Water for the Ixil (Guatemala, July 6-10, 2011)

Ixil Family of Xonca

Following a local bus ride from Atenas, Costa Rica to the airport to travel to Guatemala, a cheerful greeting from FH Staff in Guatemala City, the sweet, nostalgic taste of rosa de Jamaica with lunch, and a harrowing van ride from Guatemala City to the mountain town of Nebaj, my teammate Hudson and I were greeted by a damp, moldy room with two double beds, lumpy and sagging from age and the all-to-familiar smell of unvented sewer gasses coming from the mirror-less bathroom.  Exhausted from the journey which took us over mountains, valleys, and precariously close to unguarded cliffs and landslide-weakened roads, we promptly retired for the night.  Awakening the next morning to the foggy chill of high-altitude Guatemala, I fiddled with the shower for a few minutes to coax out what little warm water would come.  I brushed my teeth, gingerly swishing with water from a bottle, the infamous “Montezuma’s Revenge” ever present in my 

mind. 

Guatemalan Hillside & Creek

The Village Leaders of Xonca 

The day was to consist of a visit to the spring that the village leaders had discovered a year prior and hoped we could use to supply water to the 1,000+ residents of the village of Xonca.  With plans to perform water quality tests for alkalinity, hardness, iron content, bacteria presence, and bacteria quantity, we set out after breakfast, heavy-laden with testing supplies, a handheld GPS, and other odds and ends.  Little did I know, we were embarking on a 4-hour, 10km hike which would cover a total elevation change of over 400 meters (or about 1200ft).  We set off for the peak at about 9:00 in the morning, where we were told we would find the mountain spring, led by a small Ixil man and followed close behind by a train of 20 other dark-faced community leaders from Xonca.  The little 40 year-old Ixil man, Diego, who courageously led us machete-in-hand was more akin to a waterbug than a human, skimming across the muddy trails and cavernous paths with the greatest of ease.  Weighing all of 80 pounds, he quickly skipped down the trail unaware that his “gigante” Gringo brothers were trudging through the mire and the muck, ducking and dodging low-hanging branches and limbs he’d never noticed.  Outfitted with rubber boots, machetes, picks, shovels, filthy clothes and anxious smiles, the train of leaders behind us were raising a loud ruckus in the throaty Ixil language, exchanging stories of the night before and their commentaries on the excitement of the coming presidential election in Guatemala.  

Following the "Waterbug"

Our Entourage

As we marched, my legs became heavier and heavier, partly due to the load of mud growing ever thicker on the bottom of my boots with every step and partly due to the altitude and lack of oxygen causing the lactic acid to build with painful quickness.  As my lungs struggled franticly to keep up with our “waterbug”, I was constantly bombarded with questions posed in Spanish requiring answers…in Spanish.  We finally crested a hill and were welcomed by a beautiful green meadow rolling gently down to the valley below.  Here, we encountered their babbling spring of hope. 

Arriving at the spring

Spring

As we prepared and executed our water tests, fumbling with sterile bags of collected water, test strips, and collection vials, the long, dark faces of our village leaders looked on in stunned silence.  It suddenly dawned on me that they most likely had no idea of why I was spreading sweet-smelling clear gel on my hands (hand sanitizer), being so careful to avoid touching the edges of the clear, sterile bags I was filling with water from the spring, dipping little white strips of paper into the vials of water and seeing them magically change colors and then comparing them to other little squares of color.  This was a day, I was sure, they would not soon forget.  They would tell their children and grandchildren for decades to come of the day when the giant white men came to their spring to make paper change color!

Having collected our samples, GPS data, and other measurements, we made haste for Xonca hoping to miss the evening rains.  Unfortunately, the downhill portion of the hike was not any easier than the assent.  The pain that was in my thighs was now replaced by a shooting pain in my knees and heel, a nasty blister I would soon discover was building. 

The "downhill" portion wasn't so "downhill"

Waterbreak

Finally leveling off in the valley, I was hopeful that the trail would become easier.  However, much to my dismay, we made an abrupt left-hand turn into the cornfields.  I was again quickly left behind by our “waterbug” to fight the cornstalks and leaves by myself.  After an hour of fighting and swatting, we emerged into a clearing, Xonca. 

About to make the abrupt left turn...

We would soon be told that the poorest of the poor were living in Xonca and suffered from chronic malnutrition, the result of a limited diet of corn.  Corn and beans were the only crops the locals felt comfortable growing and were the only things culturally familiar.  Other organizations, along with FH, had been trying for years to introduce more nutritious crops into the Ixil diet.  The water system we were there to design was part of a multi-faceted attack on the malnutrition and disease that affected the Xonca population.  In bringing a clean, steady supply of water to the community, FH hoped to be a shining example of what God’s love was all about.  We were there, having been blessed by God, to be only a small cog in that wheel.  It was truly a blessing to have a part in the work that God was doing to bring His salvation to the Ixil people of Xonca!

