Saturday in Costa Rica

We're sitting at the airport this morning waiting for our flight to Guatemala City. Before we leave, I thought I'd reflect on the week. The people of Central America never cease to amaze me; they are so warm and welcoming. Although we were only here one week, we have a whole church full of new "best" friends.

Friday morning's devotion was a time of testimony and the stories of divine appointments were amazing. As usual, the team members acknowledge that they were challenged and changed by the trip and there was much talk about returning next year. We were especially blessed by getting to know Truman from Corinth, Mississippi. It was his first mission trip out of the country. He was a great witness and his gospel presentations on two different evenings were clear and compelling. It was such a privilege to get to know him and we pray that our paths will cross again.

Yesterday morning the team visited the school across the street from the church. Each small group presented a cultural lesson on Thanksgiving. They were able to share about the history of Thanksgiving and present day traditions. The students seemed to be the most interested in the descriptions of the food we eat! Although they could not mention religion or a specific church, they were able to transition to the gospel presentation as they explained the significance of giving thanks to God for his blessings and provisions.

Last night's reception went well. Jorge, Erica and Isaac (we met them Thursday night) were there. They are excited about becoming a part of VidaNueva and I'm sure we will see them at church the next time we are in Costa Rica.

Well, there's so much more, but we will be boarding shortly, so I will finish up by adding a few pictures later today. Please pray for us as we begin VBS in Guatemala. Although we didn't have any inflatables to "wrestle" in Costa Rica, we will have them at the evening campaigns in Guatemala! Also, pray for our physical strength. As a friend of ours said we're on our "Central America in a month tour" during November!

Pictures: 1. Three amigos at the campaign Thursday night, 2. Roger and Natalia (Pastor Rodolfo's daughter), 3. Jorge, Erica and Isaac at the reception Friday night.

Thursday in Costa Rica

It's amazing how fast the week flies during a campaign. The weather has been holding--last night we had a light mist, but no rain. In fact, last night was the largest attendance at the evening movie. We have been bringing plastic chairs (from the church) to set up in front of the screen so that people don't have to sit on the damp/cold ground. Last night a little boy brought his own seat.

We spent three days in the park close to the church and the response has been very good. Today we went to a park in downtown San Jose. Tonight is our final evening campaign because there is a reception at the church tomorrow night. We're praying that many of the individuals who made professions of faith or who were searching for a church will attend the reception.

Pictures today: 1. Two precious best friends in the park--they really loved dancing to the music we played. 2. Bring your own bucket to the movie and you'll always have a place to sit! 3. The smiling translators; we couldn't share without them--they are amazing!

Tuesday in Costa Rica

Hurray--there's more sun than clouds today, at least for the moment. It was really cold yesterday (at least by my standards now) and last night's wind didn't help much. We're praying for more sun and warmer temperatures as people do not want to come to the evening movie when it's cold outside.

Today we are back to the central park. Yesterday the teams presented two dramas and four of the men shared the gospel. The rest of us shared one-on-one throughout the park.

This may be the shortest post ever--it's off to devotions and then to the bus. More later.

Sunday in Costa Rica

This morning started with a great service at Iglesia Bautista Vida Nueva, San Jose. With more than 24 gringos and another 6 Salvadorans, there was standing room only! Pastor Steve Kern from our church in San Salvador preached in English (yea!)

After church we went to TerraMall for lunch at the food court. First time we've seen a Taco Bell since we left. Of course, we had to eat there even though we never ate there when we lived in Lee's Summit.

I've attached several pictures of the Virgin of Los Angeles Basilica in Cartago, Costa Rica. We visited this church because Pastor Rodolfo wanted us to understand the religious culture of the country and the many rituals associated with it. Here's the story of this church which was constructed in 1639: the Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels is consecrated to the Virgin of Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles, a small representation of the Virgin Mary carrying the infant Jesus, said to have been discovered by a peasant girl in Cartago. The story goes that the little girl found the small statue on a rock and took it home. The next morning she found that the statue was not there but back at the rock, so she took it to the priest and he locked it in a small box. The next morning the statue was back at the rock. During the construction, the church was destroyed by earthquakes so many times, it was finally decided to move it to the location were the statue was found and they were able to finish construction. Many people think that the earthquakes were signs that the Lady of Los Ángeles wanted the basilica built there. The original statue is kept in a golden shell inside the basilica. An official decree declared the Virgin of the Angels the official patron of Costa Rica. In August the Basilica is the object of extensive pilgrimage and visitation by about 1.5 million believers throughout the country, many of whom join in the celebrated 22-kilometer walk to the basilica during the Romería. Though many people start the pilgrimage from locations all over Costa Rica, some, as a demonstration of their piety, choose to crawl the 22 kilometers on their hands and knees.

