I am sitting in my living room listening to fireworks in surround sound and I remember the first New Years we spent after saying goodbye to all of you. Following several teary days, it was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. We stood on the balcony outside our apartment in Costa Rica and watched the fireworks shoot in every direction (we take fireworks seriously here in Central America.) December 28 marked 3 years of living overseas for us. Yes, I know you are thinking, “Wow, the time sure flew by.” But I can assure you that it did not always seem that way to us. Our 3 years has been filled with victories, struggles, tears and laughter. I am taking this noisy time to reflect on the last three years and the lessons that I have learned. The first is how to ignore and even sleep through the constant fireworks (yes, every night there are fireworks, for some reason, somewhere.) More important lessons include, trusting that God will take care of me and my family. This isn’t something that I say flippantly as I would have in the US. No, I truly have learned that even though there is evil in this world, God will help me through it (although he may not stop it) and will give me peace. I have to continually remind myself of this when my husband is out after dark, or when we are shopping in “the murder capital of the world,” or when one of my kids are sick and we don’t have access to great medical care. He has taught me, no He is teaching me, that I am not in control. I can beg, I can bribe, I can cry but when it comes down to it, His timing is perfect, albeit sometimes slow. He is still teaching me this. However, living here has increased my patience and faith in his timing ten-fold. I have learned that God heals. Sometimes with doctors and sometimes with prayer. One of my hardest but greatest lessons comes from being away from family and friends. I have had to learn to lean on my Father and on my husband. Without friends to talk to or family to run to, I learned that my husband, along with Father, can and should be my best friends. Not in the cliché way people say it but he should be the first one I call when I learn something good, want to laugh with someone or hear something that makes me cry. Other lessons include realizing that electricity is not a need (although it is a great thing. You don’t have to have instant communication (shocking right?!) People can survive with out fast-food and air-conditioning. All groceries can be bought in a two isle store and a family really can live with just one car. I’ve also learned that stating the obvious about someones looks is not rude. You can call someone (to their face) fat, old, big nose etc and this is ok. It is how God made them and they should be proud of it. This continues to amaze and shock me although I am so glad my kids are growing up with that attitude and not feeling the need to be Hollywood beautiful. I have learned that stereotypes aren’t always accurate. I am told on a regular biases that all white people are rich although my bank account says otherwise. Lessons I wish I didn’t learn are that personal space is a matter of opinion as is privacy and personal possessions. Cat-calls in the street are part of the norm. Safety should not be taken lightly. Police are not always on your side. Smooth streets are a luxury. Lastly, tortillas and coffee are to be served at every meal. period. no exceptions. So on that note, have a Happy New Year and here’s to 3 more tortilla filled years!
An iPad Brings Sight
“I once was blind but now I see” is a line from one of my favorite old hymns but what happens when blindness is a reality? When someone really is blind, or going blind, and there is no cure for it? Aldolfo is a freshman at our school and is in this scenario. He has a disorder that makes him have tunnel vision but only in the perimeter making text almost impossible to read. His condition has progressively become worse and there is nothing that doctors here or in the US can due to help nor has God chosen to heal Aldolfo.
God has though, placed several caring teachers in Aldolfo’s path that have helped him find ways to adapt. One teacher takes pictures of his text books then emails them to Aldolfo. Aldolfo goes to a restaurant to download the emails on an old iPad since he does not have wifi. This has been somewhat successful in that he now has access to his textbooks and can change the font so it is big enough for him to read. The downfall is that he is heavily reliant on teachers to remember to do this for him as well as the wifi working well when he is at the restaurant. A couple weeks ago, someone donated a iPad with a camera to Aldolfo giving him responsibility for his own learning. This may not seem like a big deal but to a young man it is huge.
He can now use the iPad to take pictures of anything he is needing to see. This also helps him learn to be responsible in his classes and eventually allowing him to use this in his adult life. This also has the added benefit of him being able to check out books electronically from a library in the US and adjust the text. Right now, while his classmates read he puts his head on his desk because he can’t see well enough to read any of the books in our library. Someone graciously is allowing him to use their electronic library card so that he now has access to books. He may not be “cured” but he is now able to see well enough to be successful in school. Aldolfo is great kid with a lot going for him. Thanks to all those who have given him the opportunity to be successful.
To The Lady She Calls Mama
The Rains Came Down and The Floods Came Up
I was asked the other day why I don’t walk around taking pictures of things in Gracias. The answer is two fold. I don’t take pictures around Gracias because this is my town, my neighbors, the people I live along side. I don’t want to be seen as a tourist or embarrass the people of Gracias. The second reason is because it all seems very normal to me now. When I walk with people who don’t live here and I begin to see the odd things all over again but usually seeing 4 people on one motorcycle just seems normal. That being said, sometimes we have experiences that are not normal- even here. Today was one of those days. We were in town running some errands and the rains came down and down and down. When it rains a lot the streets turn into a little river but I still needed to go to the store. Emma and I ran from one store to the next in the little river through town and then suddenly I realized I was missing something. The river had torn the bottom of my flipflop off, leaving only the part that goes between my toes. Did I chase what was left of my shoe down? No. Did Shannon chase it down for me? No, he took my picture.
Blessed
I always know that I am blessed but sometimes I feel it more. This time was because of God’s care for Emma. She has been running fever for about 3 days now but our choices for medical care are pretty limited. Most of you know of our experiences with the hospital and so you know that we REALLY don’t want to repeat those. Also, the doctor, Melissa, who has done house calls for us the last two years moved back to the capital city. However, just as Melissa moved God brought Alemar into our lives. He has become a good friend of ours through a series of events. Alemar works as a microbiologist in a private clinic here. He attempted to do lab work on Emma today, while she kicked and screamed (literally). Then he decided that since he didn’t want her to be upset he would prick her finger and try the test that way. He charged us nothing for all this drama. Then he called Melissa with the lab results, tracked down a doctor to exam Emma and went with us to see her. After we were told what medicine we needed, he went to the pharmacy with me to get the medicine. Emma has to have a follow-up blood exam tomorrow but Alemar, along with the whole clinic, is leaving for Guatemala tomorrow so he is coming to the house at 6:30 to take her blood, run to his lab and test it all before he leaves at 7:15. He will then call Melissa and the other doctor with the results to make sure they both agree on what to do. Yep, I say that God not only is taking care of our needs but has blessed us with Alemar and great medical care, far beyond my expectations.
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