the cantrells

2010-05-04T05:34:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all who support us in various ways. You have allowed us the opportunity to lead a young man named Mauricio to the Lord this week after service. He has been in the center for 3 months and finally couldn't resist the calling any longer.

We are currently looking for a new center location, again. There have been several robberies where near where we are currently located so the landlord wants us out. It is possible that it was someone who used to be in the center who is committing these crimes.

I have begun teaching a theology class once a week, and I'm thinking about attaching a link to view these notes. They are rather extensive but may be valuable to look through. We started with the doctrine of the Word of God, and we are now going to spending two weeks on the doctrine of God. This would include: God's existence, knowability, character (incommunicable and communicable attributes), the Trinity, Creation, Providence, Miracles, Prayer, Angels, and Satan and Demons. As you can see, it's a lot of material. The above will take two weeks. The classes usually last about 2 and a half hours and that's going through it at a fast rate. The last two weeks have been the Doctrine of the word of God and included: the Word of God in different forms, canonization, authority, inerrancy, clarity, necessity, and sufficiency.

Please pray that the knowledge would promote us to love and good works and not to intellectual pride and callousness.

noemi's 2nd visit to the states

2010-01-04T06:09:00.001-08:00

friends meeting noemi
in line for santa
grandpa dave and noemi
uncle aaron
grandma kim and grandpa paul
our family
little miss santa on christmas eve
first trip in the stroller in downtown chicago
first time meeting uncle will at ohare airport
first trip to angel food bakery-a family favorite
the results of grandpa dave's first diaper change...on his own.
aunt miriam and noemi at the bosphorus in indy
clayton family pic at the bakery in chicago
die hard blackhawk fans
mommy and noemi waiting to see santa at macy's in chicago

A Recap of 2009 in videos

2010-01-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

our video of noemi's birth

updated video about the rehab center

our new house

ministry update for community church at murphy's landing

pics at 6-7 weeks old and birth story

2009-12-02T17:08:00.000-08:00

thanksgiving day in costa rica

noemi sleeping during football
me and my cousin jessica with noemi
noemi all bundled up in the car in indiana

When living in Costa Rica, you have to plan ahead and be as prepared as possible. The month I went off birth control, I started looking into location options for my future birth experience. As I was researching, I realized in Quepos that my option was limited to the public hospital unless I wanted to travel to San Jose or San Isidro. After continuing my research and prayer, I had peace about having a homebirth in San Jose with a team of midwives, Marie and Rebecca.

When I was about 17 weeks pregnant, I met with the midwives and discussed everything from family history to the possibility of having a breech baby. At my 7 month ulstrasound (to check if everything was OK for homebirth) we found out that our baby was in fact breech. I discussed this further with the midwives and they recommended me to do some exercises to encourage the baby to turn. At eight months, I got another ultrasound and our baby girl was still sitting. Now, we had to look into options besides a homebirth more seriously because the midwives nor a doctor would deliver breech, which meant the only option was a cesearan section.

Now I had more decisions to make because if we decided to have the csection in Quepos, I would wait until I went into labor and go to the hospital. If the only doctor in the area was on duty at the time, I would be in luck. If not, I would have to drive 2 hours to Puntarenas. I was not comfortable with this option, so we opted to go with Dr. Paer, a doctor in San Jose, who the midwives recommended.

We went to see Dr. Paer for our last ultrasound at thiry-eight weeks to see the position once and for all, and she was still breech. We scheduled a c-section for 39 weeks, which timed our perfectly for my mom and grandma to be present at birth.

On October 5, we arrived bright and early at CIMA hospital 2 hours prior to my scheduled c-section to allow time to check in, get settled in my room, and have the nurses prep me for surgery. I have always been queasy with IVs and things of that nature, so I felt nauseous most of the time.

While the nurses were shaving me and putting IVs into my veins, my mom and husband were talking to people on Skype who could not be present for the birth. They saw at my worst, feeling light-headed and puking. My husband even took the computer into the area where I was waiting for surgery. All the nurses were very nice and helpful. My husband got suited up, and I was wheeled into the operation room.