Additionally, there is a fountain which is believed to have healing power. Visitors wash themselves and drink the water from the rock on which the statue was found. Scientists have since found this water to be safe to drink even though no filtration or chemicals are used to purify the water. (We witnessed many people drinking the water or washing with it; there is even a vendor selling plastic bottles that people purchase to take some of the water home with them.)

The basilica is open all day long and there were many people there today, some were praying, others were just there to take pictures. Another tradition there is for people who are sick to bring small silver medals shaped like body parts, where the shape represents the body part the person is concerned about. The medals are left in front of the statute in hope that they will be cured. After a time, these medals are collected and stored in a "museum-like" room in the basement of the church.

I've attached several pictures--it is a beautiful building, but it is not the "church." Believers, as the body of Christ, are the church and we are to be about our Father's business. Please pray for the team this week as we share the gospel with the people of Costa Rica.

Early trip to the airport

Up at 4:30 this morning to finish last minute packing and pick up the house. William arrived at 5:20 and we were off to the airport. We're now at the gate waiting for our 8:30 flight to San Jose, Costa Rica.

Yesterday we made a trip to the bank to pay our rent. I have talked about how we can pay our electric, cable and water bill at any bank, but for rent, we must go to the bank where our landlord has an account. We stopped at a Banco Agricola near the church (first time at this location.) There's always, always, always a line of people. First thing is to get a ticket (think license bureau) and then wait for your number to be called. Yesterday when she called our number she said: "ciento noventa y tres cajera ocho" and we knew it was us! A few months ago we were in trouble if our number was bigger than 20 and now we're okay up to 193!! That's proof that our Spanish is improving, right?

You never know what you're going to see on the road here. We were driving somewhere the other day and in the lane beside us a truck was pushing a car. We're not talking about them trying to push the broken down car out of the road, but more like they were driving down the road together and going at least 40-50 mph. Can you imagine this on Hiway 50?

Time to board so I've gotta run. Watch for more later this week.

On the road again . . . .

Just a note to say that we are going to be in 4 Central America countries this month! We will make our way to Costa Rica for the first time early Saturday morning. We are flying in and will meet teams from our church in San Salvador, from Blue Springs, MO and Corinth, MS. We won't have the full inflatable setup as it's just two difficult to get them down there--it's a two-day drive across several borders.

The following Saturday the team from San Salvador will make it's way back, but we will fly from Costa Rica to Guatemala City and meet another team from our church in San Salvador, as well as a group from Bakersfield, CA and John & Kay Winchell from ALBC in Lee's Summit. (They come bearing gifts--well, things we ordered and had sent to them--so we will be especially glad to see them.) Everyone is excited about this trip because it's VBS time--schools finished the end of October so it's vacation time and that means VBS! We will go on regular campaigns in the evening and the week will end with a super fiesta and program by the VBS kids.

The trip back to San Salvador on November 20 just happens to be the way Stephen will be celebrating his birthday this year. We will ride back in the truck with Jeff and Paula. We will be home for one week and will try to find a way to celebrate our first Thanksgiving here. On Saturday, November 27 we will start the 12-hour drive to Managua, Nicaragua for the final mission trip of 2010. It will also be our first time in Nicaragua so this will be a month of many "firsts."

Please pray for: (1) good weather as rain makes everything more difficult, (2) safe travels and border crossings for all of the teams and (3) for hearts that are ready to hear and receive the good news.

Homemade Ice Cream--Primera Ves

Remember this day--homemade ice cream was "cranked" for the first time this afternoon in San Salvador! Well, it's possible that this is a slight exaggeration; nevertheless, it was the inaugural event at our home. This awesome day made possible by my dad who shipped our freezer to Florida so we could bring it back with us and by the purchase of 8 pounds of rock salt which was tucked into our checked luggage!

Yesterday's grocery cart was loaded with eggs, whole milk and heavy whipping cream. Unfortunately, we couldn't find any half and half so we substituted whipping cream. I cooked the eggs/milk/sugar and then cooled the mixture overnight. Since I wasn't sure everyone would be an ice cream fan, I also made a chocolate sheet cake last night.

By the time Stephen and Kevin made a trip to Super Selectos for ice (wish we had a Quick Trip close to us) almost everyone was here. The cranking began at 4:30 and most of us took a turn--you know it tastes so much better if you have to help make it. Our freezer makes 6 quarts; after the 15 of us had our fill, there was one very small bowl left. We were so excited to have the Martinez family, the Aguirre family, the Flores family and Guillermo, our tutor, join us.

This was the first time, but not the last. With the dry season and hot weather heading our way, we may be cranking up the next batch of vanilla ice cream in January.

