, what an awesome way to make myself look like a total failure and feel guilty about myself! This is so not what life is about! It is impossible for any of us to have that perfect love and try as we may, we will never be able to love like that on our own strength! We will continue to NOT be long-suffering, delighters in truth who always protect, trust, hope and persevere. God IS love and is the only One capable of loving in the way that Paul writes about. (And there's the whole context thing which people always leave out. This is the climax of the book with a whole bunch of instructions for believers and how they should live their lives together). He is the standard for love and the way we live our lives. So, what do I think we should do instead of putting our own names in there in the place of "love?" Insert the name of the One who IS love. Jesus is patient, kind, keeps no record of wrongs, does not rejoice in evil and will never, ever fail. Hallelujah!

O Lord make me more like You!

Tico Tuesday, July 5th

2011-07-05T19:19:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was one of the more interesting 4th of Julys I've had recently. The last time I celebrated the 4th in the States with other gringos was in Jackson, WY in 2008. Pretty crazy, huh? Well, yesterday there was an Independence Day shindig here in Costa Rica! If you didn't know, there is quite the gringo population here in Costa Rica, I just don't live too near to most of it. So yes, here in Costa Rica we had square dancers, a 4th of July parade (shortest one ever, I'm pretty sure), a flag-raising ceremony and fireworks to celebrate our independence in a country that is quite dependent on the US in many ways. Fascinating irony! It was fun though. I hung out with Pam and Nelly and Pam's family. We had a really good time. And there were big yummy burgers from Outback for $4. The 4th is always a bit nostalgic, but I enjoy getting to celebrate it each year. More on the blog. Looks for pics on fb!
Love,
Carrie

I'm pretty sure I blogged about this. I know I have. I LOVED celebrating July 4th when I was little because Grammy loved it and the celebration they do in Falmouth, Massachusetts is superchiva- really cool! The Falmouth Militia, flags, the booming salutes to each of the 13 colonies, biking by Surf Drive, picnicking, family games, blueberries, dessert and of course, fireworks. I miss it. Maybe I'll get to go back, some day. It's not the same without Grammy though (she passed away 10 years ago this year. The anniversary is next month). So, the nostalgia and sentimentality are greater. It was fun to be at a 4th of July fireworks presentation again though. And I came home and flipped back and forth between the fireworks in NY and Boston. I loved the shots over Fenway!! Thank God for freedom and may freedom soon come to those who don't have it!

Tennis & Faith

2011-07-03T20:24:00.003-06:00

What do Venus Williams and Rafa Nadal have to do with faith? Watching them makes me have to exercise it! Maybe this seems trite, but I was surprised at the spiritual connection when I realized it. I love watching tennis. Not only do it I enjoy it because I find it fascinating and entertaining, but it is also a fun chance to spend time with my mom (and one of my brothers) when we are hundreds and hundreds of miles apart. We used to always do it together (I can still remember the legs and bodies all over our couch in the den in Maine quite vividly) and I like being able to be together (even though we're apart at the same time).
Anyway, Wimbledon ended today. One incredible match I got to see part of earlier in the tournament was Venus Williams vs Kimiko Date-Krum (I hope I got that right). Venus was very close to losing the 1st set when I had to leave to go to work. I was very discouraged for her. I was trying to be optimistic, but it was really hard to keep the faith for her. I learned my lesson when I got a chance to check the match results later in the day and was shocked when I saw the Venus won!! She still lost the 1st set, though not when I'd anticipated. She got it to go to a tiebreak.
Today I watched Rafa Nadal take on Novak Djokovic. Set 1 all is can say is lucky break (Djokovic won it). Set 2, I never should have gone to shower because Djokovic broke Rafa while I wasn't watching and was up 3-0. But I came back and again, it was hard to keep the faith. Now, yes, I think there is a line between faith and blind, almost thoughtless, optimism. But, having learned from Venus, I kept the faith in Rafa. I know he doesn't need me. He can't hear me. He doesn't even know I exist. but, I believed he could win. I'd seen him win many times in the past, I saw Venus pull off a great win against the Japanese girl. I clearly have no control over the matter. So, what can I do? Enjoy the match! Believe in my player's capabilities. Be optimistic, but realistic. I try to think what the player must be thinking and how he or she might be strategizing. If I can just win this game, if I can just hold my serve... But my conclusion is that it comes down to- I have to win this point. I just have to win this point. I have to win this one and the next one, and the next one. I can't dwell on the past, but I can learn from it. Now, I'm going to try to win this point.
And I think many life lessons can be pulled from this. Mainly: I can, and desperately need to, have faith and not give in, even when things look bleak. I can recognize my lack of control in life, and trust my God, who has control and already has everything worked out. I can be optimistic, yet realistic. And I can enjoy the ride, with my brother's long legs on my lap and my mom's and my curly "attack hairs" (we call them) left all over the couch when the match is over. Long live Wimbledon and let's keep up the faith!

Tico Tuesday, June 28th

2011-06-28T16:53:00.003-06:00

Behold! The old has gone! And the new has come!
Costa Rica is joining the "in" countries who now have cool paper/plastic currency that is friendly to the "personas no videntes" (blind). And yes, plastic. The 1000 colon bill (worth approximately $2) is actually made out of plastic. I think the new bills (2000, 5000, 10.000, and there are 20.000 and 50.000 but they aren't so common) all have some degree of plastic in them, but not as much the the 1000. This was demonstrated by a friend of mine the other day who heard that you couldn't rip the new bills, and proceeded to tear someone else's 2000 bill. OOPS!! The new bills are textured, different lengths according to value and supposedly even harder to con... confetti... ah! counterfeit! Yes, that.
So, when are you catching up, USA? (jijiji. Sorry, I couldn't resist! ;-) )
More on the blog!
Blessings on the rest of your week!
Love,
Carrie

I'll admit, it's a little ironic that Costa Rica would come out with new, hip "blind person friendly" money before the USA, considering the US always tries to be in top of everything that is new and trendy. I suck at knowing things about Europe, but didn't they do this with the Euro when it first came out when I was in high school, más o menos? I think I heard talk of this in the US, but who knows. The US has a lot more things to be concerned about regarding money these days....
I continue to be fascinated by Costa Rica though-just how advanced it is here in so many ways, yet so behind in so many others. I remember in my Latin American civ class (which was unfortunately lousy, one of the few disappointing classes at GCC) we used a book/curriculum about Latin American's identities being like buried mirrors. Many Latin Americans are sure of who they are or who they should be. There is indigenous culture/history/background, there is Spanish influence from the conquistadores, and now there are malls, MTV, cell phones and wi-fi.
And stop. I'm talking about Latin America as a whole. That is a VERY DANGEROUS thing to do. Why? Because it's not like you can think of Latin America kind of like the USA where each state is separate but still essentially the same in many ways. Yes, there are a number of things that unite Latin America, but I would argue that the differences between México and Costa Rica are greater than those between Maine and Illinois. Not to downplay the differences between states. I know there is enormous diversity within the US. What I'm trying to get you to understand is that there is enormous diversity within Latin America as well-even here within Costa Rica, which is smaller than West Virginia! The people from the Caribbean coast have a different culture and dialect from the one we have in the Greater Metropolitan area, which is different from the indigenous people that live in the mountains, which is different from the people who live in the northwestern province that was once part of Nicaragua.
I'm currently reading a fascinating book called "From Rio to the Rio Grande" which talks about a number of issues and differences within and regarding Latin America. It was written to help the clueless gringo learn a little more about his/her southern neighbors, who aren't all Spanish nor Mexican (so please don't call them that). I highly recommend it. I've learned a lot myself!

Tico Tuesday, June 21st

2011-06-21T20:59:00.003-06:00

Happy Tuesday once more to you all!
This Saturday I went to the market in downtown Heredia with my friend Ulli. We chose the market because it was raining and we didn't have umbrellas with us, so instead of light streaming in you need to picture things much darker and rain dripping in from various sections of the roof. We had quite an adventure though. I took advantage of the fruit and vegetable stands to go over some vocab with her (I'm helping her learn Spanish). Trying to learn and distinguish guava, guayaba and guanábana is a challenge, but I think we both finally have them down. We walked quickly through the parts of the market that have nasty meat set out-the kind that could never pass FDA standards and makes you want to be a vegetarian. We did stop to share a HUGE, yummy handmade cheesy tortilla though. We met a really nice family there too. What a great way to spend a rainy Saturday in Costa Rica- delicious food, great company and language/culture learning!
Blessings on you this week!
Love,
Carrie

A Shield Around Me

2011-06-17T20:31:00.002-06:00

Last Sunday there was AWANA about the Bible Home. I'll post more about that soon. But right now I just want to share about the worship time we had before going into full AWANA mode. Here's the deal. The Bible Home is a temporary shelter for 80 at risk children. There are 8 houses (10 children in each plus a substitute family). Every other weekend, the children go home to be with their families. This is very good and important since one of the main purposes of our ministries existence is to help restore families. On the other every other weekends, the children stay at the Bible Home and their parents can come and visit on Sunday afternoon. On those Sunday mornings, there is a small worship service for the children. During certain parts of the year, the post-singing time of the service becomes AWANA time. (AWANA is a really awesome evangelistic/Bible memorization program). So, last Sunday the worship time was really great. It is a powerful thing, to be there with 80 children who all come from HORRIBLE backgrounds, and sing with them about God's love, faithfulness and promises.

This past Sunday, a "new" song was introduced. It's called "You, Lord are a Shield around me." It's based on Psalm 3:3 "But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head." The lyrics say

You, Lord are a Shield around me. You lift up my head, you are my glory and strength. You, Lord are a shield around me. You prosper my ways and control my destiny, only you are a shield, Lord." I don't know what it was, but I just LOVED singing this song. It's easy, it's catchy, and of course, we learned adorable motions to it too. But what a rich, beautiful true promise we can cling to! No matter what we go through, God is there with us. The assistant director of the Bible Home and his wife led the song and explained how the Lord is a shield AROUND us. Not just in front of us, or on one side, but all around us on every side. That is so good to know! Yes, hard times come and we have to pass through some excruciatingly painful and difficult trials, but God is with us. God is in control and we can hide and rest in Him, knowing that He will lift up our heads once more. And the kids at the BH have been through that and they are finding their solace in God and it is just so beautiful!

You know in "Shout to the Lord" in English the last line says "nothing compares to the promise I have in you?" Well, in Spanish it says, "You give me incomparable promises, Lord." I like how the focus is more on the promises in Spanish than the lack of comparison available to them. Well, the recording/video we sing along with at the BH is really neat. It gives me the chills every time. Towards the end there is a break in the singing and children's voices start listing a whole bunch of God's promises, "God loves me," "God will take care of me," etc, etc, etc. God's Word is beautiful and powerful and TRUE and we can cling to it. The hard times will come. But God is still there, a shield around us. And that's something to sing about!

Tico Tuesday, June 14th

2011-06-14T21:40:00.002-06:00

Do you remember when that mall used to be a field? When that housing development used to just be plain, open space? I've always had a hard time visualizing stuff like that- like I can't even remember what places were like before they got all built up. But, it is very easy for me to look at Los Guido and see what very recently was just vacant, green mountainous Costa Rican landscape. I got to make my first real trip into Los Guido last week. I'd technically been there once before, but it was pretty much a quick drive in drive out kind of deal. This time I got to take lots of pictures to send to some one who is helping us develop promotional materials for Roblealto's new child care center, which we are going to build in Los Guido. The poverty there is impressive. The houses are built out of wood, corrugated metal and anything else the people could find. There is a ton of trash everywhere. I think maybe next week or the following I will get to go back again and actually get to talk to some people that live there. I'm looking forward to that!
Love,
Carrie

More to come later this week!

Tico Tuesday, June 7th

2011-06-07T19:16:00.004-06:00

This is my friend Carmen. She is the Coordinator of Christian Education at Roblealto. Sometimes she rides with me back from work. Carmencita is a very busy lady. She planned the camp for moms we had last weekend and she was in charge of Roblealto's Annual Worship Service that we had this past Friday night. The service wasn't a typical worship service. It was more like an evening of fellowship, prayer and worship. It was really neat. We split up into groups to pray for all of Roblealto's different programs (Child care centers, the Bible Home, etc), talked about what it means to serve in Roblealto, and had a lovely time singing to the Lord. There was also a speaker that reminded us of the importance and blessing of giving. We should ask ourselves what can we give or offer and not what can we get out of things. It's very counterintuitive and countercultural, but that is what Jesus calls us to do and He will always give us the grace to complete whatever He wants us to do. When it was over Carmen, the Christian Ed director of the Bible Home and I were especially exhausted because I think we were the only ones who were at both the camp for moms and the service. Thank God for a relaxing rest of the weekend! More on the blog!
May God fill each of us with His presence this week!
Carrie

I slept more this weekend than I have in... I don't even know how long. It was desperately needed though. I had been on the go pretty much constantly since before my trip to the States. And oh how nice it was to not have any plans but watching the French Open and going to church! I even got to be home by myself most of Saturday afternoon! It was so nice to journal, catch up on some e-mails and just relax and not have to be anywhere!! I'll confess it was hard to pull myself away from the Nadal/Federer final in order to go to church, but I was really excited to go back since I hadn't been since before my trip. And now with AWANA at the Bible Home every other weekend, I'll only be able to make it to church every other week. That's ok though. I'm so excited to share more with the kids at the Bible Home and get to bond with them more and have more meaningful relationships with them!
Oh, today I was in one of the houses because I needed the kids to make thank yous for the camps who are going to partner in mission with Roblealto this summer. So the kids were all drawing at the dining room table and it was just precious! I had little Hillary (one of my personal favorites) on my lap. She did was Ezra likes to do too- copy another picture. She did a great job! All the other kids were drawing and coloring too, showing off their creativity.... and ability to write "love" in English. :-) It was so adorable. And how wonderful for those kids to be able to be kids and color and create and set aside the cares of their lives! Thank God for places like the Bible Home that get children out of at risk situations that force them to grow up too quickly. Now they don't have to worry about Daddy coming home drunk, or how long Mommy will be out, or if a strange man will come to the house again or if someone will mistreat them, etc. And at the Bible Home (and our child care centers) the children are not only protected, but they are also taught about God and His love. And we work with their parents too in order to restore and strengthen the family. It's just so wonderful! Can you see once more why I am so honored and thrilled to be a part of this ministry?

