Home and on the Campaign Trail!

You know you're back in El Salvador when . . . . . you step off the plane and it feels like it's 100 degrees and when, as you wait for your ride, you see suitcases and people in the back of all the pickup trucks! We made it home safely, ate pupusas for dinner and made a quick trip to the grocery store.

There has been a team here this week while we've been gone. Today was their final day so we joined them for church in Aguilares this morning. Pastor Manuel asked Stephen to sing--good thing he had some music with him. It was great to worship in this "country" church. Pastor Matt, from New Hampshire, preached a great sermon and Luis did an awesome job interpreting. Believe or not, we could understand almost all of the English and the Spanish!

After a couple of hours at home this afternoon, we meet up with the team at the church to go out on the final evening evangelistic campaign. I felt right at home working with the inflatable and it gave me and Paula a chance to catch up. Stephen gave the gospel message after the movie and drama.

This will be a busy week . . . . have to make a trip to PriceSmart to refill our cabinets and refrigerator, work on lesson plans for this week, teach three days, band practice Wednesday night, church service Thursday night, dedication of new restrooms in Nejapa on Friday, church service Friday night and then a trip to the airport on Saturday to pick up Daniel, Shannon and Maleia!

Plantation, Volcano & Waterfall

We finally took a day to see this beautiful country and what a day it was! We left the house at 6:45 a.m. and walked up to the tour company office where we met Will, our driver and guide. There were only four of us on the tour today, Father Antonio, from Mexico, and Cecilia, a Catholic missionary from Panama, rounded out the group.

Our first stop was for breakfast at a coffee plantation. After breakfast, we had a lesson in coffee growing, bought bags of Costa Rican coffee and walked around the beautiful grounds (no pun intended) of the plantation.

Next stop was at the Poas Volcano National Park. This is an active volcano which last erupted in 1910. The crater contains a sulfur lake which constantly bubbles and sends steam high into the air. Sometimes the crater is completely covered with clouds and fog, but this morning the weather was very clear and we were able to get some great pictures.

Final stop was at La Paz Waterfall Gardens. This place is absolutely amazing and we spent about 4 hours seeing all it's sights and enjoying a wonderful lunch buffet. We saw a butterfly garden; hummingbird garden; orchid garden; aviary with native Costa Rican birds, including toucans, parrots, macaws; pumas and ocelots; snakes; frogs, including two poisonous ones and two of the most amazing waterfalls we've ever seen.

It was a great last day in Costa Rica . . . . . tonight we have dinner with Pastor Rodolfo and Rocio. Tomorrow we head to the airport at 8:00 a.m.

Class 4--Thanks for the memories

About 6 weeks ago, I didn't think this day would ever come . . . . . but, as we well know, time marches on! It's our final day of classes at Instituto de Lengua Espanola. In grammar today we will go over our homework (yes, we had an assignment last night) like we've done every other day in class. In conversation, the class will practice our musical contribution to the graduation ceremony: "El Arca de Noe" with an awesome introduction by Sarah Henderson. The song and crazy actions will be over in just over 2 minutes, thus completing our responsibilities at ILE. There will be a multitude of pictures taken, I'm sure.

Today's reflections are much like those of yesterday, except they are centered on my ILE family:

Sarah, from Virginia, announced yesterday that she finally realized that Costa Rican senior citizens ride free on city buses. She is the most senior in our class of 5. She and I have studied together several times and her Mama Tica is a beautician who has been busy cutting students' hair (including Stephen's.) Sarah told the story of Noah's Ark for the final conversation test so we asked her to introduce the song today. As she mentioned yesterday, studying the Bible in another language causes us to "dig into each word." The rainbow is not only a visual way for us to remember God's promise, but in Genesis 9:15, God says "I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you." Thank you for your insight, Sarah, it will remind me to spend time in the "Spanish" Word where study is difficult, but rich and rewarding.

Debbie, from Saskatewan, Canada, is the speaker to emulate in our class. She admitted several weeks ago that she has been listening to Spanish music and Spanish radio/TV for more than 8 years. The words roll right off her tongue while mine, on the other hand, emerge one syllable at a time. She and her husband, Robert, are learning Spanish because they are opening a new orphanage in San Felipe, Mexico. Their story is much like ours--both are retired and they are excited about this new journey. We've shared stories and pictures of grandbabies, and she has been counting down the days (1 more) until she sees and hugs Madison and Carter.

Michael, from Lake Geneva, Washington, is a pastor and father of 2 (Caleb and Hannah.) He and his family are living in Costa Rica for a year. He and his wife, Kerri, have taken the challenge of learning Spanish seriously. Both of them teach at Liberty Christian Academy in Moravia, Costa Rica. Kerry is a 1st grade teacher (I think I'm correct) and Michael is the Bible teacher. They are serving this year in Costa Rica so they will be prepared to work with the growing Latino community in Lake Geneva. The rest of us who live with Costa Rican families can't even image how he has been able to combine family time, teaching time and studying time into each 24-hour day.

