Did You Know That Charlie is an Angel?

A couple of nights ago about 2:30 in the morning, I was awakened by two very annoying dogs barking like it was their sole responsibility to wake the dead. It went on and on and on. I finally prayed that God would send an angel to shut their mouths, after all, I had Daniel in the Lions Den for a precedent! Well, wouldn't you know, as soon as I had prayed that, Charlie got out of bed (without a word) and went outside to investigate. Nothing usually wakes him up. Apparently the dogs were barking at a cat. Anyway, when Charlie arrived it broke things up, and they've been quiet ever since. So you see, Charlie must be an angel! (At least mine :-) )

I'm writing this at 12:50 in the morning because I've been up making preparations for Colleen's 9th birthday. This will be our first birthday celebration in Costa Rica.

My apologies for not posting sooner, but we were without internet for a couple of days. We weren't sure why, and then we found out that the company had cut our service because we hadn't paid the bill. You may ask, "Why did you not pay the bill?" Well, I'll tell you. You don't get a lot of bills here. You just know when you're suppose to pay them, and go to the local supermarket or bank and pay it, of course, you find out how much you owe once you get there. And if you don't, the company reminds you by cutting your service! Then you pay a late charge and wait until you get an authorization code to get your service back. Needless to say, we will put a date due chart on our refrigerator so we won't be late again. ;-)

We're still doing well in school, but some days I fell like I didn't understand a word my teachers have said. I did,however, catch that yesterday we learned all of the North America, Central American, and South American countries and their nationalites. And then, our homework was to learn all of Europe. I didn't even know all of those in English!

If you can, let me know how you are. We love news from home. You can either post a comment or e-mail us at audreygleckie@hotmail.com. Love to you all.

Fin de Semana

Weekends! At this moment, it is 6:12 Saturday morning so it is officially the weekend. I thought everyone might like to know how a typical weekend is for us. First, it's trash day, so I took that out first thing. Then, this is sheet and towel washing day. We are thankful to have both a washer and a dryer, but because of size, it takes 7 loads to wash both sheets and towels. During the week we hang clothes on the line to save money. (Electricity is very expensive here, along with everything else.) However, we do use the dryer for the Saturday loads. After the 1st load is started I read my Bible, get dressed, check my e-mail, update my blog, and fix breakfast.



Now it's time for the 2nd load. During it I wake everyone up and we eat breakfast. Then they get dressed for the day. Time to wash dishes and put on load 3. It should be about 9:00 to 9:30 now and time to go to the Open Air Market. Everyone wears a backpack to be filled and we walk to the park. Charlie watches the children who want to play and any that want to shop with me, do. (usually Colleen). We have had great fun finding out what things are and trying new things. One lady at a booth, always gives each of us a slice of watermelon to prove that they are ripe. We enjoy the treat, but it makes it a little difficult to shop with sticky hands! The first time Colleen didn't know what to do with the seeds, and the lady motioned for her to spit them on the ground, so Colleen obliged happily.



(Pause to put on load 2)



With bags loaded we walk home to bleach the produce and put it away, and of course put on washing loads 4, 5, and 6. By this time we are ready to have lunch. After dishes are washed, (we must wash and sweep immediately because of ants and bugs) the children usually like to go back to the park to play. This makes a good time for Charlie to stay home and work on bills and other computer stuff I don't know much about.



Usually in the afternoons, there is T.V. watching (mostly in Spanish), studying for Charlie and me and finishing the laundry. After dinner we get together with friends to talk and play games. God has blessed us with wonderful neighbors and fellow students.



We end Saturday with showers and bedtime stories. However, this weekend we are puppysitting for a couple who is puppysitting for another family. We are enjoying taking care of Preciosa because we miss our puppies greatly. Also Devon had a friend spend the night, and Mary-Esther and Scarlett spent the night with some of their friends. Things are a little different this weekend.



Sunday, after our morning routine, we head to church, El Lugar, it's a wonderful church with good teaching. It's all in Spanish, but the pastor gives us outlines so it's easier to follow, plus we can study it later when we have time to go through it slowly! After church we eat a snack and take a bus to the public pool in downtown San Jose. The water is so cold that I don't get in, and Scarlett and Mary-Esther swim for a while and then play at the adjacent playground. Don't worry, though, I keep a sharp eye on them. We swim until about 3:00 and then walk to McDonald's or Burger King (they are in the direction of home). After eating we walk the rest of the way home, take showers, prepare for the next week, eat a snack and go to bed.



I'm sure there will be many things to alter this routine, but these are the basics.

I'm just now posting this (I first wrote it two or three weeks ago) because I thought I had lost it. I didn't know that the computer had saved it as a draft - I just found it!

