today is mefi's 16th birthday. i have watched him grow up over the past 5 years. little boys that are becoming young men. they have been my family. i love them and will miss them terribly.
today while i was sitting on the bus waiting for it to leave i looked up and down the streets of amparo and thought how this has become my home and i was saddened thinking i might never return here.
it's not with anticipation that i look forward to returning to canada. it's not that i haven't missed my family and friends in canada but it's with dread having to leave here thinking i won't be back.
maybe it's the empty nest syndrome. i worked all my life and never had a close relationship with my daughter so i've never felt the empty nest loss. there are 8 of us at home now. even if i were to return the family dynamics will have changed. chico is gone, dany and jonny hope to get scholarships to go to university and/or work next year (school starts in february) and they would be leaving home. jose thinks he may get another teaching position further away.
mimi said that as soon as patricio retires they are outta here leaving the boys to fend for themselves. don't know how soon that would be, eitel is only 14 and now mefi is 16.
Monday, October 31, 2005
dance / sex
went to a dance saturday night. dany and jonny graduate next month and their class held a dance to raise money so they can go to the beach for 3 days after graduation.
the music was basically the same sound all night long. i could not detect a change in any of the music. boys and girls danced in a circle together, sometimes the boys dancing outnumbered the girls. every so often they would have to dance in couples and then it was very cool to watch them. different styles of dance, salsa, merengue, whatever, but they basically reminded me when people used to jive.
there was one girl that was dressed and danced in such a way as to invite boys to have sex with her. with hand and body motions she beckoned boys to her and they responded with equal fervor. high black boots, about a 4'' skirt and an equally as skimpy top.
she was a high school student and as i feared for her safety i found myself praying for her.
i was enjoying watching the couples dance together but when they went back to dancing in circles, everyone dancing together i suddenly got a very black feeling. as i watched this one girl and others writhing and gyrating i felt like i was witnessing the destruction of sodom and gomorrah as the participants immorality lead them into an orgy. it was weird, a very heavy black feeling. it changed the atmosphere and i found i no longer wanted to be there. it was more like a sexual offering than a dance.
the kids have to wear uniforms to school here but afterwards - girls and some women wear the tightest, skimpiest, most revealing outfits they can find. from jeans with 1'' zippers barely covering their public bone to the extent they show plumbers butts. one tv show has a mother that wears bikini bra tops in every show. variety shows that have women wearing as little as possible and dancing (?) for the entire program.
this is a very sexually aggressive culture. hot latin nights? you betcha and it's more than the temperature although at 35, or more, degrees i can't imagine.
the music was basically the same sound all night long. i could not detect a change in any of the music. boys and girls danced in a circle together, sometimes the boys dancing outnumbered the girls. every so often they would have to dance in couples and then it was very cool to watch them. different styles of dance, salsa, merengue, whatever, but they basically reminded me when people used to jive.
there was one girl that was dressed and danced in such a way as to invite boys to have sex with her. with hand and body motions she beckoned boys to her and they responded with equal fervor. high black boots, about a 4'' skirt and an equally as skimpy top.
she was a high school student and as i feared for her safety i found myself praying for her.
i was enjoying watching the couples dance together but when they went back to dancing in circles, everyone dancing together i suddenly got a very black feeling. as i watched this one girl and others writhing and gyrating i felt like i was witnessing the destruction of sodom and gomorrah as the participants immorality lead them into an orgy. it was weird, a very heavy black feeling. it changed the atmosphere and i found i no longer wanted to be there. it was more like a sexual offering than a dance.
the kids have to wear uniforms to school here but afterwards - girls and some women wear the tightest, skimpiest, most revealing outfits they can find. from jeans with 1'' zippers barely covering their public bone to the extent they show plumbers butts. one tv show has a mother that wears bikini bra tops in every show. variety shows that have women wearing as little as possible and dancing (?) for the entire program.
this is a very sexually aggressive culture. hot latin nights? you betcha and it's more than the temperature although at 35, or more, degrees i can't imagine.
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
argh!"#$%&!
sunday chico and i went to san jose so we could be in line early monday am for him to apply for a passport to come to canada. what we didn't know was that there was a national holiday and all offices were closed monday. so we stayed another night and went to nicaraguan immigration tuesday am. after waiting in line for 2 hours we were told he didn't have the right documents, that there was no place in costa rica for him to get them and that we had to go to nicaragua. also chico needed his birth certificate which was with his sister in la fortuna. so we left san jose for la fortuna to got his birth certificate. this am we went to costa rica immigration in los chiles to get approval to go to nicaragua. the man stamped my passport saying i was leaving costa rica. then he looked at chico's documents and said he needed a cedula (like a social insurance card). this was what we were going to nicaragua for. the man said he couldn't go to nicaragua cuz although he has been living here for the past 12 years he had not entered cr legally so they couldn't give him legal passage to say that he was leaving costa rica when according to them he had never arrived.
