Prayer Requests

WE,

1. Have family visiting until the end of December and had a wonderful Thanksgiving with them and some guests that we invited in an effort to bless them.
2. With having extra bodies here (family) who are willing to help out, we have been able to spend some time "sprucing up" our mission home. The livingroom and diningroom have new paint and curtains. The diningroom now has chair covers which match the curtains. Our bedroom has a new coat of paint, new sound and light blocking curtains as well. Things are looking mighty spiffy around here! What a blessing to our family!
3. Have three teams coming back-to-back in December and January, and are busy doing logistics and having meetings with churches that will be hosting our medical clinics for those teams. Please begin praying for these teams and their ministry that they will be doing in Costa Rica!
4. Are working on obtaining building permits for a new cabin to be started at the camp in 2011. Please pray for this process, it is often frustrating and is always time consuming!
5. Just finished our Christmas letter that will be sent out through Global Outreach Mission to our prayer and financial supporters. We were happy to report that 255 people (children and adults) came to the know the Lord through this ministry in 2010 and are being followed up in local churches...Praise the Lord!
6. Are having heavy rains for the last two days and are having internet connection problems, thus, the short sentences, but some communication is better than none...right?
7. Appreciate all of you who pray for us, who think about us, who leave comments of encouragement, who financially support us, who love us, who care about us. We could not be here without EACH of you!
8. Often times don't understand why we have been allowed to be here. We are reminded that God does not need us to do His work and so, we are grateful!

Hopefully, another day when the connection will last longer I can post more, but until then, thanks for reading!

Sporadic Internet

Due to having sporadic internet in our home due to the storm, and being very behind in work as well and trying to play catch-up; I realized that I am also behind in updating my blog.

We arrived home Sunday evening around 5:30 p.m. from our hotel hold up with the team of architects in the camp and working along. We left Palmar Norte before noon when we got a tip from the Transit Police that they would be opening one of the highways at 2 p.m. We decided that we would wait in line for the road to open up as many of the truckers were loading up and heading out. We drove about 35 km. and sat for very long periods of time watching dump trucks and back hoes in the distance up ahead in one lane continue to clear debris and large mounds of dirt. When I just about thought I couldn't handle the heat anymore and sweat was pouring off Ken's brow, a policeman came and shouted to us, "pase pequenos vehiculos" meaning that small vehicles were allowed to pull around the 18-wheelers and pass through. What we found up ahead that was holding up traffic was easily a two-story pile of dirt in the oncoming lane with the back hoe driven up the side of it removing dirt and loading it into the dump trucks. We saw roads, power lines and bridges (which were now somewhat repaired for usage) washed out into rivers. Travel was slow at 10 m.p.h. We had to drive through one of the hardest hit areas, Parrita, and as I looked from side to side of house-lined roads I began to tear up. It seemed as though everything that anyone owned was up at the road for the trash men to pick up; clothing, furniture, refrigerators, baby equipment. There were several water trucks and people lined up with any kind of clean container that they could find to fill. There were TV crews interviewing and photographing the devastation. The people looked dazed, tired and frustrated. As we entered the center of town where there was an obvious business district, store owners were sweeping water and mud from their buildings and we heard the sound of cans shaking from the middle and sides of the street before us begging for monetary donations.

Traveling home was emotional. We were saddened, but happy. Before us was an obvious reminder; He is coming again. Lord, let it be soon!

It stopped raining and a window into how people pass time.

We are still in the same hotel, but thankful to be safe and have this room. Our room is near the office and repeatedly throughout the day we have heard the office personnel tell people they have no rooms left available, and each time I feel a lump in my throat. There are wall to wall trucks parked alongside the road and people in this hotel are walking in the parking lot to keep from going stir crazy! While Ken and the boys were out walking to the grocery store this morning to buy milk and cereal, they witnessed a landslide across the river and watched as trees and a part of a mountain came down into the river. This is the first time they have ever seen something live like this, not someone else's video or something you would see on the news here. The grocery stores are running low on supplies, such as milk, since no one can get to us at this point and we cannot get out. We have about a three mile radius that we can drive and from those points are totally cut off in both directions with the roads being blocked. The update this morning was that we will have to wait until Tuesday to leave from the transit police; the road conditions are not just landslides at this point, but also repair work where there are sink holes and large parts of the road washed away. The hotel manager said this afternoon that they have begun the "work" on the roads and "maybe we can leave tomorrow", but with every person you ask you get a different story. There are only two restaurants that we can get to, one Chinese, and one pizza. We are only eating out once a day and eating cereal for breakfast, crackers and chips, apples and bananas in the hotel between meals or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. People are starting to wash their clothes and hang them outside their hotel rooms. We may have to start doing that tomorrow if we cannot leave as well since we only brought enough for three days and we've been gone from home six days now! It's taken all day to be able to get online to write this post with the internet not working.

All this to say, God is good! No rain and for a few minutes sun and then about an hour of baby blue sky before the cloud cover. This all taken in from a very comfortable front seat of our van!

Stranded, but Safe in Costa Rica!

We left Orosi on Monday morning and drove to Panama; our 90 days were up and we needed to renew our VISA's. We noticed that halfway through the trip it was very cool and raining which is unlike our previous trips to Panama. Usually, the AC in the van is running wide open as Panama is usually uncomfortably humid! We didn't know that a tropical storm had begun, but noticed that the travel was slower and it took 8 hours to get to the border rather than the usual 6. On Wednesday morning, we received our re-entry stamp to head back into Costa Rica. We got to the two-hour marker into the trip and the Pan American highway which we were traveling on was closed down ahead and we found ourselves at a "Y" in the road; meaning the only other way home was to the left, but that road too was barracaded off. Initially, we thought perhaps there was a bad accident ahead, but upon further questioning of the truck drivers around us, we found out that the roads had been closed since the day before, Tuesday, due to landslides and sink holes. 16" of rain had fallen in this area on Wednesday alone! At about 5 p.m. we decided to begin looking for a room and Ken came back to the van having received the LAST two rooms in a nearby hotel. We didn't have AC, hot water or a TV, but were thankful for the beds and ceiling fans! It is now Friday and it is still raining with only short breaks to lighter rains. We have since moved within the same hotel to a family room which is much larger and we are all together. For $5 more we now have TV and AC, but we have freed up the previous two rooms for others as well. We can now see landslides on the mountains surrounding this town as well.

It would be easy to complain, I reckon. The kids are tired of each other and we are tired of the kids....LOL!!! We could have been on a road or a bridge driving back home that suddenly washed out as so many continue to do each day. We could be at the side of the road sleeping in our van with our three kids with no bathroom, running water, AC or TV; not that we "need" those things, but it sure feels more comfortable, and there's a grocery store behind the hotel!

Three homes have washed into the river in Orosi, where we are from in Costa Rica, the driving bridge is impassable in our town.

We have had sporadic internet service, power and cell phone service here at the hotel, but His timing is perfect in that we have a team arriving in Costa Rica tomorrow to spend a week at the camp and every time we have needed to "connect" with someone regarding finishing the logistics for this team, He has provided a way, a connection!

We don't know when we will get to go home. We have the transit police office not far from the hotel we are stranded in and they give us updates. It is still raining and they tell us they will not begin clearing the roads of the mudslides until it stops raining due to the instability in the mountains and the danger to the workers. We planned on two days away, but it's been five so far. We know the team will and can go on without us because we know whose team it is as the Lord continues to provide for Global Outreach Mission and the campground expansion projects!

