Climbing to the Crosses

On a clear day in San Jose, we can see a cross on top of one of the mountains. It is a constant reminder of why we are here and what our focus is every day, and it has been a goal of ours for many months now... to climb to the top of the mountain and sit at the foot of the cross. Last Sunday, our good friend, Antonio, took us on the hike and we finally fulfilled this goal.

We climbed the mountain with several friends... several missionaries from the Institute, Antonio, two visiting friends from the USA, and three of the boys from La Carpio. Even Sarah made the hike (with flying colors - easier than the adults did!).

In actuallity, there are three crosses (how appropriate) at different levels on the mountain. This is no "cake walk" hike!!! The trail is a glorified cattle trail, literally. In some places, the trail was so narrow and deep that my hips and shoulders touched both sides. And in some places, the steps to get over the rocks were so high that I had to have help from Billy or Antonio because I was too short. And it was pretty much straight up - very steep! It was a challenge... not difficult on the heart and lungs, but really tough on the legs (especially the knees).

Definitely worth the trip!!! The views from the top were amazing, the time with friends was treasured, and the reflection / devotional thoughts of the significance of the crosses was heavy in my heart. The cross at the top is over 80 ft. tall and made of steel girders. What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon!!!

Culture, Traditions, Legends, and Games

This week, we are learning MUCH about Latin American culture in relation to traditional games, legends, riddles, etc. As if learning Spanish weren't difficult enough, try to understand and answer riddles in another language and culture! We are having fun, though, and we are learning a lot about how to play games (which is great for our ministry in La Carpio and in Peru in the future).

A very common game for children in Latin America is "jacks". Same game pieces with a few changes in the rules from when we were kids. In learning the game, we have to learn the appropriate vocabulary, how to give directions for play, how to state rules and infractions, etc. It is really a good exercise in language learning! And it has afforded us the opportunity to teach Sarah a game from our past which is a traditional game with kids in her new country.

Another traditional game is "cromos". Cromos are preprinted paper pictures which are "collectable". The paper pictures are placed face down on the floor or table and players take turns slapping the paper in an attempt to get it to "flip". When a piece flips face-up, you win that picture and it is yours to keep (like winning marbles when you shoot them out of the circle). The skill comes in trying to slap your hand in a semi-cupped position so that it creates a vaccuum and "sucks" the paper up, causing it to flip. I find this game extremely frustrating (since I haven't ONCE gotten a piece to flip)! However, at the mere mention of the name Cromos, people get the best look on their faces and they can't wait to play! Lizbeth was so excited that we were learning this and has many memories of playing this game as a child.

Also popular are marbles (only with boys) and paper dolls (with girls). Everyone, boys and girls alike, loves to jump rope and it is always a big crowd pleaser in La Carpio each week. A Latin version of hopscotch is also popular (named "Rayuela").

Also on the agenda this week... learning the most common legends and oral traditions, learning about common superstitions in Latin American culture, and learning common songs and poems (almost like nursery rhymes) in this culture.

Lots of fun! When was the last time that you laid on your belly on the floor and played marbles or jacks, or hopped around on a hopscotch board or with a jumprope? Maybe you should endulge your childhood memories today and play! If you need a good excuse (so you don't feel too childish) teach a child in your life how to play and explain that kids in Latin America are playing these games TODAY (because they don't have Wii or Xbox or televisions, etc.).

What'd you say, Grandma? Sea beans cure hemorroids???

The theme at school this week was Enfermedades y Remedios (illnesses and remedies). We spent the week discussing common illnesses, symptoms, and cures. It was great! This culture (and most other Latin American cultures) is very big on home remedies and natural medicine, so our major homework assignment for the week was to visit the main source of natural remedies in the center of town and find out the cures for our assigned illnesses. My "illnesses" for the week were kidney troubles and skin fungus - nice!

So off I went to visit the vendors at Mercardo Central to ask how to cure kidney troubles and skin fungus. I ended up buying cola de caballo (horsetail plant), pelo de maiz (corn silk), cascara guapinol (bark of some tree), and some other plant that I can't remember right now... I am supossed to boil all of this and drink the juice 3 times a day for healthy kidneys. For skin fungus, I bought madero negro (some poisonous plant that I was strictly warned not to eat), another piece of bark, and rosemary... boil all of this together and soak your fungus area in it to kill the fungus in your skin. Interesting...

While I was at the market and I had a willing vendor, I decided to ask some other questions... What is this? What about headaches? etc... Two other missionary students went along to do their homework with me (strength/courage in numbers) and so we got serious about digging into this home remedy idea. Behind the counter was a plastic bag full of sea beans and we asked, "What do you do with those?" According to the vendor, if you keep two sea beans in your back pocket, you won't have trouble with hemorroids! Hmmm...

