Blood Letting

Like everywhere, the Christmas season brings with it great joy but also the need for blood. (Blood banks, I mean!) Accidents are always on the rise this time of year, and trauma patients find themselves in desperate need of life-giving blood.

Whenever we can, Charlie and I try to give. It's something that cost us very little (just a tiny bit of fear and a little fatigue - for me, that is ;-). Once given, our bodies begin to replenish the blood, and we have joy knowing that we are helping those in critical need.

So, when our school had a blood drive, we were excited. Thankfully I had been taking my vitamins and my iron level was high enough for me to give. It was wonderful knowing that I was helping people right here in Costa Rica.

This Christmas may we remember that Jesus came for the very purpose of giving us the ultimate blood transfusion, so that we may truly be called "the sons of God." There's enough for everyone, and it's always the right type!

Merry Christmas to all!

Our Turkeyless Thanksgiving

We celebrated our first Thanksgiving away from home this Thursday. It was a unique experience. For one thing, much to my surprise, the rest of the world does not celebrate our Thanksgiving. Imagine that! We had classes on Thursday, but our break time was cancelled so that we could get out an hour earlier. It was also warm for the first time in weeks. My version of warm, that is. It was 81 F. and the sun came out in all its glory for about 2 hours. I really enjoyed that, even if it doesn't seem to go with Thanksgiving.

We gathered for a Thanksgiving "Lupper" at the house of friends (Chris and Laura) with 4 other families. We had a wonderful time relaxing, socializing, being grateful for the little things, and of course, eating. We had quite the feast even though there was no turkey or ham. Chris carved the chickens and I made a roast the way Carla Tyndall taught me (in the crock pot with a whole jar of pepperoncini). We had casseroles, mashed potatoes, green beans, macaroni & cheese, Texas torte, bread, and lots of desserts. It was great!

We all shared things that we were grateful for, but could not state the obvious of God, family, and friends. I was thankful for our hot shower with good water pressure and the ultra soft sheets that we brought with us. Both of these are truly blessings.

Even though we couldn't say "friends", we are very grateful for our friends and family in the States that haven't forgotten us, and for the new friends that God has given us here in Costa Rica. We feel like we have known them forever. It reminds me of the the Girl Scout song: "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold." I love all my silver and gold friends. Thank you for your friendship; you are shining treasures.

Happy Thanksgiving or Feliz Dia de Acciones de Gracias

3 Weeks to Go!

It 's hard to believe, but there is only 3 weeks left in the first trimester. I'm not sure if the work is getting hard or we're just tired, OR BOTH! We've had a lot going on for several weeks now. Three weeks ago our family went to a beach resort so that Charlie could attend a continuing medical education course. The course covered how to conduct an exam in Spanish. While we enjoyed the time at the beach, we've had to pay for it in catch-up with school; although, I did teach the children every afternoon at the terrazzo by the pool.

Last weekend Charlie and Devon went a father-son retreat up in the mountains with the same organization with which I teach English. They had a good time except that Charlie came home very sick. (Horrible body aches and 103 fever).

While they were gone I began shopping for 23 presents for orphans for whom our school is throwing a Christmas party next week. Shepherd's Fold Church in Lumberton, MS and our Sunday school class (Brent McBride's class) at FBC, Tupelo, MS donated the money for the presents. Thanks! I didn't realize, however, how hard it would be to go from shop to shop, carrying what was purchased at each one, without a car. I've never cared before that we didn't have a car (I like to walk), but this was one situation were I could have used it. After 4 trips over three days, all the presents are purchased, wrapped, and ready to hand out to some beautiful children.

This week, Charlie missed 3 days of school because he remained so sick, and then on Thursday, we had to go downtown to immigration to apply for visa extensions because our student visa information has not arrived from D.C. yet. That was close to a nightmare. Mary-Esther was threatening to be sick, so we decided to take her with us. I didn't want to leave her at school when we wouldn't be near her. (We don't have a cell phone) Well, when we arrived at immigration, the waiting room looked like a giant doctor's office waiting room crawling with "sick germs". I began to think that I had made the wrong decision to bring Mary-Esther. She began to cough continuously, so Charlie took her outside while I waited for hours for my number to be called. Everything turned out alright, and we now have our extensions.

