Cindy

The last, but certainly not least, person that I would like to introduce you to is Cindy. She is our rock here at Harvest Hands. Cindy keeps things under control, knows what's going on when things seem like they could get crazy, and keeps us in good spirits.

There's no doubt that part of keeping us in good spirits is due to her fabulous cooking! Cindy can cook up anything... really. We will eat vegan much of the time, especially when teams aren't here. So, we eat very healthy and tasty! Asian dishes are some of her specialties, as well as great Costa Rican meals. You can't do a short-term trip here and think that you will lose any weight - there's just too much great food!

While we are all still in the process of learning Spanish, Cindy has it down the best. When the phone rings or someone comes to the door, we give it our best shot. However, usually Cindy is called to the scene to clear up any uncertainties in translation.

She is a nurturer, encourager, great supporter and always looks out for our best interest... as a team, a family, and in doing ministry. Her faithfulness and dedication to any task is an amazing example. Cindy, I will miss you dearly!!!

The sounds

I'll be flying out of Costa Rica in less than two weeks. I'm already thinking about things that I'll miss. Mostly I'll miss people. My family here: Rebecca, Rodney, Cindy, and Tito; those in Anonos, friends from church, and the staff at Funda Vida.

When short-term teams leave the house, Rodney always prays that they would remember the sounds. There are so many sounds that seem like they only fall on my ears; they belong to no one else. I hope that I will not forget them.

Rebecca's faux-phone alarm going off in the morning; the egg-man's muffled megaphone screams "trenta huevos para un mil"; a kid in 'little managua' plays on his flutophone late at night; a bird outside my bedroom window sings the same tune all day long; the doorbell at Supernova indicates that more friends have arrived at church; and not lastly, but my alarm going off in the morning, telling me that God has granted me one more day in Anonos, to be with His people.

The visionary

To continue my blogs on introducing you to those that I live/work with, allow me to introduce Rodney. Rodney is the "D" in the house. The "D" is in reference to the DiSC Inventory. D for dominance... the man with the plan. I believe that we actually have all four letters represented here at Harvest Hands, which makes for a great team!

Rodney is originally from Massachusettes, but has spent most of his life living in Maine. He is a surfer at heart, has successfully planted a Vineyard Church in Mechanic Falls, ME, where he served as Associate Pastor. He used to travel to Costa Rica for the surfing years ago, and that led him eventually to bringing down short-term teams to do missions work. He and Cindy have been living here full-time since December 2006. His background in contracting also makes him invaluable when it comes to setting up and overseeing work projects.

Rodney has a big heart for the poor and tons of compassion for those that are addicted to drugs. His vision to see a church planted here in Los Anonos is just one of many visions that he has. He would like to see a Harvest Hands in Nicaragua in the future - a much more difficult area.

Meet Rodney, and it won't be five minutes later that you will get the privilege of hearing a great story of what God has done in his life, or in the lives of those in Anonos. He sees where God is moving, and I hope that I can learn how to dream as he does.

Gahanna Team

This past week, we hosted a team of seven people. Six were from New Life Church in Gahanna, Ohio and one person from New Hampshire. They were all amazing (and that's an understatement)!

I have been praying that someone would come to Anonos that was capable of painting a great mural... low and behold... they came! There used to be a mural in the local gym that was depressing (and that is also an understatement). It was old, dark, had no relevance to the community, was not of good quality, etc. The team from Vineyard Columbus cleaned the wall and primed it to be ready to receive a mural. See pictures below for before and after. Everyone here was saying how great it is and how it brings joy, light, and happiness to the area.

The team also did work in the school, painting at 25 de Julio where there will soon be a new Funda Vida center, took a woman into rehab, helped a guy with getting to the hospital that had been stabbed with an ice pick, home visits, and much more.

I sincerely hope to see each one of them return to Anonos in the future: Pastor Brian, Patti, Amanda, Cat, Steve (he has my vote for President), Eric, and John.

Before - Ugly mural, ugly back wall...

After - Great mural in Los Anonos!!! Very bright and happy!

After - Multi-colored back wall that is very fun!!!

Team in front of their work!!! :-)

Surprises

I made it into Newark, NJ at about 1am on Tuesday. The pastor from Rodney and Cindy's church picked me up. I've been staying with their family and friends at the Vineyard Eastern Regional Pastors' Conference in Bushkill, PA. The conference has been great, and I'm enjoying getting to represent Harvest Hands here. Our hope is to make some connections with other churches that would be interested in partnering with the ministry long-term and/or through short-term mission trips.

While being here at the conference and in the States, I've experienced some surprises...

