Santa in a "Woody" car, driving through a drift of coffee beans... my nails are a combination of Christmas candles and falling snow. My beautician said that's the only way to see snow in Costa Rica! She was asking me if walking through snow felt like walking through mud. :)

High Goals

My e-mentor, Win, once challenged me to set high goals in marriage. To be honest, it was a bit embarrassing for me to try to identify any goals in marriage, let alone high ones. After thinking on this challenge for a week, I called Win back to ask if she would give me an example or two of high goals. The goal that most struck me was a simple, yet surely unattainable goal.

Eliminate selfishness.

Wow! If somehow everyone in the world might attain that goal, what would life be like?

Today I was struck by a paragraph Gary Thomas wrote in his book, Seeking the Face of God. “When we love Christ only for what He brings us, including spiritual feelings, we are loving ourselves, not loving Him, regardless of the sacrifice we think we are offering. The dark night of the soul purifies our motivation and keeps us from becoming like the crowds in the New Testament who followed Jesus, not for His teaching, but for the miraculously supplied bread.” (p. 193)

That’s worth thinking on today! Am I one of the crowd? Why do I pray? What do I pray? What is my desire today? Am I loving myself rather than loving Him? (I don’t think they are mutually exclusive, by the way!)

If This Had Not Been...

Once again, I am challenged by thoughts from Rose from Brier by Amy Carmichael. Today I was reading about a series of events that led to her fall in a pit and caused her to be bedridden with pain for months on end. If just one link in a seemingly insignificant chain or events had not happened, the accident would have been avoided. "If this had not been, this had not followed."

How often do we think about that in life? If only I had waited two minutes more... If only I had watched my step... If only... (You fill in the blank!)

Yet, God certainly does set limits to our suffering. And nurturing the "If Only" thoughts, as Carmichael puts it, "can be vinegar upon niter." (Whatever niter is!!")

Many times we can see the limits God has put on the hand of the enemy, and we rejoice in that. As we Minnesotans say, "It could have been worse." But, what if it was worse? Would that mean that prayers were not answered?

Good question. I sure don't have all the answers. "It is a petty view of our Father's love and wisdom which demands or expects an answer according to our desires, apart from His wisdom."

Spiritual Temperatures

As a nurse, I know there are several ways you can take a patient’s temperature. I’ve thought a bit on the spiritual implications of each. You might say that a “spiritual oral temperature” is measured by Ephesians 4:29. No unwholesome should word proceed from my mouth – only words which are edifying to others.

The axillary temperature might be measured by our works.

The most important temperature, though, is like what we used to measure in ICU. We had a way of taking a computerized temp of the blood as it came out of the heart. You can’t get much more accurate than that! This “core temp” is what God measures.

Sometimes we mistakenly think that our feelings are a measure of the core temp. Feelings may make our spiritual lives seem easier or more difficult, but they should be neither a measurement nor a guide in our spiritual lives.

There have been times in my life where I have persisted in prayer, even when I had no good feelings to take away from those prayer times. I think God is honored when we honestly begin our time in prayer saying, “Lord, I don’t feel Your presence. I don’t feel like praying. But, I choose to honor You by talking with you and laying my life at Your feet, whether I feel like it or not. I give these moments of prayer as a gift of “walking by faith and not by sight.” (Or, by feelings, I might add!) I trust that You will be glorified even more by this gift today than You would be if I were all excited about my prayer life.

Gary Thomas says, “Feelings are never the yardstick of truth. They will betray the truth far more often than they will confirm it.”

I think that’s the kind of core temp that God is measuring. When He takes away the blessings and the feelings – like Job, will I choose to still honor Him? That’s what it takes to be a man or woman after God’s own heart.

Willow Creek "Muffs Up Maturity"

Woody sent me an article from October 18, 2007 entitled “Willow Creek Repents?” I think it originated in a Christianity Today's blog, "Out of Ur." I have abridged it below as a follow-up to my own essay called “Muffing up Maturity.”