he needs a document to say he can leave but he can't leave because he doesn't have that document. makes sense to you??? so we've determined that he has to sneak across the border to get the cedula so he can re-enter the country legally but now the man has his name on a list and if he comes back in legally will they then say he entered illegally and get sent back to nicaragua.
so we leave immigration and go to the bus stop to go back home and i remember my passport has been stamped to say that i have left costa rica. previous experience tells me i have to return to immigration to get it cancelled.
it's pouring rain so chico waits at the bus terminal for me. i get soaked walking back to immigration, the guy says it's a big problem, that they can't cancel it and basically that i have to leave the country. i told him i wasn't leaving if chico wasn't leaving with me, then he said something to me that i didn't understand but knew it meant i had to leave and i reiterated i wasn't leaving. he asked someone for help and she phoned somewhere to find out what to do. meanwhile a boatload of people arriving from nicaragua came in to the office and the man is getting mad cuz i'm holding everything up and there are all these people. after a lengthy conversation i understand that they now know how to cancel it. the woman cancels it in the computer and the guy gives me another form to complete and tells me to wait 1/2 hour. ok don't want to - the bus is leaving in 20 minutes. i complete it and want to give it back to him and he makes me wait 15 minutes, stamps it annuled, finds the first identical form, stamps it annuled, writes a note on it and tears up the second one he had me complete. i make the bus as it's pulling out.
ok so i don't know God's reason in this, only that i am frustrated and tired. so i came to san carlos (for another reason as well) and i'm going to get a big tub of ice cream and go to the movies.
oh i forgot to mention chico said WE could go to nicaragua next week. i am not sneaking into nicaragua. it means finding someone with a boat to take you across the river where there are armed nicaraguan soldiers and tanks. and armed costa rican police. please pray for chico as he goes alone to nicaragua.
like i know God has a reason for everything. i just can't understand what it is. unless chico is not meant to go to canada for some reason.
he needs a document to say he can leave but he can't leave because he doesn't have that document. makes sense to you??? so we've determined that he has to sneak across the border to get the cedula so he can re-enter the country legally but now the man has his name on a list and if he comes back in legally will they then say he entered illegally and get sent back to nicaragua.
so we leave immigration and go to the bus stop to go back home and i remember my passport has been stamped to say that i have left costa rica. previous experience tells me i have to return to immigration to get it cancelled.
it's pouring rain so chico waits at the bus terminal for me. i get soaked walking back to immigration, the guy says it's a big problem, that they can't cancel it and basically that i have to leave the country. i told him i wasn't leaving if chico wasn't leaving with me, then he said something to me that i didn't understand but knew it meant i had to leave and i reiterated i wasn't leaving. he asked someone for help and she phoned somewhere to find out what to do. meanwhile a boatload of people arriving from nicaragua came in to the office and the man is getting mad cuz i'm holding everything up and there are all these people. after a lengthy conversation i understand that they now know how to cancel it. the woman cancels it in the computer and the guy gives me another form to complete and tells me to wait 1/2 hour. ok don't want to - the bus is leaving in 20 minutes. i complete it and want to give it back to him and he makes me wait 15 minutes, stamps it annuled, finds the first identical form, stamps it annuled, writes a note on it and tears up the second one he had me complete. i make the bus as it's pulling out.
ok so i don't know God's reason in this, only that i am frustrated and tired. so i came to san carlos (for another reason as well) and i'm going to get a big tub of ice cream and go to the movies.
oh i forgot to mention chico said WE could go to nicaragua next week. i am not sneaking into nicaragua. it means finding someone with a boat to take you across the river where there are armed nicaraguan soldiers and tanks. and armed costa rican police. please pray for chico as he goes alone to nicaragua.
like i know God has a reason for everything. i just can't understand what it is. unless chico is not meant to go to canada for some reason.
God Has a Reason
copied from the purpose driven life daily devotional
Our reflection today comes from an eleven-year-old who wrote the following poem after hurricane Katrina struck the gulf coast. Keep in mind this is a child tackling a very big problem. I'm not sure any of us could do any better. Besides, faith comes easier for children than it does for us, which I'm sure has something to do with Jesus mentioning that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them (Matthew 19:14).
God Has a Reason
by Ryan MacDonald, Age 11
In times of sadness and cruelty,
God has a reason.
When the most horrid disaster dwells upon the land,
God has a reason.
The things that one would think would tear us apart,
Pull us into a brotherhood with God.
A shadow has fallen upon this nation
Only to be reshaped by love and hope.
Hearts have been broken from this storm,
And yet -- like a rose --
The thorn is sharp, but the velvet red petals are magnificent.
When this black hood of sorrow is lifted from our heads,
We will have learned.
We will have been changed by the Lord to love one another,
To help each other at any cost,
Whether the cost is life or death.