1. It is hard to break the habit of not throwing TP into a wastebasket. Flushing TP is a luxury that we in the States take for granted.
2. Fuel and fast-food are more expensive than I remember them being five months ago.
3. I can understand everyone's conversations around me. I am even noticing that I am understanding stranger's conversations/comments that pass by me. Oh, how I pray I don't lose what little Spanish I have acquired over the past four months!!!
4. Some worship songs are just better in another language... I prefer Dulcemente Quebrantado about ten times over to Sweetly Broken.
5. The church family from Rodney and Cindy's church feels like extended family. I feel so welcome and supported by them. I hope the relationship continues.
6. My grandma, aunt, and cousin surprised me at the hotel last night! They were driving through PA (about 8.5 hours from home) and made a point to see me. I was able to have dinner and spend a couple of hours with them after the evening session. :-) It was great to have a surprise visit from those that I love so dearly.

There are only five weeks remaining for my stay in Costa Rica, but for now I am looking forward to being back home in Anonos on Saturday.

Columbus Team

I'm sitting in the dining room right now listening to the youth team from Vineyard Columbus. They are in the living room going around the room and sharing what they are thankful for from each of the other people on the team. There is a lot to be said for each of them, and that is an understatement.

This team is led by Chris and Chantelle Traut, and Brett Evans. I am thankful to this team for a number of reasons. It was Chris Traut who last year invited me to assist him with leading the first youth missions trip to Los Anonos. It was through that amazing experience that brought me back here now. I am so thankful to have a team here from my home church... my extended family. Katie McConnell and Gabe Botkin are the only non-rookies on the team and it is sweet to see how God has given them so much compassion for the people in this community. I hope that there will be more repeaters next year.

Tomorrow, the team is traveling to Jaco for their one day off at the beach. I will be traveling to Pennsylvania to represent Harvest Hands at the Vineyard Eastern Region Pastors' Conference. I am sad that I will miss spending the remainder of the week with this team. However, I am pleased that I will have this opportunity to share with others the ministry that is occuring here.

To Vineyard Columbus: "I thank my God every time I remember you." - Phillipians 1.3

Grand Rapids Team

This past week, we hosted a team from Grand Rapids, in "that state up north." The team consisted of nine absolutely amazing people! They were great to have in the house to spend time with and the activities we were able to participate in with them was also wonderful.

Among doing work projects in the community, they also did work at a future Funda Vida center in Veinticinco de Julio. We hung out with teens at a teen center, assisted with a Fathers' Day event, played a serious game of basketball with the locals, and much more.

One of the things that the team had planned on doing while they were here was a skit. It is acting that goes along with a song. It was great because they didn't have to speak Spanish to get the message across. While we had originally only scheduled two performances, they actually got to do it four times! The first was at a Kids' Club for Funda Vida, then at a church service, after that at a rehabilitation center, and then lastly here in Anonos for our Wednesday night children's program. The skit was well received at all four places; people responded by crying, wanting prayer, etc. It was a great experience.

Grand Rapids Team - We loved having you here! You are each a blessing and we are grateful for your support and friendship. We hope that you will return to Los Anonos - each one of you: Mike, Lori, Courtney, Breezy, Naomi, Delaney, Jill, Chad, and Pete.

While their skit varied from this one, please check this out on YouTube if you haven't already seen it... I think it is worth watching: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyheJ480LYA.

Mail time!

We got a post office box for Harvest Hands! Yay!!! I'm really excited about this... as you can see. I will only be here for another month and a half; however, my birthday is just around the corner, and I guess some of my family members wanted to send me a "happiest of birthdays, to you" card to me. :-) My new address is provided below (don't put my name on the outside... we'll figure it out). ATTN Family: If you do happen to send me a birthday card... please include a picture of yourself... I miss your faces!

Cynthia LaFrance
Apdo 1336-1200
Pavas - San Jose - Costa Rica
America Central

Hospital de San Juan de Dios

On Saturday, I had the privilege of visiting Martin in the hospital. I took his mother in to see him. Martin is one of the men in Anonos that is addicted to crack. He had to go to the hospital because he had problems with his asthma the day after Rodney had taken him to rehab.

The hospital was definitely below my "normal" standard. It wasn't spotless clean, we couldn't find the room easily because there were no directions, and there definitely wasn't an element of comfort for someone to recover well.

While we were visiting, Martin reached into his hospital gown and pulled out a plastic bag. It contained all the money he owns... which probably amounted to about ten dollars. He gave his mother about three to help her out. It was humbling to witness this generosity. He had so little, and his mother was so thankful.

We took in some personal items for Martin and he was pleased to receive a razor to have a clean shave. I prayed for Martin and asked him what his plans were after recovering in the hospital. He shared that he plans to return to rehab for about five or six months. Praise the Lord!

