Just a pretty picture

This is our daughter, Heather, on the boat headed back from Tortuga Island. Not sure what she is thinking, if anything, probably just relaxing. She's just a sweet girl and she helps us so much in ministry!

Team PBA-Part II

This was the second scorpion I saw on Chira Island. The first was in the shower stall and this was the second by the water tank. He didn't last long!

This was the church building and I am helping some of the other ladies set up their tents. When ours finally dried out the second day it found its way up to the stage in the church.

Here's one of the showers of two for 38 people for four days. There was no hot water, of course, but I didn't find it very cold since the temperatures were oppressive.

This was on Thursday in a medical clinic we did in Cartago, much closer to home, in a church. Even Jordan helped out in the pharmacy counting vitamins.

This is Tortuga Island, not the one from Pirate's of the Carribbean, sorry, but even so it was beautiful. We spent one day here with the team as their "free day" and they more than enjoyed laying around on the beach!

Back at Chira Island, this was the stove behind the church kitchen where our food was cooked for us.

This was a school we got into on Chira Island and did some children's ministry while the rest of the team was back at the clinic. We are working on some beaded bracelets.

This was in Cartago, not far from home, in the church's school room where we set up for children's ministry. Lots of kids and lots of fun.

A puppet show!

Ministry on Chira Island-Team PBA

Here is "most" of the team from Palm Beach Atlantic University sitting down for a meal at the camp, though there are a couple of empty spots on the benches. The team consisted of 30 pharmacy school students, two pharmacists and Dean Mary Ferrill, one of their teachers.

To get to Chira Island we got up and departed from the camp at 2:30 a.m. last Saturday morning, traveled four hours by bus to the port where we loaded down one boat with the mobile pharmacy, tents and children's ministry supplies. The other boat carried all of the team and their personal belongings. The boat ride was 45 minutes long to get to the port on the island.

Once there, we quickly loaded our belongings on to a truck off of the boats and then we loaded a school bus (the public transportation system for the island) to get to this church where we quickly got settled in and set up. This is the patient waiting area.

Here are some of the pharmacy students, Elizabeth on the left, Alba on the right standing in the tan shirt, Jason in the back checking patients in to the Triage area where they have their vital signs taken and wait to see a physician.

Here we have set up physician examining rooms, not quite like the States. Elizabeth is escorting the patient into a "consult room" to see the doctor on the patient's right, Dr. Manuel.

While the doctor's see patient's, outside more are lining up in the patient waiting area. To calm fears and to begin to prepare hearts, Laurence, Heather and Elizabeth are singing worship songs in Spanish.

While all of the above is going on, underneath a tree, the Gospel has been shared by Amir, second to the left in the red shirt to a couple of patients in the circle. Kyle (you can just see his blonde hair in the background) has interpreted Amir's message into Spanish. Some of the other students who are on the evangelistic team have joined in praying for these who are accepting the Lord.

We spent our nights on the island inside the church buildings in tents. Initially, our family wanted to sleep outside in the church yard. We got the tent all set up in the yard, sleeping bags inside, suitcases, pillows and went in the church's fellowship building to have dinner. However, during dinner, it began to pour outside. Ken jumped up to check on our tent and not only was there standing water inside, but it looked like a mud slide went through our tent. This is the next morning, our clothes hanging out to dry on the fence.

Children's ministry is always a challenge with mobile set ups. This is the next day after it rained and a group of the "guys" decided to play some soccer with the kids, puddles and all.

In this picture, the team brought down lots of hygiene items that had been donated to them; new toothbrushes, shampoo and perfume samples, trial-sized toothpaste, lotions and conditioners, Q-tips and just a slew of things. Here, we are filling lunch bags with some of these items for all the cooks and volunteers from the church who fed us our meals and helped us with support staff. Katie and I are giggling because the camera was not working properly when someone was trying to take this picture and this was the third attempt.

Busy...even on a free day

Today was busy! After breakfast this morning we took the team out souvenir shopping in a town called Moravia, to lunch at an a la lena which is personally my favorite roasted chicken and then we brought them back to the camp to prepare dinner for the homeless shelter which was an American spaghetti supper which the ladies and gentlemen there love which is so much fun! Tonight, the team is packing, those that are not at the homeless shelter serving dinner and preparing for the rest of the team to return. I am feeling a little more than exhausted and decided to some home from the camp and check email, Skype voicemails, etc. and just lay down for a bit. I'm finding that while I am doing much better with regard to fatigue from the surgery; I still have just a little recovering to do the doctor says and just being able to lay down for a short time and rest works wonders. Right now, I cannot locate the camera, otherwise, I would be posting some pictures! Last night, we had a great night of devotions and for the first I really shared some things on my heart with the team, though I have shared some thoughts here and there with individuals who have sought counsel from me. This team has had a real heart for evangelism. It has absolutely been amazing to see this group of young people share with the Costa Rican people and some have made first commitments to the Lord! Continue to pray for this team as they return home. It doesn't have to end here in Costa Rica and it shouldn't.

Home on the Range

We just arrived back safely at the Camp. It's 12:52 a.m. I am posting this for any family members of the Palm Beach team who read this. Tomorrow, it is devotions at 7:30 a.m., departure from the camp for a one-day medical clinic in Cartago and return for dinner at the camp. Maybe, tomorrow I can post some pictures in the evening. Thanks to all who prayed for our safety and the needs I posted. We had somed "Divine" appointments and we had people accept the Lord as their personal Savior which is always so encouraging! Please continue to pray for Isla de Chira and Pastor Pedro as he follows up on this contacts.

Team Palm Beach has arrived

Palm Beach arrived safely to the camp this afternoon. Tonight, David & I did orientation, we have sorted medicines for the clinic and packed them and shortly we will have dessert and call it a short night before we load the buses at 2:30 to begin our travel to the island. Thanks for all those who prayed for their safe arrival. Continue to keep us in your prayers as we minister here in Costa Rica.

Prayer Requests

The team from PBA arrives tomorrow. Today is the last day of preparations consisting of grocery shopping for a team of merely 30, our biggest team yet, preparing the finances for Ken to "pay as we go" this next week and then preparing at home, laundry and securing the house as we go out the next few days to the island and minister alongside the team. Today, I also have a doctor's appointment to have repeat biopsies for my uterine cancer, but I trust that God is in control of those results already!

Isla de Chira, where we will first be ministering with the team is a remote island off the Western coast of the country reachable only by boat. We will get up Saturday morning at 2 a.m. and drive a little over four hours by bus to get the team there, unpack the bus of our supplies and load our supplies on to boats, travel the channel by boat to the island, unpack the boats and then pack trucks with our supplies to travel to the church where we will set up our clinics that we will hold over three days. The majority of the people on the island have never been able to travel off the island themselves because the boat ride is $30 one way. It s a very poor area. We will bring in fruits and vegetables to help nutritionally meet the needs of the people there. The conditions will be very hot this time of year and we will sleep in tents on concrete flooring inside the church building. It will be much like missionary service from "days of old".