Blood has been shed.
Tears have dripped.
Now it's your turn to make a difference.
God has a reason.
So Ryan set out to make his own difference as best he could. He set up a brownie and lemonade stand. In spite of the questionable wisdom of this odd taste combination, he raised $274 for relief. That doesn't seem like a lot, but it's a lot for an eleven-year-old and I bet God turned it into gold.
So how about it? Ryan says it's our turn. My guess is that what's happening now in this desperate region is a little like what happens when someone suddenly loses a loved one. There is an initial outpouring of love and support, but soon after the funeral, everyone goes back to their normal lives and the loss is even greater because, for that loved one who remains, there will not be a normal to return to. It's that “second wave” of loss that usually comes later and is even harder to bear because everyone else has gone on. Indeed, these people must forge a new “normal,” and it will take time.
Not to mention the rising death and homeless toll in Pakistan where disaster has started all over again. The world is a hurting place right now, and believers all over can and will make a difference. Perhaps this is one way we can be a part of God's reason.
Our reflection today comes from an eleven-year-old who wrote the following poem after hurricane Katrina struck the gulf coast. Keep in mind this is a child tackling a very big problem. I'm not sure any of us could do any better. Besides, faith comes easier for children than it does for us, which I'm sure has something to do with Jesus mentioning that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them (Matthew 19:14).
God Has a Reason
by Ryan MacDonald, Age 11
In times of sadness and cruelty,
God has a reason.
When the most horrid disaster dwells upon the land,
God has a reason.
The things that one would think would tear us apart,
Pull us into a brotherhood with God.
A shadow has fallen upon this nation
Only to be reshaped by love and hope.
Hearts have been broken from this storm,
And yet -- like a rose --
The thorn is sharp, but the velvet red petals are magnificent.
When this black hood of sorrow is lifted from our heads,
We will have learned.
We will have been changed by the Lord to love one another,
To help each other at any cost,
Whether the cost is life or death.
Blood has been shed.
Tears have dripped.
Now it's your turn to make a difference.
God has a reason.
So Ryan set out to make his own difference as best he could. He set up a brownie and lemonade stand. In spite of the questionable wisdom of this odd taste combination, he raised $274 for relief. That doesn't seem like a lot, but it's a lot for an eleven-year-old and I bet God turned it into gold.
So how about it? Ryan says it's our turn. My guess is that what's happening now in this desperate region is a little like what happens when someone suddenly loses a loved one. There is an initial outpouring of love and support, but soon after the funeral, everyone goes back to their normal lives and the loss is even greater because, for that loved one who remains, there will not be a normal to return to. It's that “second wave” of loss that usually comes later and is even harder to bear because everyone else has gone on. Indeed, these people must forge a new “normal,” and it will take time.
Not to mention the rising death and homeless toll in Pakistan where disaster has started all over again. The world is a hurting place right now, and believers all over can and will make a difference. Perhaps this is one way we can be a part of God's reason.
Saturday, October 15, 2005
pigs
after working at a school yesterday we were invited into the kitchen for lunch. there was a huge freaking pig on the table and some guy was slicing the skin off. you fry it for a while and it's called chicharrones. it might sound gross but it's really good. the pigs head was elsewhere thank goodness. at first my stomach did a flip but then it settled as i watched the process. at least the blood wasn't dripping.
plants and trees
there were so many beautiful different plants and trees in the central valley of cr that i took several pictures and made a cd. then when i returned home i looked at all the plants and saw the beauty in them. although i never failed to see their beauty i had become accustomed to seeing them everyday.
do we get so accustomed to seeing the same people every day that we fail to see their beauty?
i saw rubber trees so big some of them you would need 3 people to surround them, others you'd need 6. they were magnificent 4 or 5 stories high. i had always had rubber plants but to see a rubber tree was very cool.
do we get so accustomed to seeing the same people every day that we fail to see their beauty?
i saw rubber trees so big some of them you would need 3 people to surround them, others you'd need 6. they were magnificent 4 or 5 stories high. i had always had rubber plants but to see a rubber tree was very cool.
escalators
something we take for granted. having been in a few malls in the month i was in san jose (wow it went by fast) i watched as people, unfamiliar with escalators, faced them, in fear of the unknown. one woman was almost in tears as her friends tried to coerce her into stepping onto the escalator. others watched in wonder at this moving staircase.
when i went to the mall with the boys eitel watched me step onto the escalator and ascend to the next floor before stepping on himself and then he put his foot on two steps and quickly had to step down.
we take so much for granted.
when i went to the mall with the boys eitel watched me step onto the escalator and ascend to the next floor before stepping on himself and then he put his foot on two steps and quickly had to step down.
we take so much for granted.
denominations
there is a new church being built in los chiles. i went there to ask if they were methodist or free methodist. he understood me completely but the look on his face made me wonder why we are all so divided inter-denominational.