San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

I traveled to Nicaragua last week to renew my passport. In Costa Rica, foreigners are only allowed to be in the country for 90 days at a time, and then leave for three days before they can reenter.

The trip to Nicaragua was a great time, but I am not able to capture it in words nearly as well as Rebecca has. So, I will let her. Here is a portion from her blog (there is a link to her blog on the right, check it out if you haven't):

Nicaragua was a wonderful/eventful trip. The border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica has quite the developing world feel. There's this no man's land where old, tired dogs join you in the pursuit of the other side. The dusty ground hides the tracks of previous travels. Thankfully, we met a Canadian that had made the treck before, and helped us out. Scores of Ticos and Nicaraguans alike crowd around gringo travelers, such as Holli and I, hoping that their services would receive a tip. Sometime between getting in Marlo's car (not a taxi driver, but a friend of a taxi driver) and transfer from an overheated taxi to another non-taxi, Kia Racer for transportation, I decided this was by far the most adventurous experience I have ever had. We met a ton of European travelers and a few North Americans in the hostel where we were staying. San Juan del Sur is one of those little beach towns full of wanderers. One friend we made, Aoife from Ireland, was traveling by herself. She had just gotten stabbed by someone who robbed her. In a long conversation that started with the IRA, over dinner we discussed the church today. Her insights on the church in Europe, what she thought of Jesus, and her own life, pierced my heart. I value her honesty, as she did ours. Aoife is a woman that has felt judgement from the church. How wonderful that Jesus is love and frees us from the judgements we put on others and ourselves. He is the one true God that loves. He is love. Aoife told us that the church is dead in Europe, and I thought, "Good!" A religion for the sake of culture. The world has too much of that. My prayer for those dead church places is for the Holy Spirit to come for a people, thirsty and disilliosned. There are many people like Aoife that are resisting the culture of religion and wanting Jesus. We talked about Jesus and she responded, "He sounds like the best friend everyone wants." Amen, Aoife, He is. Thinking about Aoife makes my heart leap out, Jesus! Have mercy on us. Holy Spirit, come! Near the end of our three days in Nicaragua I was ready to return to Los Anonos. I love the people here. I feel at home here now. I want to be a part of what God is doing in this community.

I'm being careful.

With that said, I have experienced two incidents of attempted robbery in the past week. I'm fine; nothing was taken. Both occured when Rebecca and I were in downtown San Jose walking to the buses to go home.

Incident #1: I have a bookbag on with many components. I hear a zipper opening. I look back and no one is there... I guess they are fast. If they would have taken anything from the component they opened, they would have only gotten my glasses, deodorant, and some Q-tips.

Incident #2: I am walking along with my semi-new Cheers purse. I hear a knife cut through fabric. I look at my purse and find a slit in the side of it about seven inches long. Fortunately, nothing fell out before I was able to grab it. If they would have gotten anything this time, it could have been my wallet, digital camera, keys, or my coveted Spanish 501 Verbs book.

I'm lucky. Well, I don't believe in luck actually. I was fortunate, and perhaps protected. And I'll travel lighter now. Oh, and I sewed up my purse; it will survive.

Biscuit... aka Chicken Dog

While not human, Biscuit is a dear part of our team here at Harvest Hands. She brings us laughter every day. Biscuit sort of came with the house when it was purchased, and she does have a good bark that serves as a good alert when we have visitors.

She is a Rhodesian Ridgeback. They come from Southern Africa and are used to hunt lions. Part of her breed name comes from the fact that her breed has a strip of hair along her back where the hair grows in the opposite direction.

Now, Biscuit comes across as a normal dog most of the time. However, when it thunders (which is a daily occurence now that it is rainy season in Costa Rica), she becomes hysterical. And I don't mean like a stand-up comic. When the first crack of thunder strikes, she runs in the house, takes cover wherever she can find it, and trembles so much it's like someone is holding her at gunpoint.

Rebecca and I left her outside a couple of weeks ago when we went to a meeting. Upon arriving back at the house, we found her like this (see picture below). She was unable to enter the house when it was thundering and therefore tried to make cover in another way. She rearranged the furniture on the porch, knocked over a plant, and was a mess! We honestly don't know what gets into her sometimes. She brings us much joy though... and a good target for jokes.

A trip to rehab

Last Wednesday evening, we met a man at the gym that was homeless. Again last night, we saw him there. His name is Edwin. Edwin shared that he is addicted to drugs and had not eaten in almost four days. While Rodney had offered to take him to rehab several months ago, he wasn't ready then. He was ready last night. So, after we took him dinner, we made arrangements to pick him up today to take him to rehab.

