While Chico Watched our Cars

While shepherds watched their flocks by night, all seated on the ground,
The angel of the Lord came down, and glory shone around.

Chico is one of my "unlikely disciples." One of my biggest joys lately has been slipping out to the street for a while on Sunday mornings to sit on a low brick wall with Chico, our church's car guard, and study the life of Christ with him. Chico is the first to admit, he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer. In fact last week he told me, "I know I don't catch on fast, but I feel like I am finally starting to understand more about who Jesus is and what God's purpose is for me!"

We shared the coolest insights together last week that had us both in tears. We were reading in the Bible together about yet another appearance of the angel of the Lord... this time to the shepherds out in their fields. We had just talked about how God sent His Son to be born in the most humble circumstances to a poor family. Now, I told Chico, God sent the big announcement through the appearance of the angelic hosts. And, to whom does He grant the privilege of being first to go see and worship the baby king? A bunch of shepherds! I explained to Chico that shepherds back then were sort of like car guards in today's world. People often overlook or look down on car guards. They aren't granted much prestige in society. But, God sent His angels to announce Jesus' birth to a group of car guards! I had Chico close His eyes and imagine what it would be like to have an angel appear and say, "Forget about the cars! I've got something way better for you. I've chosen YOU, Chico, to be the first to see the newborn Son of God, and to fall at His feet in worship. I'm not even going to tell the car owners about Him right now. It's most important that I tell YOU!

We gave pause for a few minutes as Chico eye's teared up with pride and joy, that God would choose someone like himself. Rarely has Chico been chosen for anything, let alone the biggest privilege in the history of the world.

We may count ourseles as important. But, I'm thankful that God chose the Chicos of the world. Humor me by singin my new version of "While Shepherds Watched." (I particularly like my Texas angel! Maybe angels speak Texan, and that's why some people have to stop and ponder what they meant!)

While Chico watched
Our cars by night
Seated on the low brick wall
The angel of the Lord declared
"Have no fear, God's with y'all.
The Lord is with y'all."

Don Chico thought,
"Must be a dream.
I'm just a common man."
He was reassured right then and there,
"God chose you in HIs plan,
God Chose you in His plan."

"See, long ago
man chose to sin,
But the Father sent His Son,
As a Baby King in a cattle barn,
This is His Chosen One,
It's His Own Chosen One."

"And to you we sing
This great good news,
That the whole world soon will know,
But for now, Chico, you are the one
To seek Him, off you go!
Search, Chico, off you go!"

"So, Chico, take up your guard stick,
And walk straight out of town,
Don't fear this one great chance you take
And at His feet fall down.
And at His feet fall down."

"I am just a humble car guard, Lord,
Living here in San Jose,
But I cry with joy and here I go,
Grateful You chose me today,
That You chose me today."

Just imagine humble Don Chico
Kneeling at the Savior's feet
While the people look for their nice cars,
Chico's wealth cannot be beat,
His wealth cannot be beat!

The Opposite of Ignorance

Seven sharp young people from Costa Rica and Bolivia are spending six weeks in what we call Formación Intensiva. During this time our team is intentionally investing in them in many ways: teaching, mentoring, and conversing at meal times. Together they are studying the life and strategy of Christ, cross-cultural communication, a chronological study of the Old Testament, and basic missions principles. We even watch pertinent movies together and discuss their content – this week it was Luther, a great modern bio-pic about the church reformer.

One of these young missionaries is Joana Quiroga. Joana is from Bolivia and is family to us. I don’t say “like family,” because certain people won their way into our hearts during our twelve years in Bolivia, and Joana is one we have loved from the moment she was born. Her mom is Norma’s older sister, so that makes Joana a “granddaughter” to us. She is 23 years old and is a top-notch missionary, serving on our team in Cochabamba, Bolivia, ministering to children. She is staying with us on weekends during these six weeks.

Here are some of Joana’s thoughts after finishing her first week in Formation 2009.