Few would disagree that Willow Creek Community Church has been one of the most influential churches in America over the last thirty years.

Willow, through its association, has promoted a vision of church that is big, programmatic, and comprehensive. This vision has been heavily influenced by the methods of secular business. James Twitchell, in his new book Shopping for God, reports that outside Bill Hybels’ office hangs a poster that says: “What is our business? Who is our customer? What does the customer consider value?” Directly or indirectly, this philosophy of ministry—church should be a big box with programs for people at every level of spiritual maturity to consume and engage—has impacted every evangelical church in the country.

So what happens when leaders of Willow Creek stand up and say, “We made a mistake”?

Not long ago Willow released its findings from a multiple year qualitative study of its ministry. Basically, they wanted to know what programs and activities of the church were actually helping people mature spiritually and which were not. The results were published in a book that was recently released. Hybels, the executive pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, called the findings “earth shaking,” “ground breaking,” and “mind blowing.”

Hybels previously taught that if more people participate in sets of activities on a more frequent basis, more disciples of Christ will be produced. This has been Willow’s philosophy of ministry in a nutshell: The church creates programs/activities. People participate in these activities. The outcome is spiritual maturity. Up until now Willow Creek has put all of its eggs into the program-driven church basket.

You can understand Willow’s shock when the research revealed that “Increasing levels of participation in these sets of activities does NOT predict whether someone’s becoming more of a disciple of Christ. It does NOT predict whether they love God more or they love people more.”

Speaking at the Leadership Summit, Hybels summarized the findings this way. “Some of the stuff that we have put millions of dollars into, thinking it would really help our people grow and develop spiritually… Other things that we didn’t put that much [staff and] money into is stuff our people are crying out for.”

Having spent thirty years creating and promoting a multi-million dollar organization driven by programs and measuring participation, and convincing other church leaders to do the same, you can see why Hybels called this research “the wakeup call” of his adult life.

Hybels confesses, “We made a mistake. What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and become Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become ‘self feeders.’ We should have gotten people, taught people, how to read their Bible between service [sic], how to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own.”

In other words, spiritual growth doesn’t happen best by becoming dependent on elaborate church programs but through the age old spiritual practices of prayer, bible reading, and relationships. And, ironically, these basic disciplines do not require multi-million dollar facilities and hundreds of staff to manage.

Does this mark the end of Willow’s thirty years of influence over the American church? Not according to Hawkins. “Our dream is that we fundamentally change the way we do church. That we take out a clean sheet of paper and we rethink all of our old assumptions. Replace it with new insights. Insights that are informed by research and rooted in Scripture.”

(If you haven’t read “Muffing Up Maturity,” skip down and see what I wrote about this very subject before I read the article about Willow Creek.)

What Are You Reading?

Here are titles and brief notes about each of the books I’ve read (or am reading) so far in 2007.
1. The Life You’ve Always Wanted by John Ortberg – OK, but Seeking the Face of God is WAY better!
2. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyesvsky – Worth reading the classic, but Dostoyevsky’s mind was sick and the book is depressing.
3. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandr Dumont – Light, long and REALLY fun to read!
4. Patrick by Stephen Lawhead – It has its parts that are violent, but it was a great book.
5. The Great Influenza by John M. Barry – very poorly edited (should have been 300 pages instead of nearly 500), but fascinating to learn more about the influenza epidemic of 1918
6. The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence – I like meditating on it a sentence at a time. There are some things I don't like about it, though. Ask me about it.
7. Get me Out of That Pit! by Beth Moore – I like her studies better than her books. This one should have been a pamphlet.
8. Seeking the Face of God by Gary Thomas – Excellent!
9. Night by Eliezer Wiesel – You are better off reading The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. Wiesel’s experience in concentration camps is similar to Ten Boom’s – only she redeemed her suffering and came out with HOPE.
10. Boxers to Bandits by Stephen Fortosis and Mary Graham Reid – Not the best writing or editing, but still very worth the read. I loved learning about the pioneer Christian missionaries to China and seeing what God did back then!
11. A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway – My least favorite Hemingway piece so far. I stuck with it because I hope to see Paris next year – ever so briefly en route to Israel!
12. Mountain Light by Lawrence Yep – Juvenile fiction – not super-well written, but interesting.