We picked him up today and drove to Oasis, a Christian rehab center for men in San Jose. Upon arriving, two workers told us that they were full and could not admit him. We were puzzled for what to do. We deinitely didn't want to bring him back to Anonos to live in the streets. What else was there to do but pray for Jesus to provide a place for him?

Not five minutes later, the man who is in charge of the rehab center showed up. Rodney explained our dilemma and he said that he would make room. They took Edwin in, gave him food, and gave us all hope. I have much to learn from their willingness to make room for Edwin in their life.

Matthew 25.40 says, "... the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'"

Allow me to introduce...

I thought it would be good to introduce you to "my team" or my family here at Harvest Hands. So, unless something else pressing happens, you will be introduced to Rebecca, Cindy, and Rodney (not necessarily in that order). First Rebecca...

Rebecca Grace Dunning (aka Becca) is my roommate at Harvest Hands. She arrived mid-April from North Carolina. Rebecca is 25 and a graduate from Appalachian State University in international politics. She used to work in a refugee office in the States and would like to return working with displaced peoples upon her return next April. She has a passion for assisting others and putting herself in other's shoes while here learning a new language and culture.

On the lighter side: she is a lover of words, capable of driving a standard, wears fashion that I prefer over that of Sarah Jessica Parker, can make a killer chayote squash soup, has introduced me to Flight of the Conchords, and well basically... her hair says it all. We are a good team. She excels at teaching the children English in the Kinder and being brave enough to attempt speaking Spanish with everyone. I'm grateful for her contribution to the team and her friendship.

John Gilbert

On Thursday evenings, I am attending a Bible and basketball group that meets in the gym with a leader from our church, John Gilbert. Each time, we go home with an interesting story. John, Rodney, and I take down some refreshments, share a lesson from the Bible, play basketball, and sometimes John even demonstrates some martial arts. There is anywhere from 10-15 boys that come.

During the basketball time, John leaves his car parked outside the gym, unlocked. He doesn't keep anything valuable in it, but sometimes the snacks. A couple of weeks ago, a young man notified John that one of the boys was in his car (presumably looking for something to steal). John checked the car out and nothing was missing. John asked which boy was in his car and started for his home. The mother of the boy answered the door and said her son wasn't there. So, John gave the mother a bag of cookies that was going to be that evening's snack. He told the mother that her son had been in her car and must have needed the cookies. The other boys looked on in disbelief.

As they were leaving the house, John asked the boys what they should do when someone slaps them in the face, and they replied, "Turn the other cheek."

John reminds me of one of the men in Donald Miller's book, "To Own a Dragon." He is a good father-figure to the young men in this community, and I am so privileged to be able to participate with him every Thursday.

Playa Quiones

Two weeks ago, we took a mini-break from work and went to the beach for three days. After a five hour drive to the west coast, we arrived at Playa Quiones. I have been to the beach once before in Costa Rica in June of last year (Punta Leona), but this was different.

A friend from our church here allowed us to stay at her rancho on the beach. We felt like we were camping on the beach. It was amazingly beautiful, quiet, and the locals were extremely kind. Most of the time we swam, surfed, read books, cooked great food, and chatted. One morning we purchased fresh red snapper from the fisherman. The amount of shells we collected was astronomical.

Check out the link to my photo album to see other pictures including the howler monkeys in the backyard, bats, crabs, and some of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen. I definitely would like to visit Playa Quiones again in the future. Strangely enough though, after three days there I was ready to head back "home" to Los Anonos.

A visit with Doña Carmen

Doña Carmen is 96-years-old, fragile, and one of the cutest elderly ladies I have ever met. Her smile is lacking teeth, but certainly no joy. She has lived in Los Anonos for almost her entire life. Most of her family members have passed away, or she is estranged from them. Her two previous houses built on the same property where she currently resides have been destroyed in fires. We have learned from a past visit that she really enjoys a cup of coffee.

So, yesterday, we arrived at her home with a mug of black coffee thinking we were just peachy! We had no idea what was about to happen...

Upon entering Doña Carmen's home, we greeted one another, and she invited us to sit down. She shared that she was feeling better, as she was sick the last time we saw her. We offered up the coffee and she was grateful. After I poured it into one of her dirty looking mugs for her, she took a swig. No sooner was the coffee in her mouth and there was a look of disgust on her face. Very slowly she bent forward in her bed, stuck her head over the edge, and then spit it all out onto the floor of her home. I was rolling laughing at this situation, and at the same time felt awful for being the cause of such an unpleasant experience for her. Yes, she wanted sugar!

I'm not a coffee drinker, but next time I visit Doña Carmen it will be with more coffee and LOTS of sugar.

