The Golden Question

David has a little friend at school named Santi, short for Santiago (James).  His father’s employer, Intel, sent him, several coworkers and their families to California for six months for training.   They left in February for their new, temporary home – a furnished apartment in the city of Folsom.  Our friends came back for a week and a half, but leave again next week for the rest of their training.
It was Raquel’s first time going to the States and she was so impressed!  She spent four hours one day talking to me about how much she loved the States.  Of course, I was a welcome audience because I was pleased to hear someone talking about how great my country is and agreed with all of her praises.  She said, “When someone thinks of the United States, they think of how they’re always getting involved in other countries’ wars and meddling in other countries’ affairs.  But people don’t realize how wonderful it is over there!  The average person’s quality of life is a higher standard.  They expect more.”
Raquel noticed things that you might take for granted so I wanted to take a moment to highlight her first impressions:

• They went to Lowe’s and were mesmerized by the amount of lawn mowers available.  Raquel thought that surely they were just for rich people living in mansions, but then was surprised to go to an average American family’s home and see one there.  The American told her that everyone has one and that it’s no big deal.  That was an eye opener for Raquel because down here most people’s yards are so small that a weed eater or machete is all you need.
• Raquel was baffled by the fact that all of the homes don’t have gates and bars and security cameras guarding their homes like here.  You can leave your car parked in a driveway or on the street without having it locked up tight in your garage.  You can even leave your belongings in your car while you’re at the store!  In California, she felt safe taking a walk after dawn too.  She was perplexed at how safe it is, without the aid of policemen and security guards watching your every move.  It was liberating for her to be able to drive through different suburbs without having to be asked for identification to enter the street (The upper-class communities here are gated with security guards holding guns at the entrance monitoring everything.).
• Raquel works for the government here as a topographer.  Before having her second child this year, she travelled the country in her SUV along bumpy roads dodging potholes mapping out where people live along the “streets with no name” (To get an idea, click here and read the section titled "By car").  So of course one of the things that she is fascinated with is the streets.  She loves that all of the streets have names that are clearly marked and people drive in an orderly fashion.  The roads are so well maintained and the double decker bridge astounds her.
• With a 2 ½ year old and a newborn, Raquel noticed that Americans have large families.  I was about to disprove her generalization, but then I thought about just my friends with large families - Shelly and Tami each with five kids; Sarah and Leslie each with four kids; Carie, Jessica, and Margie with three kids, to name a few.
• Maybe that's why there is a plethora of activities available for children.  Raquel takes her son to a children’s gym which she says aren’t as accessible to the middle class of Costa Rica.  She loves the well maintained parks and green areas for kids, which I must say, far exceed what I have found here.  I recently pointed  a website out to her with a calendar of events just for families with small children in Folsom and she was beside herself with joy.
• I explained that in Atlanta, everyday was an adventure for David and me as I would check the web and whisk him away for a day of fun at a children’s museum, a new park, a movie under the stars, a classical concert on the green, a local farmer’s market, or a picnic in the N. Georgia mountains.  It’s so easy to find a variety of events online, but not so here.  We both agree that there are different fairs that come into town down here, but they’re always the same vendors with the same cheap merchandise and food with run-down dinky fair rides.
• Raquel was confused to see clothing, food, and electronics at a fraction of the cost for what she would normally pay in Costa Rica.  Why does her government increase the price up to five times what Americans pay for in the States?  Good question, I tell her!  The used Old Navy shirt for sale at the “American clothes” store cost $7 when I could get it for $0.75 at the Last Chance Thrift Store on Thornton Road in Lithia Springs.  I, too, am frustrated with paying $5 for a block of cheese when I could get it free with my extreme couponing skills in the States.
  She saw an extreme coupon show one day called Cupónmania and couldn’t believe the deals!  While I never got $1,500 worth of groceries for $4, I would like to teach her how to cut her grocery bill in half.  But I digress…

After having her eyes opened to all of the glorious things that the Land of Opportunity has to offer the average Joe, she asked me a question that is a wonderful opportunity for me to share with her.  She sent me a Facebook message that reads, “Why did you leave your country full of well planned streets, pedestrian areas, and order for my underdeveloped country?”
While I haven’t answered her yet, my reply is simple.  We came here because our desire to obey God by telling others about His love for them far exceeds our desire to be comfortable.  I do miss my family and the comforts of home, but nothing is more important than sharing with everyone that:

1. God created us, 
2. he loved us so much that he sent his son, Jesus Christ, into an evil world to redeem it through the sacrifice of shedding his blood on the cross so that we can have an abundant life and live with peace in our hearts in the here and now; 
3. and be assured that Jesus rose from the dead and ascended up into Heaven to prepare a place for those who have chosen to believe in and follow him. 

I pray that as I unveil this answer to her little by little, her heart will be receptive to receive God's free gift of salvation with open arms.

Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.

In the Old Testament, over 600 laws were created to protect and instruct men and women in areas such as: family life, business practices, property, clothing, and agriculture. A lot of the rules prohibited people from participating in certain activities or working on certain days. It was impossible to keep all of those rules!

In the New Testament, the Pharisees (religious leaders of that time) added rules and regulations that did not exist, raising their traditions and customs to the level of doctrine. Fortunately for us, Jesus came and set us free from all of the rule keeping and showed us that the way to grow closer to God is not through actions nor deeds, but through a relationship with Him.

