Eco Tourism

Leatherback turtle
(This is an image captured from the web - we were not allowed to take cameras or flashlights)

One of the families in our little town makes a living giving tours. For the past four years they have been inviting us to go see the leatherback turtles, but we always had an excuse because it is an all night deal. We finally decided to go last night. It was a very educational experience.

We were to report to the tours site at 10:20 pm. Most of you know that I am usually fast sleep by then, but off we went at 10:00, already past our bedtime. We were joined by a group of German and American tourists. (We are not tourist!) No cameras or flashlights were allowed. We had to wade in the estuary to get on the boat that took us to the other side. It was almost full moon last night, and it was as clear as daylight. We could see all the constellations and even some falling stars. Truly, a beautiful night for a walk on the beach. They took us to a little outpost where we were given a lecture, in English, about the turtles in general and what to expect that night. Usually, one or two turtles come ashore. There used to be hundreds, but they are now endangered. If no turtles were sighted, we could comeback tomorrow night. (yeah, right!) They micro ship the turtles to keep track of them. Where do they come from? All the way from the Galapagos Islands! WOW! By the way, only females make the trip. The males stay home. They probably watch soccer on TV all those long months. (Just kidding)

After the lecture of about an hour, we settled back to wait. They have rangers who go up and down the beach watching for turtles. There was an old hotel by the outpost, and we were allowed to go sit by the pool and use the restroom. The night was beautiful, a warm breeze blowing, so we fell asleep. At about 1 am, they came to get us. There was a turtle, but, unfortunately, it was at the other end of the beach, two and a half miles away. We took off at a pretty good clip. The young people in the group kept up with the guide, but we felt behind to the point where we couldn't see them.

Finally, we arrived to where the turtle was. What an amazing sight. The tracks on the beach were about 5 feet wide. It looked like an ATV had gone by. We were allowed to approach the turtle from behind. The guides had infrared lights. There were a lot of volunteers from Earth Watch and a marine biologist watching and recording all kinds of data. The turtle dug a very deep hole in the sand with the back flippers scooping the sand out as if they were hands. After a long time, when she could no longer reach the bottom of the whole, she started to lay the eggs. We could see the eggs dropping, 50 - 60 eggs. The marine biologist practically had her head stuck in the turtle's rear! Then the turtle carefully covered the eggs with sand. We were then instructed to leave, so that the turtle could make it back to the water. It was all very interesting and kind of surreal: the beach at night, almost a full moon, starts, all the Earth Watch people moving around, and two groups of tourists watching all this. We retraced our steps back to the estuary, boat and our car. We drove home at went to bed at 3:30 am. It has been a long time since I have been up that late.

The phone woke up us at 8:00. It was one of the few American couples that we know here. They wanted to get together for lunch, since they are also leaving tomorrow, but we decided to stay home and start packing. We also had to say good-bye to our good friends here. We made the rounds and had lunch at the little restaurant here in the hacienda. Typical local food for the last time: white rice, black beans, grilled dorado fish, fried riped plantains, and the local corn tortillas. Yumm! I also had a double expresso. I needed that.

Now we are going to start packing, not very hard to do. We come loaded with books and other materials and leave with practically empty bags. We will leave here at 5:00 am. Our flight takes off at 8:00 am. We praise the Lord for all that He has done these past three weeks. We are humbled by His blessings.

We will see you all soon...Until then...from the beach...

Couples Event

View from the site of the event - this is Playa Langosta

Our friends, Carlos and Rosario, from Christ for the City arrived on Friday at noon. They brought with them a young man, Brandon, who is an MK and full-time MAF. He came to help with our computer lab. We had lunch at the new beach club because we wanted them to see it. It is just a beautiful spot. After they got settled here, Carlos and Rosario took Brandon to the computer lab. When they arrived, the sewing class was having a graduation party. They were impressed by the quality of clothes that they learned to make. One lady even made a pair of pants for her husband. Brandon went to work on the computers while the ladies celebrated their achievements.

