Tico Tuesday, December 19th

Happy Wednesday! Sorry for the delay, but the internet was down last night. (And as a heads up, with holidays falling on the next couple Tuesdays, Tico Tuesday will be coming out on Wednesday for the next 2 weeks.)

Friday was a roller coaster of a day. In the morning when I got to work, I ran into one of our house helpers. She was crying because her daughter had just miscarried at 7 months. My heart broke for her and her family and I was practically in tears as I prayed with her and hugged her.

The highlight of the day was attending the K and 6th grade graduation. I swelled with pride to see so many young people walk across the stage to receive their diplomas and delighted in watching my friend Fausía (the kindergarten teacher) congratulate her students with such love and enthusiasm.

Then, I came home to find my facebook full of comments about the atrocities committed that morning in Connecticut. Over 20 parents lost their babies on Friday. It could have been those kindergarteners who crossed the stage at the Bible Home. It could have been my friend Fau. This world is a dark, frightening place, but I thank Jesus, the Light of the World, for coming and giving us his light and life, that we may share his love and light with others. He brought us hope. This is the message I share with ever-growing conviction as I serve children and their families that come from very dark “hopeless” situations. Jesus is the Light, he is our only hope. He is the way, the truth and the life. He works in ways we don't understand, and he has the amazing capability of bringing good out of even the most dark, horrendous situations. Please join me in praying for all those who are suffering the loss of a loved one as a result of the Sandy Hook shooting, not just today or this week, but for months and years to come.

Thank you!

Love,

Carrie

This just in! I now only need 8 more supporters at $50/month and 3 more at $25/month in order to be at full support. Will you help make it possible for me to continue sharing Jesus' light and love with children and families in need?

Tico Tuesday, December 11th

Happy Tuesday to you! My goodness, enough has happened in the past week I could easily write a whole Chronicle, but I won't.

Yesterday we had our big annual Christmas and Thanksgiving service with ALL the children and staff from the Bible Home and school we have on-site. It was beautiful! All the different groups of children and personnel performed music or a skit and each house contributed a couple children to put together a Christmas pageant. I was with the children and house moms at their rehearsal on Friday, and to help set the mood and inspire them, we watched a brief cartoon movie of the Christmas story. Once Mary gave birth to Jesus, the donkey pushed the manger toward Mary as if to tell her to put Jesus there-- and it just hit me. A manger: where animals ate and possibly drooled. That was Jesus' bassinet. I've been hearing and talking about it my whole life so it's like I wouldn't expect Jesus to be born anywhere else. Duh! Of course Jesus was born in a manger! No! Not duh. People aren't usually born and placed in a pile of dirty, perhaps slobbery hay. It was like I'd heard it for the first time all over again. Talk about humility, talk about love. What an incredible miracle Jesus' birth is! I had a different attitude as I helped the children and house moms rehearse and work out the blocking and scene transitions (hooray for being able to apply things I learned in the drama club in high school!). They did a fantastic job in their performance yesterday. You never would know they'd only rehearsed twice... And some people think the kids we work with are hopeless and good for nothing!
Thank you so much for making it possible for me to be here and serve these children and everyone else at the Bible Home. God is doing amazing things in them and in me! I'm still looking for 10 more people to join my LAM support team at $50/month. Special gifts are a huge blessing and more than welcome, but it is still very important for more regular givers to join. If you can't commit to $50/month, you are welcome to commit to whatever amount the Lord places on your heart. He is more than faithful and will surely provide for you and me! And if you could please do me the favor of telling your friends and family about me, that would be great!
Thank you for your prayers for financial provision and for my health! (I haven't gotten sick!) Please also pray for the 20+ children who are getting ready to leave the Bible Home for good next Wednesday. A lot of them are anxious! Thank you!
With love and joy,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, December 4th