13. Praying God's Word by Beth Moore - Basically a book that re-words Scripture into prayers - something I enjoy a lot!

What are YOU reading?

He Is in My Boat

I’d like to share an idea from Amy Carmichael’s book first published in 1933. Rose from Brier was given to me by my very special friend and mentor, Win Couchman. I have read it carefully many times and continue to be blessed by the thoughts presented.

It is normal at times to have fears “spring to life.” We wonder if all is well. No human voice can reassure us. “We must have our Lord’s, His very own.” Like the disciples in the midst of the storm, when urgent fears assail us, we cry out, “Master, carest Thou not?”

It is a needless cry because the Master is right there in the boat. 2 Timothy 1:12 says, “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

“Storms may lie ahead. The waves may break into the ship. There is no promise of a calm passage. Let us settle it, therefore, in our hearts, as something that cannot be shaken, that our first prayer, our deepest desire, shall be not for blue skies and sweet airs, but that we may always have the ungrieved Presence of the Captain and the Master in our ship.”

Here’s part of a poem Carmichael wrote about the assurance of the Master’s care before our urgent call.

Lord, is all well? Oh, tell me; is all well?
No voice of man can reassure the soul
When over it the waves and billows roll;
His words are like the tinkling of a bell.
Do Thou speak; is all well?

Across the turmoil of the wind and sea,
But as it seemed from somewhere near to me,
A voice I know – Child, look at Calvary;
By the merits of My Blood, all is well.

Whence came the voice? Lo, He is in the boat;
Lord, wert Thou resting in Thy love when I,
Faithless and fearful, broke into that cry?
O Lord, forgive; a shell would keep afloat
Didst Thou make it Thy boat.

He is in the boat!

Muffing Up Maturity

Yesterday I read an article that Woody sent to me. It was written by Gordon MacDonald. Some of you may recall that MacDonald is familiar with “muffing up.” Unlike other fallen Christian leaders, MacDonald humbly repented of his sin, and God has seen fit to continue to use him, just as he used a king named David who muffed up centuries ago. MacDonald is now editor at large of Leadership magazine and chair of World Relief.

Martin Thornton said, “A walloping great congregation is fine and fun, but what most communities really need is a couple of saints. The tragedy is that they may well be there in embryo, waiting to be discovered, waiting for sound training, waiting to be emancipated from the cult of the mediocre.”

Joel Osteen has made it big. Let me promise you, he has a walloping great congregation. In Houston – what used to be the Rockets’ stadium – Lakewood Church hosts three services with an average attendance of 16,000 per service. On Larry King Live he was introduced as a “megapastor.” Woody kiddingly told me, “Hey! I want to be a mega-super-hyper-maxi-pastor!” Osteen’s main goal is to make people feel really good about themselves and believe that God has better things for them - both in this life and the life to come.

MacDonald writes about how we as a church are not too bad at bringing people to Christ and doing basic discipleship. It is possible to have programs - and the modern church loves programs! - that bring people to Christ and take them through booklets that teach them the basics of the faith. But programs rarely produce true mature Christians.

We are good at producing “churchy Christians,” but listen to how MacDonald describes the holy, Christ-like, and godly man or woman of God : “I have in mind those who walk through all the corridors of the larger life – the market-place, the home and community, the playing fields – and do it in such a way that, sooner or later, it is concluded that Jesus’ fingerprints are all over them.”