Everybody came back to our place, Carlos, Rosario, Brandon and the two Christ for the City staff. Our friend, Irene, offered to make chicken and rice for all of us for Friday dinner, since I was busy getting the lasagna and cakes ready for Saturday night. It was great chicken and rice, local style. They all spent the night. Saturday morning after breakfast they all went to the beach, except for me. I had too many things to get ready, namely, lunch. I had not planned for five for lunch on Saturday, and I was scrambling for something. You just don't go down to the grocery store for emergency purchases here. I had some thin steaks and made fajitas with homemade salsa and homemade guacamole. Just had enough for everybody. The girls and Brandon went back to Christ for the City's house in town after lunch. At two o'clock we went to the site of the event to take most of the supplies, except for the food. We wanted to see what the kitchen looked like. Our friend, Luis, who works here, came over with keys, two long tables, chairs and tablecloths, all provided for free. He helped us so much, and it was his day off. Rosario and I decided that the kitchen was adequate enough for us to go home, change and bring all the food to finish preparing it there. We went up and back in thirty minutes. Our place is very close to where the event took place. All inside the hacienda.

We tried to make the setting pretty and romantic

Some of the couples attending the event

Everything was ready when the minibus arrived with the first group. We wanted to take advantage of the beautiful setting to take pictures of the couples. It turned out to be a great icebreaker because the couples were a little timid when they got there, but they had a lot of fun posing for the pictures. There was some miscommunication between one couple in the second group, and they did not arrive until six. I had to keep the bread and the lasagna warm for an extra hour. But the minibus finally came back; everybody got pictures, and we had dinner. They loved the lasagna! Since we ended up with only ten couples, there was plenty of lasagna for seconds, and they took advantage of that!

Rosario made the salad, and I made the lasagna

Rosario talking to the couples

Carlos and Rosario gave great presentations about the Christian principles of marriage. We even had a fun activity. The women went away and took off the earring, kept one hidden, and we put all the earrings together on a table. The men were supposed to pick their wives' earring. All the men got it right! After that, we had dessert, chocolate cake and ice cream. Then John and I shared. Soon the minivan was back, and it was time to say good-bye. What difference! The timid couples were very demonstrative and happy. Randall, Arleth, and Luis stayed behind and helped us clean up. We again came home exhausted, but happy. Brandon was there waiting for us. He found out what was wrong with the two computers that weren't working. One of them had a wasp nest inside the CPU!

Worshiping in our local church

Pastor Alejandro

Sunday we went to church. Two of the couples at the event attend church. They said that everybody was very happy on the ride back. They want to have more events like that one. We are already planning what we are going to do in May when we return. After church, we were invited to go to one of the members house for a good-bye lunch, since today was our last Sunday here. We had "gallina rellena." This was something new for us. It was delicious. We ate outside, under the shade of some trees. After lunch, Carlos, Rosario and Brandon drove to the capital. We stayed a little longer, but we finally had to say good-bye to these dear people.

Gallina rellena with hard boiled eggs and potatoes

The lunch table - Pastor Alejandro and his wife on the foreground

We went home Sunday afternoon, rested and tried to watch some football, but we had to go out again fro dinner with Randall, Arleth and their little boy. John needed to get gas anyway, so we went passed the gas station to a new restaurant. The food was good, but the music was blaring, there were some American young men who had a little too much to drink, and I don't think Randall enjoyed the evening. He was concerned about the three young men. We got back home at around ten o'clock.

This is all for now...just a few days left...at the beach...

Christian Camp

The boys' cabins were in the building to the left and girls' to the right

We spent Tuesday and Wednesday at a Christian camp in the mountains overlooking a majestic volcano. (I need to remind you that this is summer vacation for schools here. They call it "summer" because there is less rain at this time of the year. The weather is actually a bit cooler now than in March - August). We left at 5:30 am sharp Tuesday morning. The drive to the mountains took about 2 1/2 hours. On the mini-bus from hour town were nine fifth and sixth graders, two moms, and us. As soon as we started going up the mountain, the weather changed drastically. It was sprinkling a bit, windy, and about 20 degrees cooler. It was a shock for the kids when we got off the bus. We waited a few minutes until another mini-bus arrived carrying a group from the church of the national missionary who works in our town. There are two single young women who run the kids club, teach English and computers weekly in our town; one is a national with a degree in psychology, and the other one is American with a degree is Social Work. In total, our group consisted of 18 kids and 8 adults. We had the camp to ourselves and were responsible for all the activities. The camp provided a cook.

