Home again….más o menos

Our growing family

Our kids

Our grandkids

Home no more…

Dave’s family

On to Chile

Three weeks ago today we arrived back in the States (a day late due to a 5 hour delay leaving San Jose causing us to miss our connecting flight in Ft. Worth).  What a blessing to be welcomed into the home of our friends who treated us to all the typical Philadelphian foods (hoagies, cheesesteaks, pizza….)  After a few very hot, humid days spent in Philly, we met up with all our adult kids in western PA where we enjoyed clear blue skies and fall-like temperatures for most of the week.  It was a pretty low-key vacation geared mostly to enjoying time with our kids and grandkids whether in the creek behind the house were we were staying, at the petting zoo, or playing mini-golf. We felt like we were pretty much in the middle of nowhere, but it was just what we needed for this year.

The day after we returned to Philly from vacation, we settled on our house!  We don’t know why God drug this out for the entire year we were gone, but we were glad to be here in person for the settlement and not have that responsibility on Dave’s sister who has handled so many other headaches for us this year (including the original sale that fell through back in October).  So we are now officially without a home.  I didn’t think I’d mind parting with the house as it had become such a burden this year. I was surprised when tears came to my eyes as I walked through just the downstairs one last time. Lots of memories there as Ben was only 6 months old when we moved in and he is 12 now. Our oldest daughter had just finished her first year of college when we moved in and she’s now been married 10 years and has 2 children of her own.  Sharon was 10 and hated the house because it was uninhabitable at the time.  She and our daughter, Michelle, both put many hours of labor into helping us fix that place up.  Michelle was so glad we still owned the house when she got married. We remind ourselves that houses are only temporary dwellings, but we are definitely feeling like wanderers now.  No house, no appliances, no car….It’s freeing in one way, but limiting in others.

We are now visiting with extended families.  Dave’s Mom flew in from Wyoming to spend some time with us and with Dave’s brother who was diagnosed with terminal cancer this past spring while we were in Costa Rica.  My uncle, who is visiting from Florida, experienced a mild heart attack while here and ended up undergoing bypass surgery. Of course, any time spent with family is precious, but even more so as we realize how fragile life is.

Next week, we’ll try to settle down for awhile in Philly on the third floor of the house of our friends, who are making every effort to make it feel like home for us. I’ll start homeschooling Ben (it helps to have a home in which to homeschool!), and we’ll take care of some doctor appointments needed for our visa applications.  We also need to gather the belongings we have stored in various places in order to determine exactly what we’re taking with us to Chile.  We should have plenty to keep us busy from now until our departure, hopefully, the beginning of November. Then, it will be on to our new home!

Commencement

A hard-earned piece of paper!

  Although my high school graduation was nearly 40 years ago, I remember the speaker that day talking about graduation as a beginning. Back then, I was young and eager to begin my life of independence.  Everything was a great adventure. Today, there is a sober realization that when we leave this place, we are essentially starting all over again….we will have to make new friends, live in a different house, locate a church, shop in a different supermarket or feria, figure out how and where to pay bills, learn another monetary system and public transportation system, and even learn the Chilean variation of Spanish.  My desire for adventure was long ago replaced by a desire for stability and a certain level of comfort. Nothing but the grace of God will enable me to face the new challenges ahead.  There were times this year that we didn’t think we’d make it to this day. We literally were depending on God hour by hour, one class at a time.  But we can look back and say that God has been faithful.  We have every assurance that he will be faithful in the future.  That is worth celebrating!

A First

WHM Chile team (plus the Jones' empleada, minus the Wallace children and Ben)

For the first time ever, the World Harvest Mission Chile team met together this past week in Costa Rica!  Chip and Meredith Jones, our teammates, came to the language institute only 3 months after us.   Brad Wallace and his family have been in the States this past year raising support and preparing to make the transition from being the only WHM missionaries in Chile the past 10 or 15 years to being the leader of our team. Although each couple had met the other two couples at one time or another through the past years, we have never been together at the same time.  We felt it was a great idea when Brad and his wife, Margarita, decided to join the Jones’ and us here this past week to visit together as a team and discuss our vision. 

We enjoyed taking them to one of Costa Rica’s lovely beaches on the Pacific coast.  We all benefited from the time spent getting to know each other and learning how we might function best as a team. After 7 years of praying, discussing, raising support, nearly giving up, going to language school,  wanting to give up, etc. it was only by the grace of God that this team finally came together.  It was a momentous occasion and one we will  look back on with thankfulness.

MTI Reunion in C.R.