Charlie and Mary-Esther are doing better. Charlie, however, doesn't get to rest this weekend. He signed up Devon for a scuba course, and this weekend is the time that they go to the ocean to do the certification dives. Charlie was looking forward to diving as well, but now he's just trying to be a good chaperon.

Our classes end on Dec. 11 and we don't return until Jan. 11. We plan to enjoy the break and nail down all the grammar that we've crammed into our heads this tri!

Here's to three more weeks!

Funeral Experience

Today, Colleen and I received a stark reminder of the pain and suffering in this world. We were walking to the store, when we saw a large group of people slowly walking down the street. At first I thought they might be a tour group, but they appeared to be all nationals. They were wearing steet clothes, but in somber colors, mostly black. There were young people and elderly people. The whole scene really captured our attention; and then, we saw it. In front of the group was a hurst. It nearly took my breath away. I've seen many funeral processions in my lifetime, but this was different. Somehow it seemed more real, more painful. The mourners were not hidden away in dark tinted cars. They carried their grief out in the open for everyone to witness.

I'm not sure what I am suppose to learn from this experience. As Christians we know that this life is only temporary with all its diseases, death, and decay. Certainly it is a reminder that we should make the most of the time we have here to love one another and share the love of Christ with a dying world. We must hold dearly to the knowledge that this earth will pass away, and God will create a new heaven and a new earth where all things will be good and where we will forever rejoice in the presence of Christ, the King.

May all who read this find fresh hope in Jesus, today.

Mid-term!

I can hardly believe it. We have made it through half of the first trimester! So far Charlie and I are still making A's, but it is getting harder and harder. We're moving through Spanish grammar at a neck-breaking pace. I am so grateful to God that our family has remained well; only a minor cold here or there. Up to now, we haven't missed any school. However, next week we travel to Guanacaste, Costa Rica for a medical conference. We'll be there a week. The object of this conference is for Charlie to learn medical Spanish. While this is truly a good objective for Charlie, I'm afraid to miss a whole week of school. Please pray that we won't fall behind in our studies at the institute.

In other news, teaching English as a Second Language is going very well. The people that attend are precious and eager to learn. They are always so grateful and are making good progress. I also attend a Spanish Bible study on Tuesday afternoons. It is a small group of Ticas (Costa Ricans) and Gringas (foreigners). I am enjoying the fellowship with this sweet group of believers. They have so little in terms of material possessions, but their hearts for God are filled to overflowing. I hope to learn a lot more than Spanish from them.

Pictures:

Colleen turned 9 on October 3rd. We celebrated with a homemade cake, popcorn, and fruit juice in her class, and then she had a sleep over with two of her Tica friends.

Colleen, Scarlett, & Mary-Esther with Karis relaxing on campus after school.

One Sunday, we got rained out from the pool, so we played in the rain at a nearby park.

Devon with some friends at school. They look pretty good for it being 7:15 in the morning! Note that Devon is sporting his Global Outreach t-shirt. (our sending agency)

As I said in an earlier post, we go swimming most Sundays. Can you tell from the picture that Mary-Esther enjoys it?

Broadening Horizons

Since we've started school, I have been amazed daily about something. It seems that for every new word I learn, I suddenly see and hear it in use everywhere. Now the question is, did everyone and every printed sign wait until I learned some new word to use it, or was it already there? Of course, it was already there, and I just didn't notice it!

To digress a bit, I remember the countless car trips (around town and longer) before our children could read. What did the see when they looked out the window? Yes, they saw the same things we did, but they didn't comprehend it all. They noted colors and shapes at first, then patterns and individual letters. When they started to read, they would notice familiar words and the light would actually look like it was turned on in their eyes when they realized that those words meant something specific! Car trips were a lot more pleasant as well when they could share in the information around them.!

I wonder if our spiritual lives are like that too? Have you ever read a verse or passage from the Bible, and then needed or used that new knowledge that very day? Or noticed something going on in your life or someone elses that you didn't before? Spiritual warfare is constantly going on around us. I think the more we spend time with God and study our Bibles, the better equipped we'll be to stand against the devil, but also just to see what we couldn't see before. I remember the saying, "Forewarned is forearmed." Have a great day!

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.