Thursday, July 29, 2010
Zambia team is home!
Just wanted to let everyone know we made it home safely and ON TIME this morning! We are all praising the Lord for a safe journey where we made all of our connecting flights and all of our luggage arrived with us. We will try to post some pictures and videos soon. Thanks to everyone who prayed for us -- God is so good!
The Team Has Arrived in DC
Received a text message from Will. The Zambia Team has arrived back into the US and are in DC. Just wanted to let everyone know.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Packed up and ready to return
We made it back to Lusaka (Alfred and Muumbe's home) last night after a long and adventure-filled trip from Livingston.
We left last Saturday afternoon (after our last day of Children's Conference where we fed 355 children nshima, chicken, and cabbage) for Monze, where we met back up with Craig and Alfred. They left Friday for Pilgrim Wesleyan Bible College in Jembo, where Craig was the speaker at their graduation (I will let him fill you all in on the details -- I am sure you all will hear much about our trip during sermons over the next month or so!).
We spent the night in Monze, then left Sunday morning for the Nkandela village. As soon as we arrived, Dan taught the adults a lesson while Will and I [with our wonderful interpreter, Mweembe (Muumbe's sister)] taught the children a lesson. Following the lessons, we all returned to the church building for the worship service. Craig shared the word while Will and I returned to the school for another lesson with the children.
After a nshima, chicken, goat, pork, and cabbage lunch meal provided by the ladies of the village, we walked to the old well where the village had to draw water before they received the new well in May. Then we all met together for a long presentation from various village leaders, school leaders, church leaders. We also enjoyed to sketches: one from the school children and one from the ladies of the village. They were quite entertaining once we understood what they were saying! We also took many photographs of the community and were able to print them out right there on site using the power from the bus battery. They were thrilled to see themselves in print:)
We left around 5:30 pm (or, as the Zambian's say, 1730 hours) to head to Choma for dinner and our lodging for the evening. We staying at a beautiful guest house run by a the Brethren in Christ. Our lovely hostess, Marian, is a sweet Mennonite lady from Pennsylvania. She took such good care of us:) We then hit the road for Livingstone, where we had lunch and checked into our inn before heading to Victoria Falls. On the way to the falls, we came up upon 7 elephants walking on the side of the road. It was such a treat. The falls are just indescribable. Hopefully, we will be able to download some photographs when we return and have faster internet connections. After the falls, we visited a game reserve and saw impalas, warthogs, giraffe, elephants, monkeys, water buffalo, and guineas (probably some more, too!). We ate dinner at a nicer restaurant and had a great time of fellowship with Alfred discussing his ministry and plan for the future. We look forward to sharing that with you all later.
We left Livingston yesterday (Tuesday) morning for what we were told was a 7 hour trip. Well, it took a little longer, due to a few unexpected surprises. One was when the brakes on our bus began to smoke and we were waved down by locals on the side of the road. Fortunately, we were able to get back on the road soon and just drove slower. Soon afterwards, we were stopped at a checkpoint because our bus did not have all the required stickers (strange, because we had made it through multiple checkpoints prior in the trip with no troubles). After Alfred did his magic, we were again on the road. We arrived around 1930 hours to a wonderful supper prepared by Muumbe using the new gas stove we purchased and installed for them -- because they had been without electricity for most of the day until right before we returned. We enjoyed chicken and potato salad before we all met for one last team meeting and debriefing with Alfred.
We are packed and waiting for the bus to load up and head to the Airport. Please keep us in your prayers over the next 30+ hours that we make all our connections and make it back to Montgomery at our scheduled time of 11:15 am Thursday.
Twalumba! (goodbye in Tonga)
We left last Saturday afternoon (after our last day of Children's Conference where we fed 355 children nshima, chicken, and cabbage) for Monze, where we met back up with Craig and Alfred. They left Friday for Pilgrim Wesleyan Bible College in Jembo, where Craig was the speaker at their graduation (I will let him fill you all in on the details -- I am sure you all will hear much about our trip during sermons over the next month or so!).
We spent the night in Monze, then left Sunday morning for the Nkandela village. As soon as we arrived, Dan taught the adults a lesson while Will and I [with our wonderful interpreter, Mweembe (Muumbe's sister)] taught the children a lesson. Following the lessons, we all returned to the church building for the worship service. Craig shared the word while Will and I returned to the school for another lesson with the children.