Tico Tuesday, May 31st

2011-05-31T19:48:00.003-06:00

It was an amazing weekend. I think my favorite part was the Noche de Gala we had at the Camp for moms who have children in Roblealto, but the impromptu harp, clarinet and cello concert trio concert at our house was pretty darn cool too.

This weekend I had the privilege to serve as a cabin leader for 7 moms from one of Roblealto's child care centers. It was amazing and beautiful to see how God has been working in their lives. In Roblealto God is not only transforming children, but parents and entire families as well! Everything was very well planned by the Christian Ed director and members of the interdisciplinary teams (social workers, psychologists, etc). I think my favorite activity was the Noche de Gala when we all dressed up and had a special dinner. In the talk afterwards the moms learned about Esther and how she was a VIP woman (Valiente (brave), Importante y Preciosa). They all received a little treasure box and when they opened it they saw God's treasure: themselves! It was so great! More on the blog!

May we all remember this week how important and precious we are to God!

Carrie

PS The impromptu concert at home was for Ana's birthday party Sunday night. We have some talented friends and family members!

Camp for Moms was a beautiful mix of fun, sharing, teaching and lots of self-esteem boosting. The Gospel was clearly presented a number of times, we did a fun activity dressing the “new woman” based on Ephesians 4, a “rally” with different stations that walked woman through learning of God's love, letting go, learning to walk with Christ, etc, there was a bonfire the first night, I got to lead a devotional with the moms in my cabin, and there was time to swim, rest and pick tons of ripe mangos! It was a really special, fun time.

I was excited to be a cabin leader and serve in camp, but when I arrived and met a whole bunch of moms whose children are in the Bible Home, I started to feel a whole bunch of things I didn't expect. I'm often tempted to judge these women- how could one be so negligent, so disrespectful, how could someone reject their own flesh and blood? How could someone be so selfish and violent, so heartless and cruel? Part of me wanted to shake these women and knock some sense into them, part of me just wanted to stare at them in shock because these women really are real, and I just didn't know what to think. But then I was able to just be SO GLAD they were there! One mom whose children I have promised myself to adopt if she abandons them was there with her mom (who has taken more responsibility for the kids). They explained she was just starting to get more involved. PRAISE GOD! I was delighted at how many of the moms at camp had already come to know Christ. It is so easy to look at a family or at a person and think they are pretty much a lost cause. Thank God He doesn't do that with us! I know I often lack the optimism and the faith to believe God can truly change a life. But, I have recently seen it in my own life and I am seeing it in the lives of not only the children, but also the families who are a part of Roblealto's programs (we have workshops and Bible studies for them). It is real. God is doing awesome work and I am honored silly to be a part of it.

God is so awesome and big and powerful and loving!!! Saturday night we asked the women, “What does God think of when He thinks of you?” I like to think He says something like what Papa says in “The Shack” “Oh _____, I'm particularly fond of him/her.” But I think it's really more like “So and so! I LOVE him/her SO MUCH!!!” and He gets a tear in His eye just at the thought of us. I've heard my pastor say before that we don't really believe that God loves us. Unfortunately that is true all too often. I don't think we are as sure of God's love as we should be. I know I'm not. We get so lost in us, us, us. And that just makes trouble! But when we think of Him, Him, Him and rest in His immeasurable, incomprehensible, unconditional love life never seemed more beautiful.

So, I thank God for what He taught me, for what He taught and showed to all the moms and Him once more for His awesome grace and unending love.

Tico Tuesday, May 24th

2011-05-24T20:49:00.003-06:00

The most obvious highlight of this past week was my cousin's wedding. This was another one of those cousins that is more like a sister than a cousin, so it was really special for me to be there at her wedding. It was sweet and beautiful and everything a dream wedding should be. There were even horse and carriage rides as party favors for the guests! I enjoyed helping bring down the stuff from the bride room after the party broke up. This was the easiest way to bring her enormous cathedral veil down! My cousin's wedding also allowed me to get to see my mom (YAAY!!!) and a host of other relatives, share with the children at my aunt and uncle's church who pray for Roblealto and me and go kayaking and swimming. More on my trip to the States in my Chronicle next week. I just got home and have to get up early for work in the morning!
With love,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, May 17th

2011-05-17T15:01:00.005-06:00

Happy Tuesday to you all!! I had the opportunity to spend the last few days with my brother and his family. I had a wonderful time drawing, playing Chutes and Ladders, reading and bowling with my sobrinos (nephews and niece-we don’t have a word in English that includes both genders). It was really good to be with them and get some quality time with my brother and sister-in-law as well. We had some wonderful conversations. God really worked out the timing of my trip. On the one hand, it was a little sad because everyone (but me) got sick and was low on energy. But on the other hand, it was great because I was able to help take care of the children when Sarah wasn’t doing so well and Daniel needed to be doing other things. So I’m very glad I was there and able to be of service in a time of need. I’m also glad I got to see my great aunt and uncle and the Carrie for whom I was named. More on the blog (including pictures of the rest of my sobrinos)!

Love,

Carrie

I LOVE CHICAGO!! Ok, not so much the corruption part and witnessing a guy steal the map off the L (metro train). But I LOVED Buckingham Fountain and just walking around a big beautiful city.

San Jose is definitely not a beautiful city. It is small and it is quite dirty. Don’t wonder why you hear more about the jungles and beaches. Anyway, I met up with Carrie in Chicago and we had a great chat and I really enjoyed soaking in big beautiful cityness. She is such an amazing woman!

Getting to hang out with Aunt Melanie and Uncle Alfred for an evening was great too. The original plan was for them to come over for dinner, but due to the stomach bug, we decided to not put them at risk. So they took me out for

Thai food and then to the Chocolate Factory. YUM!!! I was glad to see them for a whole evening: last time I saw them they could only stay for about 5 minutes since they had another engagement.

I love getting to be with Daniel and his family. I feel like every visit is better than the last. The kids get older and we can have richer interactions and I just get to bond with everyone. I really enjoyed getting to have time just with Dan and Sarah during naptime and after kid bedtime and before adult bedtime. We had some great conversations and an amazing game of Catan. I loved drawing with Ezra and Agnes, reading to and playing with Isaiah and holding and feeding Nathan. I love my family!

Tico Tuesday, May 10th

2011-05-10T11:47:00.003-06:00

No high walls and closed gates. No palm trees. Big spacious yards. Tulips. Delicious smelling LILACS!!!! My dear bike path with quaking aspen, white tailed deer and Wolf Creek. Almost no litter. Sunset at almost 9pm.

I am having a wonderful trip to the States! This first leg in Western PA is now wrapping up and tomorrow I'll head to my brother's house in IN. I'm so excited to meet my youngest nephew! In the meantime, having a little bit of reverse culture shock in PA has been fun. All the flora and fauna here and so different and I have been able to enjoy them even more with Keegan, my dear friend and biophile. Keegan has been a wonderful hostess. I have also been able to see a number of other special people, including my other college roommate and her adorable daughters, lots of people from church and the last class of students I actually still know. It has been a delightful time of sharing, beautiful runs and walks, and enjoyment of God's great, diverse creation. I LOVE getting to talk about Roblelato and my amazing life in Costa Rica and learn some about how my friends here are doing and what God has been doing in their lives as well.

God bless you and may you get outside to enjoy His creation this week!

Love,

Carrie

Tico Tuesday, May 3rd

2011-05-03T21:38:00.001-06:00

“Is he yours?” That is the question I heard many times on Sunday afternoon. It was the Día del Egresado (Special Day for people who have been in the Bible Home). There was a special service in the morning and later there was a whole lot of food and fun for everyone! I ran in to my friend Ulli and was helping her keep an eye on the boys. On multiple occasions after chasing after one, people would ask me “Oh, is he your son?” Thankfully, no. Yes friends of mine are married and with kids, even people who are younger than me now are getting married and having babies, so it's not an unfair question to ask. But I am definitely not a mother.... yet. :-) Anyway, on Sunday afternoon it was fun to run into all sorts of people I know, especially the kids who are currently there.

Before leaving I went up to one of the houses to say hi to the substitute mom. Some of the girls in her house had put a little choreography together to a Christian hip hop song, so they performed it for those of us who were hanging around the house. It was so cute and really well done for girls their age!!

What a great day!

So, if you have kids, enjoy them! If you don't, find some to play with and have a blast!

Next Tico Tuesday will come to you from Grove City, PA! :-)

Love,

Carrie

Do the World a Favor: Listen!

2011-05-02T21:34:00.003-06:00

I listened to a great sermon the other day about listening (the one called Please Listen). How important that is! What a gift it is to have someone listen to me! And I know that I too can give that gift to others. So often we feel the need to talk when what we really should do is shut our traps and just let someone else be heard. Really. It is a means of grace to others.
And listening doesn't just bless others- it glorifies God too.
Speaking of God, I encourage us to listen to Him too. Most of the time we do ALL the talking and don't even think about the possibility of letting Him get a word in edgewise. And sometimes when we do hear something from Him, we ignore it. I'll confess my guilt of this. The other day I was driving up to visit a friend. Something inside said, "Hmm, I'm going past the grocery store. I should call my friend and see if she needs anything." I came up with excuses not to stop though-I've offered before and she's almost always said no, there's a lot of traffic, I should just hurry up and get there, etc. Well, I get to the house and lo and behold, she was planning on having zucchini with dinner but what she thought was zucchini was actually cucumbers. I should have called! It's just a "silly" little story, but I really believe it wasn't just me, but a spiritual nudge to call and see if she needed anything at the grocery store.
Now, I have stories from the other end too. Recently, I have had conversations (spoken and written) with 3 separate people who all told me something along the lines of "I didn't have peace" or "I was concerned for you about something..." And boy do I wish those people would have spoken up regarding their concern for me!!! God places these burdens on our hearts for a reason!! If we want to be God's instruments, we must listen and obey, no matter how small it may seem. Even if it's just for a zucchini. I'm not trying to super-spiritualize life here. But I think sometimes we profane it all too much. Profane as in not just underspiritualize, but de-spiritualize. I think we can find a healthy balance between desensitivity and hypersensitivity. But we have to listen. This is something I want to learn and practice and I invite you to join me- listening to others and listening to- and obeying- that still small voice inside. Sshhhh!

Tico Tuesday, April 26th

2011-04-26T19:20:00.001-06:00

ALLELUIA! HE IS RISEN!! Resurrection stories and photos will come in the Chronicle that will appear later this week.

Today, I want to share about our trip to Monteverde. Samuel, Ceci and I adventured to one of the most famous places for eco-tourism in the hemisphere. Monteverde is aptly named, for it is indeed green and mountainous. And oh, how beautiful! The views driving up were gorgeous. The horizon was a bit hazy, but we could still see the ocean. We went to a cloud forest preserve and hiked around. Costa Rica is famous for having 6% of the world's biodiversity (and it all fits in a land mass that is smaller than West Virginia). It is impressive I tell you! Unfortunately we didn't get to see much in the way of wild life, but we did get to see gorgeous flora and a surprise amazing view of the Arenal volcano! (I'll try to get some pictures on fb soon.) I marveled at God's phenomenal creativity and was once more left in awe when I remembered that it is the very same Creator God who made, knows and loves you and me! WOW! This God who Himself became a part of creation, joined humanity and walked among us, then gave His life for us and rose again from the dead! HE IS RISEN INDEED! ALLELUIA!

Don't forget to check out the blog!

Love,

Carrie

Going to Monteverde was quite an adventure. It is still eco-touristy and not totally exploited because you have to drive 20km on a dirt road to get there. I found this out the night before we left, and didn't want to cancel the trip because my excursion for the previous had been canceled. Well, we made it fine, but I certainly would not want to drive that again. Now I really understand why my parents didn't want me to make friends with people who lived on dirt roads when I was little.

One highlight of the trip was the way there. Ceci, Samu and I had a great conversation about love. We have some differing ideas, but it was delightful to have a pleasant, meaty conversation! I haven't had too many of those here. People tend to hide in the shallows and not have deep conversations. Building trust is hard and takes a long time. This has been hard for me because a) our culture trains us that we should get everything as fast as we want it b) it takes a lot of effort and patience c) people tend to open up only in one on one conversations d) I was spoiled by Grove City where having deep conversations is just what you do, in the car, at lunch, walking to class, whenever e) I don't want to pry into peoples' lives and sometimes it's hard to (know how to) relate and I'm not sure how much others will be able to relate to me. So, it's a learning process. And though I am very extroverted, I know I don't have to and actually shouldn't be best friends with everyone. Better to have a solid few than an overwhelming smattering of friends. God has been incredibly good to me though and I am so thankful for all the people He has placed into my life here and everything He has taught me through them!

More to come soon!

Tico Tuesday, April 19th

2011-04-19T16:43:00.002-06:00

Today I got to go visit the kids from the Bible Home at camp. As I was getting ready to leave this morning, I asked myself if I should grab a bathing suit.... just in case. I knew there was a pool there, but I wasn't sure if I would have the opportunity to get in, and if it was just going to be full of splashing kids and I wouldn't be able to actually do anything, I'd rather not risk losing my contacts. So I thought. And surely people there didn't know me well enough or have enough confidence with me (How would you say that in English?) to just throw me into the water. So the suit stayed at home, and oh! How wrong I was!! About everything! There was opportunity, and whether I could actually swim or not, getting to be with the kids is so fun and special I would have gotten in if I'd had a suit or a change of clothes. And it turns out though that people do feel comfortable enough to pick me up and throw me in the water -because they DID!!!! I didn't put up much of a fight though and it was useless. Playing with the kids in the water was way better than watching them. And I only got splashed in the eyes once! It was a blast! And thanks be to God, somebody lent me dry clothes. :-) It was a great day!

