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.

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.