The Word became flesh...

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning." - John 1:1

As part of my personal Advent celebration, I've been daily reading a chapter from "Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus," a compilation of Advent readings, edited by Nancy Guthrie.

This quote from the second chapter immediately grabbed my attention, "When a person makes his home among people, he moves in with them.  He identifies with them.  The incarnation is the moving in of the eternal Word so that he utterly identifies with us in every way.  He took the whole nature of a human being, fully and totally identifying with all it means for us to be human..."  What first struck me was how amazing and how counter-intuitive the incarnation is!  Jesus is God, and He left His throne in heaven to become a human, humbling himself not only to man's body, but to a helpless baby's body, so that He could identify completely with us.  He chose to live a complete human life, from birth to childhood to adolescence to adulthood.  Jesus experienced everything we experience!  And, He came for us, to save us!

"He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.  He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him.  Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God." - John 1: 10-13

He lived a human life, in order to reveal Himself and His truth to us.  He lived a perfect life, so that His righteousness could be imputed to us.  He died for us so that our sin's penalty would be paid and we could be saved.  He conquered death, revealing His glory and giving us hope of eternity with Him.  God became man to give us the right to become His children, to His glory.

"The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.  We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." - John 1:14

This is the Christmas message.  It's so much bigger than a sweet baby boy born in a stable (and so, so much bigger than I can express)!  The truth of the incarnation is incredible, and provides such an important springboard for talking about the gospel.  And, that's why we are where are, doing what we are doing, right?  To quote the book I am reading again, "When a person makes his home among people, he moves in with them.  He identifies with them."  The author was talking about God becoming flesh, but it struck me that that sentence describes missionaries, too!  We move to a foreign place and work to make a home among a new people.  We work to identify with them.  We live among them in order to reveal the truth of the gospel to them, to God's glory.  While this change and adjustment is so tiny compared to Jesus', it was very special to me to identify with Christ in this small way. 

I pray that this Christmas, we can stay focused on the true awesomeness of the incarnation.  I pray that as our family does our daily Advent activities, plans and participates in Christmas events, celebrates with our church family, and prepares to move (two days after Christmas -- ahhh!) that we will keep in the forefront of our thoughts our purpose for being here - to live among the precious people God has called us to, so that they may join us in knowing Him and worshipping Him.  

"From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another.  For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made Him known." - John 1:16-18

our news

Bad news: the neighbors' smoking and very aggressive pit bull have not improved. The smell of marijuana (we think) has regularly been added to the scenario.

Good news: After months of looking, and after a house we pursued falling through, we are thankful for the provision of a new house. We signed the lease on this new rental last week, and we'll move right after Christmas.

Sad news: I love this house, and hate having to leave it for this reason.  It's going to be really hard!

Hopeful news: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him..."

We'll be saying good-bye to this beautiful home of ours at the end of the month!

Thank you to everyone who has been praying about this situation for us for the past six months! 

Giving thanks

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Days like Thanksgiving can be hard for us living in another country, far away from our families and without all of the resources to make the traditional Thanksgiving meal we grew up with.  It helps me to remind myself of some of the unique blessings I have because of the life of ministry we are living here in Costa Rica.  Here are my top ten:

1. Surrounded by natural beauty

Seriously, I so often look around and think, "I can't believe I live here!"  While we live real life here (and not the resort life some may associate with Costa Rica), we are blessed with daily views of God's amazing creation.  Whether it's in the breathtaking views of mountains and volcanoes I see just driving around town, or in the intricate details of the tropical flowers and birds in my garden, the natural beauty I witness here is awe-striking.

one of our favorite views in our Costa Rican hometown

2.   Good coffee and fresh produce

I was not a coffee drinker before moving to Costa Rica.  But, we live in a coffee town now; the coffee we drink is grown, harvested, dried and roasted here in our little town.  It's really, really good... and has converted me into a coffee lover.  We are also spoiled year-round with wonderful fresh fruit and vegetables from our farmer's market.  We might not have easy access to cranberries or pecans for today's Thanksgiving dinner, but the local fruit here always tastes so much more real (does that make sense?).  One time after taking a bite of pineapple in the States, Timmy scrunched up his face and said, "That is NOT piña!" (piña = pineapple)

our kids watching a local farmer dry his coffee beans

3.  Small town living

While it took some adjusting, I love living in a small, Costa Rican town.  I love that whenever I'm out running errands, I almost always run into someone I know.  I love that our kids (along with pretty much every other school kid in the whole town!) are in the Independence Day parade and that our son has been part of the town's yearly musical festival.  I love being able to walk to the stores, and I love sitting in our central park and people watching.  Life in a big city appeals to me, too, but I am thankful for our little town during this stage in our lives.