Lizbeth swears by the home remedy plan. She spent the week teaching us about the wonders of aloe (for chapped lips, for skin, for hair, drink it for overall good health, and also for hemorroids), how to use our lemon tree to make tea for various reasons, how to make a paste of ground coffee for cuts and burns, and our all time favorite - "Un poco de whiskey cada dia" (a little bit of whiskey every day). She's so cute! She even loaned me a book about each plant and about how to make MANY different home remedies.

At first, I thought that this was a little hard to swallow (no pun intended). Having a Health minor, I just wasn't ready to buy into all of this home remedy stuff. But upon further investigation, I see why some of it works. And the other stuff... I don't think it is hurting them, and there is a lot to be said for belief and faith in something - the placebo effect, so to speak. I'm about to live in a culture that highly regards this form of medicine and I need to learn as much as I can before I'm faced with it... knowledge is power.

Okay, so I'm going to go drink some warm milk (for insomnia), put some alcohol and vinegar in my ears (for swimmers ear), rub aloe all over my body (for moist skin), and sit on my sea beans :)

Deep Conversations

Well, I told you that our classes would be more difficult this trimester! Here is a sample of our Conversation / Language classes in the past two weeks...

• Last week, the teaching theme was "La Iglesia" (the church). On Monday, Billy's class received 87 new vocabulary words related to the church. Some were nouns and some were verbs. Some were words that we don't even know the definition for in English! Some were words that are specific to the Catholic church, but are important for us to learn since we will be serving in predominantly Catholic countries and will need to understand the culture that we are working with.


• Billy's class had to each prepare a bible study and teach the class about the early church.


• Billy's class had a long discussion on the best witnessing techniques... through Scripture? Through example and daily living? What is best?


• Laurie's class had to each prepare studies on the parables in Matthew.


• Laurie's conversation test questions for last week were "Explain the differences you see in the North American church and the church of Latin America," and "Define faith... what is faith, how does one have faith?", and "What is the Bible? What is in the Bible? Why is it important to us? Why should someone read it?" and "How do Christians greet each other / treat each other / show others that they are Christians?" All of this is one-on-one in conversation with the teacher! Most if not all of it is hard to answer in English, much less Spanish!!!


• This week's theme is "La Oficina" (the office). Again, we received close to 100 new vocabulary words dealing with business.


• Billy's class was given the assignment of interviewing people in various offices and asking them questions related to their daily work environment, etc.


• Laurie's class was assigned an acronym for a government office and the assignment was to find out what the acronym stands for, where the office is, visit the office, and ask questions related to the services provided, the history of the office, etc. Laurie's office was the Instituto Nacional de Seguros (National Insurance Institute).


• Common discussion strands for this week... What are typical workplace problems in Latin America? How do they compare to North America? What are typical problems with the work of missionaries? What does the Bible say about the workplace, attitudes, and how we should conduct ourselves when working together? In your opinion, what are important values, abilities, personalities, etc. to have in the workplace?


• Today, Laurie's class got into an hour long conversation comparing the Costa Rican system of Social Security with the USA system, retirement issues, insurance issues, differences between state governments and the laws that effect workers in each state, etc. It was pretty deep!

So if you were wondering what language school is like and whether or not we are learning anything, maybe the last two weeks of class gives you a glimpse at our level of comprehension and learning right now! We are not allowed to speak English in class at all - only Spanish. It's rough, but we are hanging in there and seem to be progressing well.

So what did you talk about this week? :)

Back to the daily grind...

Okay - first I want to say that I'm sorry I have been a little lax about posting lately. Getting back into the groove of school has been "different". I'll try to bring you up to speed on Life with The Drums...

1. Miles decided that he has had enough of "change" and he needed to get back to something that seemed somewhat normal. Therefore, sadly, we said goodbye to him and allowed him to return to Texas to live with my mom and finish his high school years there. It is a sad thing for us, but it seems to be the best decision for him. He is now settled in at my mom's house, attending school at this old high school, has a car that was loaned to him for the semester... all is going well and he is happier than he has been in months. By the way, he turned 17 on Monday... Happy Birthday, Miles!

2. Billy and I started back to classes on Jan. 9th. Our course load didn't change, but the expectations sure did!!! The workload seems to be double! There was no "easing into class" time this semester... we started right off with serious homework and tests and projects. I have two tests this week, Billy has one test, Billy has to give a bible study in spanish tomorrow over the early church, I have had to write two papers already... all in one week! We come home from school at 1:30 and eat lunch, then we work with Lizbeth on homework or whatever we are desparate for a spanish speaker to help with until 3:00. When Lizbeth leaves, we continue our homework or take care of business issues, etc. Tonight, we have been working on homework and studying pretty much non-stop -- We did stop to go running for awhile to try to get the blood flowing to our brains again! Oh, and we did play a rousing game of CandyLand and Go Fish with Sarah. But other than that, it's been "nose to the grindstone".