Water = Life

¹¹ “Sir,” the Samaritan woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? ¹² Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
 ¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
 ¹⁵ The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
-  John 4:11-15


God uses water many times in his Word to us.  He tells us that we will only be satisfied when we drink from Him.  Even so, the Samaritan woman seems to miss Jesus's point again saying, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."  Often, when the lost's physical need for water is not satisfied, it can be very difficult to hear the words we are so desperately preaching.  


On Monday, June 13th, Josh embarks on a 9-hour bus ride to Managua, Nicaragua and another 2-3 hour ride to the province of Chinandega, Nicaragua to meet with descendants of the Miskito indians and Food for the Hungry, a Christian non-profit organization ministering to the community of Bayardo Arce.  Bayardo Arce is located on the outskirts of the city of Chinandega.  Most homes are constructed from scrap wood, cardboard and plastic with an outdoor latrine.  Families run small business ventures selling tortillas, fruit, water or other small items in the streets of the city to earn $2 - $3 per day, which is less than half of the cost of food to feed a family.  Rice, beans, and corn tortillas are the dietary staples, along with very limited amounts of fruits and vegetables because of the expense.  Regardless of the season, whether dry or rainy, the community's general health is poor due to poor hygiene, dust and dampness, or standing water that breeds mosquitoes.  They are connected to a municipal water system, with limited distribution spigots and no sewer system.  A nearby public health post has inadequate facilities for primary care or health promotion.  Common illnesses include malaria, dengue fever, anemia, malnutrition, respiratory infections and parasites.  Most of the school aged children attend one of two public schools (primary or secondary) located within 2 kilometers of the community for morning or afternoon classes. Because of economic needs of the family, some adolescents are required to skip school and help support the family. 


Critical issues in Bayardo Arce include the following:
The health of community members is generally poor because of the living standards of the community. The streets are very dirty and there are many mosquitos. Many people suffer from Malaria and Dengue fever. There are also many people that suffer from parasitic infections because of a lack of basic hygiene.  Many children especially suffer from malnutrition because they are not receiving basic nutrients in the food that they eat. Most families eat rice and beans but never any fruits, vegetables or meat.  About 50% of the community is unemployed and those that are employed are still barely able to provide a stable wage for their household.  There is not much emphasis on children's education in the community.  


This visit to the community is meant to be an exploratory trip to meet the people of this community and understand their needs as they pertain to the lack of consistent, clean water supply and a system to effectively and safely handle their excrement, wastewater, and trash.  This project is being pursued as a means to increase the overall health of the community in hopes that it will increase overall school attendance of the children of that community.  In ministering to the needs of the children, the hope is that this will open the door to Gospel to be heard.  Josh will be in Nicaragua until Thursday, June 16th.  Please join us in prayer for his safe travel, effective ministry, and soft-hearted reception of the community to our help in securing safe water for them to drink, a way to handle their waste, and ultimately the acceptance of the Jesus-founded love we hope to share through this project!  


Pray with us that the people of Chinandega would drink from well of Living Water!

6.10.2011

Well, this has been a trying and long week, but the Lord has been faithful to give strength, encouragement and we've found perseverance in Him.  This has been a week of negociating our way through the bureaucracy that is the Costa Rican government.  Although I've come to love this country, I try to have as little contact as possible with red tape and waiting lines.  Monday, I took a two hour bus ride to San Jose to get my driver's license renewed and a two-hour ride back. Then, Tuesday night, we decided the best way to approach figuring out the process for renewing our cedulas (residency) was to actually GO to Immigracion in San Jose.  Once we got there, we found out we actually couldn't renew it at Immigration...go figure.  They recently changed the process to where you can only renew them in select banks throughout Costa Rica.  So, just by chance, we decided to walk into the biggest bank in Costa Rica, the one in downtown San Jose to ask questions about the process and required paperwork.  First blessing was that there was only one other customer there so we went almost right up to the desk which is very unusual.  The young woman at the desk, Aura (and who I could also call an angel), walked us through the process and paperwork needed.  When we asked if she could help us make an appointment, she kindly took out her personal dayplanner and penciled us in for 2 DAYS LATER!!!  Normally you call a phone number to make an appointment, and we've heard the wait can be up to 6 months.  We walked out of that office feeling as though the Lord pulled off something that we could never do ourselves.  So, as of 11 a.m. today, we are legal to be in Costa Rica for 2 more years as residents.  It's very exciting, and I cannot be more grateful for the Lord's provision and gift of encouragement through the young lady at the bank.  So, needless to say after more than 10 hours on a bus this week, Josh and I are going to try to relax at home tonight!

