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)