Tico Tuesday, August 13th

An incredibly sweet family came to meet and hang out with me on Saturday. I'd gotten an e-mail from some fellow LAM missionaries with an open offer by this family to bring any LAM missionary in Costa Rica stuff from the US! I seized the opportunity to have them bring me my books for the fall semester. What a blessing! But they didn't just bring me books! They found my blog and brought me a number of things on the "if you so happened to want to send me a package" list! Raspberry zinger tea, organic maple syrup from Canada, a box of shredded wheat, and a bag of Dove Promises. Yum, Yum, Yum, and Yum! What an incredible blessing! And I was really touched that this family took a full day out of their vacation to hang out with missionaries (they were with another missionary family before they came over to me). Talk about generosity! It was such a gift to get to know this family a little bit and just be a tourist in my own town. God gave us such a great sunset we had to stop multiple times for them to snap more pictures! (I went unarmed...they promised to send me pictures though.)

Oh, and on the way down to Barva for a fantastic supper, we were able to see random fireworks going off over part of San Jose. It was so cool! I am so blessed and grateful! There's nothing like a mini-escape and some fun for a missionary that's been feeling a little worn lately! If we all like it so much when people invest in us, why don't we invest more in other people so they can experience the joy and love too? Who will you invest in today? Tomorrow? The next day? Go for it! God loves us not so we can keep it to ourselves, but for us to pour out and share his love with others.
Ok, so what's the connection between this and the picture? One of my Dove Promise wrappers says, "Make a list of your dreams." Thursday evening, the youth group we have at the Bible Home had a hat parade and a special activity about dreaming about the future. So, everyone who went had to make a hat about their dreams. I was checking in on the Arco Iris house before the activity and got to see the hats the boys in the house made. B did a fantastic job with his (his face is sad because he misses his former house mom a lot)! I look forward to spending some time in the kitchen with him!
May God fill all of us with his love and show us who to invest in and how!
Thank you to those of you who write to and invest in me!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, August 6th

It's Tuesday again!
First off, let me say THANK YOU for praying for everything I mentioned last week! The 11 boys of the Arco Iris house now have someone to be with them the rest of the year! God called up Leslie, a fellow AWANA leader, to be a tutor/uncle/father to these boys. Today was his first day officially working. We've had single house moms at the Bible Home before, but never a single house dad. We're giving this a shot though, and we believe God is going to do amazing things through Leslie! Please keep him and the Arco Iris boys in your prayers!

A couple boys from the Arco Iris House participated in this presentation on Sunday

Speaking of AWANA... we declared this Sunday Friendship Day in AWANA, so we had a few special presentations, along with a number of other activities to develop friendship among the children. In Sparks, we made a banner with the slogan "mi amigo para Cristo" (My friend for Christ) and had all the kids decorate it. Then we had everyone draw the name of another person in the group and give them candy and tell them something nice. All the kids participated with great attitudes and didn't have to spend much time thinking of what to say. The boy who gave to me just said, "te quiero." It was so adorable! I praise God for all that he is accomplishing in the lives of these children and everything they are learning.
Thank you for joining me on this journey. May God continue to do his amazing work in your lives too!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, July 30th

Tuesday greetings from Costa Rica!
Last night was definitely not a quiet night at the Bible Home. There was a meeting for house parents, and I got to babysit in the Bethesda house for the first time. Since my friend who was the mom in the Jardín house left, 2 of the girls are now in the Bethesda, along with a couple other kids I've cared for from other houses on different occasions plus 6 others (10 total). When I got there, they were wild.

It was a Monday after the kids had been at home with their families for the weekend, and they usually come back behaving not as well as they did when they left. Over the course of the evening they calmed down though, especially once I prayed and we opened our time of devotions. One boy, the newest in the house, and actually the newest in the Bible Home (I think he arrived in April-I know it was after camp), started asking me all sorts of questions about Jesus coming again and what that means, what heaven is like, about asking forgiveness, etc. What a joy it was to see him so curious and interested in these things--and to have the opportunity to explain as much of the gospel to him as I could. It was a very special moment for me. I don't think he has a relationship with Jesus yet, but I look forward to following up with him and making sure he has the opportunity to start one. Please pray for this kiddo, R, and for him to receive Jesus as his Savior and Lord.
Thanks so much!
Thank you for your prayers and support!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, July 23rd

Hello, and happy Tuesday to you! Ok, it's not Tuesday anymore for many of you, but it is still here!