After a nshima, chicken, goat, pork, and cabbage lunch meal provided by the ladies of the village, we walked to the old well where the village had to draw water before they received the new well in May. Then we all met together for a long presentation from various village leaders, school leaders, church leaders. We also enjoyed to sketches: one from the school children and one from the ladies of the village. They were quite entertaining once we understood what they were saying! We also took many photographs of the community and were able to print them out right there on site using the power from the bus battery. They were thrilled to see themselves in print:)
We left around 5:30 pm (or, as the Zambian's say, 1730 hours) to head to Choma for dinner and our lodging for the evening. We staying at a beautiful guest house run by a the Brethren in Christ. Our lovely hostess, Marian, is a sweet Mennonite lady from Pennsylvania. She took such good care of us:) We then hit the road for Livingstone, where we had lunch and checked into our inn before heading to Victoria Falls. On the way to the falls, we came up upon 7 elephants walking on the side of the road. It was such a treat. The falls are just indescribable. Hopefully, we will be able to download some photographs when we return and have faster internet connections. After the falls, we visited a game reserve and saw impalas, warthogs, giraffe, elephants, monkeys, water buffalo, and guineas (probably some more, too!). We ate dinner at a nicer restaurant and had a great time of fellowship with Alfred discussing his ministry and plan for the future. We look forward to sharing that with you all later.
We left Livingston yesterday (Tuesday) morning for what we were told was a 7 hour trip. Well, it took a little longer, due to a few unexpected surprises. One was when the brakes on our bus began to smoke and we were waved down by locals on the side of the road. Fortunately, we were able to get back on the road soon and just drove slower. Soon afterwards, we were stopped at a checkpoint because our bus did not have all the required stickers (strange, because we had made it through multiple checkpoints prior in the trip with no troubles). After Alfred did his magic, we were again on the road. We arrived around 1930 hours to a wonderful supper prepared by Muumbe using the new gas stove we purchased and installed for them -- because they had been without electricity for most of the day until right before we returned. We enjoyed chicken and potato salad before we all met for one last team meeting and debriefing with Alfred.
We are packed and waiting for the bus to load up and head to the Airport. Please keep us in your prayers over the next 30+ hours that we make all our connections and make it back to Montgomery at our scheduled time of 11:15 am Thursday.
Twalumba! (goodbye in Tonga)
Friday, July 23, 2010
Kanyama Women's Conference
Today I was blessed to minister to about 20 women from the Kanyama Church Women's Group. God's message to them through me was on the power of prayer. I was assisted by Alfred's wife Muumbe who was my interpreter (speaking via an interpreter is interesting). After our session Carla and Carol helped each lady make a prayer necklace to remember us by. As the group leader Catherine was closing the session, she commented that the lesson today was a continuation of their study last week on (you guessed it) PRAYER! Is that God or what? I have truly been touched by the genuine kindness of the Zambian people.........
Thursday at lunch
From Sherri:
Separate from our external activities, I am enjoying our group craft time together. Last night, we sat around matching children's photos (~300) with the foam frames they had decorated at VBS. After that, into the later hours we cut and tore craft paper into quarters, preparing for the next day's craft of making flowers. Today after lunch, we all pitched in again and folded pretty colors of tissue paper to prepare for the afternoon flower making. Since we'll each have about 30 in our small groups, we figured it would help to get through the first step.
It is so much fun working with a team where two can start a project and within minutes, everyone is helping; sitting around the table laughing together. Can't wait for our next group project :)
Separate from our external activities, I am enjoying our group craft time together. Last night, we sat around matching children's photos (~300) with the foam frames they had decorated at VBS. After that, into the later hours we cut and tore craft paper into quarters, preparing for the next day's craft of making flowers. Today after lunch, we all pitched in again and folded pretty colors of tissue paper to prepare for the afternoon flower making. Since we'll each have about 30 in our small groups, we figured it would help to get through the first step.
