Tico Tuesday, September 25th

Happy Tuesday!
A few months ago when I moved into my new apartment here in Costa Rica, it was a disaster. There was stuff and dust everywhere. Not anymore! I love having this nice little space all to myself. The best part is having my own kitchen and getting to cook for myself. That has been so much fun!
 I'd like to decorate the walls a little more, but I stay so busy, that hasn't really been a priority. I'm still working on getting a desk or table to study at in my room. It's quieter back there. (To see what that and the rest of my apartment looks like, head to facebook.) For now, I use the setup depicted here. It's actually pretty comfy, except for the legs of the ironing board in the way of my feet.
Let us all thank God for the roof we have over our heads and the solid walls we have around us this night!
Love,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, September 18th

This past weekend was full of fun and time spent with the kids at the Bible Home. Friday evening it started with the arrival of the torch.
 A flame of liberty started at the Costa Rican border with Nicaragua about 2 days beforehand. Students run the torch from town to town-Olympic flame/Pony Express style-until it reaches Cartago, the former capital of Costa Rica. It splits off though, and the flame arrive to different towns all over the country. A group of kids from the Bible Home was selected to run the torch up from Barva (the town 4k down the mountain). They arrived drenched from the rain, but with smiling and with torch in hand. We had a little civic ceremony with pretty much every patriotic song Costa Rica has and then marched around the Bible Home with the homemade lanterns (most made of shoeboxes) with real candles inside. Thankfully not too many fingers and lanterns were burnt. After the march, a whole bunch of kids from the Jardin house hung their lanterns on a tree outside. Our Independence Tree looked so cool! (I've never been near real candles on a Christmas tree that I'm aware of, so this was neat to see). Then Saturday we had the Independence Day parade in the morning and the kids' parents came up to watch them and have a picnic lunch afterward. Thank God it didn't rain! More pictures are on my facebook!
Blessings on your week!
Love,
Carrie

P.S. Random aside: to see a live performance of a hit pop song arranged for choir and orchestra by one of my good friends from high school, watch The Today Show on Friday!

Tico Tuesday, September 11th

Hello, dear family and friends.

This picture is one that shows some of the damage from last week's earthquake. 

Compared to other places that have had earthquakes of this magnitude, Costa Rica made out extremely well. But, among the list of damage, a hospital has been condemned and hundreds of people lost their houses. Thankfully, they are hundreds and not thousands, but still, those hundreds of people are in need of new homes. We continue to have a copious number of light aftershocks each day (there were over 1200 within the first 3 days!). It's just a slight shaking of the ground, but I'm getting rather sick of them. Anyway, for the past week, the earthquake has been a topic of conversation with pretty much everyone I've seen. Kind of like what happened 11 years ago on this very day. It was even a Tuesday. 

I had the opportunity to go to the 9/11 memorial when I was in the States in April, and 11 years seems like a long time in some ways, but for many, I'm sure it feels like it was just last week. It's hard to fathom all the disasters and catastrophes in this world, and how deeply so many, many people are affected by them. The only thing that comes to my mind is this: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God" (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

May God comfort each of us where we hurt, that we may in turn be able to comfort others,

Carrie

Tico Tuesday, September 4th

On two occasions in the past couple weeks I've been asked to take care of most of the kids in the picture. (I took it in January and there have been a few changes since then).
By "take care," what I really mean is "babysit 11 children from the ages of 2-11." Yup, this house is on overload right now with 11 kids. Whenever there are special activities for the house moms, like on Mother's Day (August 15th in Costa Rica) or meetings for house couples, the Bible Home calls on people to keep an eye on the kids in each house. I consider it an honor that they would call me. When I think about it as babysitting 11 children with emotional and behavioral problems at no charge, I think it sounds crazy!!! But I truly consider it an honor and an Enormous Responsibility to watch out for these kids, even though they may be just be watching a movie and then going to bed. The second time I went to "babysit" (I don't feel like that term is really adequate here), one of the girls asked me why I wasn't their house mom. HA!!! It was flattering, to be sure. I could handle her, but the rest of them? Day in and day out? At this point in my life, it would undoubtedly be damaging for us all. Is being a house mom somewhere in my future? I don't know. Getting started is like jumping into a fire, and from what I've seen, being a house mom is one of the most difficult things ever. But it's there in the furnace where the broken can be restored and be made beautiful.
Thank you for praying with me not only for the children of Roblealto, but also for the valiant house parents who dedicate their lives and entire families to serving "the least of these."
May God's love and joy abound in you and your family,
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, August 28th