On a side note, this is the newest addition and newest temporary addition to our family.  The bigger "puppy" is Duke.  He is a 6-month old great dane and he belongs to us.  He's sweet, super tranquilo and a perfect addition to our family...and a daddy's boy!  The little puppy is a great dane mix that we are dog-sitting for a month.  

The government strikes again....

It seems that it is the season of renewals, and I don't mean just spiritual ones.  As we just passed our 2-year anniversary of living in Costa Rica, we have alot of our legal documents needing to be renewed....more specifically our driver's licenses and our residency.  So, the past two weeks have been full of trips to the capital, San Jose, and errands hither and yonder trying to both figure out what we need and actually complete it.  As of yet, I personally have been extremely unsuccessful.  For our residency, we have to pay into the national healthcare on a voluntary basis which is a reduced rate compared to what Costa Ricans pay as we already have personal international health insurance that covers us both in Costa Rica and the U.S.  BUT, in order to pay into what is known as the "caja", we needed a certified copy of our marriage certificate as we are actually enrolling under Josh's name, not individually.  So, two weeks ago, I spent an entire day at immigration in San Jose trying to make a certified copy of the marriage certificate in our file.  I left with several certified papers in my hand, but guess what...not our marriage certificate.  It was starting to rain as I was receiving the paperwork and I had taken the scooter to San Jose.  So, foolishly, I ran to the scooter to get my rain gear on without looking at the paperwork.  Finally I was able to obtain our marriage certificate, and Josh and I spent an entire day at the Caja here in Atenas getting singed up.  Now we just have to make an appointment to meet with the people at immigration to actually complete our renewal.  Josh and I also went to San Jose this past week to renew our driver's licenses.  Only Josh was able to renew his since I needed an updated medical exam and he had just completed one in the weeks before.  So, tomorrow I have the plan of getting to the doctor's office at 7 a.m. when they open, getting a medical exam and taking the bus into San Jose to hopefully wait in line for less than an hour and a half to renew my license.  I do see the light at the end of the tunnel, and am trying to have patience in it.  It's a lesson in remembering to take each day at a time, not getting stressed at lack of efficiency, but enjoying the life we have here in Costa Rica...even on my third trip to San Jose in two weeks:)

June 6, 2011

I feel as though I reached some kind of new home-making goal today.  I made my first loaf of homemade bread.  Okay, well maybe it was in a bread maker but still made the house smell incredible.  One of the families in our office is leaving the field after 9 years, and selling almost everything.  Once I heard they were selling things, I had my eye on the bread maker.  So many times, I've gone over to their house to meet with the wife, and my friend, and walked into the house to the smell of baking bread.  It brings good memories of our times together and reminds me of the example she set for me as a wife, mother and missionary.  Today I attempted to make rosemary bread...without rosemary.  It still tasted pretty good, but I definitely want to try it again when I DO have rosemary and not just leftover Italian seasonings.  One things I've found out since the having the bread maker is there's a difference between "bread" flour and the regular flour that I use.  I'm not sure if I successfully bought bread flour as the bag doesn't specifically say "bread" flour or doesn't distinguish itself from any other flour other than to say for "pan, galletas y reposteria" which means "bread, cookies and pastries".  I took a chance.  I still have no idea if it's bread flour, but the bread turned out a really nice density and fluffiness.  Is that a word?  fluffiness?  I look forward to many more times of filling my house with the delicious smell of freshly baked bread.

9.24.2011

I feel as thought I've somewhat spun off a roller coaster and am sliding to a halt.  This past weekend was our office's annual Family Retreat which is the biggest event of the year that I am responsible for planning.  It was an amazing weekend of laughing, playing, learning from each other and spending time in God's Word together.  The theme for the weekend was "Thriving, Not Just Surviving" and God showed each one of us things about Himself and ourselves.  Many of the families in our office have made decisions to stay for longer terms here in Costa Rica, so it was a good point to discuss what it means to thrive on the mission field.  Although I was energized from being around people and the weekend was very fun, we are now two days out and I still feel as though I could sleep 3 more hours.  I know the Lord will regenerate me, but He has also taught me alot about resting in Him, and resting in general.  It feels good to be able to use what I feel are my gifts and things I love to do to serve the Lord through serving EMI.

In the dust of the rabbi...