Ginny Beth, from Chattanooga, Tennessee, is almost 21 years old. When I look at her, I wonder if I could have let Daniel and Jon live in a foreign country when they were her age. She and her friend, Cameron, came together. I have to admit that I have been a bit jealous of Ginny Beth's command of Spanish grammar . . . . it is irrefutable evidence that it's easier to learn at a young age. I also admit that it is humbling to realize that she and Cameron are sensitive to God's leading at such a young age. They are preparing themselves for the future! With some regret, I ask myself when did I "really" start telling God that I would do whatever he wanted me to do! I will tell you that my 20's were a distant memory when it happened. Ginny Beth and her friends from various classes have seen much of this beautiful country--I've seen the pictures on Facebook!

We've formed a class of five--laughing together, crying together (well, almost) and encouraging each other TOGETHER. Tomorrow we will go our separate ways, but I will take memories of each of these special people with me when I go back to El Salvador. I can't wait to see and hear how the Kingdom advances because of your commitment to our Savior. Thanks for the memories!

Laundry and lunch

Today is the last morning that I will drop our laundry basket off in the kitchen. It has been a wonderful blessing to have Maju do it. Everything comes back clean, dry, folded and ironed! Amazingly, she tells me that she enjoys doing laundry! Guess that's a good thing since there are 9 people in the house and she does it all. After today, it's back to doing it myself and forget about the ironing part! Of course, it helps that I have a dryer so jeans come out ready to wear instead of drying on the line and being stiff and wrinkled.

Also, just another day or two of breakfast and lunch ready and on the table at 6:45 and 11:30, respectively. Breakfast is a time to check in with most of the family . . . . Flor eating quickly before she leaves for school, Esther eating even quicker and sometimes taking it with her when she goes to school. This morning we were able to visit a few minutes with Jose during breakfast . . . . it was an interesting conversation about how the family celebrates Holy Week (week before Easter.) Like many of our talks, it was alot about the food! Jose has enjoyed everything I have cooked from the homemade bread (he wanted a lesson on Sunday) to the sweet popcorn to the Snickerdoodle cookies! He told Flor that he had 7 of them because that is the number of perfection in the Bible. He's a hoot! Maria Jose gets up really early, eats and leaves for school by 6:30 a.m. so we rarely see her in the mornings. David and Fernanda usually sleep in.

Maju fixes lunch (and does a great job, by the way) and if she's hungry at 11:30 when we eat she will sit down and eat with us. She's a great example of a women who's always praising the Lord. I often hear her whistling or humming old hymns--"Great is Thy Faithfulness" and "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder" are two of her favorites. She told me the other day when the arthritis in her hips was bothering her that she says "Gracias a Dios" when she feels good and "Gracias a Dios" when she doesn't. I need to emulate her attitude! She made us homemade french fries for lunch today--what a treat!

It's been very special to be a part of this family. Yes, I'm going to miss the laundry service and food, but more than that, I'm going to miss everyone of them!

Last test is over!

Well, today was my last test--sure sounds good to say that! They asked us today how we wanted our name on our diploma which we're taking to mean that we will be graduating on Thursday. Well, it's more of a certificate of completion, but it may well be the most difficult diploma I ever earned.

We have learned so much and still have so much more to learn. This will truly be a lifelong learning process. We know that we are better than we were when we arrived almost six weeks ago, but it's still painfully difficult to get the right words out in a time frame that doesn't leave the other person twiddling his/her thumbs. It is unbelievable how patient everyone is with us . . . . we're going to continue to need patience when we get back home. As much as I hate to say it, it will be better for us if our Salvadoran friends stop speaking English to us!

Even though our tests are over, we still have quite a bit of homework! The teachers are doing their best to use every minute of class up to the time we finish on Thursday at 3:10 p.m. The "graduation program" is at 3:15 and each conversation class is responsible for a skit, song, dance or other form of entertainment. My class is practicing tomorrow morning! I'm attaching a copy of a couple of pictures of us reading from a children's Bible . . . . it was really difficult because we had to conjugate the verbs as we went!

La Bufanda Nueva

I finished my scarf today--I like it. I'm wondering if I'll ever be able to wear it in El Salvador? If not, I'll save it to bring with me when we go to Guatemala and Costa Rica in November!

I'm going to try to begin another one because I won't remember how to get it started if I don't.

P.S. Let me know if you want one!

Nine More Days

It's amazing how fast the last 5 weeks have gone . . . . we have 5 days of class left, but a total of 9 more days here in Costa Rica. It's too late to write much tonight, but here's a picture of a group of us who went for coffee after class this week.

We will miss these new friends! Two of the couples in the picture are starting a new orphanage in San Felippe, Baja, Mexico. Another couple is planning to work in San Vicente, El Salvador. Anyway, it will be exciting to keep up with everybody on Facebook and see the doors the Lord opens for all of us over the next 5-10 years.

