A view into my very disorganized mind

Emotions are running rampant and there are so many things on my mind right now.  We have so much to do before we leave Costa Rica this weekend, and yet, this seems to be the longest week in history!

I miss my friends from language school already... I miss them TERRIBLY!  In fact, I'm teary-eyed writing this!  This is the last time that we will be around a large group of missionaries who completely understand us and love us and have been through everything alongside us.  Our 10 classmates did life together this year, literally.  We all went through immense loss together (giving up our homes, friends, culture, language, etc.).  We  struggled to learn a new language together and a new culture.  We laughed together and cried together and took care of each other and loved each other through it all.  We were / ARE very tight.  Now we are all scattered...  It's rough.  I didn't get to say goodbye to Mike before he had to leave, Heath left early to get married in the USA, Matt & Brooke had to take off for some fundraising in the USA, Matt left yesterday for Honduras... and that's the end of "the gang"...  three are still in Costa Rica and going to school for one more trimester, seven of us have jumped out of the nest for our new countries.  Que triste!  I really miss my "family".

Gear switch... today we have no water.  That's fun!!!  They said it would be back on by 1 p.m., but it is now 4:00 and still no water.  So we went to McDonald's for lunch.  In Costa Rica, McD's has fried chicken as a combo meal (Billy's favorite).  They do not have the fish filet sandwich in Costa Rica, which is my favorite in Los Estados Unidos... too sad for me!  We took Lisbeth with us and we discussed how McDonald's here has delivery, but in the USA there is no delivery.  She was amazed... every food establishment here offers delivery!!!

Speaking of Lizbeth, this is a sad week for her and for us.  We are packing our things and she is very unhappy about it!  She is getting all of our "extras" that we can't take home with us... small kitchen things, etc.  Her family cannot afford to have most of the things that we take for granted, and we can't take most things to Peru with us.  Anything electric has to be re-bought in Peru because of the difference in current and plugs.  Somethings just weigh too much and it isn't financially feasible to pay the extra weight and baggage fees to take them... it is cheaper to buy them again.  So we are saying goodbye to our "stuff" again and Lizbeth is very happy to be on the receiving end.  But she is very sad that we are leaving.  She is teary every day.  She and Sarah are very close.  We aren't looking forward to Friday when we say goodbye for good.

We are really ready to go leave Costa Rica - it's time.  This was but a season in our lives and we have completed the task.  The goodbyes are painful and we are ready to go "home" to the States.  It will be great to see friends and family again!  I miss my friends and the backyard campfires, impromptu dates at La Casita, etc.  I am sad that I haven't been there to laugh with them and cry with them and live life together with them.  I hope to catch up...  And family - we haven't seen Miles since March, we haven't seen Billy's family since last June, I miss my Gama and our coffee breaks... It's time to go home for a bit.  

Personally, I think I have a serious food issue... much of my return trip to Texas revolves around where I want to eat because I miss some foods so much!!!  La Casita, Pappadeux, Starbuck's, PhoJon, Circle H hamburgers, etc... that's terrible, isn't it?!  And I dream about my visit to Target... just think - all of the things I need and want, all under one roof, all air conditioned, Starbucks at the door... I'm drooling just thinking about it.  I think I have a problem...  I might need counseling....  One of my missionary friends assures me that it will be a terrible experience (shopping at Target) because when she went home, it was shear overwhelming shock and she didn't last 10 minutes in there.  She says that we have really become accustomed to our new ways and that the USA is very difficult to go home to... I'm praying that she is wrong, but bracing for the possibility that she is right - after all, she HAS been there before me.

By the way, we DID graduate from language school.  We walked down the aisle and everything.  We carried the Peruvian flag, we received diplomas, etc.  Ryan graduated with us.  So we are all certified Spanish speakers now (mas o menos).  We aren't fluent - at least Billy and I aren't.  Ryan and Sarah are amazing!!!!  We know enough to realize that we are still pretty stupid, but on a good day, our knowledge of the language is incredible.  On a bad day, well, it's bad.  But we're still learning...  We learn more every day and the little men in our heads are up there working overtime at filing all of the Spanish in the appropriate places.  Each day some new light bulb comes on and we have another "aha" moment where something falls into place.  Hallelujah!  