¹³ Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. ¹⁴ He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach ¹⁵ and to have authority to drive out demons.

This past month, I’ve been attempting to lead our interns through a study called “The Dust of the Rabbi”.  In this study, Ray Vander Laan takes the listener (it’s a podcast) back in time to the days of Christ and explains, through the cultural lense of Judaism, exactly what Jesus meant when he called his disciples.  Standing in stark contrast to our typical ideals of discipleship: 30 minute devotionals in the mornings, Wednesday night Bible Study, sermons that barely reference the Word of God, and a cursory glance at prayer from time to time; Jesus’s understanding of discipleship was far more.  The very definition of the word “disciple” has been skewed over the years since Jesus’s teaching.  “Disciple” nowadays has come to be thought of as a mere student, someone who wants to know what the teacher knows.  However, “talmede” in a Jewish since (hence, a Jesus sense) meant someone who wants to be what the teacher is. 

In Mark, Chapter 3 (above), Jesus called his disciples, not to class or to a seminar or conference, but he called them “that they might be with him”.  Why is this?  Why couldn’t they just meet him in the synagogue for a few hours a week.....or better yet, a few hours a day?!  Very simply, in order to be like your rabbi, you must be with him every hour of the day; to see how he walks, to hear how he talks, how he reacts in every situation, to learn his routines, his quirks, what he values, what he despises, where he finds joy, peace, comfort, and most of all, who he worships.   To do this, you must be covered “in the dust of the Rabbi”; so close to him that you are covered in his dust. 

How can you and I rearrange our lives to give us more time to follow our Rabbi?  It’s not just a great suggestion...its a life commitment.  

Hogar de Vida

Along with working in the EMI office several days a week, I volunteer weekly at a children's home called Hogar de Vida, which means Home of Life.  When I started volunteering, I was helping out with physical therapy, doing early stimulation on the babies.  Last fall, I felt the Lord leading me to focus more on just being a helper in one of the three houses on campus....just be a "tia" which means aunt in Spanish, but is also what all the kids call the workers.  The model of care is set up as a home simulated environment.  Each home has a house mom that lives in the home along with 2-3 other ladies and up to 12 children in each home of varying ages and mixed genders.  So, I started working weekly in house 1.  Since starting there, 2 (soon to be 3) children have been adopted or returned back to their families, and I've seen children that were 1 when I met them turn 3 and grow right before my eyes.  The last two weeks have been such a blessing.  There are several of the younger children who I take care of on the mornings I am there that have just stolen my heart.  Today, as I walked into the house I heard them running from the back of the house with an exuberant "ALLI" and a big hug around my legs.  Then, as I was leaving today, my little sweetheart Brenda had my hands and asked if I was leaving.  I told her yes, and she said I couldn't go and held my arms around her in a hug.  It was so sweet and just melted my heart.  Sometimes I wonder if the Lord is going to use one of these children to show me it's time to adopt.  Josh and I have always talked about how it would be a possibility, but it would truly be a pleasure to bring one of these little precious ones into our family.  I feel sad when I see them growing up...years, going through the red-tape process of adoption in Costa Rica when they could be spending those years with a family who loves them.  It's just been such a blessing to spend time with those children, and the ladies that work in the home.  I consider them my friends and confidants.  I pray the Lord will continue to grow these relationships and work through them to show me more about Himself.

4.29.2011

This past week was a week of firsts for Josh and I.  It was our first Easter celebrated at a Spanish-speaking church as well as our first Costa Rican wedding, both of which happened to be the same day.  Easter here is definitely under-celebrated among the evangelical community.  Evangelical Christians tend to lean toward the opposite extreme as Catholics.  Catholicism is the most prevalent religion in Central America.  Because of the deeply entrenched rituals of Catholicism, Christians tend to oppose things that are very "Catholic".  For example, many Christians do not have Christmas trees or display nativity scenes.  Also, Easter Sunday is almost non-existent in the evangelical church.  Their reasoning is that we celebrate the resurrection of Christ every Sunday.  Needless to say, It was not emphasized last Sunday.  We did have a Easter breakfast with another EMI family, and it was great to be able to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior with pancakes and bacon:)  In all seriousness, it was neat to start the day focused on the Lord and what He did for us.  I did come to an interesting conclusion last week that the death of Christ is celebrated during Semana Santa than the resurrection of Christ.  People have most of the week off and everything is completely shut down on Good Friday, but Sunday is like any other Sunday in evangelical churches and all the grocery stores are open.  It was just very interesting.

