God is in the details

Sometimes things happen that are so random, that you know that they have been orchestrated by God.

Things that remind you that we have a Father who cares about the every detail in your life.

While being her in Cost Rica, God gave me a few details.

Where he was saying to me, "I care about the things that matter to you".

Here are a few examples.

I love hydrangeas. They are my favorite plant. I love their blooms in the early summer. Dave has killed many hydrangeas on my behalf. When we moved to Clover, our new house had a hydrangea bush beside it. Last year, was the first time ever, that I was able to cut the flowers from outside, and use the flowers for an arrangement. This year, my bush was loaded with flowers just getting ready to bloom. I was really sad (really sad) about having to leave that bush. I even had a little bad attitude about it. . . My kind neighbor, knowing how important it was to me, promised to keep a close eye on it. Well, wouldn't you know it, when we arrived here, what was waiting beside my back door. A beautiful blue hydrangea.

God is so good.

After being here a few weeks, the girls are growing tired of the games we brought. So I have been on the look out for a deck of old maid cards. Well, they don't exsist here. Or if they do, I haven't been able to find them. One day last week, someone had a box of things that another family had left here before going to their country. You guess it, there was a pack of old maid cards.

God loves me.

Another example. This weekend, we had an opportunity to rent a house with some amazing new friends for the fourth of July. While at this house (3 hours from life as we have come to know it), my flip flop broke. I was really bummed. I had those flops longer than I have had one of my children. Well, two of the ladies had gone to try to find a market to buy something, and they brought me back a new pair of flip flops, that were red, white, and blue. It was on the fourth of July. In the middle of no where, and I really mean no where. not like Clover in the middle of no where.

Don't tell me God doesn't care.

And lastly, we brought the girls Wed. night Bible study material with us on the trip, so that Maggi could stay current with her stars class. I chose the Latin America badge for her to work on. ONLY GOD would have been able to write that lesson for the Cartwright girls years before, published it in a national program, and drop it in our laps at the perfect time. Our lesson was brought to life. The lesson talked about Latin America ChildCare, which provides food, clothing, education, and medical care for thousands of children throughout the continent. That office is steps away from our apartment. Maggi and Emma got to minister at one of the schools. The lesson went on to talk about how in Argentina, the church is growing so fast, and successfuly that they are sending missionaries to other parts of the world as well. Our neighbors are from Argentina going to be missionaries to Ethiopia.

Who else but MY GOD, can do that?

I can't tell you I have learned alot of Spanish on this trip. I mean I have, but not as much as I wanted to (I wanted to be able to admit a patient in the hospital and totally take care of her . . . )

But I have learned so much more.

For starters, I know that my Heavenly Father pours out His blessings when we least expect it, in the small sublte ways only a parent could do.

That He is more than enough.
That when He calls you to do something. He takes care of the details.


"No eye has seen, no ear has heard and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him"
I Corinthians 2:9




I am not his only child. Take around and look at the details in your life. I wonder how many I have missed being so busy. . .

Pray For Maggi

Maggi is starting to suffer from a head cold or allergies. I would like help covering her in prayer. We are so limited here, and don't want her to get any worse. Please remember her in your prayers the next few days.

As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given. Daniel 9:23

Hot water, a matter of life or death.

OK here some Costa Rican Bathroon trivia. . .

number one:
You can not, I repeat NOT, flush the toilet paper down the toilet.
It must be discarded in a wastebasket.

Simple Enough, Right?
Well with a house of four girls, it can be challenging.
But we have managed.

Number two:
The city can cut your water off whenever and for ever how long they want.
During the off times, they have a grace period between 2 and 6 am.
I have gotten us all to shower, wash our clothes, and wash the dishes between these hours.

Number three:
They do not, Again I repeat have hot water tanks for their showers. Ok this is a slight exaggeration of the truth, but not in our apartment. The water for the shower is heated by what is called a "widow maker"
And tonight I almost became its next victim.

Let me start from the beginning. When we were able to get water after we moved here, it was very cold. The widow maker heats the water before is it is being poured out on us. But we found a way to get it as hot as we could. . .if we kept flushing the toile when we were in the shower, it lowered the water pressure, thus making the water that came out really hot. Well after a few days of this, the widow maker started sparking and sputtering flames. We had a repair man come out and he assessed the situation. He said the flames were not problem.

Right no problem. Well all had been ok untill I was in there tonight. The water had been on for a few minutes as I was trying to get the warmest as I could possible get it. I turned my body to get wet and the thing went immediately cold. I mean come on. I called Dave to fix it he did, as soon as he shut the door it was cold again. He comes in again, this time he tries to adjust the thing, and sparks are streaming down.