Like I was hearing on Tom Dooleys’ Through the Bible podcast, these are people who - just by the way they live - leave behind them a trail that makes people ready to hear about Jesus. It’s hard to define a mature Christian, but you are likely to know one when you see one. The marks of maturity include a spiritual devotional life that is self-sustaining, wisdom in human relationships, humble service, and comfort in the everyday life in the real world where faith is lived out among unbelievers.

How many people do you know that are like that? Have we forgotten how to raise saints? What are we doing wrong? Reading the wrong books? Doing the wrong studies? Preaching wrong? Too much emphasis on self-help? Too much application in church of the world’s principles of success?

Mature Christians are formed in many ways, but one important key is through mentoring.
When I was a young wife and mother and missionary in Bolivia, I realized that I sorely needed a godly woman to mentor me. During one furlough I decided to approach several mature women that had experience in ministry as well as being a godly wife and mother. I was shocked and sorely disillusioned when one after the other, they refused to share their lives and wisdom with me. One of them told me bluntly, “I have nothing to teach you.” I almost got down on my knees to beg her, “Can’t you teach me some of what you know about following Christ and serving others? You host many people in your home. Can you give me tips on having a healthy balance between hosting guests and caring for family? Can you at least give me some recipes that are easy to fix for big groups?”

“No.”

The answer was final. And my heart was broken. I could only go to God and say, “You have to help me! I want to do this right and well. Help me, please!”

Mentoring might involve sharing a helpful book with someone, but it goes way beyond sharing recipes and reading books. As we read that book, we talk of life and we pray about ways that God needs to change us and how to go about that. Mentoring takes place on the streets of life – learning how to live as a Christian in the nitty-gritty of life. “Mature Christians are made one by one through the influence of other Christians already mature,” says MacDonald.

I’ve been writing a devotional. A couple of weeks of Su’s Daily Devos focus on the reality of suffering in our lives. Mature Christians grow through suffering. A sense of inadequacy is the stepping stone to dependency on God. Wrestling with questions and doubt are the springboard to growth. Mature Christians fail forward, as has MacDonald. They say a strategic “no” when others are indulging themselves with “yeses.” And they fall and learn to get up again. As MacDonald says from his own personal experience, “Mature Christians are experts at repenting and humility.” Mature Christians learn under one who has gone before so that “his/her life becomes a textbook on Christ’s work in us.”

Just like my failed search for a mentor over 20 years ago, young people today are failing to find mentors. People of my generation are more interested in cruises than modeling Christ. As MacDonald puts it, they are “too busy, too distracted, too secretive, and too afraid.” He doesn’t add that they are also too immature! Maturity in Christ has not been among their long-range goals!

I hope and pray along with Gordon MacDonald that we won’t lose a new generation of young Christians who couldn’t get past infancy because we were unwilling or unable to “emancipate an embryo,” or at least share a recipe!

Whingy Su

This morning I was looking at the story of Elijah when he fled from Jezebel. I was focusing on I Kings 19:7 where the angel of the Lord came a second time and said, “Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.”

How often do I find the journey too great for me? I think I am a very weak person, because I find myself thinking that more times than not!

Isn’t it ironic that I can take great courage in the fact of my own great weakness?

Amy Carmichael wrote, “We never reach the place where we pass beyond the compassion of our God. His compassions fail not; they are new every morning; never tiring of us, always strong for our help.” (Emphasis mine.)

I love the thought that His compassions never get tired of me. I get tired of myself! I try not to whine, or, as the Brits put it, whinge, but I think I am a born whinger. But His compassions are new every morning. They never get tired of Whingy Su.

I want to read more about the life of Julian of Norwich. She evidently faced physical difficulties, illness and pain. In the book Revelations of Divine Love it tells of the ¨fifteen shewings¨ that fell fair and steadily, each following another, gladdening her heart.

Yet after the fifteen shewings, ensued a period of silence and remission. “Suddenly all my body was fulfilled with sickness as it was afore. And I was as barren and as dry as if I never had comfort but little. And as a wretched creature I moaned and cried for feeling of my bodily pains and for failing of comfort, spiritual and bodily.”