Goodbye, La Carpio

Just feeling a little nostalgic today... guess it's because we graduate on Friday and we are quickly facing our "goodbyes" to friends/family here in Costa Rica.  Thought you might like to see "our kids" that we are leaving behind, in the capable hands of other missionaries who come behind us... click here 

la carpio slides

One more week of school

I can't believe that we are actually in our last week of school - finally!  I really just realized that fact a few minutes ago, when some students came over to rent our house for the next trimester... wow, we actually graduate this Friday!  I'm really so very ready to get out of Dodge and move on, but at the same time, it is a bittersweet victory.  Once again, we have to say goodbye to people who have become our family - classmates, ministry kids, teachers, etc.  Our life has become a constant mixture of change and culture and language and goodbyes.  Maybe we can finally grow some roots again in Peru... soon!  

Last week, my language class theme was "controversial topics", as if we don't debate controversial topics every day in this class!!!  Nevertheless, we talked about Dr. Kavorkjan and medical euthanasia, abortion, immigration, and the death penalty - wow!  I find it hard to have these debates in English, much less in Spanish!  What made this particularly interesting was the fact that we were not only debating controversial subjects, but that we were debating them among different cultures, different age groups, and different denominational backgrounds... that makes for a pretty interesting debate!!!  I did come out of this week feeling pretty good about my language skills and my Spanish writing skills (we had to write an editorial response paper for every topic) and I'm pretty confident that I can move to Peru and manage daily life without too many language issues... surely if you can debate the death penalty and present research trends, you should be able to buy groceries and pay the water bill without too much difficulty.

Yesterday was one of my more happy, healthy, laid back days in months... we took Sarah downtown to see "the cow parade".  We have similar art displays in The States.  I know that in South Padre there has been a display of art dolphins in the past, and I think I remember cows from some city at some point.  And I think there was a display of trains in College Station???  Anyway, San Jose, Costa Rica is currently showing 120+ cows by different artists, so we went on a downtown walk to see the cows.  At about 10:30, we stopped at my favorite cafe (above the bookstore downtown) and had coffee and cheesecake for a midmorning snack.  Then we continued on the cow tour, stopping at 11:30-12 to feed the pigeons in Plaza Cultural.  Then off to eat sushi for lunch (yummy!).   More cows until 3:00, then rode the bus home.  Sounds kind of boring???  I loved it!!!  It was just a calm, laid back day... no homework, no pressing schedule.

Last week was also our last time to work with the kids in La Carpio.  We had a final fiesta... showed a slide show of all of our photos from the year, ate popcorn (you would think we handed out gold nuggets on napkins), had a cake and Coke, and said goodbyes.  I held back the tears pretty well (hard to cry when kids are yelling and throwing popcorn during the slide show - kind of breaks the sentimental moment) until Giovanni was hanging on the window of the van while we were trying to drive away and saying "I love you, Laurie"... okay, it is bad enough that he is my favorite, but that sentence was a little much!  I'll never forget Giovanni...

Enough with the goodbyes, already!!!  How much more can we take?  Oh wait, we have 6 weeks in the states and more goodbyes before Peru....  aaarrrrrgggggggg!!!!!!

