Not always what you expect.

The other day I had a test in my grammar class. That morning, even though I studied, I wasn't feeling confident about the material. I figured I would study some in the hour break I have between classes. As I prayed that morning I shared with the Lord how I felt about the test and I asked Him if He would guide me in my studies during the break. "Lord, please show me what I need to study."

Before my grammar class I have a conversation class. I had a horrible day in conversation. It started out by me spilling my coffee (which mind you is in a spill-proof cup). Then my pen exploded and I got ink on my hands and face. But, the worst part was that I was not able to form a sentence using a particular verb conjugation. I left class that day completely humbled... whatever pride I was trying to hold on to was now long gone (which is fine because that's all part of the language learning process). But I was really upset with myself. I felt that I had let my teacher down and my fellow classmates. I found myself thinking, "They're not seeing how much time I'm putting into studying... they're probably thinking I'm fooling around everynight after school."

I went into the hour long break thinking, "If I study anything I better study that verb conjugation that was giving me so many problems in class." Guess what? That's exactly what I needed to focus on for my upcoming grammar class. Because I studied that, I received a decent grade on my exam.

The sad thing was, I didn't recognize how God was answering my prayer until the next day when I thought about the prayer request I had made. God doesn't always answer us the way we expect, but I believe he always answers us in the most perfect way. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Costa Rica está votando hoy

Costa Rica is voting today
It might be Super Bowl Sunday in the States today, but it's a special day here for a different reason. Today, the country heads to the polls to vote for their new president. I think in all, they have 14 candidates from which to choose.

There is excitement in the streets. There are different colored flags being flown from the vehicles, depending on who you support. I can hear horns of celebration being honked even as I write this entry. People are excited about the political process.

The one thing that stands out to me as being most different from the states is the peoples' openess to share for whom they've voted. For instance, the pastor this morning asked for people who voted for different candidates to come forward. All in all, there were 7 different candidates represented by 7 different individuals in our church. The pastor then prayed for the will of God in the upcoming 4 years of Costa Rica. I thought to myself, "a scene like this wouldn't have taken place in any of the churches I've attended in the States." I couldn't imagine asking who voted for the Democrat, for the Republican, for the Reform candidate, or the Libertarian and then have a representative of each come to the front of the congregation. In my experience, and in my opinion, I believe as Americans, by-in-large, we believe that one party is more "Christian" than the other. Depending on which group of people you interact with, determines which party will be labeled the "Christian" party.

For me, this morning was refreshing. There was unity in this church prior to the elections, and you were certain that in this church there would be unity after the elections. The unity did not exist because all the people agreed politically. The unity exists because the people agree spiritually.

"Walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all" (Ephesians 4:1-6)

Time flies when you're ... busy.

It's been a while since I posted to the blog. All I can say is that we've been busy.

My parents came from the states to visit for two weeks during our Christmas holidays. That kept us busy in a very enjoyable way. We were able to visit a resort on the Pacific side of Costa Rica called Punta Leona. We then enjoyed some days touring around San Jose... hitting the markets and showing the folks the various places we frequent. We also visited Café Brit and learned how coffee was produced. Mom and Dad stocked up on some delish Costa Rican brew (it really is great stuff). They returned back to the states on our first day back at school.

School this semester has been a torrent of occupation. Aye, yie, yie... It's an amazing feat that I'm able to sit down now and write this entry. I'm in a new class and it is proving to be very challenging. The challenge is a very good thing. It's motivating/forcing me to study with renewed vigor. My situation reminds me of a quote I read from the founder of our denomination when faced with a decision concerning his first ministry post. He was making a choice between going to a smaller congregaton or to a larger one. He said, "If I take the small church it will demand little, and I will give little. Result, stagnation; I will get soft and cease to grow. If I take the large church I will be compelled to rise to meet its heavier demands, and the very effort will develop the gifts of God that are in me. The small church may break me; the large church will certainly help to make me" (A.B. Simpson). The challenge this semester is greater, but I feel as though it is making me.

Our bosses were here this past weekend (Bill and Ann Mangham, Regional Leadership Couple for Latin America). They encouraged us with our abilities thus far. They said we had great pronunciation. Later I was thinking, "maybe we have great pronunciation... or maybe that's the only way they felt they could encourage us." You know, its like when you have a friend that's wearing a new outfit that you really don't care for and they ask you what you think. You respond, "It's really colorful. I like colors." In other words, "You guys are pronouncing words. That's a good thing when you are talking." Seriously though, it was an encouraging visit and we thank the Lord for such an encouraging couple to walk with us through this journey.

Please keep us in your prayers as we press on. ¡Hasta luego babies!