It would be so easy to gripe, but when I look at this picture all I can say is "Thank You, Lord" for having us in your protective Hands!

http://www.ticotimes.net/News/Daily-News/Escazu-Landslide-Leaves-at-Least-20-Dead-10-Missing-Costa-Rica-on-Red-Alert_Thursday-November-04-2010

Lo siento mucho OR sorry!

We've been really busy. More on all of that later!

The reason for this post is to ask you to remember the ministry at the campground this weekend with the homeless shelter in your prayers. We have just a couple of hours behind us and already the walls are being broken down and God is moving. Several street weapons have already been turned in (a picture later). God is moving!

Thank you so much for praying!

Housecleaning...in more ways than one!

I enjoy cleaning at the camp for the most part. Of course, there are always the not-so-fun cleaning jobs that need to get done. Mostly, I enjoy the times that I get to work by myself without interruption; I take in the sights and the sounds of the camp, the small animals, hummingbirds and birds or just enjoy spying different flowers and trees in full bloom as I walk the paths between cabins and buildings. Today, I wished our camera wasn't broken. I caught a glimpse of a flowering bush that for some reason hit me in a comical way; the plumes of bright yellow flowers reminded me of the hair on some of Dr. Seuss' characters! I noticed an orange tree that I couldn't ever remember so many oranges on at one single time!

I also like to spend my cleaning times talking to God. These are often "self-evaluation" times for me. Times when I feel God is revealing changes that need to be made in my life, and then there are times when I recognize I need to change, but I need to ask for His help!

Today, as I saw the oranges and the guava falling to the ground and onto a walking path I was reminded of "The Fruit of the Spirit". Galatians 5:22 & 23 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control". As I looked at the display of God's handiwork in the campground today, I questioned myself about what my personal, every day life display looks like to the community in which we live. Am I displaying something that is attractive and what others might want? Is God able to appeal to people in this community through me?

Housecleaning, not always fun, but necessary!

Five months and still praying!

Heather had a dentist appointment today in San Jose. Today, her and Ken opted to take the bus rather than drive the van, but doing this will take the better part of a day which means a late return home this afternoon. The van is scheduled to go in for more repairs again tomorrow. Last week, we were still having problems with the oil leak, but it seems as though that might have been fixed, but when one thing is corrected, it has meant that we have difficulties with something else. Now we have a new problem of leaking gas; from what location, I don't know, only that Ken told me that it is. The van has not been operating correctly since we got the new motor put in, and none of the repairs that anyone has done on them seems to last very long. It is stressful for Ken because he needs to make sure he is getting back to the mechanic before the work warranty runs out. Personally, we are ready to just begin taking the bus everywhere since the repairs are costing us so much money! They weren't kidding when we came here and we were told that it is costly to maintain a vehicle.

Today, I cleaned the green cabin that the Messick Family stayed in over the weekend, folded a large amount of laundry, and did more camp laundry.

This week will be a week of preparation for a large group rental the entire weekend. They plan on arriving Friday morning between 8 and 9 a.m. and leaving late Sunday afternoon. It is the homeless shelter that will be returning, one of our partnerships through Promundo Fundacion, and they always would request your prayers for their work during the weekend. Please pray for the participants who are continuing to work through a restoration program both spiritually and from the addiction of drugs or alcohol.

Well, time for me to prepare for my two-hour English class this afternoon. Megayle is 18 years old and is a Christian, and she is an outstanding student, doing her homework and scoring a 101 on her "other" teacher's exam last week. She sure was excited and returned to my home at 9:15 p.m. last Thursday night to show me the results. Continue to pray for me as a strive to help her learn.

From Kristy

Below is a comment that Kristy left on our blog after returning home from the camp. I just wanted to share it with everyone and to thank you so very much for praying for her, Matt, and the kids as they enjoyed the camp this weekend. They too, were a blessing to us as we attended church together and spent some time just getting to know each other, and encouraging each other! May the Lord continue to bless them, their ministry and their family!

Kristy said...
What a gift it was to be able to come and RUN, PLAY, SING, and collect fruit in such a beautiful garden! We had a fabulous time as a family taking a break from Spanish and just being a family! Thank you for letting Christ's love shine thru you guys and gifting us with exactly what we needed! So thankful to be in His hands! Culture shock isn't fun, but remembering it won't last for ever, and remembering that we all go thru it to some degree makes it a little easier! Thank you for being willing to walk with us thru a bit of ours!

"It's Finally Friday" & Culture Shock

My kids loved that song on Q*DR when we lived in N.C. We would sing it altogether while waiting in carpool line and crank it up! Buncha' rednecks!

It is Friday, but it has been a productive week here at the camp with getting a lot of spring cleaning done. Yesterday, Ken and I spent six hours cleaning out the two main bodegas (storage rooms) in the Celebration Center. One of them is the tool room for construction, and the other houses our medications and medical supplies in a secured storage locker. The other half of that room is divided off by a wall and doorway and has another large storage area with shelving and stores household items for the cabins and the mission homes, and sports equipment. Yesterday, Ken & I literally pulled everything out of the large storage area and into the Celebration Center, cleaned the shelving and reorganized. The "plan" is to move all of the Children's Ministry supplies out of the cabinets in the office of the white house and into the storage area with the shelving.

Last week, I had been reading a blog on missionary blogs.com (a web site comprised of blogs written by missionaries serving all over the world which our blog is a member of) written by a missionary family located near San Francisco, Costa Rica. Their post literally made me tear up in that I felt helpless to help them as they deal with the issue of culture shock. Culture shock is something that all missionaries know they will at some time have to deal with, but it is not something that you can predict the timing of, nor in what manner it will effect you, therefore, you cannot fully explain it to another missionary and tell them exactly how they will experience it. Culture shock by definition is the trauma you experience when you move into a culture different from your home culture. Simple enough, right? Not really...It is a helpless feeling when you go through it, a feeling of literally hitting a wall. You feel as though you have lost what little "control" you might have in living in a foreign country, where you do not always understand the language, where the culture is new and you are walking on eggshells trying not to intentionally offend anyone, and on a daily basis struggling just to achieve simple tasks. I think that about sums it up! There are five stages to culture shock: the first is the stage of excitement and fascination with the new culture in which you live. The second is the crisis period where you begin to feel disappointed where you are, overwhelmed and easily irritated. The third is the adjustment phase when you begin to accept the culture and you begin to have a more positive attitude toward it. I can laugh now, but it took me a full year to get to this phase! The fourth stage is acceptance and adaptation; you have accepted where you live, and you begin to make connections with the people, and are involving yourself in outside activities. The fifth stage is the re-entry shock. When you go back to your homeland and at first you are in a euphoric state, happy to see everyone and be connected again. There is also a crisis state associated with this phase in which you realize that you are not really "home", things have changed, people are not the same, you in some ways feel disconnected because you have been gone and you feel disenchanted. This happens to us every time we go home. We "thought" we were going home, yet, it feels less and less like "home" is there. It initially feels wonderful to have so much available to us when we go back, yet we often shortly upon our return feel angry or frustrated with how much the States has available to them. (Trust me, you really don't want to know all the details of my melt-down in Food Lion in August just trying to satisfy a craving for some American store-bought cookies. End result: Tears of frustration, no cookies, and the inability to literally make a choice because there was SO MUCH to choose from after standing and staring in the cookie aisle for twenty minutes)! When we leave, it's a confusing feeling.