Our two leaders

Lunch line - the only time we had dessert

As soon as everybody arrived, we had breakfast, consisting of rice and beans and scrambled eggs. We had chicken and rice for lunch one day, but all the meals except for that one consisted of rice and beans. That is what the nationals eat everyday. John and I found it quite refreshing that nobody complained about the food. These kids ate what was in front of them and were off to play as soon as possible. The food was exactly what they eat at home three times a day. We were also pleasantly surprised about the facilities. I was expecting an out house, but we had toilets and running water. The camp does not have a water heater, but only foreigners have water heaters here as far as I know. After we settled in our cabins, we started the activities with a mixer because the kids were from two different towns and did not know each other. The group was divided into two teams, balancing the boys and girls and the two towns.

Team activities

Volleyball with a soccer ball

The theme for camp was self-esteem because the staff felt that it was needed. The Bible verse was Psalm139:14 "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." We had crafts, fun activities and Bible lessons. Everything was well planned, with a good balance of outdoor activities, crafts and Bible lessons. Tuesday night we had a camp fire. The kids were introduced to "s'mores." Although you can buy all the ingredients at any supermarket, "s'mores" is a typical American treat. Of course, they all loved them and wanted "uno más."

Camp fire - notice the green grass underneath. We could never do this in California!

I had five girls, one mom, and the American missionary in my cabin. After a run with the cold water in the showers and some giggling, the girls went to sleep at about 10 pm and slept all night until six am. John was by himself with five boys, supposedly, they were the more mellow boys; however, two boys from the other town had cell phones with them and kept talking to girlfriends. John finally had it with them, pulled them all out of bed and had a big pillow fight. They loved it. John had about four hours of sleep Tuesday night. Anytime that there was free time, they played volleyball, basketball and soccer. John was right there playing with them the whole time. That, plus all the outdoor games, was a lot for the old man. Today he has spent most of the day in bed napping. The two moms who went with us also participated in all the games and activities. They had as much fun as the kids. They also helped in the kitchen serving and washing dishes. We all helped at keeping the dinning room and meeting hall clean.

This is one of the moms participating in a water balloon game. By the way, that is not her son.

We met a few cows on our nature walk

Wednesday morning the weather was beautiful; after breakfast, we went for a hike up the mountain. It was quite a trek! It was very steep at some points, but the view at the top was very beautiful. Their assignment on the way was to collect two things that were similar without harming the environment, of course. We encounter some cows on the way, and some kids wanted to take two for the show-and-tell. At the top we talked about how even things that we consider alike have differences, how our Creator made us all different, and talked about Psalm 139: 1-6. We had more serious talks about self-esteem before lunch, but after lunch, we played capture the flag. Each team had a flag that they designed the day before. Finally, the buses arrived, and we had to leave. Our bus had to go by Burger King on our way home, so John bought Jr. whoppers, fries and coke for all fourteen of us, including the driver. We arrived back our town, safe and sound, not even a paper cut after two days of crazy activities. I am sure the kids had a lot of stories to tell. A good time was had by all!

View of the volcano from the top of our mountain

I got up at seven this morning and have been making my world-famous lasagna sauce all morning. I am also washing clothes. Our tiny washer broke down on Monday, but it was fixed after a whole day of comings and goings. The timer was broken, but they did not have a replacement. I told the handy man that we needed to wash some clothes to take to camp. Somehow, he found the repairmen who were in the hacienda at another house. They came an repaired the part. They finished at about 6:30 pm Monday. Also on Monday, the alarm at our house in California went off. That took a few calls back and forth until the house was secured again. I guess it was very windy in Escondido on Monday. One door got rattled by the wind and set off the alarm. But I digress, we are having a marriage conference on Saturday. I am making lasagna for the whole group. I bought a huge stainless steel pot in the big town when we had to go to the bank. It is the best and biggest pot I ever had! The sauce will simmer for three hours. I hope it turns out well because I had to improvise with some of my secret ingredients.