Was last Tuesday really only last week?
It's getting to be that time of the year when all of a sudden we are overwhelmed by special activities, concerts, parties, dinners, etc. Those of us who are students fight to finish the semester well and still keep our heart in our work though a thousand more things than usual are clamoring for our attention. I'll confess, I'm having a bit of a hard time with that and would really appreciate your prayers, not only for a good end to the semester, but also just for careful time management in general with everything that is going on and needs to be accomplished between now and December 22 when I fly to the States. I've been burning the candle at both ends and fear I am at high risk for getting the relentless flu/cold thing that a number of our children and house moms have caught.
But in the midst of the madness, we have to stop. The activities are fine and good, but let us not forget what this Advent season is all about - celebrating Jesus' coming. It's about him. And so, Sunday afternoon my friend Sarah came over and helped me decorate my apartment - putting up the tree, setting out the nativity Daddy made, and making a beautiful Advent wreath! We had a lot of fun, but I think the most special moment was lighting the first Advent candle, reading Scripture and the Advent devotional for Gordon-Conwell, and praying together. No matter how long I make these December days, I'll be lighting my Advent wreath and stopping to focus on the One whom I worship and celebrate, not only in Advent, but every day of the year. Care to join me? (If you aren't familiar with Advent, I highly recommend looking into it. It is celebrated in both Catholic and Protestant circles.)
Time to go light my wreath for a few minutes before heading to bed!
With love,
Carrie

PS I'm still praying for 10 more people at $50/month. Please join me in praying for these 10 people to commit by the end of the year! Thank you for your prayers and support!

Tico Tuesday, November 27th

Happy post-turkey Tuesday!
I don't know about you, but I'm still enjoying lots of succulent turkey! What a fun Thanksgiving I had! Well, the morning was pretty nostalgic and every little sweet thing during the Macy's parade and its ads kept making me cry and miss those happy childhood Thanksgivings with my whole family together. But after talking with my parents briefly, I headed over to the Jardin house at the Bible Home. Mr. Turkey hadn't thawed very much, so dinnertime got pushed way back, but we managed to keep the kids well distracted. And thankfully, they didn't have school the next day, so we took our time eating, sharing the history of Thanksgiving, reading Psalm 100, giving thanks for something from each letter of the alphabet, playing the Thanksgiving word scramble, and making our turkey of gratitude (behind us in the picture). What a joy and blessing it was to share with my friend Ivannia (the house mom) and the children! I'm so thankful that I had special people to share the special day with, and I'm thankful for the special people like you that help keep me here on the mission field.
Some of you have started to respond to my most recent letter mentioning my need for an increase in support. Thank you so much! I don't have any way of knowing immediately though if your gift is a special donation or a recurring commitment. Could you please drop me a note to let me know? That will help me know how close (or far) I am to my goal of 12 people at $50/month. Also, I'd love for you to join me in asking God for the 12 people to commit by the end of the year!
All I can say is thank you. I have done nothing special to be here, I have done nothing to "deserve" it. But I can't tell you how much I love to hang out with the children and house moms! I'm here to minister to them, but they sure minister to me too!
Thank you so much for your prayers, encouragement and support!
With love and gratitude,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, November 20th

Happy Tuesday to you! And Happy Almost Thanksgiving! I am indeed grateful for each of you. You are each a great blessing to me. I can not tell you what a joy and blessing it is to serve God here at Roblealto. Recently, I've been granted the opportunity to do 1 on 1 pastoral care with a few of the children at the Bible Home. It is a great responsibility I am honored to assume. I wish I could do it with all of them! It breaks my heart to see their longings for love and special attention.
The other week one of my new favorites had her birthday. I swung by her house on my way home and read Psalm 139 with her and prayed for her. I was in her house again yesterday and she asked me when I was coming again to read her the Psalm again. I told her I'd just done it for her birthday and she said she wanted it to be her birthday again so I'd come again. I don't think I'll wait till next year! This opportunity is too good to pass up! This young lady and her family are dealing with some incredibly difficult conditions and situations. Please pray for M and her mother and siblings. And please pray for me as I seek to show Jesus to young people like M. Oh how I need your prayers! I'm also still in need of your support. It is only with your help that I will be able to keep reading Psalms to M and having 1 on 1 meetings with other children. I'm looking for about 12 more people to partner with my service through the LAM at $50/month. I encourage you to pray about this too. (Or maybe you can commit to $25 and recruit a friend to commit to giving another $25?)
I thank God for the work he is doing in the lives of the children at the Bible Home and I thank him for his faithfulness. I know that he will continue to provide for my every need. Thank you so much to those of you who already support me on a regular basis!
God is good!
This week, along with praying for all the things I mentioned about, I challenge you to share a Psalm (or even just a verse from one) with someone. I'll be reading Psalm 100 with 11 children and their house mom on Thursday!
With love and gratitude,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, November 13th

