¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

The last sunset of the decade:

More fotos from celebrating the New Year with Costa Rican chicharron HERE. 

A little Spanglish humor for Navidad

On December 11, I graduated from language school!  (There I am with the Costa Rican flag.)  I am grateful for having had the chance to improve my Spanish before jumping into more hands-on training of ministry leaders.  I feel more confident...even though I'm even more aware of the mistakes I still make. :)  God did so much more in my life in the past 8 months than teach me Spanish.  Doesn't He always makes the journey more interesting than the destination?

Probably because of the "bad luck" of being classmates with the president of the student body, I was asked to give the student speech at graduation.  I won't print the whole thing here, but I ended with this poem (which I modified from the internet).  This sounds a bit like what's in my head these days--a big mess of Spanglish!


TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE NAVIDAD

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the casa
Not a creature was stirring. I wondered, “Que pasa?”
I was hanging the stockings with mucho cuidado
In hopes that old Santa would feel muy obligado
To bring all the children, both buenos y malos,
A nice batch of dulces and other regalos.
The children and I were asleep in our camas,
Some in long underwear, some in pijamas
When out in the yard, there arose such a grito
That I jumped to my feet like a frightened cabrito.
I ran to the window and looked out afuera,
And who in the world do you think that it era?
Saint Nick on a sleigh and a big red sombrero
Came dashing along, like a crazy bombero.
And pulling his sleigh, instead of venados,
Were eight little burros, approaching volados.
I watched as they came, and this quaint little hombre
Was shouting and whistling and calling by nombre:
"Ay, Pancho! Ay, Pepe! Ay, Cuca! Ay, Beto!
Ay, Chato! Ay, Chopo! Maruca y Nieto!"
Then, standing erect with his hand on his pecho,
He flew to the top of our very own techo.
With his round little belly like a bowl of jalea
He struggled to squeeze down our old chimenea.
Then, huffing and puffing, and a little cansado
He picked up a bag that looked so pesado.
He filled all the stockings with lovely regalos,
For none of the niños had been very malos.
Then chuckling along, seeming very contento,
He turned like a flash and was gone like the viento.
And I heard him exclaim -- and this is verdad --
"Merry Christmas to all! y Feliz Navidad!" 

¡Feliz Navidad!

Christmas Greetings from La Carpio!  For the past few months, I've been spending Thursday afternoons in a part of San José called La Carpio with a pile of awesome kids between 1-18? years old.  Every year there is a Christmas party and we planned this year's party expecting 150 kids.  Around 500 showed up!  Here's the link to pictures of the party and the children I'm loving more every week:

La Carpio Christmas Party photo album

¡FELIZ NAVIDAD!

Bad Habits (Spanglish 101, Class #1)

Learning to laugh at myself was a big part of my time in Peru...and it continues!  Language errors can be embarrassing, even harmful, but most of all they are forgivable, and often hysterical!  I thought I'd share a few of the funny ones here on my blog.

Last week in class, we learned how to describe when someone picks up a habit.  I had to come up with a sentence in Spanish and then translate it into English.  "Mi hermano le ha dado por fumar," was fine (and not actually true), but when I tried to translate it into English, I made everyone laugh.  Fumar is "smoking" in Spanish and my brain couldn't quite jump to English entirely.  So I somehow kept a half-Spanish accent on the last word and said, "My brother started 'fooming'."  If I had pronounced it "fyuming" I could have said, all in proper English, "My brother started fuming," but that would have meant something different entirely.

The verb "fumar" always makes me smile because of a story my friends tell about one of the former SIL Peru directors.  Police often stop foreigners in Peru and sometimes it's hard to get out of the situation without losing a little cash.  But in order for the transaction to occur, the foreigner has to at least speak a little Spanish.  My friend used that last bit to to his advantage when he was stopped by a cop (for doing nothing wrong).  When the cop asked him to roll down the window and started to question him, my friend (who is fluent in Spanish) looked up at him quizzically and said, "Uh...no...uh...no fumar español."  No, my friend didn't smoke Spanish. :)  The cop just waived him away.