You may be wondering why I haven't written anything about the kids at the Bible Home for a while. Well, there's a reason for that. They were at their homes on break the first 2 weeks of July, so things at the Bible Home were very quiet! Yesterday things were pretty quiet much of the day too, since all the kids who play the recorder and are in the school chorus were at a district competition all day. The kids came back full of enthusiasm and the minibus drivers were honking their horns like people honk when their team scores or wins a soccer game: the chorus came in first place! Most of these kids have grown up being the losers and having people telling them--and believing--that they are no good at or for anything. Well, winning a competition sure makes them think twice about these wretched lies and shows them that they really are talented and capable of making great achievements.
And the picture is of one of the 2 boys that came running at me to hug me as I passed their house on my way home from work yesterday. Have I ever told you how much I love these kids? The two week break is an important time for them and their families, and for the personnel at the Bible Home to recharge too. But, I missed them and I'm so glad to have them back!
May God surround you with his goodness and truth this week!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, July 16th

Tuesday greetings from one of the most tired girls around. My brief trip to the US was delightful but exhausting, so I'll try to keep it short tonight. I was going to show you a picture of my happy brother and his happy bride, but I can't figure out how to copy/download pictures from flickr. (Is that actually possible? Anybody wanna give me a hand with that?) So, you're stuck with this cutie!!

The purpose for my trip was indeed my brother's wedding, but it included many bonus features, like a number of extended relatives I hadn't seen in WAY too long, my awesome parents, my oldest brother and his family, including this youngest nephew I hadn't met yet! It was worth the plane delays, the nights of lousy sleep and every detestful mosquito and deerfly bite to play with my niece and nephews, catch up with other family members, and sniffle my way through my brother's wicked short but super sweet wedding ceremony.
It's nice to be home though and to have the kids back at the Bible Home after they were gone for 2 weeks for their mid-year break from school. My bed is calling me, so I'm off!
May God bless all our rest and continue to teach us to rest in Him!
Love,
Carrie

PS. 3 very brief things. 1-I got my driver's license renewed today! 2- The food at Zach's wedding was fantastic. 3- I hope to blog more about his wedding soon but right now have a lot of other things to do! Please pray for me! Thanks!

Tico Tuesday, July 9th

• 19.5 months
• 14 trips to Migration
• over $460 in fees, parking and transportation
• countless hours waiting in line or for my name to be called or some assigned number to flash for me (I think today's 5 hours was a personal record)

  

  
  

It was a long and dreadful wait. One year ago today I went to Migration thinking this complicated process was almost done, and instead was handed a letter threatening to cancel my residency renewal if I didn't explain myself pronto. It was hard to figure out how God was exercising control over the horrendous bureaucracy  (burro-cracia as we sometimes call it here), but I know he is sovereign, even over institutions I find frustrating and wish I could despise, were they not so necessary and important. (Seriously, now I understand more why people just marry nationals to avoid migratory woes!) But today, thanks be to God, a miracle occurred and I was FINALLY given a new valid residency card!!! I was a little emotional when I realized they were actually going to give me my new card today, and surely would have been more so if I hadn't have had to wait so long between all the little bureaucratic steps. At least I finished reading my Church history textbook!
Thank you SO MUCH for praying with and for me all throughout this difficult journey. Though I haven't enjoyed it, I rejoice that it is over and remember that even when I don't understand God, I still can and need to trust him, his ways, and his timing.
Now I can fly to and from the States this weekend without any migratory hassle!
With deep joy and gratitude, to God and to you!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, July 2nd

The weirdest thing happened on Friday at the Bible study I help lead for parents and guardians. I was teaching the parents how to have a time of daily devotions with their kids and giving them some concrete ideas and object lessons they could easily pass along to their children. One of the object lessons included a toothbrush. If I haven't told you before, Costa Ricans have amazing toothbrushing habits. So as I started the object lesson, I said, "Toothbrushing is a great habit we ticos have." I stopped as soon as it came out. (Tico is the word Costa Ricans use to describe themselves.) I was shocked at myself for saying "we ticos" but I tried not to dwell on it and immediately rephrased my sentence to leave ticos impersonal, neither including nor excluding myself. Though I was trying to carry on as if nothing had happened, one dad stopped me and said, "Well, for me you're a tica. There's nothing wrong with you identifying yourself as one." The few other ticos I've shared this anecdote with have had similar responses. I think that just overwhelms me even more. Yes, people have been calling me la gringa más latina (most Latin white girl) they know for years now, but to have members of my host culture accept and see me as one of them? Wow... Pretty amazing, but I know there are still a lot of things about ticos I don't know or get. I do identify with them a lot though, and have decided I will be simultaneously happy and disappointed no matter what the outcome of the USA vs CR World Cup qualifying match here Sept. 6th, because I don't have to choose between the two. As I've been learning, there is beauty in the uncertainty.
Is it a good thing that people see me as a fellow tica? I believe so. The apostle Paul talked about becoming all things to all men, that some might be saved through his words and actions (1 Corinthians 9:22). My goal isn't for people to see me as a tica, but for them to see Jesus in me. May it be so, for me and for all of us who call Jesus Lord!
~Carrie

PS. Migration update: God continues to answer prayer! Tomorrow morning I am going to Migration for my resolution and to request an appointment for them to take my picture. I'd love to have that happen and have my new card in hand before I leave for a brief trip to the States next Weds the 10th! Please pray with me for it to happen! The disappointing news: with my new official status as a volunteer I'm no longer eligible for permanent residency. Oh well...