I’m so happy to be in Costa Rica and to be part of the Formation group. It’s been a week of blessing - studying the life of Christ, the Bible, communication and more! “The mark of spiritual maturity is not how much you understand, but how much you put to use. In the spiritual realm, the opposite of ignorance is not knowledge, but obedience.” –H. Hendrix

God has put a huge challenge in front of me, and I pray that the Father’s desire for me will be become more real each day: to be an authentic disciple of Jesus Christ.

Wrights' Stolen Car - And God's Hand in Returning It (We Trust!)

Here is a quick low down of our co-workers' ordeal with the theft of their car.

The Wright family went to the US Fourth of July Celebration here in Costa Rica and paid a guy to watch their car. When they were ready to leave, the car was gone and the "guard" said he saw it go, but claimed that he thought it was Steve driving it away. (Yeah, right! Steve is 6'6" and has a huge beard, so it is probably a bit hard to not recognize him!)

Steve filed police reports, knowing that rarely helps. Meanwhile, many of us were praying it would be returned intact.

A few days later they got a call from a guy who asked if they wanted their car back. Steve told him of course they did! The caller offered to sell it back to them for $600. Steve told him no, and suggested that instead he should use the profit from the stolen car to start a new life, since his current lifestyle was not a good option. The guy said that maybe God was telling him to just give them back the car.

The next day another guy called about selling them back the car. Steve said he wanted to talk to the first guy, but the second said that he had just gotten out of prison for stealing cars and didn't want to be involved any longer. But, this caller told Steve to contact any one of the unmarked taxi drivers at the airport, since all of them know about all stolen cars and could vouch for the legitimacy of the caller - that he would carry through on returning the car if Steve paid him! (Make sense so far?)

Steve called the police, who told him, "We think today we will find your car!" Steve (an ex-cop) spent most of the day with the cops, and they checked out downtown parking lots and found the car in one of them! With Steve's help, they staked out the parking lot and caught one of the thieves at 3AM, trying to retrieve the car. It ends up that the guy who supposedly guarded the car in the first place is likely part of the ring of car thieves. Meanwhile, Steve has had to do extra paperwork, like applying for a new title. Now they are waiting the DA to authorize the release of the vehicle.

I didn't pray with a lot of faith, I admit, but I sure give God all the credit that it looks like that soon the Wrights will have their wheels back!

Bittersweet Memories: The Fourth of July

For various reasons, today my mind has been full of bittersweet memories of the Fourth of July – some from 2009 and some from years back. Here are a few of those thoughts and memories…

There are two sad memories I will always associate with July 4th, 2009. The first and foremost is that one of our dear friends and close relatives, Woody’s Aunt Jeanne, left behind her temporary citizenship in the United States of America, to claim her eternal citizenship in heaven. Aunt Jeanne, we will miss you. To put it more personally, I will miss you. Often Woody’s mom has a slip of tongue and call Woody “Wilfred.” Wilfred, or Uncle Bill, is Woody’s mom’s younger brother, the husband of Aunt Jeanne. Long before we were married, I knew I was truly a part of the family when Evelyn started to accidentally call me Jeanne. The name stuck, and I’m still often called Jeanne. Again, Aunt Jeanne, I will miss you. It’s awfully hard to be so far from family at moments like these.

The second sad thing I will always associate with this date in 2009 has to do with the US 4th of July picnic in Costa Rica. Our friends and team mates, Steve and Jamie Wright, helped us out with our recent short term team. They worked long hours for those ten days and more, so they were very excited to spend the day as a family with their three kids at the expat holiday celebration. After the day’s fun activities, they returned to the “guarded” parking area to find their car stolen. I’m so, so sorry, Steve and Jamie.

One other small, bad memory of today… While mowing the lawn, I got stung by bees for the third time this year. This time I had to inject myself with a steroid shot to control my allergic reaction to bee stings. We need to figure out where those bees come from and somehow get rid of them!