It is so much fun working with a team where two can start a project and within minutes, everyone is helping; sitting around the table laughing together. Can't wait for our next group project :)
Sing to the Lord
This is from Will. What an awesome time we are having every day doing VBS! Unlike our VBS at Mulder, we are having morning and afternoon sessions. We start with the kids singing and then do our Bible point and the scripture for the day. Then Dan does the lesson and we do a craft. It has been so much fun to teach songs to children who don't know our language. Our interpreter, Mweembe, goes through the words and explains what we are singing. She loves to teach, so she doesn't just tell the words. She takes the time to teach the meaning. She's also great with classroom management/crowd control. We had over 225 kids this morning. Then we sing the songs in call and response/ echo form. They love the song 'Today is the Day'. They like to chant the wo, wo-o part especially. The children also like 'Power in the Blood' and 'Your Life Will Change'. Yesterday I had the opportunity to hear some choirs in two different churches. I got video footage of both so we can share the superb harmonies together. Can't wait for the kids to hear these groups at school either. Above all else, I love to see the joy on the children's faces as the sing. God's children are a joy anywhere in the world. Got to go get ready for the next craft.
In Christ,
Will
In Christ,
Will
trivia #1 answers
ANSWER 1: Scissors. Her mother's sewing scissors had made it through every other checkpoint up until Johannesburg. When they found them, she said she could not give them because they were sentimental. She was told to take it back to the ticketing counter to be a checked bag. Everyone else was rushing to our connecting plane because it was boarding and about to leave. A few of our group waited for her near the plane -- fortunately, she made it, but only with special assistance from a TSA agent. Ask Carla for details when we return:)
ANSWER 2: Dan. Upon checking in, Dan was whisked away for a check through TSA. We thought it might be because his name is on the no-fly list. Well, not HIS name, but someone else with his name. He had already received a redress number, so we thought all would be well. We began to wonder what to do when it seemed he would not return in time to board the plane. Fortunately, made it back right before boarding. He said that they told him it was totally "random" and had nothing to do with the other issue. Sure. Random:)
ANSWER 3: His neck pillow. But, he does not use it for his neck. Put it this way: the road we take several times daily has more potholes than you can even imagine. He decided to be creative. Use your imagination.
ANSWER 4: A Frog. A cute little toad was in the corner by the tub. We will post a picture later. Will was kind enough to release him to the wild -- out the window.
ANSWER 2: Dan. Upon checking in, Dan was whisked away for a check through TSA. We thought it might be because his name is on the no-fly list. Well, not HIS name, but someone else with his name. He had already received a redress number, so we thought all would be well. We began to wonder what to do when it seemed he would not return in time to board the plane. Fortunately, made it back right before boarding. He said that they told him it was totally "random" and had nothing to do with the other issue. Sure. Random:)
ANSWER 3: His neck pillow. But, he does not use it for his neck. Put it this way: the road we take several times daily has more potholes than you can even imagine. He decided to be creative. Use your imagination.
ANSWER 4: A Frog. A cute little toad was in the corner by the tub. We will post a picture later. Will was kind enough to release him to the wild -- out the window.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
travel trivia
1. QUESTION: What would Carla refuse to turn over to the security agents in Johannesburg, South Africa?
A. Crochet Hooks
B. A bottle of water
C. Scissors
D. A metal rat-tail comb
2. QUESTION: Who received special attention from the TSA agents while checking-in to our South African Air flight at Dulles Airport?
A. Carla
B. Bob
C. Craig
D. Dan
3. QUESTION: What does Will carry everywhere we go?
A. Chewing Gum
B. His Bible
C. His neck pillow
D. Anti-bacterial wipes
4. QUESTION: What did Sherri find in the bathroom?
A. A pot of coffee
B. A Frog
C. A Christmas Tree
D. A Lizard
Answers to come.
A. Crochet Hooks
B. A bottle of water
C. Scissors
D. A metal rat-tail comb
2. QUESTION: Who received special attention from the TSA agents while checking-in to our South African Air flight at Dulles Airport?
A. Carla
B. Bob
C. Craig
D. Dan
3. QUESTION: What does Will carry everywhere we go?
A. Chewing Gum
B. His Bible
C. His neck pillow
D. Anti-bacterial wipes
4. QUESTION: What did Sherri find in the bathroom?
A. A pot of coffee
B. A Frog
C. A Christmas Tree
D. A Lizard
Answers to come.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
In Zambia
Thanks to Lauren for sharing some of the information that we were able to text her using one of the global phones acquired by a few members of our team (thanks Carol and Sherri!). We thought we had the phones set up to post directly, but all attempts have failed.