To make a long story short, as I was reading the blog post by the other missionary, the Lord compelled me to leave a comment inviting them to come and stay at the camp.

Please pray for Matt & Kristy and their four children as they come to the camp tonight and spend the weekend. They are here in Costa Rica staying about a year for language study. They are going to be ministering in another country once they have completed their language studies, and will have to make new adjustments to that culture. The Lord has required them to give up much; they have no vehicle while here in Costa Rica. I could not do that with four kids in the States, let alone another country! Matt & Kristy have "hit the wall"! They are frustrated and tired with language study. We can relate to that! They are desperately trying to adjust to the culture. I'm not sure at times I even totally understand this culture and I've already lived here two and a half years. Pray, that the Lord would flood their souls with peace and understanding as they go through this period of culture shock, and that they would hear His voice this weekend as they seek rest in the campground. Pray that the language would "click" in their minds and that they would progress in it! I know that they will deeply appreciate you praying for them! May the Lord work this weekend for His honor and His glory as we offer them respite care!

Rise and shine tomorrow morning for us is 4 a.m. as we travel to Pavas, a suburb of San Jose to join our ministry partners, Promundo Fundacion - "God Festival", who will be infiltrating this suburb for one day with the Good News of Jesus Christ where 90-plus volunteers will work in children's ministry, hair stylists, cooks, lawyers, medical doctors and nurses, pharmacists, and the evangelism team. We partner with them to reach the poor and oppressed in Costa Rica and be His hands and His feet.

"Taps" - Sing with us!

Yes, we are singing Taps AGAIN as we throw away another camera here in Costa Rica! This one was pronounced DOA (dead on arrival) when pulled from Ken's back pocket at the orphan home after three or four of the kids climbed on his back and he heard a very generous "crunch" sound! And our daughter's response back home when asked to please shop for another camera to bring down with her in November when she visits? Something to the effect of "we go through as many cameras as she does diapers for our grandson ...LOL"! That makes three cameras in two and a half years. Others have had more miserable deaths; like the last one going through a wash cycle in Heather's jeans pocket. In other words, our daughter does not arrive in Costa Rica until November 13th and there won't be any pictures posted to our blog before then....sorry! But please, don't let that be the only reason you follow us here.

Well, our visitors have returned to the States, sadly. It's a little lonely now around here. Yesterday after Spanish lessons I cleaned the camp kitchen, doing dishes, cleaning out the refrigerator, sanitizing the countertops and mopping the floor. Ken cleaned the peach cabin, stripping bedding from the Meyer's family visit and cleaning the cabin, doing laundry.

Today, I have been doing laundry in our home after not finding time to do much of any with company. We have an abundance of bananas ripening at the camp, so today I made two loaves of banana bread and two banana cakes; one for us and one for Amy & Alex. This afternoon, I have a new English student; one of Isa's relatives (the camp cook) that I am beginning lessons with. She is studying English in Orosi and paying for her lessons. I won't be charging anyone who wants to learn English because here it means the difference of a better job and pay, and I consider this a means of ministry. I am not sure if this student is a Christian, but my focus will be on building our relationship and earning the right to share my faith with her. Please keep me and my English student in your prayers!

Well, there is always enough to do here whether for ministry purposes or just the care of our family. I need to check over the last two weeks of school work the three kids have done as they progress in their homeschooling. It all keeps me out of trouble!

Thank you for reading and for praying for our family. We certainly need it as we endeavor to serve here in Costa Rica, bringing the Light of Jesus to the Orosi Valley!

Amy's First-Aid kits

When Candace first arrived we took her on a tour of the Carpio Clinic where she is ministering each day this week, with the exception of Tuesday, when it is closed; and then we went shopping for first-aid containers. Candace and Amy put together 18 of these kits for each home with Heather & Javier's help, and while there is a nurse on staff at the orphan home, I know that it will go a long way in helping the mothers to clean scrapes and cuts in their homes, keeping germs at bay until the nurse can get around to check things out!

Ministering at the Orphan Home

We ministered at the orphan home for two days; last Friday and also this past Tuesday. These pictures are from last Friday while the previous post was from this week on Tuesday.

Since the kids in the orphan home go to school for a half day it gave us the opportunity to fit a lunch break into our schedule. We thought that Candace might enjoy having lunch at the Mirador in Orosi (the look-out) to give her the opportunity to take some photo's and also to just enjoy the beauty of the valley in which we are allowed to minister.

This photo is taken from one side of the Mirador, a cleared field overlooking some of the opposite mountains and valleys.

This photo is overlooking Cachi, a town past Orosi. This is the same river that flows behind the campground.

On both Friday and Tuesday we packed a picnic lunch, kind of a "make-your-own" sub-type lunch with baguettes, lunch meat and toppings as well as chips, soda and cookies. Everyone seemed to enjoy this and the team fellowship as well! This is taken from the Orosi Mirador and on Tuesday we went to the Ujarras Mirador, across the valley on another mountain.

And the parachute, a gift from Global Outreach Mission, is still a big hit in children's ministry!

One of the really fun things that Amy & Alex prepared in the hygiene teaching was a video entitled, "The Batman". Amy had found it online and it demonstrates the proper way to protect a sneeze from spreading germs. Of course, Amy didn't have too much problem finding a volunteer on the team to demonstrate "The Batman" following the video, live to the kids! Here's our Batman, Jordan!

Thank the Lord for Heather, always willing to lead music and with Becca & Tate's help, we were well prepared to minister through music with beautifully decorated posterboards!

Keep us in your prayers as tonight we go to minister at the homeless shelter. Candace and Emil & his family will be joining us in that as we prepare in the campground kitchen this afternoon a spaghetti dinner for 90 people. Tomorrow, sadly Emil and his family will begin their trip back home in the late afternoon, so please keep them in your prayers for traveling mercies. Candace will leave on Saturday as well and would appreciate the same prayers. It will be kind of lonely around here, that's for sure!

Visitors & Ministry

On Monday, Emil & Stacey arrived at the camp with their two daughters, Becca & Tate. They are prayerfully considering full-time missionary service with Global Outreach Mission and came from California to see the ministry in Costa Rica! Part of our ministry here is to share our lives with other potential missionaries by involving them in what we do on a day-to-day basis as well as having them joining us in ministry. This week has been awesome because it has felt like we have had a "mini" team here and we are always able to do so much more with a few people than just by ourselves! I really like their family and I wish that we could keep them here. Their girls are so special and Heather has enjoyed having "little sisters" around. It's hard for us to meet people for a short time, bond with them in some way and then have them leave. We don't know if Emil & Stacey will feel that God is calling them back to Costa Rica, but we know who does the calling! I do know that they would make great missionaries and so I ask that you add them to your prayer list for us; that God would give them very clear direction in the future. May God bless their family!

This picture is of Stacey at the orphan home introducing a craft with Heather translating for her.

As I mentioned before in a previous post, Candace is here from Arkansas for one week. She is an R.N. and has been ministering with Amy from a medical aspect in that her and Amy devised a plan to teach general hygiene while we were at the orphan home. Candace has been a hoot while she has been staying in our home. When I think about the scripture, "The joy of the Lord is my strength", I will always think of Candace in the future. She floods a room with "joy" in all circumstances and a love for the Lord that is contagious. She will be greatly missed when it is time for her to go as well.