The operation room itself was extremely bright. I remembered the midwives saying that I should ask for the lights to be dimmed, but I didn’t want to bother. The doctors wasted no time getting me ready for the epidural, which I didn’t think was that painful. Right away, they laid me down, strapped my arms down so I was in a cross position and hung the curtain under my neck. My lower body went numb very quickly and I could feel the catheter being put into place. I couldn’t feel any sharp pains or anything, just pressure. The next thing I knew, the doctor tells my husband, “Jared, this is it!” He went over to the other side of the curtain while a nurse came to my side of the curtain and told me to take deep breaths and that I was going to feel some pressure.

The next thing I knew, my baby was out, but she did not cry right away. I heard the pediatrician and my husband talking to the baby. A few seconds later, I heard her whimper and the pediatrician told her that she was going to see mommy soon. I was getting anxious to meet her. Finally, the doctor brought her over for our first family moment. She was beautiful. I started crying immediately and told her how pretty she was while touching her tiny hands. My husband told her how much we loved her. Needless to say, it was one of the best moments of my life.

While I was getting stitched back up, Noemi (my daughter) was sent to get cleaned up and dressed. My husband was able to spend this time with her. After I was ready, I was wheeled back to a waiting room and I had to wait for the epidural to wear off. They would let me go back to my room when I could move my legs. I did all I could to move my legs as quickly as possible. I wanted to be with my baby! While waiting for the epidural to wear off, I found out that the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck. It was a good thing that she did not turn. God is sovereign.

After forty-five minutes, I was able to go back to my room and I was met with my mom and grandma. They were very excited because they had already met Noemi. Soon, my husband, Noemi and a nurse arrived. The nurse helped me nurse Noemi for the first time, which was a success. The times after that when I tried on my own were not so successful because she was not asking for food. The doctor was concerned that she was not getting enough food so I had to give her some formula, which I wanted to avoid. It took a few days and the help of my midwife for me to feel confident about breastfeeding. No one told me how frustrating it would be before I could figure it out.

The healing process after the c-section was painful. The pain meds the hospital were giving me were not strong enough. I did not want to feel pain at all, and I definitely could. The morning after the surgery, the nurses walked very slowly with me up and down the hallways. After all the paperwork was completed, I was dismissed from the hospital in the afternoon. I stayed in near the hospital for a week to recover before traveling back to Quepos, which ended up being a great decision.

The first few nights with my daughter were challenging on me as a first time mom. I woke up every 3 hours to try to feed her and she would just cry. Poor thing, now I know that I didn’t need to wake her up and that was probably why she was crying so much.

Even though I had to get a c-section, all that mattered was that I had a healthy baby girl. Yes, I had some pain recovering, but it is nothing compared to the joy that her life brings.

first weeks

2009-10-24T16:45:00.000-07:00

3 weeks

2009-10-24T16:24:00.000-07:00

well, today is our first day without family here. my (eileen's) parents were here since oct. 5, noemi's birth. my mom and grandma were able to be at the hospital with me and jared. it was fun and a great help for them to be there with us. it is neat to look back and think all that has happened since her birth! she is almost 3 weeks old.

after the surgery and noemi's arrival, i left the hospital the next day around 1pm. then, we stayed in a great hotel until friday. this week was a time of healing for me. it was very hard for me to get in and out of bed and walk around. i was walking very slow. during the first few days, i was also having a hard time breastfeeding. noemi was not latching well and seemed like she was not getting down much colostrum (what comes in before milk). i called the midwife to come and help me with some breastfeeding tips, which worked very well. since then, we have had no problems and she is eating very well. my milk came in around day 4...and woah, did it come in!!! ouch!! :)

on friday, we visited the pediatrician and everything was well with noemi. she is a healthy baby. she lost 7 oz, which is normal. when she was born, she weighed 7 lbs 80z and was a little under 20 inches long.

my mom helped me a lot when we got back to our house in quepos....esp with handwashing dirty cloth diapers since our washer is broken. she also helped me get organized and cleaned a bit as well. my dad arrived a few days later and my parents had a few days to themselves at a nice hotel during their 28th anniversary! we had a party at our place celebrating their anniversary and the arrival of noemi.

my dad was a big help as well. he cooked breakfast for me every morning and made fresh juices as well. he liked taking naps with noemi and took care of her as well. they got along well. we went out for nice dinners and had a good time together. we went to san jose with him to run some final errands and say good-bye. my parents are now back together in sao paulo brasil.