And I HAVE to share this with you too-this boy that I'm with told me before he got into the pool “My clean heart is going to wash off. But that's ok,” as he put his hand to his chest, “because I'm still going to have one here!” That is what happened at camp! God is so AWESOME!!!

Love,

Carrie

Tico Tuesday, April 12th

2011-04-12T19:51:00.003-06:00

Happy Tuesday! Today doesn't feel like Tuesday because yesterday was a fascinating national holiday (a battle against gringos, actually). More about that on the blog. But, I took advantage of the 3 day weekend and headed to my dear Isla Venado. My friend Heather, who is also with the LAM (and currently at language school here) accompanied me and we had a WONDERFUL trip, resting in the hammocks, conversing with doña Epi and Pastor Eladio, eating mangos off the ground, going to a lovely church service, exploring all over the island, eating delicious fresh fish, sleeping, going to the beach, hanging out with Pastor Eladio and doña Epi's grandkids, coconut apretados, etc. Oh and we also got to visit a special friend of mine on the island. She is so sweet! Heather and I also got to enjoy almond fruit, cashew fruit, multiple kinds of iguana/lizardy things, lots of different kinds of scrumptious mangos (what a sin to have mangos rotting off trees there and lousy, expensive, hard to find mangos in the States!), some kind of gorgeous blue bird, a jellyfish that stung Heather and a few other people at the beach, tons of beautiful flowers, cows, roosters, chickens and more. Please note, we did not eat all of the above. Jijiji!! This trip was quite a learning experience!
More on the blog!
God bless you!
Carrie

Ok briefly, yesterday's holiday. Known as the Battle at Rivas, or Juan Santamaría Day, William Walker was trying to invade Costa Rica and we wouldn't let him in. (Oops, did I just say we, referring to myself as a tica? Well, let's call it me referring to myself as someone who lives here. I know I will always be a gringa, but Heather did tell me this weekend I'm more tica than I think. Jajajajaja!!) Juan Santamaría, a tico soldier, volunteered to go burn the palce where all the gringos were and he was successful in his mission, but died in the process. Our airport is named after him. That is a very brief summary of what happened. I should learn more Costa Rican history.
I'm just more excited to talk more about my weekend. It was SOOOOOO great! I went to the island not only to visit, but also to deliver to Pastor Eladio a book he wants to use in discipling others. It is called "Uses and Customs of the Biblical Lands" or something like that. That would be my translation of Spanish back to English. The trip wasn't planned that much ahead of time, so I wasn't able to plan much else. I love going to the island and it has started to serve as a kind of retreat center for me, but I always want to be of blessing when I go to the Island. God's timing is so perfect and I believe He continues to use me. I was really excited to visit my friend Marlen, (the one I mentioned above), because she and I just kind of clicked when I was there in June of last year with the medical mission team. However, when I arrived this time I found out that she could use a visit and I was really glad to be able to check on her and see how she has been doing. You can pray for her and whatever God is doing in and around her right now.
I got to talk a little bit with Pastor Eladio and doña Epi about what I might possibly do during my next visit to benefit the island community and that will take some prayer and consideration, but Pasotr Eladio mentioned giving a talk to the youth about not doing drugs. I think I would probably talk about good decision making and not just drugs (I don't know too much about that. I just remember scary movies in elementary school). But, I don't know.... We'll see. There is much to think and pray about!
This is funny. I go to Isla Venado and love it there. Heather loved it too. But she did point out that for some people going there would be difficult. Eating the same thing pretty much every day (rice, beans and fish), not hot water (you don't really need it though), heat, having to walk everywhere on dirt roads, poverty, no much in the way of stores, chickens all over the yard, sleeping on foam pads on a bed frame... I don't know, it still doesn't sound that bad to me, and I HATE CAMPING. But, I guess that's me. There is running, potable water. I think that's probably the most important thing to me.
Island life is so interesting. Sunday morning a man on the island passed away. He wasn't a part of the church, but we still had a little pow-wow before the service to decide if we should still have it. People looked at me to see what I thought, and I asked what were the pluses and minuses of having the service. Thank God for reminding me to keep an open mind and not just say something. They explained to me that when someone passes away, the community usually gathers around the family and supports them. Hmm, kind of sounds like the awesome sermon by Dr. Gordon I listened to the other week! (Jesus Wept, So Can We). So, we decided to have an abbreviated service. It was definitely the nicest service I'd been to there. I don't know if it was because I'd had time to prepare my heart, I knew more of the songs we sang, or if there was just a different spirit/ambience. It was lovely though. And a very down to earth sermon on lying (he was ag'in it). Pastor Eladio and doña Epi went to be with the family while Heather and I visited Marlen.
Ok, I would love to write more and share every detail, but I got well rested over the weekend and would like to stay that way for as long as possible. :-) G'night!

Tico Tuesday, April 5th

2011-04-05T20:25:00.003-06:00

Can you believe it's APRIL already!?!?!?!
Anyway, this is what my church here in Costa Rica is like. This past Sunday was a special day because a group from the US came to worship with us. They are helping us build a new church building that will also double as a child care center for children of teen mothers. (I just can't get away from at risk children! Not that I have a problem with that.... jijiji). Though no one in the group of gringos knew any Spanish, it wasn't too hard for them to follow the service because all Anglican churches use the same prayer book and liturgy! It's so beautiful! But, at a couple points in the service, the rector wanted some of his comments to be understood by everyone, so I got to interpret! IT WAS GREAT!
It's a good thing the work is coming along on the new church building, because have outgrown this little space that we are currently meeting in! If you'd like to keep reading, you can find more on the blog!
God bless you and your times of worship this week!
Carrie

Yeah, so we hope to be able to have our Resurrection Sunday celebration at the new church and are very excited because that day will also have baptism, confirmation and it is our church's namesday (Cristo Resucitado means Risen Christ). So it's going to be a BIG party! I was talking with Nelly my coworker today and she confirmed one of the sadder cultural differences I have observed: typically here in Costa Rica, Resurrection Sunday is not such a big deal. In the States it is a BIG DEAL and I have come to passionately LOVE Resurrection Sunday as I have grown in my relationship with Christ. And to my disappointment, the 4 Resurrection Sundays I have spent here have indeed not had the same hype, thrill, emotion, power and beauty and the typical one in the States. I'm not sure why this is. Easter pageants here are pretty much nonexistent. Well, I think Christmas ones pretty much are too. Life is different. But I will still have my personal sunrise service on Resurrection Sunday morning and sing through the whole Resurrection section of my hymnal! And that will be lovely. So, in essence, Resurrection Sunday will be/is a big deal at my church here, but still not in my ideal way, and I'll deal with it.
Hmm, I had been planning to write about something else. I don't remember what it was now though. Was I going to tell you about the wonderful people there? They truly are wonderful! Was I going to tell you about the colors of liturgy and explain that purple is for Lent? Oh I Remember! It's a funny anecdote:
During announcements, our rector Jorge had everyone introduce themselves, starting with the gringos and then everyone from our church (I can't call us all ticos because we have Venezuelans, Salvadorians, Guatemalans, etc). So, the gringos all introduced themselves. They didn't consider me a gringa because I wasn't part of their group. They'd heard me speak enough English that they figured I was from the States (apparently I accidentally let a y'all slip out! Yikes! I don't know what happened! They were all excited I might be a Southerner too though.) But of course they associated me more with Costa Rica and knew I was a regular attender of the church. However, when almost all the people from Cristo Resucitado had introduced themselves (the only 2 who hadn't gone were the Austrian exchange student and yours truly), Jorge started to move on and I had to clear my throat pretty obviously to catch his attention. Essentially, the gringos thought of me as a tica and the ticos thought of me as a gringa! Such are the joys and complications of my life!
I love being identified with people and life here! But, there are definitely those moments of Wait, where do I belong? or Where do I say I'm from? I definitely can't ever deny I'm from the States, but right now I'm a happy resident of Costa Rica. That ties in with something else I was reminded of recently: Jesus identifies with us in pretty much EVERYTHING!! Since He came to earth as a man, He experienced life here and can thus identify with us. So, He knows what it's like to be from one place and sort of be from another. Not that the US is heaven, but I think you can get my general idea. This came from a sermon I listened to-I finally downloaded all the sermons from my church in the States onto my ipod and have been listening to sermons on the way to work. FANTASTIC!!!!!! I encourage you to check them out too!

Tico Tuesday, March 29th

2011-03-29T20:45:00.004-06:00

God blessed me with this beautiful Hyundai Accent! I am so grateful! I can get back and forth to the office so much easier now! I also have more freedom to go up to the Bible Home evenings and weekends and I can bless other people by giving them rides. I am SO glad and excited to not have to depend on trains and buses, and to be able to grow in my ministry and service to others! Since the car’s primary use is for my ministry, I will be able to be reimbursed for it if God provides $6000 (the cost of my Hyundai) into my Travel & Equipment account. Please see my signature below for information about tax-deductible giving to the LAM.

I’m making a trip to the States in May and look forward to sharing with some of you more about serving in Costa Rica and thanking you personally for your support of my ministry here. It is a real honor to serve God in this way! THANK YOU SO MUCH for your prayers and support and thank you too to those of you who give on a regular basis and thus keep me on the field! God is really blessing me and I am overjoyed to be here!

Love,

Carrie

Please prayerfully consider partnering with me by regularly supporting me and/or making a special gift on my behalf to:
Latin America Mission, P.O.B. 52-7900, Miami, FL 33152-7900 (with a note that it's for Carrie Smith).
Or by internet: lam.org Go to donate to an LAM missionary/Carrie Smith.
Or click on this link to go directly to my LAM bio:
http://csmith.lam.org/

Tico Tuesday, March 22nd

2011-03-22T20:46:00.003-06:00

Happy Tuesday!
What does this, the Hospital Clínica Bíblica, have to do with Roblealto? And what do they both have in common with the Latin America Mission? Their founders! Harry and Susan Strachan are two people who God has used to do phenomenal things in Latin America. They did a huge Evangelism-in-Depth campaign with native speaking preachers and excellent follow-up, they founded the Templo Bíblico, the Hogar Bíblico, la Iglesia Bíblica, el Seminario Bíblico, la Clínica Bíblica, etc. I think you get the point. And contrary to the typical assumption, neither Harry nor Susan was from the States! (They were from Scotland and Ireland, respectively). So, there are some fun little trivial facts for you this week. I'll tell you on my blog why I got to go to the Clínica Bíblica the other week!

Yes, I got to go to the Clínica Bíblica. I had a really great time too! And no, thankfully I was not injured or sick (though I have been battling a nasty cough for a couple weeks, but I'm on antibiotics now).

I'll start from the beginning. A couple weeks ago I got to go to the Bible Home (Hogar Bíblico!!) for a night of translation. Volunteer groups from the States and Canada come to Roblealto on short term mission trips and help us with needed maintenance and construction projects (of which there are many!). They also get to play with the kids and love on them and bless the substitute families and it's just a wonderful experience for everyone. Every other night, the volunteers eat with the kids and substitute families. However, this is a bit of the challenge, since most volunteers don't know hardly any Spanish and most substitute families don't know hardly any English. Smiles and gestures go a long way, but one night a week we provide them with a translator so the volunteers can have a richer, higher quality interaction with the kids and substitute families. I LOVE GETTING TO DO THIS!!!!!!!! Anyway, I got to go to the Bosque (Forest) house. The volunteers there were a couple and their 26 year old daughter. We had a wonderful evening. Most of my translating was for the wife, Lynn. She is an amazing, loving woman and it was really special to get to interpret for her and mami Yorleny. Well, Lisa and her family stayed in Costa Rica to vacation a bit after the rest of the group left. And unfortunately, there was a freak accident and Lynn got to get airlifted to the Clínica Bíblica. Thankfully, she is ok and it was nothing too serious. But there was some serious concern before the x-rays and all the tests came through. I'm not sure if Fabián and I were sent or permitted to go visit Lynn, but I was really glad to get to see her again and encourage her a bit. We got her a card and had a beautiful visit in the Clínica Bíblica. It was truly a time of sweet fellowship. We all shared together and it was just beautiful. I could feel God's presence so powerfully in that room with us! So, that was a great visit to the Clínica Bíblica (though of course, the circumstances were all too unfortunate). It's too bad about Lynn's accident, but thanks be to God she is doing much better and He was indeed glorified through it all! Later in the evening Pam (my supervisor), Mami Yorleny and another substitute mom went too and had an even more incredible experience!

One moral of the story I learned: visit people in the hospital. It's not just an old-fashioned pastoral thing. It's really meaningful. Going out of the way and making an effort for others is a great blessing for all! And thank God for the Strachans!

Tico Tuesday, March 15th

2011-03-15T21:12:00.002-06:00

This is my friend Julie. You can't see her that well in the picture, but that's ok. (I stole it off of fb anyway). Suffice it to say that she is a worshiper, missionary, long blonde haired wicked awesome girl from Maine that I met in college and has been mentoring me since my senior year. We met through InterVarsity when she was a senior and I was a freshman. Her being a fellow New Englander meant us getting to bond more at mini IV New England reunions and now she lives in the same house as a close friend of my family in the same town as one of my uncles (and his family). Small world, isn't it? Anyway, lately Julie's and my conversations haven't been quite so regular (they used to be once a week, without fail), but I'm pretty sure our conversation on Sunday night was life-changing. How so? Head to the blog to find out!!

May God grant you a life changing conversation this week too!!

Love,

Carrie

Life changing, huh? Yeah. I believe it! And that's what makes the change! Although sometimes I can (seem to) have a very strong personality, I am also very good at being passive. I like other people making decisions for me and telling me what to do. It makes life so much easier! (Or so I think. I've gotten dreadfully burned by this though.) I don't like making decisions for myself. I'm afraid I won't make a good decision and I'm afraid I won't do things right or be able to do whatever I set out to do. I tend to let people steamroll right over me and I haven't had the self-confidence to really believe in myself and my capabilities. Good grief, when I put it like that I wonder how I made it this far? Only by God's grace, that's for sure! And I went to Grove City too, jajajaja! Thank God for Grace!