Back to Normal

Traveling is exciting, but tiring so it feels good to be home and get back in our routine. On Wednesday morning we were back in Spanish class learning another verb form--assuming we can remember, we can now say that we "might/will" be doing something in the future. For instance, "we will speak Spanish this time next year." It seems pretty easy, but when it gets mixed around with the rest of the verb forms, it manages to be confusing! :-)

Vida Nueva Baptist Church has services (and Awanas) on Friday night and then 3 services on Sunday morning. The Friday night service has become so crowded that a Thursday evening service was added--last night was the first night. Stephen and I decided to stay at church after school was over instead of driving back home. I'm so glad we did because we had a torrential downpour about 5:30 p.m. The wind and rain were crazy and it wouldn't have been a good time to be on the road. More than 65 people attended the service (a very good start) which should provide empty chairs for tonight's service.

If you know Stephen very well, you know that he loves homemade ice cream. We were able to make one of his dreams come true--we now have our White Mountain hand-crank ice cream freezer here in El Salvador. Since everyone we asked told us that rock salt was not available here, we brought 8 pounds of it back with us from Florida. Although Halloween is not celebrated in El Salvador (I don't miss it as it was never one of my favorites), we are having 3 families over for homemade ice cream on Sunday afternoon. We will definitely be taking pictures of the inaugural cranking event.

Well, that's it for now . . . . class in 30 minutes.

Wedding and Family Time in Florida

Jayme and Ramon's wedding was perfect in every way. Michael walked her down the aisle, gave her away and then went to the platform to marry them! Denise, mother of the bride, was the matron of honor. Stephen sang No Sweeter Name (English and Spanish), Beautiful and Love Never Fails--he did an awesome job. The reception was in the courtyard of the South Florida Museum. Ramon's mother, Juanita, made tamales for the reception--they were amazing!

We were able to spend time with the family on Sunday and Monday--incredible brunch at the McWhorter's home, shopping at St. Ormand's Circle, ice cream at Kilwin's, shopping at the outlet mall, ice cream at Kilwin's, cribbage on the porch, s'mores on the beach, lasagna at Carrabbas, sunset on the beach. We arrived at the airport in San Salvador last night at 6:00, made it through customs without any problems and were headed home by 7:00. We stopped at Pollos Real for pupusas because there was no food in the house.

Guillermo arrived for class at 9:00 this morning--we just barely had time to get our homework done. We were both mobbed by the kids at New Life Christian School today. They must not have believed that we were coming back! We will be teaching this week and next and then we're off to San Jose, Costa Rica for a mission trip, followed immediately by VBS in Guatemala City. The kids are going to have to get used to our comings and goings. There's lots to do to get caught up before the weekend, so I'll sign off for now. Enjoy the pictures!

Family and Florida

It's been a great three days so far here in Florida. Our plane landed at 10:40 p.m. on Wednesday; it was after midnight when we arrived at the beach house on Anna Maria Island. Even if it was late, it was great to see Michael, Denise and Jayme (the bride.)

Thursday morning was a great day for me to sleep in. Stephen went for a barefoot run on the beach and got lost. He ended up walking to the street to get his bearings. He borrowed a cell phone from somebody and gave us a call. As it turned out he wasn't too far off track; his feet, on the other hand, were in bad shape as he was barefoot on the hot pavement!

After a great breakfast, we all went pitched in to help with errands that needed to be done before the rehearsal dinner. I didn't go to the rehearsal, but stayed behind to help get everything set up for the dinner on the beach. It was great to meet Ramon's mother and brothers. We had a rousing game of Mau afterwards and, yes, everyone thinks Stephen is drill sergeant--Jill you would have been proud of him.

Friday was a fun day . . the guys played 18 holes of golf; the girls went to the spa for pedicures, etc. Kandice (our nephew's wife) and I had a nice lunch and went to the store where I was able to pick up all of the grocery items on my list (4 cans of Rotel, 4 packages of gravy mix, graham crackers and a few other necessities.) Twelve of us made our way to Gio's for great pizza. The day ended with a game of "golf" on the porch.

Today (wedding day) arrived with beautiful sunshine. Not as much fun as going to the Master's to see Carrie, but, finally, a haircut and style for me! Michael, Denise, Jayme and Stephen are already at church. The rest of us are joining them at 3:00.

We're so excited to welcome Ramon to the family . . . . pictures and more tomorrow.

Heading to the wedding

We were able to get some rest this weekend after 7 nights of campaigning. Sunday was a day to relax with a family from the church--we went to lunch with them and spent a couple of hours at Santa Elena park. It was a great opportunity for us to practice our Spanish.