we have had some great news, by the grace of God. He has allowed us to get noemi's costa rican birth certificate in 2 1/2 weeks and we have an appointment to get her US passport this tuesday. after that, we will wait about 10 business days to get her passport, then hopefully fly to the US on November 13 for a week. We hope to return around christmastime...when all of our family will be around.

noemi has been sleeping pretty well. we find that she sleeps better when she sleeps in bed with us. it is also easier to nurse during this time and i dont have to get up to go to the rocker. i have been getting a little more sleep every night. hopefully this will continue....we will see!! i have to admit that i have been exhausted.

jared has been such a good papi. he is a huge help. he loves his little girl.

we are planning on getting a maid to help us out with cleaning. hopefully this week. it is very common to have maids here and they are very inexpensive...like around 2 dollars an hour. we continue to enjoy our house and hope to keep settling in more and more. we keep adding little things here and there to enjoy it more. i am thankful that jared is a "handy man."

keep our new family in your prayers!

noemi's first week (291 photos), by jared cantrell

2009-10-13T14:47:00.001-07:00

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.

a lot has happened...

2009-10-03T07:07:00.000-07:00

well, a lot has happened in the last month and now we're just two days away from the arrival of our new daughter, Lord-willing. as most of you know, we were originally planning on having a home-birth in san jose with midwives. there was a slight complication when we found out that the baby was sitting breech about a month and a half ago. eileen did all the exercises and tricks that we could find in order to help the baby turn around, but it was to no avail.

at that point we had two options: schedule a c-section in san jose or wait until she went into labor, rush to the hospital, wait to see if the only person in the surrounding area (about 90 miles) that does c-sections is actually working. if so, then he would be called in to do an emergency c-section. if he wasn't available, she'd be shipped (on public bus) to a different public hospital over two hours away. the Lord blessed us and provided a way for us to be able to schedule a c-section with a reputable doctor in san jose. and here we are two days away from the operation. we'll be sure to keep you posted. check facebook pages for lots of photos to come.

video update

2009-09-21T08:08:00.000-07:00

check out this video on the link below. it is an update of what we've been up to down here over the last several months.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDg2DeJtXHM

august updates

2009-09-06T07:14:00.000-07:00

I was so excited the other day to find “trolli” brand sour gummy worms…they are one of my favorite candies…and they we a good price! I just finished off the bag and thought that next time, I should get 2 bags J

Well, we are all moved into our new house and we love it. It feels more comfortable to live in a house vs. an apartment. We have more living space, as well as more space to entertain. There have been a few quirks with living in a Tico house in quepos, but nothing too bad.

2 days after we moved in…we ran out of water...for 2 days. Not having water is normal for half a day…but 2 days was a bit much (especially with a stinky bathroom!). After 1 ½ days, we realized that our neighbors who live below us had water, as well as the house next to us…so jared contacted the owner. I guess it was a simple problem…just to turn a nob to let the tank fill up. So, I think we have that under control now.

The blessing of having a washer of our own has had some issues. The first load I did didn’t drain all the way, so I needed to wring out the clothes. The next load I tried without any clothes, and it drained all the way. So now, it washes…it just takes 3 hours to do one load. Im not sure why it takes 3 hours, but maybe this can be fixed. I am just thankful we can do clothes in our own space. We also have 4 nice lines that are covered to hang the clothes out to dry…which can be a bit time consuming in the rainy season.

I think other than that, things have been going well. I love having a fridge with a separate freezer, I consider it a luxury. I have been able to freeze fruits that make great smoothies that are more like sorbet. We also now have an electric stove/oven which is a change from gas. Oh yeah, we don’t have hot water…which is not a big deal for me with this heat. There is a hot water heater, but it doesn’t work. The owner said he would get someone to check it out and if it is broken that he would buy a new one.

We have purchased some nice wooden furniture too! We bought 2 nice rocking chairs, 7 stools, and we also bought the nice big table that was in our apartment. We had to put the table outside since there isn’t a lot of space for a dining area inside.

