Life as of late.

   It has been far too long between blog posts: for that, I apologize.

       We've had a pretty crazy last couple of weeks. Last week was spiritual emphasis week here at the language institute. They fly a speaker in and we have two sessions every day of the week in addition to our normal classes. Though it's a huge blessing, it also means that Suzy and I have to prepare music for all 10 sessions. Now, we do delegate, so not all of them were led by us-- but I did play and/or sing in 8 of the 10. Not to mention coordinating, making slides, and practicing. The speaker was really solid, it was nice not having any tests, homework, or reports that week, and it was a joy to lead the student body in worship with such frequency, in spite of the time commitment.

      This past weekend we spent a full day with some Costa Rican friends: a couple from our church and friends of theirs who live in a tiny mountain town nearby. We left first thing in the morning and made a two hour drive east to an outdoor ministry site called La Cumbre. La Cumbre is quite similar in many ways to El Refugio, where we'll be serving in Ecuador. They've got a gorgeous piece of property with a winding river running straight through the middle of the grounds. They have high and low ropes course activities, a soccer field, a covered basketball court/gym, indoor housing for 100 some people, and beautiful common areas. It's a gorgeous place.

The full group of us that went to La Cumbre

     The reason we went was because the couple from the small mountain town are very involved in a smaller, new church, and they have a desire to see the population of youth grow in the church. When we first met them, we told them about what we'll be doing in Ecuador, and they loved the sound of it-- they just wished there was something like that here in Costa Rica. We were pleased to tell them about La Cumbre! Though we hadn't been ourselves, we'd heard of it from connections through El Refugio and through the language school here.

The Leap of Faith

     We had a great time out there being shown the grounds, eating, watching some youth doing activities that they offer, and even participating ourselves! I did a high ropes element called 'The Leap of Faith.' I had to climb up a rope ladder to a platform and once at the top, leap towards a hanging bar. The bar seems just out of reach, and though you're harnessed in and connected to a rope, there's certainly a degree of fear in leaping into thin air, hoping your hands will be able to reach/ grasp the bar in front of you. I won't elaborate on it any more, but the spiritual parallels and implications are numerous.

       Aside from that, we've continued to teach our weekly Saturday group of youth who are learning to play and lead worship music, I've continued having my weekly conversations with men in the community, and Kaia continues to grow and be sweeter and sweeter every day!

         Today is Halloween. Hurricane Sandy hit the Eats Coast this week. The presidential election is next week (we sent our absentee ballots in yesterday!). The Yankees aren't in the World Series.  Lucasfilm is now owned by Disney. It rains quite hard here just about every day now. Thanksgiving is in 3 weeks and a day. In just over 7 weeks Christmas will be here-- and in just over 6 weeks we'll be flying to Ecuador! Changes, big events, busyness, and much ahead of us. God is good, through it all!

 -jim

Babysitting for other students-- as a result, Kaia gets a play-date with some other girls! 

Beautiful sunset from our friend's apartment