Costa Rica - Day 2

Maybe I'll end up making blog posts a higher priority after all. It's an effective way for me to accomplish multiple things at once: telling my family/friends about what I'm doing, journaling (I know...I know), and documenting what I do each day. It's a win for everyone right, as long as my posts aren't lame?

We went to the church building today and met with the senior pastor. He told us about his long term plans for the church and how they really want to start changing the culture of Ticos. People live paycheck to paycheck and are hesitant to invest in their futures, which causes them to be stuck in the rut of living paycheck to paycheck. Interest rates are so high, they can't afford to get loans to start a business or purchase a home. A loan to start a business requires a detailed business plan and collateral. If they can even get those things they are looking at interest rates of 25%. Credit card interest rates are 45%.

The church is also struggling financially. Talk about putting things into perspective. They have come up with some innovative ways to keep their building though! They have given up their classroom space in the basement of the church to allow a bakery to move in. The bakery is not affiliated with the church, so they collect a fair rent. But still provides an opportunity to witness to the business owners and patrons of the paneria. You'll never guess what else they're doing to provide cash flow and job training for a few church members. Seriously, you'll never guess. They use their sanctuary as an automobile repair shop. Yea, I know! A few guys from the church work on cars in the sanctuary and divide the income among themselves, church staff and the building costs. Leaving a small portion to be reinvested into the business for tools, etc. Would you do that with your sanctuary? Last time I checked, most churches in the US don't even allow food or beverages into the sanctuary.

A Church Sanctuary?

We also took some time driving around San Jose to see the varying lifestyles: lower class, middle class, and upper class. There is quite a contrast even with minimal separation. One road had squatters (people who just built a home on some vacant land) on one side and middle class, decent looking homes on the other. I also discovered the United States' greatest global export: materialism. We walked through a mall where we saw signs advertising financing....at a Payless Shoesource. Ticos will get store financing, with a very high interest rate, just to keep up with trendy fashions.

After dinner at a parishioner's home we headed to the school to start our training. It got off to a slow start but in the end we had a great time. This evening I met with about 10 teenagers to discuss technology today. Our intention is to get them excited about using technology for ministry. More specifically, supplementing their church. They all have Facebook pages and use Twitter, Tumblr, and YouTube. One young lady is evening training to be Cisco certified. We played a fun game that maybe I can share with my Sunday School class someday. Tomorrow we meet with our classes again in the evening. The team will also be available at the church all afternoon for participants to ask individual questions and dig deeper.

My Class

When I woke up this morning God was laying on my heart some Scripture that I needed to share with the students. It was about how we all spend our time online. What we say. Pictures we post. Do they represent us as Christians? First I shared what God commands us not to do in Ecclesiastes 5:2-3 and Ephesians 4:29. Then what He commands us to do in Colossians 4:6, "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." I explained to them that what you say online needs to reflect the life of a Christian. We must not allow non-Believers to call us hypocrites based on how we treat others online anymore than how we treat others in person. Prayerfully consider what you have representing yourself on the web, if God was looking at your Facebook page would he approve? Because he is.

Buenas noches! Hopefully we can do this again tomorrow night.

Costa Rica - Day 1

As some of you know, I found an opportunity to serve the Lord in Costa Rica this summer. Well, I'm writing this from Costa Rica on my first day. We (a team of 3 from Indianapolis and I) arrived early this afternoon in San Jose, Costa Rica from Atlanta where we met for the first time at gate E11.

See Costa Rica in the southeast corner?

We were able to find our host, Dan, among a very large crowd of eager-to-help Ticos (Costa Ricans) and went for lunch, which consisted of 2 chickens that were cooked on a spit in a fire oven, fried plantains, french fries, and tortillas. With lunch I had a glass of guanabana fruit, it looked like milk mixed with lemonade but tasted delightful. (For pronunciation watch this.)After lunch we stopped at a large market/mall to get some colones (dinero) and a few things from the supermarket.

Guanabana Fruit

After some downtime for unpacking and resting after a morning of travel we tried some Brasilian pizza. Which was also very good. With that meal I tried some watermelon juice, good but not as good and the guanabana. I assume you are familiar with watermelons. I know, I know....you're in Costa Rica and you get BRASILIAN pizza? Oh well, Costa Rica IS closer to Brasil than Minnesota.

