Tico Tuesday, February 22nd

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!