At that point, God granted her these words of comfort: Thou shalt not be overcome.

“He said not: Thou shalt not be tempested, thou shalt not be travailed, thou shalt not be afflicted; but He said, Thou shalt not be overcome.”

I take courage in the fact that Julian of Norwich was a born whinger. She experienced supernatural comfort in the midst of trial. But, she also experienced the despair of silence in the midst of pain, comforted only with the promise, Thou shalt not be overcome.

God loves us and enjoys us, and He wills that we love and enjoy Him as we mightily trust in Him. That’s my prayer today.

May I mightily trust in You!

Celeste's Example - Seeking the Things Above

Squirrels!

"Set your mind on the things above, not on the things on earth; for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God." Colossians 3:2

Back in my college days I memorized the book of Colossians. It seems like the rest of my life I will spend trying to recapture those memorized verses! I just about have the first two chapters under my belt again, and I'm working on getting the third down.

On one of my Celestial walks this week, I was repeating the above verse when Celeste suddenly stopped in her tracks, her eyes fixed on the treetops.

Squirrels!

If Celeste has one passion in life, it is chasing squirrels. While we stroll the grounds of the Multiplication Center, she is constantly focusing on squirrels - listening for their sounds, watching for any unusual movement, sniffing and scanning the treetops.

Celeste is a perfect example of setting her eyes on the things above. My hope is that I might emulate her passion - not for squirrels, but for even more important things above!

Hotel Villa Caletas Infinity Pool

The pool at Hotel Villa Caletas is almost worth the price of the stay. It is called an infinity pool... and I think you can clearly see why! The water gently cascades over the edge of the pool that looks way down on the Pacific below. The pool, ocean, and sky seem to all blend into one another for an incredible, peaceful experience.

My Husband of 32 Years

What a lovely sight! Woody, that is. I liked the view from the hotel terrace restaurant as well.

32nd Wedding Anniversary Photos

We spent two nights at Hotel Villa Caletas... our third time celebrating our anniversary at this lovely, small Pacific coast hotel. During rainy season (now) they offer residents two nights for the price of one. This is the view from our room!! We looked down 1,140 feet below to the Pacific Ocean. There were no other rooms or buildings in sight from our balcony!

Residents, Presidents

Yesterday I had the amazing privilege of meeting the president of the Republic of Costa Rica. But, to be honest, that wasn't the highlight of my day. My highlight was being part of the Albernia community and seeing the joy on the resident's faces as they met the president.

Let me give you some context...

San Isidro is a quaint little town. We used to have two one-lane bridges to facilitate crossing the river near the center of town. Late last January the river flooded one of the bridges. A driver who attempted to cross the flooded river had his car stall and he was swept away by the current and drowned. It was a tragic accident that resulted in a project to replace the existing bridge.

Normally, a one-lane bridge that spans maybe 25-30 feet, probably wouldn't take too long to build, but here it has taken 14 months. Rush hour has certainly been more interesting with only one functioning one-lane bridge. In December, a whole lot of work was done, and it seemed like we were days away from the re-opening of the bridge, but then they stopped and we started to hear rumors. The most interesting rumor was that they were going to wait to finish the bridge so that President Arias could come out and cut the red ribbon.

The rumor turned out to be true. So, the town was dressed up and ready for his visit to inaugurate our new bridge yesterday. I didn't go to the inauguration or to the visits to the church or the school. Instead I walked all the way to the Albernia nursing home to await his scheduled visit there.

As I got to the Albernia gate, a guard told me, "You are not allowed to enter. This event is by invitation only." I asked if he would just allow me to step in and ask the director if I could attend. The president's representatives asked my forgiveness when Ana, the director, vouched for me. The next hour I spent in wonderful conversation with my best friends in town. The staff had all new uniforms and had whipped the place into the best shape ever.

Finally, when the president appeared, he greeted a few of the residents and then took a seat of honor under a lawn awning set up for the occasion. There were lovely flowers and an official presidential podium.