How you can pray:
1. Pray for the team coming from PBA as they travel to Costa Rica tomorrow for safety.
2. Pray for the physicians who are volunteering their time to work with us.
3. Pray for Ken, David & Katherine and myself as we work together and do final preparations today for this team.
4. Pray for the people of Isla de Chira that have physical as well as spiritual needs; that the physicians that we bring with us will be able to meet medical needs and that the Lord will prepare the way for us to minister to spiritual needs.
5. Pray for the medical clinic on Wednesday in a church in Cartago.
6. Pray for the team's free day and souvenir shopping day; that they will have fun and get some rest.
7. Pray for the team as they travel back to Florida next Friday.

Congratulations, Danielle!

Danielle called us in Costa Rica today to inform us that she has passed her N.C. State Board Examination for Cosmetology. Therefore, she is now a licensed hairstylist! Yoo-Who! She is already working at "Headquarters" in a full-time position as the scheduling secretary, but they will be advertising for someone to replace her in that position and she will be crossing over to a full-time hairstylist in the salon! We wanted to tell you, Danielle, that we are very proud of your accomplishments and are very excited for you, as you pursue your new career! We love you! Love, Dad & Mom

A random post of nonnecessity

This is not my salad bowl, but it is the beginning of salad preparations for dinner. Here in Costa Rica we soak our vegetables in a water and bleach bath for roughly twenty minutes just to make sure all the cooties are off before consumption. It takes a little getting back into the "groove" of things now that we have just come back from the U.S. and enjoyed "bagged" salad for a few weeks. You don't really realize how long things take until you get to visit back home.

This picture is for my sister, Wendy. This is Kooky, and where we found her when we returned home....hanging out on our front door step! This amuses us because Kooky, as hard as we have tried to lure her away from her owners, remains loyal to them, though they pay little attention to her. Dogs here are not considered "pets" and Kooky has lost quite a bit of weight since I have been gone in the States. Yesterday, she sat under our seats in church and we have heard stories of here hanging out at our house, leaning against the front door and setting off our home alarm system. Kooky is a very smart dog and while some may not think she is "cute", my sister would argue with you, that she is "cute" in her own right. You just have to be around her to understand! I think it's all in her personality and how she strolls the streets like "she is it". Short-term teams after all have Kodak Share Picture files on the internet with her name as their password. Well, I guess she really did miss us while we were gone. Needless to say, Kooky had a hot dog fiesta last night which she rightfully thoroughly enjoyed!

Earthly Pulls

This week has been a somewhat difficult one with arriving home on Tuesday afternoon and receiving a phone call from Ken's Mom to call home on Wednesday morning. We found out the results of his Dad's bone marrow biopsy that he had taken a week before the wedding, and he has multiple myeloma. We have been busy this week making contacts with pharmacists here in Costa Rica, since while drugs are not cheap, they tend to run more inexpensive than in the U.S. in an effort to try and help them keep the cost down for his treatment. Yesterday, his Mom called and the American Cancer Society has made contact with them and is helping them also pursue other avenues to receive his medication (100 pills are $23,900). We are waiting to hear back from her meetings with them.

This is perhaps the most difficult part of living away from family during times as these. His parents continue to ask us to remain in Costa Rica and serve the people here, but there are days when it is emotional for us since both of our parents are having difficulties at this time.

Please continue to pray for Ken's Dad, Richard, and for my Mom, Ginny. Pray for us, that the Lord would give us His strength daily to continue on in obedience to His service.

Adjustments, adjustments, adjustments....

We've been feeling a little bit "under the weather" as we adjust back into our Costa Rican lifestyle and food. We definitely overindulged while in the U.S. because of missing so many different types of foods and are paying the price now, feeling a little queasy. Jordan has had a difficult time adjusting back to the "no toilet paper in the toilet" routine and keeps his Dad busy unclogging the septic system. We miss daylight savings time and are having a hard time adjusting back to it being dark here at 5:30 p.m. and then of course, the U.S. is two hours ahead of us, and we are adjusting back to a different time zone altogether (we were all in bed at 7:30 last night, though our bodies told us it was 9:30). Other than that, we have been working on the finances of the team that arrives next Friday for a week of medical ministry and thankfully we have no rental group for this weekend. Much to ask you to pray for:

1. Our continuing adjustments.
2. The safe arrival of the team of 30 from Palm Beach Atlantic University next Friday.
3. For the medical clinics that we will be doing on the remote Chira Island where there is much poverty.

Thanks for praying!

We're back....in Costa Rica

Congratulations to the brand new Mr. & Mrs. (our daughter, Danielle) Towle! If you haven't seen Jordan lately, he's the miniature groom in the picture. Heather is to the right of the groom and Kyle is the blonde young man second to the right of the groom. I can't say as I have ever felt more tired in my life with all of the traveling we have done in the past three and a half weeks doing fundraising presentations and wedding preparations. I will try and update more in the next couple of days, but for now, I am off to bed to get some much needed sleep!

Observations

I've been in the States for a little over five weeks now. On Wednesday of this week our latest update letter went out through Global Outreach Mission to our supporters. I used a quote by Reinhard Bonnke, missionary to Africa in 1969, to begin the letter. He said, "Cool, casual Christianity will accomplish nothing. Our most urgent need is the flaming message of the cross, now, and not at our leisure". Clearly, in 2009, the "need" has not changed, not in Costa Rica and not in the United States! What I fear most is lacking is obedience. Obedience to speak the Name of Jesus. There is not any clear, cookie cutter shape for missions. Missions looks like a lot of different things to a lot of different people. I think that is so because we all have different gifts. The element that cannot change is the message. What I have observed in the last few weeks as I have shared about our ministry, and people have engaged me in conversation is that folks are looking for an almost perfect "environment" in which to share. Their hang-up is either not having gone through "a program", not "being filled enough" by the Holy Spirit, not "sure where to begin". It's been difficult to listen too because Satan has a grip on this mindset. It's almost like standing at the pool at the camp and watching a child drown. After you observe that the child has gone under, you don't call a prayer meeting to discern whether you should save the child, you just jump in and you do it. The same principle should apply for the people who are drowning around us every day. Some have gone under once, but others have already gone down twice or even three times, and their eyes are rolling into the back of their heads. It's not like if I don't know the American Red Cross' CPR program I can't possibly pull the person from the water. At that moment, what matters least is a program or not knowing where to begin. What does matter is obedience and faith; God wants us dependent on Him and when we are, He will use our imperfections for His purposes! There are so many ways to reach fellow Americans in these challenging times. There are people going "under" every day due to finances, family crisis, alcoholism, drugs. Their eyes are beginning to roll back with no apparent Hope. We are ALL called as stated in Matt. 28. May God help us to extend His arms.