3. We started back with the La Carpio ministry last week after a long Christmas break... too long for our tastes! We really missed the kids!!! We were so happy to go back and make connections again. On that note... please pray for one of the kids (Nelson). He has gotten involved with some not-so-great decision makers in the community (ie drug dealers) and he was arrested for stealing last week. So he is a young kid, in jail with grown men, a Nicaraguan... none of this adds up to a pretty picture. He is one of the kids that Steve has been working with for a couple of years and this is a big blow. Please pray for Nelson - for his safety, for his maturity, and for Christ to be with him in jail and work in his life.

So, that's it in a nutshell. We have great teachers and we are really excited about this semester, but we are already under the gun and stressed. (Hint, Hint... we have used exercise DVDs three times this week and we went running together tonight... that translates into "Oh my goodness! These people are totally stressed out and have resorted to exercise to try to relieve the pressure! Dios les ayuda!)

Love to you all! PS... Please also keep our good, good, good friend Amanda in your prayers as she continues to stay on the ground in Nairobi, Kenya and serve God no matter what the cost! We totally stand behind her and support her decision to rise to the occasion and continue to minister to her national friends, even in the midst of chaos and tribal warfare. If God "will not leave us or forsake us", then we will carry the same burden for His people... we will not leave nor forsake the people we have been sent to serve in His name! Go Amanda!!! We are proud of you for persevering and focusing on your call. Please pray for every precious hair on her little red head! We love her!

Back to "the real world"

Well, it's back to the real world today. Laurie's mom and a friend have been visiting us since Christmas and we have been living in the "tourist world" for awhile. It was a nice break for us, and we got to visit some beautiful parts of this country, and it was a vacation / Christmas present of sorts for our family.

We visited Volcano Arenal for a couple of days. Arenal is one of the top ten active volcanoes in the world. It is constantly spilling lava and bellowing. While we were there, the thermal clouds created around the mouth of the volcano kept us from seeing the lava flow. On our last day, it was looking much clearer, but still never totally unobstructed.

Also while at Arenal, we went on a horseback ride (or we THOUGHT we were going on a horseback ride). When we arrived at the stables, we found out that our friend who booked the ride for us had actually booked us for a horseback ride TO THE ZIPLINE PLATFORMS! Are you kidding me!!!??? Pat and Laurie are both afraid of heights, and Sarah is 4 years old! How are we going to do this?! It was actually amazing and everyone had a great time, conquered some fears, and had a fabulous day - although we were all VERY sore the next day.

We took Pat to see the sights of downtown San Jose... shopping in the markets, visiting the National Museum, the National Theatre, and the Museo de Los Ninos (children's museum). We did way too much for one day!

We also took a drive to the cloud forests, visited a coffee plantation, and hiked to several waterfalls.

But now, it's back to the real world. School starts back up this week, which means studying, early to bed, increased stress levels, etc. Miles goes home to Texas to live with Pat this week, which means packing and cleaning and getting proper documentation for him (guardianship), buying a vehicle "long distance", etc. We're definitely not in tourist mode anymore... Billy is cooking hamburgers for dinner on our homemade grill - a tire rim with a grate on top! It sure was nice to have Mom here for awhile!!!

Merry Christmas from Costa Rica!

We attempted to have a traditional family Christmas, but that is pretty difficult. I never realized how much your traditions are tied to your culture and your location! For example, I brought all of my family recipes with me so I could make our traditional Christmas meal, but some critical ingredients are not available here (like cornmeal, or pumpkin pie filling, or Velveeta, or ham, etc.). We attempted to recreate our family Christmas dinner and substitute ingredients, but it just wasn't the same. Trust me, no one ate seconds or wanted leftovers for dinner!

We went to our church on Christmas Eve. It was a lot of fun to sing traditional Christmas carols in Spanish with a very latin beat and musical rendition to them! No one would ever dream of dimming the lights and lighting candles during a Costa Rican singing of "Silent Night"! It was rockin'!!! All of the Sunday School classes did something - sang a song or did a dance or acted out a part of the nativity story. Sarah's class sang a song and did a ribbon dance, then they led the congregation in singing Feliz Cumpleanos to Jesus (Happy Birthday) and they opened a big gift box and let helium balloons out. The whole service was very upbeat and celebratory and fun.

Last night was like living in a war zone... the fireworks in our neighborhood rivaled any war in the Middle East, I'm sure! The house actually shook during a lot of it! The most action was at midnight - the traditional "time" to celebrate Christmas here. It is traditional here to wait until midnight to eat Christmas dinner and open gifts with family. Also, the baby Jesus doesn't appear in your nativity scene until midnight on Christmas Eve. All of the nativity scenes in town have been "waiting" on their centerpiece - the baby Jesus! I love that!

So we survived our first Christmas totally away from Texas and family and friends. It was different, that's for sure. We miss everyone and we miss our traditions, but we survived. Good news... Jesus is still Jesus, no matter where we are or what culture we are learning or what language we are speaking. That will NEVER change - Hallelujah! Feliz Navidad!