Some of you might be wondering: what are you doing in Costa Rica, Sean? Well, I'm glad you asked! Our team is going to be teaching business classes to, what I think, is a primarily Christian audience. A couple guys are going to be teaching about how to start a business, like creating a business plan. I am going to be talking to young adults (late teens, early twenties) about starting a career in technology and using technology to enhance a ministry. Young ticos are very interested in technology, especially anything from the United States. Some large US tech companies have been expanding to Costa Rica. We are working with interpreters that have been paired with us based on their backgrounds and the topics being taught.

As I write I am reminded of Romans 8:31 where Paul asks, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Before coming to Costa Rica, Dan reminded us frequently to "be flexible." That's how I'm heading into this week. I'm not at all nervous or fearful, which as most of you know is unusual for me. I've given every part of this trip to Him, His will, and His glory. I'm sure we are on Satan's radar, so if we do encounter his ilk I will remember that our suffering today is nothing compared to the glory that will be revealed in us. (Rom. 8:18)

A few weeks ago Dan, our host, felt God laying on his heart Jeremiah 33:3 specifically for this team, "Call on me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." In reference to receiving wisdom from God. It struck me how God communicated this verse to Dan while our family is going through some intense searching of what the Lord would have for our family. Big things can happen when you give your life, and everything in it, over to God. Just remember, He's the one that created the earth from nothing, parted the sea (and a river later), rained food from heaven for 40 years, crushed the walls of Jericho, and even created a rock He couldn't move! Do no limit Him in your life. Allow Him to do great things through you....for HIS glory and your reward.

I would love to make you lofty promises of a new post every day but I just can't commit. The sessions that we're teaching are in the evening and will likely go late. Our days are quite full. Tomorrow we're spending the day at the church preparing for our presentations: meeting with church leaders, touring the facility, prepping the translators. Friday and Saturday we're having open forums for session attendees to learn more and get some one-on-one time. Sunday is church, followed by a gathering of approximately 16 church leaders over lunch. Hopefully I can get you some real pictures too.

I started reading a new book yesterday on the plane, Date Your Wife. Husbands, if you feel like your marriage is losing steam - read this book. Wives, if your husband isn't leading you - buy him this book (and make him read it). Friends, if your friends' marriage looks like it could use a boost - buy them this book (and ask them everyday if they've started reading it yet). I can't give it enough kudos.

Just Pretending

We haven't gotten much sleep the last couple nights and the sweet little girl in the picture above is the reason. Maybe God is just preparing us. In a few weeks we'll be back to no sleep, but it will be because of a newborn, not a 3-year-old.

Elise has been waking up several times after we put her to bed and, up to this point, we haven't been able to determine the cause. Bathroom break? Nope. Cold? Hot? Nope. And usually when we ask, she can't answer us. I have gotten a "I don't want to sleeeeep!" a few times at 1:30 in the morning. Night terrors? Maybe, but it's so hard to tell.

This morning we tried a new tactic: ask her why she's waking up when she hasn't just woken up. Really, can any of us form a coherent thought after waking in the middle of the night? Turns out she doesn't have much recollection of the previous night's events. We had to remind her that she woke up several times. Then we asked her again why she was crying in the middle of the night. Her response? I was only pretending.

Sigh...too bad we can't "only pretend" to respond.

Not About the Bunny

There are very few holidays that we actually celebrate around our house. Easter, Christmas and Thanksgiving are about the only ones that make the list. Of course we recognize Mother's day and Father's day, but I wouldn't classify those as "holidays." We try to recognize the holiness of the days we term "holidays." As such, there is no Santa at Christmas and no bunny at Easter. Feel free to judge me now and tell me how I'm depriving my children of lasting childhood memories and fun. It wouldn't be the first time I've heard it and I'm sure it won't be the last.

This approach creates some great teaching moments with our kids as we wander the aisles of Target. In the winter we talk a lot about why Santa is on every shelf and around every corner but doesn't come to our house (or any house for that matter). In the spring, we get to challenge our kids when they see the Easter displays and exclaim "Easter!" but don't see any items representing Jesus or the cross. "What do bunnies/ducks/chocolates/eggs have to do with Easter?" we often ask. Of the three, Jack is most able to reason this out, but the other ones are catching on. It's one of the ways we have to teach them discernment about the messages "the world" throws at them and helps develop their Biblical world view.