Our Wednesday night group

On Wednesday evenings, we have "church" in the local gym. Really, it is an outreach from our church, the Escazu Vineyard, to Los Anonos. We have about seven groups for youth and one for mothers. I help out with the girls group for 9-12 year-olds. We pray together, share a teaching from the Bible, and just about always do some jump rope at the end with a snack.

The girls in our group are full of energy and always wanting attention. Ale, the leader, and I decided to take them to the park for a Sunday morning. We rounded up seven girls and took the mile and a half walk to Parke Sabana. The weather was perfect. We played on the playground, tasted salted mangoes (a favorite treat here), ate ice-cream together, and took lots of pictures . Even though I am not able to communicate well because of my limited Spanish vocabulary, we are able to laugh and play together.

It was great to get them away from their community for a few hours and see them playing. It seems to me that so much of the time they are having to be adults: raising younger siblings, experiencing poverty, seeing drug use, and always feeling unsafe in their own neighborhood.

I look forward to taking them to the park in the future and allowing them to "be kids" for an afternoon.

Holidays

I think there has been at least four holidays here in Costa Rica since I arrived on March 1st. One of them being Holy Week for Easter. Ticos looove to celebrate!

Today is another holiday... I think it is Labor Day. The schools are closed, government offices are closed, ... oh, and the trash that is now setting out in a huge downpour as I type this blog is not getting picked up today. Whoops. Another thing, winter is starting here (perhaps today) and is characterized by daily afternoon rains. It's a good excuse to take a nap... thunder and a holiday (typed as I yawn).

Last night there were a lot of people out having a good time... I was unaware since I sleep like a log, but Rodney and Cindy told me that they saw lines outside of bars as they were driving to the airport to pick up a friend.

I wish we had this many holidays in the States. Or, maybe I'll just have to move to Costa Rica permanently. Hmmm...

Marcha

Last Wednesday, Marsha (called "Marcha" by all the children in Anonos) returned to Maine. Marsha was with Harvest Hands for almost a year. She didn't speak any Spanish before moving here and was able to do just fine in any conversation by the time she left. I only had a month and a half with her, but tried to glean as much as I could. She is wonderful with the children and can make any funny face imaginable.

I know that Marsha will return to do ministry with children in the future in Costa Rica, but for now she will resume attending college in Maine and being with her mom and brother.

I miss you, my friend (and am nervous about doing home-visits without you). You are in our prayers.

The boycotting continues.

I was asked before departing Ohio if there was a Wal-Mart in Costa Rica. I said no. Again (nothing new for me), I am wrong. There is a Wal-Mart in Costa Rica; actually, there are several. They are called Hiper Mas here, but is owned by Wal-Mart.

Rebecca and I have made a pact to not purchase anything from Hiper Mas. I have been in it twice since arriving and the prices are horrible (very expensive). We have also made a pact to not eat at any restaurants that are chains from the States. I went to Quiznos already, but no more! Here is a picture of our pinkie swear. :-)

King Kong

There are many men and women in Los Anonos that are addicted to various substances. The most common drug is crack because of it being so inexpensive here. The river running through the community is highly polluted and brings many metals that people collect and sell to have money for their drug of choice. It is a daily occurrence to see someone with a canvas bag on their shoulder carrying their latest finds.

Harvest hands has had the privilege of befriending four men in particular in Anonos that are addicted to crack: Martin, Jason, Javier, and "King Kong".

This past Thursday, I was meeting a young man down near the planche (the gym) in the afternoon so that we could discuss with him the possibility of taking him to a place to have a home and education. I took him some leftovers since I knew that he hadn't eaten in a while. We had enough to make two plates, so I took two in case I ran into one of the above mentioned four men. I did.

As I was waiting, King Kong crossed the bridge towards me. I greeted him and asked if he was hungry. When I offered the food, he was grateful. As he walked away and immediately started eating his lunch, he looked back at me several times. I think he was surprised that a young lady that he has only seen around a few times would approach him in this manner.

The odd thing was that I think I was the one more blessed. The act of kindness made me feel more human than normal.

"Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me." - Matthew 25.45

To market, to market...

Contrary to my usual Saturday morning habits in Ohio, I wake up around 5:30am here. Saturday is THE day to get the best fruits and vegetables! Yes, there are produce stands, produce available in the grocery stores, and even people selling bags of mangos, peppers, what have you in the middle of the street as you are driving by. However, nothing compares to the farmer's market, called "feria" here.

We leave the house no later than 6am. The feria which lines an entire street for at least half a mile is filled with stands of farmers offering their harvest. If you go much later than 7am, it is hard to move through the crowd of buyers. Some people rent a grocery cart while there. Most have a cart on wheels. We have a cart and also carry several cloth bags.