Also as part of our ministry at the orphan home, we have always tried to minister to the mothers as well. I emailed Candace in advance of her coming and asked her if it would be possible for her to bring some small gifts for the mothers. When she arrived I was thrilled when she opened a suitcase of donations from her home church and friends of small bottles of lotion, candles, notepads, washcloths, etc. and when Ken was out one day he found these cute purse-like gift bags for us! Some were white with silver beaded handles and also red. At the end of the day of ministering on Tuesday to the orphan home kids, Stacy, Candace & Heather went to each home, prayed with each Mom and presented them with a special "ladies only" gift bag! Thank you so much, all of Candace's family and friends who made this possible for us to do. It was a tremendous blessing for the ladies to receive and I know that it encouraged each one of them!

In talking with Amy about what kind of thing we could do "new & different" in ministry at the orphan home, she came up with the brilliant idea one day as she was up to her arm pits in suitcases and sorting medical supplies, that with the extra that we had on hand, we could make miniature first aid kits for each orphan house. From that idea came another to have general hygiene kits for each child, and to set our "program" for the children around scriptural verses relating to God's temple (our bodies) and the care of our temple. Then, came the email to Emil & Stacey who were still preparing back in the States to let them know what we were doing and how they might be able to help us. Never did we expect that Emil & Stacey would take our ideas and prepare so much for us; what a blessing! When they arrived, they had two suitcases full of 60 prepared hygiene kits, each in an individual travel bag and complete with a washcloth, travel toothbrush, a regular toothbrush, soap, hair brush and shampoo.

On Tuesday, Stacey prepared a devotional that pulled everything that Amy & Candace had been teaching on hygiene together using one of the hygiene kits! The kids lined up to leave and go back to their homes after the ministry, and Becca & Tate, along with Stacey placed a kit in each child's hand. The kids were so excited! I saw one little boy, not even looking through his bag as most of the kids were, but clutching it close to his side as if to send the message that it "was his"!

As simple as water

Yesterday afternoon the town crier informed us that the water would be turned off today for line repairs. It's always nice to have advance notice! So, this morning Ken and I were up early to fill the necessary containers to be able to do today's chores; filling pots to be able to boil water to do the dishes later (we only have cold water here and always boil water to ensure the dishes are clean) and for cooking. Of course, taking a shower was high on the list of priorities as well before the 7:30 or 8 a.m. "turn off".

It's not so hard to recall how much easier things "appear" back in the States having just returned back to Costa Rica a little over six weeks ago. What is more amazing is how God has allowed us to adapt back and forth between our two homelands. It's odd how the mission field "changes" you. Most people come here and can't believe how long it takes to do the dishes for a family of five, boiling the pots of water. I go home to the States and struggle with remembering how to load and operate our dishwasher, and my daughter or son-in-law have to hold a "reminder session".

Simplicity, it's not as bad as it sounds, and later today, I will be reminded of how nice it is just to be able to turn on the tap and watch the cold water flow.

Scipio Center, NY

One of the churches that we were invited to while we were home in the States was the Scipio Center Community Church located in Scipio, NY (Central NY). They asked us to be their guest speakers for their week-long VBS program. The theme of their VBS was the Rain Forest! We came armed with all the fascinating photos for their kids that we could find on our cameras; you know, the tarantulas, iguanas, bananas on the trees, the monkeys, all things Rain Forest and Costa Rica! We had a great time sharing with them on a number of different levels; what it means to be a missionary, what a missionary does in a foreign country, what our family does in Costa Rica for work and for fun, etc.

This first picture is of Jo Beth and Heather leading the music. Jo Beth has actually been to Costa Rica and served alongside of us on a children's ministry team. Heather and Jo Beth hit it off and since this is my sister, Wendy's, home church; whenever we get to visit her and her husband, Gary, Jo Beth and Heather get to see each other. They make a GREAT team, along with Jo Beth's sister.

This is just a few of the preschool kids. They are so much fun! Many had a lot of questions about missions and living in a foreign country. You never know what seed God might have planted in the heart of one of these small children.

I found a Dr. Seuss book entitled, "If I Ran the Rain Forest" and while it didn't have any Biblical basis, the book itself, had lots of whimsical drawings of rain forest animals and the four floors of the rain forest. This was an educational tool and I read it to the younger groups of kids while I was there one day. They all had lots of questions about the rain forest which this book helped to answer. Though, the rhymes in true Dr. Seuss style were real tongue twisters!

Five days of being in front of the kids, while only for five to ten minutes, by the last day, I was hoarse! I shared a couple of different illustrations, tye-dying a coffee filter with different colored food colorings each representing a "difference" that we saw in the Costa Ricans when we first arrived to Costa Rica, but explaining they too are made in God's image, and that God sees them as equal to us. When I held the folded coffee filter up and began to unfold it, the kids began to squeal at the beauty in the tye-dyed filter and I explained that "differences" make us all unique and beautiful before God.

One day, Heather, Kyle & Jordan joined me up front, and we just sat casually and answered all the questions they could think of to ask; what do we eat in Costa Rica for food? What is our favorite foods in Costa Rica? What do we miss eating while we are in the States that we can only get in Costa Rica? Did Heather or Kyle have a boyfriend or girlfriend in Costa Rica? What do we do for fun as a family when we are not working?

On the last day, as I was wrapping up all that we had talked about, I had one of the Youth Group help me out on an illustration using a remote controlled car as I did an invitation. I used scripture from Romans and had the Youth represent "me" and demonstrate how without Jesus, and me controlling the remote car, I tend to steer my car in different and sometimes wrong directions. But, when I accepted Jesus, He took control of my life, and the car was on a much better, direct path. Praise the Lord that 7 children accepted Jesus at the end of the week! Thank you, Scipio Community Church, for investing in the children of your church and community. Truly, they are the future of your church. And, thank you for allowing us to participate in your VBS. You were a blessing to our family and we enjoyed feeling like part of your family!

Not "Big Steve's"

One place we love to go to when we are at home in NC is actually only about three miles from our home. The name of the restaurant is "Big Steve's" and he's located in the Food Lion Plaza at Hwy. 210 and I-40, Exit 319. He specializes in bagels and I really do mean "specializes". They also make The Best chicken salad..."evah"! I love to go there for breakfast and especially when my son-in-law, Brad, takes care of ordering for me. I guess he knows me, probably more because he is married to my daughter, Danielle, and we have similar tastes in food. I always order the croissant sandwich, bacon, egg and cheese and wonder how in the world I am going to finish that! And Brad always adds in a cinnamon-raisin bagel with plain cream cheese for me knowing that's really what I want too. (He did it to me last time I was home too and when we sat down to eat at the breakfast table and I questioned the bagel in addition to the croissant, Brad rolled his eyes, and we both busted out laughing!)

Needless to say, we don't ever get to eat bagels here in Costa Rica because we can't afford them at over more than $1 per bagel, frozen, Lender's bagels. There is a restaurant called, "Bagelman's" here, but it is so far away, about 45 minutes from the house, that we can't justify driving to get a breakfast sandwich there. The other day when reading another missionary blog, I found that she had made some bagels from a recipe she found and posted a link.

