Life In Costa Rica

After several days of straight rain Bob and I decided to get out of the city one Sunday afternoon and head for the mountains. On our way we encountered a familiar but comical scene! The cow was tied on the side of the road and decided to take traffic control into his own hands. We waited for him to move so we could continue on our way.


This is the rainy season and as you can see from the pictures the country has experienced a lot of damage to the roads and subsequently to houses that are in the flooded areas. The house in the picture has put black plastic over the falling soil in an attempt to prevent the house from further damage or collapse. The roads are in very bad estate and there are many families homeless in the areas that were affected by the floods.


Bob has been very busy at his position at the language institute. He has remolded the library to provide more room for students as it is always full. He also has been busy trouble shooting various electrical problems around campus and just finished working on a revised and simpler application form for student enrollment. Just in time! Because the enrollment for January has a waiting list already! It is exciting to see all the families God is raising up to serve in Latin America!
My work at the prison continues. In the area of unsentanced women I now only have one gal who is waiting extradition to her own country where she will go to trial. Her story is very sad and she is in very poor health having had a colostomy, which was originally planned to be reversible but because of sanitary conditions she has been infected several times and now the procedure may not be able to be reversed. Please pray for Miss L as she is very discouraged and fears death. I am trying to help her keep her focus on the Lord as He has promised to never fail her! She always ends her time with me with a smile on her face, but behind that smile is a lot of pain and suffering. The conditions in the jail are horrible and very unsanitary. There is lots of drugs and lesbianism. It is a difficult environment to say the least for one to live out their Christian values. Thanks for praying for God's strength for all the women who are serving there but especially for those who are trying to follow God's path for their lives.
Our life with the animals of Costa Rica continues and for those of you who have asked here is our newest friend, a praying mantis! He came to join us about a week ago and likes ot hang out around the bathroom. The internet says he is not harmful and likes to eat other insects, so we think he is a keeper! No name as yet!

This week my coworker, Isabel, and I will be meeting with the director of Food For the Hungry where we are serving to discuss our plan to start a woman's Bible Study in Los Guido, a slum nearby where I have been volunteering in in the 'comedor'(the feeding center for children). Please pray that God will not only give us approval to start the study but that the hearts of the women will be open to come and study God's Word with us.
We are so thankful for your support and love even though we are so far we can feel your presence with us which gives us strength!

Getting Settled in Costa Rica

This is a picture of the school from the Administration building.
Well it's been a little over two weeks since we left Maine and already we are settling in! The past two weeks Bob has been busy at school with lots of varied tasks which he loves. He has been working between the language institute for adults and the school for the children. One of his pleasures in getting to know the Costa Rican workers, although his Spanish is still rough it makes for some fun conversations.
I have been busy with lots of little helps, like staying with an elderly couple for two days because their house helper was sick. It was a fun way for me to get back into using my Spanish because the gentleman was deaf so never really knew what I said anyways and his wife is a real dear who had lots of great God stories to share with me. They are such a wonderful example of God's love to me. I just love their joy in life. Their daughter works at he Spanish Institute with Bob.
I have started back again in the prison and the girls continue to bless me with their desire to seek God in a less than wonderful place to live! One of them has such a wonderful smile now. I pray that God will maintain their faith as the time gets long in prison and then when they get out. Thanks for joining me in praying for them! I will also be starting my work in the slum this week. I will start by working in the soup kitchen for children with some of the moms, trying to build friendships with them. James and Kimberly are from Linda Vista a small community in the mountains. Their family has been friends of ours for several years now, since our short term trips here. This is a picture if them writing back to their pen-pals they they now have in Maine. They were so excited to get the letters and James kept a tight hold on his pen-pals picture as they do not get pictures taken often, it was so special for him to have a picture of his new friend.
Bob showing Orlando and the kids where we live using Google Earth.I just couldn't resit putting this picture in because it really says it all as far as how they take care of the 'pot holes' around here! I even sow one that had been there so long it was now growing a healthy lawn!