Now that we have internet access (and I don't know how long it will be available) I wanted to download many of the great pictures we have taken since we began our journey Monday morning at the Montgomery Regional Airport, but... our internet access here is very slow and pictures just are not downloading. So, I will try to give you all an idea of the wonderful things we have been a part of so far.
Our flights went without delay, except for a brief thunderstorm at Dulles while we were on the tarmac awaiting our turn at departure. We did think we might lose Carla at one point, but God worked that all out, too. I will wait and let her fill you all in on that part of the adventure.
When we arrived in Zambia last night (20 minutes ahead of schedule!), we were met by Alfred and Muumbe Kalembo along with Muumbe's sister, Mweembe and several members of their church. All but 2 of our twenty bags made it (and the other two were picked up today). A beautiful ladies trio from Alfred's church welcomed us in song. We arrived back at the Kalembo farm around 10:30 pm.
This morning, Barbara stayed at the house to work with the ladies in the kitchen to learn how to make the Zambian staple food Nshima. Bob and Rudy began their maintenance assignment with the installation of transom windows and frosted panes in the restrooms. They also installed television cables to one of the rooms. Craig and Alfred met with leaders in Kanyama while Dan, Lisha, Will, Carol, Carla, and Sherri began the first day of the Children's Bible Conference at the Kanyama Pilgrim Wesleyan Church. The group at Kanyama returned to the farm for a delicious meal of Nshima with soup, sauteed rape, sandwiches and crudites. Barb learned the fine art of Nshima cooking and is determined to recreate it when we get back home.
After lunch, we all headed to the US Embassy in Lusaka where we gave the consulate notification that we were in the country and shared with the Assistant Consular about our activities. He thanked us for our efforts in Zambia. This evening, we worshiped with the congregation at the John Howard Pilgrim Wesleyan Church and they heard the Word from our own pastor, as they call him, the Reverend Dr. Craig Carter. We really enjoyed the worship team and their passionate singing and dancing. And, yes, I did say dancing! :)
We are now back at the farm preparing for another wonderful day of ministering to the sweet people here in Lusaka. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. I do not know how long we will have internet access, so I will give you a brief rundown of our upcoming schedule:
Thursday: Craig will have another Pastor's Conference, and we will hold our second day of the Children's Bible Conference. We will hold one in the morning for children that attend school in the afternoon and in the afternoon for children who attend school in the morning.
Friday: Last day of Pastor's Conference for Craig and another two-a-day Children's Conference. Craig and Alfred will leave that afternoon to the Bible College in Jembo (they will meet up with us Saturday evening). Barb will lead a Women's Conference with the help of Carol and Carla.
Saturday: Last day of Children's Bible Conference -- just a short morning session with all the children together since they have no school that day. We will end with a celebration "block party" sponsored by our Mission Team. We will provide a chicken and Nshima luncheon with a surprise dessert. The remaining team members will leave and meet Craig and Alfred in Monze.
Sunday: We depart for Nkandela village where we will teach Sunday School lessons and Craig will preach during the morning worship service. After lunch, we will dedicate the well that the Mulder Church gave to Nkandela village via our Advent Conspiracy offerings last Christmas. We will then depart for Choma where we will spend the night enroute to Livingstone.
Monday: We will travel to Livingston and view the Victoria Falls and visit a Game Reserve park.
Tuesday: We will return to Lusaka, stopping over at the Choma Museum enroute.
Wednesday: We will depart Lusaka heading home around 1:30 pm Lusaka time.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we serve God's people in Zambia.
Now that we have internet access (and I don't know how long it will be available) I wanted to download many of the great pictures we have taken since we began our journey Monday morning at the Montgomery Regional Airport, but... our internet access here is very slow and pictures just are not downloading. So, I will try to give you all an idea of the wonderful things we have been a part of so far.
Our flights went without delay, except for a brief thunderstorm at Dulles while we were on the tarmac awaiting our turn at departure. We did think we might lose Carla at one point, but God worked that all out, too. I will wait and let her fill you all in on that part of the adventure.
When we arrived in Zambia last night (20 minutes ahead of schedule!), we were met by Alfred and Muumbe Kalembo along with Muumbe's sister, Mweembe and several members of their church. All but 2 of our twenty bags made it (and the other two were picked up today). A beautiful ladies trio from Alfred's church welcomed us in song. We arrived back at the Kalembo farm around 10:30 pm.