In college, I didn't know what I was doing with my life. I knew I loved Spanish, Latin America, and the people there. So, it looks like I did the right thing moving to Costa Rica then, right? I guess so! But that's only because I was invited to serve here and i did rally feel like I got the green light from God to do so. But here's the thing. You can study a biology and become a biologist. You can study history and become a historian. You can study psychology and become a psychologist. But you can't study Spanish and become a Spaniard!! What about teaching? (that's what everybody else asks me.) After taking Educational Psychology I decided teaching really wasn't for me. I was too afraid of not being able to handle classroom management. And, I'm such a perfectionist that I would be a horrible Spanish teacher because I wouldn't let the kids make any mistakes and I'm sure they would get the bejeebees frustrated out of themselves. Now I'm not so sure. Maybe I actually could teach.

As I close in on the 2 year mark of being here in Costa Rica (my original plan was for 3 years total), I am contemplating what will become of me when my 3 years are up. I know the world is my oyster and that I have a lot of options. Due to the things I described above though, that is a more frightening than exciting thought. Do I stay? Do I go? What do I do, wherever the heck I am? I can easily let myself get overwhelmed when I contemplate these things. But lately, I have just been trying to think: what are my life goals? Where am I headed? What do I really want to do? How can I make the best use of the gifts and passions God has given me in order to extend His Kingdom on earth? Julie did some awesome “active listening” and helped me brainstorm about some things. That was fun, and I started to get excited about what the future may hold instead of just get intimidated by it. Why? Because she spoke life and truth into me. Nothing I hadn't heard... or even told other people... before. But things that I hadn't truly believed for myself. I often write in reports about the children in Roblealto that God has great things in store for this child. But I wasn't fully believing that God has great things in store for ME, another one of His precious children!! God has created you and me with a purpose and He wants to use us as His instruments to share His love and truth and grow His kingdom. That is so awesome! Life is something to be excited about! I pray God continues to make you and me more sensitive to his leading. May we seek Him and obey Him, that He may be glorified and that our joy may be complete. AMEN!

Tico Tuesday, March 8th

2011-03-08T20:56:00.002-06:00

Where do I have the most fun here in Costa Rica?

a) At home

b) In the car

c) At the Bible Home

d) At the mall

And the answer is..... C! (Of Course!) I do have a lot of fun at home, though I haven't had as muCh time here lately. I have fun in the car, especially if I'm not driving alone. The mall is ok. But there is nothing like a party with all the kids from the Bible Home and a group of volunteers!! Friday night there was a pizza/going away party for the group of volunteers that was there last week. We had great entertainment with the help of don Gerardo and Andrés, 2 incredible men that live at the Bible Home and invest their whole lives into ministering to the kids there. We played Minute to Win It and that was hilarious and really fun, but I think my favorite part was the performance by God's Dwarves (or so they called themselves). They did a dance to a popular Christian hip hop song. The foto helps explain it all. I got to be in my element as interpreter for the night. It was a blast! More stories and a secret detail about one of the dancers on the blog!

I hope you get to have some incredible fun this week!

Carrie

The dancer of the far left is a boy!! it took me a while to pick up on it, but once I got a good look at his shoes, I knew it. The poor guy got a bit embarrassed, I think I would have been too if I were him. But, he did a great job.

The Minute to Win it challenges were, 1) scooching across the floor on a mat without touching the ground with one's hands or the balloons with the mat. 2) Kicking off one's shoe onto a table about 15 ft away 3) picking up paper bags from the floor without using one's hands (very sanitary.... NOT!) 4) Blowing plastic cups off the table with air released from a balloon one has inflated. I would LOVE to try that one! Then the volunteers had to put one 10 t-shirts one on top of another. That's a good way to know what you'd look like if you packed on a few pounds!

Hilarious English observation. Sometimes I get “at” and “in” confused now, because there's only one preposition for both those words in Spanish. I remember Srta Forrester (one of my Spanish profs from college) telling us in fonetics (yes, I've also given up on using the ph) that we would never be able to divide syllables again correctly in English. Call it a self-fulfilling prophecy, but it's true. I remember only very little about how to do that in English now. I only know that doubled consonants get split up. But I can't tell you if it's con-son-ant or con-so-nant. I think it's the 1^st one, but in Spanish it would be the 2^nd. AAAAHH!! Oh, and the other day someone pointed this out to me. Buses and cars are both vehicles, but why do you get ON the bus and IN the car??? Oh English, you don't make sense!

Anyway, I'm off to bed! I need sleep!

Tico Tuesday, March 1st

2011-03-01T22:20:00.005-06:00

We had this very special visitor in the office the other day. It flew in through the window and had a hard time finding its way back out through the blinds. Finally we were able to help it out, hopefully without damaging its wings. Of course, we had to get some pictures first. Even though this is Costa Rica, butterflies don't pass through the office every day! We had to snap the pictures shortly after it landed though, because once it was still for a while its wings folded up. Have you ever noticed the incredible camouflage butterflies have? It is quite impressive. I never saw that many butterflies in the States, but I wonder how many I have seen, both here and there and just didn't realize it because their wings weren't open and their camouflage served its purpose?

Another recent butterfly story can be found on my blog!

Love,

Carrie

Sunday afternoon I was hanging out with Fabián and his family. We went across the street to the soccer field for a bit and Keren, Fabián's niece made a little friend. They were playing when I think the other little girl's mom found a dead butterfly (and I think it was the same kind as the one that flew into the office). She picked it up and Keren boldly took it into her hands and gave it a thorough inspection and ripped a wing. It's amazing how strong they were! I was surprised they weren't in shreds. Well, the next thing I know Keren's hands are covering in black butterfly dust. It's like the creature was disintegrating in her hands. And of course, she had to get her hair out of her face and the next thing we know Keren is black and dirty all over.

Her mom, like any other young mother, was nervous it might be one of those poisonous ones and took her off to get cleaned up at once. It was really cute. Keren had on an adorable new tweed dress too. I don't think that got dirty from dead butterfly dust, but it was dirty anyway from playing outside. She is so adorable! (This picture of her is from another day when we were in Heredia centro and she got to do one of her favorite things-feed corn to the pigeons. Every night when she says her prayers she has to pray for the pigeons and for the corn that God provides for them!)

Tico Tuesday, February 22nd

2011-02-22T20:40:00.004-06:00

Who is this and what did he do to have the honor of being highlighted in a Tico Tuesday? This, mis amigos, is Mr. Steve Johnson, the president of the Latin American Mission. This past weekend we had a retreat of all the LAM missionaries from Costa Rica (plus some friends from Honduras and Perú) to learn what is up in the LAM these days and have some time to share together. Steve shared a lot with us about the LAM, who we really are, what we do and where we are going. I really admire Steve's vision and leadership! I'm really excited about all this! God put me in one amazing organization! (Feel free to ask me any questions about it!) And, it was nice to hang out with these people I don't get to see often enough. One of the highlights was definitely the soccer game! Yes, a whole bunch of gringos (plus a brasiliano, a tico, and a panameño and some other semi-Latin people) mejengueando was quite a sight to see, I'm sure. It was a blast though. The other highlight is on the blog!

Have a great rest of the week!

Carrie

Yes! Heather and I got to brush out teeth together again! (Ever since college I've had this thing with toothbrushing. I think I might have mentioned it in another post a long time ago. but this is funny, I was looking for the picture to post and couldn't find it. Then I remember I even had a folder just for toothbrushing pictures. No wonder! Jajaja! I can't believe I'm posting this horrible picture on the internet!). We first met as roomies at LAM orientation in June 2008. Ever since I have been waiting for us to be together in Costa Rica. She came with us to Manuel Antonio the other weekend, but it was really fun to be together in an LAM environment again too. So, Heather and I haven't

spent a ton of time together, but we get along really well and enjoy what time we do share. Her life keeps having some kind of major change take place every 6 months, and she is due for another one in June now, so you can pray for grace, wisdom and strength for her. Thanks!

Tico Tuesday, February 15th

2011-02-15T20:32:00.002-06:00

Happy Tuesday!

The other weekend, I got to go back to Manuel Antonio National Park, which is a lot like paradise on earth. I went with several of my Costa Rican/Honduran friends, and my friend Heather (my roomie from LAM orientation) was able to come along too since she's now at the language school here in Costa Rica! Manuel Antonio has lots of wildlife in its natural habitat (monkeys, sloths, spiders, other animals whose names I can't recall, iguanas, etc) and gorgeous beaches! This picture was actually taken outside the park, but I LOVE the spray that forms when the waves crash on this giant rock. The power, the beauty, the display of God's work. AWESOME!!!

May you enjoy good friends and God's awesome creation this week!

Carrie

This is a beach inside the park. The picture doesn't even come close to capturing the gorgeous color of the water! It is in an inlet, so there are almost no waves. It's a lot like a big pool! Sooooooo nice!

Tico Tuesday, February 8th

2011-02-08T18:22:00.003-06:00

Last week was a really exciting week in Roblealto! We have been working on building a new (fourth) childcare center in Los Guido (a slum on the southern side of San José) for a decade now, if not more. Donated land? Check. Donated architectural plans (a breakthrough of that sort in Costa Rica)? Check. All kinds of gov't permits for a really nice, handicap accessible place in a squatter settlement that currently has no way of dealing with sewage, etc? Check! All that was missing was 2 million smackeroos. But, you'll note the past tense. WAS missing! Between the Costa Rican gov't and some well-off generous folks, we are much nearer to our goal, close enough that we hope to break ground later this year!!!! This is phenomenal!!! More on the blog!!!

PS The money for sustaining the first year of operation is also already in the bank! Praise the Lord!!! (and the picture above is of the site of the Los Guido Childcare Center)

YES!!! Isn't this amazing??? I was just reading various documents the week before last about the Los Guido Childcare Center. It seemed like we'd had the land forever and that nothing had happened! I talked to Pam though and she explained to me what I explained above. A lot has been done and it has all taken time! Especially in a burro-cratic country like this. We have indeed been pressing on. But, the money coming in like this is monumental. Our current president, Laura Chinchilla's star gov't project is a Network of Care and Development for Children (and the elderly). She wants to expand current childcare centers, build new ones, etc, etc, etc. Roblealto already has stellar rapport and a close, healthy relationship with the gov't, so it is VERY willing to participate in this project, because it will help Pres Chinchilla meet her goals. And yeah, generous people are generous and just incredible! It is so beautiful how the Lord touches people and moves them to do wonderful things!! Please be praying for us in Roblealto as we seek to raise the rest of the money needed to build this DESPERATELY needed childcare center!! It will serve 250 kids that live in poverty or extreme poverty. This is serious. All our other childcare centers and the Bible Home are currently maxed out and there are still SO MANY children and families who desperately need the care and love provided through Roblealto. Have I ever told you how much I LOVE this ministry???

Tico Tuesday, February 1st

2011-02-01T20:29:00.003-06:00

Happy Tuesday to you once more!

This morning we had a special breakfast celebrating the jobs of the International & National Development Departments of Roblealto. They do a different recognition at the end of each year for people who have been there 5 years, 10, etc. This was just a special breakfast for the association to tell us that they love us, they appreciate us and want us to keep up the good work! As you can see we enjoyed a traditional breakfast of fruit followed by eggs, gallo pinto, tortillas and bread. A little heavy on the carbs, but breakfast is the big meal of the day here. Anyway, one person was assigned to each person who was being celebrated. And that person made a card and prayed for the person that corresponded to them. Doña Carmen made me a really sweet card. Another lady from the Nat'l Dept got an acrostic of her name that was really colorful and creative. We ended the time by sharing testimonies from our departments and then praying together. It was a beautiful moment!

May God bless you with many beautiful moments this week!

Love,

Carrie

Isn't Roblealto great? The breakfast was a really nice thing I'd never heard of before, but I like it a lot. It is nice, especially for those of us who haven't been around long enough to be included in some kind of recognition thing.

The other big news of the week thus far is that Roblealto got a donation of Tdap (tetanus, etc) vaccines and so we the employees got vaccinated for FREE!!!! I was due this year anyway! Does God have perfect timing or what? I was a little nervous getting the shot.... 1) because I hate shots and 2) because it was the first injection one of my parents had NOT given to me since I got my yellow fever vaccine in 2005. Not that I get stuck that often.... but my parents have given me all my injections for as long as I can remember. I clearly remember my last tetanus booster ... I was babysitting 2 kids. We were playing in the kitchen in our house in Auburn, ME (sigh). They had on play armor and I was talking to the little boy when my mother approached me with a needle and got me right in front of the kid. I'm glad he wasn't traumatized by that. I sure was... Ok, not really, but I remember the moment vividly.

Then there was part 2 of my hep A that Mommy gave me in the kitchen of our house in Old Orchard Beach, ME right before I went back to Grove City for my sophomore year. I had on a Gordon College t-shirt. She stuck me and she hit an artery and blood literally spurted out of my arm. Sorry for not warning this would be a little gory. I grew up with this kind of thing as typical dinnertime conversation though and wouldn't change it for the world. Anyway, the blood squirted out and it got on my shirt and Mommy didn't have anything to wipe anything off with but the wrapper of the syringe. It was SO HILARIOUS!!! And there really wasn't that much blood. Aren't you glad you're reading this? These are fun stories! So I get back to college and I'm wearing the same shirt (with the blood stain washed out). I recounted the story to a couple of my friends after having lunch and one of my friends for some reason wipes her sticky hands on it (it was one of those wonderful close, I'll do anything to you and I know you won't care kind of friendships. And we're still friends to this day!). It was bizarre but hilarious. I guess the shirt getting blood on it the last time somehow made it ok to get peanut butter on it that time. Whatever!

Then, there was the TB test Daddy did for me before I started college. He had to leave the HUGE needle in me FOREVER!!!! We were in the dining room of the house in Auburn (sigh... I miss that house and it being my "home"). He finally finished and got the needle out. Then, I got really dizzy. I asked if it was ok for me to be that dizzy. I was wearing a navy sweater. I think the one that had been Grammy's. Anyway, then next thing I knew I was waking up, and the first thing I thought was, why am I not in my bed? Where are my pink and green pastel sheets? Why am I on the dining room floor? My glasses had fallen off. Luckily I didn't hit my head on the table leg but apparently I came really close. I was only out for a few seconds, but I almost felt like I'd slept a whole night. Oh the memories! Well, there you have my exciting injection stories.

