WOODSHOP
I built and installed some mirror frames for the new cabin at the camp and I am building replacement windows for some of the windows in the guest house. Yeudi (pronounced Jody), the son of a local pastor, and I also built a table which was donated to the church in El Mirador. The table is to help an upstart sewing program for the women in the community. They apparently had been sewing, with machines, either placed on their laps or on the floor in the sanctuary. I am also working on a lectern for that same church at the request of the gardener at the camp who attends services there. I built a small altar service table for the church at Coquital, near Los Chiles, (see photos). I built a similar table for Dinia, the wife of the District Superintendent. She wanted a table which could be transported in their car and set up easily for displays and teaching materials for the various projects she is working on throughout the district. Throughout most all of the work, I have been using the materials that are already in the shop, which has been sometimes challenging, but fulfilling in the end to see all those materials, and tools, finally put to use after years of storage. Additionally, I am still trying to wrap up Jerry Russell’s kitchen before he arrives here on the 19th, I am nearly there.
SANTA ROSA
Geovanny, our pastor, and I spent some time together over the past few weeks working on bringing the church at Santa Rosa up to code. We pulled two double doors and their metal frames out of their openings, and turned them around so that they swung out of the building for exit safety. While doing that we also put a fresh coat of paint on them . We also wrapped up some tile and grout work which had not been completed in the multi-purpose building which currently doubles as their home. Beyond that, we finally returned this past week with a team from Kansas, to continue on the construction of the new bathroom building. The construction had been stalled after the quick start and rapid progress by the team from Rockville S.C. I am embarrassed to say that the long delay and lack of progress was partially my fault. It seems that the wall sections that we started with were not as strong as I had thought and some of the walls had failures in their mortar joints. The current work is not so much reworking as it is tying all the individual sections together and reinforcing where necessary. My embarrassment is of course rooted in the fact that I was educated as an architect and I generally over engineer everything. Anyway it seems we’re off to the races again with that work and I am happy to report it, (see photos).
YOUTH GROUP
Our youth group has had some fun events recently and we seem to be at least maintaining our numbers. Ten of our youth will be baptized into the membership of the church, two weekends from now and we are really excited about it. Geovanny and I apparently need to dig out some portion of the creek by the camp so as they can be fully immersed. Hopefully, it won’t rain as the creek really gets ripping when it does. The Saturday before father’s day, nine of the youth came over to the house and baked three cakes. One was immediately consumed while two others survived to be shared on Sunday for our Father’s Day lunch, after the service. They were chocolate cake with chocolate icing, a carrot cake with cream cheese icing and a pineapple upside down cake, which was I am pretty sure the best I have ever eaten, (see photos). The youth are leading a worship service on Saturday nights and that is also going pretty well. We took 12 youth to the church at El Mirador recently to share in a worship service lead by kids from that church and it was a good experience for them all to interact and to get to see how other youth services/meetings function. We have used Larry Johnston’s van for a few outings like these, and we are thankful for the use of his vehicle. We are planning other such trips to churches around the area in an effort to get the kids out into the community and to let them see a little more of Costa Rica than they are used to, very few have travelled more than 30 miles from home.
CHICKENS
We are currently unable to account for the whereabouts of all thirty five of them. At least three of them were eaten by “the neighbors”, and two were murdered by a very curious, playful, dog. Many of them have reached impressive size, are beautifully colored, totally tame, and have begun to lay eggs, finally, (see photos). Unfortunately, the short maturity timeline that we were assured never seemed to come to fruition. Most of the chickens are only now producing. We are happy that they are beginning to help supplement the diets of the people who received them, and the neighbors of others (though not in the way intended).
Blog update from Brooke…
Photos from the English class I´m teaching at the Methodist Church in Ciudad Quesada.
July 5, 2009; Youth group Baptisms
The youth group was baptized today via full emersion in the creek at the Centro Rural Metodista. I confirmed my baptism since I had never been through confirmation as a teenager. Pastor Geovanny from Santa Rosa and Pastor Lynn Meadows-White from Columbus, GA baptized us. I had been baptized as a baby in St Andrews Episcopal church, and have attended church services where we remembered our baptism, but have never really made the conscious decision to proclaim my whole hearted belief that Jesus is the son of God in front of my congregation. Needless to say, it was a special day, and I feel something within me that says this is a new beginning to a new outlook on life. Lately, I have struggled with finding joy in some of the not-so-glamorous work I often do at the camp. But the past few days, I’ve just showed up at the camp in an effort just to be present and available for whatever comes up. I’ve always been aware that being a missionary requires flexibility and living just in the moment, but I think I’ve been fighting to actually put that flexibility into practice. I may say with my mouth that I’ve gone with the flow, but I think I’ve really been in denial.
Something Mary said to me the other day has been ringing in my head, and that is, whatever you do, whether it be sweep cabins or washing dishes or tutoring or translating or teaching English or painting roofs, do it with joy, and know that everything the Lord puts in your path is for a reason, to teach you and build your character, to prepare you for something to come later. And then in my daily devotional today, the passage was from Acts 16:25, “But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” And the message was that “joy as a Christian should not depend on your circumstances. Joy comes from God, and therefore it cannot be affected by what is outside you.” (Blackaby, Experiencing God Day by Day Devotional).