if someone asked me what i am i could tell them i go to new heights which is a free methodist church but that wouldn't define me. and it shouldn't define you.
i could be baptist or presbyterian and wouldn't know the difference if we were all just Jesus freaks. it wouldn't matter which church i went to as long as i could worship in the same way.
we don't 'DO' anything for God. it's whatever God uses us for and that stems out of our worship of Him which is what He wants from and for us.
why do we have to argue about which church is right or better? why can't we all just submit our individual lives to God and leave the rest up to Him?
if someone asked me what i am i could tell them i go to new heights which is a free methodist church but that wouldn't define me. and it shouldn't define you.
i could be baptist or presbyterian and wouldn't know the difference if we were all just Jesus freaks. it wouldn't matter which church i went to as long as i could worship in the same way.
we don't 'DO' anything for God. it's whatever God uses us for and that stems out of our worship of Him which is what He wants from and for us.
why do we have to argue about which church is right or better? why can't we all just submit our individual lives to God and leave the rest up to Him?
ywam guatemala
just a bit of info on guatemala. there have been major storms and flooding resulting from hurricanes, whole villages completely buried. not sure where but there are 1,200 homeless children in one area from the recent disasters to hit guatemala.
our pastor in amparo just returned from guatemala. he said the people are even poorer than in cr. especially the larger population of indigenous people.
Children's Ministries
One of the main focuses at the YWAM Guatemala campus is children's ministries. Many children in Guatemala are in physical need and in need of love, acceptance, and Gods message. We have the following weekly outreaches to help and teach children in Guatemala City.
Visiting the Children's Hospital Ward at Roosevelt Hospital to play and read Bible stories to the children confined in the public hospital.
Bible club and weekly lessons for the children living in the city dump. (HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT LIVING IN THE CITY DUMP???) Lunch is also supplied to the children by another participating ministry.
Baby weighing and baby food handout in Tierra Nueva (a squatter community on the north side of the city) We weigh the children, ration out baby cereal and counsel the parents on care for their child.
Bible lessons for a daycare in Tierra Nueva. We share Bible stories and play with the children in the daycare.
Pastor Ministries
Cooperation among different denominations and churches in Guatemala is rare. YWAM Guatemala facilitates, and often hosts, prayer breakfasts for the pastors in our community. This ministry helps to bring local pastors together for fellowship, cooperation, and communication so that they can work together on their common community goals.
Healthcare Ministry
Since the YWAM Guatemala offers the Intoduction to Primary Health Care School occasionally the students and staff run dental or medical clinics in some of the poorer neighborhoods in the city. These outreaches are part of the training process for the health care students.
Street Ministry
We have regular outreaches to the homeless in the downtown sector of Guatemala City at night. We minister to their needs and talk with them about getting off the street and how to get back on their feet again.
www.ywamstreetrevolution.com
our pastor in amparo just returned from guatemala. he said the people are even poorer than in cr. especially the larger population of indigenous people.
Children's Ministries
One of the main focuses at the YWAM Guatemala campus is children's ministries. Many children in Guatemala are in physical need and in need of love, acceptance, and Gods message. We have the following weekly outreaches to help and teach children in Guatemala City.
Visiting the Children's Hospital Ward at Roosevelt Hospital to play and read Bible stories to the children confined in the public hospital.
Bible club and weekly lessons for the children living in the city dump. (HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT LIVING IN THE CITY DUMP???) Lunch is also supplied to the children by another participating ministry.
Baby weighing and baby food handout in Tierra Nueva (a squatter community on the north side of the city) We weigh the children, ration out baby cereal and counsel the parents on care for their child.
Bible lessons for a daycare in Tierra Nueva. We share Bible stories and play with the children in the daycare.
Pastor Ministries
Cooperation among different denominations and churches in Guatemala is rare. YWAM Guatemala facilitates, and often hosts, prayer breakfasts for the pastors in our community. This ministry helps to bring local pastors together for fellowship, cooperation, and communication so that they can work together on their common community goals.
Healthcare Ministry
Since the YWAM Guatemala offers the Intoduction to Primary Health Care School occasionally the students and staff run dental or medical clinics in some of the poorer neighborhoods in the city. These outreaches are part of the training process for the health care students.
Street Ministry
We have regular outreaches to the homeless in the downtown sector of Guatemala City at night. We minister to their needs and talk with them about getting off the street and how to get back on their feet again.
www.ywamstreetrevolution.com
ywam costa rica
DTS students impact San José!
We are now almost halfway into our first Discipleship Training School, here at YWAM San José. We have 11 students from many different nations, including the USA, Costa Rica, Jamaica & more! God has been good and we are seeing Him move in the lives of these students and are really excited about the upcoming outreach.