The Calm Before The Storm

Last week I enjoyed having some spare time since I was in between semesters. My NT test was hard, but everything turned out ok. I was even able to submit my final paper for my Research and Writing course a day before I thought I'd be able to! So, Saturday I hung out with a friend and then watched my favorite movie of all time (one of Fred and Ginger's more obscure movies called "Carefree"). Sunday morning I ran a race for the 1st time this year. Then in the evening I went to a fun Gospel concert with some friends. Afterwards, we went out to eat. I know a number of you have already spotted this picture on facebook, but I wanted to share it with the rest of you too. I had a really great time! (And I LOVE those chocolate cookies!)
And then, it came. My stomach started churning, and by the time I got home... I'll spare you the details. Thankfully my stomach bug only lasted 24 hours. And I'm very grateful to God for that, since I started my Theology 1 course today. Over the next 8 weeks I get to read some 2000 pages, write three 6-8 page papers and complete a number of other assignments along the way. It's intense, and though I was hoping to practice some speed-reading, I'm afraid the subject matter won't be very conducive to that. So, I appreciate your prayers in divine speed-reading, or time being stretched out so I can be able to do it all. With God all things are possible!
Thanks!
Blessings on you and your tasks for the week!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, August 21st

This chicken hangs out at my window almost every morning. Not something I've ever been used to before.

And over the past couple weeks, I've seen, heard and experienced a number of things I never could have imagined and that no one should ever get used to. Reading an article, hearing a second- or third-hand story, or watching some slideshow about missions can't grasp this. I'm talking about the brokenness and poverty hiding behind the eco-facade of Costa Rica. I'm talking about adults that can't even write their own children's names. I'm talking about children who have been horrifically mistreated and abused and are starting to do the same. I'm talking about people who live in a makeshift lean-to with no door and one  twin bed for more than one person. I'm talking about things I've seen, related to children I know, not some identity-less face you look at and go "Aww!"
The longer I stay in Costa Rica, and the more deeply involved I get with the children and families we serve at the Bible Home, the more I learn of things that have been foreign to me my whole life. The more I see how starved of love people can be, the more I can see that Jesus truly is the only Hope for this world.
 So that leaves me asking, how can I be Jesus to these children and families? I am well aware of my own brokenness and limitations, but I want so badly to help these people. Please join me in praying for Jesus to transform these children and families, and pray for His love to flow freely through me.
Thanks. May God continue to open our eyes and show us those who so desperately need his love - and may we do something about it!
Carrie

Tico Tuesday, August 14th

Surely last Tuesday was over a week ago!  Time continues to fly by up on my dear little mountainside here in San José de la Montaña.

Time has flown too, from October 2011, when we first re-broke ground on the Arco Iris (Rainbow) house, to when it was completed last month. A house family and 11 boys (sometimes houses will have an extra child or two due to exceptional occurrences) have been living there for a month now. On Friday we had the official inauguration ceremony with representatives from the various foundations and government entities who contributed to the house's construction and help keep Roblealto running. Too bad we couldn't fly down a whole bunch of sponsors, or the special donors from the States who gave very large gifts. Anyway, the Bible Home took advantage of its time in the spotlight and highlighted the different arts and sports workshops available to the children for all the special guests. The band played, the chorus sang, the recorder ensemble played, representatives from all the sports (soccer, basketball, baseball, volleyball and cricket) showed off their uniforms and the kids who spend extra time helping in the garden brought some of their beautiful lettuce. Then, the chairman of Roblealto's board cut the ribbon and inside we went, with all 11 boys serving as tour guides, showing off each room's color theme and which bed and closet was whose. It was a beautiful morning in every way. I can't express how joyful I am to be a part of this wonderful ministry!
Back to my studies... Thank you so much for your prayers! I'm almost finished with my final paper for New Testament and will have taken my final exam by the next time I write to you. Please keep praying! Thank you!
Peace and joy to you,
Carrie