An emotional couple of days

On Thursday we had a family meeting at the hospital with the Director of the Program of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, the Head Nurse, the Speech Pathologist, Physical Therapist and Occupational Therapist. It is their recommendation that my Mom will not be able to reside at home and that we seek long-term nursing home care. For her to be able to stay at home, she would need 24-hour, two-person assistance. There are a number of reasons for this physically which I won't mention here for dignity purposes, but also, some of it has been pointed out to us that it is the normal process of an elderly patient beginning to slowly let go. My Mom's Alzheimer's seems to have really taken control of her mind with this particular stroke. It is hard for me to even fathom that she was in Costa Rica with us four days before this massive stroke. While this, I feel, was a significant gift from God for my family, there is always the mindset of "had I known, I would have done things differently", like, I would have requested those two weeks off from work with my U.S. job to spend more time with her. It was a real shock for me to see over the past year that we have been living in Costa Rica, how much of the Mother that I am used too is gone from her cognition. Needless to say, when I arrived back in the States, and while I have been here in the hospital, it amazes me how one significant event like a stroke can also take so much away from a person. It has been a couple of days of processing "things" for me as our family begins the letting go process of the "way things were" to "how they will be". One thing I am thankful for are two long letters that I wrote before my family (Ken & I and the kids) moved to N.C. One was to my father and one to my mother recalling childhood and young adult memories, as well as intentionally thanking them for the impacts that they had on my life. I will never regret writing that to her when she was able to read it and comprehend all that I wanted to express to her. I have much to be thankful for in this life. God is a God of grace, of love and of care. I couldn't be more thankful or more indebited to Him for the role model of the mother that I have had. Please, pray for Mom. That in her confusion, she would have a sense of peace that God remains with her. And that when she is alert, that she would sense her family and our love surrounding her.

Some culture shock and helping.

I've been in Syracuse, NY now for one week supporting my family in the overseeing of my Mom's care in the hospital. Somedays go really well with her eating and others seem a little more slower and trying, but all in all, my Mom is progressing. On Monday, she will have another swallowing study while she is actually eating as they believe it is time to move her up to thinned liquids from pureed. She is still having physical, occupational and speech therapy daily which makes her really tired, but is also improving in that area, as well. Being home with family has been really nice, especially having time with my Dad. He remains in good spirits and encouraged. I enjoy being able to laugh with him! The biggest adjustment for me has been time zone changes and the fact that when I take a shower it feels like I am standing in a car wash OR being hosed down by a fire hose! The showers here are so small compared to our tile ones in Costa Rica where our family could shower together; and I have been dealing with a feeling of claustrophobia every morning. Of course, remembering that it is okay to flush the toilet tissue down the toilet instead of placing it in the bathroom trash can has been an adjustment too! Eating has been a little overwhelming with the amounts of food being offered to me. One thing that I had not planned for was speaking in churches. I have pictures with me on my laptop that are not organized or prepared for slide presentations. Today, I spoke with the women's group at Syracuse Alliance Church, my parents home church. Please pray that some more speaking engagements can be arranged as in recent weeks we have lost $450 in monthly support due to the US economy and our state of support is in a critical state. For now, the plan is for me to stay in Syracuse until April 5th. I will then return to NC to finish up wedding plans. Ken, Heather and Kyle should be arriving in the States on May 6th and we will hit the ground running with tux measurements and clothing adjustments for them! Thanks for your continued prayers for my family and especially my Mom! Edit: Just for the record, "No, our family doesn't shower together"...inquiring minds wanted to know!

An update on my Mom...I'm in the U.S.

I'm writing this from N.C. I have returned home to the States when it didn't look like my Mom was making any kind of improvement. I had planned on returning to the States in mid-April to help Danielle and Brad finish up their wedding plans. Today, my Mom was supposed to have a feeding tube placed since her physician informed us that she probably would not live long without one. She had initially failed the swallowing test. My older sister, Wendy and my Dad had been swabbing her mouth on Sunday and noticed that she was making an attempt to swallow. They informed my mother's physician and he had her re-evaluated. Today, my mother has been upgraded to a pureed diet and the feeding tube procedure was cancelled. I honestly believe this is because of the prayers of so many people on her behalf! The nursing staff has requested that a family member be with her as much as possible, and so my Dad and brothers and sisters are taking turns feeding her and being with her. Them talking to her has helped her to improve to some degree. In physical therapy, she walked favoring one leg, but at least she walked! I haven't been able to make any plans to go to Syracuse, NY where my Mom is because my NC driver's license has expired while we have been serving in Costa Rica. Today, with Danielle as my chauffer (that's kind of humbling, having your kids drive you around) I renewed my license. I've been getting regular updates from my sister, Wendy, on my Mom's condition. I told her today that when my sister-in-law, Renee, was sick with leukemia we all kind of took turns waiting in the wings as each sibling took turns caring for her. That's the main reason I came home, to serve my family. I am waiting for her to let me know when I can come up and be a help to all of them by taking my turn. The waiting is hard, but I want to go at a time that will be a blessing to those who need rest. Please continue to pray for Dad and my sisters and brothers as they make decisions for my Mom and her continued care. Most of all, on behalf of my entire family, thank you SO MUCH to all of you who have prayed already and Thank You, Lord, for answering.

My Mother

This picture is of my sweet mother, Ginny. It was taken in the last two weeks while she was here in Costa Rica with my Dad, my older sister, Wendy & her husband, Gary; and a special short-term team of Central New Yorkers. Yesterday, my mother had another stroke, though worse than the one she had over a year ago that triggered Alzheimer's disease in her brain. She is now in the Intensive Care Unit in a hospital at home in Syracuse, NY. Right now, her physicians are not sure of the permanent effects that this new stroke will have on her body since they cannot seem to get her to wake up. That does not mean that she is in a coma. My sister said, "she is snoring"! She is sleeping very well which is typical, they say, after having a stroke of this magnitude. The physicians and nurses cannot get my mother to stay awake to run more tests on her, though preliminary tests, the results of which we do not know yet, have been done. Today, please keep my mother and my family in your prayers!

Feeling sad.