On Mother's Day (August 15th) here in Costa Rica, our students hit the streets of downtown San José with bouquets of flowers to give out to mothers. Many of the women welled up with tears as our students walked up to them with the simple message that Jesus loves them.
A few students went to an area with many prostitutes to give out bouquets. One girl in particular quickly took the flowers from a student while passing by. When she reached the end of the block she read the card attached to the bouquet, which had a scripture written on it. She turned towards the student with tears in her eyes, the Lord was ministering to her through that little act of love. Our students were hit with tremendous love and compassion for these women. Many were astounded by the number of divine appointments that day!
The Virgin of Los Angeles
On August 2nd, our DTS along with a team from Indiana traveled to Cartago, which was the finishing point for thousands of Catholics who were participating in a journey by foot from different places around Costa Rica to celebrate the Virgin of Los Angeles.
Our team had received a word from the Lord to go to Cartago to wash the feet of the travelers. So we headed out with medicine, band-aids and water to give out, and set ourselves up outside the Catholic church.
As people passed by, they looked at us as if we were from a different planet! After washing the feet of one women, she began to share how hard her life had been with her siblings always treating her badly. She spoke of the unforgiveness that she held in her heart towards them. We talked about God's forgiveness for His children and prayed with her, she decided at that moment to forgive her siblings for all of the pain they had caused her. She said, "I have prayed for many years to get rid of this hate, and after talking to you young people, God has truly done something in my heart!"
We are now almost halfway into our first Discipleship Training School, here at YWAM San José. We have 11 students from many different nations, including the USA, Costa Rica, Jamaica & more! God has been good and we are seeing Him move in the lives of these students and are really excited about the upcoming outreach.
On Mother's Day (August 15th) here in Costa Rica, our students hit the streets of downtown San José with bouquets of flowers to give out to mothers. Many of the women welled up with tears as our students walked up to them with the simple message that Jesus loves them.
A few students went to an area with many prostitutes to give out bouquets. One girl in particular quickly took the flowers from a student while passing by. When she reached the end of the block she read the card attached to the bouquet, which had a scripture written on it. She turned towards the student with tears in her eyes, the Lord was ministering to her through that little act of love. Our students were hit with tremendous love and compassion for these women. Many were astounded by the number of divine appointments that day!
The Virgin of Los Angeles
On August 2nd, our DTS along with a team from Indiana traveled to Cartago, which was the finishing point for thousands of Catholics who were participating in a journey by foot from different places around Costa Rica to celebrate the Virgin of Los Angeles.
Our team had received a word from the Lord to go to Cartago to wash the feet of the travelers. So we headed out with medicine, band-aids and water to give out, and set ourselves up outside the Catholic church.
As people passed by, they looked at us as if we were from a different planet! After washing the feet of one women, she began to share how hard her life had been with her siblings always treating her badly. She spoke of the unforgiveness that she held in her heart towards them. We talked about God's forgiveness for His children and prayed with her, she decided at that moment to forgive her siblings for all of the pain they had caused her. She said, "I have prayed for many years to get rid of this hate, and after talking to you young people, God has truly done something in my heart!"
soldiers and tanks
are now posted along the san juan river that separates costa rica from nicaragua and the nicaraguan ambassador has left costa rica indefinitely. the dispute between the 2 countries over the rights to the river has increased the military presence along the border and the nica gov't has threatened to add a 35% tax on all goods imported from costa rica.
nicaragua owns the river and does not want armed cr police cruising the river. cr maintains they need to bear arms to patrol the river. a tico cop was arrested on nica soil and charged with kidnapping. turns out (arresting) a nica cop who had come to cr and illegally detained 2 ticos and returned them to nica and put them in jail for 6 days.
the nica president said he will never negotiate with cr to allow them to patrol the river with arms. they will only allow commercial navigation. the ticos patrol the river to keep out nicas.
costa rica has appealed to the international court at the hague which has outraged nicaragua even more. now nica is threatening to counter-sue cr to strip them of all rights to the river.
armed aggression. it's all so stupid.
nicaragua owns the river and does not want armed cr police cruising the river. cr maintains they need to bear arms to patrol the river. a tico cop was arrested on nica soil and charged with kidnapping. turns out (arresting) a nica cop who had come to cr and illegally detained 2 ticos and returned them to nica and put them in jail for 6 days.
the nica president said he will never negotiate with cr to allow them to patrol the river with arms. they will only allow commercial navigation. the ticos patrol the river to keep out nicas.
costa rica has appealed to the international court at the hague which has outraged nicaragua even more. now nica is threatening to counter-sue cr to strip them of all rights to the river.
armed aggression. it's all so stupid.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
disasters
just reading about the storms and flooding in guatemala, earthquake and storms in india.
while north americans sit comfortably in their warm cozy homes with plenty of food to eat and clean water to drink the rest of the world is either starving, freezing, homeless, dying of disease or something.