This morning, Barbara stayed at the house to work with the ladies in the kitchen to learn how to make the Zambian staple food Nshima. Bob and Rudy began their maintenance assignment with the installation of transom windows and frosted panes in the restrooms. They also installed television cables to one of the rooms. Craig and Alfred met with leaders in Kanyama while Dan, Lisha, Will, Carol, Carla, and Sherri began the first day of the Children's Bible Conference at the Kanyama Pilgrim Wesleyan Church. The group at Kanyama returned to the farm for a delicious meal of Nshima with soup, sauteed rape, sandwiches and crudites. Barb learned the fine art of Nshima cooking and is determined to recreate it when we get back home.
After lunch, we all headed to the US Embassy in Lusaka where we gave the consulate notification that we were in the country and shared with the Assistant Consular about our activities. He thanked us for our efforts in Zambia. This evening, we worshiped with the congregation at the John Howard Pilgrim Wesleyan Church and they heard the Word from our own pastor, as they call him, the Reverend Dr. Craig Carter. We really enjoyed the worship team and their passionate singing and dancing. And, yes, I did say dancing! :)
We are now back at the farm preparing for another wonderful day of ministering to the sweet people here in Lusaka. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. I do not know how long we will have internet access, so I will give you a brief rundown of our upcoming schedule:
Thursday: Craig will have another Pastor's Conference, and we will hold our second day of the Children's Bible Conference. We will hold one in the morning for children that attend school in the afternoon and in the afternoon for children who attend school in the morning.
Friday: Last day of Pastor's Conference for Craig and another two-a-day Children's Conference. Craig and Alfred will leave that afternoon to the Bible College in Jembo (they will meet up with us Saturday evening). Barb will lead a Women's Conference with the help of Carol and Carla.
Saturday: Last day of Children's Bible Conference -- just a short morning session with all the children together since they have no school that day. We will end with a celebration "block party" sponsored by our Mission Team. We will provide a chicken and Nshima luncheon with a surprise dessert. The remaining team members will leave and meet Craig and Alfred in Monze.
Sunday: We depart for Nkandela village where we will teach Sunday School lessons and Craig will preach during the morning worship service. After lunch, we will dedicate the well that the Mulder Church gave to Nkandela village via our Advent Conspiracy offerings last Christmas. We will then depart for Choma where we will spend the night enroute to Livingstone.
Monday: We will travel to Livingston and view the Victoria Falls and visit a Game Reserve park.
Tuesday: We will return to Lusaka, stopping over at the Choma Museum enroute.
Wednesday: We will depart Lusaka heading home around 1:30 pm Lusaka time.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we serve God's people in Zambia.
Another update from Zambia: They had 125 kids at the children's conference and 8 leaders at the leader's conference. The team visited the US embassy and said that it was a beautiful day. Some of the bags were lost on the way over, but they were found and they picked them up at the airport today! Sounds like they had a great day!
Lauren
Lauren
Today
I got a message from Mom to post to the blog and let everyone know they arrived last night. They are going to start the children's conference (what we call VBS here) and the pastor's conference today. Continue to keep them in your prayers!
Lauren
Lauren
Just a little info about Zambia
If your wondering about the time difference, Zambia is 7 hours ahead of us (Central). Looks like the team will be cool on their trip as well. Currently the daily temps are in the 50's..
http://www.timeanddate.com/weather/zambia/lusaka
http://www.timeanddate.com/weather/zambia/lusaka
Zambia Team Arrived Safely!
I just wanted to post an update letting everyone know that the Zambia Team has arrived safely in Zambia (yesterday). Remember to keep them in your prayers daily!
Will post more as details arrive.
Will post more as details arrive.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Preparing for Zambia
What an amazing week! During VBS, Lisha and I have worked on packing and tagging our supply bags for the trip. We've done lots of packing, weighing, unpacking, repacking.....you get the idea! It is also interesting to see what everyday items weigh. In case you are interested, 190 pieces of the really good soft peppermint candy weigh about 2 pounds. Many thanks to those who donated supplies and luggage for our journey! We will complete the packing, tagging, etc. of our checked bags on Sunday afternoon and depart for Zambia early Monday morning. Please pray for us as we travel and serve. Also pray that our luggage arrives safely and on time. Blessed to be serving Him!
Monday, July 12, 2010
The team is home!