Last summer when we went to Missionary Training International in Colorada, we were amazed at how closely bonded we became to total strangers in just 3 weeks.  We were happy to meet the Janzens who were planning on attending the same language institute as we were  in Costa Rica and at the same time that we were. We also enjoyed getting to know Nancy who had returned from a term in the Dominican Republic to teach in a small public school in Colorado.

Who would have known then  that Nancy’s school would send her to Costa Rica this summer for a 4 week course at a  language school with a campus just an hour or two away from us? The Janzens had finished their studies at our school in April, but since Costa Rica is the country where they are working, they had moved only 15 min. away from us. What a treat to have these wonderful friends in our home for a meal last week.  Their faith has been a encouragement to us and we have been blessed to know them.

Ben’s last days in Costa Rica

We’ve been looking forward to this day with mixed emotions.  We arrived at the San Jose airport this a.m. at 7:00.  Ben didn’t have to go through security for another 2 hrs. so we sat out in the car we had borrowed from our neighbor to pass the time.  Once he went through security with his escort  at 9:00 we still had to wait until his flight left at 10 until we were allowed to leave the airport.  Ben was looking forward to this chance to be independent and would have preferred not to have an escort, but we assured him he would be glad for somebody to help him through customs at Ft. Worth with two 50 lb. bags, a carry on and a guitar!  He had a 4 hr. layover there which was extended by an hour delay.  He won’t get to Philly until about midnight which makes a long day.

We wanted Ben to have a chance to say his good-byes to the friends he made here and so we planned a going away party this past Sat.  Unfortunately, many of his friends were elsewhere that day (various camps, day trips with families and unfortunately, one was even in the hospital).  We went ahead with the party as planned, however.  We went to a park where the guys who came to the party ended up playing basketball with some Ticos.  We shared our watermelon and cake with them, s0 it was a rather unusal good-bye party with as many strangers as friends.

Thankfully, some of his other friends were able to come by the house for a final good-bye this week.  We’re so glad for these friends that Ben has made through the year.  And although he is anxious to get back to his friends in Philly, he will miss his friends here.  He will NOT miss the walk to school, though! As for Dave and I, we’re wondering why we decided last November to have Ben return to the States almost a full 4 weeks before we go back.  What were we thinking?!  Actually, we wanted him to be able to go to Haycock Camp as he has done the past 3 summers with some of his friends from NLP.  Certainly Ben was more excited today than we were.  After 32 years, what will it be like not to have any kids living with us for a month?! 

Our last family picture in Costa Rica 6:15 a.m. 7/23/09

32 and counting

 On July 8 Dave and I celebrated our 32nd anniversary. As Dave says, “It’s a miracle!”  During our wedding, Dave and I sang a prayer asking God to take our love  and “try it and test it in the fire that it may always faithful be”.   Wow!  Weren’t we young and ignorant?!  God certainly has answered that prayer through the years.  Somebody has said that love is like a fire.   When those first small pieces of kindling catch fire,  the flame is brilliant, but it doesn’t give much heat. If some bigger logs don’t catch, the fire will quickly burn out.  It’s not until the big logs catch that you will have a fire that will last and give off heat.  Over the years a marriage might loose some of that initial brilliancy of first love,  but when the flame is replaced by a steady glow, you have something that will last.  So we thank God for the trials that have tested our love and for his faithfulness in bringing us this far.    Last year we were celebrating our anniversary in Colorado at Missionary Training International where we spent 3 weeks preparing to live cross-culturally.  Lord willing, next year will find us in Chile!

I have been trying hard not to count the days until the end of school, but as I was writing the title to this post, I decided to see where we’d be in 32 days.  I’m happy to say it will bring us to the day before graduation!  God has brought Dave and I through 32 years of marriage, I hope he can get us through the next 32 days!

Country Fair

Good aim!

True humility

The competition is tough

Bingo, anyone?

Can he do it?

Is there a prize for missing?

We enjoyed a much needed break from classes two weeks ago when the teachers put together a country fair for our culture day.  We found out exactly how competitive we are!  Dave did pretty well with the ring toss, which was his favorite.  In the fish pool, we both “caught” the same number of fish, but when they gave us an extra minute to break our tie, Dave came up with the prize.  We got to toss ping pong balls at a clown face, attempting to get the balls in the clown’s mouth.  I felt I should have gotten a prize for the wildest tosses.  Half of mine didn’t even get inside the net!  The teachers were good sports and allowed pictures of themselves to be posted on a huge bulletin board for us to throw darts at.  (Actually, the goal was to pop the balloons which they had also tacked on to the board.)   And, of course, there was a bingo game.  It was a great way to review our Spanish numbers! The teachers had even provided a variety of food for purchase, including cotton candy and popcon – a real fair! It was a very entertaining day.  We are so thankful for teachers who make every effort to serve  and bless us.