Of course, there are moments when it would just be easier to compromise. Wesley's preschool offered "bunny portraits" this year (there's a side story here about compromising values for money, but I'll save that for another day) and we opted out. I just don't see a reason to confuse the issue at age four. Now I thought "bunny portraits" meant pictures with a costumed-man against a basket-full backdrop. Imagine my surprise when we picked him up from school and we saw the adorable floppy-eared fuzzy bunnies (as in, actual bunnies) being loaded into the back of the photographer's car. Wesley calmly explained to the other two that some kids had their pictures taken with the bunnies that day, but "Mom wouldn't let me." Bring on the mother-guilt. In admittedly not one of my finest mothering moments, I blurted out that "Easter is NOT about bunnies and they are just a distraction from the real meaning, which is Jesus' death and resurrection." End of discussion. No teaching. Lecturing only.

Fast forward a few weeks when Wes is actually learning about Easter at school. He excitedly told me that they talked about Easter that day so I asked him what they did. "We played bunny-bunny-chick," was his reply (think duck-duck-gray duck). Sigh... Reminding myself that my frustration was with the curriculum and not my children (teachable moment here), I calmly asked, "What do bunnies and chicks have to do with Easter?" "I don't know," was his reply. Then Jack, who's obviously been listening, pipes up with, "Nothing. Satan just uses the Easter bunny to distract you from thinking about Jesus."

Yes he does, little one. Yes he does.

Orcas Island

After one night in Seattle we set out early to catch the ferry that would take us to Orcas Island. If we had any plans for sight seeing along the way,  they were gone given the dense fog that covered the whole area. We arrived at the terminal early to make sure we could catch the ferry at the right time (our whale watching tour left only 45 minutes after the ferry was scheduled to arrive) so we had some time to wander around.

We took a lot of pictures of the dock so we could show the kids, but it must be one of those you-had-to-be-there types of things because they just weren't interested at all.

In our wandering, Sean discovered blackberry bushes (we soon discovered that there are blackberry bushes all over the area) full of, you guessed it, blackberries.

 

He ate some. I'm sure it's my city-kid childhood that leads me to believe that if it doesn't come from the grocery store it's not edible, but I just couldn't partake in the wild blackberries. Because, you know, what if they weren't...

 

After what seemed like hours waiting at the ferry terminal, we finally drove on and claimed our spot on the car deck. I say that as if we had a choice in where we parked. We didn't. You pretty much just do what the men in orange (yellow?) vests tell you to do.

Then it was time to head upstairs to check out the views. You can see how foggy it was still when we left.

Further away from land, the fog lifted and we were able to see some beautiful scenery. Lots and lots of little islands.

 

As we floated along, you could actually see where the fog ended.

 

Though I should be able to tell you what mountain this is, sadly I can't. I don't think it's Rainier, though.

Due to the fog-related ferry delay, we rushed to the west side of the island to catch our whale watching tour and zipped past our bed and breakfast along the way. I'm going to wait to post pictures of whale watching and move along with the rest of our Orcas Island experience.

We stayed at the Blue Heron Bed and Breakfast, which was a wonderful first-time-B&B experience. The owners were super friendly and very flexible. The rooms were nice, breakfast was delicious and the host and hostess were very knowledgeable about the island.

We spent the majority of our time just exploring the island. There was a dock across the road from our B&B so we spent one morning just looking around. It became clear to me from whom our children get their endless curiosity.

We found these things on rocky beach:

And this in the water:

He was not in the water or on the beach. He was on the dock.

The blackberry bushes lined the main road near our B&B (remember how I said there was an abundance?).

The bushes

The fruit

The thorns

I think it's a requirement when you're in the Pacific Northwest to spend at least one day hiking and enjoying God's creation. We spent one morning in Moran State Park making our way up to Mt Constitution. We were rewarded with breathtaking views of the multitude of islands scattered across the area.

Sean was practicing the art of "fitting in" on Orcas Island. Okay, not really. I made him hug this tree because I thought it would be funny, but he ended up with super sticky sap all over his hands which was not funny all...to him.

That afternoon and evening we explored one of the towns on the island

and returned to a great Mexican restaurant where we'd had dessert the night before.

Orcas sunset

Our final morning was an early one that consisted of a quick (but delicious) breakfast, packing and a short drive to the port. As Orcas Island is a popular spot for weddings and there were at least two the night before, we were sure the ferry back to the mainland would be full. We were right. Two (yes, two!) hours of waiting allowed plenty of time to explore the shoreline and shop for the same souvenirs in all the little shops.

