Garbage In, Garbage Out

Some of the kids practicing their skateboarding tricks in town.
Before Alternative Missions built the skate park, you would never have seen this.

On Friday I led a Bible Study for the youth entitled “Basura Adentro, Basura Afuera,” or, “Garbage In, Garbage Out”. We looked at what the Bible says we should be putting into our minds and how that relates specifically to our choices in music. Our key verse for the week was:

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—mediate on these things.” (Philippians 4:8 NKJV)

In the course of the discussion, most of the teenagers admitted that they listen to music which they know is bad. They also agreed that listening to music that promotes a sinful lifestyle will affect the way they think and how they act. Yet none wanted to get rid of any of their bad music. After all, they like it. Isn't that how we all are sometimes? We know something is bad for us, but we choose it anyway. The apostle Paul could relate to this himself: “...I don't understand why I act the way I do. I don't do what I know is right. I do the things I hate.” (Rom. 7:15 ESV)

This week we received a visit from Ryan and Lindy, newlyweds from Orange County, California, who are prayerfully considering joining us in the ministry here. Because they do not yet speak Spanish and Lindy is still in school, it is more of a long-term consideration. We had some fun times getting to know them and sharing what life and ministry is like here in Puerto Viejo. We definitely tried to present things as honestly as possible, so that they would not go home with an unrealistically “rosy” picture in their minds!

On a separate subject, I can definitely use your prayers for my safety, especially while a bicycle is my only mode of transportation, and I often can't be home before dark. There has been a real increase in burglaries, armed robberies, and home invasions in this area just in the past month. Masked gunmen have even robbed all the people eating dinner at a couple of the local restaurants, and an organized group has been pulling cars over and robbing the passengers on a stretch of road that I travel daily on my bike. I am considering buying a motorcycle...ironically, partly for the safety of being able to get home quickly at night! I also now carry pepper spray with me almost all the time as a safety precaution. I try to remember that God loves these people who are committing the crimes very much and is patiently waiting for them to turn from their ways.

I've been doing a little varnishing here and there on some new construction at the skate park. This is where we serve food to the youth during our monthly cook-outs.

An unhappy sight

Broken glass and a trail of blood spots are not things you want to come home to. At 6:30 last night, I returned from working at the skate park to find my apartment had been broken into during the 4 hours I was gone. A window was smashed in and pieces of glass littered the tile floor, my personal effects tossed around, a trail of blood spots and smears through the apartment revealed where the robber had gone (I later found a bloody t-shirt which the robber evidently used to break the window with), and my safe was out of position, but otherwise intact.

The burglar left his bloody t-shirt behind

In all this I have great reason to be thankful. I was not there when it happened, so I am completely unharmed physically. In terms of loss, as far as I can tell, the robber took nothing but a small ziplock bag of loose change (maybe $8 worth at the most). Evidently he was only looking for cash or electronics, of which I have very little to begin with, and keep locked in my safe whenever I leave the house (this is thanks to Barrett's training).

I called the police several times last night, but they never showed up. Barrett and Amy were kind enough to come by and pray with me and help me hammer some temporary boards up over the windows as a deterrent. This gave me the peace of mind to sleep alone in my apartment last night. Being able to speak with my parents and with Kristin also helped calm me. And once I got to bed, I actually slept ok, knowing that God is ultimately my protector and defender.

This morning there is a lot of broken glass to sweep up and some blood to clean off the walls and floor, but I think to myself, how minor this really is. I am praying that this robber would come to know Jesus. No amount of money he might come by in this world can compare with the value of having an eternal home secured in heaven.

A surf star is born :)

A couple weeks ago, 13 year-old Joel asked me if I would take him surfing. I told him I would love to take him surfing.

Well, on Sunday we finally got the perfect conditions for his very first surf lesson. The wind was calm, the water was clear, and thigh-high waves were peeling off a new sandbar that had just been formed by the recent beach erosion. It couldn't have been a better set-up for young Joel's first time on a surfboard.

I knew that if I were to bring two boards to the beach, I would end up catching some of the waves for myself instead of focusing on making it a fun and safe time for Joel. So we biked to the beach with only one board, a 6'5" shortboard which has been with me to California, Nicaragua, Florida, and now Costa Rica. It's far from being the best board I've ever ridden, but what's special to me about this board is that I made it with my own hands in my old garage in Vero Beach.


Once we reached the sandbar, Joel told me he was a little scared. Waves always look bigger when you're up close and personal with them. I assured him in Spanish that he would do great, and I really believed he would.