Yesterday, we took the family and their team to the airport. We didn't come right back to the camp because we just wanted to be alone to process their departure. Our house had no groceries in it from eating with the team for two weeks, so we took the afternoon to do some "household" errands like grocery shopping and my Dad left us with a little bit of money in case there was anything that we needed. Jordan desperately needed sneakers and a pair of shoes like Crocs to replace his that are literally worn through on the bottom to his bare feet. They are his absolute favorites to wear and we got those in NC before we left for Costa Rica at Rose's for a whopping $5! We searched several different places, even Payless shoes and found some sneakers for $22, but knew that Heather as well as Kyle needed jeans, so passed them up to make the money s*t*r*e*t*c*h. We went to HiperMas (the Costa Rican WalMart) to finish up our grocery shopping and on our way out of the store found that they had a large area of "reduced" clothing. On one shelf I found several pairs of sneakers and two that looked like they may be in Jordan's size! I prayed that they would BOTH fit since he is literally desperate for sneakers! Sure enough, both fit, one pair for $6 that were mesh covered and while they won't hold up in rainy season, he can at least wear them for church or when we need to go out; and a pair that were leather for $8 that will repel the rain better! We were all so excited AND...at another store we found a pair of Croc replicas, but again for $5 and even better...in the color of West Johnston High School, a light gray with a teal ankle strap, so he was thrilled since he was the marching band's mascot last year! We kidded him about being worse than a girl coming home with SO MANY pairs of shoes and he had a huge grin! Heather found a pair of jeans FINALLY which has been difficult since she has lost so much weight both when she was in the US and some here; and we didn't even know what size she wears anymore, but at least we now know in Costa Rican clothes what to look for! I guess we will just have to look for Kyle on another day. Today we spent our day doing laundry and picking up the house. Tonight, we had Ruth over, one of the interns, and played some Turkey Foot while Heather and Kyle were at Youth Group. We're feeling a lot better tonight over our family leaving! Danielle sent us a special email letting us know how excited she is that we are coming home soon and that meant a lot! Tomorrow, we are going to the International Baptist Church where the entire service is in English. It has been a very long time since we have been able to go there, since last summer. We just need a break from trying to "think" in two languages, so we are looking forward to that and we have invited Ruth to go with us. She said she was more than "ready" to enjoy an English speaking service too! She even asked us if she could treat our family to lunch! I think tomorrow will be a much needed day away from the camp for all of us!

Just a couple more days with family.

It's been a busy time here with my family and their team. They arrived last Monday night. On Tuesday morning we had orientation. In the afternoon on Tuesday half of the group went up to San Jose to minister at the homeless shelter. While there we cleaned the building, prepared clothing, towels for those that would be coming in that evening and any other jobs that they asked us to do. The other half of the team stayed back and prepared a meal of spaghetti and sauce to bring up to the shelter to feed the 85 people. Once they arrived as a team we fed the people and my sister, Wendy, shared a message and invitation. We arrived back at the camp late. On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we worked at the camp doing all sorts of "odd" jobs that Ken had lined up for us, although the main reason this team came down was to put the new roof on the bathroom addition which the contractor had been working on. Due to delays with the contractor, we may actually get to start the roof tomorrow before they leave on Friday! This has been so discouraging for the team. Last Friday, we prepared the Celebration Center for the clinic on Saturday. On Saturday, with the help of quite a few volunteers from the church we attended 135 patients at the medical clinic at the camp, 23 of which accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior! Two members of the team headed up Children's Ministry throughout the clinic. On Sunday immediately following breakfast we headed up to the orphanage and had three hours to minister to the kids. The guys on the team kept the older boys happy playing soccer. The same two team members headed up ministry to the kids through a Bible story, craft, Heather led the singing, games. We had a great time with all the kids who came out of their homes at the orphanage! Monday was our free day and the team was ready to see some sights in Costa Rica. We took them to the botannical gardens for a tour, souvenir shopping and to the Cafe Britt plantation tour. We arrived back at the camp late in the evening, but the team seemed to really have a good time together. Today, it was back to work finishing up painting, sanding of picnic tables and varnishing those, planting an herb garden for the camp cooks, painting part of the Celebration Center roof around the building, finishing painting the deck of the pool; just a lot of little "things" that it seems we never have enough time to get too and probably without this team would be a very long time until we were able to accomplish them. Well, tomorrow (Wednesday) and also Thursday, the team hopes to be able to get the okay from the contractor to begin putting on the roof of the new bathroom building. It's been a busy few days and I apologize for not posting a whole lot. It's now 9:50 p.m. and I still need to do my U.S. job and that's pretty much how things go when we have a team here.

A "sad" day, made brighter!

Today was a kind of "down in the dumps" day for me. Yesterday, one of our short-term team members mother's died unexpectedly and that was difficult for all of us here. It was sad, it was stressful trying to get the airlines to cooperate with us in getting her home, and today it is hard not to have her here! I guess for Ken and I it was good to have to "deal" with that kind of circumstance should it happen again in the future, but it certainly was heartbreaking to see the team member go through. Please pray for Sandy and her husband, Paul back in Scipio Center, NY as they deal with this.

Today, while coming back from taking Sandy to the airport, Ken stopped at our PO Box and brought home a manila envelope. Inside were all kinds of greetings from the precious kids back at Hickory Grove Church. Tears welled up in my eyes as I read some their personal notes to each of us. So many said that they were looking forward to us coming home (they must know that Danielle is getting married and we will be back soon) and it tore me up to know that so many were excited about our brief return. Heather and Jordan read their very personal notes from the Bizzell's which brought huge smiles! I passed each note to Ruth, our intern, to read as I read each one and looked at the drawings. We are so thankful for this really special envelope today. It was so needed and God knew it! Thank you so much Hickory Grove Children's Church for thinking of us and for remembering us in your prayers! We could not do what we do without each of you!

How you can pray!

Well, as if coming we haven't had enough excitement in the last few hours with picking up and seeing family, coming home and finding our screens tore up and things stolen; we were woke up this morning at 4:30 a.m. by the groundskeeper screaming at our door that the camp had been broken into at 4 a.m. Ken went to the camp and everyone is fine, in fact, as of this moment they are just waking up and may not even know all of what on early this morning. The police were summoned to the camp by the groundskeeper when a neighbor going to work at 4 a.m. saw someone leaving the campground with a huge garbage bag full of stuff. When screamed at, the man dropped the bag up the road in front of his own home, and took off in his car, but the neighbor and the groundskeeper both got a good look at the man. The police did a full report at the camp of the kitchen which we are unable to use this morning to have the camp cook prepare their breakfast due to the damage. The guy helped himself to some of the team's food that we purchased for them, drinking milk from cartons, cutting into a pineapple, opening a jar of peanut butter and eating from it with his hands. Plenty of fingerprint evidence in there! From there, the police came to our home and did a full report. They retrieved the bag and found two rice cookers, a huge electric griddle and other kitchen items from the camp kitchen, but also found a pair of our sneakers in the bag too. They have not found the camp camera, yet. So, they believe the person they are looking for in both incidences is the same person. While leaving our home, the police heard screams from a gentleman up the road pointing out that the man was trying to return to his home where he dropped his bag of goods. A pursuit ensued on foot by the police into the coffee plantation on the opposite side of the road as the camp, but they were never able to catch the man. Ken and the groundskeeper are now on their way to file a police report; the camp cook is with Katherine buying plastic bowls, cereal and milk for the team for breakfast and David & I will have to do orientation. At least we are all safe!

Team #3's arrival and being robbed!