walking around san jose today and saw several people sleeping in the open on the sidewalks.
it's hard to think of our excess when there are so many doing without the very basics necessary to sustain life.
did you get that???
so many people without the very basics necessary to sustain life.
do you understand that? it's called starvation. it's what's happening to millions of people around the world each day. it's what killing hundreds of thousands of people around the world each day.
think you can't make a difference? one person CAN make a difference.
but will you?
while north americans sit comfortably in their warm cozy homes with plenty of food to eat and clean water to drink the rest of the world is either starving, freezing, homeless, dying of disease or something.
walking around san jose today and saw several people sleeping in the open on the sidewalks.
it's hard to think of our excess when there are so many doing without the very basics necessary to sustain life.
did you get that???
so many people without the very basics necessary to sustain life.
do you understand that? it's called starvation. it's what's happening to millions of people around the world each day. it's what killing hundreds of thousands of people around the world each day.
think you can't make a difference? one person CAN make a difference.
but will you?
christmas
it's still a couple months away but christmas decorations and shopping started september 1st. the family doesn-t have much in the way of christmas decorations so i bought some stuff to make something for them. the store was packed with shoppers like it was the week before christmas. the store was filled with tons of toys of every shape and size. there was a very tiny display of nativity scenes. it was so very commercialized. people so intent on buying all the glitter and glamour of A holiday season. people with money to buy all the latest fashions, latest gimmicks, newest cd's, games or toys.
and people up north (cr) without enough money to buy food. living in shacks without lights, without water. people forgetting to celebrate the birth of christ. people forgetting the humble place of His birth. people forgetting His humbleness, His holiness. people forgetting His mercy and compassion for others and forgetting that He asks us to be like Him. His mercy and compassion extended to feeding the hungry. and He asks us to do the same. what will you do this christmas?
one person CAN make a difference. fill a shoebox or 2 or more? donate to a gospel mission to provide a christmas dinner for people that would otherwise have nothing? donate blankets to a shelter? donate winter clothes / boots to a shelter or thrift shop? donate money to buy seeds and tools or chickens or goats or fruit trees to world vision or another charity. ask your friends, family, class mates or co-workers to donate a can of food, a pair of sox, a dollar or ??? don't think your $1.00 won't make a difference. if 20 people each gave $1.00 you would have $20.
as you sit in your nice warm comfy house filling your face with more food than your stomach can possibly handle, drinking your third latte of the day, or you've bought your 20th pair of shoes, or the newest gameboy game, the latest cd, new towels to match the new paint job, i ask you to think about the other 97% (this may not be exact) of the world's population that don't have shelter never mind food.
there are storms, fires, earthquakes, floods, disasters of every kind, all around the world. the news depicts scenes of death and destruction that countries live with each and every day. almost every country in the world is facing one or another disaster it seems.
and then there are the people that have just existed without what north americans consider the necessities of life. microwave, tv, stereo, washing machine and dryer, dishwasher, stove, fridge.
if you have the money to buy food that requires refrigeration you would buy it each day but rice and beans don't require refrigeration. neither does yucca (cassava). it's a root you dig up from the ground and eat.
Jesus says if someone asks for food or water we are to give it to them. it's pretty humbling to have to ask. but where do you go when all the people are poor. who do you ask then? so for the people that can't reach out, don't know how or where to reach out, we need to reach out to them.
it's like if you want your village to be included in a world vision project you have to ask world vision to include you. but what if you don't know who or how to ask?
we that know need to help those that don't. we that can need to help those that can't.
please. remember those in need this christmas.
and people up north (cr) without enough money to buy food. living in shacks without lights, without water. people forgetting to celebrate the birth of christ. people forgetting the humble place of His birth. people forgetting His humbleness, His holiness. people forgetting His mercy and compassion for others and forgetting that He asks us to be like Him. His mercy and compassion extended to feeding the hungry. and He asks us to do the same. what will you do this christmas?
one person CAN make a difference. fill a shoebox or 2 or more? donate to a gospel mission to provide a christmas dinner for people that would otherwise have nothing? donate blankets to a shelter? donate winter clothes / boots to a shelter or thrift shop? donate money to buy seeds and tools or chickens or goats or fruit trees to world vision or another charity. ask your friends, family, class mates or co-workers to donate a can of food, a pair of sox, a dollar or ??? don't think your $1.00 won't make a difference. if 20 people each gave $1.00 you would have $20.
as you sit in your nice warm comfy house filling your face with more food than your stomach can possibly handle, drinking your third latte of the day, or you've bought your 20th pair of shoes, or the newest gameboy game, the latest cd, new towels to match the new paint job, i ask you to think about the other 97% (this may not be exact) of the world's population that don't have shelter never mind food.
there are storms, fires, earthquakes, floods, disasters of every kind, all around the world. the news depicts scenes of death and destruction that countries live with each and every day. almost every country in the world is facing one or another disaster it seems.
and then there are the people that have just existed without what north americans consider the necessities of life. microwave, tv, stereo, washing machine and dryer, dishwasher, stove, fridge.
if you have the money to buy food that requires refrigeration you would buy it each day but rice and beans don't require refrigeration. neither does yucca (cassava). it's a root you dig up from the ground and eat.