Sarah's Spanish

We have been amazed at watching Sarah learn Spanish while we've been here. As teachers, watching the learning process in our own child has been very interesting. We have not interfered in the natural progression and we have just watched as she learned naturally from her friends and her Costa Rican preschool teachers and people in her life. She went through a stage where she was doing a lot of listening and processing, but not much speaking. She also went through a stage where she would only speak Spanish to people who obviously looked "hispanic" to her, and she would only speak English to the "gringos"... if a gringo asked her to speak Spanish, she wouldn't do it. I guess in her little head, it didn't make any sense to speak Spanish to someone who so obviously could understand English - duh! So for a long time, we didn't hear too much of her Spanish. Then one day, we just happened to overhear a complete conversation between Sarah and Lizbeth (our empleada / friend) and it was amazing!!! Just within the past month, she has started to speak Spanish to anyone who speaks it to her... including us. If I speak in Spanish, she will stay in Spanish with me. If I switch over to English, she will switch, too. It's really amazing. Last night we had several of the 20-somethings over to eat brownies and watch TV (a kind-of family night) and Sarah told someone, "Vaya y traegamelo" (Go and bring it to me)... the entire room stopped and our mouths dropped open. She was using the subjunctive tense with imperativos / mandatos and complimento directos and indirectos! These specific tenses in Spanish took the rest of the room 8 months of school to master and she managed to do it without ever picking up a book or studying or taking a single test!!! Wish I could learn like a 4 year old!!!

Girl Scout cookies, Cream of Wheat, and NO MORE VELVEETA

It was a sad day when we finished the very last of cheese from the block of Velveeta that was sent to us in the mail. You can only imagine how happy missionaries can get when they open a package from the USA and it contains a block of Velveeta... "Hallelujah! Praise God! Someone sent us heaven in the form of cheese!" For missionaries from Texas, a block of Velveeta means only one thing... chips and queso for dinner!!! Sadly, we cannot buy a can of Rotel here, so we improvise and add the Costa Rican sad excuse for salsa and just pretend that it tastes remotely like a big bowl of queso from La Casita Restaurant back home. Anyway, the Velveeta is gone - boo hoo :(

On a happy note, our friends Heath and Erin were able to go back to the states over Easter and they surprised us by bringing us 2 boxes of Cream of Wheat!!! Another "Hip Hip Hooray" is in order!!! For anyone who knows our 4 year old, Sarah, you know that the child could literally live on Cream of Wheat - and she practically has for the past several days. She wakes up and asks for a bowl for breakfast, she wants more at about 3 p.m. for "snack", and she begs for it for dinner. If it weren't for the "real food" that she eats at lunch, I would be concerned. Seriously, folks, we have sent requests home several times this year for Cream of Wheat. We received some for Christmas, again when Miles came for Spring Break, and now these 2 boxes from Heath and Erin. Don't know what we will do in Peru... wonder if Cream of Wheat has on-line purchasing and free international shipping??? Probably not.

Another INCREDIBLE surprise was the box we received this week. We had no idea it was coming and had no idea what was in it. Imagine our extreme excitement when we opened it up and it was GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!!!! SCORE!!! Two boxes of Thin Mints, 2 boxes of Samoas (or whatever they are currently called), 2 boxes of Tagalongs, 2 boxes of Lemonades, a box of Trefoils, and a box of Cinna-somethings. WOO HOO!!!! We were nice and took some to school to share... we were the envy of all!!!

We really lead sad little lives nowadays, don't we??? We are completely out of our minds with happiness over Velveeta, Cream of Wheat, and Girl Scout Cookies sent from home... pitiful! Even more sad is the fact that we can't wait to return to Texas and eat all of the foods that we miss - we are specifically making plans around certain restaurants and eating specific foods with our friends. How very American... que triste! You really have no idea how much of your culture is tied up in food until you are removed from it.

Until later... love you! Nos vemos!

The Adventures of Missionary Man

In the wee hours of the night (2 a.m. to be exact), I’m laying wide awake in my bed, paralyzed with fear… something is making a skritchy, skritchy, skritch sound and running from one side of my bedroom to the other. I’m lying as still and as quiet as possible. I’m thinking, “Maybe it will go away. Do I really want it to go away? It might go to Sarah’s room if it leaves my room.” And I’m remembering the stories from class today… stories about rats. First, Matt said that he had a rat run across his foot while watching TV last night. That ramped Dixi up and she told us a story of when she fell asleep on the beach and woke up with a rat on her face licking her lips (she fell asleep eating cake… I’m thinking there was something stronger than cake involved). Then Matt told us about the time their family friends found a really ugly, scruffy puppy on the beach and took it home, only to have it kill their cats, get wounded in the process, which caused an emergency vet visit, at which they were told that this was not a really ugly, scruffy dog… it was a giant ship rat! (I’m thinking that they might have had a drinking problem, too.)