That afternoon, the son of our pastor was married.  It was the first Costa Rican wedding we've attended, and it was such a great experience.  It was beautifully decorated, and one of the most formal weddings I've been to.  It was the first wedding I've attended where I had a table/seating assignment in the reception.  Of course, the 4 p.m. wedding started at more like 4:30 and guests were still walking in at 5:15.  One thing that was interesting was that they had an MC type person.  She give instructions before the ceremony about how to use the chocolate fountain, etc as well as announcing the wedding party as they walk down the aisle.  For example, "And now, we have the groom Javier Gonzalez...accompanied by his parents Javier Gonzalez and Cecilia Quesada."  Also, there were no real bridesmaids or groomsmen.  The parents of the bride and groom sat in special seats up front along with people that accompanied them.  The bride's parents had the mother's sister and her husband.  The groom's parents had the sister of the groom.  The night was culminated in a fire show.  You know, where a guy lights two things on first at the end of ropes and does cool twirls.  Yes, the fire show happenned INSIDE the church, but was a very cool experience.  Most of all, we have enjoyed getting to know the Pastor's extended family which made it alot of fun.  They remind me of my family, and it's so nice to feel as if we are being accepted into a community of believers here.

William Cornelius Vocational School, Guatemala

I was fortunate enough to run across the website for the project in Guatemala that I almost exclusively worked on while I interned with EMI back in 2004!  Check it out!  Brings back fond memories!!!

http://www.wcvtc.com/photos_beginning_to_end.html

More Pictures from Peru

I am finally getting around to posting some pictures from our trip to Peru.

Market day

Live guinea pig

 Everybody working hard     
 The train to Macchu Picchu

Josh and I at Macchu Picchu

March 29

The past week has been intense, but great.  I feel as though I hit the ground running after landing back in Costa Rica.  Josh and I spent the last two weeks of February in Peru working with a seminary there, and then the first two weeks of March in Georgia.  We attended the Global Missions Conference at our home church in Georgia, Johnson Ferry Baptist Church.  The conference was a great opportunity to meet other missionaries and the Lord really opened our eyes to further ways we can spread the Gospel here in Costa Rica.  We have had several visitors in the week since being back including the President of EMI as well as Kyle Collins and his wife Lolly, one of the missions pastors from JFBC.  The time with them was a great time of connecting, learning about how the Lord is working through them, and an awesome time of encouragement also.  They were definitely a blessing for the 2 days they were with us.  From our time with visitors, we jumped right into several meetings and things planned over the weekend with EMI and our church.  Sunday was El Dia para Conocernos Mejor which means "The Day to Get to Know Ourselves Better".  It's a sort of dinner on the grounds/carnival.  It was amazing to see how our relationship with our church has changed in the past year.  I remember this same day last year was one of stress and worry.  Feeling less than confident about my Spanish, trying to get to know people by sitting down at a table and starting a conversation was something that felt awkward and brought some level of fear.  This year, however, was a different experience.  It was great to feel like you're there with family.  I blogged last year about having a granizado at this event, and this year Josh and I actually MADE the granizados.  Josh was the ice crusher and I was the assembler along with a man from our church named Macho.  There were lots of games to play.  Josh and I helped with a fooseball tournament as well as participated.  Needless to say, Josh didn't have the best partner, and we were out the first round.  It was a great, but exhausting day.  It's been so good to get back to "normal" life.  The time away was so wonderful and the time with our family was so great, but I have felt a renewed sense of thanksgiving for the relationships and ministry that we have here in Costa Rica.  On a side now, after 3 days of intense heat, it started raining and has rained every afternoon for the last 3 days.  I guess rainy season is starting up, and I couldn't be more ready!

Picture from Peru

Urubamba is in the Andes mountains.  Even though it's the rainy season and much of the days have been cloudy and rainy, it really is a spectacular view.  The Lord's creation is so great!

We are staying at the present seminary campus for which we are designing a new, expanded campus.  There are several pastoral students and families that live on campus.  These little girls live on campus.  

This is the outside pila where most of the dishes are washed.  The two cooks have had to be told several times about our "weak" American stomachs.....that they can't just rinse stuff off and reuse them because we'll get the parasites in the water.  

This is the Catholic church on the little park in the center of town.  It's currently under renovation and is not having mass services.

Yesterday was the birthday of one of the team members.  In Peru (and in Costa Rica), they have a tradition of the birthday boy taking the first bite out of the cake with your mouth.  Normally, they push your head down into the cake at this point, but they refrained.

Please continue to pray for our work here in Peru.  The final presentation of the design is Friday evening.  Also, please be praying because there have been alot of rain here, and landslides are becoming a problem.  People have lost some of their corn crop already, which is their livelihood.  

