Drew visits

This passed week, I had the chance to hang out with Drew Bussler, a friend from home who decided to come down to Manuel Antonio for a week before heading back to San Jose to start his DTS through YWAM (Youth With A Mission). It was great to have him here! And he had a chance to ease into Tico (Costa Rican) culture, and I got the chance to show him around...

... one of the unknowns of a new culture is always the food. We started day one with mamones (see previous post) and empanadas, which are a pita-like pockets made from corn flour, filled with chicken and fried. Served, of course, with rice and beans. The next morning, Elle made us gallo pinto, which is a traditional dish of rice and beans fried with onions, peppers and cilantro and served with eggs. And the dining experience wouldn't be complete without a trip to the local sodas (mom and pop type restaurants) where Drew had the chance to try arroz con pollo (rice and chicken) and a typical casado (dinner plate served with choice of meat, potato, rice, beans and salad) all for about 1700 colones, or a few cents more than $3. To the left, we are eating lunch at Soda Sanchez, downtown Quepos.

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While Drew was here, he had the chance to meet a lot of my friends, see what I do, hang out at the office with me, and check out church. He took a picture of where we meet- so I thought I would share it with you. It is a little outdoor gazebo at a local hotel. It has been a great place for our church, but heading into rainy season, we are just finding out that the tin roof makes it a little difficult to hear when the afternoon rains roll in. I was excited that Drew got to hear Moxi preach, and see a group of gringos who get together and support each other, in English, in Costa Rica. To the left you can see Christi and I posing. And part of the pool (we have had baptisms there!).

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While ICE is no longer doing daily scheduled power outages, there are still the daily unscheduled power outages that you can pretty much plan on. While Drew was here, we lost power for a couple of hours. I had a couple of friends in town from San Jose, so we made the best of our time without lights, lit some candles and played some gin rummy. As you can tell from the picture, we had to lean in close to even see the cards. But it was a good way to pass some time while we waited for the electricity to go back on. David and Elverth (friends from San Jose) were a blast to have around, and it was good to try to Spanish with them. I re-iterate, try. A lot of slang, a lot of mops and maes.

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And trip would be complete without a good travel story. And Drew had one. To sum in up, a bus accident in San Jose, and a bridge walk in Quepos. To get to whole story, check out his blog at drewbussler.blogspot.com , where he has more pictures and will have updates on his journey moving to Costa Rica. Bienvenidos, Drew!

Mamones

Just when you thought you have tried everything at the faria (farmer's market), the seasons change and you can no longer find guavas. Instead, you find these spiky colorful fruit, called mamones chinos, literally translated "Chinese snot balls". You bite into them and find and see this slimy fruit. It takes some work to eat around the pit, but they are sweet. When Elle offered them to us, I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but if you can get used to the texture, they are quite tasty. Drew and I enjoyed them!

New Norms

A few things that no longer strike me as abnormal:

Traffic and people stopping on the road, waiting for a sloth to cross.

Going to the Pharmacy and only asking for two band-aids.

Finding swords and dump trucks tucked in cupboards, between Tupperware and baking pans.

The fact that you can by individual cigarettes in the check out line at the super market.

That the mullet, while still strikingly noteworthy, is an acceptable and chosen cut.

Geckos falling from my curtains.

That people are usually five years older with two more kids than expected.

Seeing a man, his wife, and child ride a bicycle together.

Seeing two grown men ride a bicycle together.

Seeing two grown men and a dog ride a motorcycle together.

On another note, I have discovered that yes, you can use too much Salsa Lizano, and you can find real milk here... I mean it, milk that needs to refrigerated, as a close expiration date, and can be consumed straight from the jug. We were making special trips to Jaco, and later found out it is stocked in 3 out of 4 supermarkets here in town.

Good News

Two weeks ago, we started a "gringo" kids club, all in English for the kids of our Christian Fellowship. Ashley, Aleasha's sister, is leading the club, with a theme of "Good news!"

The first week, we learned about the Good News that God made the world and God made me! Ashley handed out clay to all the kids, and asked them to create something. They took time to make butterflies, people, and blob-like fish. They put the clay away and Ashley asked them again to create something. But they couldn't make something from nothing. Good News, God did, and he thought it was good!

Last week, we learned about the Good News, that God cares for the world, and cares for me. We talked about the story of Noah, and how God promised never to destroy the whole world again. The thought of destroying the whole world has taken on new meaning, in that, living in a new country, my understanding of the world in its entirety is defiantly being reshaped.

It has been fun to watch the kids soak up the Good News of God, and it is another reminder of the blessing to have found a Christian community here in Costa Rica. All of us come from different places, with different stories about how we ended up here, and with a different reason for what we are doing while here... but all of us share the fact that we are foreigners to this culture, to this language. And having a community that understands the unique challenges of moving and living as a Christian in a new culture has been a true blessing.

If you have a chance, check out the website of our fellowship. There are some great links that talk about the community as well as some pictures of the baptisms we had a couple of months ago.

http://www.queposcf.org/cf.org/

THIS strong

I love the rain. I love when it downpours on the metal roofs, and when I have to run with a beach sarong over my head because I forgot my umbrella in the car. I love warm rain, and rain that comes down as the sun shines through. And I love thunder storms.

My freshman year of College, I had a roommate that hid under her covers during storms. She was serious. (She also loved flamingos). I remember thinking how childish it was, how childish she was. But I know that I used to feel the same way.

While I don’t remember how old I was at the time, I have a distinct memory of my dad tucking me in one rainy night. He sat on the side of my bed, and even if I hadn’t expressed a fear of the storm outside, he could sense it. He laid down next to me and told me that he loved thunder storms- the wind, the rain, the lightning, and even the thunder that startled him awake in the middle of the night. He said he loved storms because they displayed how powerful and strong our God was- that at his command, the clouds would pour out rain, and the earth would shake. How while we laid awake at night listening to the rain on the windows, God was feeding the earth and allowing us to witness some of his authority over all creation.

A couple of weeks ago, I was taking care of the kids. Ten minutes after the kids had all been tucked in, it started to rain. A Costa Rican start-of-rainy-season rain. And instantaneously, I heard two cries from upstairs. Cameron and Drew both laid awake in their beds, Cameron with his blanket over his ears, crying because he didn’t like the rain. I sat down next to him, and asked him where the rain came from. He thought a while, and said "the sky." And I agreed. And then I told him that God made the rain. “Cameron, do you know why God sends rain?” “Um…” he thought for a while. “Cammy, God sends rain to make the flowers grow, and the grass, and the trees. And pineapples for you to eat.” He thought a while. “And bananas for the monkeys?” “Yes, and bananas for the monkeys.”

Earlier this week Cameron and Drew came down to my apartment to do their homework- coloring dos manzanas (two apples). Cameron prided himself in making them red and green, and Drew decided that his were going to be blue. It started to rain, and thunder echoed through the jungle outside my windows. Both of them stopped coloring and gasped, holding their crayons and looking out the window. I asked them, “Why do you think it thunders?” And Cammy turned to me with a huge smile and said, “To make the flowers grow!” “That’s right. God’s pretty strong, isn’t he?” To this, Cammy replied, “Yeah, he’s THIS strong”, and holding his breath flexed his muscles. “Yeah!” Drew chipped in, “THIS strong!”

Heading into a season where I know I may be seeing more rain than sun, I have been blessed by the reminder of child like faith- one that has real fears, but is capable to trusting in a God that is THAT strong.