A More Ominous Good

Running around the muddy yard, the 10 or so kids didn't seem to mind playing tag eternally, until one kid said, "This time you're 'La Llorona'!" I didn't understand what he meant and had never heard the term, so I asked him to explain it to me. 

"While we are sleeping, the bad, old lady comes to steal us out of our beds!" 

"She lives down there!" another one added, pointing to the basement, gated off with iron. 

I'm really into in-the-moment teaching opportunities and realized this was one of them.  I needed God's help.  I looked into the wide eyes of the kids staring up at me, equally hopeful of and terrified at the prospect of me chasing them, pretending to be La Llorona.

"Is there anyone who can stop La Llorona? Anyone stronger?" 

The kids were unanimous: "No way!" 

I looked puzzled. "Are you sure?" 

One sturdy, young kid with a penchant for biting me instead of hugging me shouted, "God is!!"

I looked up and out at the rest of the kids. "Really?" I asked. "Is God stronger than La Llorona?"

By this time they had caught on: "YES!!" They shouted in unison.

"If the bad, old lady shows up, do you know how to ask God to help you?"  My eyes panned the small crowd.

No one had an answer.

I shouted mine: "En el nombre de Dios, vayase!"

Heads perked up.

"Say it together!"

"In the name of God, get out of here!", the kids shouted in unison.  (Okay, I realized later I should have taught them "In the name of JESUS, get out of here!" so I'll make that adjustment the next time we play!)

We were ready to test it out. I backed into the far corner of the yard and waited.  They scattered...a few brave ones tiptoeing as close as they dared in the few seconds just before I...started moving toward them...lifting my hands as if to grab someone...but before I could take more than two steps, the kids shouted, almost in unison: 

"EN EL NOMBRE DE DIOS, VAYASE!"

I clapped my hands over my ears and shrank back in horror. I fled back to my corner and looked up, shocked, at the kids. "You stopped me! How did you do that??"

They were thrilled to explain that now they all knew how to stop La Llorona!

A few turns later (and no one got tired of this game!), someone said, "We should all be laying down, because she only comes at night, to grab us out of our beds." There was something awfully sweet and sad about how truly scared those kids were as they lay down on the ground and peeked up at me, probably wondering if their short prayer was really going to work when they were in a more vulnerable position. And it did!  You should have seen their faces as they realized that calling on Jesus to save them could stop the scariest person they could think of.

I know kids all around the world have stories of the "bogeyman" who is coming to get them.  How awesome to be reminded that it only takes a few words to banish the strongest negative force we might encounter. 

One Halloween we had a all-night vigil at a liturgical church I was attending. (Basically, we prayed and sang all night.) I left my shift around 10.30pm and as I walked down the steps to a lower parking area, I looked up at the small but towering church. There were sparse, autumn-shorn branches breaking across the building's vertical lines. It was a cloudy night with an almost-full moon. The scene was painted with every shade of gray and black. At the top of the church, spike-like crosses soared, looking even more menacing than that imposing sky--but in a strong, True way. I wondered: Do we worship a more ominous Good?

Escape from San José

Three friends and I decided it was about time I took my "new" wheels for a ride.  It was a new experience for me to be able to just jump in the car in a foreign country and go where I wanted.  (I haven't owned a car in 3 years!)  We spent a Saturday in a neighboring city, Cartago, driving through fields and herds of cattle to also reach the nearby volcano.  Here are a few pics (most of them mine, but I give props to Ryan M. for the good ones).

School Daze

It's pretty hard to get studying done in class...

...when the other students are so crazy!!

Thank goodness there's more to life than studying!

Most of these students in my first trimester have moved on to the mission field.  Only the Sears and I have stayed for a second trimester: Seth is in a blue shirt in the back and Andrea is sitting on the left.

Our school (The Spanish Language Institute) is dedicated to training people heading to serve God in Spanish-speaking countries, so there are a lot of joyful goodbyes throughout the year.  Goodbye to friends who are leaving...