When our ferry finally arrived, we were one of the lucky ones to secure a spot for the trip back.

The rest of our trip was filled with travel time: what seemed like a very long drive back to Seattle, a short shuttle ride to dinner that evening (we stayed by the airport so returned the car early), a long-ish walk back to our hotel and finally our flight home to reunite with our three most precious blessings.

Seattle

In late August (though not as late as originally planned since we had to reschedule due to a school start date), Sean and I spent a long weekend in the Pacific Northwest; a couple days in Seattle and a couple on Orcas Island. Sean spent some time in Seattle on business a couple years ago and has wanted to take me there ever since. It was the promise of orcas that finally convinced me to go, but I did enjoy the other things the area had to offer as well. On a side note: pictures of our whale watching tour will come in a later post as there are far too many to include in this epic.

As we drove away from the airport, we had a great view of the skyline (and the traffic we were caught in).

Our first stop was the Pike Place Market. I've seen the Pike Place Fish video, but had no idea what to expect when we actually stepped out of the car into this shopping-experience-like-no-other. 

We walked in and I was overwhelmed by all the people to see



and yummy food to eat.



The vast amount of seafood was amazing! From fish...



to things in shells...



to freezers full of everything under the sea.

The fresh fruit and veggies were impressive and included some I'd never seen before. Purple and yellow cauliflower?

 

There was a guy on the corner with a bird. I think his name is Phinneas...the bird, not the man.

Phinneas and his man did tricks...

and delighted little girls watching nearby.

I just love the joy you can see in her face.

Because we were there, we had to visit the original Starbucks (though I still prefer Caribou). The line for coffee was out the door and half way down the block, but lucky for us...

these two were keeping us entertained while we waited. They are folk musicians who play a variety of instruments, many simultaneously. He is playing a guitar with a metal part on it that acted as his percussion instrument. She is playing a saw with a bow. Yes, a saw. Later he pulled out a tin tub fashioned with a rope and broom handle and began to strum. The whole thing was amazing.

After some out-of-Seattle adventures (which you'll see later in this post), we headed back downtown to The Crab Pot where we shared a huge pot full of a variety of oceanic delights. They literally just dumped it all on the table, gave us some bibs...

and a couple mallets and let us work our way through it.

Now I love seafood, but I really appreciate the preparation done in the kitchen at Red Lobster before I see it on my plate. Sean had to peel most of my shrimp because I just couldn't look at their little black eyes as I ripped their heads off. I still can't look at this picture for too long without getting squeamish. Hopefully I haven't ruined a good shrimp scampi meal for those of you who have been sheltered by the kind chefs at your favorite seafood establishment.

As we moved out of the heart of downtown, we passed by many ship yards. I've never considered something this industrious to be beautiful, but the vibrance and color were unbelievable.

This next picture is brought to you by the weekend's blonde moment. As we explored what the area had to offer, I saw these flags all over...the state flag. Now you're probably thinking, Of course you did, it's the Washington state flag...because you're in Washington state...and of course it has a picture of George Washington on it...because it's Washington. If you were me, however, it would have taken you four days to make this connection and it wouldn't have been until you were taking the picture below that the lightbulb would go off (or is it on?).

When we had had enough of the city, we ventured north to a little town called Snoqualmie. There was  a beautiful Inn overlooking Snoqualmie Falls, 

a waterfall more than 100 feet higher than Niagara Falls according to the website. As with most of God's natural wonders, pictures don't do it justice.

In the town of Snoqualmie we visited a railway museum and experienced a little bit of history

as we saw what the railcars and wagons used to look like - a far cry from the graffitied railcars and semi trailers used today.

Then we visited this bridge (though I'm not exactly sure where it was - close to Snoqualmie I think) and walked along the trail for awhile.

Upon our return, we witnessed some people jumping off the bridge into the water below. For recreation, just to be clear. The picture below will give you a little perspective on how far the jump is.

This is what it looks like before you jump. See my feet? you have to climb over the fence and then walk out onto that beam and jump from there.

Apparently this is a common thing to do if you live and/or visit the area. But be careful if you get up there and chicken out because your cowardice (read "wisdom") may be broadcast to all subsequent visitors.

I was originally planning to cover our whole trip (with the exception of whale watching) in one blog post, but in the interest of brevity (ha!) I will stop here and leave our time on Orcas Island for another day.