Because Joel doesn't have strong arms for paddling into waves yet, I had to push him into the waves. When his breathing calmed down, I helped him turn his board around and gave it a carefully timed, gentle push down the face of his first breaking wave. To my surprise and his, he did a push up and got to his feet, riding the board a good 20 yards before wiping out! Immediately, he spun around in the whitewater, flashing me the biggest smile I've seen in a long time. I knew right then that he was hooked!

About an hour later, after many good rides, we made our way back to shore. As we got out of the water, before I had even wrapped the leash around the board, his question came: "When can we go again?" Priceless :)


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This morning I was awakened to some interesting bird sounds, so I grabbed my camera and stepped outside. What a sight to wake up to: a couple beautiful collared aracaris were hopping around near the banana trees. This is one of several types of toucan found here. Isn't God imaginative?

Should we build an ark?

A lot has happened in the past week!

My girlfriend Kristin, whom I know from Calvary Chapel Vero Beach, came down for a visit and we spent 9 soggy days together. It was wonderful time in spite of the crazy weather. During her stay we got to experience some memorable events:

• Two inches of water flooding my apartment (apparently the super-saturated ground was forcing water through the cement foundation and walls!)
• Virtually non-stop rain for Kristin's entire stay (we never saw the sun once in 9 days)
• a 6.2 earthquake last Tuesday (felt surreal as the whole room was moving up and down...I literally thought I was hallucinating at first)
• The bridge into town washed out, essentially cutting off Puerto Viejo from the rest of Costa Rica (had to cross over some planks on foot with Kristin's luggage to get her back home today!)
• Lots of candlight dinners (some by choice, and some not!)
• A tiny baby sloth holding on to its mom in the rain
• Watching Puerto Viejo transform into a "ghost town". By the end, Kristin was the only guest staying at her hotel.
  

Overall, we fared just fine through the events, although the Cruces had a tougher time staying dry in their temporary "tree house." (see their blog, which is linked at the side of this page, for details) The Cruces and I have had to deal with mold and mildew issues, especially on our wet clothes (no dryer). Some mold is even growing on my walls and kitchen surfaces, but Lysol helps fight it. Very minor in the big scheme of things!

Because of the flooding and accessibility problems, we have had to temporarily suspend the skate park and other ministry activities. The facilities are ok, but the ramps are too wet to skate on (they are covered, but a lot of rain blew in). I can't wait to get things going again.

In this area, some 4,000 people have had to leave their homes due to the flooding. From the bus today, I saw some homes that had chocolate-colored water literally flowing through them. These affected families are in my prayers...

Here are some photos from Kristin's camera. Thanks Kristin!

getting ready for the youth night barbecue

Jordan landed this awesome jump over 7 skateboards

The girls chewing on some fresh-cut sugar cane

Makena painting a board with a leaf

The sea was angry all week

One of several memorable dinners with Kristin

When it stopped raining for two hours, we went for a bike ride. The rivers were swollen!

Downtown Puerto Viejo flooded

Dinner with Barrett and Amy Cruce at Chile Rojo

Kristin helped me mop the water from my floor

Skate video

Friday was a very eventful day for me. I started with some personal time of Bible study, then went and helped with a plumbing project we are doing at the AM facility, then helped serve food to residents of Puerto Viejo's "Red Zone" (a great initiative Ronny and Tammy are starting up at the Baptist Church), then headed to the skate park for 5 hours of youth night! As part of that time, we watched a great movie presented by Billy Graham organization called "Something to Sing About."

My days aren't usually that eventful, and often that's a good thing. It's a mistake to go onto the mission field thinking every day is going to be action packed, just one ministry activity after another. There are days when my main thing is just to run a skate session, making sure the kids are following the rules and are safe, that they have the kind of environment where they can experience God's love for them, and that I'm here if they want someone to talk to or if they encounter a problem. But I function as part of a ministry team, and I know that the role I play helps the others be able to do different things. As a ministry team, we have two house churches (one in Spanish and one in English), a children's church (Spanish AWANA program), Skate sessions four days a week, weekly youth nights (sometimes with Bible study), plus a lot of purposeful time spent mentoring and encouraging believers! On top of that there are all the administrative responsibilities, facilities management, and struggles of living on a tight budget in small town in a foreign country! And I love it all.

Recently God has been showing me that He can be worshipped in so many different ways. I believe God can appreciate skateboarding that is done for His glory. When a Christian athlete gives it their all, pushing the limits of their God-given abilities, surely God smiles upon that. The apostle Paul said that we can eat and drink for God's glory, soI don't see why we can't skate for His glory too!