...and holding on to those that are staying a while longer!

The Russian

After 90 days my tourist visa was set to run out, so my friends Seth and Andrea and I planned a morning at the immigration office. I was in business mode at 7am, needing to do a few things before we met up at the park by my house to head downtown.

I walked down the hill from my house to the park, which is practically empty that early in the morning. As I turned away from my normal route to school, I noticed a kid in a black hoodie. He stood out in my mind since there had been a series of robberies around the school by someone dressed the same.

I wasn't paying much attention to him until I realized he was walking in a trajectory that would cross his path with mine, and he would get there before me. I sped up because it felt a little weird...and so did he.

So I sped up a little more (and so did he) and soon I was sprinting down the sidewalk, my wheeled backpack swinging behind me, a few feet off the ground. I was approaching a cross street with cars that careen down the hill without regard, but I didn't care. At that point, I would probably have told you I'd rather be hit by a car than be robbed--as a matter of principle. :) Without looking, I charged into the street. The drivers are pretty gracious here so no one hit me. (Maybe the chase that was going on made them want to help me?)

While running through oncoming traffic (just 2 lanes--not that exciting), I started praying: "Lord, where should I go, especially if this guy DOES have bad intentions?"

I headed straight for the 24-hr mini-mart. I was probably out of breath when I got to the checkout stand and told the clerk I was feeling a little nervous. Maybe that's why she didn't understand me. :) I was hoping someone who knew the neighborhood would scope out the situation for me and make sure everything was cool.

Finally, she says that her manager will meet me outside. A few minutes later, a burly tank of a guy is at the store opening, gesturing with his finger that I should join him outside. Could this be the manager?

I cautiously obey him, noticing again that the kid in the hoodie is still hanging out just across the street from the store, watching us. The man explains he owns the store and asks me if there's anyway he can be of assistance.

I use vague, non-accusatory terms to describe the situation since I really can't guarantee that this kid really was trying to rob me, since he never caught up with me(!).

The man glances at me and asks, "Why did you pick my store to run into for safety?" I start to say something about asking God for help (why not be honest and share?), and he quickly looks disappointed.

In a few seconds, he rallies and with his chest thrust a little more forward says, "Obviously, everyone has told you about me. Why else would you come to ME for help?"

I fumble around a bit and come up with, "I hear your store is wonderful and I've been shopping there a few times!"

This is NOT what he is after, so he leans in and continues, "Everyone knows who I am. During the guerrita (little war), I saved this neighborhood. Now everyone knows that it stays safe because I scare the bad guys away. Do you REALLY not know who I am?"

All I can do is repeat that I'm glad to meet him so he continues, "They all know who I am, the good guys and the bad guys. I am...(I swear there was a pause)...The Russian."

Feeling like I may have just met a superhero or a character from The Godfather, I say, "Nice to meet you."

"My name is Alex."

"Great to meet you Alex, I'm Amy."

"I'm from Russia originally."

Thinking quickly, I respond, "My grandmother was from Czechoslovakia."

Alex beams. "Prague is beautiful! We are practically neighbors!"

Now that we have bonded, he tells me the story (As if I had a choice. My eye is still on the hooded teen, leaning against a tree across the street, reading a newspaper!?):

"There was a war here. Bullet holes in every store front." He gestures broadly with his thick, muscular, hairy arms--not an exaggeration.

Alex tells me how 8 years ago this place was overrun with gangs, shooting matches, and generally un-safe conditions. He owned a business and the gangs were making life difficult, so he and his son took matters into their own hands.

As he describes the artillery they used, the attack on their store and the shoot-out that followed, he raises an imaginary gun and takes aim at, you guessed it, the hooded teen across the street, still watching us. Ha!!

The Russian had to go to court because he was guilty of killing 3 people, but he was acquitted since it was in self-defense.

It didn't end there. There were other gun battles, knife fights, and he shoves up his sleeves and a pant-leg to show me the scars.

He tells me, "You are safe now because you know The Russian. I am always here and I always have mi amiguita (my little girlfriend) with me." And he reaches down and pats his pants pocket where I now see the outline of a gun.