Everyone made it home just fine. Thanks to Bill and Johnny for driving to Atlanta to pick us up. Bill, you did a great job on that sign too!
It was an awesome trip and we met some of the kindest people! It was more than a blessing for us as well as to them. Now.. I have about a year to work on my Spanish... :-)
Pura Vida!
It was an awesome trip and we met some of the kindest people! It was more than a blessing for us as well as to them. Now.. I have about a year to work on my Spanish... :-)
Pura Vida!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Sunday
We are getting everything packed and then its off to breakfast. Then it on to church and then back to the center in Alajuela. Tomorrow we head home bright and early..early, not too sure the sun will be up when we head to the airport. Will post more later if wi-fi/Internet is available.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
An original poem for the Mulder Team!
Marion just handed me this very special poem that he had just written for me, Rudy and Pam.
Yes the three of you came
and pitched right in.
Many kinds of work you did
making this place shine again, and again.
We are going to miss you all
as you each go back to your home.
Make a difference there every day,
Be happy in Jesus 'till Kingdom come.
We will remember you often
As we look at the shelves,
And all the rest you have done.
Come again soon our "three little elves".
Blessings, joy and
contentment in Him always.
Maria & Mario
Marion F. Woods
July 10, 2010
Yes the three of you came
and pitched right in.
Many kinds of work you did
making this place shine again, and again.
We are going to miss you all
as you each go back to your home.
Make a difference there every day,
Be happy in Jesus 'till Kingdom come.
We will remember you often
As we look at the shelves,
And all the rest you have done.
Come again soon our "three little elves".
Blessings, joy and
contentment in Him always.
Maria & Mario
Marion F. Woods
July 10, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
Friday - All Sunshine...almost
Busy day for the most part. Started off with a breakfast of fresh fruit and french toast. It doesn't gett much better than that! :-)
After finishing breakfast and dishes we set out to start a new project. Rudy (aka Lobo here in CR) started painting on Pedro y Juanita's home which is just across the road and Peggi worked on typing up some of Marion's poems. Before we even got started a little problem poked it's little head out..make that a lot of little heads. Seems there was about three wasp nests on the far end of the house. One..the size of a frisby! We tracked down one of the helpers here and told him our situation, and he assisted us with a large sprayer and some diesel. The wasps weren't happy, but they were able to knock down the nests so we wouldn't get stung.
And for anyone wondering Lobo stayed firmly on the ground while I did all the climbing. I began to think twice after noticing the ladder we were using was held together at the bottom with duct tape. None the less we pressed on and finished two coats on the side we were working on.
After finishing our tasks for the day we got changed and went to visit with Elizabeth (the Doll Lady). She enjoys visitors to her home where they can sit and chat with her for a bit. She also has a little shop set up in her home where she sells dolls that she makes herself. They are kind of like ragdolls but much more colorful. In her shop she also displays and sells other crafts from people that she knows. Most are selling their crafts to supplement their imcome and as some are going through any number of finanical or medical situations.
Later after our visit we walked up to the top of the hill behind her house and had a breathtaking view of the volcano and the valley below. 
Thursday, July 8, 2010
1st Project Completed - another started.
Rudy and Pam completed installation of the shelves today, and they look great! The staff seemed really pleased that they would be ready for the youth campers this weekend.
While Rudy and Pam completed the shelf project Peggi typed copy of Marion's poems so that he can edit them (and hopefully get them published). The poems are such an inspiration to read, it's hard to call this a task! If you'd like to purchase a copy of the book of poems Marion already has published let us know and we'll get a signed copy for you ($25 hard cover, $20 soft cover).
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
The Winfield KS Team
This is the team that built the shelving we are finishing.They also did a lot of improvement work at a local school.
Another Day at the Farm
Yesterday by mid afternoon we had finished sanding and glossing the shelves - just in time for a big soaker. We spent the rest of the afternoon mopping up water from the tile floor of the bathhouse that had been mysteriously appearing every morning, and then trying to find the source of the leak. Turned out that it wasn't from the rain after all. Rudy found leaks around the pipes into the big sink, temporarily fixed them and showed Mary and the foreman, Steve, what needed fixing.