Now you are up to date...until next time...from the beach.

Praying for the sick

What a day! I don't even know how to start. I guess the beginning is always a good place. John preached this morning at church. Since the group has only been meeting for 14 months, John talked about the church in Acts 1 and 2, specifically Acts 2:42: preaching the word, fellowship, communion and prayer. He brought out Amos 7:8, the Lord's plumb line. He brought out a plumb line and gave everybody little levelers as a reminder. They are going to hang the plumb line in their church as a reminder to stay faithful. He did a great job. Thank you for your prayers. We know that His word won't return void.

After church, we gave some people a ride; then we followed the pastor to the other town where he wants to do an event. We get an average of six people from this town as regular attenders, if the creek doesn't rise. I am not kidding. There is an actual creek that can be passed on bicycles if it is low. They talked about crossing the creek, and I thought just going across at a low point, but you actually have to ride on the creek for about a quarter of a mile. That is the road. This town is even smaller. They have a soccer field and a school, but no cantinas, no dance hall. There are about 45 homes in the entire town. Melciades, the believer from town who attends the church says that the whole town will attend any event they have because there is nothing else to do. We prayed for an event in May when we come back.

We returned to our friends house and had a quick bite of some sandwiches, picked up the missionary lady, Damaris, who is doing the sewing classes for two weeks, and left with the entire group in our car, five adults and three children. Safety belt laws did not apply. I am so impressed by this national missionary who lives on very little. Her love for the people and the Lord is so obvious in her life. The ladies here just love her to the point that she has women at her door from seven in the morning to way past midnight. I talked to her before we left and told her that I was going to let her speak and pray, and I would pray after her. She is from this country and knows how to talk to them much better than I. I sat back and got a great lesson on how to testify and pray for the sick.

We arrived at the sick woman's house in a town about 30 minutes ride from ours. We had to cross another creek, but this time it was just crossing it, not riding it. The house consisted of wood planks with big gaps in between, a very uneven dirt floor, open wood fire stove, no running water, an outhouse in the back. There were only four seats, three wooden stools and an actual chair where the lady sat. She has sciatic nerve problems, a hip that needs replacement, and a bad back. Damaris talked about her problems and even asked to see her medications. She is taking some pain medication, anti-inflammatory, and something for stomach acid. Damaris asked her then if there were people in her life that she needed to forgive. She mentioned a daughter. Then it got interesting. Damaris asked for a rope or a string. She explained that when we are little, we don't have conflicts, but as we grow older, we get hurt by different people. She started giving examples of different hurts and tying knots. She said that we carry grudges that cause us to have stomach acid, and other physical illnesses. When we accept the Lord, we need to forgive people. She illustrated this by untying the knots. Then she handed the cord to the lady and told her to tie knots representing her hurts, but not to say them out loud. Then she went into the plan of salvation. How we are forgiven, etc. She asked the lady if she wanted to be forgiven, and she said yes. She prayed the believers prayer. At this point she still had the cord with the knots representing people who had hurt her. Damaris then told her to untie the knots and forgive the people by name. Then and only then we prayed for her healing. It was very intense.

John and our friend had gone for a walk to give us women some privacy. When we were done, I went with the little boy to find them, but they weren't at the soccer field as we thought. We walked back to the house a little puzzled. The only other place would have been the cantina, and I knew they wouldn't be there. The lady's daughter said that they were probably at the house of one of the golf course workers who lives across from the soccer field. We walked there, and of course, that's where we found them. Now this house was totally different because this man has a good job. They had beautiful tile floors, nice furniture, a TV. It was quite a contrast. This man has three children, one is already an English teacher, and the other two are finishing their degrees. We got back to the sick lady's house and sat down to have the best cup of coffee I had in a long time. Wood fire and a sock with the grounds, they pour the boiling water through the sock a few times. It is unbelievable good. I remember that kind of coffee from back home.

We drove back to our town, dropped off our friends, and came back here, just in time to watch the Chargers. We were tired, covered with dust and sweat, but glorifying the Lord for the privilege of being used for His kingdom. Thank you very much for your prayers,

I am sorry this blog is so long, but we are very excited about the events. Until next time...from the beach...