Well, they are NOT "Big Steve's", but they are whole wheat and cinnamon-raisin, and they are easy and taste so good! Some days on the mission field, we just thank the Lord for being able to eat something that comes somewhat close to familiar from home.

I forgot

Would you believe that I brought my camera to take some pictures last night in the Celebration Center and I totally forgot to take any pictures! Ergh! Last night we had low numbers, 10 women and 5 children. In the June meeting we had 26 women, but I found out that the church in Orosi was having a major fundraising project and that almost the entire town was attending that. I believe that God had attend exactly who He wanted to get there. Amy's testimony was amazing and I saw some teary eyes. The children had a really good time too. One really neat thing I noticed was that the women stayed around a lot longer this time to eat snacks and just to talk. That really is a cultural difference that I have noticed. They kind of eat and leave here real quickly where we live; whether you've invited someone for dinner or its a ministry activity. That was a really, really nice change last night and I am grateful for it. Today, I've been cleaning up my kitchen after making the brownies and cookies (did I mention they were high heeled shoes?). So stinkin cute!

Pray for seeds that were planted last night!

As always, thank you for taking the time to read...

Women's Ministry Tonight - Praying?

I hope if you are a regular follower of this blog that you remembered a previous post about the Women's Ministry Outreach being held tonight at the camp. This ministry is now a regular Outreach into the community of women and is being held every three months under the name, "Noche de Chicas" or "Chick Night"! The Lord placed this ministry on my heart back in late winter and I formed a Steering Committee of two other very fine Tica Christian ladies to help me launch our first Women's Outreach back in June. At that time, missionary intern, Tamara Maycroft was here and she was the guest speaker. There is more of a "need" for this ministry than I even understood back in June, and as of the last couple of weeks, my two Tica friends on the Steering Committee have been virtually "hounded" about the next meeting, when it was going to be, etc. Today, I have been working on the last of the preparations and I will take more photos tonight, but here are the brownie bites on a stick. Then they are dipped in chocolate and rolled in coconut, macadamia nuts or just fun confetti sprinkles. As a rule, my Tica friends informed me that "chocolate is necessary" at a Women's gathering, so I am prayerful that this will fit the bill! Tonight, Amy Givens, our new ministry partner here at the camp is sharing her testimony and what the Lord has taught her especially about Biblical "finances". Our next meeting is scheduled for December 4 and will be a Mother-Daughter Christmas Tea theme.

Please pray for our outreach tonight as Amy shares from the Word about this very specific topic, but a much needed one with regard to women here in the Valley! Also, at the same time that the women are having their meeting, we will be having a simultaneous children's ministry, so that no women has to be left out of attending tonight's activities!

My father-in-law & Psalm 73:26

A couple of days ago Heather and I were in the house standing and talking in the kitchen when Heather came to me and nuzzled her head into my shoulder and began to sob. It took a few minutes to be able to understand what she was trying to tell me, but while we had been talking in the kitchen, someone had come to the house (a homeless man, who we have been ministering too for a while now); and he had been at the camp when Grandpa Dundon was here visiting in April. This triggered a memory of her Grandpa, and she became overwhelmed with emotion and missing him. We are now just realizing that when we were back in the States we went through the "motions" of grieving. Ken's plane ticket was for the day of his father's burial and he actually left without attending the graveside service for Costa Rica. The kids and I continued in NY for another whole week to do a week-long VBS, and then return to NC for a speaking engagement, and then returned to Costa Rica. It seems now like one day we were surrounded with our family and a week or so later we were back in Costa Rica by ourselves. On a recent phone call with Ken's Mom when we were checking in with her, I never could regain composure enough to talk to her as I didn't want to upset her anymore than she was already. She was sharing some of the difficulties she was experiencing as she adjusts to her new life as a widow.

I was reading in Psalms the other night and came across Psalm 73:26 which says, "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever". I highlighted the verse in a neon yellow Sharpie marker and then wrote, "Dad Dundon" in ink next to it. For me, it embodies all that he believed.

One day, I hope that my children can highlight a verse and remember me. I pray that it is a verse as strong as this one; testifying that God is all that I need and that He is everything to me!

Independence Day!

Feliz Dia de Independencia, Costa Rica!!

"It's a Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood"

Not really!! This is how quickly the rain can swell even a small creek during rainy season. This creek is directly across from the front of our home. We had some important errands to run this afternoon around 1 p.m., but noticed that it began to rain really, really hard. In ten minutes we were grabbing brooms and anything we could find to try and block the water from our next door neighbor's yard and front door who is away at work during the day. We were not very successful, but the boys, Kyle & Jordan didn't need to go with us on this errand, and as they have always done with us in the past; they took a break from what they were doing to clean our neighbors house once we called his relatives!

A busy week

This week has been very busy. I spent most of the week painting in the other mission house preparing for Amy and Alex to arrive. Amy is an LPN and will be working with us for a year; hopefully longer if her funds can continue to come in. On Monday, Ken joined me at the house and spent the entire day doing odd jobs at the house, repairing locks, working on plumbing issues, doors, clothing storage units, etc. On Thursday in the evening we went to the airport to pick up Amy. Yesterday, we spent the entire day shopping with her; grocery shopping and then outfitting the house kind of shopping. It was a long day of stopping at multiple places, but she got new furniture and mattresses, dishes, etc. We accomplished a lot and now have her list down to next to nothing. Today, she is still unpacking and getting things put away in her house. This weekend is a weekend "off" in that there is no rental group. This morning I am off to meet with one of the other members of the Women's Ministry Steering Committee. She helps me as I plan our Women's Outreach to keep within the cultural boundaries and out of trouble since she is a Tica! This Friday night we will launch the ongoing Women's Ministry after the first meeting three months ago was such a big hit, and the local women are asking for it to continue. It will continue on an every three month basis with an outreach especially for women at the camp. The name of the Women's Ministry will be "Noche de Chica" (Chick Night), and Amy will be sharing a devotional this Friday night!

Well, look for more posts over the weekend and pictures from our visit back in the States. Thanks for reading!

We ate....a lot...while in the States

A 12-lb. turkey in Costa Rica costs $80. Needless to say, we don't eat turkey at Thanksgiving or any other time of the year for that matter. Actually, Costa Ricans don't celebrate Thanksgiving Day and so the turkeys are imported from the States. Most Costa Ricans have never eaten turkey! When we do get to come home, a turkey dinner is something we very much look forward too. We spotted frozen Butterball turkeys in the Wal-Mart freezer for 86 cents per pound! Danielle, our oldest daughter, is at the end of the table and her husband, Brad, is to the right of her. They come to Costa Rica and spend every Christmas with us, but we make it a point when we are home to celebrate Thanksgiving with them as a family. So, here we are around the kitchen table at our home in N.C. enjoying 100 degree temperatures and our Thanksgiving meal...TOGETHER!! Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, a little early!

Sharing about Costa Rica

One of the first presentations we did was to this group of kids during our second week at home in N.C. These pictures were taken at Kids Faith Camp outside of Smithfield, N.C. We were invited to share about our missionary lives and our ministry in Costa Rica. The kids were really inquisitive and asked some great questions! Of course, we came armed with the "cream of the crop" photos for kids that they all want to see; the tarantulas we have photographed at the camp, monkeys at the beach, the Macaw's, etc. Heather, Kyle and Jordan are dressed in "sort of" the national costume (the boys should have been wearing white long-sleeved shirts rolled up, but we needed to get back home to purchase those, and hadn't yet at the time of this presentation, but red is a national color). They performed a typical Costa Rican dance that you would see here at a parade particularly on Independence Day! And of course, we talked about "spiritual" things too. I explained that we don't have to really go far to be a "missionary" if we open are eyes wide enough! Seems even in the States there are plenty of people in need. You never know, maybe one day, one of these kids will be a missionary, if not at home, than another country. Thank you Kids Faith for the opportunity and the blessing of being asked to share with your kids!

