Day 5 - 03/11/09

[SI Devo: Ephesians 4:1-16 & Psalm 8]

Lord, You awake us to clear skies this morning. Looking more like dry season... finally. That means warmth. A lot of warmth. & heat. God as we serve You under the heat of the day, let us know that we are doing Your works and that You are shining Your light on us. Father let us drink enough water & gatorade so we remain hydrated and healthy. & relieve Melissa and Matt of their (& Isaac!) already existing colds. Let us have healthy bodies & healthy hearts to focus on You throughout this beautiful day. 

Psalm 28:7

"Abre mis ojos"

Matthew 28:18-20

"I love you, I need you, though my world may fall I'll never let you go."

Hosea 6

Psalm 23 & 29

Desayuno: pancakes & fruit. Our small group cooks breakfast in the morning (tomorrow). We have high expectations to live up to. The weather here changes quite quickly- it was sunny & cloudy off & on all day, but thankfully no rain. Matt began the day (after bkfst) with a nap... trying to knock out some of headache & sickness. After Lindsey/Penny & Jaime were done with the spackle, Krista helped me spackle more of Camry's room (after we sanded down the spackle from yesterday). Camry was hanging out in there some, so we got to chit-chat a bit. She's awesome, and we're great friends now. I will miss her when we leave! Snacktime was around 10:30 and we had banana bread pudding- it was like banana bread but a lot more squishy inside. Quite good, as everything else here. Lunch was lighter than usual- but great! Choice of ham sandwich or PB&J, & fruit. Of course, I had a PB&J and cut it into triangles because I thought of how my mom did that when I was little. I love her greatly. Everyone got back to work after snacktime. Krista and I had to wait for the plaster to dry after we applied more, so we spent time with Kathy, Penny (who was helping her with her book editing), Katie (who was copying the pictures on the Sharp's desktop computer to the zip-drive), & Camry (who was half-doing homework, half-getting distracted from homework). We had a great time just chatting and watching the... *drumroll* amazing progress on the sidewalk!! Tons of people (everyone except us, Becky, Stephen, & Macy -> who were by the street digging up a laundry line deep in the ground) were working on the sidewalk today and taking part in its progress. 

Since it remained dry all day, they were able to mix the sand, gravel, & water to make concrete- via the volcano method. Bright sun, lots of water... no dehydration thankfully, but a good number of sunburns (& aloe to follow) despite multiple applications of sunscreen).  They finished mixing, pouring, & smoothing the concrete over the rebar... mainly because it'd be really hard to start it back up again. 

Lunch was late because of this, but no worries! They said we were done for the day after lunch since it was almost 2:30, so we chilled out for a bit and headed down to the river! I was in charge of Camry, who was in charge of Princesa. We walked (we being almost all of the team, & some of the kids here & Nando) through the jungle to get there- loads of mud & great squishy noises. Rain boots were SO utilized. 

We got to the river, & it was/is gorgeous. Water flowing freely over innumerable stones down large expanses - truly the Lord's creation (as all of us are). 

I was not planning on getting wet, but God made it really clear that He had other plans for me. Camry brought her Barbie boogie board. Mind you, we were fully clothed - I in my work clothes for the day. I changed into sandals to walk through the water, & it didn't take much convincing for Camry to get me to get more wet... to the point of laying in the water and coasting downstream (over large, painful rocks) to where the rest of the group had headed by this point.

I loved every minute of it. Jaime was nice & clean, then fell off the rock upon which she was standing and flowed just a bit. Laughter ensued. Stephen was about to take an epic picture of Isaac, when Penny told me to splash Isaac as it was being taken. So I did, and the best expression appeared upon Isaac's face. I really hope Stephen captured it successfully. We wrapped things up, snapped a couple more photos, & headed home. Jonathan & I rocked our sandals while carrying our boots. Luckily- we took the road home. I headed straight for the shower upon returning, & oh, it was good. Note to self- sandals are still sitting in one of the showers. I hope they are indeed getting rinsed off thoroughly. Some chill time - Alyx so graciously french braided my hair once again (I'm glad she enjoys doing hair). Dinner was dark rice & beans, rice, beans, beef, watermelon, pineapple, & guacamole with the kool-aid-ish juice. Wait wait. Nope. Totally wrong. Scratch that & reverse it. Okay. I was trying to determine why the sandwich seemed so much more recent than the rice/bean/guac mixture. Notable? Yes, but no. It's because the rice/beans were lunch and the sandwiches were dinner. Yep. Correcto. All is right with the world. Okay. Dinner, then lots of hanging out until worship. All of us, plus Nando, Antonio/Anthony, & a tired Gabriel (who totally is younger than the 9 he told us) on Russell's lap. Adorable. We sung so many wonderful songs to the Lord. Most of my favorites, but they're all God's favorites. In between songs, there was a pause to say verses, prayers, stories- whatever touched your heart as the moment. [In the margin of this page, I wrote "squished bug" with an arrow pointing to a small smudge.] This was really great to hear about God's grace & salvation over us, then sing of it and our thankfulness & love to Him simultaneously, almost. The worship lasted about 2 hours, & I believe the worship on this trip is really focusing my heart on what is real & true. Thank you, Lord, for using Isaac to lead worship this week & for inspiring us to break out into Your praise by song throughout each day. Russell spoke about how he observed Gabriel jump right into the water today - carefree - while he tested the water first. Let us trust God & have faith and freedom in that He takes care of us. Isaiah 43:1-3 -> "Fear not..." We're halfway through the week, & we only have one more workday to go. I'm on my 3rd camera. God, use us on this last full day in Shiroles to Your will & let us accomplish great things. Bless Kathy, Curtis, Camry, & all who live here for being so hospitable to us... all for doing God's work in their home.