It is with that thought that I put together this little video from Friday's youth night. Enjoy, and to God be the glory!

Cool story

I am happy to say that I've moved in to my new apartment and have started fixing it up a little. The youth ministry, skate ministry, and house church have all been going well. Here's a story I wanted to share from a few days ago.

My last night at the hostel, I came home sort of late, and hungry. I was looking forward to cooking some dinner, but noticed that the kitchen and stove were occupied, so I went to my room to wait until it would be freed up. Two minutes later, there was a knock on my door, and a young professional Costa Rican (just arrived) introduced himself as Pablo, and asked me if I was hungry. I said yes, but told him "I can cook something after you are done." Instead, Pablo offered his own food to me, and I accepted. As it turns out, he was just putting the finishing touches on a huge pot of fettuccine in a wonderful creamy mushroom sauce.

As I prepared a little salad to share, we started talking, and one of the first things we discovered is that we are both Christians. Pablo told me that he plays bass at his home church in San Jose, and loves to do outreaches with their church band in different parts of Costa Rica. He prayed over our meal, then I noticed he was playing some Spanish worship music off of his laptop in the kitchen, and so we started talking about our favorite Christian bands, then favorite Christian books (his is the Purpose Driven Life, which I'm currently reading).

Pablo suggested that perhaps his church band could come down and play a concert at the skate park. I loved the idea and got his contact info in case we could set something up in the future.

The next morning Pablo headed back to San Jose, but as he was leaving, he handed me a little note. He said he felt God had given him a verse for me, so on the paper he handed me was Romans 8:28: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

The verse really spoke to me, as just that morning I had asked God to let me know whether a certain relationship in my life was pleasing to Him, whether it was part of His plan, or whether it was just something that I wanted for myself. As he drove off, I couldn't help but think God had set the whole meeting up as a way of speaking to me, encouraging me and him at the same time. Why was Pablo cooking that huge pot of pasta, when he was there alone, and leaving the next morning? Why did he have the boldness to knock on my door and invite me to eat with him? God is so amazing!

I have started to paint the walls of my new apartment...bright yellow!

P.S. yesterday I mysteriously chipped a tooth. A fairly large piece of one of my lower front teeth (thankfully, the back part of the tooth) just disappeared as I was eating. It may have been the cap of a root canal that came off. So if you could pray for that (or for my dentist!), I would appreciate it! Thanks.

Housing!

I'm excited to share with you that I've found an apartment which I hope to move into next week!

It's a very basic studio apartment, about 10 min. bike ride south of the town of Puerto Viejo, but close to the beach and quite close to the Alternative Missions property. Previous interns and AM staff have stayed here... apparently it's quite safe, and it includes wireless internet access, which I'm excited about! There are just two apartments on the property, plus the landlord's house. The tenant next door is an American writer, and seems nice.

The reason I can't move in just yet is that the landlord needs to fix a few things inside, including the shower and a window screen. It should be ready by early next week, but I will be patient if it's not. Once I move in, I want to repaint the walls and fix a few things up in the apartment, add some furniture, install a fan or two. But overall I'm quite pleased with it, and the price is within budget!

The yard, with a little shared outdoor area for reading, relaxing...

My apartment

Need to add some more closet/storage space

Kitchen/dining room/desk/living room all in one!

Put me in charge :)

A young boy's first steps on rollerblades! (click to play video)

This past week the whole Cruce family went to San Jose for a few days of doctor and dentist appointments, which meant that I had full responsibility for running the skate sessions and Friday youth night. I was really glad for the opportunity to help them out by "holding the fort" in their absence and to see how I would do when I had to make all the decisions about unexpected things that cropped up. Unfortunately, I've been sick with a cold all week, so I found myself quite tired by the time the Cruces got back last night, but in spite of that, everything went well.

On Friday night, we had a cook-out for the teenagers, and I was thankful to have some help from one of the older local guys and from a girl named Tamara who volunteers with a local non-profit. I found it's hard to be simultaneously DJ, tomato slicer, grill cook, rules enforcer, skateboard repair man, and facilities manager, while keeping everything on schedule! We were blessed with a big crowd of over 30 people at one point. It's so wonderful when kids choose to spend their Friday nights with us than out on the streets where all kinds of snares await them.