We got to the airport and found out that the team's plane was an hour delayed. They arrived excited, but tired. We got everyone settled in at the camp and came home to notice that things outside were out of place. Later we realized that some of the screens to our windows of the house had been cut. At first, it seemed as though nothing was missing, but on further inspection, our camp camera had been stolen off of a dresser, and a couple of different pairs of shoes had been taken from the laundry room which is a separate room outside of our house. I guess it wouldn't make you so mad except that when you have very little and they are even taking that...it is frustrating, but again, it could have been much worse if they had gotten in the house and taken our laptop since we wouldn't have the money to replace that right now and I need it for working my U.S. job. There is always a silver lining if you look for it. Right now, just pray for the kids who feel a little bit unsettled knowing that someone was trying to get into our house. I guess since we have never had problems here we may have become a little too relaxed in what used to be our "ritual" before leaving our home, closing all the windows and locking them, etc. Unfortunately, I guess we need to return to trusting no one like when we first came here.

Recounting...

I sent my brother-in-law a copy of his team schedule, only to find out from him that there was a mix-up in their flight arrangements in that I thought they were arriving Sunday night, and they don't actually come in until Monday night! Needless to say, our kids are a little perturbed today with me and sad. We lose a day with the family and Jordan was all excited about only having "two more sleeps"! So, we're recounting our sleeps. We got the grocery shopping done and now we are just waiting...impatiently...for them to arrive!

Team #3...their special!

Today was a day of cleaning cabins and beginning the laundry, sheets, blankets, towels, etc. We had a group of Korean missionaries from Chicago who were having a retreat staying in the cabins since Monday and they left this morning. Such a wonderful group of people! I also finished the menu planning for the next team that arrives this Sunday night for twelve days. Planning for that many days and meals takes a lot of thought. Tomorrow we plan on doing the grocery shopping and then picking up our orders with the butcher and vegetable/fruit supplier. Please keep us in your prayers the next two weeks as we work on construction at the camp, go to the homeless shelter and serve there as well as supply them with a meal, hold a one-day medical clinic at the campground and work at the orphanage with the kids. This team is "special" in that my Dad & Mom, sister and her husband are coming with them from Central New York! It's been a year since we said good-bye to my side of the family, so we are all very excited to get to be together again!

Happy Birthday, Ken!

We Love You!
Sherri, Danielle, Heather, Kyle & Jordan

Angie in Costa Rica!!!!

This is Dinia! She is the wife of the Elder at our church. Our very first Sunday here in Costa Rica back in March we sat down and a few minutes later she sat down right in front of us. All of our mouths dropped open at once, I think, and we looked back and forth at each other, Ken, Heather, Kyle, Jordan and I. She looked a lot like Angie!

This is Angie, a Deaconess at our church at home, and now the church secretary. It's funny, but she and her husband, Bill have always sat right in front of us in church at home! If you could see Dinia and Angie side-by-side you would be amazed that they probably have similar body shapes, about the same height and well, it is amazing to us when you are in transition how generous and loving God is. I think he placed Dinia in our church to not miss home as much. We love you Angie, but we thank God for Dinia, who makes being away from you a little easier!

The earthquake and its victims

Today, we set out to see the areas hardest hit by the earthquake, and to see if there was anything that we could be doing as a small team to help. From the road, here is a picture of one of the huge cracks caused by the shaking and part of a house missing. Hundreds of people are still unaccounted for, missing and presumed dead from mud slides. While we didn't get even remotely close to the most devastated areas due to a tractor trailer blocking the main road; below are some pictures that might explain better how Costa Rica is coping with this disaster.

This family of kids let me take their picture in a make-shift "tent village", though they had their bedding and clothing inside this huge tractor trailer where they were trying to stay warm. Someone, just anyone that they didn't even know, taking a few minutes to talk with them and take their picture, give them a hug and try to share in their difficulty seemed to bring a simple smile.

Inside this large tent which was being whipped around in the wind today was a smaller "tent village" for refugees.

Outside the large tractor trailer, people were coming and picking up water, for drinking and to brush their teeth.

Because of power lines still down in this area, travel was difficult today and a tractor trailer blocked our way of seeing more. Outside this tent village we parked our van and as a small team we prayed for the Costa Ricans in this area. There is much to do to rebuild this part of the country which occupies some of the most beautiful tourism sites. Our hearts were heavy today as we toured the area. The loss of homes, businesses and the tourism trade is obvious. I'd ask that you continue to pray for Costa Rica and for the clean-up efforts.

Saying "Yes" to Jesus!

We arrived at the children's home at about 1:30 p.m. today. Once inside, we locked ourselves in to have the necessary time to set up our projector and movie screen. Word got out quickly that we had arrived and that the kids would soon be able to see, "The Chronicles of Narnia". What started out as an easy set up, soon began to take a downward spin and we realized that our showing of the movie was facing opposition. Just as we got the movie underway, power cords began to malfunction. We would get things started again, and breakers would blow. Finally, we lost power altogether and with great frustration, had to send the kids back to their perspective homes. We found out that the day before the power had been out for two hours. Not willing to give up easily and go home, we spent close to an hour praying and trying to entertain the kids outside for we believed that the power would come back on!

Word spread quickly as power all over the compound began to come back on; and within just a few minutes some 48 kids returned to see the movie! Here they are with bags of popcorn in their laps and juice bags in their hands. The power remained on throughout the almost three hour movie. Following the movie Amy shared a little bit about C.S. Lewis and the spiritual significance of the movie. When she was done, Ken & I shared the plan of salvation using the Bible and interpretive chalk art. Katherine, of course, was our interpreter.

With heads bowed and eyes closed, my eyes filled with tears when I saw that 20 of the 48 children raised their hands to show us that they wanted to accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior! Thank you, to all of you, who have been following our blog and who specifically prayed for this ministry today. I believe that there were people who were standing in the gap for us!

On Friday...earthquake victims.

Please pray for us this Friday as we take the three interns to the hardest hit area from the recent earthquake. The government is finally letting church organizations and missionaries into the areas to help with re-building homes, feeding families, distributing clothing, etc. after declaring that the search and rescue for bodies was over; not that they had found everyone, as there are many people, in the hundreds, still missing. Please pray for us for wisdom as we try and discern what is most needed and how we, as a small team, might be able to help this devastated area and how often we should return to work in this location. Pray for the people that we might speak with and meet, that we would be a blessing. (From there, we will take Amy to the airport to return home after her one-week extended stay).

This week...How you can pray.

Last night Ken took the three interns plus Amy who was on the last team, but decided to stay a week longer to work alongside us, to the homeless shelter. Heather went along with her Dad, but Kyle and Jordan and I stayed home to work on getting our house back in order. When we have a team here, we basically run into our house, drop things and are on the run a lot, so things needed to be put away! On Thursday, we will return to the orphanage to show the movie, "The Chronicles of Narnia" in Spanish and Ruth (one of our interns) will explain the meaning of the movie from a Christian perspective. I am praying about doing an invitation with the children utilizing chalk art. On Saturday, we have a group rental at the camp for the weekend, but the interns with David & Katherine & Heather will be doing a one-day medical clinic at the homeless shelter. If you think of us on these days, please pray for us.