:) con felicidad ---

Day 4 - 03/10/09

[SI Devo: Ephesians 3 & Psalm 121]

Lord, never let me out of Your sight. I would be so blind and lost without You. I live for You & You alone - no earthly desires can rule over my life. Your holy grace & unsurpassing love reigns over all. Lord, allow me to see & hear Your plans for me, and may doors open to make them possible. God, let me seize opportunities and get the most out of life. I am in Costa Rica, watching the rain fall down from a grey, cloudy sky onto the vibrant green vegetation. You are an awesome God.

Jesus, lamb of God, worthy is Your name...

...You are my all in all.

Hours & hours later, I pick up my journal & pen to write about the day, and the song in my head begins the lines I last wrote above. During devotions, the kitty Frosty laid in Whitney's lap (Whit had nothing to do with it). 

He's warmed up to us after the 1st day, & Brianna and I were playing with him later on in the day. He likes biting my toe. We see his ...mom?... (they look the same - white & striped tail) Snowflakes less often, but she, too, is friendly and so cute. Before devotions, we had our 1st "real" spider encounter. It was as big as the diameter of a baseball, I'd say... but not fuzzy like a tarantula - but brown. Anyway, Whitney shook her rain jacket out and it fell to the ground and continued to scamper upon the approach of people... of course toward my stuff. Someone killed it with Lindsey/Penny's rainboot [pause for Alyx to french braid my hair], & I had to retrieve the remains from under my bed so that they wouldn't be there all week. Breakfast was after devotions, and we had oatmeal & fruit. I was nervous about this since the texture of oatmeal gets to me, but I persevered and had a bowl-ful. I was proud of myself. I took more pictures today, and I've realized that I'm really glad I didn't bring my digital. I see that I could have charged it & it would have been safe, but sometimes I need to stop capturing the moment and instead live the moment. Camera #2, 15 pictures left. 

It did not rain at all today! Basically a miracle during this abnormal dry season, because the soon-to-be sidewalk needs to de-muddify itself before they pour the cement in. The workday started off with Matt & I continuing the wall in Camry's room. We put up the last of the drywall, taped the borders, sanded, & spackled over the tape & screws. It needs to dry overnight, so we were done with that for the day. Matt went & helped paint some of the girls' dorm (whose doors were wonderfully varnished by Whitney &... Jenny?). Also, it's Matt's goal for the week (& Russell's too, I think) to catch the rooster. I went downstairs & did what sanding I could in the guestroom with Jaime, Penny, Matt (who was still there @ the time), & Dina - a lady who lives here. I didn't get much sanding done, but I translated for Dina & the girls, as well as taught Jaime & Penny the difference between "hombre," "hombro," & "hambre." Tricky. Also explained to Dina what the English pronunciation difference is b/w "ring" & "rain" (anillo y lluvia). I love Spanish. & Dina - she's really sweet, & willing to learn. While Matt & I were still working on the drywall (about 10:30) we had a snack of that great round bread w/ jam (mango or strawberry) or butter. David Orr really likes some butter. Aiyla's really been stressing to us the importance of drinking lots of water - if our pee is pastelly instead of clear-ish... drink more water! We should have to pee a lot... which I have. Also during our break, Kecha, being the sweet girl that she is, gave some of the girls & myself each a pair of earrings. How thoughtful! Mine are blue flower-shaped with peace signs... right after I told her my favorite color is blue. She is awesome. The rest of the workday, I meandered here & there to a few different worksites to take pictures & help. I got a little muddy working w/ Jonathan on the soon-to-be-sidewalk, and inhaled (well, hopefully not) some poisonous ("veneno" 6) fumes from the sealant on the dresser that was in the will-be-guestroom. 

[I can still hear the guys outside waiting for showers, etc. It's past 10pm. I'll explain later]. Like I've said, Brianna & I played with Frosty for quite some time. Work stopped when 3 o'clock rolled around, & a bunch of us went down to the store - at least a 15 minute walk up the road. We passed people and horses (one whose rope had been broken), & other animals (one pony!). 

Some houses were playing music - "Low" was a favorite. The store had sandals, chips, ice cream, 2.5 liter bottles of Coke, kids' jewelry... a bunch of stuff. I got vanilla ice cream w/ chocolate syrup & nuts in a pre-packaged cup ("chocolate sundae"), & it was quite good. It cost 700 colones. 

We also saw a pig & dogs & roosters on the way back. The rest of the team was playing soccer with the kids when we got back, so some of us were spectators while the others slipped in the mud, but had fun, regardless. Stephen kept swinging these 2 little boys around, & it was really cute. Came back - the muddy ones showered - dinner. = Yum, as always. (Did I forget to write about lunch again?) Also, before the store, some girls walked down to the river to take pictures & wash off our boots. It's so pretty down there. Anyway, after dinner we had girls' night & guys' night. Girls = house w/ Kathy, guys = shelter where we usually meet. This was amazing. Kathy literally told us her life story, & wow she's been through a lot. It's been miraculous, though, because she's been able to see God through it all & hear His voice & follow His guidance. I pray that I can do the same with my life. She also talked about "secret sin," & how talking through any hidden sin in our lives with a mentor is so freeing. Kathy is an amazing woman. Showered after the talk... discovered my 1st three bug bites on my legs - right b/w where my socks ended & my pants begun. The kind where there's just a dot of blood. Don't itch... yet. Hah. The showered originally not as refreshing as last night's, but I made myself enjoy it. [I just switched my headlamp to the red light - so different! But me gusta.] I really want to devote my life to the Lord & live my life to serve Him. Lord, please let me follow Your will alone and let me hear & follow the plans you have for me.

Con amor <3