going to panama

you can only be in costa rica for 3 months before you have to leave the country for at least 3 days. a customs officer took a closer look at the date on my passport the other day so i thought i'd better adhere to the rules this time.

also because God said i am only here for one year, and who knows maybe i won't be back, and as i am so close to the panama canal i thought it would be a good reason to go see it.

also it just happens to coincide with when costa rica's national soccer team will be playing in panama.

chico's family

turns out he's been working with an uncle who told him his mother and brothers live in costa rica. yesterday he found out where they live and he plans to go visit them this weekend. he hasn't seen his mother for 12 years or his brothers for 10 years. needless to say he's just a little nervous. scared but very happy.

did she abandon him because she just couldn't afford to feed him anymore or?

people have taken him in and taken care of him for as long as they could afford to feed him. now he's returning the favour. he has a huge, generous heart and is feeding and taking care of those that have been taking care of him.

marriage proposal

yesterday one of the fellows i've been working with asked me to marry him. he's a hunk but i said no, it'd be like robbing the cradle. after we finished what we were doing then he asked me to go on a date. might've been fun but i didn't want to encourage him. one thing here age just doesn't seem to matter.

feeding the hungry

yesterday i was reading a brief article in 'in touch' magazine on the life of the man that started world vision and samaritan's purse. i read ''people of the world are so hungry to hear the gospel'' and i burst out crying. where i am living and in the surrounding communities that i go to i see people or hear of people that are so hungry, period. i hadn't planned to do anything but stay home yesterday cuz i was coming here to san carlos today and monday i was in a couple of different villages and thursday i am going back. but right after reading that line and crying it was like God was touching my heart to get busy and do more.

i know when we were giving out sandwiches to the street people in mission it touched my heart. as i walked down the alley to give food to the addicts in a crack house all of a sudden i started crying because it was like God was touching my heart telling me i was where He wanted me doing what He wanted me to do.

the bible talks about feeding the hungry, clothing the poor. as i read that line i thought but i don't know how to speak the gospel to people and i certainly can't speak the language, but what i did think was that i do want to help feed people that are hungry, to provide seeds and tools so they can help themselves, to provide school supplies, clothes, toothbrushes, whatever. i think of other people and agencies in canada that are there to help people and think i belong here because there aren't enough people or agencies or money here to help the people and there is such a great need.

going home

took a break for a week and went to stay at a friends place an hour west of san jose. she has two very beautiful houses set in an incredibly beautiful acreage that has to be a replica of the garden of eden. i was in one house by myself and read a lot of books for a week. there was a young couple staying in the other house where the tv and phone are. it is set in the mountains and even in the middle of the day it was dark and you could almost feel the jungle closing in on you. the houses are almost brand new with up-to-date modern conveniences. it was much cooler, from mid to high 30's in amparo to low to mid 20's. there were no mosquitoes, no gargantuan spiders inside. there is a pool that overlooks the central valley. you would never have to leave except to buy groceries. there is a man that takes care of the grounds and his wife cleans the houses once a week. the flowers, the trees, the birds, the butterflies. everything was just so clean and beautiful. i was living in the lap of luxury.

and i was miserable. as i weighed the pros and cons about returning home to amparo i thought of how poor and broken down the house is, the garbage (no pickup here), the smells (smokes from the fires, burning mosquito coils inside the house, poisons to kill the various bugs, chickens in the house, rotting fruit), the huge spiders, the roosters, the mosquitoes, bats, snakes, toads, coakroaches, billions of ants, etc. in the house, cooking and cleaning and laundry for 9 or 10 people i wondered about the ache in my heart. i had read several books but none of them were the bible. when i finally stopped reading and started talking to God i knew i wanted to go home. i was so unsettled for a week and once i'd made the decision to go home i was so excited. last night i made dinner, cleaned, did laundry, helped the boys with their homework, talked with them. i had missed them so much. i was home. i was content.

there really is no place like home.

God's faithfulness

never ceases to amaze me. even though i haven't spent much time with Him lately, when i returned home yesterday after a week away i was loaded down with 2 very heavy backpacks and 3 more bags. i knew i wouldn't be able to carry them the hour walk home from the highway and i had hoped i would be in time to catch the school bus returning to amparo from the highway. when i got off the bus there were two of the boys friends at the corner store and i asked them about the bus. i didn't understand what they said but thought that it was that there was no bus. i started off walking with all my bags and i hadn't walked very far when the boys called out to me to say they wanted to help me with my bags. no matter what it is, no matter where it is, God will always, always give us what we need when we need it. even if we lose ourselves for awhile He thankfully will not forget us. even when we aren't He thankfully is always faithful.

chico's generosity

my back and neck have been bothering me since i returned to costa rica. i have not been sleeping well because of it and one day a bed was delivered to our house. for me. from chico. this young man works 6 days a week, sometimes leaving the house and 4 a.m. to walk to whichever farm he might be working at for the day, returning 13 or 14 hours later. not all days are the same, sometimes he can only get a few hours work a day. he earns dirt poor wages, slaving under a blistering hot sun at 38 or 39 degrees, or in torrential rains. he buys clothes and other things for the other boys. he gave the most money to the church to buy the new keyboard. he helps support the family. dany and jonny graduate this year and chico has said that once dany and jonny are finished school he will go to school next year so he can get an education. chico had thought that a special bed would help my back and thought nothing of spending money to help me feel better. i explained that the bed wouldn't help so it went back. but i was touched by his generosity. and reminded of the widow who gave all she had. and of the rich young ruler who couldn't bear to part with his money. he is such a simple and awesome young man.

garden paradise

the book 'wild at heart' says 'where the geography around us corresponds with the geography of the heart' if you know me you know i have always had a lot of plants - friends have referred to my house as a jungle. now i am surrounded by them and i don't ever want to leave costa rica. i cannot imagine leaving this garden paradise or living anywhere else now. it is so beautiful.