There is no bartering at the feria. The prices are clearly marked and you can choose where to purchase your carrots, cucumbers, papaya, etc. I think the only thing I haven't seen is blueberries.

On a normal week, we spend about $20 at the market. And then we spend an additional $3 for a large bouquet of flowers for the house. The bouquets we purchase would easily go for fifteen dollars and up in the states.

Here is a picture from our purchase from last week... $20 worth. It's amazing!!! There are two large bunches of bananas, two pineapples, three packages of strawberries, seven bags of different greens, a bag each of tomatoes, carrots, mangos, and tofu, three really large beets, cabbage, oranges, and sprouts. In other words, ... I'm eating really healthy!

Prayer with Funda Vida

Today was an interesting day. I was supposed to be working on projects here around the house in preparation of a team that is arriving on Monday. As a day in Costa Rica goes, the plans got changed.

Eladio, the director of Funda Vida (www.fundavida.org), came to the house with a pastor, Raul, that lives in the southern part of Costa Rica near Panama. They asked us to join them in going to a nearby community to pray regarding a piece of property that Funda Vida is considering using. Funda Vida has a total of four different sites in four different communities.

We arrived at the first community, Vienticinco de Julio (25 de Julio), and looked around the potential site. Our plan was to walk the perimeter of the town while asking God to intervene in the community. A friend of Eladio was driving through and stopped to chat with him briefly. While they were chatting, the rest of us witnessed an attempted burglary. A woman was trying to reach in to someone's house through the front door and grab items. The man who lived there was outside on the top balcony and saw her. He quickly went inside and returned to the balcony pointing a gun down at the woman at his front door. I didn't know whether to run away or stay and watch to see what happened. A few words were exchanged, rather calmly, and then the woman walked away. Talk about (culture) shock!

The next two communities that we went to had positive experiences (Concepcion and Linda Vista). In Linda Vista, we actually had the privilege in praying with a young boy, Daniel, who decided to accept Jesus as his Savior. He saw us praying in his community and invited us into his home to ask God to bless it. While inside with he and his grandmother, he told us of the decision that he wanted to make today. We were thrilled to be witnesses to his choice!

Los Animales

Not only does being in a different part of the world bring a new language, it brings new creatures too. Okay, I guess not new creatures, but definitely ones that I'm not so accustomed to seeing on a daily basis.

First of all, DOGS! There are dogs all over the place. Pets, strays, big, little, fat, mangy, nice, mean... oh, and dogs that attack me! We were doing a home visit last week and upon being let in the front gate to the home, the youngest boy was holding down a dog. Unfortunately, he wasn't holding on tight enough and the dog got away and attacked my foot, biting me on top of my sandal. The dog didn't break any skin, but my foot sure did hurt! Here's an example of what most of the dogs look like:



While doing some produce deliveries for Funda Vida, we came across this man and his "pets" traveling down the road. Yep, right in the middle of town.



You know how birds will run into your windows at home? Well, we had a humming bird INSIDE the house trying to get out through the window. Here is me taking him outside:



Second attack: Although this one I'm sure didn't do it on purpose, it wasn't comfortable when my foot found him inside my shoe yesterday morning. I'm sure glad I had socks on for some cushion.

Home Visits

At least twice a week, Marsha and I venture out to do a home visit with a family. We are always trying to make new contacts, but at the same time we want to continue to deepen relationships with families we already know.

Last week, we visited a family that is fairly new to Anonos. They moved into the area about five months and have a home that is about 10 by 20 feet in size. Winston and Ana (the parents) have three children: Ani is their oldest, and they have twin daughters, Nicole and Jacqueline. The twins are two-years-old; however, Jacqueline was born with part of her brain paralyzed. She hasn't developed at the pace as her twin and has to eat through a tube in her stomach.

The visit was really good. We took bread and some desserts in celebration of Holy Week. We shared the bread and some Coca-Cola with the family. As the children colored, Marsha found out that the reason they moved to Anonos from another nearby community was because the other community had a lot of marijuana smoke that was affecting Jacqueline's health. They have since got plugged into the church down the street from them and seem to be doing well.

Mom and Dad are very grateful for their special daughter and allowed us to pray for her healing. We also were blessed to pray for them and be an encouragement to their situation. Winston works away from Anonos and is probably only home on the weekends like many of the men here. Please pray for healing for little Jacqueline and for this family.

One down, five to go.

I've been gone from Columbus for a month today. It doesn't seem like it has been that long. I honestly don't even want to think about it... if the rest of my stay goes this fast, I will feel as though I've only been here for a couple of weeks.