So anyway, I worked my “lie really still and quiet plan” for about 15 minutes, listening to the skritchy, skritching and thinking about rats. Then I realized that Billy was awake, too. He asked, “Why are you awake?”. To which I answered, “I think there is a rat in our room.” He said, “I know. I’ve been listening to it, too.” So we lay there for a few more minutes. Then mild mannered Clark Kent (I mean, Billy) crawled to the end of the bed and said, “Get ready to turn on the lights. NOW!!!” I flipped on the lights, and much to my surprise, Missionary Man had jumped out of bed, attacked a pair of jeans on my floor, grabbed a near-by flip flop, and was viciously attacking the skritchy, skritch sound. He then threw his hands up into the air in victory (hitting our 7 foot ceiling in the process) and proclaimed the deed “done”. I had been saved from the evil that lurked in my bedroom by my hero, my knight in plaid pajama pants and Spam-A-Lot t-shirt.

Returning to his mild mannered self, Missionary Man crawled back into bed, donned his earbuds and fell asleep listening to a Dallas Willard podcast. My hero!

Stay tuned for more exciting episodes with Missionary Man… coming to a neighborhood near you…

By the way – the skritchy, skritchy, skritch sound was actually a nuclear-sized cockroach. I have no doubt that it could have killed us all if given the chance… you never know.

Reflections of Chaos

Lo siento... I have been MIA for awhile from my blog and I apologize. My brain has been muy lleno (full) lately and I have been really overwhelmed with trying to deal with language learning, family, ministry in La Carpio and San Carlos, etc. I know... excuses, excuses! All I can do is say that I'm sorry and that I will try to do better at keeping you updated... starting now! Here are the random reflections of chaos in my mind...

Right now it is raining. It has been raining for two hours straight with no signs of letting up. It rained last night for quite awhile, too. I hear that the rainy season is starting early this year - what luck! During a normal year, it wouldn't begin until late April (which is when we would graduate from language school and vamanos por Los Estados). How lucky are we that we get to experience an abnormal year with more rain than usual?! Yippie! So we are back to carrying our umbrellas 24/7 and having terminally wet feet and always being chilled.

I think that at this point I should insert a disclaimer - The rambling opinions expressed in this blog do not in any way reflect the opinions of the entire Drums for Christ family. In general, they are the sole opinions of me (Laurie). Billy reads the blog after I post it and usually approves... usually. Just clarifying that I am not speaking for mi esposo in any way...

School is rapidly "going South". Actually, I only take issue with my grammar class. Not that I take issue with the teacher in any way - I think he is a great guy and I like his personality. But the Subjuctive form in Spanish grammar really stinks. This is definitely not the fault of my teacher, but whoever invented this form when Spanish was being birthed as a language should be courtmarshalled! I'm trying to figure out a way to exist in Spanish without ever having to express my desires or wishes or the future of the past in subjunctive form. Is it possible to live my life in Peru without this??? I'm determined to find a way, because I don't think I can deal with one more language rule regarding this form. If it weren't for a couple of incredible classmates, I would totally bail out of the last four weeks of grammar class -- this really stinks! It probably doesn't help that I'm very ready to get to Peru and I'm very tired, physically...