New Bathrooms!

Here are pictures of the new bathrooms that are being built at the camp. Global Outreach Mission has hired a contractor and with his crew they did the foundation work for Team #2 to be able to come in and start the block walls. As you can see, the contractor is still working and preparing for Team #3 to come in and help his crew do the roof.

To the left of the new walls, you can see the "old" outdoor bathrooms (the white doors lead into small stalls with just toilets and there is an outdoor sink). This new building will house "guys" and "girls" bathrooms complete with 4 new stalls, 4 new showers and sinks on each side! One of the biggest complaints of the rental groups or teams that we host is that "there are not enough showers" in the cabins! Just like camping in the "States", you'll have to walk across the campground to the bathrooms, but here's hoping this will help bigger groups get their showers in a more timely manner!

A day off!

Yesterday, after church, the North Americans banded together and loaded in our van to go to Tara Mall! Once there, with trays of American food in hand from the Food Court; Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, CinnaBon we politely took over one of the televisions in the Food Court and watched the Super Bowl. Ken, of course, was decked out in his Pittsburgh jersey and baseball cap! We were anticipating a quiet ride home toward the end when the Cardinals were up by 3; but Pittsburgh pulled it off in the end! We all ate together, some of us walked the mall, and we even just sat around. We had a lot of fun together!

Team #2...recovery...

The team left this morning at 4 a.m. to head up to the airport for a morning of departures. Thank you, Lord, for Victor, our bus driver! We spent most of the day today at the camp, even though Isa and Gloria clean the cabins, do the laundry and clean their kitchen; the Celebration Center looked like a bomb went off in it. We also needed to "reclaim" the desk in the office and put things back together in the ministry closets! Lots of garbage was gathered. I am currently staring at a "mound" of laundry in my home, but do not have the energy to care to do anything about it! Tonight, we have to get some groceries as the refrigerator is bare from eating every meal with the team over the last weeks. Tomorrow is another day!

We saw some 963 patients in medical clinics, half of which accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior! Praise the Lord! 250 kids participated in Children's Ministry. 60 Children's Ministry workers received formal training! It's been a very busy past two weeks, but we are filled and blessed! For now, we just need a couple of days of rest, before the preparations begin for Team #3!

Clinic #2 - Pictures of Children's Ministry

Our schedule for the clinics and children's ministry team is that we start ministering at 9 a.m. At noon we take a one hour lunch break because some of the smaller, remote churches have to feed us in "shifts". We always have to lock everything up when we go for our break. Today, when I returned from lunch and the front doors of the church were still locked where the children's ministry team was ministering, I found these two boys peering under the door and trying to get in.

These are two of my newest friends, a little girl named Aslan on the left and her brother, Justin on the right. Next to the church where we are ministering is a "precario". A precario is a squatter village with homes made of scrape pieces of metal, wood and so on. The families are very poor. This brother and sister are from the precario. You might notice Justin's very dirty shirt. This is the only shirt he owns he said. Aslan's hair is pulled up into a pony tail, but it is all matted and her "long" pants are actually very "short". Their older sister came in wearing a pair of rubber boots that were two sizes too small. She showed me blisters all over her feet. After I washed her feet and rubbed her blisters with antibiotic ointment, I sent our bus driver out to buy her some new flip flops. I had found out that their Mom & Dad were both drug addicts. Buying sneakers or fancy shoes that could possibly be sold to obtain more drugs was out of the question, but you can't get anything for flip flops!

While we've seen a lot of this in Honduras, this is the first time we had seen this here in Costa Rica. Today, when looking at the building across from the church I noticed a retaining wall with this at the top, broken pieces of bottles to keep anyone even thinking about jumping the wall to steal - away!

Here's the "happy bunch" of kids that greeted us when we returned from our lunch break ready to get down to some serious business. The crowd grew bigger in a rather short of time!

I never did get any last counts from the second and third days of our first clinic. I'll have to get those. This was the second day of our second clinic. Yesterday we had 81 people attend, 24 of which accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and 30% indicated that they would like a Pastoral visit! (While we provide free medical clinics, we expect that the churches that host us will place a high priority on following up those people that we serve). Today, we had 135 people, so I can't wait to hear how many of those might have made a decision to follow Jesus too. Tomorrow is our last day at this location and we have three more clinics to go before the team leaves! Please continue to keep us in your prayers!

Up and running!

Today, a technician came to the house late in the afternoon and was able to repair our internet service. It went down early Saturday morning. Today was the second day of medical clinics with simultaneous children's ministry being run at the same church. The construction team is progressing on the block walls of the bathroom addition to the Celebration Center. Needless to say, I have forgotten to take my camera to the past two days of clinics, but hopefully tomorrow night can get some pictures posted via team members memory cards. Our ministry day begins with breakfast at 6:30 a.m. and we leave the camp by 7:30 a.m. We have been returning back to the camp for dinner at 6:30 p.m. Following dinner we have team devotionals and "restock"; the medical team pulls additional medications for the next day and the children's ministry team reviews the next day's programming. We certainly sleep well! Tomorrow, I will be in a different church location than the rest of the children's ministry team joining the Vice President of Global Outreach Mission's wife in teacher training. Three different churches have combined their children's ministry teams and extended an invitation to us to train them in children's ministry programming. I will speak on the element of music and it's importance in children's ministry. A new cross cultural experience for me! I am really excited about it, but I hope that I can remember to "slow down" for my interpreter!

More exciting than this are the 25 people who made first-time commitments and received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior yesterday during our time of ministry at the church. It is the reason that we are here in this country; so that others might come to know Him. That God would even allow us to join in His purposes...it's beyond amazing to us and so humbling and rewarding!

Preparations, Coffee and cinnamon rolls (YES!!!!)

Phew! It's been a week of logistics and planning, shopping, emailing and phone calling back to the office. Yesterday, we went to PriceSmart. It took the four of us and three "packed to the max" grocery carts to finish the shopping. Today, Ken is off to Central Market to get the meat. On the way home, we investigated two coffee plantations and mills. We have decided on which one we will go with for this team's free-day. It is located on top of a hill and as far as you can see down the ravines and hillside are coffee plants. I think the group will enjoy watching as the coffee beans are processed. We were able to get a tour time during the day when the employees will actually be doing the "processing" instead of just walking in and explaining what each machine does. I think they will enjoy that! The team arrives in two groups tomorrow, one group in the morning and one in the late evening. On Sunday, we will have orientation for the camp, then break down into the three ministries, construction, children's and medical and do orientations separately for those teams. It will be a day of "organizing" medicine, children's and teacher training supplies, construction supplies. Of course, in between all of this we will be eating and attending church too. This group is bringing down a special baker who has sent me a grocery list of supplies to buy for homemade cinnamon rolls and bread! Richard has used his gift of baking to raise funds for this team; from pies to breads and of course, the cinnamon rolls. Do you not think when I opened that email that the family was excited? I can't remember when we last ate a cinnamon roll and of course, you can't buy Pillsbury tube cinnamon rolls here, either. Kyle informed me that he will be in the kitchen for two weeks stuck to this guy! So pray for Richard! From what I've heard, he's quite the baker. We'll try and "calmly" welcome him into the camp kitchen, but you know, us gringo's can get a little crazy over food from home. I wonder if the poor guy will ever see light or the outside walls of the kitchen?