My days through the week have a pretty predictable pattern. Getting up, getting ready, having breakfast (there is so much fresh fruit I don't know how to contain myself). Several days a week, the team gets together to pray for everything that is going on, and on Tuesday mornings we have a staff meeting to discuss progress and upcoming projects. During the day we are busy with house work, running errands, and doing administrative work for the projects we are involved in. The late afternoon is a good time to do home visits with families in Los Anonos. Most of the ministry however takes place in the evenings when people are home from work and school.

In the near future we are going to start/resume several projects that I will be heavily involved in. Every other Saturday, we will be doing clean-up in the community. This basically means picking up trash as there is a huge litter problem here and the river water is very unsafe. I will also be starting an English program for a small class of adults. Next week, I am meeting with an attorney in San Jose, Rosio, who has access to a great free dental clinic. We would like for more people in the community I live in to be aware and take advantage of this opportunity. So, I will be doing some organization to get that up and running.

On Monday, I will be starting with a Spanish tutor. His name is David and he is originally from Columbia. He will be working with me for about four hours a week.

Blah, blah, blah.

I knew it would happen sooner or later, and I was hoping for later. I got a stomach virus. It isn't anything that warrants a visit to the doctor, but rather just a dozen visits a day to the restroom (sorry to those of you with a weak stomach reading this).

At first, I thought it was just my body adjusting to the new diet and bacterias in the water. However, my roommate had a similar experience on Sunday and my symptoms match almost exactly. We're hoping no one else in the house catches it!

I was out of commission yesterday for any work that needed done, and I didn't make it to the English lesson at the Kindergarten class this morning. So, I stayed inside and was able to get some house chores down at the very least. However, I'm hoping to be back up and running to help set-up for the children's ministry program tonight. They are always short on hands, so I'm going to do my best to tough it out.

Being sick while not at home makes me realize how many things I take for granted: easy access to medicine, a bed that I'm super comfortable in, Blockbuster down the street, and Simply Orange orange juice.

Teaching English

On Mondays and Wednesdays, I go with my roommate Marsha to the school in Los Anonos. In the mornings there is a kindergarten class of about 30 students; in the afternoon there are about 20 preschool students. Marsha gives them lessons in English to help them learn another language and get a perspective on a different culture. This past week they were learning colors, body parts, and animals. We had a lot of fun doing the song, "Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." The kids are SO cute!!! Like every class in America, there are the really sweet girls and rowdy boys. Ha!

Sometimes the children try to speak to me and I have no idea what they are saying. I feel so dumb not being able to understand a four-year-old. Thus, I will begin intensely learning Spanish in two weeks with my teacher, Xenia. She will be with me for two hours a day, four days a week. I'm excited to get started!!!

Hablo espanol un poco.

Three years of Spanish in high school was good, but surely not good enough. To know how it feels to be living in a Spanish-speaking country and not speak the language well, check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngRq82c8Baw. I think you will be able to empathize with me.

I'm here, finally.

Home, sweet home. I arrived in Costa Rica yesterday around 2:30 in the afternoon. Marsha, who will be my roommate for the next month, picked me up at the airport. We went home so I could get unpacked and settled in. There is currently a team here from Maine. It was nice to sort of jump in with some activity going on. This first picture is the front porch at the house I'm living in.

Today, I'm just relaxing and getting acclimated. The weather is about 80 degrees, but not humid at all (sorry to all the Ohio people that just read that).

Here is the view from the house. The barrio that you are looking at is Los Anonos which is the community that I'll be working in.

From the house, you can see mountains and an active volcano.

The house is really nice that I'm living in. There are five bedrooms and four bathrooms, a great kitchen, several living areas, plenty of hammocks to lounge around in, and porches with great views. We also have a guard dog, Biscuit.

This morning I was awakened by the "egg-man". This is the guy that walks through the barrio selling eggs early in the morning. I think he must use a megaphone of some sorts because he was very loud! He's like an alarm clock with no snooze button. Oh well, work has to start sometime.

Tomorrow, tomorrow...

In less than five hours my alarm will go off. I'm heading to Orlando airport tomorrow morning. It's a 1.5 hour drive there, then a 1.5 hour flight to Charlotte, NC, than a 4 hour flight to San Jose, Costa Rica (all with layovers and waiting in between). I should be in Costa Rica around 2:30 pm their time (an hour behind home).

I'm excited to finally get there! The last couple of weeks have been sort of hectic and fun being in California and having a few days with my mom and stepdad, but I'm ready to start the mission. Please pray for traveling safety. I can't believe it has been about eight months since I was there. It seems like I was just there a few weeks ago.