Folks, I could have died. (not really. . .but humor me.)
I sure those pearly gates would have given me special recognition for dying a fiery wet death on the quest to the mission field!

I am tring to decide if should try another shower the next 2 weeks we are here?

I hope you are not taking yourself to seriously today.
Sometimes you have to laugh, or the tears will start to show.

Amy

Knowing God gives strenghth for the fight

Grasp the fact that God is for you-let this certainity make its impact on you in relation to what you are up against this very moment, and you will find in thus knowing God as your sovereign protector, irrevocably committed to you in the covenant of grace, both freedom from fear and new strength for the fight.

J. I. Packer

Linda Vista

Today we went fishing.

Well kind of.
David and I had to use our newly developed skills.

We went to a school Called Linda Vista (beautiful view)
It is a school founded by Latin America Childcare.
It is in one of the poorest parts of San Jose. This area has a high crime, related to gang and mafia activity.
Their is an outreach from some of the missionaries here. They go once or twice a week to minister during their PE time. They tell a Bible story, play a game, and pass out a treat.

This week the story was about Jonah and the whale. The group was divided into 3 groups. David was able to read the story of how God kept Jonah safe in the whale. He read this complelety in Spanish. He did an awesome job.

After the story, we held up blankets and the children came up and tossed our handmade rods over. Maggi and Emma and I then hooked a "fish" on it with the Bible verse and a piece of candy. The girls loved it.

After that, Dave had to teach the kids how to play a game in Spanish. He chose the game where you place your head on the end of a bat, and run around it several times and then try to run back to the group. I video taped him doing it, and will try to post that soon.

The girls were able to see first hand what it is like to minister to others. At first the girls were very shy. The kids we had this time were a little older than they were. But by the end of the day, they were playing and laughing.

I wish I had better pictures to show you, but I didn't take my camera, just Maggi's. We were excited to have the girls participate in ministry first hand.

That was why we came to Costa Rica. . . That God would burn the call to missions on the hearts of Maggi and Emma, and that they would be compeled to return to do His work.

When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, "the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.

Matthew 9:36-38

The Simple Things

Living in another country you realize how convient things are in the United States. For example, today the girls had their first day of school. So we have them ready at 7:00 for a 15 minute van ride to school.

Well, after about 20 minutes of waiting, it is aparent that the van is not coming. Their school starts at 7:30.

So with the help of the missionaries that have been here awhile, and can speak Spanish, taxis are called and clear directions given. Judy will ride with the girls, and another mom will take the other children in another van and then return to school.

So what should be an easy thing, becomes an event. We have secured a new van driver and all things settled. But for us, we are unable to do that on our own, because we can't speake the language.

Yesterday, going to church is another example. We take 2 taxis to church. Then 2 taxis for lunch, and then a bus ride ride home. We left the house at 10:30 and returned at 3:30.

Life is just different. It is not bad, just different. I have tried to put myself in the shoes of missionaries so many times and thought I had some idea of what they go through. But I have not even been close.

If God has no plans for us on foreign soil, I now know how to pray for the people who give up everything to serve outside the comforts of home. We have had the opportunity to meet more families here, and have caught a glimpse into the life that they live.

I encourage you to find a family on the missions field and support them. Not only finicially, but emotionally. I watch them check their mailboxes every day. Finding a written letter, or small package makes a huge difference. Remembering a birthday or anniversary is huge for them. One friend said today, that life goes on without them in their family in the states. No matter how much she tries to communicate it is not the same.

So pick a family and be faithful to them. Get involved and share their burderns. I am convicted of this myself. We have given to family our whole married life, finicially. But I had never, until the past 8 months sent them a card. I read their newsletter, checked their blog, but never sat down and kept track of their emotional needs. Now their children are grown, and they have grandbabies.

I pray that I will be a better supporter.

(and will mail the Christmas card that I have in my kitchen to them as soon as I get home. I never took the time to go the post office at the end of my neighborhood.)

The best that God's people have to offer is ourselves. Only when we put ourselves in direct personal relationship with the people of God in the hard places do we begin to understand their needs and accompany them in the pilgrimage of faith. . . It is no longer the rich stepping down to help the poor, but brothers and sisters in Christ stepping across to journey with one another. Daniel Rickett.

Gringo Catcher

6/27/2010
My dad discovered what a Gringo Catcher is on his way to the farmers market (ferria).
(A Gringo means--white American--but in Costa Rica it is not a bad term.)
Here in Costa Rica the street signs are lower then in America. So when tall Americeans are walking they have to keep their eyes open. Daddy forgot, and look what happened!
Your guest writer, Emma