Tico Tuesday, February 17th

...It's Tuesday again!

Yesterday Chrissy and I had a very gringo morning. She teaches at a private school on the US school calendar and got the day off for President's Day, so I took the morning off of studying and we went minigolfing, as we had originally hoped to do on my birthday. Birthday season is now officially, finally over (2.5 months later!). It was a fun little course--here they don't dye the water like they do in the States though. And there were some really steep slopes we had to get the ball up! Afterwards, Chrissy took me to an outlet store, much like an outlet you'd find in the States!
That is a very interesting cultural thing about Costa Rica...and many other places in Latin America and the world: The power of the influence from the US is unbelievable. Most nationwide chain restaurants (especially fast food) are here, English words pepper many conversations, malls here are just as nice--if not nicer--than a lot of malls in the States, there is a trampoline jumping center, a really nice (and very expensive) bowling alley, and a whole bunch of other things have popped up here over the last few years that I just wouldn't expect to find in a developing country in Latin America. Yes, Costa Rica is far more developed than most of its neighbors. But at the same time, it is still a developing country! Roads are narrow and often full of patches and potholes, there are numerous communities harshly wrought by poverty and violence, there are chickens that wander freely, an abundance of stray dogs, pieces of litter everywhere, and street vendors that sell you pirated anything. Sometimes it's nice to have things that feel like a piece of home from the States, but at the same time, I think it makes some of the other differences more stunning. If some things can be like in the States, then shouldn't everything? That's a dangerous assumption I've had to work hard to keep in check! As the powerful influence continues to pervade, I'm very curious to see what will become of Costa Rica!
May God give us the grace to keep our assumptions in check and our eyes fixed on him!
Love, 
Carrie

Good Shepherding and Community

This morning at church my pastor greeted me by name! And he did a pretty darn good job of pronouncing it right too. (Not something that ticos do very often.) And he looked me straight in the eye. As a member of an 1100 person church body, it means a lot to me for the senior pastor to know me by name and exude pastoral care in a greeting and a smile. From this and previous interactions, I know that he genuinely cares about the wellbeing of this curly-haired sheep in his flock. I haven't felt that from a lead pastor in years.

And then after church, I stayed around for a while greeting and talking with people I know (primarily from the young adult group). I've been to going to the young adult group the past 3 Friday nights and going out to eat with a number of them afterwards... and am starting to feel like I have a sense of community with them! This is huge! I haven't felt like I've had a genuine sense of belonging and community in a church here for a Very Long Time. We have a text messaging group, and in it we share prayer requests and encourage one another. Announcements and funny pictures get passed around too, but I have already been blessed by the words and prayers of others, and have been able to do the same (even though I don't even know everyone in the group!).

For the last few years, I feel like I have been in a desert...I have felt isolated, alone, like people don't care for me in a very deep or genuine way. I have tried a few different churches and never felt like I've clicked and become a part of the church community. It's been hard. Even painful. As a young single woman living in a foreign country constantly pouring out into the lives of others, it has been very difficult to find a place where I feel like I can get fed and poured back into. And in this culture, I've learned that if I want to get together with a friend, 99% of the time, I have to be the one to take the initiative. Even when I have a scratchy throat and almost no voice, I have to be the one to call for help. It's tempting to be resentful of that. But, I have been learning to just accept that reality and keep reaching out, even when I'm sick and tired of it. The plus side is that it's shown me that when I reach out and open up a little bit, it's going to be a lot easier for the other person to open up a little more with me. And that is a real privilege.

I don't know what my next ministry assignment entails. It may be here in Costa Rica, it may be somewhere else in Latin America. I hate that I might have to leave this growing sense of community, now that I finally have it, but like I said in my Chronicle (please comment if you haven't seen it and would like to), God has been reminding me that I have to let go of everything and trust him alone. He has given me all I have. As Job said, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. The name of the Lord be praised!” (Job 1:21). God needs me to entrust him with everything, because he is the Lord, he is the Provider, he will sustain me, care for me, and give me everything I need. Always. And in the meantime, I am rejoicing in and thanking God for what he has given me!

Tico Tuesday, February 3rd

Happy Tuesday!
Today I want to share with you about something that has me happy and excited. I started going to this church last year in Aug/Sept, right around the time Chrissy and I started rooming together. I didn't have many opportunities to get involved since I was swarmed with a lot of other stuff going on, but I was able to go to the Welcome/Newcomers class, and that was really helpful.