The End.

PS. MY ARM DOESN'T HURT FROM MY SHOT YESTERDAY (and everyone else's at the office does! Except for 1 other girl... jijijijiji)

Breaking My Heart

2011-01-31T19:24:00.001-06:00

I remember when I wrote my first Entrance reports at Roblealto. This kid “Winston” was the one of the first to break my heart. He sounded like a brat and the report talked about how disinterested he was in participating in many activities at the childcare center. His family is Jehovah's Witness and not terribly open to the Gospel. When I saw his picture, his face matched the attitudes I had read about.

Later, maybe in December, I read an Entrance report about a family that lives on a street that a bus that I sometimes take to work goes to. That really struck me, and made things seem even more real. These children and families we are serving are REAL!! I realized I could see this mom on the bus some day. I might not know it was her, but knowing that the possibility is real just helps me realize how needy this world is and how blind to it we often are.

Well, lo and behold, one morning last week Fabián and I were on the bus to work and I saw a little boy flag down the bus with his mom. It was really cute. They got on and I recognized the face and saw his name written on his backpack. It was “Winston”!! He had the same pouty face still too, unfortunately. Please join me in praying for him and his family!

I've been thinking about a lot of things lately, and I'm not sure I've processed it all. I love Roblealto. I firmly believe it is the Body of Christ in action. God has blessed this ministry phenomenally. It all started with 8 kids in the Bible Home 79 years ago. Now we take care of over 700 kids, between the Bible Home, the school at the Bible Home, 3 childcare centers, and a program for adolescents who have graduated from the Bible Home or one of our childcare centers. Through this ministry, hundreds if not thousands of people have come to know Christ, families have been restored and broken out of poverty, and 95% of the children who use our services don't need them when they are adults. We are currently planning on re-building a house at the Bible Home, which will allow us to expand our program and serve 10 more children. Other projects include a new childcare center that will serve 250 children, a covered gym at the Bible Home so the kids can have a place to play when it rains (which is really often), a roof to cover part of the outdoor play area in a childcare center and a computer lab at another childcare center, just to name a few. There are SO many needs!! I know my job is important, but I still want to do more. I'm working on it... I'll let you know. Care to join me? What would you like to do?

Tico Tuesday, January 25th

2011-01-25T20:01:00.002-06:00

Happy Tuesday to you all once more! So, what's with this graph? Sorry the font is so small, but basically I just want you to see the shape of the graph. This is the general idea of how one feels as one enters and adjusts to living in a new culture. I know, I know, I've been living in Costa Rica for 2 years now. Why am I showing this to you now? Because I'm realizing, I don't have it all figured out. They might call me the most Latina white girl, and I appreciate the compliment, but there are a lot more differences to life in Costa Rica than just greeting people with a kiss on the cheek, eating rice and beans for breakfast and saying "pura vida" anytime you want. I don't think my feelings have exactly gone according to the graph since I did have a good grasp on many things before living here, but I think the graph can be a bit misleading. It's not like you just end up being a perfect bi-cultural person. What you become is a lifelong learner. Being a learner is key to adjusting to a new culture. My eyes have been opened to many things lately. More about that on the blog!!
May we all have the attitude of a learner this week!

Carrie

Costa Rica is a very unique country. Because of it's geographical placement, it contains about 6% of the worlds biodiversity. Because of the coffee industry (and bananas have helped), it has become the most stable country economically and politically in Costa Rica. We are currently having our 5th McDonald's constructed in my province, Heredia (I don't know how many there are in San José). Costa Rica has a very small indigenous population and not a lot of easily workable land. Costa Rica is known as the Switzerland of Latin America.

So anyway, 2 things are tuning me in more to some of the things about Costa Rican life that I was not so aware of before... A loving, direct boyfriend and a tiny book that is actually about US culture. yesterday my supervisor let me a book whose target audience is new immigrants to the US. The author spent a number of years in Venezuela and then got to experience the, ahem, joys of reverse culture shock. but that helped him grasp what life is like for foreigners in the US. In this tiny little book that I read in the time it took the bus to get from San José to home (50 min), I saw my own native culture unfold and be explained in language a 5th grader could understand. Much better than the dry, more scientific book on the LAM recommended reading list. These things seem obvious, but they help make the distinctions between life there and here. Things like in the US, one's identity is one's job title, time is money, scheduling everything, being on time for everything, being more individualized and compartmentalizing our lives, being independent, etc. In Latin America, life isn't so efficient and we need to depend on other people to do things for us. That's why many people here have maids help them clean their houses. Not because they are rich, but because they might have to wait an hour in line at the bank and don't have time to clean the house. Some of the things I learned at IV's Ministering Across Cultures training do come in handy-like the how time vs event oriented and task vs people oriented viewpoints. It's all fascinating stuff. And yes, Fabián is helping me see some of the ways I can be more sensitive to him, others and the culture in general. :-) I have a long ways to go!

Tico Tuesday, January 18th

2011-01-18T21:03:00.002-06:00

Happy Tuesday once more!

Last Tuesday feels like a moment and a year ago at the same time! It was a great day though- we had a retreat for all the staff of all the programs of Roblealto, so that included the people from the central office, the Bible Home, the 3 childcare centers and the Program of Attention for Adolescents (for children who have been in one of our other programs but are too old for them). It was really beautiful to meet new people that share the same love I have for Roblealto, put faces with names and voices I have talked to, receive some good teaching and worship God with these wonderful people.

What's with the rocks in the picture? Head to the blog for the story. The only hint you get is Nehemiah. :-)

Have a blessed rest of the week and may God provide you with some great fellowship!

Carrie

Ok, maybe I shouldn't have given the Nehemiah hint in order to make more people come and read this, or maybe I that made you even more interested? Well either way, here you are. The second speaker who shared with us had us all go outside and pick a rock that was just like us. So, rocks of all sizes, shapes, colors and levels of self-esteem were brought in.

Then, he had us build a wall (the one pictured above). It was a really neat activity. Each of us- big, little, mud-caked, clean, flat, round, dark, light contributed to the wall we built. Each piece was essential and dependent on all the others to keep the wall whole and functioning as it should. Roblealto is like a wall that we are building up with God's help and protection to care for the children of Costa Rica. It was (and still is!) a really beautiful metaphor. God uses each of us as we are, where we are to do His work. We build and fight at the same time and are firmly convinced that we are doing something extremely important that God wants to be done. Just like in the book of Nehemiah.

I thought that was cool too because actually in November when a group of volunteers was here they shared a devotional with us in the central office on Nehemiah and how it connects to Roblealto. Great stuff!

So, needless to say, I think it's going to be a wonderful year with Roblealto! Please continue to pray for me and this incredible ministry of which I am so blessed to be a part!

Tico Tuesday, January 11th

2011-01-11T21:30:00.002-06:00

Happy Tuesday to you all!

This past week I had the opportunity to make another trip to Isla Venado. When I was there in September delivering medicines that we had promised them when I was there with a team in June, I had two ladies ask me if I could get them Bibles. I talked to Pastor Eladio about the need for Bibles and he said there was a lot of need. Many people in the church don’t have one and I saw many Bibles at church that were literally falling apart. So, I took it upon myself to obtain new Bibles for Pastor Eladio’s church. Thankful a bookstore in San José not far from where I work sells Bibles at a really good price if you buy them in bulk, so I got the minimal 20 Bibles in order to get the really good price. Don’t worry. Every one of those Bibles will be put to use!! I was only able to bring 10 with me this time because I ended up having to go by myself and 20 Bibles do kind of weigh a lot (10 weigh enough on their own). But I plan to go back in another 2-3 months to deliver the rest and visit dear doña Epi and Pastor Eladio and all those other people on the island I’m loving so much. More about my trip on the blog!!

Blessings on you this week!

God bless you all,

Carrie

Though I ended up going by myself I think it maybe worked out better that way this time. There are some difficult things happening in Pastor Eladio and doña Epi’s family. Please pray especially for one of their daughters and her little daughter. I know God had me there for a reason though. I’m not sure doña Epi would have told me what had happened over the phone (she usually calls me every couple/few weeks. Isn’t that so sweet!!!). And, God worked in both her and me while I was there.

I had fun hanging out with 2 of doña Epi’s other granddaughters, Priscilla and Alexandra. My first encounter with Alexandra was an impromptu hula hooping competition my first trip to the island Dec 2009. I ended up letting her win because we had been going for quite a while. And she can keep the hoop going around her knees and I can’t. (oh and I just got me a hula hoop this weekend when I was hanging out with Fabián’s family in the mall after seeing the new adorable well-done Rapunzel movie with them. I’m so excited to use it!!!) Anyway, I can blog more about hula hooping another day. Alexandra is 8. Priscilla and I also met on my first trip to the island. She is a great 12 (or is she 13?) year old girl. Like most other girls her age, she is excited to turn 15 (like Sweet 16 in the States but 15th birthdays in Latin culture tend to be really BIG deals. It depends on how much money you have, but some of them are as expensive as weddings). Anyway, Priscilla already invited me to her 15th birthday party. Oh and she's the girl in the pink shirt in the pic above.

So, Priscilla , Alexandra and I walked around the island together the first afternoon I was there. We saw monkeys!!! One of them was a momma and she had her little one on her back. SO CUTE!!! The next day we went to the beach together with Priscilla’s best friend Fabiola. We had fun swinging on a rope swing (see pics on my Facebook page) and swimming in the water. I sliced my finger open on a shell while I was doing a handstand in the water, got a little rope burn from the swing and got a sting by a jellyfish kind of thing (it stopped hurting after like 10 min though. Weird!! I’m glad it stopped though and didn’t get all swelled or anything), so I felt a little beat up. It was fun though.

I also had some nice down time on the island to journal and read and that was really good. I also got to visit my friend Marlen, a lady I bonded with when I went in June. She is hilarious and just wonderful. She is so in love with God! I’m going to meet up with her again next time I go back to the island. I’d love to share more but I’m falling asleep here at the compu. More soon!

Tico Tuesday, January 4th

2011-01-03T22:22:00.002-06:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Each day may we be reminded that God's mercies are new, that He is willing to give us another opportunity and that He loves us more than ANYONE else!! At the Viera house we rang in the new year with our traditional Friday night (Shabbat) bread breaking, wine/grape juice toasting and blessing. We also had a lovely time of worship together and enjoyed lots of yummy food that included tamales, beans, tortillas, salad and grilled meat, chicken and plantains. It was a feast! And it was also a perfect opportunity to share with some wonderful people. Claudia (the oldest Viera daughter) and her husband and mother-in-law who is a missionary in Africa came, as well as the pastor and his family of the church don Jorge and doña Esther attend. I got really tired before midnight, but figured I might as well stay up because there was no way I could sleep through all the fireworks everywhere (including in the little park across the street from out house).

God bless you and draw you closer to Him EVERY day this year!

Carrie

2 Three Legged Stools

2011-01-02T20:49:00.002-06:00

My dear friend and mentor Julie shared a piece of wisdom with me quite some time ago. She told me relationships (with guys) are like 3 legged stools. The three legs are the three comprising members of the relationship. And seeing as how the stool has 3 legs, they all have to be equal or the stool will fall over. The three legs are the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of the relationship. All three must grow in balance with one another in order to keep the stool upright and capable of doing what it was meant to do. The relationship will not be healthy or work out if it is all physical, or if it has no physical part to it.

Talking with another very wise person lately reminded me of this stool analogy and its truth. He said that many people who go to Grove City (where I went to college) tend to have very close emotional and spiritual relationships, but they are afraid of the physical (I know, this is pretty much the opposite of the rest of the world, which tends to just have physical relationships and not much on the emotional and spiritual side of things). I definitely agree with this observation. I know I was in several relationships in which I got quite close emotionally and spiritually to a guy, and sometimes I even had a crush on him (and I had no clue how he felt about me), but nothing ever became of the relationship. But, considering how close we were on the emotional & spiritual side, there should have been more physicality to reflect that. How often we deny it and say there's nothing going on. Maybe we don't have butterflies in our stomachs, but we need to be careful and guard our hearts and guard the hearts of others. This means I got closer than I should have to a few guys... Well, now I know! And I wanted to share this with you! Let us all be careful to guard our hearts and the hearts of those around us! May God bless us all with wonderful, healthy, well-balanced relationships!!

Oh and the other stool I mentioned in the title is what Fabián told me when I started explaining him the 3 legged stool thing. He said it's also like him, me and God are the 3 legs, and if any leg is missing or not growing, that stool will fall over too! That's for sure! Good point!

Tico Tuesday, December 28th

2010-12-28T20:00:00.003-06:00

Ode To Cranberry

Oh Cranberry, thy taste to my tongue brings great delight

Dried, fresh, baked or otherwise prepared

Mixed with orange, apple, rolls or squash

Oh Cranberry, native to my beloved New England thou art

Oh Cranberry, thou bringest joy to my heart!!

Ok, so I’m a real fan of cranberries! On Christmas Day my Ode to Cranberry was even longer and sillier. And I’ll openly admit, I’m not the best off-the-top-of-my-head poet. But, the apple-cranberry pie I helped Mommy make for dessert Christmas Day was good enough to inspire anyone to try to be

Frost or Longfellow for at least a few minutes… jijiji.

It was a wonderful Christmas full of love, fresh Arizona air, Scripture and talking and sharing with those I love most. I hope yours was just as good, if not better! (more about mine on the blog!)

Much love,

Carrie

I had a wonderful week in Arizona! Mommy and I put on the miles as we did the Bisbee stairs route one morning (the new, longer versión, but we still did it faster than we did in August!), hiked almost 14 miles in the Chiricahua Nat’l Monument on

Christmas Eve, biked about 10 miles on Christmas morning, hiked through a gorgeous place called the Narrows, and walked around the Sonoran Desert Museum and swam in our hotel’s pool for a good 30-40min.