Yesterday we had to go back to the big city by the airport to get our car, but first, I had to go to the beauty shop to get my hair done. I am almost blond! The sun has bleached my hair. The guy who does my hair here is from the UK, and he has lived all over the world. He has all kinds of stories to tell. He is not the stereotype hair stylist. He does a great job with my hair. I am going to have to come here every month to have my hair done! This salon is in the surfing town of Tamarindo, just about 15 minutes from our condo. A friend who works here at the Hacienda and helps us a lot found out that we were going to town and asked for a ride. So, after the salon, we drove back here, picked him up, and drove the hour and a half to the city. When we arrived to the car rental office to return out car, the door was locked. We were puzzled because we were supposed to return the car by 1:00 pm, and it was 12:45. We were looking around for the guy when he materialized. It turns out he was taking other customers to the airport even though he knew that we had to return the car by 1:00. (??) Any way, we turned in the keys and walked to Burger King. McDonald's is across the street. As I said; this is a big city! We walked back to the service shop, paid for the car and left. On our way home, we stopped by a technical institute. All our friend needed to do was to pick up a certificate for 192 hours of training on Office Suite. This guy has a computer degree from Colombia, but he is always sharpening up his skills. Before we went home, we went back to Tamarindo to do some grocery shopping. They have a supermarket there now that caters to Americans. I was able to buy all the ingredients for lasagna, except for ricotta cheese. I am going to use cottage cheese instead, but it won't be the same.

Our friend's mother-in-law is very ill. I think what she needs is a hip replacement from the description I get, but they want me to go pray for her. Please pray for me. I know that the Lord can heal, but I think they expect an immediate miracle. Well, the Lord can do that also. He just has never done it through me. Please pray!! I need wisdom.

We got home at 5:30 and had to go out to dinner with friends from here at 6:00. (At least my hair was done!) I mention this because I want you to know that we do have American Christian friends here. They are a charming couple from Atlanta who volunteer with the Gideons. She is a retired teacher, so we get along very well. We were very tired of driving, so we suggested to go to the new beach club here. They did not mind, since it is brand new, and the view is beautiful. We had a great time with them.

John is out playing golf today with the same friend who went to the city with us yesterday. I am just going to hang around here and do some cleaning. Tomorrow morning John is speaking in church. Please pray for him today or early tomorrow morning. Remember that we are two hours ahead of California time.

Our friends from Atlanta

Now you are all caught up. Until next time...from the beach...

Four years ago we bought an used car here, and for all that time we have been spending money and time on an oil leak. Last year we took it to a big mechanic shop after giving up on "I know a guy..." but the day before we left last August we found out that the car had leaked all the oil out. It was actually empty. There was nothing we can do then, so today we took the car again to the same shop. Now, when was the last time that you packed an overnight bag to take your car to the shop? We got up at five this morning and drove for an hour and a half to the shop. The bad news was that we had to leave it over night. I called a hotel and made reservations for the night and settled to wait. We then started talking about how much it would be for the hotel and meals and decided that it would be cheaper to rent a car and drive back home; therefore, we took our little suitcase and walked to the same car rental office that we used last year. They had a car available, so I called the hotel to cancel the reservation. The hotel said that they would not cancel since I was canceling less than 24 hours in advance. I pointed out that I had just made the reservation a half hour prior. He talked to somebody, and decided to let it go but "just this one time." I thanked him and hung up before he had a chance to change his mind.

So, we drove home on a little car, the cheapest they had. We are happy that we made it. Oh, what's wrong with our car? The now say that they have to replace some rubber rings. Last year it was the crankshaft. We are at their mercy. Pray that the problem will be eliminated this time for sure. Tomorrow we will go back, but we won't have to be there until noon.

Last night we got together with the two staff ladies here for Christ for the City. We have a better idea about camp and what to expect. Now, those of you who know us are aware of how much we dislike camping; so, you know that this is going to be a faith-streching experience. The place is going to be very rustic. The camp has no staff, except for cook and caretaker; therefore, it will be up to Christ for the City staff and us to lead all the activities. We are joining a group from one of the staff ladies' church. The plan is to mix the children so that experienced campers will be together with our kids. Pray for eternal decision to be made next Tuesday and Wednesday!