M.I.A. - Not really!

Some might think we have been missing in action! I have been in a "writing funk" as of late, I think, because I have had so many other things on my mind like, confirmation last evening from the main office that a medical team is coming down at the end of October and the urgent need to begin the team's logistics, the need to write to our supporters and give them an update on the ministry in Costa Rica through the main office, a camp schedule that needs to be prepared for the main office, a financial statement that is complete in a "rough" copy, but now needs to be typed and sent in to the main office, homeschooling the three kids here in Costa Rica and a mound of papers to be corrected for them, painting the other mission house for another missionary arriving one week from today to stay for a year and help us, a mound of thank you cards from our stay in the States and the funeral services; oh...I could go on! Somedays, it feels like I am working "backwards" instead of moving forwards! Ever have that feeling?

We did make it safely back to Costa Rica from the States. After being there for five and a half weeks it was a difficult readjustment to the time changes alone. Costa Rica has no daylight savings time. The States is two hours ahead of us. So, the first two weeks we were home in Costa Rica, I was dragging by 8 or 8:30 p.m. which felt like 10 or 10:30 p.m. I would go to bed around 8:30, but then wake up for a few hours around 2 or 3 a.m. here in Costa Rica. Of course, our little section of the world here wakes up beginning at 4 a.m. and everyone is up at about 5 a.m. So, just about when I would fall back asleep, it was actually time to get back up for the beginning of the day! Needless to say, that torture is over and I am now back on my usual Costa Rican schedule.

There are, of course, dietary adjustments to be made as well. Gone are the Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' Donuts, but on the other hand, we have been consuming more smoothies again made with natural fruit from the camp; bananas, oranges and we add a little bit of liquid strawberry yogurt, and of course, ice. Nothing tastes sweeter or better than one of Ken's homemade smoothies on a hot day! Now, if he could just figure out how to make a Bojangles biscuit :) No, that's a bad idea! We all could stand to drop a few pounds from our visit in the States!

Because our "busy" season here is January through July, and I do mean pretty busy with short-term teams, missionary interns; the house stays pretty clean, but sometimes things don't quite get put away in their proper places in between having people here to do ministry with. This past week I have been doing some "spring" cleaning, even though it is September, of the house. Doing the "low priority, I don't want to do this, somebody shoot-me" type-jobs, like cleaning out and scrubbing the refrigerator and freezer, although I gotta say the end result is pretty nice! With the newest member of the team arriving next Thursday, Amy and her son, Alex, we will hit the ground running when she arrives with getting her set up here in Costa Rica; bank accounts, driver's license, home furnishings to purchase and that will consume a good bit of our time in the coming weeks.

To all of you who prayed for our trip and our safe return. Thank You! Just know we are home here and as you have read, well, we've got plenty to do! I've sorted through some pictures and will begin posts of what we did while in the States in the days ahead since I know inquiring minds want to know! Thanks for praying and for reading, well, I know of at least one person who reads this blog...Love you, Gary (my favorite brother-in-law)

Ken's Dad

Ken's father passed away this morning. We are sad because he is no longer with us, but we are grateful that he is no longer suffering! Please keep the entire Dundon family in your prayers as arrangements are being made. We will be traveling to NY for his funeral after a memorial service here in N.C.

Traveling

Ken did get in the U.S. safely on Sunday, not Saturday night due to a three hour delay in take-off from the airport in San Jose. This made it impossible for him to make his connecting flight in Dallas and he spent the night there. On Friday night his father had been admitted to a hospital in Atlanta, so on Monday morning we headed out early for there. We arrived in the afternoon, went to his sister's house, and then to the hospital with his Mom to see his Dad. Before we left his Dad's doctor came by to see his Mom and to talk with her. We were told that his father's condition is now terminal and yesterday he was placed in a Hospice Hospital. We have been told that his father has a few days to a few weeks to live.

Tonight, we are back in our home in N.C. and this weekend Ken will return to his sister's home in Atlanta. His brother and sister from New York will be coming down to Atlanta this weekend as well. Heather, Kyle, Jordan and I will try and keep the speaking engagements that we has committed to here in N.C. regarding our ministry in such places as churches, camps and the first week in August a VBS program in New York.

While Ken was a little surprised that his father has so little time left, we want you to know that it does not come as a total shock to our family. His father has been fighting this cancer for a very long time! One day soon his body will be free from pain and while we will miss him dearly here on earth, we rejoice because we know where he is going! God's timing is always perfect and we are thankful to be home during this time to support his Mom and to spend with his father.

You can pray for our family as we travel and as we go through the process of letting go of his father. Thank you!

We're back! You've been warned!

It's nice to be typing this post from our home in N.C. There's so many things you don't even realize you miss; simple things, like walking bare foot on carpeted floors, flushing the toilet paper down the toilet, showers with a lot of water pressure, Dr. Pepper, donuts. While I've enjoyed meeting my grandson, I've also enjoyed sleeping and sleeping soundly! It feels so good to be rested up! We live in sleep deprivation mode in Costa Rica. Tomorrow night Ken comes in from Costa Rica and we are all looking forward to that. Kyle is already at his best friend's house spending a couple of nights getting caught up. Heather has seen one of her friend's and Jordan's best friend is at his Grandma's for a couple of days; so pretty soon they should be able to get reconnected. So, what's next on the agenda? I need to start making phone calls and setting up appointments with some churches and some other people who have asked us to come and speak about our ministry. When Ken arrives with our other laptop, I need to begin going through photo's and work on a presentation for the VBS that we will also be doing for a week in New York State. I need to begin working on an update letter to send out to our supporters through Global Outreach Mission as well as a ministry report to send into the office in Buffalo. Our homeschooling curriculum has arrived here in N.C. and I need to begin teaching next week. At least for this first weekend home in the States, I have absolutely nothing planned except to rest. I know I've needed that most!

It's July???

We've been busy here with a three-week team; this being their first full week here in Costa Rica. It is a children's ministry team and we've been working on the VBS program that we will be doing at the campground for the orphan home kids. Tonight, in between smelling bags of popcorn popping in my microwave, I happened to flip the calendar over (having already missed the first two days of July) with working with the team. That means in 9 days, I will be traveling home to the States with Heather, Kyle & Jordan on July 11th to wait for the arrival of our first grandson, Mr. Liam Scott Towle, provided he cannot wait to meet his Mom & Dad before then! Let me just say right out that "no...I have nothing done towards getting ready to leave Costa Rica for five and a half weeks", but with all that is going on here I am trusting God to carve out some time for me!

First week in review: Team arrived last Saturday afternoon, beginning of the week was spent working on details of the VBS program, learning music in Spanish, tracing and cutting out crafts. Wednesday was the free day (Britt Coffee Tour) and souvenir shopping. The rest of the week was much the same with the exception of Thursday afternoon when we cooked a spaghetti dinner for 95 men at the homeless shelter and took that to San Jose to serve. Three team members gave their testimonies, Kyle & Heather did an awesome job interpreting! The team also performed a drama. I think they were really humbled by the experience and many of the team members said they were taken out of their comfort zones.