Christmas Day was not the most traditional. NO more acting out the Christmas story- it would be a bit difficult as a one man show for me to put on (if you didn’t know, my brothers and I used to always act it out every year as Daddy read it out loud for us on Christmas morning). We still read the Christmas story though. After stockings and breakfast in the morning Mommy and I biked over to a nearby park where they have a collection of Santas –they are all hand painted (on big wooden slabs) and each Santa has a different theme. We saw German, Norwegian, British, Australian, New England, and dwarf-like Santas. It was a very fun, cultural experience. When we got home we finished making and then thoroughly enjoyed our tur

key FEAST!!!! YES it is worth making a turkey for 3 people! Oh it was so delicious! And over the course of the day, I got to talk to, my brother Dan, his wife, and his 3 kids who are old enough to talk, my brother Zach, my Grandma and one of my cousins. Oh yeah, and my boyfriend. J

The next day after Mommy went to hike for church I got to play cribbage for the first time in AGES with Daddy (and then Mommy). He beat me, but then I beat Mommy. It was great fun! Daddy whooped Mommy and me at 10-9-8 (up and down the river) that night too. So mean of him to pick on us girls!!!

Other highlights of the trip were dinner with Marty & Jack, good friends of Mommy and Daddy. We actually had a little birthday party for me and MOMMY MADE ME A CAKE!!!! I am SO SPOILED!!! I LOVE IT!!! The other highlight was lunch with abuelito Jack & Mary Anne, retired missionaries of the LAM and true lovers of God. I want to be like them when I grow up!

Thanks be to God for the wonderful people He places in our lives and the wonderful ways He blesses us and cares for us-from cranberries to family, and of course, the best Gift ever-JESUS!!!

Tico Tuesday, December 21st

2010-12-21T21:30:00.003-06:00

Happy Tuesday!
This is the Christmas tree we had at the office. Pretty nice, isn't it? Friday morning we had a birthday/Christmas party/breakfast. It was really nice. We played chubby bunny (which was the most hilarious thing I have seen in ages), had delicious tamales for breakfast, sang Happy Birthday, revealed our Secret Santas and received nice gift baskets from the association. It was great! More pictures will be coming soon, but I'm currently enjoying my favorite Christmas tree in the world at my parents' place in Arizona. I'm more a homemade ornament colored light kind of girl... I'll be sure to post a picture of our tree later, but right now it's late and I need to sleeeeeep!
Have a blessed Christmas week!!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, December 14th

2010-12-14T20:45:00.004-06:00

Tuesday greetings to you all!

This weekend I went on an adventure to mountain paradise! Fabián and I hiked the Barva volcano. It is considered extinct, so it isn't quite as exciting as the 3 more famous ones-Arenal, Poás & Irazú. But, it is closer. The morning was sunny and beautifully clear and the views of the Central Valley got better and better as we gained altitude. We had all day, so we took our time, walking along, talking and taking lots of pictures! We took an hour at a picnic table to read the Bible, pray and worship together. It was great! Then we headed into the cloud forest and wandered amongst the poor man's umbrella's (for a picture head to the blog) until we got to the crater. I'll confess, it doesn't look terribly impressive, but it is still really cool to think about the fact that you're standing in (what used to be) a volcano.

So, it was a great adventure with lots of natural beauty and wonderful views... and really good company!

More pictures and the story of my first time to Volcán Barva on the blog!

Blessings on the rest of your week!

Carrie

My first time to Volcán Barva was almost 4 years ago now, when I was a student here. I remember driving up in a little microbus with the 7 other girls in my program, our program director, and our fun chauffeur who was so cool I decided to adopt him as my tico uncle. We drove right up to the park entrance, so we didn't have very far to hike. I much preferred the walk up from where the bus left us! It was even foggier (cloudier) that day, but there were more cool flowers out. I remember it poured and we ate lunch by the park entrance. That experience definitely doesn't compare with this one! Adventures are always more fun with people you know and feel more comfortable around. I never felt that comfortable with or got that close to any of the other girls in my program. But, boy did God have His purpose for having me in Costa Rica then. If it weren't for that I sure wouldn't be here now!

Tico Tuesday, December 7th

2010-12-07T22:04:00.001-06:00

This past Sunday I had a special treat. A whole bunch of fellow LAM missionaries and I got together to sing hymns! I loved it! And I got to meet some really wonderful people! There were hundreds of years of missionary experience in that house we met in!! I felt so honored to be there! And I sang until I almost because hoarse. We stopped just in time and it's a good thing we did, though I still wanted to sing at least 3 more that I really like. We sang a few Christmas carols too. That was nice. Anyway, the view in the picture is actually from the Bible Home and where we had the hymn sing is actually high up and so not only can you look down and see the whole valley, you can also see part of Roblealto's Farm, Bible Home and Camp!!! So cool! Pictures of that should be coming, I hope. I was so taken with the people, hymns and loving the beautiful house we were in and its view that I didn't get to pull my camera out. Oh well.

A few more thoughts on the blog! Blessings on the rest of your week!

Carrie

I think this is the year in which I have listened to less Christmas music. I'm not sure how I feel about that. The Christmas music that I have is all quite old and it makes me really nostalgic. A Mannheim Steamroller album brings me back to our living room in New Jersey and me dancing around with my best friend at the time. A more recent Smitty album takes me back to our living room in Auburn, ME next tot he Christmas tree wrapped up in the blue blanket from Aunt Nancy in Daddy's red leather chair, a cup of hot in hand and the Guidepost Christmas Treasury on my lap. I used to read through the whole book every Christmas season. Yes, Christmas is a nostalgic time, and it's kind of hard, because more than anything I wish it could just go back to the way it was, with all 5 of us together, each of us in our robes and on our bean bags on Christmas morning. I'm a sucker for tradition. But I know, Dan has his family now, Zach has his life, and I'm here in Costa Rica living it up and loving it all. I will get to be with my parents for Christmas this year... for the first time since 2007. Wow. Has my life been an adventure!! I'd tell more but I'm falling asleep. I'll do my best to post again before next Tuesday!

Tico Tuesday, November 30th

2010-11-30T21:11:00.002-06:00

Happy Tuesday!

Last week was very full! More to come in the soon-to-arrive Chronicle, but for now I'll highlight my birthday. It was a great day at the Bible Home and we had the debriefing of the group of volunteers from Canada. I made my pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving and then headed to Albeiro's for a fantastic birthday dinner of shrimp, broccoli, salad, rice and of course, birthday cake! I think this was the first year in my life I haven't had a homemade cake. I didn't have time to make myself one. I was given 2 storebought ones though, so I guess that makes up for something.... sort of. I definitely felt the love on my day and birthday month/season has been great. My birthday package from my parents didn't come until yesterday!

May God bless all of you each day. Each one is a gift from Him and reason enough to celebrate and give Him thanks and praise!

With love,

Carrie

Tico Tuesday, November 23rd

2010-11-24T10:19:00.003-06:00

It's Tuesday again!

This week I would like to feature my supervisor at work, Pam. She is such a wonderful leader! she is well-organized, knows what she's doing, relates well with the members of her team, sets a good example, loves what she does and is just an amazing woman of God! I am so blessed to work with her! Last week we were working on writing the printed bulletin together. the last page is SO GREAT!!! It was a total team effort and I lvoe the way we included the gospel in it! God's love is so awesome and powerful! Head to the blog for more!

May we live out the gospel this week and be THANKFUL for EVERYTHING God sends our way!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Carrie Jo

So Pam and I put the last page of the bulletin together. It was really great to bounce ideas off one another and just rejoice in the gift of the life of Jesus Christ. We serve Him, we live because of Him, and Roblealto only exists because of Him. God is so great I jsut love Him so much!!!

Pam put together the page before the last one and it was beyond adorable and heart-melting. It sends chills down my spine every time I re-count or hear what the kids said. It would be worth making a donation to Roblealto just to see this page. Seriously! Pam interviewd 6 kids and asked them what they would give Jesus for Christmas. And oh the blessed innocence and the sweetness of youth! It doesn't occur to them that they might not have to give what they want to give. They just think of how to best express their love and devotion to Him.

Getting to spend time ehre at the Bible Home is so great! I love having volunteers here. I get to have more interaction with the kids and hear and witness some really greta stuff. Ok, sorry, it's Wednesday now and I have to go. More soon, I hope! Thus far it's been a great birthday!!!

Tico Tuesday, November 16th

2010-11-16T20:46:00.003-06:00

Happy happy Tuesday!

We are currentling hosting a team of volunteers from Canada here at Roblealto's Bible Home. Can you imagine traveling some 36 hours to go somewhere? And when you arrive they give you a lawn mower and tell you to get to work? Ok, we're a little nicer about it (and we let them sleep some too), but, really... What disposition! What a beautiful willingness to serve! But, of course we don't just make volunteers slave away all day. That would be cruel. THERE ARE CHILDREN HERE TO PLAY WITH!!!! And these kids need a lot of love!! And language barrier shmanguage larrier. Smiles, hugs and gestures go a loooooooong way. Really, they are all you need. But anyway, I am really loving having volunteers here! And I am continuing to learn so much-about Roblealto, about working with people, about lawnmowers and weedwhackers... and of course about God and His transforming love. Friday we took the volunteers to Los Guido and to El Manantial, one of our childcare center. More about that on the blog!

May God bless the work of your hands this week and may it be an act of love for Him!

Carrie

Los Guido is the site of Roblealto's future and 4th childcare center. It is essentially a slum on the southern side of San José- illegal immigrants, not good access to water and electricity, extreme poverty, drugs, alcohol, domestic violence, child labor and abuse, serious exploitation. This is the reality of life there. Not pretty. At Roblealto's new childcare center, 250 children will be cared for each day. The kids' parents will be able to get better jobs and Lord willing, break out of poverty and start a new life. We have the land. We have the architectural plans. All we need is $673.500 to get going on Stage 1. We are writing grants, praying hard, and trying to make friends with rich people. Anybody know anyone that might be interested in helping transform a community in Costa Rica? We are sure excited to see how God is going to provide! We KNOW HE WILL!!!

Next, El Manantial. Our 3rd and "newest" childcare center. It was built a year after I was born (and I'll be 24 a week from tomorrow!!!! :-) ) It serves 235 children from areas like Los Guido (some of them are even from Los Guido. And unfortunately, areas like Los Guido are all too easily found here in Costa Rica). When we went to visit on Friday, we arrived while the children were having lunch. It was SO great!!! The kids were beyond adorable. We walked in and all the kids turned around and stuck their hands out for handshakes and high fives and started shouting "¡Visita! ¡Visita!" (Visitor! Visitor!) Too cute for words! And then you'd approach one and they'd start talking to you with their mouth full of food-like 3 kids at once trying to tell you their names and ask you 3 different questions and tell you 3 different things. Yes, overwhelming, but too fun and wonderful to think anything else. They just starve for love! Oh it was a blast! Can you see now why I'm so enamored with this organization??

Ok, sorry to cut it short, but it's bedtime. Sorry for the lack of pics, but I need to make sure the pics I post are of kids who have permission to have their fotos plastered in public. More to come! The rest of this month is going to be an exciting whirlwind!

Tico Tuesday, November 9th

2010-11-09T20:46:00.003-06:00

This past Friday night we had a prayer "vigil" at the BIble Home. We ended around 10pm, so it wasn't that much of a vigil, but I know I wouldn't have made it through the night and it was quite cold up there in San José de la Montaña. Really, my tank top, long sleeved t-shirt, other t-shirt, sweatshirt and scarf were not enough!!!! Anyway, this was the 5th vigil they have done at the Bible Home. The previous 4 were all in newly built or remodeled houses (there are 8 total, originally constructed in the early 1930s. With 10 kids plus a foster family you can imagine the wear and tear these houses get!!!) This year, the school, which was also several decades old, got quite the facelift! So, we had our vigil there. It was very well planned. A lot like a concert of prayer, if you know what that is. If not, it suffices to say it was kind of like an extended worship service with songs, some teaching, prayer, and worship dance by a few ladies. Oh yeah, and tamales and some yummy cakes and breads. It was a beautiful evening or worship and thanksgiving together! I'm looking forward to knowing the staff and kids at the Bible Home better!
Have I mentioned yet how much I love my job and how fascinated I am by the ministry of Roblealto?
Blessings on the rest of your week!
Carrie

A little more about my new job

2010-11-04T05:36:00.001-06:00

Ok, so it's Thursday morning and not Wednesday night.... Last night I got home and Josue and a friend of mine were watching Fiddler on the Roof. So, yeah. Not much got done.

So, what am I doing in my new job? I am part of the Int'l Development/Promotions Dept. We are the connection between people outside of Costa Rica and Roblealto. In our office, we get entrance, progress and exit reports on each of the kids and transform them into nice letters for the kids' sponsors to read. The report from the social worker says, “Juan is affectionate, squirmy, and disobedient.” We say, “Juan is affectionate and very active. We are working with him on respecting rules and authority.” Doesn't that sound better? All the kids in Roblealto programs come from really difficult backgrounds and family situations. So, they aren't all little angels. They need a lot of prayer and the support they receive when sponsored really helps transform their lives and the lives of the rest of their family. Progress reports come out once a year around the time of the kid's birthday. So, there are always ones that need to be done. Now that Fabian and I are here though, we have caught up and are now on top of them. We were a couple months behind when he started. We also translate all the correspondence between the sponsors and the kids. That's mostly Nelly's job, but I think they are going to have me help with that some closer to Christmas. Sounds great!!

Next week we are having a group of volunteers come!! I'm excited!!! Tomorrow we'll get our orientation, Monday we are supposed to visit all the childcare centers and meet the staff there and Tuesday night, they arrive to the Bible Home! While they are here we help keep tabs on them as they work and get them anything they need while they work on their various projects. One night we have a “Night of Translation” and they get one of us to be with them at dinner in a house at the Bible Home and translate for them. I think that sounds great! I'm really excited for that!

So, there's a little more of a taste of what happens at work. We also have lots of miscellaneous translations to do, like the grant proposal I'm working on. I think I'm going to finish it today!! Gotta go get ready for work!