First Impressions

      First Impressions can sometimes have a great impact, and it has been no different here.  There have been so many new sights and sounds since landing here in Peru.  This is my attempt to share some of those.  Just as they are somewhat unprocessed in my mind right now, this is how I will share it...a string of thoughts and observations so that you can get an idea of what we are encountering. 

       I find that I try to categorize new things that I’ve experienced into something I’ve seen or experience before.  This place has been an exception.  It’s truly like nothing I’ve seen before both culturally and topographically.  Urubamba is set in the middle of this valley which large green mountains springing up on all sides.  Today the sun is shining a little bit and to see the light shining on the mountains is brilliant and beautiful.  Praise the Lord for his amazing creation!

      The people here are very indigenous-looking.  This means their skin, hair and eyes are dark.  They tend to be shorter, and you can tell that they’ve lived a life of labor and physical work.  I’ve seen pictures of indigenous women from Peru, but it’s so amazing to see it with my own eyes.  Our camera went dead at Christmas so we are relying on other people to take pictures, so I will post some as soon as I receive them.  But, walking around town this morning, so many women had top hats or cowboy-looking hats, all ragged and worn.  We’ve been told they usually tell either what their position in society is or what they are selling.  They wear thick sweaters with knee-length non-matching skirts with little fringe underneath.  They seem very no-nonsense so I’m not sure where the detailing on the petticoat comes in, but it does bring femininity and beauty.  They wear sweater leg warmers with stirrups on them, socks that again don’t match with thick brown or black shoes.   They are normally carrying large loads on their backs with colorful hand-made cloth.   Sometimes it is their goods to sell, sometimes it’s their children.  So, you see them walking around town hunched over, carrying their heavy loads on their way to wherever their daily life happens. 

     The majority of the construction is adobe.  I’ve never seen adobe up close.  It is literally whole buildings made of bricks that are made out of dirt.  It’s amazing that it actually stands, but it does.  The room in which Josh and I are sleeping is actually even on the second floor of an adobe building.  They put stucco on the outside so it doesn’t look like dirt but almost every wall is 1.5 feet wide and you know it is adobe construction.  It seems like a hodgepodge of  paint color, colored tin roofs, hundred-year old doors of buildings that are all different colors, worn and used. 

     Peru is known for it’s hand-made alpaca wool items.  Each night we are sleeping in 40-degree weather without heat, and the 2 alpaca blankets on our bed keep us incredibly toasty.  It’s amazing how soft and warm it is.  Alpaca is a South American animal that looks kinda like a llama.  I am excited to see the market where they are selling these hand-made goods. 

     Yesterday, we attended the church for which the group will be designing a new building.  There is both a Quechua service and a Spanish service.  Almost 100 people squeeze into a little building where there is only one hymnal for each pew to share.  You’re so much closer to your neighbor that you fully know whether he has taken a shower that day or not.  To hear all the Lord is doing in that church was so exciting and I bring glory to Him for his work there.  The young man leading the music just two years ago was a drunk and came to know the Lord through the ministry of this church.  The people seemed to be pursuing the Lord and, in all of Peru, the national church seems to be taking the reigns of evangelism and spreading the Gospel.  This means that Peruvians are spreading the Gospel in place of outside missionaries coming in and the ministry being dependent on them.  

Travel

To start, we left Costa Rica on Friday afternoon for Lima.  Josh, myself, Micah (another EMI staff member), his wife Beth and two interns, Jeff and Tripp landed in Lima without problem around 8:30 Friday evening.  Our plan was to stay at the airport until the last plane landed at 11:55 and head to a hotel for the night.  Well, just as things don’t turn out the way you planned, the last 3 flights of volunteers were delayed.  The last volunteer was rescheduled to arrive at 3 AM.  Yes, 3 AM.  I was surprised to see that at midnight, the airport was still busy and going strong.  Every airport I’ve ever been in is a ghost town by midnight.  So, to see every restaurant open and hoards of families waiting for their loved ones to arrive at 2 AM and later was interesting.  So, Josh, our fearless leader, took the team of 16 people to the hotel by 2 AM, laid down for 20 minutes and then headed back to the airport for the 3AM flight.  His head finally hit the pillow at 4:30. 6:30 AM came really early that morning, especially for Josh.  We took the hour-long flight from Lima to Cuzco, Peru that morning, then drove 1.5 hours to Urubamba, Peru.  Needless to say, our entire group was pretty tired.  Most of the group used the rest of the day to recover and to adjust to the altitude difference.  Cuzco is about 11,000 feet above sea level and Urubamba is just over 9,000 feet so altitude sickness can definitely be a problem.  Josh, Micah and the architects spent the rest of the day riding around Cuzco looking at current construction and landscaping practices.  So, by the time Josh got to bed that night, he had slept about 2 hours in 48 hours and was exhausted.  I think by this morning, Monday, he finally feels fully recovered.  It was encouraging to hear from the ministry that we are working with, SEBIC seminary and Nueva Vida Iglesia Bautista.  They are so excited that we are here and are excited about what the Lord is going to do through the new seminary campus and church the group is designing.  Their words were inspiring and a good start to the week of hard and long hours of work.