A Typical School Day

First, I (Audrey) get a wake-up call at 4:30 from a neighbor that has a really loud motorcycle that sounds sick. He must need a new muffler. (Do motorcycles have mufflers?) This may sound like complaining, but it isn't. I never liked waking up to an alarm clock anyway! So then, I read my Bible in both Spanish and English. If I'm feeling alert, I read in Spanish first and then check myself with the English. If I'm feeling sluggish, I read the English first and then read the Spanish. After that, I put one load of clothes on to wash, check my e-mail and facebook, get dressed, and make breakfast.

Next, I wake up everyone else. They get dressed, make their beds and come to the table. We eat and pack our backpacks and lunches.

We leave after we have locked all the doors and gates that protect our house. This is a feat in and of itself! Our school is only 1 1/2 blocks away, so we walk. School, for everyone, starts at 7:30AM. The children go from 7:30-2:30, and Charlie and I go from 7:30-1:00.

Charlie and I have 1 hour of language, 2 hours of grammar, and 1 hour of phonics all conducted in Spanish with lots of homework. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we have chapel around 9:30. It's great to hear the testimonies and sermons by our fellow students that are ahead of us in classes.

After Charlie and I are done with classes, we try to get as much homework done before the children get out. On Mondays & Wednesdays, they have gymnastics, and on Tuesday & Thursday they have soccer. Then it's time for their homework. So far all is well.

To wrap it up, we eat around 5:00, take our showers, play or read, and then go to bed by 8:00 -8:30.

I'll do another post later about our weekends. Ciao!

Happy Mother's Day Costa Rican style

Well, we had an uneventful flight here, and Charlie and Colleen were at the airport to greet us. Since then we have seen a volcano (Poas), hiked to the base of beautiful waterfalls, played with toucans and butterflies, and had close-up views of many hummingbirds.

We spent 2 days walking for hours to go to stores to get supplies we need. I've discovered that I definitely need a list, because once I'm in the store, I forget everything that I needed!

We had, what I consider, our first Spanish lesson. It was going to church. The children went to Sunday school as well as we, and we did our best to catch some of the meaning. We followed along in our Bibles, and thank goodness the preacher gave an outline of the sermon. That made it to where we knew what he was talking about. Everyone was very pleasant, and to top it off, they were celebrating Mother's Day today. It was actually last Saturday, but they waited for their pastor to be back in town to honor the mothers. Mary-Esther actually stood on the alter with her SS class and waved a heart that said, "Te amo, mamacita!." (I love you, little mama!) I had to go up to recieve a present, a pretty ceramic box. I like the idea of having two Mother's Day in a year. I think we should keep it up!

Our near neighbors have just arrived, and they have 4 children, also. Two boys close to Devon's age and two girls within the my girls' ages. They are very nice and are an answer to my prayers.

We took a bus to the swimming pool in San Jose. The water temp. was about 75, needless to say, I didn't get in. Everyone had a great time. Afterward, we walked to McDonalds, and then walked home. Tonight, we are going to our neighbor's house to watch a movie and eat popcorn. I miss my friends at home, but thank God for new friends.

Wrapping It Up

Well, it has been almost 3 months since I started this blog. We have been busy selling our possessions, saying good-bye (for now) to precious friends and family, and making preparations to leave for Costa Rica.

As I write, Charlie and Colleen are flying to San Jose. Charlie is going to pave the way for the rest of us, and Colleen is going to set up our new home! (Which is affectionately called Casa Verde because of its very "unique" green color. The rest of us fly out Tuesday, Aug. 18.

I just want to take a moment to thank Global Outreach, Tupelo First Baptist, Shepherd's Flock Church, and our family and friends for your prayers and support. We are still raising support and are waiting for our house to sell. Humanly speaking, it would have been nice if the house had sold before we left, but God's timing is always better. And besides, this is just another obstacle to strengthen our faith and trust in God's providence.

We are also having trouble with my (Audrey's) birth certificate being authenticated. Buracracy is always most facinating!

We are still very excited and are ready to get going. Please continue to pray for us as we go. We are so blessed to be surrounded by "so great a cloud of witnesses." You are truly part of our ministry.

Audrey

The Process

The process has begun. We began talking formally with Global Outreach in January, 09. After submitting our application for a short term mission trip of two years, we were "invited" to missionary traning, or MOT at Global Outreach. We received the invite on May 9th. Last night, May 13, Charlie and I filled out school applications for the whole family. We'll send those to Costa Rica early next week. We still need to get passports, visas, and a few more shots. Nobody wants yellow fever!

Our house is on the market and our praying that someone will buy it soon. We want to start language school at the end of August.

I went into shock in January when I realized that we would really go, but PTL, I'm just excited now!