Jesus says if someone asks for food or water we are to give it to them. it's pretty humbling to have to ask. but where do you go when all the people are poor. who do you ask then? so for the people that can't reach out, don't know how or where to reach out, we need to reach out to them.
it's like if you want your village to be included in a world vision project you have to ask world vision to include you. but what if you don't know who or how to ask?
we that know need to help those that don't. we that can need to help those that can't.
please. remember those in need this christmas.
happy thanksgiving
oct 7 my utmost - God made His own son ''to be sin''... (that we sinners may become saints) and ''endured in His own body the complete cumulative sin of the human race.''
it's beyond my comprehension that Jesus suffered the agony of separation from His beloved Father. i know the heartache i feel when i sin, before repentance and forgiveness and He took sin on Himself for every member of the human race, past, present and future. billions of sinners. the physical agony would have been nothing in comparison. the song i can only imagine - no i can't.
but i am so thankful.
it's beyond my comprehension that Jesus suffered the agony of separation from His beloved Father. i know the heartache i feel when i sin, before repentance and forgiveness and He took sin on Himself for every member of the human race, past, present and future. billions of sinners. the physical agony would have been nothing in comparison. the song i can only imagine - no i can't.
but i am so thankful.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
fear
before we went to the game last night eitel freaked that i was wearing earrings, dangly earrings. he was very emphatic that i take them out cuz i couldn't wear them cuz there were people that would rip them right out of my ears as well as a very thin, simple silver chain with nothing on it. then dany said the same things. they are from the country and i was surprised that eitel said that. they're just cheap things, not gold. other strangers on the street in san jose have told me the same things.
people live in fear here. they live behind high fences with razor wire.
it's sad.
people live in fear here. they live behind high fences with razor wire.
it's sad.
propaganda
last week i ended up telling my 3 different teachers about the poverty i have seen in the northern part of costa rica as well as the story about the family living underground with rats, excrement, etc. in a different area.
they could not believe it. they could not believe that there were such poor people in costa rica. i could not believe that they could not have known this. there are poor people sleeping on the main streets of downtown san jose. people in each block asking for money. people get on the buses to present their case for asking for money, ie they can't work and need money to feed their families.
then i had lunch with the lady that was the coordinator with world vision when i volunteered last year. turned out she lives about a block from the school. i was telling her the same stories of poverty i had told my teachers. she knew. she's been there. she's seen it.
she said costa ricans don't know about the poverty in their own country because the tourism board and the government only show the good things of costa rica. the beautiful beaches, the beautiful parks, theatres, the touristy type things. they show propaganda so when people might talk to people or visit in other counties they will speak of the beauty here. not the poverty, not the ugly scenes of garbage.
they could not believe it. they could not believe that there were such poor people in costa rica. i could not believe that they could not have known this. there are poor people sleeping on the main streets of downtown san jose. people in each block asking for money. people get on the buses to present their case for asking for money, ie they can't work and need money to feed their families.
then i had lunch with the lady that was the coordinator with world vision when i volunteered last year. turned out she lives about a block from the school. i was telling her the same stories of poverty i had told my teachers. she knew. she's been there. she's seen it.
she said costa ricans don't know about the poverty in their own country because the tourism board and the government only show the good things of costa rica. the beautiful beaches, the beautiful parks, theatres, the touristy type things. they show propaganda so when people might talk to people or visit in other counties they will speak of the beauty here. not the poverty, not the ugly scenes of garbage.
priceless
friday the boys, jose, jonny, dany, mefy and eitel, came down from amparo to go to the big soccer game last night between costa rica and usa. 3 - 0 for costa rica.
it was pouring rain as we left the house and they said i couldn't take umbrellas cuz they weren't allowed in the stadium cuz the fans could use them to throw at the players. we had to walk a way to get the bus so we were soaked through before we even got on the bus.
we could see the lights as we approached the stadium and even though it was pouring rain we opened the windows so the boys could see. jose and dany have been to a big game before but the others hadn't. eitel was SO-O excited, he was almost beside himself with excitement, he was squealing with delight. i had moved to sit beside jose so eitel could look out the window and he put his arm around me and kissed me and said that this was one of those times that you just can't put a price on something. oh so true. it was priceless
it was cold and we were soaking wet and shivering but the excitement of being there in the stadium watching their favourite players was almost too much.
children in north america get really excited at christmas to see what awaits them under the tree christmas morning. i've always thought of the expression 'more excited than a kid at christmas' it didn't apply to their lives because they have never had christmas presents before last year because they've never had the money.