There were bright moments on this red, white and blue holiday. Kari was the chief holiday planner at our house. Woody is currently in Bolivia, visiting our teams there. Phil, our house guest, didn’t even know until yesterday why we celebrate the Fourth of July (he’s Australian, so is granted a pass!). Kari opted to educate our Aussie guest and provide a bit of “home away from home” for us. She fixed chicken pasta salad and baked brownies. During dinner she played patriotic songs on “YouTube,” including The 1812 Overture, Arethra Franklin’s version of My Country ‘Tis of Thee, and the Gaithers singing the national anthem. Phil made a fire in the fireplace for a marshmallow roast and then we watched the Chicago Fireworks via YouTube on our back balcony. Good job, Kari! (Phil enjoyed it, too, and learned a lot about US culture and history.)

Let me share with you a few other interesting memories of 4th of July celebrations. Kari asked me to share one of my favorite childhood memories of this holiday. I had to laugh aloud as I told her a good story with a bad ending. One time our family had a picnic in our back yard. My mom made one of my favorite desserts, “Ber Schoeller’s Bars.” This rich dessert is comprised of buttery (very buttery) graham crackers drenched in chocolate and walnuts. I loved them so much that I just couldn’t stop eating them. I really overdid it and paid the price. We’ll leave the story at that!

Our first year living outside the USA was also a bittersweet memory with a similar, but much more painfully dramatic ending. We hadn’t lived long in Bolivia when our first Fourth of July rolled around. We were both feeling nostalgic, so we went out and bought hot dogs to be our token representation of typical US holiday fare. We listened on our shortwave radio to the Voice of America as we quietly ate our tube steaks. Before the evening was out, both of us had come down with virulent cases of acute Salmonellosis. We had a apartment with two tiny bathrooms – a small feature we greatly appreciated on July 4, 1978. We never willingly ate hot dogs again during our twelve years living in Bolivia!

The best story of the Fourth of July was well summed up by the pastor of our Illinois church, Alpine Chapel.

Freedom.

It was the last word on the lips of William Wallace in the movie Braveheart – the very thing for which he died.

It was the challenge given by many of our nation’s forefathers, including the oft-quoted statement of Patrick Henry, who was also willing to die for it.

It is the thing for which soldiers throughout our history have put their lives on the line - soldiers whose sacrifice we honor and memorialize in our nation’s capital, and at parks and monuments all across our nation.

Yet, sadly, it may very well be the last thing we focus on at the typical Fourth of July celebration.

This year, why not spend some time, either alone or at your celebration, thinking about what freedom means to you – as well as what it cost. For believers in Christ, we know the ultimate freedom that is found only in the salvation which came at the ultimate cost of Jesus’ death. Through Him, our citizenship is not just as Americans, free from political tyranny; we are citizens of a different kingdom, free from the penalty and power of sin.

Aunt Jeanne, while I watch the fireworks in the skies tonight, I promise to remember the hope of joining you in our true homeland kingdom as soon as I can!

Disturb Us, Lord

Disturb us, Lord When we are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when, with the abundance of things we possess,
We have lost our thirst for the waters of life;
And, having fallen in love with life as we know it,
We have ceased to dream of eternity;
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.

We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push us into the future In strength, courage, hope, and love.

Sir Francis Drake -1577

In the Line of Fire

Tonight I was reading an essay by John Eldredge. He wrote about those times in which we feel like God is silent. Why does he not hear our cry to take us out of the line of fire? As Eldredge writes, that's not where we are in The Story right now. In fact, we are promised to find ourselves in the line of fire. Jesus told us clearly that the thief comes to steal and to kill and to destroy. So, why are we so surprised when he actually steals and kills and destroys?

I'm studying the book of Daniel right now. In chapter eight it speaks of the enemy as the master of intrigue. The original word used here has to do with loosening or tightening knots. Right now, our enemy is the master at tightening the knots in our lives. But, we do have the promise that one day we will find ourselves in the point in The Story in which the Master at Loosening Knots will win the day.

Five Minute Residency Renewal!

Do you remember the hours and hours and days and days that I have spent at Immigration, trying to get my residency in Costa Rica? My last appointment was amazingly easy compared to previous years, but this year's experience takes the cake!

I was due this month for my annual visa renewal. But, our agenda is so full that I was totally dreading taking a day off to wait in line for a appointment. So, on a whim one evening I did some web research and came up with a toll number to call for appointments. I decided to give the number a try the next morning. After just one ring, a polite young man answered, identifying himself as "Alejandro, from the Department of Migration." I explained to him my desire for an appointment for residency visa renewal. He asked my name and ID number and put me on hold. After about a three minute hold, he returned to tell me that I have an appointment for June 24th, 2010.