I'm trying to anticipate what it will feel like to know that it is my home for five and half months. Hopefully I won't get too homesick, and hopefully it will be a very successful mission.

Hasta luego.

San Francisco, California

San Francisco is a fantastic city! This past week I was able to travel to California with my third family, the Hitchcocks. :-) We were all to arrive in Oakland on Thursday afternoon. Well, I arrived Thursday afternoon, and the remaining three arrived on Friday. The Hitchcocks were stuck in St. Louis for a night due to bad weather conditions. So, I got an evening with their friends whom I'd not met before and they were great hosts to me, a stranger.

On Saturday, we travelled to Napa Valley and did the wine country thing... it was beautiful! We toured the Sterling Vineyard, the Culinary Art Institute, Dean & Deluca, and the Castle of Amorosa. Lots of wine tasting, cheese tasting, and one interesting lemon float/dessert. That evening we took a trip to Salsalito for dinner at Angelino's, an Italian restaurant. Yum!

Sunday, we went to Bodego Bay on the coast. The waves were huge and it was extremely windy. My hair didn't hold up to well. We ate at a seafood restaurant that is on the same lot where scenes from Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" was filmed.

The highlight was on Monday... shopping in downtown San Francisco! We did stop by San Francisco State University in the morning, then we headed to the Piers. We ate lunch there and proceeded downtown to shop until we dropped (almost literally). We had just enough time to grab dinner in Chinatown before heading back home.

I definitely want to go back to San Francisco!

What will I be doing in Costa Rica?

Well, that's a good question. I have a good idea of how some of my time will be spent; however, I'm sure there will be alterations along the way. Here's a sampling of what I'm expecting:

• Assisting with teaching English
• Hosting work teams from the States
• Helping with a rapidly growing children's ministry program
• Doing home visits and praying for the sick
• Learning Spanish with a tutor
• Offering some administrative assistance to a school that is starting up
• Probably serving in some capacity at the church I'll be attending

There will probably be other opportunities, but I'll have to see how full my schedule is. The more activities - the better my Spanish will become. Tomorrow, I'm heading to San Francisco with the Hitchcocks! Flight leaves at 8:15am. Until later.

Where is Costa Rica?

People keep asking, "Where is Costa Rica exactly?" So, here's a map. Costa Rica is in Central America between Nicaragua and Panama. It's green in this map. The time difference from Columbus, Ohio to San Jose, Costa Rica is only an hour.

Passport Frenzy

I moved out of my apartment over the weekend. I was sad to say goodbye to my friend, Christina. We had lived together for over three years. I'm going to miss her a lot.

Now I'm living for a few days at Veronica's home, out of my suitcases. I almost had a panic attack Sunday evening... I couldn't find my passport! I just kept thinking of all the bags of trash I took out and wondering how I would ever find it. It was packed away in one of my bags among things that I should have never put it with. There should be a manual for how one goes about moving out of the country short-term. I can follow directions well, but figuring stuff out on my own is somewhat comedic.

I'm not superstitious, but I keep having these thoughts that I'm going to break my leg right before I leave. Everything has gone so well in the preparation process that I keep thinking something bad is going to happen. Raising support went much better than I expected. My goal was to raise 40% of my entire budget; I've raised over 50%. :-) My work is allowing me to come back to the same job that I have now upon returning. And, I have a living situation already set up when I come back. It's all gone so smooth and I'm AMAZED! I am really thankful to God because I believe it is Him that has put this opportunity before me.

What Time of Day Am I?

Some favorite quotes...

Here are some of my favorite quotes. Some of them are inspiration for my time in Costa Rica. Enjoy!

"I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no hurt, buy only more love." - Mother Teresa

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song." - Maya Angelou

"I am nothing special; just a common man with common thoughts, and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten. But in one respect I have succeeded as gloriously as anyone who's ever lived: I've loved another with all my heart and soul; and to me, this has always been enough." - Noah Calhoun

"If you follow Jesus only because he makes life easy now, it will look to the world as though you really love what they love, and Jesus just happens to provide it for you. But if you suffer with Jesus in the pathway of love because he is your supreme treasure, then it will be apparent to the world that your heart is set on a different fortune than theirs." - John Piper

"I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air." - Nathaniel Hawthorne

"The Advocate: This is not about rescue, so as to feel good when the child lights up with a smile. This is not about the comfort of compassion. This is hard work, struggling with ripped families and children in clouds of pain, anger dancing round their hearts in the turmoil of a world made crazy. This is caring, yes, but also what is just, what should be demanded. It takes love and a certain amount of courage. And in the simple act of person helping person, it becomes extraordinary." - Mercedes Lawry

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

"The life which is unexamined is not worth living." - Socrates