La Paz

Still repairing damage

Beautiful!

Friendly toucans

Monkeys:)

Frogs

The falls are still stunning

This weekend we had an opportunity to visit one of the major tourist attractions in Costa Rica, La Paz Waterfall Gardens.  This park has been closed for six months due to the damage incurred during the 6.1 magnitude earthquake this past January.  Some friends of ours found out that admission to the park was half price for the first two weeks of re-opening this month, so this seemed like an ideal time to go. 

It was sobering to see the effects of the earthquake along the way.  The road to La Paz only opened last week, and even so there were still crews working on it.  At the waterfalls, new trails had been formed and we could see old trails that now dropped off into space.  But the natural beauty of the falls remains.

Besides the falls, there are a butterfly observatory, aviary, hummingbird garden, snake museum, ranarium (with poison dart frogs and leaf frogs), and monkey pass.  We never saw such a variety of hummingbirds! Ben and his friend, Brodie, enjoyed the monkeys.  (Or maybe the monkeys were enjoying the boys, as one of them reached out of the cage and grabbed Brodie’s hair!) But my favorite was the toucans.  I really did not want to leave Costa Rica without seeing these colorful birds. They are beautiful.  The boys even had a chance to feed them. It was a day to marvel at God’s creation and give thanks for the opportunity to be here in this amazing country.

Teatro Nacional

A  few weeks ago, our oldest daughter sent us an e-mail about a friend of hers who was going to be in Costa Rica with an organization called Soli Deo Gloria.  The mission of this organization is to promote classical sacred music. They were sponsoring the first known performance of Bach’s Mass in B Minor in the history of Central America.  It was to be performed by the National Symphonic Orchestra and Chorus of Costa Rica right here in San Jose!   Dave and I have been wanting to go to a concert at the National Theater, so it looked like this was our opportunity. 

I was pretty proud of myself for calling and trying to order tickets over the phone.  Although, I confess I broke down and spoke in English to be sure I wasn’t paying for the wrong event.  As it is a small theater, we decided to go with the cheap seats.  So we ended up in the top balcony where Dave’s head was only a few inches from the ceiling.  They were great seats even though it did get a bit stuffy up there about half way through the concert. The theater itself is beautiful.  It was built during the 1890’s and is truly elegant with marble staircases, ceiling murals, and gold throughout. 

We attended the Sunday performance and almost every seat was filled.  The instrumentalists and vocalists were outstanding; the music was  inspirational.  Although the words were in Latin, there was a Spanish translation that we were able to read.  It was as though we were transported into another realm beyond our “light afflictions” here on earth.  The audience response was enthusiastic, reflecting their appreciation for this great piece of music  as well as for the wonderful performance.  Thank God for gifted composers like Bach and for Soli Deo Gloria which is commited to keeping this music alive! (For more info on this organization and for a look  inside the theater, go to www.SDGmusic.org)

American Football

Several months ago, Dave and Ben attended an American football game here in San Jose.   Juan, the 19 year old son of one our teacher’s is on one of the 6 teams currently playing in this country.   The love of soccer is deeply implanted in the soul of every Latin American, so it’s been challenging to stir up interest in American style football.  However, plenty of students from our school bought tickets to the first game to show their support.   Unfortunately, that game was postponed several weeks because the uniforms hadn’t arrived.  The uniforms still hadn’t come by the rescheduled date, but the game went on, nonetheless. (Although there was an hour or so delay in the start of the game.) Dave enjoyed trying to explain the sport to some of Juan’s relatives.  Apparently, the referees weren’t too well-acquainted with the rules either! Maybe that contributed to the numerous brawls after the plays.

Dave decided he would like to have Juan watch Invincible, the movie about Vince Papale, an ordinary guy from South Philadelphia who ended up playing for the Eagles in the 70’s.  Besides being a great football story, it’s a great depiction of life in South Philadelphia.  We were going to just loan the DVD to him, but his Mom thought he’d prefer to watch it with us.  So we invited Juan and some of his football buddies for an afternoon of movie entertainment, complete with popcorn and brownies.  They  enjoyed the movie and we thoroughly enjoyed getting to know these brave boys who are paving the way for this sport here in Costa Rica.

Crutches come with the sport!