Today we made templates for mounting the shelves, hauled all 40 of them down to the new bunk house, then started installing. We got about a third of them up - well mostly Rudy and Pam did - Peggi was mostly on clean-up detail getting up the cement dust. In addition to hosting/coordinating short term mission teams that go all over Costa Rica, this place, the Centro Rural Metodista, accommodates all kinds of functions in support of local ministries. This past weekend they hosted a local youth retreat and we're trying to get the shelves up before another group comes in for a retreat this weekend.
Pictured above is the new "youth cabana" where we are installing the new shelves. The cabin is divided with girls on one side and boys on the other; showers, toilets and a conference center are in between. It is really nice and will be even nicer when we're done :-)
Pictured above is Victor - he had just finished cutting the grass before I took the picture of the youth cabana above.
Some of the Winfield Team members are in this photo from earlier in the week.
Meal time has been really interesting. Some of the staff usually eat with us and there is always interesting conversation.
Today Marion talked about the trip he would be taking to Los Chilies up near the Nicaraguan border to visit with the team from Winter Park FL that came in this past Saturday.
Today we made templates for mounting the shelves, hauled all 40 of them down to the new bunk house, then started installing. We got about a third of them up - well mostly Rudy and Pam did - Peggi was mostly on clean-up detail getting up the cement dust. In addition to hosting/coordinating short term mission teams that go all over Costa Rica, this place, the Centro Rural Metodista, accommodates all kinds of functions in support of local ministries. This past weekend they hosted a local youth retreat and we're trying to get the shelves up before another group comes in for a retreat this weekend.
Pictured above is the new "youth cabana" where we are installing the new shelves. The cabin is divided with girls on one side and boys on the other; showers, toilets and a conference center are in between. It is really nice and will be even nicer when we're done :-)
Pictured above is Victor - he had just finished cutting the grass before I took the picture of the youth cabana above.
Some of the Winfield Team members are in this photo from earlier in the week.
Meal time has been really interesting. Some of the staff usually eat with us and there is always interesting conversation.
Today Marion talked about the trip he would be taking to Los Chilies up near the Nicaraguan border to visit with the team from Winter Park FL that came in this past Saturday.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Colorful Lunch!
Just a little rain
Just a little rain today. We finished sanding the shelves around 11am and now taking a break before lunch. The rain lasted about an hour, now its sunny and getting warm again. After lunch we hope to get the second coat of sealer on before dinner time. Hopefully they dry over night and we can get ready to hang them. More later! --Pam
Monday, July 5, 2010
Day 3 Project #1
Today we started our first project - finish 40 shelves to be mounted in the new bunk house. The Winfield team did a great job of designing and building the shelves but ran short of time due to problems with getting the right materials locally,(and they had other projects too)so they asked if we could finish them and mount them. Rudy did the sanding while Pam and I did the first coat of gloss/sealer. Tomorrow we'll do the smoothing with steel wool, then a second coat of gloss. Due to the high humidity we'll probably do a third coat on Wednesday then mount them in the bunk house on Thursday.
We're sad to see our new Winfield friends leave tomorrow; they are really a nice bunch of folks. Looks like we will now have the entire old bunk house to ourselves!
More delicious food today - I'm hoping we don't come back with "extra personal baggage".
Oh yeah, weather was beautiful today - no rain - all sunny but with a nice temp and enough cool breezes to keep us from getting too hot. I can honestly say I'm getting accustomed to "open air" and I don't really miss the air conditioning.
A Special Thanks to those of you who sent us cards. We opened the first ones tonight after our devotional - those were very meaningful to each of us and we are very appreciative.
Hope all is going well back at Mulder. Mario and Maria asked after several of you today and they send their love and much thanks to you all.
That's all for now.
p.s.
Craig, No blood yet! Lobo
We're sad to see our new Winfield friends leave tomorrow; they are really a nice bunch of folks. Looks like we will now have the entire old bunk house to ourselves!
More delicious food today - I'm hoping we don't come back with "extra personal baggage".
Oh yeah, weather was beautiful today - no rain - all sunny but with a nice temp and enough cool breezes to keep us from getting too hot. I can honestly say I'm getting accustomed to "open air" and I don't really miss the air conditioning.
A Special Thanks to those of you who sent us cards. We opened the first ones tonight after our devotional - those were very meaningful to each of us and we are very appreciative.
Hope all is going well back at Mulder. Mario and Maria asked after several of you today and they send their love and much thanks to you all.
That's all for now.
p.s.