The under-13 group looks like "organized chaos"

I am still staying at the hostel (no recent sloth sightings, by the way), because the manager of the apartment I am interested in moving into wanted to do some repairs before the next tenant moves in. I may be able to see it on Tuesday, but this being Costa Rica, nothing is firm. It's definitely been hard staying at the hostel on the weekends because the music from the outdoor disco across the street is very loud until 3 a.m., and earplugs do nothing to stop the deep vibrations. But the rest of the week it is pretty quiet.

Putting some meat (or fish) on the table

As a follow up to my last post, the Bible study (in Spanish!) on Friday went well. Thank you so much for your prayers. It was a small group of just five teens plus me, so that made things easier. I enjoyed it, actually, and even enjoyed testing the limits of my Spanish and getting corrected at times. I'm thankful that they feel comfortable enough around me now to correct me when I make mistakes...it's a good sign!

Yesterday was my day off, and I went freedive spearfishing with 4 of the local guys. I was anxious to prove myself in the water (and secure future invitations!). As it turned out I had some luck. In fact, I brought in the only two fish we caught, plus two langostinos (like small lobsters). The other guys added several langostinos to the bag as well. Less than two hours later we were basting them with garlic butter and grilling them up for the house church meal. This was great fellowship!

The grillmasters - Sebas, Jose, Peace, Dexter

what the fuss is all about: halved langostinos and whole rock hind (grouper)

the house church meal. Not so different from an old-fashioned church potluck

At house church, after the meal and a time of worship, Barrett set the stage for the book of Romans. He wanted us all to really understand the social, political, and religious context in Rome at the time and how the things Paul wrote about relate to Puerto Viejo as a miniature version of Rome. Here, as in ancient Rome, pretty much anything goes. It's going to be a great study in the coming weeks.

In other news, I think I have a good lead on an apartment to rent that is supposed to be vacated on Wednesday. I'll definitely keep you posted!

The other day was chatting on Facebook with a friend who works for Microsoft, and I asked him" "What should we make of the situation with the financial markets?" I liked his response. He simply quoted Psalm 20:7:
"Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God."
Simple, yet so hard to do sometimes.

Beautiful Day!

It's a gorgeous day in Puerto Viejo! (click to enlarge)

Today I am preparing to lead a Bible Study for the teenagers this evening. Please pray for me as this will be my first time leading a Bible Study in Spanish. I'm not as fluent as I would like to be for this! Thank you.

Well, I would say it's a well-done well

We're building a new well on Alternative Missions' property. Derlin, the guy by my side, was working like mad on it today, so I pitched in and pulled up some buckets of mud and water from the bottom of the well. It was crazy watching him when he was swimming at the bottom, trying to dig out the mud which was deeper than him, and getting deeper by the minute, as the well kept filling up!

Some of these kids showed up a full hour early for the skate session today...talk about eager! They just can't wait to get their hands on the skateboards which are kept in this trailer.

Just for fun...

Top five signs “you're not in Kansas anymore”

5. You can't identify half the fruits on display at the roadside fruit stand.

4. Almost every American you meet somehow steers the conversation to the subject of government conspiracy.

3. “Dressing up” means going from bare feet to flip flops.

2. In between games at the outdoor basketball court, your opponent shimmies up a court side palm tree and starts throwing down coconuts for everyone to drink from.

And the top sign you're not in Kansas (or California, or Florida...) anymore...

1. You ask a person what iguana tastes like, and he struggles to find comparisons, before finally settling on the response: "Sort of like raccoon.”

I wanted to show you a picture of the "tree house" where the Cruces are staying while their house is being built just a hundred hards away. They had me over for a bean burrito dinner on Wednesday night and it was great!

This week we've been busy with the normal ministry afternoons/evenings at the skate park. God has really helped me to start connecting with some of the youth, both teenagers and kids who are 7-12. It was funny...the other day I happened to be riding my bike past a group of five of the younger ones. They knew that I was heading to the skate park, so they started chasing after me, wanting to pile onto my bike and hitch a ride. I made them run for a while, but eventually let them catch up to me. I agreed to give one of them (the first one to get on) a ride. He had the BEST time rubbing it in to all his friends afterwards. At the end of the skate session that day, one little boy named Oscar gave me a big hug as a way of thanking me for letting them skate.

Lately, it's also seemed that the kids have been behaving themselves a bit better and following the rules (I'm finding that consistency in enforcing them is so important!)

In terms of my housing situation, I have nothing new to report, but a few new leads, and I'm supposed to check out one rental house tomorrow which I'm excited about. A lot of people have been asking around for me.

