Cooking Costa Rican Style!

As part of the curriculum of the spanish school we are attending, the school offered to us a few extra outside activities to acclimate ourselves with the ways of the Costan Rican culture. This evening The Brook Team went for a cooking class at the home of a local Tica woman. I think her name sounded like Letrysa. When we arrived she welcomed us in her beautiful home and gestured for us to sit down. What we didn't know and found out quickly was that she had no idea why we were there! Yet, she was so kind as we just waltz in her home and sat down. One by one and step by step she had each of us share in making a typical costa rican meal. We first made a salad. We then squeezed the lemons to make some fresh lemonade, & then the corn empanadas. Delicioso! She topped it off with a wonderful unique dessert of iced milk with nuts and jello. She talked slowly and pleasant. Such kindness to share with us her love of cooking, her heart for sharing, and the pride of her country.
Costa Ricans are people who live for enjoying the present moments of their lives one day at a time and don't seem to be worried about tomorrow, but make the most of today. I love that and have longed for that simplicity. I am learning what it really means to slow down to stop and smell the roses.
I'm grateful too for the moments of today. It is all we really have by the way, at the moment.

Rain & Lunch

The last few days have been raining ALOT. Heard that some neighbors in town had to evacuate their homes last night due to the intense rain that wants to possibly slide their home away! The rivers are running rapid around here and are as black as coffee! We have still gone up to town each day to work out and then again this morning to pay our bills. I found it really hard to sleep last night because of the thunder and intense raining. I pray for the folks who don't have a place right now to rest their head and I praise God at the same time for what the rain provides. Right now the wind is picking up and it is getting rather chilly. It's time to enjoy lunch and to praise God for being alive, for providing for our needs, for a roof over our heads, for my husband to share my life with over a yummy meal! This is a typical lunch for us: The Costa Rican Gallo Pinto(rice & black beans)( I use brown rice)a salad with fresh vegetables and fruits,(today my salad is tomatoes, spinach, avocado, green leaf, & mango) fresh cabbage salad with carrot & red pepper, and pear nectar to drink. I'm praying it stops raining very soon!

An Ant's Life

Can you imagine how heavy that leaf is to the ant? That ant is called a "leafcutter" here in Costa Rica. I see them everywhere. I've been on a quest to see an army of them all in single file. I thought it would make an interesting photo. It just amazes me how even the little ant is burdened with a heavy load. He manages to carry it to his destination. Only difference between what the ant was carrying and what we carry is neccesity. There is so much we carry that is not neccesity. So, as a reminder to me and to you, let go of what is not neccesary for you to carry. Give it to God. Only carry what is necessary. You will have a much lighter load and a free hand for someone else!
On further reflection, it just might be that the load you carry is a sacrifice that is costing your faith to stretch. The Lord sacrificed His life for us and carried all our sins to the cross. What sacrifice is the Lord asking you to carry no matter what the cost or how heavy it is ? To be a christian it is in sharing in the sufferings of Christ we become like him and in dying to ourselves we truly live.

TheRIGHT Place

Steve and I took off early this morning for a tour of Turu Ba Ri Parque. We are looking for TheRight places for our excursions. Something that grips me everytime we drive on the roads here in Costa Rica....Everytime you take a turn...which is very often....you never know what's coming or what lies ahead. Another thing about the roads here in Costa Rica are the deep gulleys on both sides of the road. That means you gotta have a narrow focus!

Boy, that sure speaks to me right now! Keep your focus straight ahead. In this way, you can see clearly where your going...for what lies ahead is just around the next bend!

After we left Turu Ba Ri Parque I set the GPS for HOME. It took us another route than the one we came on. The road kept getting narrower and narrower until we finally got to a one lane dirt road. It seemed we were on it for at least 3 or 4 miles. We were wondering if the GPS was to be trusted. We came and crossed over a bridge that extended over a rip roaring river and a breath taking waterfall. I fumbled with trying to reach for my camera and didn't make it in time as we approached the end of the bridge. The minute the back tires reached the end, the road IMMEDIATELY took a right turn STRAIGHT UP! We went right up as if a unseen force had scooted us up. I was wondering how in the world we made it. Finally, we came out on the access road of the Autopista. Thank God we trusted the GPS and thank God for providing a short cut no matter what we had to go through! Isn't that the way alot a times in life....keep trusting....no matter what things appear to be...The Lord will provide a way out.

The Mission

Today has been a full day! Tuesday morning is the day I spend time on skype with my accountability partner. It's also the day we have our Brook Team meeting followed by the English speaking Bible study up at Iglesia Biblica in Atenas.
Having an accountability partner keeps my life on track. She gives me encouragement and counsel and prayer. I look forward to our talks together.
I get all fired up and full of purposeful passion after a Brook Team meeting. Today we had so much to be thankful for and had praises for what God is doing in the ministry and in our lives. As I write this, the Lord is putting everything into place. The Lord has picked a professor from the theological seminary in Guatemala to be our guest speaker.He is bilingual. We also have a worship leader as well! We now have 17 each Latin American couples attending our 2 mini conferences on Oct 18th through the 23rd! Praise the Lord! We are now asking those to step forward and sponsor each couple with a donation to cover the cost. We are asking for a one time gift of $500 per couple. Also underway, is our silent auction up at Nate's Seafood Restaurant in Allen. Hope that you will not only buy a ticket to attend, but you will bid on a treasure. Just remember your purchase or your one time gift for a Latin couple to attend the October conferences, will be a purchase with eternal value.
In between the Brook Team meeting and the bible study today, we met with Pastor Oldemar & his wife Maritza. He's been the pastor at the church for the past 11 years. We are so blessed that the Lord would lead us to such a bible believing church and a wonderful Pastor and his wife to lead it. Each Sunday the message is strictly out of the word of God, verse by verse. The first Sunday of the month is translated into English. Tonight we got aquainted with one another and it might be that my husband may lead a small group of men on the subject of finances and I may try singing worship with the keyboard player in a service done in English. There was also talk of us joining Pastor Oldemar and a few of the members of the church on a medical mission trip in December to visit a remote spanish speaking Indian community south of here. Maybe, or shall I say, I WILL BE MUCH BETTER AT SPEAKING SPANISH BY THEN!