Tabitha in our town's Independence Day parade

4.   Worshipping in a second language

One of my dreams when we moved here was that my Spanish would improve to a point where I could truly worship and commune with God in Spanish.  It's been a long process that included a lot of Sundays of standing outside the church building in the intense tropical sun, bouncing my crying baby in a sling (can you mamas relate?), or arriving home from church completely exhausted from the mental work of staying engaged in Spanish during the worship, sermon, and conversations.  But, now I feel that I can truly worship God in Spanish, and it gives such a precious glimpse of eternity worshipping Him with people from every nation and language.

worshipping with our church here

5.  Women's ministry

I love working together with some other women from our church to build up our women's ministry and to reach out to other women in our community.  I am blessed and challenged each week as I facilitate a women's Bible study and work to encourage and strengthen other women.  This ministry strongly pulls at my heart, and sharing my heart and life with these women is one of my main highlights of our life here in Costa Rica.

this year's women's conference - an outreach event to our community

6.  Life of adventure

Choosing to live in another country has opened us up to a life of adventure.  Whether it's going after a snake with a machete, or maintaining the constant battle with the ants, or tackling the red tape adventures of the immigration department, life is never without a new adventure here.  We also get to enjoy the adventure of exploring new places, learning a new language, and meeting new people. 

one of our favorite Costa Rican adventures - a hike to this turquoise river

7.  Kid-loving culture

One of my first impressions when we moved here with a baby was that Costa Ricans absolutely adore children!  Babies and children are usually the recipient of admiration and love wherever they go.  Especially during this stage of parenting little children, it is such a blessing to live in a culture where kids are so highly valued and loved.  Our kids are growing up far away from our families, but they have many Costa Rican "grandparents," "aunts," and "uncles."



 having fun with our pastor - one of their Costa Rican "uncles"

8.  Closeness as a family

Sharing in this adventure (with both its highs and lows!) together has made us grow closer as a couple and as a family.  Building a new life in a new country has strengthened us in ways that I don't think we would have experienced elsewhere.  Our kids have a very close relationship, maybe because, as third culture kids, there are few other kids their age that understand them as fully as their sibling does.

our little family in front of our home sweet Costa Rican home

9.  Changed perspective

My perspective has changed throughout our years living here.  I find myself being thankful more often for things that I used to take for granted.  Hearing the pelting rain on our metal roof six months of the year has led me to thank God for simply the roof over our heads more than I ever did before (even if there are several persistent leaks!).  The reality of frequent power outages and having water coming into our house from the street only certain hours of the day makes me so thankful when the light does turn on with the flip of a switch, or when water pours out of the faucet in more than a trickle.  Additionally, living in a more event-focused culture, rather than my native time-oriented culture, has taught me to slow down and invest more in what is truly important: relationships.

10.  New home

Something clicked after about two years living in Costa Rica, pretty soon after our daughter was born here.  This started to feel like home.  Now, four years later, this definitely feels like home... to the extent that I feel a little strange and out of place when we are visiting the States.  I don't quite "fit" there any more, but, at the same time, I don't completely "fit" here either.  I'm kind of a foreigner in either place!  This has led me to a greater understanding that my true home is in Christ, with the hope and promise of an eternal home with Him.

with the flag of our adopted earthly home

This year, we celebrated Thanksgiving a couple of days early because today needs to be a normal day.  Timmy has school and art class, Dan teaches class tonight, and I have Bible study to prepare for, so we'll be having a meal of black bean soup, corn bread, and roasted zucchini... and we'll be counting our blessings.  

piñatas and cakes

We celebrated Tabitha's 4th birthday a couple of weeks ago.  This is her first year in preschool, so it was her first time to celebrate at school.  As I prepared for her birthday, I remembered our experience celebrating Timmy's birthday at school last year.  I had come prepared with my idea of what a good, little school celebration should look like - short and simple.  Timmy's birthday is at the beginning of the school year, so I only had my childhood experience of cupcakes for a school celebration to go on.  Timmy was enjoying soccer, so we had homemade cupcakes (because cupcakes are what you have at school for birthdays, right?) arranged to look like a soccer ball (and that's culturally appropriate, right?  Everyone loves fútbol here!). 

 

We arrived at the school, and I quickly realized that my cupcake soccer ball was not so easily recognizable by the kids.  They swarmed the table to look at it, scaring Tabitha, who started to cry, and, overwhelming Timmy as he was bombarded with questions of "what is THAT!?" in Spanish.  (And, I got overwhelmed by the little girl whose curiosity about the cupcakes led her to start poking her finger deep into every.single.one while we were singing "feliz cumpleaños.")