this was more priceless. i don't know who had more fun. them watching the game or me watching them watching the game. and of course every time we scored a goal we, as well as everyone else, went wild. we sang, we cheered, we jumped (we were standing on our seats) we waved our arms and we didn't sit for 3 hours.
the rain subsided long enough to take a few pictures so i gave my camera to eitel and he just couldn't stop grinning and taking picture after picture.
after the game we had to walk back to san jose. there were just thousands of fans (sold out game) and not enough buses. it was several kms but along the route there were people cheering in front of their houses, trucks, buses, motorcycyles and cars honking their horns and people cheering. the people were ecstatic and going wild.
it will be a night to remember for the rest of our lives.
it was pouring rain as we left the house and they said i couldn't take umbrellas cuz they weren't allowed in the stadium cuz the fans could use them to throw at the players. we had to walk a way to get the bus so we were soaked through before we even got on the bus.
we could see the lights as we approached the stadium and even though it was pouring rain we opened the windows so the boys could see. jose and dany have been to a big game before but the others hadn't. eitel was SO-O excited, he was almost beside himself with excitement, he was squealing with delight. i had moved to sit beside jose so eitel could look out the window and he put his arm around me and kissed me and said that this was one of those times that you just can't put a price on something. oh so true. it was priceless
it was cold and we were soaking wet and shivering but the excitement of being there in the stadium watching their favourite players was almost too much.
children in north america get really excited at christmas to see what awaits them under the tree christmas morning. i've always thought of the expression 'more excited than a kid at christmas' it didn't apply to their lives because they have never had christmas presents before last year because they've never had the money.
this was more priceless. i don't know who had more fun. them watching the game or me watching them watching the game. and of course every time we scored a goal we, as well as everyone else, went wild. we sang, we cheered, we jumped (we were standing on our seats) we waved our arms and we didn't sit for 3 hours.
the rain subsided long enough to take a few pictures so i gave my camera to eitel and he just couldn't stop grinning and taking picture after picture.
after the game we had to walk back to san jose. there were just thousands of fans (sold out game) and not enough buses. it was several kms but along the route there were people cheering in front of their houses, trucks, buses, motorcycyles and cars honking their horns and people cheering. the people were ecstatic and going wild.
it will be a night to remember for the rest of our lives.
Friday, October 07, 2005
God is so amazing
even in such simple little things. i finished school today and packed up to go to marcos' house in san pedro near san jose. i had about 30 pounds in my pack on my back, about 20 pounds (all books) in my other pack on my chest, and i was carrying a palm tree i had bought. i walked to the bus in san joaquin (about 1 km) the bus was sitting there waiting. i took the bus to san jose and got a taxi to the bus stop i wanted. marcos' moved a month ago and i was so anxious to get on the bus and put my packs down i got on the wrong bus. it was the bus i used to take to his other house. i was so relieved to be without my packs it didn't even dawn on me til i was getting close (within a few kms) when i realized it i thought ok no problem i'll get off after the turn off and wait for the right bus. several stops before the turn off it came into my head to get off the bus. i didn't have to wait long before the right bus came by and i got on. it went a couple of stops when i realized i would have taken the turn off and been waiting forever for a bus that wasn't coming. the right bus took me to almost right in front of the street where they live.
God is like that for me. without Him i would have been wandering around with my heavy packs wondering where the heck i was, waiting forever, or walking back to the where i'd got off the bus.
i get these thoughts, ones that i know i would not have thought about. they are so clear i just know that i have to act on them.
He just always takes such good care of me. i am so thankful that He is so faithful. always. even when i am not.
He is so amazing.
i just love Him so much. that is why i'm here. if for no other reason.
God is like that for me. without Him i would have been wandering around with my heavy packs wondering where the heck i was, waiting forever, or walking back to the where i'd got off the bus.
i get these thoughts, ones that i know i would not have thought about. they are so clear i just know that i have to act on them.
He just always takes such good care of me. i am so thankful that He is so faithful. always. even when i am not.
He is so amazing.
i just love Him so much. that is why i'm here. if for no other reason.
problems brewing
between costa rica and nicaragua. there is a border dispute and it's escalating. the san juan river that separates the two countries is owned entirely by nicaragua. it's only 1 of about 3 countries in the world to own the river separating it from another country. the costa rican police cruise the river looking for nicaraguans crossing illegally into cr. the nicaraguans don't want the cr police using the river. they have an army, cr doesn't. ticos make no bones about hating nicaraguans and after many years of wars in nicaragua they have been accustomed to violence.
the team comes to los chiles each year which is only 4 kms away from the border. pray there will be a peaceful resolution to this situation.
the team comes to los chiles each year which is only 4 kms away from the border. pray there will be a peaceful resolution to this situation.
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