We also used the time to prepare to leave for our niece's wedding. Because we will miss three days of school I prepared lesson plans for two weeks. The regular classroom teachers will follow my plans so the students don't miss the opportunity to hear, read and write English while we're out of the country. Today's plans include a bingo game for each grade: 1st grade--body parts, 2nd grade--telling time, 3rd grade--prepositions. We have individual prizes for game winners and a treat for the whole class when the game is over.

We will be driving our truck to the airport and parking it there for the week. Please pray that it is there when we return next Tuesday! :-) We are planning to pack light so that we can stock up on a few items while we are in Tampa. I would like to find a quilt store to buy material for a project that I need to get started. I have a list of several grocery items we need to replenish (Rotel and McCormick gravy mix to name a couple) and we need to find the time to buy Stephen a new laptop. The display on his very old laptop is now totally black! Of course, all of this shopping won't get in the way of the two main events! The rehearsal dinner is Thursday night and the wedding is Saturday afternoon. Stephen has been practicing for weeks now and he's ready to sing "Love Never Fails" and "Beautiful." In case you were wondering, he will be playing one of his trademark Coldplay songs for the recessional. We will be handing out with Stephen's brothers and he hope to be able to get in a round of golf. We are disappointed that Daniel, Shannon, Maleia and Jon aren't able to come. (I couldn't resist posting a recent picture they sent us from their vacation in Yosemite.) Our Skype calls will have to suffice until we see them in December.

A couple of weeks ago we asked my dad to ship our White Mountain ice cream freezer to Florida. We're excited about bringing it back to San Salvador with us. We're going to buy some rock salt (no one we've talked to thinks it is available here) and bring it back with us, too. Our first homemade ice cream party will be on Sunday evening, October 31! Can't wait to share the fun of making and eating the delicious treat! It will definitely be a taste of home for us.

Well, I've got much to do on this last day, so I'd better leave the blogging for the tasks at hand.

A few pictures of the kids at the campaign this week

Campaign in Tejutla Tonight

Thirty-two people, most of whom are from Alabama, (a few are from St. Louis) are here for a mission trip this week in San Salvador. We started with a campaign in Lourdes on Saturday night and then everyone came to church at the hotel on Sunday. Pastor Bob Griffin from Gulf Shores Baptist Church preached--have to admit we love hearing sermons in English! Sunday evening we went back to Lourdes for our evening campaign.

Because Stephen and I have Spanish classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings and teach at New Life Christian School on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, we are not able to join the team during the day. This morning they traveled to the central park in downtown El Salvador; tomorrow they will be at a central park in Aguilares; Wednesday through Friday they will be in schools.

Tonight we went to Tejutla, which is a small town a little more than an hour east of San Salvador. Pastor Manuel started a small home church there a few months ago. Jeff, Paula, Stephen and I were the first to arrive and were able to get the inflatable going. The park was very nice with plenty of space for both the slide and the movie.

Because we're working to set everything up and then working at the inflatable, we do not go door to door, but we heard great reports as the team returned to the park. The movie was well attended and the crowd was receptive. Please pray for the brand new believers in Tejutla, for Pastor Manuel's new church and for the remaining days of the trip.

Class Pictures

Well, they're not the best pictures ever, but we took class pictures for 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade today. It was, of course, a major challenge to get everyone looking at the camera so we just had to go with the best one.

The school hasn't done class pictures in the past. Stephen and I are taking individual pictures tomorrow. We are uploading them to Snapfish and having them printed in the US. We ordered "memory mate" frames that will hold a 5x7 of the class picture and a 3x5 individual picture. The frames and the pictures are being shipped to our niece's home in Florida and we will bring them back to El Salvador after we go to Tampa for her wedding. I hope none of the parents are reading this blog, because these will be gifts for the kids to give for Christmas.

I'll post a few of the individual pictures when we get them done so you can get to know our kids.

Rain is gone, winds are here

What a difference a week makes! The rain is gone and the weather has been perfect here. The wind has picked up which is a signal that the rainy season is about to get "blown away" and the dry season is going to get ushered in. Last night we woke up thinking it was raining, but it was the wind blowing leaves From what I hear, the wind will last around 2-3 weeks. So, the street vendors are all selling kites now! I don't know if they had inventory left from last year or not, but the day the rains stopped, out came the kites. Good business people must plan ahead, especially when the window of opportunity is so short!

Stephen is listening to Phil Wickham's "True Love" over and over (about 30 minutes) so he can play it at band practice tomorrow night. I sure wish we had a piano at home so he could practice the old-fashioned way. Now that I just typed this, he's moved on to David Crowder's "Oh, How He Loves Us." We're going to have some great worship music on Friday night.

Well, not that much to talk about tonight. There's a team coming on Saturday so next week will be crazy between Spanish classes, teaching classes and campaigns in the evening. Stay tuned for more from El Salvador.