Two Weeks and Counting

 We have arrived!!!  Frankly it couldn’t have gone much more smoothly. Two weeks ago on Friday morning we flew from Seatac to JFK, spent the night and Saturday we flew to Liberia Costa Rica.  Now there were a few bumps along the way and some of those more literal bumps helped tip our over stacked cart of 17 suitcases, sending bags skidding through JFK, but a few bumps aside we happily arrived in Costa Rica.  Navigating Liberia airport was significantly easier than JFK and people were far more helpful.  We quickly made it through customs and took a shuttle to pick up our Alamo rent a car.  It proved to be quite good that we had secured the largest rental vehicle offered, and once our 17 bags had been loaded into every available space we headed to Tamarindo.  The drive was exciting, Colson had fewer questions than we had answers, but he was very interested.  We stopped 10 minutes or so outside Tamarindo to fill the gas tank as that is the closest gas station around.  We drove right to our condo, which proved to be everything we expected.  After we arrived at the condo we called Mike, from whom we had arranged to buy our Montero.  Mike and Irma brought the Montero right over and by Saturday night we were sleeping in our new home with our new to us car outside. 

It felt a little like everything was going too well, and as the next week proved, maybe it was.  Sunday morning we dropped off our rental on the way to church and then headed to service where we were reunited with friends from our last visit in August.  We had a great Sunday morning, met some new people, and generally felt like we were settling in well.  The next couple days we settled into a temporary routine of beach time and project time.  We visited all the local grocery stores and worked to identify what foods would be practical to eat more often and which would be more practical to eat less.  Cheddar cheese and  Peanut butter proved to be prohibitively expensive, so some recipes will have to be amended.  Wednesday night we visited Casa Vida, the Spanish speaking church we plan to attend.  It was good, the Spanish was a little rapid fire, but we all need to get our ears more exposure and our mouths more opportunity.  Thursday things started to deteriorate a bit.  Colson came down with a fever, and although he was much better Friday, Liam and I started in.  I was sick in bed for about 4 days, and Lyd graciously cared for me and the boys and was so good in spite of being very house bound during my recovery.  We missed a number of activities we had planned with friends and churches, and were feeling pretty down about it all.  Finally Monday I was starting to regain my strength, and Lyd got sick.  Another 4 days in the house, more missed events including Thanksgiving, more discouragement.  Finally after nearly 9 days of house bound sickness we all were on the mend and able to visit a couple churches Sunday.  We still don’t know what exactly it was that hit us, but we were out of commission for what felt like an eternity. 

We anticipated before coming that we would hit a low point probably after 3-4 weeks.  I think for all of us, being sick accelerated that timeline.  We definitely were living each day by faith as illness brought that question right to the front of all our minds “WHAT ARE WE DOING???”  Our situation is a little unique in that we don’t have a ready answer to that question.  We are here looking for opportunity, and although we know it exists, it takes time to first identify, and then see how we will fit into it.  This is a blessing and a curse!  First, we don’t have many responsibilities at the moment, which is allowing us to live one day at a time as we adjust and learn this very new culture.  On the other hand, when discouragement happens, it is easy to give into a sense of purposelessness.  I remember a very similar feeling when Lyd and I were looking for a business to start.  It took nearly 18 months of thought and diligent looking before we settled on online retail.  It was very discouraging in that most of that 18 months was spent exploring dead ends that wound up being completely unrelated to what we eventually found ourselves doing.  In that process we learned that sometimes the best things require diligent searching to uncover.  We believe the same will prove to be true here in Tamarindo.  There are many opportunities that remain completely untapped and part of the reason is because the time hasn’t been invested in exploring, thinking, praying and testing.  One thing that has stood out to us so far is that any ministry here, will have to be relationship based.  The church we visited this last Sunday is run by a couple who started a coffee shop here in Tamarindo in an effort to facilitate one on one relationships with people who need the Lord. This is very exciting to us, as it demonstrates the kind of creativity and sensitivity that seems to be needed for ministry to be successful in community where everything happens based on relationships. 

Please keep us in your prayers as we have so much to learn!  We feel like we have been through a very discouraging stage, and we are on the more cheerful other side.  The truth is there will be many challenges that we can’t even imagine at this point and we need faith to continue putting one foot in front of another even when the path isn’t clear and the times are discouraging.  We are happy to be here and right now it looks like we are set for some smoother sailing for a while, Lord willing. We are praising the Lord for His continued provision and grace!  Please pray for us as the arrival of our little girl draws near.  Pray for good health and smooth transitions as we move two more times in the next three months.  Pray for opportunities that complement our gifting as we seek to be effective in serving the Lord here.

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