Today was our last test in Conversation class--we each had to tell a 5-10 minute Bible story. Tomorrow all of us (26 students in the intensive course) and our teachers are going downtown Costa Rica to see the National Museum and then stopping at the artisan market. It should be a relaxing day with friends.

We have a very busy final weekend so watch for more blogs in the next few days.

Last Weekend

We had a great weekend and I'm just now getting around to writing about it. On Friday Rodolfo and Rocio picked us up at 3:30 and we drove to Moravia. Our first stop was at the artisan market (a nice way of saying they have typical Costa Rican souvenirs.) For those of you who have been in the "gringo market" in El Salvador, it was definitely a step up.

We left the market and drove to Rebeca's "first" birthday party. She is the daughter of Luis David, the worship pastor at Vida Nueva, and Carolina. As you might expect, there was a pinata and the guests who were older than Rebeca had a great time. Luis David and Carolina provided dinner for all of us.

Sunday was the first anniversary of the church, so there was another "party." The co-pastors, Rodolfo and Edwin, and their wives, Rocio and Veronica, have done a great job growing the church. Last February they started meeting in Rodolfo's home. Sunday more than 80 people came to celebrate the anniversary. There was special music, a slide show, Lord's Supper and a guest pastor. Stephen sang Revelation Song. We all had lunch together after the service: arroz con pollo, frijoles, salad, bread, and then cake for dessert. It was a great day of worship and fellowship.

Sunday afternoon it was back to the books to study for the test on Monday. (Now that it's Tuesday as I write this, I'm not exactly sure how successful we were with the studying. I can't even imagine how hard this would be if friends and family weren't praying for us on a daily basis.)

Sunday evening I made popcorn (sweet for Jose, David and Fernanda; regular for Stephen and me) to eat while we watched Avatar. Only Stephen and David had seen it before. It was pretty amazing and I like movies that have happy endings!

We are realizing that our time in Costa Rica is growing short--two more weeks of classes, but only one more weekend. We're going to miss the people here, but we are ready to go home and get back to work in El Salvador.

Birthdays!

This is the week for birthdays--near and far. Yesterday was Esther's birthday so we celebrated here in the house with Pizza Hut delivery. Esther is a 4th grade teacher at Sojourn Academy which is part of the Institute de Lengua Espanola. She has been living with the Chinchillas since August. I made a cake when I got home from class in the afternoon. So after pizza, we celebrated with chocolate cake and ice cream. The picture is the whole family, except for Jose who wasn't home from work yet and me, of course!

Today is Chloe Guenther's first birthday! It's hard to be here when we'd like to be giving her a hug and a gift. Her birthday party is on Saturday so the best we can do is make a phone call.

Tomorrow afternoon, we will celebrate Rebeca's first birthday. She is the daughter of Luis David, worship pastor at Vida Nueva San Jose, and Carolina. She is a dark haired beauty and we're excited to be a part of her birthday. Rodolfo and Rocio are picking us up at 3:30 tomorrow afternoon for the drive to Moravia. We don't know when we will be back, but it should be a grand fiesta!

A new superbowl tradition

Flor and I made apple pies this afternoon--they turned out great! All I can say is--apple pie and ice cream makes a great Superbowl half time snack! A new tradition is established. Next year I'll make pie in El Salvador and Flor will make pie in Costa Rica!

Lessons in Lifelong Learning

There have been lessons all around for the last couple of days. I'm not counting the fact that Stephen and I have grammar and conversation class every, though. I think I mentioned in a past blog that I'm teaching a quilting class on Thursday nights at Vida Nueva San Jose. This past Thursday night Stephen skipped basketball and went to Vida Nueva with me. He began teaching piano to Ana and Carolina.

Last night, Ruth (my Grandma Tica) taught me how she uses a telar to crochet scarves and other items. I bought my own telar and yarn and we got started last night.

Tomorrow afternoon I'm going to show/teach Flor (my Mama Tica) how to make apple pie. This may be the most interesting lesson of all because we don't have access to everything I would use if I were in the states. (Just what do you roll the crust on if there's not a countertop and you can't find a store that sells wax paper?)

Anyway, I'm including pictures from all of the classes so far. If the pie turns out well, I'll post a picture of it before it disappears into the stomachs of the 9 people who live here!

All of this to say, it's really important to be a "lifelong learner!"

Musings on the weather

If you have seen my latest FB post, you'll know that I announced to everyone back in the midwest that the weather in Costa Rica is absolutely awesome! Stephen and I just got back from a short morning walk; it's about 80 and the sky is a beautiful blue.

When I checked my FB account, there were several comments which ranged from "lucky you" to "I'm jealous." However, my favorite response was from our good friend, Keith Bond who said, "Good for you Cheryl! I guess that proves once again; 'it pays to obey God's will for your life!'"

The good news is Stephen and I are here at this moment in time following God's plan for our lives. Your good news is that although you may be in the midwest in the middle of Blizzard 2011, if you are following God's plan for your life, you are exactly where you should be.

The weather is temporary . . . . what we do for the kingdom has eternal value!