 

As the kids were finishing up their cupcakes (which, thanks to my moist cake and melting frosting, produced a GIANT mess), I started hearing murmurings in Spanish, "¿Dónde está la piñata?"  I froze. A piñata for a school celebration!?  The teacher explained that usually if a kid celebrates their birthday at school, the parents bring a piñata.  Oops!  While we'd had a piñata for him at a party with friends, it had never occurred to me to bring one to school! 

 

As the school year went on, Timmy frequently came home with bags of candy from his friends' piñatas.  There is so much candy coming home from school that we have started giving it away!  I was also surprised by the invitations sent out for the celebrations that would be at school, and the party favors that were sent home in addition to the piñata candy.  Once Timmy even brought home a washcloth embroidered with his name! 

 

A couple of weeks before her birthday, Tabitha started practicing swinging a broom stick to prepare for her piñata!  And, since I'm a nutritionist's daughter who didn't know what candy was until I was five, I struggled with sending even more candy home to these kids, but we decided to go ahead with a piñata... and the store-bought decorated, dry cake with dulce de leche filling that seems to be the standard for birthday cakes here.  Tabitha was thrilled when Dan came home with her Tinkerbell piñata.  And, the party was a success... even if the kids had way too much sugar.  No messy cupcakes, lots of fun swinging at the piñata.



 

 

We still had our family celebration and homemade cake at home, but we had so much fun celebrating with Tabitha's friends and teachers at school.  So, from now on, I guess I'll be the mom that brings a piñata, rather than cupcakes, to school... I'll draw the line at the embroidered washclothes, though!  

 

My whole experience as a mom has been here in Costa Rica.  So, I'm curious -- what is normal these days for school birthday celebrations in the States?  What about for those of you living in other countries?  I'd love to hear from you!

living close

You know you live in close quarters with your neighbors when...

... you're in your bedroom and you can hear the man next door clipping his fingernails in his house.

... you're in your living room and you know which movie the teenager across the street is watching in his living room.

... your friend in your house thinks there was a car accident out in the street, but you know it's just that same teenager watching another movie way too loudly.

... your exercise routine's momentum slows down when your neighbor turns off her radio... and you realize you've been exercising to the beat of her salsa music.

... you always know when your neighbor is doing laundry or cooking a meal (because you can hear and smell everything).

... you could, if you wanted to, know quite a lot about your neighbors just by paying attention to all of their phone conversations.

... you know, if they spoke English, that your neighbors could know quite a lot about you because they definitely hear your Skype conversations with faraway friends and family.

... you're pretty glad that they don't speak English so they can't understand everything going on your house! 

... you know when to say an extra little prayer for the mama next door when her kid is having a rough day because you hear all the crying and correcting.

... your neighbor's pitt bull-like dog doubles as a watchdog for your house, too... but, unfortunately, even after seeing you day after day, he still doesn't understand that he doesn't need to protect your house from you. 

... you wonder if your neighbors are paying attention to the Bible studies and classes on your front porch throughout the week... without a doubt, they hear everything.

... your kids don't have to go over to their friend's house to play... they can just pass toys through the fence and play together while staying in their own front yard.

... you're pretty much always guaranteed to find someone to talk to just by walking to your front gate.

This list could go on and on.  This is normal life for us now, and there is a lot of good in this close living.  Unfortunately, though, some of the bad is still a pretty big problem for us right now.  God's been narrowing us down to what our next step may need to be... and we're continuing to pray for His wisdom and strength in this situation.  In the meantime, the smell of my neighbor's cooking is making me hungry...

Celebrating Mother's Day, part 2

Our church celebrated the mothers of our congregation with serenades and gifts, and also a wonderful evening out!  A restaurant near our church opened just for us, and we were able to enjoy a private banquet together.  We had a time of praise and worship, a devotional, a delicious dinner, and tiramisu for dessert (a first for most of the women!).  While we were eating, we were surprised with another serenade, this time from a professional group hired for the event! 

It was a very special evening for everyone.  For me personally, it was a reminder of what God has called me to here -- to the women's ministry of our church.  And, I was reminded of the sweet friendships I've been blessed with after 6 years of building relationships here in Atenas.  As you look at these photos, as you see the faces of these precious women, will you please say a prayer for each one?  Please pray that they would find their worth in who they are in Christ, that they would hunger to grow in their walk with Him, that they would be encouraged in their faith, that they would be strengthened in their ministry to their children and to our church. 

...when we realized we were being serenaded!

with my sweet "kindred spirit," Iveth

 

the women of Templo Bautista de Atenas

Can you spot that one lone (very white) gringa there in the middle?  I am so blessed to be able to share life with these sweet ladies, in spite of language and cultural barriers!