It's Tuesday again! I wish I could tell you a thousand things that have happened over the past week! There were some really sweet moments: hearing a house mom share from her heart about serving at the Bible Home and marvel at the miracles God performs in children's lives there, little E gaining confidence in me and keeping his arms wrapped tightly around me, getting asked to chaperone a slumber party for 9 pre-teen girls, M (one of the really hard cases I mentioned recently) behaving wonderfully at the slumber party, watching the smile grow across Y's face as I used her as an example of God's love-driven creation, having a good conversation with fellow AWANA leaders, praying for M.A. on her birthday, and the list goes on.
I'll just comment briefly on the slumber party: I'm not sure I've ever felt a heavier sense of responsibility before in my life! One of the girls said I should change since I'm a bore, but somebody had to be responsible! I still had a lot of fun though, and the girls did too. In the morning they totally spoiled me and wouldn't even let me in the kitchen to make breakfast! One of them even gave me a backrub while breakfast was cooking. Now that's the life!
I thank God so much for granting me more opportunities to share with the children. One thing I've learned at the Bible Home is that we can and should seize every moment we can to teach the children, encourage them to practice virtues, tell them how special they are and how much God loves them, etc.
I've received word that some of you have already received the mailing I told you about. If you haven't gotten it yet, please keep your eyes peeled! I encourage you to stop and take a minute to prayerfully consider partnering with me in my service to God at Roblealto through the LAM. I currently need several more people to join my team of partners who give on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. It is through your giving that I am here and able to tell these children that God knows them and loves them no matter what! Thank you so much for participating in this work of God's kingdom!
May God fill your week with some really sweet moments too!
Peace and joy be with you,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, November 6th

I made a mistake yesterday. I forgot to bring my camera to the personnel meeting with me! A camera in a personnel meeting, you say? Does anything photo-worthy every happen in one of those? At the Bible Home, the answer is definitely Yes! For one part, we broke into 6 teams and had to present a skit of some kind of manufacturing machine.

 There was a t-shirt machine, a guitar machine, a puppet machine, etc. It was hilarious to watch one of the very professional teachers from our school on her hands and knees acting as a sheep and pretending to eat a pulled up chunk of turf! She was promptly shorn so her wool could be used to make a cotton t-shirt. Hmm, I guess that was a pretty miraculous machine, wasn't it? The noises and motions of some other more mechanical machines split our sides, and I think the favorite was our administrator (who is a delightful goof) yelling "SI! SI! SI! SI! SI!" You see, he was part of the guitar machine, which spoke the notes a guitar would play. In Costa Rica, we don't use A, B, C, etc. to name notes, instead we use Do, Re, Mi, etc. with Si in the place of Ti. And as you probably know Sí means Yes in Spanish. So while everyone else just said a syllables, he got to say "Yes! Yes! Yes!" --and he did it with every fiber of enthusiasm in his body! That is what I would have loved to capture for you. But instead, I'm sending you the product of my team's machine: a smile!
What a joy it is to serve God alongside these creative, wonderful people! Thank you for playing the role you have in allowing me to be here; whether that be through your prayers, giving, care packages, or words of encouragement! If you'd like to do any or all of the above, please visit my secure donation page, note my mailing address at the bottom of my e-mail signature, and drop me a line to let me know what you're up to!
Enjoy your work this week!
Carrie