Instead of just a lot of “don’t do this” and “don’t do that” rules, we received commandments to do good such as:

• Clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
• Make allowance for each other’s faults and
• Forgive the person who offends you.
• Always be joyful.
• Keep on praying.
• No matter what happens, always be thankful.
• Take tender care of those who are weak.
• Be patient with everyone.

The list goes on and on – all good things, but so many that I don’t know how I can remember them all! I want to do good, but what if I forget something that’s on the list?

That’s when I remember about God’s grace and about His Holy Spirit. I recall that I don’t have to remember a list of do’s and don’ts because as a believer, the Holy Spirit resides within me and He will guide me.

Sometimes when I read about the fruit of the Spirit, I can clearly see it in my husband, but not so much in me and I get frustrated and jealous. How is Enrique always so loving and kind and good? His patience is off the charts and I want that too! So I strive to show love or be gentle or have faith, but I can’t do it on my own. I just can’t. It doesn’t work that way.

In order for me to have the fruit of the Spirit, I need to walk closely with the Lord. I need to be in communion with Him constantly. What does that mean? It means reading His Word (the Bible), and talking and listening to Him (praying). When I do those two things, everything else will fall into place. The fruit of the Spirit is a byproduct of that relationship. So I don’t have to try to be nice or help others or be joyful or smile superficially. My close connection with God will automatically cause me to display those characteristics plus motivate me to encourage those who are down, help my fellow man, and share my faith in God with others.

Thank you, God, for liberating me!

Easter in Costa Rica

Remember the days when Spring Break was the week always leading up to Easter?  Now it varies, but in Costa Rica, Spring Break is always the week of Easter.  It is known as Semana Santa, or Holy Week.  All of the kids are out of school and many people have the week off.  If not the entire week, then at least Wednesday through Sunday.

On Thursday, practically everything but the grocery stores, McDonald’s, and Walmart shut down.  My high school Spanish teacher – who is from here – told me that “When I was little, people would not dare drive a car. People thought you were a heretic and threw stones at your cars. All bars are sealed (people drink liquor in their homes) and take off to the beaches.”  Interesting!

On Friday morning, Kelsey and I heard some drums.  We went outside to take a look and saw that there was a procession at the local Catholic church (I live just 100 meters away).  We went to check it out and it was a reenactment of Jesus and the two criminals being beaten and escorted to Golgotha.  The soldiers cast lots for Jesus’ clothes and then they placed Him on a cross.  Here is a video of what transpired:

 

This procession was just one of several.  I heard that on Friday night at the church, they burned a doll that represented Judas.  We weren't able to make it to that one or the other two or three ceremonies to mark the Easter season.  Even so, it was emotional walking with everyone on Friday morning and witnessing what I recorded above because it made me feel like I was a part of the crowd that crucified Jesus.  It made it real to me.

Saturday, we went to a friend’s house for pizza.  According to Costa Ricans, our friends live “really far away” (Considering the small size of this country, “really far” means more than 20 minutes!), but there wasn’t any traffic so we got there in about 35 minutes.  After lunch, we watched our home church’s Easter service since they offered several services this weekend and broadcast them online.

This morning was great!  Contrary to what happens in the States with churches being packed on Christmas and Easter, we actually didn’t expect a lot of people today.  We assumed that they’d still be out of town.  We were all pleasantly surprised to have a full house – about 50 kids and over 200 adults.  The Lord's Supper was observed for the first time at our church.  It was a great day to celebrate Jesus dying for our sins and rising from the dead.  He lives!

This video is of our worship time with little ones.  David's friend, Luciano, is really getting down to "Father Abraham".

On the way home, David asked Enrique what he learned at church.  Enrique told him that he learned that Jesus died for us, but on the third day He rose again and He lives!  David said that he learned the same thing.  As a mom – and his teacher – I was proud of him for remembering.

Family getting together for Easter and sharing a meal is not customary here, but I decided to prepare a traditional Easter dinner and invited Julio, Ashley, and Kelsey.  We had ham (Well, I thought that I bought a ham, but it turned out to be some other type of pork.), pineapple and cheese casserole, broccoli and rice casserole, carrots, zucchini, apple crisp and ice cream, and sweet tea!  We also dyed some eggs and had an Easter egg hunt (in the dark as the sun sets around 6p here).

All in all, it has been a great last few days.  Happy Easter!

Operation Christmas Child

Note to subscribers who receive this as an e-mail:  Please go to my blog so that you can see the videos too (because they show as pictures in the e-mail, but as videos at my blog).

Last week, I had the great privilege of witnessing a school receive Operation Christmas Child boxes from churches in Canada.  Having seen my mother joyfully put together boxes every year for different children and the doing it myself once, it was touching to be on the other end and actually see the children receiving and opening up their shoe boxes.

Viviana García goes to our church and invited me
to volunteer with the distribution of shoe boxes.

Children used to just receive the shoe box, but now many of them are receiving a 12-week discipleship program called The Greatest Journey and then a Bible at their graduation.

Here is the auditorium before the children came in.

 
Volunteers receiving last-minute instructions.

Here they are entering the auditorium.

They don't know yet what this special assembly is about!

Anxiously awaiting to open their boxes.

This boy cracked me up.  Listen to what he told me.

Here they are holding up their boxes (anxious to rip into them).


What's in the boxes???

This boy loves his Franklin Covey PDA cover.  He says that
it's for kings and it's worth a million.  So sweet!

What a joy to see all of these kids faces and the excitement in their eyes as they receive God's love in the form of a box that a family or church put together without knowing where it would end up.