Tonight, the small group that Heather heads up of Youth is meeting in our garage and the team has joined in with that meeting tonight. Tomorrow, we will polish the program for next week, and the team will attend the Youth Group meeting in Orosi to perform their drama.

Kind of an update of sorts. Post pictures hopefully over the weekend. Please continue to pray as the Lord opens up doors for this team to minister and for the VBS Program that will run out of the campground for the next two weeks; pray for the orphan kids to hear the word of God, for safety in all the activities, for team members to be stretched and strengthened as we serve Him! Thanks! See some of you soon....in the USA!!! :)

A comedy of errors, as of late

We got back home later last night than we expected from Panama because we were not even halfway home to Costa Rica and our van broke down. Fortunately, our insurance covers towing and a taxi ride home! Our 90 days were up in Costa Rica and we had to go to Panama to have our VISA's stamped. For the second time, we had a difficult time getting back into Costa Rica, and thought we were going to be stuck at the border between the two countries. This time, we had to produce documentation (a flight schedule) that within the next 90 days we would be leaving the country and returning to the U.S. Fortunately, with our grandson due to be born in three weeks, we had just made flight arrangements last week and were able to go to an internet cafe and pull those confirmations up out of our email. Otherwise, the fine would have been $1,000 and we would not have gotten back home into Costa Rica. We have done everything by the book here, and as our Costa Rican lawyer has recommended, as far as leaving even before our time is up and we are still having to jump through hoops it seems. On Tuesday morning before we even left the hotel we got a phone call that our house back in Costa Rica had been broken into. When we got home, it was obvious that some things were moved around, but it doesn't appear that anything was stolen. The door had been left halfway open, maybe for someone to come back, but we got back home before they could. Tonight, we got a phone call from the mechanic that we need a new motor to be placed in the van. This mechanic is one that we trust and he does good work. The cost will be about $2,600. Please keep us in your prayers. I wish that I could say we weren't discouraged. I'm off to bed to have a good scream into my pillow....ahahahahahaha!

Finally...some picture updates!

I don't know why I've had so much trouble lately uploading pictures, but finally, I got these to get through! These are ministry pictures from our week with Team PBA here in Costa Rica.

This is Kyle's best Costa Rican friend and our neighbor, Osvaldo, or as we call him, "Osvi". He can often be found in our home hanging out with Heather & Kyle, or at work in town at the local grocery store, but on this day, his day off, he asked if he could join with us in ministry. He is working with the kids in Children's Ministry.

This year, for the first time on a team, we had a dentist and dental hygienist, Dr. & Mrs. Hesser. In between patients, Mrs. Hesser was reviewing with one of the students, Amira, the "correct" flossing technique! Just another educational moment for PBA!

Dr. Hesser averaged about 37 patients a day in the dental chair; examining adults as well as children; making recommendations on problem teeth treatments, and pulling decayed teeth. He was unable to do actual teeth cleaning due to the expense of purchasing as well as transporting a generator for cleaning.

As always, we try to invite our Pastor and Youth Pastor to join us in ministry whenever we have a medical or outreach event. This time, Jeffrey Prieto, our Youth Pastor represented our church and partnered with the church where we held the clinic in evangelism.

On the second night the team was there we had a "man snack" for the guys that were on the team; but of course, there was enough for everyone! Chicken Wings that tasted like home, made by a U.S. Expat who owns a restaurant right in nearby Cartago!

Wherever we go the kids squeal when we bring out the parachute!

Unfortunately, no matter how hard we try, there is always a waiting line to see the doctor!

Before the clinics even started, we had a team who counted the most used supplies and placed them in small bags; vitamins, Tylenol, children's vitamins, prenatal vitamins, etc.

Along with the Maycroft Family who are three month missionary interns, came their family friend and babysitter, Miss Sarah Ax. Here's a picture of Sarah with some new friends that she made while doing children's ministry.

This is a picture of patient's waiting outside of Triage to get their vital signs taken before seeing the physicians.

On one of the days in the early morning headed out toward the clinics we got a rare, clear glimpse of the Turrialba volcano! Because the clouds usually cover this volcano early in the morning, we pulled the bus to the side of the road and all got out to snap some pictures....even me, since it had been weeks since we had seen its progress due to the start of rainy season. She still continues to smoke steadily! You too can follow her progress at http://www.ovsicori.una.ac.cr/videoturri.html where I often have to take a look at the live web cam located 600 meters on the side wall of the crater to see what's going on when the clouds obscure our view from the valley!

Man Down!!

The team left on Tuesday morning, but because of mechanical problems with their plane, they got out of San Jose and had to spend Tuesday night in Atlanta. We have received various messages, that they did get back to Florida safely on Wednesday morning, so that is an answer to prayer! I've been dealing with an upper respiratory tract infection and am now on medication for that as prescribed by Dr. Ferrell which was a blessing. I'm feeling better, still coughing some, but on the mend which I am very thankful for. I realized yesterday that almost after every single medical clinic, I have gotten sick. I guess that the alternative would be not to hug on the sick people at the clinics, but that ain't happening! I need to remember to boost up my vitamin C before a medical team arrives.

Jeff Lewis and Pastor Jeff Gardner from Threshold Church in Charlotte, N.C. are in Costa Rica just for the weekend and asked to meet with Ken and I; so we just finished that meeting this morning. Kyle has just left with them now and is translating some other meetings for them this afternoon.

Yesterday, after a couple of days of rest from having the team here we took the Maycroft Family to the amusement park for a day of fun with our kids! They all seemed to enjoy the park and the kids had a great time riding rides together. The rain held off and we sent their family home in a taxi, and our family proceeded to the airport to pick up a three-week missionary intern to work alongside of us! His name is Fred Smith and I am sure that he would greatly appreciate your prayers while he is here ministering. Fred is considering full-time missionary service. You never know what God is going to do in a person's heart while they are here. We do the best we can to educate them about "missionary life" by showing them a window into ours.

May the Lord continue to bless our work together with the Maycroft Family and with Fred. May they clearly hear His voice and His direction in the upcoming decisions that they need to make!

I tried to post pictures on here the other day, but they just weren't uploading, so I am off to find the camera and try it again. Hopefully, there may be another post later of last week's team activities!

Busy Day

We still do not have internet at the camp and the team has walked over to Orosi with Dr. Ferrell to use the internet cafe and make contact with loved ones at home! Today, was a fun day of unpacking medications and supplies from suitcases and repacking by category the medications that we will use for the first two days of clinic. The team also counted vitamins, Tylenol, etc. thirty day supplies in preparation for the clinic knowing that these medications are prescribed most often for simple pain relief. Dr. Hesser spent the afternoon seeing and treating the Costa Rican "staff" who work here with us at the camp; Coqui the camp gardener had a tooth pulled, as well as his sister-in-law, Gloria, the camp baker, and Isa's niece also had a tooth pulled that was causing her tremendous pain. Dr. Hesser was also able to do examinations on them letting them know which teeth might need attention in the future. He also took the time to see each one of our children informing us that Jordan had a cavity which will need attention soon; Kyle needs braces; and Heather has wisdom teeth coming in. He also turned his attention to the Maycroft Family, short-term missionaries serving here alongside us at the camp for two more months. What a blessing to all of us to get some dental attention! The team said that they slept well and tonight will be an early dinner at 5 p.m. followed by anniversary cake that I had Gloria make for Ken and I. Today, we are celebrating our wedding anniversary...25 years! God is faithful and while He loves us unconditionally and with an unfailing love, through Him, we have been able to love each other, not perfectly, but in a way that is difficult for man without Him! We Praise the Lord for this milestone in our lives! Then we have a special "man snack" planned for the entire team tonight; last night the ice cream social was with the ladies in mind, and I know they think they've figured it all out, thinking that it is Pollo Crispy, but they are wrong! Seems like everyone is feeling rested and ready for tomorrow to begin the clinic! So many new faces on this team this year, but already, I can say they are a very special group of young people and they are once again, stealing our hearts! So blessed to have them back!