By the way, as a follow up to the story about the handcuffed man whom I had given some water to, I've since had more contact with him. He recognized me on the street the other day, and quickly asked me if he could buy me a juice, as he said "for respect". I agreed, and picked out a grape juice with him at the nearby store. It was a nice moment. I remember reading a book somewhere about how men and women have different needs, and it argued that one of a man's biggest needs is to be respected. It also said that when a man needs respect the most is when he feels the least respectable (or the least honorable). I think the reality of that came to life for me in my encounter with this guy. My compassion for him (regardless of what he might or might not have done to get arrested) seemed to have impacted him in a positive way.

Sorry not a lot of pictures today, but here's another of Jose (the skater from last week), clearly enjoying himself at the skate park, and loving my skateboard which I have been loaning him.

Baptism has no upper age limit!

Here's a look at some stories from the past two days of ministry...

This is my friend Jose in action on the skateboard ramps during our Saturday skate session. He brings a real "surfing" style to his skateboarding. I've enjoyed setting up for the skate sessions and talking to the kids and watching them three+ days a week. I make sure the kids are equipped with skateboards and helmets and I also get to be the music "dj". The job has its frustrating moments, like when kids fight over equipment, or break the rules over and over, but through this experience, God has given me a better understanding of how abundant His mercy is towards me when I disobey Him. Another lesson God showed me this week is that we all, like these children, fight for what we think is "ours", not realizing that everything in the universe belongs to God (Deut. 10:14). For the kids it might be a helmet that they think is theirs, but for us it might be that we we feel entitled to a certain luxury item or luxury service.

Here is Ronnie, guest preaching at the Baptist Church in Limon, which is about an hour's drive from Puerto Viejo. We went up to support him and his family as friends and team-members. He did a great job teaching on the prodigal son!

Three people were baptized during the service, including this elderly man. Seeing him being lowered into the water by these men reminded me of the story in John's gospel of the lame man whom Jesus healed at the pool of Bethesda. That man had said to Jesus:

"I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred."

Well, the man pictured above had no shortage of help getting into the baptismal pool. Praise God!

The Cruces: aren't they an adorable family?

Makena and Samantha enjoy ice cream and a ride on "Dumbo" at a restaurant in Limon. I would adopt either one in a heartbeat!

A couple of you have asked about my personal prayer requests. The main one I have right now is for my housing, that God would provide something safe, clean, and peaceful. The past couple nights have been uncomfortable at the hostel (loud music from the nearby disco until 3 a.m., plus a horrible dead animal smell that after two days was discovered to be a mouse that had electrocuted itself in the circuit box in my room.) Then last night I came home to a rat scampering off my food shelf, so that was disheartening. Rats and roaches aren't the end of the world, but when you're sharing the same 10' x 10' hotel room, you sort of feel like your in their environment rather than vice versa! Still I'm thankful to have a place to stay, and to have no worries for food or clothing or anything like that!

p.s. the sloth has moved out to greener pastures. No doubt it grew hungry after its long siesta!

Handcuffed man and sloth

locals come out to see what the fishermen brought in today.

This morning Barrett and I prepared the for tonight's teaching and discussion at youth group. Because it's in Spanish, it takes both of us a while longer to prepare, but it's actually a great exercise for us as it helps us improve our language skills. Afterwards I went and ran copies for the handouts.

In the afternoon I went snorkeling just off the beach in Puerto Viejo and enjoyed the beauty of the live coral reef and some of its colorful inhabitants. Where I swam out was near to the police station, and I had noticed a guy who was handcuffed to a pole on the outside of the police station, in the hot sun. On my home later in the afternoon, I noticed that he was still handcuffed to the pole, and I thought to myself "he must be thirsty and could probably use a bottle of cold water". But I kept riding and got home and showered. However, the thought wouldn't go away, and I was beginning to feel like giving the guy a cold bottle of water is the sort of thing Jesus might have done.

So I pedaled to the store, then back to the police station. I asked the man what his name was, then offered him the water. He accepted it with thanks, and started to drink (as best he could with the handcuffs). Before I could say anything he said to me "God bless you". It was like he knew it was from the Lord before I said anything, and it felt so good to see him smile in appreciation.

To change the subject completely, for the past three nights there has been a wild sloth sleeping at the hostel where I've been staying. The spaces inside are a semi-open for air flow, so it's not hard for animals to get in. What was funny was that the sloth made himself so at home (and no one has fed it). I have enjoyed coming home to this fascinating animal curled up in the rafters each night!