Tomorrow I will write about our trip back, until then...from the beach...

Yesterday afternoon we went to see the house where we are going to have the event for couples. It is the house that the owner of the entire hacienda uses when he is here. Don't think of luxury. It doesn't even have air conditioning, but it is on a gorgeous spot on the beach and the gardens are immaculate. It is rustic, but comfortable. The owner here is a very humble man. We will take a lot of pictures. I think we will take a picture of each couple that we can print later and give to them as a reminder. We will have the keys from 8:00 am on, so that we will be able to get it all set up without rushing. Pray that the Lord will transform lives on Saturday, January 23rd.

This morning we went for a walk on Playa Avellanas. It is very windy here in January, but some guys were trying to surf anyway. It was a very nice walk. Now it is after lunch and John is taking a nap. Pray for him. We think he has asthma from all the wind. He has an inhaler here , but it might be too old. We are going to the big city by the airport on Thursday, so we might get some meds while we are there. It was so windy on Sunday that we had to wipe the dust off our Bibles as they stayed opened on our laps during the service. Speaking of church, please pray for John, as he was asked to speak next Sunday. He has been studying and practicing his pronunciation so difficult words all the time we have been here. We are two hours ahead of California, so please pray on Saturday or early Sunday morning. The service is at nine in the morning.

One nice note: the other day as we left the hacienda through the main gate, the guard, who is a believer, blessed us. He prayed that the Lord would protect us on the way and that we would feel better. Now, where would you get a blessing like that in the States?

Until next time...from the beach...

Church and Friends

Breakfast at the surfing spot

We went to church yesterday. It is such a blessing to see the little group gathered in His Name! On the way to church we stopped by Christ for the City to pick up the lady who is spending two weeks there teaching sewing. She is such a dear woman of God! We also saw a couple obviously walking to church since they were carrying Bibles, and gave them a ride. We had never met them before, and it turned out that they were visiting relatives from the capital. The group is doing well, but the numbers are not growing. We believe that they need to do follow up, but that is not happening. Pray that they will be moved by the Holy Spirit to reach out to family and neighbors.

As we had done before, we took a group to have breakfast at the local surfing restaurant. It was nine of us and two small girls. I had "gallo pinto," the traditional breakfast of black beans and rice with scrambled eggs. Talk about the breakfast of champions! It sticks with you all day. John had pancakes. There was a black dog with a collar made of shells that kept begging under the table. I couldn't resist it. Because we are two hours ahead of California, we had time to go home and catch the football games. FoxSports in Spanish. I learned how to say wildcard in Spanish. I never knew that since I don't like to play cards.

Last night our best friends here, the couple with the little boy, took us out to dinner at another restaurant. The boy met an American boy the same age, and they played fooshball (sp?). Futbolín in Spanish. I don't know what language they were using, but they had a good time.

Father and son

It turns out that the main owner here has a group staying at the house that we were going to use for the couple's retreat, so they offer another smaller house next door. It is still right on the beach. We are going to see the interior today. I am sure that it will be fine. We are not being charged to use it, so we are not complaining.
This is the entrance to our condo. The iguana is real, not a decoration.

Until next time, from the beach....

Friday

Hello! We have not taken any pictures yet because we keep forgetting the camera, so I just went outside to our balcony and took a picture looking east. We are right next to the entrance. You can see the guard shack on the right. They have good security here. As you can see, the grounds are rather dry. The locals say that it did not rain much this past year, and now this is the dry season. They call it "summer," and schools are out for about two months. Since they are on summer vacation, the Christ for the City staff also took a break. There are no classes and no kids clubs; however, another lady who is full time staff in the capital will be here for two weeks, staying at the rental house to teach sewing. She will have one class in the morning from 8 - 12 to teach how to make bags, and another in the afternoon from 2 - 6 for sewing. She is a very nice lady. Pray that she will be able to guide the conversations to spiritual matters.