Tico Tuesday, November 2nd

2010-11-02T21:16:00.003-06:00

Happy Tuesday from Costa Rica!!!

Today I went to work in the Bible Home. The idea is for me to be there about 2 days a week, but leaving things flexible to be where my supervisor needs me to be. I spent most of the day working on a translation of a grant application from English into Spanish. It's great practice for me, and it is definitely cementing a lot about Roblealto into my head! What is the grant proposal for? A new childcare center!! More on that another day. I'm currently on page 12 of 23. We'll see when I actually get to finish. At the central office in San José there are Entrance Reports that need (what I would consider desperate) attention and next week a group of volunteers is coming! Whew!

If you still don't really get what I do in my new job, I'll post more on my blog tomorrow. Right now I need to go to bed!!

May God bless the work of your hands this week!

Carrie

Tico Tuesday, October 26th

2010-10-26T20:51:00.002-06:00

I 'm starting to feel like the mall here is a little bit like Wal-Mart in Auburn, ME-- you can't go there without seeing somebody you know! On Sunday, (a particularly busy day at the mall) I ran into the people my friend Albeiro lives with, a man I know from CCI, and …. the man in this picture and his wife!!! I was walking around with my friend Vivi and another friend when all of a sudden this woman took my shoulder and asked me what my name was. I told her and looked at her and the man beside her. The light clicked on – they were my host parents when I was a student here in 2007! I couldn't believe it! I'd always meant to call them and let them know I was here again, but somehow it never got to be a priority. Oops!! I'll be calling them soon so we can catch up!!!
More stories about my time as a student here on the blog!
Have a great rest of the week!
Carrie

I spent the spring semester of my jr year studying here in Costa Rica. Some of you might remember that. It was when I first started all these mass communications to people to let them know about my life. I was the only Grover and only 1 one 8 girls in the program. Most of the rest of my classmates were from the U of Illinois. And there were only 2 guys. That was interesting! I started with one host family and then switched to live with Imelda and Johnny. They were really nice to me and I think they appreciated how much I respected them. They have 2 kids that live nearby and 3 adorable grandkids. Josué was 9 (or was he 7?) while I was there. Oh man, I hope I get to see my little buddy again!! He was so great! I still have a picture we drew together. It was the sweetest thing. It was the best example of together I could think of. I'd draw something, he'd add to it, he'd draw something and have me color it in, I'd draw a tree, he'd draw a bush next to it. So adorable!!! I'll have to find my other pictures of the house. Imelda loves plants and has about 100 hanging plants (mostly orchids) in the covered in back patio. It is absolutely gorgeous. It is like a private garden café with a perfect spot in the corner for somebody to stand and play a guitar. Imelda is an amazing artist-not only does she garden, she does cool stuff with aluminum on wood, decorating candles, amazing beadwork and jewelry, glass-painting, and other things that I can't remember. I always enjoyed talking with her while she worked at some project. She made me a really pretty necklace with a piece of glass as the pendant. It has a heart painted on it and still gets compliments every time I wear it. Ahh, good times. Living with Imelda and Johnny was really nice. But, I'm very happy here with the Viera's. I feel more at-home here and it's nicer to be here because Imelda and Johnny go to bed at about 8pm.... :-) Speaking of bedtime....

Loving Life!!!

2010-10-25T21:15:00.003-06:00

I remember when I used to go hiking in Grand Teton Nat'l Park on my days off. I remember loving being in the middle of a canyon, swallowed into majestic beauty and feeling the power of God's presence. I'd set off at a fast-paced frolic for a little ways (not too far because I wanted to soak it all in) and just yell in the middle of the canyon "I LOVE THIS!!!!!" Granted, part of the yelling was because 1. I am just loud 2. One always had to be making lots of noise in order to not surprise a grizzly bear and avoid a life-threatening encounter with one 3.It was true and the joy and absolute pleasure in life and God's creation was incontainable!!!! Well, I had a sort of similar moment last Thursday at work. I don't even remember what exactly was going on at the moment, what we were talking about or anything, but I had an "I LOVE MY JOB!!" moment! I said it three times and at lower volume since I was inside. No frolicking either, but we did have a pretty sweet dance party in the car (in a traffic jam) on the way home Thursday evening. I am so motivated at worknow because I know what I'm doing is really important and contributing to God's Kingdom. I often struggled to justify how I spent my time "working" at CCI. A lot of time was just spent e-mailing close friends and family members. And in many ways it was "doing missions." But, really I was not making the most of my time or gifts. but that's over now. Hence the lower frequency in blog posts and brevity! jaja I bet you're grateful for that!

More to come! I've been learning a lot and will share once it's more well-processed!

Tico Tuesday, October 19th/ CARRIE'S CARTWHEEL!!

2010-10-19T14:38:00.001-06:00

This is a very special edition Tico Tuesday! Today I have a very special newsletter with BIG NEWS in it!! So, please open up the attachment and enjoy!

Sorry the Word document is so heavy, but the color got messed up when I converted it to pdf and my technological skills limit me from fixing it. The pdf is there anyway though, if you can’t open the Word doc.

You can find some other reflections on this big change in my life on my blog!

With joy,

Carrie

Hmm, I don't know how to "post" or "attach" the documents here on my blog. I'll have to look into that. In the meantime if you don't get my e-mails and want the newsletter (I sure want you to read it!!!) please send me an e-mail and I'll get it to you asap.

Anyway....

YES!! FINALLY!!! I have been in this process of switching ministries for some time now and have had the hardest time biting my tongue!! Why didn’t I tell you all? Well, I didn’t even know what all was going on and what was going to happen, so I didn’t want to say something and have it end up being a false alarm and I wasn’t sure just how this was all going to work out. Perhaps I’ll post the story piece by piece. Today I don’t have a lot of time though.

I’m definitely still in the transitioning process, and I feel like I’m definitely honeymooning right now. I am on cloud 9! I don’t even remember when was the last time I was this happy. I LOVE MY NEW JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so thrilled, honored, privileged, blessed to be a part of the incredible ministry of Roblealto. It is just great! And God has provided for me! I thought I was going to have to bike the 6 miles UPHILL from home to the Bible Home 4 days a week, but it looks like I’ll be able to get rides both to the Bible Home in San José de la Montaña and the Central Offices in San José. What a huge blessing! Praise the Lord!

I am still living with my dear Honduran family. So, I’m thrilled with life! I’ll post again later this week. I promise!

Tico Tuesday, October 12th

2010-10-12T22:25:00.001-06:00

Green Bananas

Yep, we have banana plants in our back yard! Bananas are one of the major exports of Costa Rica, but we do keep some here for ourselves too. I've had multiple people tell me

that the bananas we export are so big they aren't as sweet and tasty. I'm not sure I agree with that. You think green bananas aren't good for anything but sitting around until they become yellow? Not true, my friends!! You can cut them into thin slices and fry them and eat them like chips, you can cut them into fatter chunks, fry them, smush them and then fry them again (they're called patacones), you can put them in soup, and

you can cook them with a little bit of salt to soothe your stomach. I'm not sure if I'd be so adventurous as to try any of this with green bananas in the States since they are so close to being ripe. But, if you give it a try, let me know how it goes!

Have a great rest of the week!

Carrie

Sorry, nothing much new to report here. Well, actually I have news to report, but you'll be getting another e-mail soon about that. I'm been staying busy, getting lots of exercise, and enjoying the last few days with Tia before she heads out. Tio Samuel, Abuelita's brother was here for almost 2 weeks after Abuelita passed away. He was really cool, a really really sweet guy. I have now met 2 of Abuelita's siblings- Tia

Nena came in April to visit. It's really neat seeing the similarities in the family, not only among Abuelita and her siblings, but also seeing the difference between don Jorge (the Dad of the family I live with), Tia Hortencia (the aunt that has been here), and Henoc, Abuelita's oldest son that I met over Skype. I think families are so fascinating! I love seeing my extended family members and being able to tell that we are related! Whether that be by physical traits or family mannerisms. It's great!

Ok, I'd write more but it's late and I need to get up early!

Tico Tuesday, October 5th

2010-10-05T16:51:00.003-06:00

Happy Tuesday to you all! Isn't Tuesday a great day of the week? I just finished reading “Tuesdays with Morrie,” and enjoyed it a lot, even though I don't agree with everything Morrie thought. But, I'll admit, I'm a Tuesday girl too: IV always met on Tuesdays, now I have Tico Tuesdays, Tuesday is just a great day! Anyway, next Tuesday is going to be a very sad day for me- Tía is going to leave us! I'm going to miss her dreadfully. She has been a wonderful blessing to me- listening to me, counseling me and I have learned so much from her. And we love singing together! She sings in Spanish most of the time, and if I don't know the song or hymn in Spanish I'll sing it in English and throw in the harmony if I know it. It's so fun! Tía made a huge sacrifice to be here in Costa Rica to take care of Abuelita. Her husband and 4 mostly-grown kids are still in New Jersey and have been without her a whole year now. So, it will be great for her to go back. I'm going to have to visit her when I go to the States!

I'll post on my blog the story of her going away party!

God bless you this Tuesday and every day!

Carrie

Friday night we threw Tía a surprise going away party. At least, I think it was a surprise. She was making dinner, so I don't think she expected anything. We invited everyone we could think of here who had the opportunity to get to know her. A lot of our friends from church came, since they tend to spend a lot of time at our house, but some adults came too. Considering how little Tía had been able to get out, she made a big impression on a lot of people! She is a very admirable woman of God!

I put on my pretty dress that I wore at the family for Tía since she is always telling me to dress up more and show off my legs. Jajaja! She and I have had a lot of fun together.

Most of the time of the party was spent talking. We gave everyone the chance to talk to her and thank her, tell her what we learned from her, what we appreciate about her, etc. Then she responded to each person, also saying what she appreciated and learned from us, etc, etc, etc. It was a really sweet beautiful time. There was a lot of confession and forgiveness going on-- Tía admitted to sometimes being hard on others because she was so concerned about Abuelita. It was a lovely thing to see people be so humble and honest. It was a most edifying time! It reminded me a little bit of the “living funeral” Morrie had for himself before he died (referring back to the book I mentioned above). It's much nicer to talk about things and tell people how much they mean to you and get out of the way anything that stressed, upset or hurt you when they are there to listen to you, instead of only wishing it to their grave after they're gone.

My friend Jorgito knelt when he talked to Tía and then he sang to her. Many tears were shed, especially by yours truly. Other guys tried to be macho and kept themselves from crying. Afterwards we sang and it was just a delightful time. I'll try to get the rest of the pics on facebook soon.

In the meantime, make the most of life and let others know how much they mean to you! Life is a fleeting breath!

Tico Tuesday, September 28th

2010-09-29T11:22:00.003-06:00

One life to live

I know that is/was the title of a soap opera, but it's true. We only have one life to live, and this life is passing, fleeting, a breath, and flower that blooms and fades. On Sunday afternoon Abuelita Ruth went home to be with Jesus. I'll admit, I'm jealous. If we claim to follow Christ and be His, then shouldn't we long to be with Him for eternity? God has definitely been showing me lately that there is nothing better than being with Him. But He has us here for the time being: He has a purpose for us and will be faithful to complete it. We are rejoicing that God fulfilled His purpose in Abuelita and that she is now with Him, but of course we do miss her. I'll post some further stories on things and share how God glorified himself in Abuelita's death on my blog.

O Lord give us the grace to be faithful to You in this life on earth!

Carrie

Abuelita was a quiet woman. It wasn't always easy to converse with her because she didn't often have much to say and sometimes I just didn't know what to say. Towards the end as she weakened trying to get her to talk would often send her into a bout of coughing or she just wouldn't have the strength to speak. So, I never got to know her terribly well. But, there are a lot of things I observed and learned from her. She was very diligent. As long as her health allowed she was always doing something productive. She liked things to be neat. I couldn't leave any dishes dirty in the sink from preparing my food before I ate because by the time I finished she'd wash them. Things had to be orderly. Abuelita was generous and thoughtful. She loved embroidering. She sewed and crocheted and sewed and embroidered and embroidered and embroidered I don't know how many placemats, hankies, tea towels and other random rectangles of material. One of her last big projects was making a dust coverlet thingy (that you put under the mattress that hangs down to the floor) for one of her granddaughters. She loved bright, vivid colors and almost everything was flowers and butterflies. But what I most loved, appreciated and admired about Abuelita was that she was a woman of prayer. She kept notebooks full of prayer requests. She would flip through her current one every day, running her finger down the list and moving her lips almost silently, praying. She watched CNN all the time and took note of what to pray for in the news. She prayed for so many things and people. And when someone came to visit she'd ask about a whole bunch of things she prayed for for that person-the salvation of a loved one, their business, somebody's health, etc. Talk about an incredible memory! Abuelita also read the Bible a lot and memorized passage after passage. Don't ever let your age stop you from memorizing! Even in the last few months and weeks of her life Abuelita was still memorizing the Word of God. Wow, may God give me the grace to follow her example!

A few weeks ago my friend Ana Luisa told me her Grandma wanted to visit Abuelita. Finally she was able to come on Sunday afternoon. She was reading Revelation 21 with Abuelita Ruth and felt obliged to kneel. They both acknowledged feeling God's presence very strongly and said she saw Jesus coming to take her away. The family was called into her room (or I think maybe they heard what was going on and went to see) and about a half hour later Abuelita passed away in the arms of her son and daughter. Her other son Henoc tried as hard as he could to come from Colombia but was not able to make it. But, thanks to Skype they were able to see each other and he was able to sing her favorite hymn “ Great is Thy Faithfulness” to her and pray with her. After that she went downhill really fast.

I was SO glad Tía was not home alone when this happened. It was too bad I wasn't there, but I'm not much for wanting to be with or hang around dead people. And I think it's much more important that her immediate family be with her. What a blessing Jorge and Esther hadn't left yet to go back to Guápiles where don Jorge works! I was on the ferry on the way home from Isla Venado (a story for anther post) when Ana told me. I cut it close, but thankfully I was able to catch the last bus back to San José. By the time I got to San Joaquín at about 9pm they were already having the calling hours. Yesterday morning we had a mostly impromptu mini-service that was very nice and then we had the burial. I haven't been to many burials, but I'm pretty sure this was the first one where they actually buried her and were done covering her body back up by the time we left the site. That was a little rough for me, but I know that there's only a body that doesn't work anymore inside the casket under the ground. Abuelita is really alive with the Lord, now, more alive than she ever was here on earth!