The most embarassing moment for me was the first thing on the program - the singing of the Costa Rican national anthem. TV cameras panned the audience as everyone belted out the words... all except me, that is! I still haven't learned all the words! I just hope I wasn't on TV, making foolish, blubbering sounds like Mr. Bean.

After the first two speakers, the president was introduced. Instead of stepping behind the podium, he walked right over to Don Edgar, sitting in front of me in his wheelchair. He asked Edgar's name and told him he looked familiar. He spoke briefly to the residents on each side of Edgar. Then he looked straight at me, and said, "And you?"

"My name is Susan and I live in San Isidro. I visit here each week."

He had a few more words with me, and then stepped back up to the podium. Woohoo!

It was marvellous to see my friends faces glow and to see the president of this country humbly care for his compatriots who are a bit older. Don Oscar Arias is a Nobel Peace Prize winner and a compassionate president. He has chosen to give half of his presidential salary to donate to nursing homes around the country. Yesterday he announced that he uses the other half of his salary at his discretion, and he has chosen to use part of it to help Albernia for three or four months as well. (The Albernia property was originally donated by the president's uncle, I learned.)

Photos of Day Three

Carriage Ride (Note Army camouflage material used to line carriage.)

Devotional Time by the Hotel Pool

Oropendola Nests on our Islet Tour

Dinner for Two

The Streets of Granada

Nicaragua Trip - Day Three

After another refreshing night’s sleep, we enjoyed our personal devotion time by the hotel pool. We basically had the courtyard to ourselves and had our own private “church.” The other noisy tourists were late-risers and seemed to prefer beers on the terrace over seeing the sights of the city.

We walked several blocks through streets brimming with vendors of every sort… the Sunday market. There was a little bit of everything available. Breakfast options were still pretty slim, so we munched on dry cereal and yogurt.

We were eagerly looking forward to a trip out to the islets of Granada on Lake Nicaragua. We loved the carriage ride so much on Saturday that we decided to pay the extra $20 to take another one to the pier. There we hired a small boat to take us on an hour long private tour. There are 265 small islands near the city of Granada, all formed by volcanic explosions about 400 years ago. Most of the islands are privately owned by wealthy business people or politicians. I would hate to have my house on one, because we were only one of many boats putting around the perimeters of their homes, gawking at the evidence of wealth.

We paid about $5 extra so that the carriage driver would take us to a sight I wanted to revisit. The San Juan de Dios Hospital had been abandoned around 10 years ago. By the look of it, you would think it had been abandoned much longer ago! It takes up two whole city blocks. Trees are growing right out of the rooftops of the tall spires! Inventory books and patient records are still strewn in the hallways. One story we heard indicated that the hospital sewage had been accumulating for many years in a tank under the center patio of the hospital. Eventually, the hospital began to settle into the huge sewage pit underneath it. What a good reason for a hospital to die!

We ate an elegant supper in a new hotel, enjoying the restaurant all to ourselves, since other tourists don’t eat until late. We hit the sack early. Day three… another lovely day!

Granada Nicaragua Trip - Day Two

One of our hopes for our trip together was to spend some time alone with God, plus have time for me to mentor Kari. God was very gracious to us in both senses! Our first morning we found two rockers next to the small, quiet pool in the courtyard, and enjoyed God’s presence.

After our quiet time, we ventured out on the streets to look for a good bread store for our breakfast. If there exist good bread stores in Nicaragua, we never found one! We stepped into one, looked at each other, and stepped right out again! Instead we found some pre-packaged dry toast, dulce de leche, and yogurt and enjoyed our breakfast on the main city plaza, right outside our hotel door.