February 2011

The past two weeks have just been a whirlwind of activity.  So much has been accomplished, and it has been really cool to see the Lord work.  The first week of February was our office's Staff Week where we spent time analyzing and discussing almost every aspect of our office, talking about things the Lord has done and ways we can change our policies and activities to better serve our partner ministries.  Then last week was Member Care week.  Our office has brought on board a Christians counselor/psychologist from Florida to assist us in member care which has many different facets.  She is coming alongside us and doing things to help the team members in our office stay healthy emotionally, mentally and physically.  It was a really great week where the Lord really moved.  I know personally He revealed some things to me about how I view myself and operate that need to be changed if I am going to be healthy in the long-term on the field...or even in life in general, not just on the field.  I will say it was probably one of the most fatiguing two weeks I've had in a while, but I praise the Lord and give him the glory for all that has been accomplished both office-wide and in the heart of each individual on our team.  Doors have been opened for a deeper sense of community amongst our team which I do feel like is a crucial part of life here as well.

After the past two weeks, we finally have a chance to focus on preparation for the trip to Peru.  Josh has been working for months on recruiting and planning for this project.  I am so excited to what the Lord is going to do, and I am praying fervently for the hearts of the people that will come to know the Lord through the work of the ministry.  The team will be designing and master planning a seminary campus and Peruvian church.  The seminary will teach Quechua pastors to preach the gospel to the Quechua people.  Please keep us in your prayers over the next few weeks as we travel to Peru. We leave this Friday, February 18 and return on Sunday, February 27.  Things you can be praying for specifically are:

-the hearts of the volunteers, that they will be open to whatever the Lord wants to teach and show them

-health and energy as the days of work and design are usually very long ones

-wisdom for one of the other EMI staff member's wife and little baby who have been planning to go.  The baby has had very mild congestion and they are deciding if it would be best to bring him to the cold weather we will be experiencing.  The doctor has said he thought it would be okay, but they are looking to the Lord for wisdom in what to do

-the harvest of souls that will come to know the Lord through the work of this ministry

Thank you so much for supporting us in prayer. I look forward to sharing what God does on the trip with you in the future.  When we return to Costa Rica from Peru, we will have one day to wash our clothes and pack for a trip to Georgia.  Our home church in Georgia, Johnson Ferry in Atlanta, is having a Global Missions Conference and are funding our return for us to be a part of.  We are so excited to share all that the Lord is doing through EMI.  There will be several open activities at the church, and we would love to talk with anyone who is interested in connecting with us during our time back.  Those dates are March 2-6. We look forward to seeing you while we are back!

Academia Estruria

So, Josh surprised me by taking me to a night at an Italian cooking school for Valentine's day.  I wish we had gotten a picture of us, because we were a pair!  He was told we needed to have aprons, hair covers and closed-toed shoes.  So, the only things we could find were short little aprons worn by cleaning people here where it covers the front and the back down to your waist and has little ties on the sides.  And I was definitely sporting a hair net.  We walk in and the other two people in the class look like professional chefs with nice cooking aprons and chef's hats.  Besides feeling a bit out of place in the way we looked, it was an absolutely amazing night.  The instructor was an Italian man from Florence who looked exactly like the old chef on the movie Ratatouille.  He also had this sidekick who just fluttered around the room teaching us all kinds of cool things about Italian cooking and throwing out Italian words as if he was straight off the boat from Italy.  Come to find out, he is actually Costa Rican.  The whole class together made 3 different things, and I can't remember a single name because they were in Italian.  The first was a meat dish which in Spanish was called Roll of Meat.  It was layered pork, then ham, then beef then bacon with a mushroom tomato sauce thrown in the middle somewhere, rolled and baked.  The second was a delicious vegetarian tomato sauce with pasta.  It was the first fresh sauce I have ever made which was exciting.  The third was fried cheese balls which were AMAZING!!!  The best part was at the end of the night, everybody sat down to eat the food we'd prepared together.  We got to try proscuitto made right in his kitchen and everything.   It was really such a great experience, and Josh and I had so much fun together!  It was a great way to spend Valentine's Day.  And the best part was, he let us join his class for the night without charge!