On the flip side, conversation class totally ROCKS! Okay, at this point I can hear my mother saying, "Of course it does! Your report cards always said 'Talks to much in class'. No wonder you are excelling in Conversation class!" Okay - touche' Mom. It's true... I do enjoy talking. And I do wish that my Conversation class was 4 hours long. I have absolutely the BEST classmates (there are only 3 of us in the class) and we have an excellent teacher (Dixiana - see photo of her 50th birthday party). I admit - at first, I thought this woman was crazy and evil... she really pushes us hard and demands a lot from us, and at first, it was really overwhelming. But it has really paid off! Nowdays, she has trouble keeping us under control because we get off on "rabbit trails" and we talk all of the time about everything under the sun. You name it, we have talked about it! We have compared social security in the States & Costa Rica, discussed our faith, argued about politics, and joked with each other A LOT, just to name a few. We rarely stay on the topic or theme of the week, and we rarely finish anything that we start because we have too much to say and discuss to finish when the bell rings. Now, I love this woman and I totally respect her as a teacher and a friend. It has been great to see our progress during this trimester. We went from being a little timid about using our new language to being able to give presentations over just about anything at the drop of a hat and debate our opposing viewpoints readily.

Billy is having a great time with school... mostly because he changed his education plan and he is attending conversation classes at the institute, then attending a private tutoring class outside of the institute which is geared especially to him and his needs and educational desires. His teacher is phenominal and he is really learning a lot. They focus on specifically what he needs to be effective in the field and he is so much happier and has so much less stress than he did at the beginning of the trimester. This was the best thing to happen for Billy's language learning!!!

Our class has grown so close to one another. The plight of missionaries... always making strong bonds and relationships with people, only to have to say goodbye and break your heart yet again. I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye to these dear friends/family. I even cried about it in class one day - how pitiful is that!? I can't believe that in 5 weeks, we will graduate and go our separate ways to our new countries and new missions... always in each other's hearts. I just don't know what it will be like to not have coffee with Matt in the mornings and watch him eat his 500th package of Oreos this year! And what will I do without Shay's incesant laughter - it's like living with Tickle-Me-Elmo! Without seeing Matt Damon every day (Matt McClain's twin), or without hearing Mike's jokes and sarcasm and "Stupid Spanish! Stupid, stupid Spanish!". Or without the ever calm, ever pleasant, ever smiling Britt in my life every day. Or without Heath and his competitive edge and drive to succeed and beat this language into submission. I'm definitely not ready to say goodbye...again...

So maybe the fact that I'm rapidly facing yet another major change in my life and circumstances, and maybe because I'm tired, and maybe because I'm just a poco depressed and overwhelmed... maybe these are contibuting to the fact that my personal reflections and devotionals lately have been extremely deep and have left me a bit broken and bruised. My goal in life and in ministry is to reflect Jesus and be the Light of Christ for others to experience and witness, but I'm am woefully inept at this and I see that my reflection is WAY LESS THAN PERFECT. Okay, I know that no one is perfect and there is no way to "become Jesus" and find perfection on this side of death. However, I also don't think that I should reflect impatience or abrasiveness, either. Lately, I feel like I'm wearing a not-so-fashionable outfit made of the finest sandpaper. I'm trying to pray through this and see if there is anything within me that is worth reflecting to the world... please pray through this with me. I'm pretty triste (sad) over this right now. I don't want to be a poor reflection of Christ. I want to reflect love... beauty from ashes...

It's now been another hour... still raining.

Lots to do this week, with lots of time to do it. Next week is Semana Santa (Holy Week) and all of this country is closed, including the churches. Go figure! Easter week and there are no church services! We don't have classes until the Monday after Easter, so we have plenty of time for rest and getting things done that we have let slip. I have lots of Thank You notes to write to supporters, I need to print lots of photos for La Carpio kids, we are going to take 30 La Carpio kids to the Children's Museum (an opportunity that they would NEVER have otherwise), Billy and I are going to take some much needed time together to try to reconnect, etc. I plan to attempt to sleep past 5 a.m. each day and possibly stay in my pajamas till 8 (heaven forbid). I long to drink coffee on the back porch and read a book without having a time schedule or constraints.

Till next time... Nos vemos!

~Laurie