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!