Yesterday we had to go to a big town 45 minutes away to get our local bank account upgraded. We have not been able to access our account using the Internet because they have added another layer of security besides the usual passwords. It is a security token. Security tokens are used to prove one's identity electronically (as in the case of a customer trying to access his bank account). The token is used in addition to a password to prove that the customer is who he claims to be. The token acts like an electronic key to access the account and it produces 35,000 different numerical combinations, a new one every time. The problem was that we were in the US when they implemented this extra level of security, and we had to go to one of the main branches to get it. Not only they require it, but they charge you $5.00 for it! So, 45 minutes up to town, one and a half hours getting our information updated and the token, and 45 minutes back. That was the whole afternoon.

Last evening we went to visit another family. They have three kids. They actually are the landlords for Christ for the City and live behind in another house. They are very good friends. We invited them to come to the couple's conference, and they also invited their neighbors. I hope they all attend.

We actually went to the beach yesterday morning, but the water was too cold! Not as cold as California, but we are spoiled. We will try again this afternoon. The best event of the day was the arrival of the German Bakery truck. (German chocolate cake, Rubia!) Best bread and pastries in the whole province at your doorstep. Who can complain about that? I know... it is tough, but somebody has to do it!

Until next time, from the beach...

Thursday

Today John went to see the tennis pro, a believer. He is a very nice single guy who lives in town. We then went to see our friends. This is the couple with one 8 year old boy who went to see the volcano with us last August. They are helping us organize the event for married couples on the 23rd. It turns out that she has to work that day, but her husband said he was going and they are committed to help us invite young couples. Pray that she will be willing to come to the event right after work. We think that she will be able to arrive just a few minutes late if she comes straight from work. They are a key family that we would like to see walking with the Lord.

After our visit, we went to the new beach club here on the grounds. They just opened last week. It is beautiful. We had dinner on the veranda and watched the sunset. Now we are back home and getting ready to watch the game. We have no favorites, but it should be a good game.

Tomorrow we are definitely walking to the beach. Until next time...from the beach...

Day 3

Well, we did not get everything done yesterday. John is not very ill, but he is very tired and did not feel like driving much yesterday; therefore, we did not go to the gas station and did not go shopping. Instead, we stayed here all day. We had to go to Property Management first to take care of some business. We have a very nice friend in the office. I call her "Cousin" because her last name is the same as my mother's maiden name. She is a believer. We talked to her for a while, and then went to the local restaurant for lunch, since there were no groceries in the house. Lunch was a typical dish of "casado:" white rice, black beans, meat for me, fish for John, tortillas, and fried ripe bananas. It certainly hits the spot. Of course, there were people to greet at the restaurant. Then we made the rounds to the club house where we chit-chatted some more. By that time, it was nap time for us. We just stayed home the rest of the day.

Today we had to go to the gas station - that's an hour round trip - where we met another fellow believer who works there. We were glad to see each other. We talked about his church and daily struggles. We are so blessed to have found these believers in places where we have to do business anyway. After that, it was off to the grocery store, home for lunch, and back to the property management office to get our taxes paid. They passed new laws for foreigner property owners, but made them so complicated that they had to extend the deadlines because not even their own accountants could figure it out. We sent a check to cover the amount, but the national bank did not like my numbers and rejected it. Now we have to put a stop payment on the check and write another. At least our ATM card works here! This is just a glimpse at life in a third world country. All these comings and goings took all day. We still have not been to the beach.

We also heard from one of the full-time workers in our town. They had to change the date for camp for Jan 19 - 20 and, as we suspected, the local moms are not willing to let the kids spend the night away from home. Only 6 - 8 kids have signed up. Two moms are going with us. Please pray that the Lord will transform the lives of those participating. It's not bad that the date was changed. It will give John a chance to fully recover.

Tomorrow we will continue visiting friends and catching up with each other. I have been calling my mother everyday. She is doing fine, but still very weak. Please pray for her and the rest of our family.

Until next time....from near the beach...

We are here!

We got home last night safe and sound. Today we have to go grocery shopping, get gasoline, and say hello to a couple friends. This will take all day. I will write some more tonight. Until then... from the beach...