Team #2...preparations & Prayer Requests

Palm Beach Atlantic left yesterday. Their cabins are clean, their bedding is washed and the beds have been remade for Team #2 which arrives this Saturday. Today, Ken will pick up a friend of ours from the airport who has also agreed to help with interpreting for this team and bring him back down to Orosi. Tomorrow, we have a final staff meeting in preparation for the team's arrival on Saturday, planning the two week menu, and working on the schedule which in itself will be complicated. This team will be doing three simultaneous ministries. Ken will stay back at the camp and coordinate the construction projects. Katherine & David will coordinate the medical clinics which will be in three different churches over a two week period. I will help to coordinate the children's ministry/teacher training that will take place at the same locations as the medical clinics in different buildings. The medical teams and children's ministry teams will be moved by bus to those locations throughout the week and return to the camp to join the construction team for dinner. Mid-week, the medical and children's teams will have a day back at the camp to "reload" supplies before going on to the next location. Once we've laid out the menu, the menu goes to Isa for her to make a grocery list and is returned to Ken & I to do the grocery shopping on Friday. On Saturday, because this team comes from different areas of Canada, they will be arriving at four different times. One trip will be made up to San Jose to pick up three members and then return to camp, then later in the evening another trip will be made to wait for three different arrivals (though pretty close together) to get the rest of the team. Also with this team of 20 comes 3 missionary interns, two are nurses and one is a construction person who will stay with us here at the camp for three months. Once they recover from getting off the plane and being thrown into two weeks of long days, we will let them rest and then do targeted ministry with them; the homeless shelter, the orphanage, taking vitals in neighborhoods near the camp and evangelizing, working alongside Team #3, etc. We will also help them to experience as much of Costa Rican missionary life as we can.

Pray for: Safety for the construction, medical and children's ministry teams as they are here ministering. Pray for individuals coming to the free medical clinics for treatment of medical conditions as well as "soul" conditions. Pray for the children who will be ministered to, some from broken, very poor families that we can clearly communicate their "significance" to God. Pray for the teacher's coming from these churches for Teacher Training and for us, as we instruct them on how to effectively teach and train children in the Word. Pray for our families, The Dundon's and the Huitz's as we work together, as we work apart, that God would be mirrored and that our households would be protected.

Luke and Joey

Well, it's probably not the "best" pictures to compare too, but pretty much a similar pose. The top picture is of Luke, our Pastor's son, posted with his permission. The bottom of Joey, short-term missionary to Costa Rica twice now and dear friend. Joey returned home today and Jordan took it hard, again. It's part of your life as a missionary, I suppose, always having to say good-byes. Maybe, just maybe, I can get a photo of Angie, the church secretary and post her Tico look-a-like from church here!

We miss you BOTH, Luke and Joey!

Airplanes, earthquakes, saying good-bye and finding a Savior!

We got Danielle off to the airport today and when we were almost home people here started calling Ken's cell phone asking if we were okay. A 6.8 earthquake hit up past San Jose at 1:21 p.m. and Danielle was scheduled to take off at 1:45. The town where it originated is near the airport. We didn't feel it as we were driving back towards San Jose or home, but we had no idea if Danielle got off to Houston safely. We checked the T.V. and saw the damage to office buildings, glass blown out, in stores things off shelves. We checked with Continental Airlines as soon as we got in and found that she left a little over an hour later than she was scheduled too, so I am not sure she will make her flight in Houston, but we know she is safe and did leave the country!

On a happy-sad note, Ken's Great-Aunt died and his parents have been in Texas with his sister for the funeral. We hadn't been able to reach his parents on Monday to tell them the good news about the biopsies and started to get concerned. They called us on Tuesday, while they were on the road, but having arrived in Texas safely and told us of her passing. Aunt Joanne was a believer, so it makes the news easier, though we wish we could be home with her family. Selfishly, we will miss her tremendously! She was a great spiritual influence on Ken and his siblings. Aunt Joanne has been an unrelenting prayer warrior for us on this missionary journey! We are happy that she is no longer suffering!

Today, was a sad day. It's hard to not have Danielle here on a day-to-day basis with our family. When she leaves, it feels like your heart is being pulled out of your chest and her personality leaves an obvious gap in our family. We are so thankful for this time that we had with her! God is good, He is gracious and this time of letting her go was a little easier than last time, though everyone is a little more subdued and quiet this afternoon. So, hug her BIG for us when she gets back home!

With the team here, Ken & I are like two ships passing at port being pulled in different directions. Today, I just found out that Ken had the privilege of leading a man to the Lord on Tuesday night at the homeless shelter! Praise the Lord!!!

Homeless Shelter

After a day of work at the camp yesterday, part of the team cleaned up and drove up to the city to partner again with God Festival. They have recently opened a homeless shelter mainly serving drug and alcohol addicts, and the group worked from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. there last night. The second half of the group, mainly the men, are about to return from there this evening. Pictured here next to and behind Ken in the the right hand corner are some of the ladies, and a couple of the guys who went last night. The rest of the people in the picture are homeless men and women. They come to this shelter and receive clean clothing, a meal and the option of going to a rehabilitation center for help.

Not only did they fold and hand out clothing, but they also helped serve a meal. God continues to open amazing doors, the children's home and now this shelter for us to take teams or even our individual families to work beyond the confines of the campground, our small town, and boldly proclaim Him to the most needy.

Here you have it folks...BLACK MAIL!!!!

This is day one of work for the team at the camp. Oddly, this is the day when the Camp Director needed to be away to take his wife to the doctor! Notice from the picture above, that there are bunk beds in the room. If one was not "sneaking" a "necessary" purchase, why then would they not be out in plain sight, like at the picnic tables in the common eating area? We have heard various "excuses" and finger-pointing stories related to this event when we actually "ran into team members" making this purchase on our way back from the doctor, "Amir made us go" (team leader, found here "holding the bag") or "I am addicted to this". From what I see, every member of the team is eating chicken! Yes, even "ailing" members of the team...that's Joey propped up against the door holding up a chicken leg!

All joking aside, they got a lot done yesterday before it rained here. As for me, I stay away from them as much as possible. They are all crazy and they make me laugh which hurts my incision, but why I love each one of them so very much!