Battle for Haiti

I was forwarded this link video from a friend:

Here we are

Okay, can I please just say I struggle with the title situation.  It seems very hard just to tell what's been going on in life and have to give a TITLE to it.  Just a sidebar:)  So, we have for a while now been back into full swing at the office and in life here in Atenas after our short time in Georgia at Christmas.  It's definitely dry season which means a couple of things.  It means the clothes on the line dry in less than 2 hours which has made laundry oh so much more manageable.  It means that you can actually PLAN to do things in the afternoon.  It means the children at the orphanage can play outside in the afternoon instead of being cooped up in the house because of the rain.  It means that I actually have to WATER my growing little hibiscus plants which I haven't seemed to kill yet.  It means the air is dryer, the wind is much stronger and dust abounds...i.e. having to sweep my house every single day is a very real possibility.  Josh has been working for over 4 months recruiting and planning for his upcoming project trip to Urubamba, Peru.  I am so very excited that I have the opportunity to go with him on this trip.  It is a blessing to work for an organization who sees the importance in the non-engineer spouse feeling a part of EMI, our mission and work.  The group will be designing a seminary campus and a local church who have the purpose of training quechua pastors to spread the gospel among the quechua people.  Quechua is the name of a people group living in the central Andes mountains in South America as well as the name of the languages they speak.  Please be praying for our hearts as Josh prepares to help lead this group of architects and engineers, for God to do a mighty work in the volunteers that are going and for the fruit and harvest that will come through the gospel and truth spread by this ministry.

We continue to adapt and integrate into the culture and community.  Admittedly, it has been and will continue to be a much longer process than I thought.  I thought we'd come to Costa Rica and immediately fit right in and have ticos as best friends.  The Lord had other plans.  It's a day-by-day process..."poco a poco" is a phrase I have come to know well.  It has been incredible to see, however, tremendous growth in this area over the past 5 months.  We have been accepted as family by a church here.  Our pastor's wife even shared with the entire church what I had shared with her about the people in that church being our "family" here in Costa Rica.  She encouraged the people of the church to get to know us, invite us over to their house, etc.  We have found a place that we feel at home with and where we can grow spiritually with strong biblical teaching.  When we left Costa Rica, I had in my mind that we had one "home church", and that would be our main church support.  What I have found here is that, although it doesn't in any way take the place of our "home church" in the States who we believe is so important and incredibly supportive of our ministry, Iglesia Valle de Beraca here in Costa Rica has become a body of believers that wants to come alongside us in prayer and is truly interested in our life and ministry.  A big step for me was going to my pastor's house and having "cafesito" with his wife and children.  Number one, I don't drink coffee so my "cafesito" (which is a coffee break that is taken pretty much every afternoon around 3 by Ticos) was really warm milk with a little coffee and lots of sugar.  Number two, and more importantly, it felt normal.  It felt like friends just getting together to chat.  She and her son took me to see some land their family purchased where there are lots for the parents and both children to build a house.  It was an incredibly rich time of building relationships of which I look forward to doing much more.

"Next"

"Next."  This word is such a prominent part of our vocabulary as North Americans.  "Who's next?"  "What's next?"  "Where do we go next?"  


"Next" carries with it a very linear thought process.  After this, then this is "next".  Here in Latin America, exactly zero consideration is given to this concept of "next".  There is no "next" here; only an infinite abyss of possibility.  There are no schedules, no plans, no forethought...only the here and now.  What happened a year ago, or a minute ago, was incredibly memorable.  What is happening right now is monumental, the notion of thinking about tomorrow is completely off the radar screen.  


This morning, before office prayer time, this slight frustration with the local culture instantly and beautifully morphed into a Biblical truth.  


"Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him."

For their entire lives, Peter, James, John and Andrew had been constantly living and working with one thing in mind...."next".  Mending their nets for the next day.  Fishing for the next meal.  Rowing over to the next hot fishing spot.  How many fish would be in the next haul?  Would there be enough to eat the next day?  


Suddenly, along comes a man named Jesus....and the journey and struggle to rid these men's minds of the very concept of "next" and replace it with the concept of "follow" or "obey" begins.  For the next 3 years, Jesus works diligently to renew their minds and implant in them a desire to follow and obey, and to extract the selfish and prideful notion that we must always know what's "next".  The very concept of obedience does not allow us the convenience of knowing or caring what comes "next".  


“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

   “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

In many ways, despite the frustration, I have much to learn from my latino neighbors, from Peter, from James, from John, from Andrew, and even from Zebedee.