"2010?!?" I replied. Yes, indeed. 2010. I told him that I'd heard that they were giving appointments just one to two months in advance.

Alejandro replied that if I wanted to go to the offices and wait in line for an appointment, I could get one within two weeks. But, my residency would remain valid until the 2010 appointment if I preferred.

I said to him, "Well, it only seems to make sense to not go, wait in line, and have to go through all the red tape of renewal when I can just go in 2010 and have a valid visa for another year meanwhile."

He said it was totally the most logical option. When he told me I would have a confirmation email shortly, I held my breath. Previously with Immigration, they refused to give any kind of documentation to prove that something was in process.

Within the hour I had a confirmation email. AMAZING! Thank You, Lord! (And thank you, too, Alejandro!)

Don't Steal the Orchid!

Tulio, our gardener, brought me a valuable orchid. After doing my best to give it occasional water and plenty of sunshine, it finally bloomed! It is an unusual, but lovely flower. He says that when it finishes blooming he needs to put it on a tree that is not easily seen by the public. Otherwise it will be stolen right away, because people around here know how rare and valuable it is.

We Need a Friend - Thoughts on Pain from Lady Buxton

I am good at stealing thoughts from others, chewing on them, and spitting them out to you! Today I want to share something I actually read a year ago. (I looked back in my journal from 2008.) Lady Buxton was a philanthropist in the late 1800's and early 1900's. For 47 years she suffered pain from osteoarthritis, yet she helped promote missions and both the YMCA and the YWCA. Here are her comments about pain:

"Things do NOT improve... all seems increasingly hard sometimes, and I am rather hopeless of getting better. We need a friend, above all a Saviour, in the depths of our being - and, thank God, we have one."

Is your life growing increasingly harder? Are there burdens that go on and on? Let's cling to the friend that meets our needs in the depths of our being.

Earthquake Photos

The epicenter of the big 6.2 earthquake we experienced on Thursday the 8th of January, 2009, was just under 20 miles away from our home and office. It really was strong! Right at the epicenter the damage was devastating. One small town was totally destroyed. Our favorite tourist spot, La Paz Waterfall Gardens, was seriously damaged. Thankfully, the hotel there claims that no one died there. So far we don't have a clear death count. I think it is 17, though CNN says there are 34 confirmed dead. These photos are from the La Nacion newspaper. One shows an area where a body was recovered from a car buried about half-way down the landslide. The body was recovered by a Colombian crew working from a helicopter. Another shows 6 amazing before and after photos, including the La Paz Waterfall. The third photo shows one of the monkeys that escaped from the monkey cage at the Waterfall Gardens. It is eating at the lovely restaurant where we have taken many guests. Two monkeys were not recovered. A jaguar that escaped was recovered. I haven't heard about the poisonous snakes!

A Beth Moore Miracle

When I was in the USA last July I had only a few minutes to look for a Bible study to take back to Costa Rica with me. That store only had one Beth Moore study - on the book of Daniel. I wanted to study something from the Old Testament, so I bought the book.

Only after getting back to Costa Rica did I learn that it requires either a video series on DVD or an audio series. The cost of ordering that was prohibitive.

Last week I downloaded the first video session for just over $5 and enjoyed the first week of study. I was praying yesterday about whether to quit the study, becuase it would require at least another $60 investment. Weighing the cost, a couple of weeks ago I had even tried writing Beth Moore herself, explaining my situation and asking if they offer any discounts for missionaries. But, I hadn't heard back from Lifeway Ministries.

During my prayer walk, I felt God nudging me to continue. As I tried to figure out how to make that work, I thought to myself, "Well, I can spend the rest of my birthday money to pay for at least part of it." From there, I will just have to see.

After my quiet time I briefly stopped by to talk to Karen, a missionary colleague. I meant to share something with her from the Daniel workbook that I'd studied. When she saw the book, she was very excited because she studied it with a group while in the US on HMA in 2008. She told me, "You just have to study it! We'll find some way to do it."

