Atypical Week

Ok, so first I must apologize. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. It has been too long since I've posted anything, but I do have reasons. My computer is in the shop. It died after much problems and it is on it's way to the OR at Dell Medical Center. Please pray for it's complete recovery.

I am now on a somewhat regular schedule, as some of you have already heard. It is as follows, sometimes:

Mondays: are perhaps my favorite day of the week. I get to wake up early (I'm getting to the good stuff), try to catch a bus, and go up to Renacer for the day. Once up there I grab the much needed cup, sometimes two, of coffee and eat breakfast. Sometimes some of the girls haven't eaten either so I eat with them. After which they have their morning encuentro, meaning Discovery, a time of various activities from presentation of homework to confession. To start everyone introduces themselves and says how they're feeling today and what they promise to do throughout the day. Sometime throughout the day I get to have the girls for an hour to "teach" them English. So far, we've gone over basic numbers, birthdays, months, etc. plus last week we learned about the family. I had the girls draw out their family tree and label them in English. It is interesting what the girls put and don't put on their trees. Veronica, when I asked where her father's side was, made a face and said something about her and her dad not having the best relationship. The rest of the day, I spend relaxing with the girls doing whatever they do. If they go on a walk in the woods, so do I. If they have a time of terapia therapy, then so do I. If they sit around and swing on the rope swing, then so do I, just trying to be that older brother that they never had, loving on them just as I would my own sister, even when they/she gets annoyed with me.

Tuesdays: I get to go to Guararí for the kid's club. There's a morning session and an afternoon one. Both include a game, a Bible lesson and a craft. Typically I participate as I would be one of the kids. And I give a little crowd control too. Most of these children are in the same situations that the girls at Renacer have come from and the hope is that we catch them early enough that Christ can grab a hold of their lives and move them in a new direction outside of the cycle of abuse that now exists. It's interesting to watch the boys, especially, who don't want to sit still and pay attention. The one's that are the most roudy I sit with. It's amazing to see their whole demeanor change. All they want is a little healthy attention.

Wednesdays: is another one of my favorite days and one of the hardest. Two women begin their day at about 5 in the morning making food. Each week is different. There's always rice and a salad of a coleslaw style, but a different typical meat is made. Sometimes it's black beans, sometimes it's a picadillo. I arrive at the CFCI building in Pavas between 9:30 and 10, long after the food is made. We load up a bus with the food and after praying, we head out to some of the most dangerous places in San José. Most are controlled by drug dealers and I've seen quite a few drug deals. We pull up, unload the food, serve everyone that comes, a few that don't or can't, load back up and go to another place. The names are a sharp contrast from the life that is lived there. Cristo Rey Christ the King, there are others, I just can't remember them right now. But places where it doesn't look like Christ is reigning. I am assured though that He is. We've always been protected and I know that He will do great things out of these areas. In total we feed close to 500 people every week, at about $500 a month. God is doing great things with this money. Read back a few posts about the little black girl that Ronald sought out under the bridge. She had been to Renacer before, but she was pregnate and just after two days, she decided to leave. Well she had her baby and the father's mother is taking care of it. This Thursday she decided she wanted to go back to Renacer. Her name is Kimberly, please pray that she would stay there and make it through the program, Christ reigning in her. She has her whole life still in front of her.

Thursdays: typically are an office day. There's a devotion in the morning, where good fellowship takes place among all the missionaries from CFCI. I have the afternoon available to do office things and prepare for the next week. Typically it's a pretty relaxing day.

Fridays: are generally free also. But it allows me to do a awesome things like go to the amusement park with the Renacer girls, which I did two weeks ago. After waiting in the park near my house for an hour to be picked up, we got to the park about 10. Let me explain the Costa Rican Parque de Diversiónes Park of Diversion, literally speaking. Now most of us have been to Frontier City or Six Flags.

THINK smaller.

Think Bell's, think glorified fair. They have the octopus, that spins you everyway from Saturday, the tower that lets you get a good view of the surrounding area before plumeting you about 200 feet, and then the old classics, bumper cars, go-carts, rickety rollercoasters, etc. I got to spend a lot of good time with the girls, riding rides and talking. One of the girls, Laura, hit her sixth month mark at Renacer. She is both the oldest in terms of age and she has the most time at Renacer. That weekend she was allowed to go home and spend the night, the first night she's spent outside of Renacer since she got up there. She was nervous. She would have to confront a lot of people and situations that would be difficult. The one that really made her nervous was her ex-boyfriend. She still loved him a lot, but she knew that ending it for good was the only way for her to really be able to progress. I admire the courage that she has to be able to make the necessary steps to progress in both her renacimiento her rebirth and her walk with Christ. She is a leader at the farm, as it is called, encouraging the girls to continue in their walks and to progress in their own renacimientos.

Please continue to pray for me. Pray for the finishing of my finances-- I still need about $4000 to be completely set for the year. Pray for the ministries I'm involved in-- see above. Pray for the teams that will begin coming in January. Pray for Costa Rica and those that don't know Christ-- that I would be Not Ashamed...

As great of an ending that would be I want to assure you that new pictures will be up shortly.

Grace and Peace.