It's Shoutin' Time

I keep looking over my shoulder for the "men in white suits"! Actually, I am not sure where the nearest mental institution is in the country, but probably most of my neighborhood by now thinks I need to be "admitted" to one, but then again, I am not alone because surely at least half of Bonnie L's neighborhood thinks she needs to be too! That's because I received my lymph node biopsy reports yesterday and there is no further cancer in my body! I do not need chemotherapy or radiation therapy! Let me tell you...it was Sum Shoutin' Time on the telephone between the lines connecting the L's household and the Dundon's in Costa Rica!!!

I was not scheduled to see the doctor until Thursday, but he worked me in yesterday because he did say that my nausea and dry heaves needed to be addressed with only being 15 days out of having major abdominal surgery. He's worried I could herniate the incision from the "heaving". What I also haven't written about on the blog is that I have been having excruciating (I am not using that word lightly) back and bone pain for the last week and a half. Some days it feels like my individual ribs in my back are on fire and it is extremely painful to breath! I wasn't sure what that was all about, and didn't want to scare anyone! I had been feeling really well when I got out of the hospital for the beginning to middle of last week, but the doctor was able to explain to me yesterday, that at the end of the week is when my estrogen level probably bottomed out which was to be expected considering the surgery I had, and the bone pain and nausea is from the drop of the estrogen to probably no readable amount of hormone left in my body! This is completely normal! So, here's a little excerpt of a conversation between me and my doctor yesterday.

Dr. P: "Just a minor detail I forgot to tell you with regard to the bone pain and the nausea...sorry! I was more focused on you being aware that you may become depressed, cry easily or become suicidal".
Sherri: "Suicidal? How about homicidal for you not telling me about this"? (We both busted out laughing in his office)!

So, I need to follow up with him in three months, have some repeat tests done looking for cancer and then from there I follow up with him every six months for the next two years, but at this time he feels that my prognosis is very good.

Thank you, first and foremost, to my Heavenly Father, who by Job wrote, "are you not willing to accept only the good things from the Lord and not the bad"? Again, You could have authored a different outcome. But, You chose not too. I want You to know, that anything that brings honor and glory to Your Name is worth going through knowing that your desire is to walk beside me in it! I thank you, even for this cancer, and the things that it has taught me about You, your characteristics and the areas in my life that do not mirror You. Thank you for loving me with a love that I cannot even comprehend!

To my family, my church family and friends, Thank you for being on your knees for our family daily! Thank you for the sacrifices that you make weekly for us to be able to serve here in Costa Rica in these economic times! Without Him, and without you, we could not possibly do what we do!

An evening of rest....again.

Joey is feeling better tonight, up out of his cabin after nearly 48 hours of sleep. He is running a fever, but is sitting at the picnic table outside his cabin. A physician here has been called and is counseling David on his care.

I am going to lie down. Again, another bout of the dry heaves. I eat and have nausea come over me and then develop the dry heaves which hurts really bad considering while my stitches are out, I am not completely healed on the inside! The other day it was midday. Tonight, it follows dinner.

So, please keep Joey and I in your prayers this evening! I will try and post an update tomorrow!

Orientation, planning and a prayer request

Last night we had dinner prepared for us at Isa's (the camp cook) home since the rental group was exiting the camp at around 6 p.m. Some of the group walked over to town, Orosi, to have ice-cream with Katherine & David and some stayed back with Ken to start building a fire in the fire pit. When the group from town returned David & Jason led the group with their guitars in worship around the campfire.

This morning we had breakfast with the team at 7 a.m. Funny, none of them seemed to overly excited to see us that early...hahahaha! From there, we moved chairs down to the river bank for Jason's devotional which was really encouraging and timely. Ken then did a short orientation about the campground and laid out the construction projects for the week ahead. Right now, the team has left to do a little shopping before church at 2:30 p.m.

Katherine & David, Ken & I and the kids were given gifts this morning by the team. There is something so humbling to be thought of in this very special way; from body sprays, to toy cars, to American CANDY (which of course is expensive here since it is imported). Thank you Dean Ferrell and Dean Brown for thinking of ALL of us! I know we were supposed to send you a Christmas list, but with the surgery, we just got behind and I apologize. Please know, we so appreciate your kindness and love extended to us and our family!

To Sandra Reep (Katie's Mom), Just know that when Katie presented me with the prayer shawl that you hand-knit for me that I was overcome with emotion! Thank you for the prayer for healing, but especially for your handwritten note in the side bar! I will never understand fully God's love this side of heaven. Can any of us really? That a person who has never met me would invest their time in this precious handmade gift. Thank you so much!! Thank you for sharing your amazing daughter with us here in Costa Rica. She is a blessing!

I have yet to see Joey! Please pray for him! He has been in bed since he arrived yesterday afternoon, not feeling well with an upper respiratory infection! He has been sleeping a lot which is good and I'm sure will benefit him. I don't know whose worse, Jordan hanging outside his cabin door waiting for a "Joey sighting", or me asking if he is up yet? Amir (the team leader) is probably ready to kill us both!

"De plane Boss, de plane"...Fantasy Island

The plane has landed safely. Our team from Palm Beach is reportedly on their way from San Jose to the camp, although we have been informed that they will be "delayed" in arriving as they have a "required" stop ! You guessed it Dean Ferrell and Dr. Brown - Pollos Crispy in Paraiso! How odd! Everyone sends us food from home, yet the Americans come and can't wait to eat chicken...here, in Costa Rica! I tell ya', these kids ain't right!

6 weeks, 3 teams...the marathon begins!

Today, Ken, Danielle and I are headed out to do the grocery shopping for the team from Palm Beach Atlantic that arrives tomorrow for a week-long, short-term construction team here at the camp. We were headed out the door, until David stopped by and told us that the rental group that is at the camp had broken off the shower handle in one of the cabin bathrooms, so Ken is trying to fix that now before we leave. This is pretty much how things go around here...hahaha! We've learned a lot about f-l-e-x-i-b-i-l-i-t-y since we've been here, that's for sure. This group will be working on extending a roof, the breezeway roof, between the camp kitchen and and the Celebration Center over a few feet, since whenever it rains it floods out the breezeway where we have picnic tables set up to feed the teams. They will also help us with some fencing projects. The campground is fenced in, but with the last robbery, we had a bit of damage done to the fence near the front gate, wires cut, fencing trampled, etc. This group is bringing back several people who came last year in May to do medical missions with us, so we are looking forward to seeing "friends" this week and spending time with them! Also, the boys are excited because "THE JOEY" is coming back! If he will let me, I will try and get a picture of Joey while he is here and post it to the blog. Not only does he resemble "THE LUKE COPELAND" in a lot of ways, his style of clothes, his facial features; but also his testimony. We wished that Brad could have stayed a couple more days to meet him! Anyways, Joey is the guy that last year when he left, Jordan went to a picnic table, put his head on his arms and bawled for about 15 minutes. It was heartbreaking! Well, Ken just came back in the door. So, off to PriceSmart to do some heavy duty grocery shopping for this team!