My eyes filled with tears of gratitude to God as I read an email from Lifeway Ministries upon returning home from Karen's house. The timing was perfect. It read:

Dear Susan,
Thanks for writing~
I would be blessed to offer an audio cd set to accompany Daniel.

Isn't God great?!? I already have two other missionaries who want to buy the book and study it with the audio series I've been promised. As Karen often says, "Cool beans!"

Rocking and Rolling

I've lived in Costa Rica for over ten years, but recently I feel like I've just been baptized into life here. Last night I was just about asleep when an aftershock hit. (We had a strong earthquake last Thursday.) My bed shook and so did the beams above me. So, that got my adrenaline going. I had just calmed down and barely fallen asleep when another hit. This one was weaker, but it made me decide to try sleeping on the couch. I was just about asleep again when the neighbor dog, Beckham, started barking like crazy! While trying to ignore him, I felt another aftershock.

Now sleep was out of the question. Finally I went out with Celeste to try to calm the other dog. He wouldn’t be calmed. Diego, who lives across the street joined in the effort to quiet Beckham. So, Diego and I had a nice 1:30AM chat.

At 2AM I felt another tremor while I was working on my inbox. I managed to get back to sleep after 2:30, but awoke with a fifth aftershock at 5:10!

Lord, calm the earth today!

Intercession 101

This morning I was reading about the need to listen carefully to the Holy Spirit as we intercede for others. Without this sensitivity there are at least two consequences: we become hypocritical (praying words just to sound nice); we become subject to a critical spirit (praying for the faults we see in others while conveniently ignoring our own).

So, how can I be a true intercessor? I do not have the answers, but I have two clues based on something I read by Oswald Chambers.

1) I must be aware of the Spirit's leading and discernment about the souls of others. This discernment allows me to have the mind of Christ on their behalf.
2) I must pray from my soul that God will convey His mind to me as I pray for others.

If we allow our hearts and minds to be "roused up" by His Spirit in such a way as we see His view about the people for whom we pray, then "Jesus Christ will be abundantly satisfied with us as intercessors."

Prayer Specialists

How many specialists do you have available "by speed-dial?" I could quickly tell you phone numbers for lawyers, neurologists, ENT's, surgeons, washer/dryer repairmen, surveyors, cabinet-makers, and many others. But, do I know the number of a prayer specialist? A prayer specialist would be someone I could count on to not just respond with casual words of goodwill on my behalf, crafted in spiritual-sounding words to God. A prayer specialist does not offer pat answers. A prayer specialist listens to the heart-cry, responds with empathy and calm trust, and says, "Let's talk to Jesus about it." He or she then talks simply and intimately with the Savior, claiming the Bible's promises.

This kind of prayer is most effective if done in person and includes a touch of the hand or a gentle, loving hug.

Most of all, a prayer specialist continues to lift up the arms of Moses, and pray throughout the day or even during the night as the Spirit lays the need upon him.

May I learn to be a prayer specialist! Do you need my number for your speed-dial?

Spirit-Inspired Discontent

As we pray in the Spirit, God will make our soul profoundly discontented with all that is contrary to His will. From that sense of discontent arises an even more profound power in prayer. G. Campbell Morgan wrote, "The heavenly people are, therefore, those who most acutely feel earth's sorrows."

The above thoughts came to me through my study on prayer by Edwin and Lillian Harvey. At the same time, I am beginning a Beth Moore study on the book of Daniel. The study neatly dovetails the above thoughts as she describes the values of the culture of Babylon and draws the parallel to our own culture today. My soul grieves as I see how we, too, value youth, intelligence, and physical beauty. Babylon had the philosophy, "I am; and there is none besides me."

One thing that God has laid on my heart over the past years is the pressing question that Beth Moore also raises. As a church, are we influencing our culture with JESUS or are we being influenced by our culture?

I am not talking about social and political issues. I am talking about Jesus. That is our purpose as individuals and as a community of believers. May they see Jesus in us. May our values reflect the priorities of Christ!