Craig, No blood yet! Lobo
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Day 2
Sunday was off to a good start with breakfast that included fresh fruit like that you only can get in tropical climes - fresh pineapple and papaya (wish we could bring some home!).
Our new friends from Winfield KS included us in their Sunday activities which started off with worship at Iglesia Methodista - a church in Los Angeles located about an hour's drive through the mountains. Rudy, Pam and I even joined in with them in singing a couple of songs in English for the congregation of about 75 (including us). One interesting note was a request from their minister for help in hosting 150 children that are soon to receive Operation Christmas Child Shoe Boxes. They see this as an opportunity to bless the children and see their families changed too! I thought that was especially cool since Mulder participates in OCC - it was such a rare privilege to hear first hand about how those gifts are used to share God's love and His Word. On another interesting note, two years ago some from the Winfield group had begun construction of the open air kitchen where the church served us lunch after the service today.
After the service (about 2.5 hours) and lunch we went to Arenal Paraiso Resort & Spa at the foot of a volcano where "some", this one not included, did the zip line and most all visited the hot springs and pools. After a wonderful meal at the resort's restaurant we returned to the Methodist Rural Center and ended our evening with a group devotional and discussion of the day's events. Our scripture for devotional was most appropriately from Genesis since we were discussing God's awesome handiwork.
It's super quiet here now but for chirping tree frogs and the whir of an oscelating fan in our bunk room. We still have not learned exactly what we will be doing this week, but there won't be a lack of finding ways to be useful - and since that will start early thirty, we're off to sleep now, so good night. Please remember to keep us in your prayers.
Our new friends from Winfield KS included us in their Sunday activities which started off with worship at Iglesia Methodista - a church in Los Angeles located about an hour's drive through the mountains. Rudy, Pam and I even joined in with them in singing a couple of songs in English for the congregation of about 75 (including us). One interesting note was a request from their minister for help in hosting 150 children that are soon to receive Operation Christmas Child Shoe Boxes. They see this as an opportunity to bless the children and see their families changed too! I thought that was especially cool since Mulder participates in OCC - it was such a rare privilege to hear first hand about how those gifts are used to share God's love and His Word. On another interesting note, two years ago some from the Winfield group had begun construction of the open air kitchen where the church served us lunch after the service today.
After the service (about 2.5 hours) and lunch we went to Arenal Paraiso Resort & Spa at the foot of a volcano where "some", this one not included, did the zip line and most all visited the hot springs and pools. After a wonderful meal at the resort's restaurant we returned to the Methodist Rural Center and ended our evening with a group devotional and discussion of the day's events. Our scripture for devotional was most appropriately from Genesis since we were discussing God's awesome handiwork.
It's super quiet here now but for chirping tree frogs and the whir of an oscelating fan in our bunk room. We still have not learned exactly what we will be doing this week, but there won't be a lack of finding ways to be useful - and since that will start early thirty, we're off to sleep now, so good night. Please remember to keep us in your prayers.
My home away from home.
Ps..looks like rain.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
It's been a long day
A long trip but this place is as wonderful as everyone says! Sunny for most of the drive, and then the rain started again. The volcano was a site, tonight the clouds looked orange just above it, and everyone said it was smoking earlier today when the weather was clearer.
Great dinner.. rice, black beans, best salsa verde that I've ever had, tilapia was great and I don't like fish! We're all stuffed and we will be sleeping good tonight.
@ the Rural Center
We had an hour delay but still arrived around 12:30 Tico time. Busy place, curvy roads, and a white knuckle bus ride. Way better than any roller coaster I've been on. We missed our orginal bus, but they came back for us when they saw we were delayed. More later! Ps..lines on the highway are only suggested lanes. :-) --pam
@ ATL
Just made it through checkin and security with a little over an hour to spare. Thanks to Johnny for driving the car back home..We hope you get to feeling better Bill!
Heading to Atlanta
It's about 2:50am and we're almost out the door. We are going to meet at Peggi's then it's off to Atlanta. Currently it looks like it will be in the upper 70's when we arrive...which means its most likely raining, however tonight it will be a little chilly at around 58.. nice!
Well I have set up my phone where I can post from there if I have any type of wireless connection...we'll see how that is. If not I/we will check in when we can. Bye for now!
Well I have set up my phone where I can post from there if I have any type of wireless connection...we'll see how that is. If not I/we will check in when we can. Bye for now!
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