Since it was Saturday we decided to find a bus to a nearby city of Masaya, where they boast of a great artisan’s market. The express bus driver knew two speeds: FAST and STOP!! We had an interesting cultural experience en route. Suddenly, while barreling down the highway, the bus driver’s assistant in the back shouted, “PECADO!” In Spanish, that means SIN! The driver looked over his shoulder once, and kept going. The boy now became more insistent, “PECADO! PECADO! PECADO!” Now, the bus driver was truly concerned, glaring over his shoulder and considering slowing down.

One more shout of “PECADO!” and the driver slammed on the brakes. As the dust settled, the passenger behind us was thrown off the bus! His dripping packages gave away his sin. He had two sacks of frozen fish which were creating pools of fishy water on the floor. We realized that the Nicaraguans drop their “s” sounds, so the boy had been actually shouting “PESCADO!” the Spanish word for fish!

The artisan’s market was a fun stop for us. We mostly window-shopped. Our biggest purchase was four identical clay bead bracelets – one for Kari and me, and the other two for Norma and Krista. Later I read an inscription on one of the beads. It said “Cuba!” So much for Nicaraguan souvenirs! I’ll attach a photo of one of the lovely murals in the artisan’s market.

We opted for a local bus back to Granada. The eight block walk to the bus stop was an eye-opener. We have heard that 75% of Nicaraguans live below the poverty level. I think that percentage perhaps is slightly underestimated. We saw starving dogs and starving horses, but also starving people. From then on, we always bought extra food to share with the needy all around us.

The local buses also have two speeds. SLOW and STOP. Once again, my cane came to the rescue. Otherwise the two of us would have been standing, packed like sardines with the rest of the hot, sweaty bunch.

The sun was lowering in the sky by the time we made our way back to the main square. On a whim, we decided to hire a horse and buggy to take us for a sunset tour of Granada. Our favorite stop was at an arsenal built by the Spaniards soon after establishing the city. It was most recently used during the civil war in the 80’s to house prisoners. We climbed up into the guard tower and caught our first glimpse of Lake Nicaragua and the volcano that overlooks the city. What a view!

We ate a real meal that evening at a restaurant recommended by the carriage driver. I ate guapote – the most typical fish from Lake Nicaragua.

Day two… a lovely day!

Nicaragua Trip - Day One

Kari and I had a marvelous time together in Granada, Nicaragua! Kari has to leave the country for 72 hours every three months in order to stay in Costa Rica, since she does not have a residency visa. Three months ago she traveled with some of the other Sojourn teachers to Panama City. This time I offered to go with her on a trip - just the two of us. To save money, we planned it ourselves, making our hotel reservation based on the recommendation of a friend from Nicaragua. We could have gone through a travel agency for around $400 apiece, but we ended up spending $166 each!! Aren’t we good missionaries?!?

We traveled by bus. The trip to Nicaragua was uneventful. (I'll write an entry soon describing the return trip adventures!) We left around noon and arrived around 10PM. The border crossing was definitely third world, but we managed better than most, thanks to my cane! Since I’d had foot surgery only 4 weeks previous, I decided to take my cane along, not only to help me walk, but to give me a “passport to grace.” Don’t think I was playing my sympathy card! Honestly, the cane was my salvation! People were very gracious and accommodating.

One interesting note about the bus ride… the roads in Nicaragua at night are narrow, dark, rough and unmarked (no center lines, no any lines!) Get a seat in the back if you want to avoid a heart attack. What you can’t see can’t hurt you!

Before the trip we had investigated how much a taxi should cost from the bus station to our hotel. The first taxi to happen by, seeing our foreign faces, wanted double that price. We should have forked over the extra two dollars, since we ended up waiting and hunting for another taxi for at least another 20 minutes.

We walked into our hotel lobby and were “wowed.” The lobby was gorgeous! Our room was small, but clean, with a decent, clean bathroom. Initially we were disappointed when we saw that our window did not look out on the street. But, after a good night’s rest, we opened our curtain and looked out on the lovely courtyard, and decided our view wasn’t half bad!! The attached photo shows you that view. Tomorrow I will write about our second day there.