Skate night

Today at skate night, two 7-year olds were having a great time pestering me and trying to get my attention. The would poke me in the side, hoping I would respond by "attacking" them. So of course I would indulge them by tickling them, picking them up and swinging them around, etc. Like all children, they need and love the attention of adults. Meanwhile, a couple of the other boys were enjoying showing off their best skateboarding moves for me. I also got to play a few games of "Uno" with one of the boys (I can't always give names in order to protect their privacy...). He had to teach me the rules because it had been probably over 20 years since I last played!

It's amazing how even something as simple as just sitting on the steps watching the kids skateboard opens huge doors to be a part of their lives and share Christ's love in practical ways. It's rare for any of the parents to show up at the skate park and watch their kids, so they look to me and Barrett for affirmation and love while they are here, especially the 7 to 13 year olds. They get to skate from 3:00 to 4:30, and then the older kids are allowed to skate from 4:3o to 6:00. After the skate session, two of the barefoot boys came by and offered me some of their plantain chips, which I'm sure were purchased with hard-earned money. It was touching, to be sure.

Here's a picture of Tammy, who is serving with Alternative Missions in Puerto Viejo together with her husband Ronnie. She is pictured here with a little girl she was babysitting (she also has two girls of her own). Tammy is really great with kids and runs a local AWANA program in Spanish with her husband.

Snake and team dinner

Last night we had a team dinner at the skate park. It was a nice way to thank the Adams family (interns) for their three months serving here and at the same time welcome me to the team. I had a great time with everyone and their kids!! It was fun cooking on the grill too. Some of my new friends from Puerto Viejo (youth) were there too and we enjoyed sharing the meal with them. Meals are such a great way to build relationships, here as in all cultures.

After dinner we had some entertainment from the girls. Here is a high-energy performance by Beka and Hope, the Adams girls.

Earlier in the day I accidentally rode my bike over a 7 foot long bushmaster snake. It had just been killed by my neighbor. Bushmasters are highly venomous and one bite can be fatal!!

one of the fangs is broken off, but check out the other one!!

House Church

Last night we had "house church" upstairs at the skate park (future music cafe). It was a sweet time of fellowship as we shared a meal which we had all contributed to. Eric, who runs a restaurant next door, has been coming to the house church and he brought some great mexican food.

After the meal we sang some worship songs and then watched an awesome recorded message by Louie Giglio entitled "How Great is Our God". Last fall I saw Louie give this message live at a Chris Tomlin concert in San Diego, but it was just as powerful the second time around. I highly, highly recommend you get your hands on a copy of this video which allows you to consider--in ways you can understand--the immensity of the universe and at the same time the complexity and uniqueness of our own DNA. I believe it will help scriptures come alive for you in a new way, particularly those which describe God's love for you, and who God is. If you see this video, I would love to hear what impact it had on you.

The DVD is available through this link at Amazon:
How Great Is Our God

Two of the boys from the youth group came to house church and I know the video made an impression on them. Here's a picture which Melissa took in June of Sebas reading his Bible (not a posed shot, haha!). Barrett has really poured a lot of time and energy into discipling him and God has done a big work in his life through it. It's really encouraging to see how much God can transform a person's life in even a short amount of time, if their spirit is willing.

Old Harbor Baptist Church

Today I visited the Old Harbor Baptist church. They actually have an English speaking service (or part English) as well as a Spanish service. Although many parts of the service were different than what I am used to back home (for example, the service ran 2.5 hours with no break!), it was nice to worship the same God with some local people. In the congregation were 9 women and 5 men, plus a lot of kids from the Sunday School who joined us for a few songs (see video).

In the pews, the kids were noisy and undisciplined, so they had to be ushered out after the singing. Afterwards there was a time of “open mike” for anyone in the congregation to share praise reports or testimonies, and one woman stood up and sang a song which she had written to Jesus. It was very touching! Also an elderly woman who recently came out of the hospital praised God for taking care of her. Finally, the sermon was an important message from Mathew 8 and 9 about the different ways people saw Jesus, and how we should see Him. All in all, the morning was a good reminder for me that around the world, we followers of Christ are ONE in Christ.

I've been having a great time re-connecting with the friends I made among the youth in June and meeting new people in town. I've been asking everyone I meet if they know of a reasonable 1-bedroom apartment for rent. Word of mouth is the best way of finding that sort of thing here. Aside from having a healthy cockroach population, the hostel where I've been staying has been o.k., but it would be nice to have a private bathroom, shower, and kitchen. I wasn't able to cook last night or this morning because a big group was using the shared kitchen at the hostel. I know God will provide just the right place for me.

a reminder that some are living in hardship