A week ago Saturday, the young adult group kicked off for the year with a picnic. I went with a girl that I met at another church I went to here before--pretty cool how we've ended up in the same church again! And, thanks to camp and AWANA through the Bible Home, I already knew a few people there. I was able to meet some others and have fun playing games with them. They told us about all the activities they have planned for the rest of the year, as well as the weekly Bible study they have. I went this past Friday, and it was really good--the most meaty one I've been to for a young adult group here! And, I got to meet several more people. I even went out to eat with a group of them afterwards. I've been feeling pretty tired of trying to make friends and find a group of people I feel comfortable hanging out with, but I know I have to keep putting myself out there. And thanks be to God, I feel more comfortable and at home with this group already than I ever did in groups from other churches. I know breaking into a group is often hard here, but this one feels quite welcoming and I'm excited to get to know people more and get more involved. Please pray for me in this and for God's continued guidance and direction. I'm so glad he's in control!
May God provide you with rich times of fellowship and study of His Word this week!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, January 27th

Another Tuesday is come and is on its way out the door. I won't brag to you about the temperature or lack of snow here. It was cool and rainy, if that makes you feel any better. ;-)

Sunday we had our annual hymn sing with the missionaries and friends of UWM. It's an activity where I always help lower the mean age, but what a wonderful, rich time of worship! Sometimes when I sing hymns, I'm just singing and not paying attention to the words (ok, sometimes when singing more contemporary songs too). But, my OneWord for this year (if you haven't heard of it, it's like just picking a word/theme for a year instead of making a list of resolutions) is engage. I'm wanting to engage more fully in life, since I spend way too much of it just cruising through and not engaging in and making the most of many rich opportunities and gifts God sends my way. So, by God's grace I was enable to engage well in worship while hymn singing, and indeed, "Oh what a foretaste of glory divine!" Singing my awesome, holy God's praise through rich, old songs with people that have a combined total of over 500 years of mission service (and I think perhaps even closer to 1000!!) is just an amazing experience! I know I write about this every year, but I hope you can understand why. Maybe one of you will have to join us next year! Our 88 year old piano player who played for Billy Graham's crusades in Boston in the 50s won't be able to play much longer. We are certainly enjoying him as long as we can though.
God has done amazing work in Costa Rica and Latin America in the last couple hundred years, and there is still much more to be done!
Thank you for faithfully supporting my service to the Lord and the people he has made and placed in this part of the world. Thank you also for your prayers. I highly covet them!
May you make time to spend in rich worship of the Lord this week!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, January 20th

Happy Tuesday to you!

They say you never know what you got till its gone. Although I am very happy for Chrissy's engagement, I am already mourning losing her as a roommate. We've only been living together for a few months, but it's hard to imagine what life was like without her! We are excited to make the most of the time we have left as roommates though. And I feel very honored to be her "bridesmaid-in-residence." I got to go wedding dress shopping for the first time last week and I'm getting to witness the planning of a crosscultural wedding firsthand. I will tell you straight out: That is not for the faint of heart!
Changing topics...How are the kids at the Bible Home? The ones I've seen are quite well (they just came back). Today we had a few new ones join us, more will continue to over the course of the week, and some more will be come after that. For the first year ever, we are starting the year with 8 houses open. YES! EIGHT! Normally it's been more like 5-7. Praise the Lord for blessing us with wonderful house moms and for having them stick around (and a previous one return)! That means we only have one house that is sitting empty right now, and we are praying for another house mom to come so we can fill it and serve the maximum number of kids the Bible Home can hold. Please join me in praying for a new house mom, and for all the adjustments going on at the Bible Home right now, both for returning children and brand new ones. Leaving one's family isn't easy, even if it is a horribly dysfunctional one.
Thank you for all your love, support and prayers! You play an important role in God's work here!
May God remind us all to be grateful for the blessings he has given us and not take them for granted,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, January 13th

It's Tuesday again and I'm back in Costa Rica once more! After a very short night, long flight, and an 85° degree (minimum) change in temperature, I had left home and arrived back home. I feel like that's just a really good way to say it. My heart is in two places, and while that's hard, I'm learning a lot of life is hard and there will likely be a lot of suffering...that's just the way it is. I have to accept the fact that I live in--and am a part of--a very broken world. But it's not a hopeless one!

A former house mom who continues to give hope to her kids!

I am part of a hope-giving minstry that gathered all its personnel together today to turn our eyes back on Jesus and encourage us to be faithful, prudent servants of our King and Heavenly Father. I took part in a short drama of the scene Jesus describes in Matthew 25 when the King on Judgment Day says, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." I was reminded: What we do to others is like doing it to Jesus. And, really, since we all bear the image of Christ, it's true! That'll make me think twice before I do a lot of things...and will hopefully lead me to being someone that can infuse a lot more love and hope into broken lives.
May God use you as an instrument of hope...and may we all be mindful of how we treat others this week and always!

Tico Tuesday, January 6th

Happy Epiphany from Maine!

A lovely view of the harbor!

We are now back to regularly scheduled Tico Tuesdays...(and if you don't what what Epiphany means, it is the celebration of the arrival of the Magi to worship the Christ Child). I have less than 36 hours remaining with my parents here in Maine. I have had a delightful time with them. My mom and I have exercised together almost every day, and my dad has beat me in 5 out of 6 games of cribbage. We've had Christmas and Broadway sings around the piano, and wonderful times of just being together. They will be hard to leave, but I'm looking forward to the year ahead in Costa Rica. I know I don't know what the year holds, but I know that God is in control and wants to draw me closer to him and make me more like him. I'm up for it!
Thank you so much for your continued prayers for me. This week you can be praying for my trip on Thursday (I am leaving at dark hours of the morning in the most frigid temperatures of the week here and then have a 50 minute layover in Newark) and for a good return to the Bible Home next week.
Thanks! May God guide and bless you in this new year, and remind you each day that his mercies are new every morning,
Carrie