So, that was that. Very quick, all of it. But, it was all sweet and simple. Sunday night during the calling hours we sang some hymns and I read Psalms 34 and 103 aloud. Monday morning a whole bunch of don Jorge's coworkers drove all the way up from Guápiles to be there, and they were really touched at the way everything was done, Tia's singing, and don Rolando's words. The wife of don Jorge's boss approached Tía in the cemetery and thank her for returning their family to the faith. God was being glorified and drawing people to Himself, even through Abuelita's death! As Paul says in Philippians, “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain,” and we even managed to gain something here too! God's ways are indeed perfect and so much higher and better than ours!!

Oh and another really sweet thing was a comment Samuel made to me. At the close of the little service, don Rolando had the whole Viera family come together and then he blessed them, then he blessed everyone else. Well, later at the cemetery Samu commented to me, “you weren't there when he blessed us.” He really considers me part of the family!! That was really special to me.

This sounds weird, but one of the saddest things for me about Abuelita's passing is that it means Tía is going to leave. She's not gone yet, she's going to stick around a little long, then visit Honduras and then go home. But, having her around has been an absolutely enormous blessing and I am going to miss her A LOT!!! Thank God for Skype!!

Tico Tuesday, September 21st

2010-09-21T19:31:00.005-06:00

Happy Tuesday!

This is my tica mom, Ana Victoria. Normally one's “mamatica” is one's host mom, but I don't keep in touch with my former host parents anymore and I live with a Honduran family and this lady is by far the tica who is most motherly to me. She is a very kind, loving, caring, selfless person. She and I have spent a lot of time together and thus have a strong foundation in our friendship. Mami and I often share prayer requests with one another and it means a lot to us that we can confide in one another. She still can never come close to my REAL Mommy, but she is an enormous blessing to me here. We like to splurge once a month and share a big piece of yummy chocolate cake from the restaurant next door to church. I'll have to post a picture of that later this week!

God bless our moms and mother-figured in our lives! As says one of my favorite quotes from the movie Hook, “You need a mommy, very very badly!!”

Carrie

PS. Don't forget to head to my blog for more stories and thoughts!

PPS. My Mom race a race this past weekend with my brother and she WON her category!!! Way to go, Mommy!!!

Last Wednesday was Independence day here and in the rest of Central America. We had a wonderful day off and enjoyed watching the parade go through town, eating helado de sorbetera (a kind of homemade ice cream), and just hanging out. Pictures are on facebook, and will be tagged and commented upon soon. I spent most of the day with Mami (Ana Victoria), Papi (her husband William), their daughters Diana and Veronica, Albeiro and Jorgito. We had a blast! I'd write more but I've come down with a cold and am really tired.

So, perhaps more later.

The other thing I'd like to share though is something that my cousin Christianne shared with me yesterday when we skyped. You know how we talk about our problems and tend to categorize them and say that some are really big and important and some are pretty small and insignificant?

In the sermon she heard Sunday night the pastor explained that to God even mountains, and mountain-sized problems, are TINY to God because everything is tiny to Him!! He is HUGE, the Master and Creator of the Universe and everything!!! To Him everything is little! But, to Him EVERYTHING is significant! Our “little” problems matter just as much to him as our “ginormous” ones!!! How cool is that? WE matter to God! He loves us far more than we could ever imagine and He cares even about the littles details in our lives! How great is that? How great is our GOD!!!

Tico Tuesday, September 14th

2010-09-14T15:48:00.002-06:00

There's nothing like playing in the dirt!

Saturday the members of Soporte, the young adult group from CCI and a couple other people got together with the town municipality and planted some 70 trees and picked up a ton of trash! One of the Soporte leaders has been talking for forever about picking up trash in the community and we finally did it! I thought planting the trees would take all day, but the town had the holes dug and the trees next to them, so all we had to do was take the plastic wrapper off the roots, stick the tree in the hole and cover it back up again. The afternoon rains took care of the watering! We weren't on a very busy street, but I still had a passerby stop and ask me who was participating in the marvelous initiative. I think next time we're going to try to get t-shirts to identify us. The other side of the street is still very littered!

Thinking about Jesus

2010-09-09T17:09:00.002-06:00

Just thought I'd share some things I've been reading and learning about.

1. Jesus' ancestors

First of all, he was born of the Virgin Mary, who was pledged to be married to Joseph. Hence, to the world it appeared that Jesus was an "illegitimate" child. Most of us are reminded of this every Christmas.
Joseph and Mary can both trace their families back to Zerubbabel, a guy that played a pretty neat role in the post-exile time of rebuilding things on Jerusalem.
Zerubbabel along with other important not as well-known ancestors of Jesus like Boaz, came from the tribe of Judah. Hence Jesus is the Lion of Judah and Micah 5:2 talks about the Messiah coming from th tribe of Judah
Boaz was the Great-grandpa (or perhaps with a few more greats in front) of the famous King and Psalmist David. He was also the husband of the Moabitess, Ruth. Wait, Jesus didn't come from a pure Israelite family? Nope.
How's this for scandal? Judah married the daughter of a Canaanite. Their 2 oldest sons died and to make a long story short Judah ended up sleeping with his daughter-in-law (the Bible doesn't specify if she was Canaanite or not, but I think I would lean towards thinking that she was). And actually at the end of the book of Ruth everyone wished for the descendants of Ruth and Boaz to be like those of Judah and Tamar. Pretty crazy, huh?

2. Jesus as a "Man of sorrows"
I'm not a big fan of those stories and people that say that Jesus was in love with so and so and make up all these things about His life that have ridiculously little to no Biblical grounds. There is a lot we don't know about Jesus' life, but I think sometimes we ignore those things that we do know. Isaiah says Jesus was familiar with suffering. So often I think we sugar coat Him and make Him to be this walking, clean little saint who had an easy life. I don't think that's the case. Yes, He was perfect. But I wonder how many people really took Jesus seriously. I wonder what all happened in His life to make Him a "Man of sorrows." Maybe His earthly grandparents died when He was young. He was "despised and rejected by men." There no way that could have been an easy life! Yet He was perfect... I guess He can identify with more of the struggles in our lives than maybe I realize....

Tico Tuesday, September 7th

2010-09-07T15:00:00.002-06:00

Being a missionary is not a job title, it's a lifestyle.

Maybe you've heard me say this before, maybe not. But I firmly believe this with all my heart. It is my challenge and encouragement to myself and to you today. One thing in the Perspectives class that really stuck out to me was an article that talked about the “spiritual-vocational hierarchy.” Maybe I even mentioned this in a Chronicle, now that I think about it. But anyway, the article points out how so many of us think that being a missionary, pastor, doctor, or some kind of service professional is more noble and God-honoring than it is to be an engineer, computer guru, or janitor. That is absolute rubbish! God looks at our heart and wants to be honored in all we say and do! Technically I'm here because God called me here to serve at CCI, and I know He has been using me here, but I'm also positive that He has been using me in everyday life here too. There's nothing wrong with being a missionary vocationally, but that doesn't put everyone else off the hook! Let's make ourselves available to God and see how He wants to use us today!

The story behind the picture and other thoughts can be found on my blog! I dare you to read an entry if you never have before!

Your fellow servant for Christ,

Carrie

Saturday was my friend Diana's birthday. We decided to make pancakes at her house for a birthday breakfast. Diana, nor anyone else in her family (which is also my 2^nd family here), had never had chocolate chip pancakes! So, it was fun witnessing the experience. Felipe was amazed at the chocolatey goodness and was just thrilled to bits. My little Verónica ate out all the chocolate chips and consumed very little of her pancakes. Mami (Ana Victoria) and Papi (William) enjoyed them thoroughly too (especially with the New Hampshire maple syrup I gave to Mami). So, that was really fun.

God gave me several other opportunities this weekend to share with friends. I feel like I'm finally establishing a strong enough relationship with some of my friends here that we can confide in each other more. I felt really honored to have one of my girlfriends here tell me that she wanted me to know about something that's going on in her life.

Please keep praying for the youth of CCI. A lot of them are having struggles with family, work, relationships/friendships, and school. May this drive them closer to God and not farther from Him! He is our only hope!

And a slight change of subject.... the sermon at church on Sunday night was REALLY good!! Fernando Montero gave it. He is an elder of the Sunday morning service and General Secretary of ECU, the equivalent of InterVarsity here in Costa Rica. He preached on the Sermon on the Mount, with a lot of his notes taken from a book that John Stott wrote about the Sermon on the Mount. It was great!! He talked about the Beatitudes being like a staircase with each one progressing to the next. I felt like I had never really understood what it meant to be “poor in spirit,” but the way he put it made so much sense! It is a recognition of our sinful condition and need to turn to God. This leads to mourning-lamenting our sinful condition and repenting, which allows us to be humble and accept it when others point our sin out to us. This then leads us to have hunger and thirst for righteousness, etc, etc, etc. It was wonderful! I have heard him preach I think 3x now, and each time he does a great job expositing the Scriptures. I took notes and shared them with Tía and Abuelita yesterday morning. After I finished, Abuelita said that reminded her of such a such a hymn, I think it was “At the Cross/Alas! And did my Savior Bleed.” So, I went and grabbed my hymnal and plunked through it on the piano (I can read music but I don't really know how to play chords and such). Tía LOVES to sing and Abuelita loves to listen, so we had a little bit of music and and that was our Monday morning church service. It was really sweet and I could tell Tía was really touched. She'd had a bit of a difficult morning up till then. And Abuelita was feeling a little better too. She sat up for a little while afterwards, reading/praying through her notebook full of notes/prayer requests. So, that was a special time. Please keep praying for Abuelita and the rest of the family as she continues to get worse. We called emergencies in the middle of the night last night because Abuelita (felt like she) couldn't breathe. She has been significantly weaker and we know her time is coming close (but not how close).

Thanks for reading and thanks even more for praying!

Tico Tuesday, August 31st

2010-08-31T16:04:00.003-06:00

It's Tuesday again!
This past Saturday I had the opportunity to serve in the ghetto o La Carpio once more. The youth of CCI will be serving there the last Saturday of the month for the next few months. We bring food for breakfast and lunch and do various games with the kids, have a Bible lesson (this time we acted out and taught about the Good Samaritan), play futbol and overall just have a rollickin' good time. This time I stayed in the kitchen helping serve up some 70 plates of gallo pinto (traditional breakfast food) and 150+ hot dogs for lunch. Praise God for the work He is doing in La Carpio! But please do join me in prayer for the ministry of Renuevos. There are a lot of tough challenges that have to be faced there every day. More pictures can be found on my blog!
Love,
Carrie

We got to la Carpio on Saturday morning around 8 and started off with some activities to help the team from CCI bond with the volunteers that serve in la Carpio. Then we divided up into our teams for the day- some with the younger boys, some with the adolescents, and a few of us in the kitchen. Well, we were supposed to have gallo pinto for breakfast, but we didn't know much more than that. So, we opened the fridge and found a big arrocera (bowl from a rice cooker) that was not very full of rice. And we found a container with some black beans, but there was NO WAY we could ever stretch them out to serve the 70ish boys we were expecting. We decided we would have to pray hard for the rice and beans to multiply, but God took care of things right away: somebody walked in with a huge olla (a pot so big it was kinda like a laundry basin) full of hot gallo pinto. Praise the Lord! I kind of thought that was the plan all along, but we were running a bit late/short on time, so the whole thing was quite an adventure. It all worked out though. We even had leftover pinto, which came in really handy, because we just barely had enough hot dogs for lunch! So those of us from CCI chowed down on that.
I didn't get to see much of the games, but it sounded like they went well. And I did get to see part of a futbol game. That was pretty hilarious. The guys from Carpio definitely put our guys from CCI to shame!
I did get to participate in the drama we did of the Good Samaritan. I was one of the robbers. It's really hard to pretend to hit somebody. I'm used to punching the air (tae bo) or actually hitting (like I did to my brothers when I was little and am not especially proud of). Poor Andres did get a little bruised when he fell on the cement, but he's ok. And the drama was a success-I think it was good, and very relevant for the kids. La Carpio is a TOUGH place with a lot of violence and such.
More about Carpio next month, or sooner if something else exciting happens. They really do need a lot of prayer because one of the directors/guys with a lot of leadership quit the other week and left a big hole that is tough to fill. But God can do it!

The latest epiphany!!

2010-08-27T12:27:00.005-06:00

I just had a cool realization/revelation, and the credit definitely goes to God.
I love my parents SO MUCH! (that's not the epiphany, I've known that for my whole life). I love to tell my parents that I love them. Sometimes we end up e-mailing multiple times a day and I still close every one communicating my love for them. I have a few different ways of saying it, but I never get sick of telling my parents I love them. The phrases I use are a bit limited and I don't always have the time to come up with something creative simile like "Love you like ripe red raspberries love dark chocolate" or the more tacky "love you till Niagara runs dry." But, regardless of how I say it, I know my parents NEVER get sick of me telling them (how much) I love them. (and I sure never get sick of their continuous "I love you"s either!!)
and BOOM! Here's the epiphany: God is like that too!!! So often I feel like my little earthly words are not enough, are not worthy of him. It's like that one (and I think only) hit by Ben Glover "26 letters"- it's all we've got to tell God how awesome He is. Now, please, I'm not bashing the English language, or Spanish or any language. It's an amazing thing, but I'm willing to say it is a finite thing that finite people use for the One, True, Infinite GOD. And so often I feel like words can never be enough. Well, they can't. But just as Mommy and Daddy never get sick of hearing me say "I love you so much!" I am convinced that God never gets sick of me telling him "I love You, I praise You, Holy are You, Lord, Glory to Your Name!" Because God is all about being praised, worshiped and glorified! Isn't that great?
Just wanted to share that with you all... :-D