I thank him and tell him we are all grateful he's around. My friends show up, wondering who this guy is. We are ready to leave for immigration, but he has one more request. He wants me to memorize his phone number so I can always call him if something happens. He'll show up and take care of it.

The kid with the hooded sweatshirt is gone by the time I leave.

I doubt I'll be calling The Russian, but I think meeting him made my month.

Sidenote: I just had to look up The Russian on wikipedia, because I knew I'd heard the term before. If an artist drew a dramatic version of MY Russian, it wouldn't look much different from this one of the Marvel Comics supervillain from The Punisher:

Mid-Flight!

NEW=
Blog design
Team
Role
Country
Resolution to start up blogging again!

At our Wycliffe International meetings for the Americas a week and a half ago, they showed us a video that might help us better understand the kind of ministry environment we find ourselves in. I'm sure you've experienced something a bit like this.

Green Eggs and I AM

Praise God for Iva May and her 5 hours of teaching this past week during our spiritual emphasis week at the Spanish school where I'm studying it. I think my favorite quote of hers was "If you make it, you will take it", referring to schemes we come up with to "help" God with His "Plan A" for our lives. Thing is, God has no Plan B and He has PROMISED to accomplish His Plan A. His promises are not like those that we humans make and try to fulfill, it's His very nature to accomplish what He promises. The great temptation is to hear a promise of God, be in a waiting-for-fulfillment period, and try to "help" God accomplish His goal by scheming up a Plan B. And you know where you'll end up! (If you don't, take a look at the stories in Bible and you'll find some Plan B's...it's not pretty!)

As a result of these talks, I've been studying God's promises (well, I'll be honest, they have been finding me--thanks, Holy Spirit) and it's amazing how tied they are to His Great Love for us. It seems that's WHY He promises anything to us, because of His unwavering Love.

Here's another awesome tidbit from the week, with thanks to Dr. Seuss for the original.

Green Eggs And I AM
By Elizabeth Wallace

My seminary course in Trinitarianism included several class lectures on "I AM" in the Bible. I wrote the following piece to fulfill the assignment of a creative project having to do with the Trinity.

I have wondered if Jesus had come at a different time how he would have communicated with His children. The following is a result of two greats in my life coming together: God, the ultimate lover of my soul, and Dr. Seuss, who had a love of the simple things of life. If Dr. Seuss had written theology books, instead of classics such as Green Eggs and Ham, I think it would have gone a little something like this.

Green Eggs And I AM

My name?
I AM.

I am I AM,
I AM I am.

I AM here,
I AM there,
I am I AM everywhere.

Father, Son, and Spirit are we.
We are one, but we are three.

I AM here,
I AM there,
I am I AM everywhere.

One in Three and Three in One,
Jesus is God, Jesus is Son.

Spirit's Power, Father's Plan,
Nail scars in the Son's pierced hands.

"What," you exclaim, "How can that be?"
Shhhh, my child, just rest in me.

I will not be put in a box.
I will not let you worship an ox.

I created it all-the family, the mountain, the tree-
We created it all, so you could grasp the "we."

I will call you here and there,
And I will go with you everywhere.

I AM here,
I AM there.
I am I AM everywhere.

Confused, uncertain, and having doubt?
Give up now, you won't figure it out.

Father, Son, and Spirit are we.
We are one, but we are three.

Adonai, Yahweh, Savior, Friend-
The aspects of me never end.

I will not be defined by just one name,
But I will love you just the same

So what should you do?
How should you react?
Learn enough truth to guard against attack.

Then let go of questions like "Why?"
And raise your voice in praise toward the sky.

Never to leave is my promise to you.
Stay focused, listen to me, and follow through.

Wherever I lead, wherever you go,
I'll be there, too, just continue to grow.

I am I AM,
I AM I am

On a train
In the rain
In a box
With a fox
On a boat
With a goat

Anywhere, everywhere you may go,
I am I AM is all you need to know.