Surpise Celestial Sleepover

Yesterday morning I was working on the computer at home when I received a panicky phone call from Lori’s neighbor. Wilma couldn’t get through on the office phone to Lori, so she asked me if Lori had house guests. As I was contacting Lori by Skype, Wilma called back to say, “It’s robbers! They are leaving with her TV!” I had her call the police, and Eric drove with Lori to her house. A small group of men evidently had forced the lock on her carport gate and broken down her front door in broad daylight. Fortunately, her losses total less than $1000. She will have to replace her passport and driver’s license. The police never came, though about 4 hours later a “judicial investigation team” showed up to look for fingerprints and write a report. Then Lori and her landlord had to go to the police station to file a report while workmen stayed behind to screw the door back together again.

In the afternoon I did a lot of phone calls for Lori. One of those calls was to the emergency number for the US Consulate. Inside each passport it says to call to report if your passport is lost or stolen. I first tried several phone numbers for the US consulate in Costa Rica, but either got answering machines or no answer. So, I decided to call their emergency number. A man answered the phone in English. He didn’t say, “Good afternoon! US Consulate.” He didn’t even say, “Hello.”

He answered the phone like this: “Yeah?”

I was a bit surprised and figured I must have the wrong number! But, I asked in English, “Is this the US Consulate?”

“Yeah.”

It was an American accent. At this point I wasn’t sure if his vocabulary extended beyond this one word. “Yeah.”

Anyway, I explained the robbery and he said simply, “You don’t need to report it. She just has to replace it.”

Lori really wanted me to come over after Eric left in the early afternoon, but I was in the midst of an urgent ILF project - printing and sending 47 personal, signed, official ILF invitations for the IT Filipino leaders. I was on the phone for about an hour trying to decide between DHL and FedEx. (That is a story in and of itself!) The DHL messenger finally showed up at 6:30PM, freeing me to go join Lori at her house. Celeste was a welcome addition to the slumber party. The damaged front door may not have looked terribly secure, but the 115 pound dog was a nice deterrent to any further break-ins!

What a Way to Start 2007!

We had a wonderful New Year's Eve service at our church, Iglesia Principe de Paz. As people filed in, we handed out multi-colored slips that read, "List 10 reasons you are thankful." Luis Diego, now the new director of I.T. Costa Rica, led us in music of thanksgiving as the seats began to fill.

Rather than having traditional "church," we now pulled out an "IPP BINGO" sheet. "Tico Bingo" is a big thing at this time of year. It is a lottery that benefits the Red Cross. So, the artwork on our Bingo sheets mimicked the Tico Bingo slogan. In IPP BINGO, however, all are winners. Everyone had to fill their nine squares with a thanksgiving, a goal for 2007, and a signature of different individuals in the church. The group was very animated as they got to know one another better, focusing on gratefulness to God.

After more wonderful singing, the pastor spoke on all the things we forget to be thankful for. He concluded his message by quoting Revelation 7:12. "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!"

We then shared in a very precious time of the Lord's Supper.

As we drew near to the conclusion of a beautiful morning, the people filed to the front to deposit their multi-colored slips of gratitude, along with their offering, in a large, clear glass bowl. As they deposited their offerings of praise, each had the option of drawing a Scripture slip. We had made up about 25 slips of paraphrased Scriptures that focus on gratitude. Each person that drew a slip and read their portion aloud into the microphone. People were so eager to participate that I quickly ran out of slips. Some people spontaneously shared their thanks by quoting memorized verses.

We all joined hands in a large circle and read in unison the passage from Revelation that was on a PowerPoint slide. You should have heard the enthusiasm as we thought about preparing for the day we would all stand before the Lamb: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!"
Still in a circle, the pastor led us in a prayer of commitment for the coming year. He then told us no one could leave without personally greeting and blessing each person in the crowd... about 80 of us! There was such a warm spirit that people stayed for about another half hour, hugging and blessing one another.

What a way to start 2007!