Team PBA is in the house...umm...

I mean they are in the camp! They arrived safely today with ALL their luggage and ALL of their medications made it through Customs - Praise the Lord! Dr. Hesser and his wife also came in on time and were able to hook up with the team. Dr. Hesser is a dentist! We are excited about them working with us for the first time and we know that this will be a real blessing to the people of Costa Rica to receive "free" dental care! We have internet in our home, but the internet is still not working at the camp. Tomorrow, is our preparation day with sorting and preparing the medications for the first clinics scheduled for Wednesday, and Thursday. We hope that we can finish this task before dinner and if the internet is not restored at that time, we will walk the team over to Orosi to the internet cafe to make contact with their families. Tonight after a light supper, we had an ice cream social and while it is early here, it is two hours later in the States, and the team as already retired for the evening after their day of traveling. Please continue to keep the entire team, interpreters and other support staff in your prayers as we minister through the medical clinic, dental clinic, evangelism, music, children's minister, and ask the Lord to allow us to be ministers of His hands and feet!

Internet...FINALLY!

Wow...this weekend has been crazy with the rain. So many of the Costa Ricans keep telling us, "this is like October" which is the height of the rainy season! It has been raining here torrentially over the weekend. The first year that we were here I remember that the rains "built up" from May until October. It just seems like we are wide open already! We have had "in" and "out" internet service all weekend in our home (more "out" than "in") which has been irritating with Ken's father still in the hospital. Last week as you probably know from the news, we had an earthquake in Costa Rica which is to blame for a lot of the telecommunication problems that the country as a whole is experiencing. Today, we needed to do some last minute running around to pick up just a few things for the team and noticed a large water pipe that was broken on our way past the camp. I called the kids on the cell phone and told them to stock up on water from the tap, filling the washing machine and plastic buckets, so we could flush toilets; thinking that they will be turning off the water tonight or very early tomorrow morning to make the repairs. Well, I better run. I have to get up early in the morning to post the schedule at the camp, clean the bathrooms from the church being at the camp this afternoon and make sure everything's in place for Team PBA to arrive! Please keep us (the Team and our family) all in your prayers as we minister to bodies that seek healing both physically and spiritually.

Dad again and now Ken

What was supposed to be a work-in doctor's appointment, ended up being a five hour stay in the hospital emergency room as well today! Ken has flared again with his rheumatoid arthritis and he has been walking with the use of crutches for the past week. With Team PBA arriving on Monday, I suggested he call the doctor and have his knee and ankle looked at since it didn't appear that the new drug cocktail was really working too well, and working more on our bank account than his body! The doctor was gracious to fit him in today and drained six tubes of liquid off his knee, and injected it with an anti-inflammatory medication. We then proceeded to the ER for IV fluid to help with the swelling in his ankle.

Meanwhile, back in the States in N.C. since we have left the area, Ken's brother and two sisters have driven from Atlanta and New York State to check on his father who is again readmitted into the hospital this time for a very debilitating state of mental confusion and aggressive behavior. His MRI came back normal, but some other exams and blood work shows that his multiple myeloma is spreading. The physicians have discontinued any medications that may have caused this state of confusion, and it seems at this time that there is no real clear answer for his behavior.

I've wanted to post some pictures that I haven't been able to get up due to preparations for the team, that have been taken over the past two weeks. Maybe tomorrow. Today, was supposed to be grocery shopping day for the team, but we ran out of time with the morning spent in the hospital.

We have a group coming in to rent the camp tomorrow evening into Saturday evening, so tomorrow as early as possible we plan on getting out to do the grocery shopping and then return to the camp to finish preparing for the rental group. We've got one more cabin to clean after having the exterminator here on Monday, not because the camp was infested, its something we do routinely every six months! Maybe over the weekend I can get those pictures up! Please continue to pray for Ken's Dad and the family in any decisions they may need to make for him in N.C., and for Ken's recovery into remission from this round of rheumatoid arthritis!

Re: Dad

Carolyn, my mother-in-law called this morning to talk for a few minutes and we appreciate that. When loved ones are sick it is hard to be so far away! She said that my father-in-law, Richard, has been diagnosed with pneumonia. This was confirmed by x-rays as well as a scan. This is good news! He is recovering, still in the hospital. He is taking a bit of time to recover because of all the medicines he is on for pain management from neuropathy which are making the antibiotics a little weaker. But, overall he seems to be on the mend. Thank you to all those who prayed!

It's a busy day here finishing up "preparations" and working around the campground. I will try and post some pictures tonight.

The question was asked by a commentor whether the Maycroft Family would work here with us as missionaries if all things went well with their young boys on this trial run. I believe if they continued to feel called to be full-time missionaries, that they would sign on with Global Outreach Mission. At this time, I do not think that a country or a specific ministry has been discussed with them, as they are really seeking the Lord for direction during this internship period. I know that they will covet your prayers during this period of service! It is an extremely important time in their lives!

On another note, last year we had a member of last year's Global Outreach Mission January team stay an extra week rather unexpectedly and last minute to work more closely with us. This was Amy Beth Givens. Amy did return to the States after her three weeks here and felt called to full-time missionary service and in November she was appointed to Costa Rica as our newest team member. As many of you do know, she is currently in the fundraising process through the mission. God is moving in a lot of different ways; ways that one could never expect; but, we serve that kind of God! Her house sold quickly, but recently she was unexpectedly laid off from her job! Please pray for Amy that funds would come together for her to move her to the field. We certainly can use her help with the loss of our previous ministry partners, Katherine & David Huitz, who were called to serve in Guatamela and left Costa Rica on April 30th. In other words, the Dundon Family is here alone right now, but not really, because God continues to help us through this transition period! Amy is a licensed LPN and will be taking on the role of Medical Coordinator for our medical teams! I know Amy would appreciate your prayers as she works full-time to raise support and prepares to move here! She has 100% raised of her outgoing expenses, and is currently at a little over 50% of her monthly support...To God be the Glory!

Please pray for this vital ministry of the campground which serves as a "base" so to speak for those considering full-time missionary service. It is a place where interns can work on the field, be exposed to missionary life and experience this country's culture. It is an absolute joy, and a privilege, whenever we get to share our missionary lives with those "considering" full-time service! Global Outreach Mission has always allowed us the "option" of whether we want to host people here. We have been blessed in so many ways through this opportunity. Our prayer is that we too, have been a blessing! I personally enjoy having the opportunity to have company and use my gifts of cooking and hospitality.

Okay, I guess I need to get back to work!