From Prayer Essentials For Living In His Presence, Vol. 1, p. 71-72, ©2000, by Sylvia Gunter.
Available at www.thefathersbusiness.com.

Alcanzando...

If Jesus were Tico (Costa Rican), I think He would have attended Saturday's conference. I'll fill in the details in my next email update, but I can tell you now there was a lot of singing, learning, praying, and dedicating of lives to reach those who haven't heard...yet. And there was one gringa from the USA who made these weird hand signs...or is she trying to poke out Silvana's eye? We're not sure...

Angels Unawares

My first week in Costa Rica, I headed to Walmart to buy a few things no other stores had. The store is officially called "Hipermás" here, but they can't fool me! I was dragging my heels to shop there but later I found out that before Walmart was allowed to enter Costa Rica, they had to agree to a list of things so they couldn't take advantage of the situation or the people here. Employees at Hipermás have it good. I think mom and pop shops are probably still suffering because of the mega-store, but now I feel better for buying a fan there!

That day, I found the things I was looking for, well, most of them, and took a pit stop while my friend watched our cart. In the bathroom, out of nowhere, my nose started bleeding--hardcore. I've never had a nosebleed before and didn't know what to do. I had wads of TP holding the gusher in and had my nose in the air (for all the right reasons). A lady stopped me at the sink. "Are you okay? Here, you need a cold compress, let me get some toilet paper." She wadded up a bunch and splashed some water on it.

As she held it up to my forehead, she said "And now we need to ask Jesus to heal you," all matter-of-fact. Before I could respond (and she was not concerned about whether or not I agreed!) she started to pray, "Jesus, we know you can reach down and touch your daughter here and heal her immediately. Please do that for your glory." I was smiling and praying with her and she seemed encouraged when she looked up at me, so she continued, "Holy Spirit, heal and protect your daughter, that you love, so she can continue to live for you."

The nosebleed stopped immediately. She patted me on the back, told me I would be fine and that Jesus would take care of me, and told me again that He was good. I agreed and she went out the swinging bathroom door. I threw away the toilet paper compress and followed her out. I kind of had a suspicion that she wouldn't be anywhere in sight and sure enough, in the big, open, empty hallway, there was no one. My friend was the only person coming toward me. "Are you okay?" she called out. "Yes, but did you see anyone out here?" "No," she replied, and that confirmed it for me. Angels can look like well-dressed Costa Rican grandmas, right?

Food, Glorious Food!

No one can convince me that I suffer much as a missionary, because I really enjoy a lot about Latin American life and culture! As you move into another culture, one of the first things you might notice is the food, so I'll start there! I feel I need to point out that I believe I have successfully executed my duty as Nathan's auntie to introduce him to classic foods by bring Cheetos into his life! You can't get those in Peru, so there were several bags of Cheetos at my goodbye party at the airport. You can tell that Nathan enjoys them as much as I do if you check out his orange-y, cheesy fingers and smile!


My travel from Portland to Peru took 24 hours, and part of that was a 5-hour layover in San Jose, Costa Rica. Yes, I was heading to Costa Rica the subsequent week to start language shchool, but my cheaptickets.com itinerary just happened to take me through San Jose on the way to Peru! I landed in the international airport in Costa Rica at 5am, bleary-eyed from the all-night flight. I dragged my bags into the tiny food court where I found...Burger King! I'm not a fan of fast food, but this was a fun introduction to Costa Rican food. If you want breakfast at Burger King in Costa Rica you get: gallo pinto (rice & beans), egg, and coffee. It can also come with tortillas for a little extra. Yummy!


Once in Lima, Peru (for 4 full days), I managed to indulge in a few Peruvian classics. Those are "chifles" on the left: thin, crispy, salty banana chips, and that's "cancha" on the right, which is toasted corn (think really natural corn nuts).


As a special treat, my friend Deborah and I met at Mangos, which has a lot of my favorite Peruvian dishes, and is perched inside a cliff overlooking the Pacific ocean. God does a good job of taking care of His loved ones, doesn't He?