We have also put together some baby items like the pack and play and a rocker. We have tested the rocker on our baby friend here, and the first time she was in it, she fell right asleep. It was funny to see her facial expressions when she felt the vibrations. I think I will start washing some baby clothes and diapers next week after school ends.

Next week is my last week at school. Thankfully, there is a sub to replace me and she has been able to spend some time with me and the students before I leave. Next week, she will start teaching so I can help her if she needs anything while I am still there. I think Tuesday, my last day, will be a big party day. On Monday, the moms from 1^st grade are going to throw a baby shower for me, so that should be fun! I will miss the students and I hope to return with the baby to show all the students. I still don’t know if I will return next year.

Also, next week we are off to Nicaragua for our visa run. We have never been there, so it should be a good time. It will be our last trip together before the baby arrives. We will be taking a bus to san jose, then a bus to Granada, an old colonial town.

I had an ultrasound last week, and everything is fine. The only slight concern is that the baby is in a breech position, which is not condusive for a homebirth. The midwives seemed to think that the baby has plenty of time to turn into a head down position and that if I do my exercises to encourage the baby to flip, we should be fine. So, we will go back to san jose at the beginning of October, when I plan to stay down there to wait for the baby to come. Please join us in praying that the baby will flip so we can have a homebirth and not have to go to the hospital for a more than likely c-section.

we're moving!

2009-08-05T07:06:00.000-07:00

it continually amazes me how God provides. and he doesn't just provide, he goes above and beyond our expectations to do it.

this is how we were led to the house that we will be moving into at the end of this month. since i got pregnant, moving has been in the back of my mind because our lease ends in august, our baby is scheduled to arrive in mid october. i wanted to be settled into a place in october and not have to worry about moving somewhere. since i am going to use cloth diapers, i also needed a washer badly and if we stayed at this apartment, i knew that would be an issue.

originally, we were just going to stay in this apartment until december, with a discounted rate. however, december is high season...which would make it very difficult for us to find a place to move into at an affordable rate.

our friends, kim and laura, told us about 2 houses their friend owned in quepos and recommended us to check them out. last week, we looked at one of the two houses. it has a good set up and great price, but it is unfurnished and we would have to buy a lot...including a stove and a washer, among many other items. before we left, we noticed the wooded house next to it, and walked over to look in the windows. immediately, we both loved it. it has a nice wrap around deck with built in bar stands, and the deck is built around a big and beautiful mango tree. the house was furnished and the kitchen was significantly larger. we also saw a washer below!!

a couple days later, we were put in contact with the owner and he took us to the house. he have us a great monthly price, 30o dollars less than he was originally renting it for! the house seems like a great fit for us. it is on a hill, so it has a great view of quepos and the mountains. it is 2 story, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, closets (rare in CR), even a bath tub (which is EXTREMELY rare in CR), washer, new appliances, hot water, etc. the only thing we need to set up is a phone line, which will enable us to have internet.

we are looking forward to this move and consider it a blessing! finding a good, affordable place to move is rare, and God provided. Like I mentioned, the house is right next to the 1st one we looked at, which bryan is considering moving into if/when he returns to costa rica for longer term. God is good.

please pray for us during this transition!

homebirth

2009-07-25T14:48:00.000-07:00

before jared and i came to costa rica, we talked about having a baby there so we would be able to get residency. nonchalantly, we discussed that it would be good timing to have it after we had been there a year. well, here we are. we are one month short of a year, and our baby is due in october....october 12th.

i have not had that much experience with babies. i didnt grow up around babies or babysit. i havent known many pregnant women or been around women talking about their birthing experience...so before a few months ago, this was all new to me. thankfully, i now have a little experience with babies (a baby) since our good friends have a one year old. before then, i cant really remember holding a baby for a long period of time or developing a relationship with one.

with no knowledge of labors besides what i saw on TV, i always was interested in homebirths for some reason. when i got pregnant, jared being who he is, tried to talk me into having the baby in our apartment...unassisted. there have been births like this on the cantrell side, so he felt/feels confident he could do it. i believe he can too...but, without experience on my part, i would like to have an assisted birth.

after some research online, calls, and visits, we chose to go with a couple midwives who work together as a team. they are americans and have lots of experience in the states and costa rica. they live in san jose, which poses a slight problem since we live about 3 1/2 hours away. for the birth, we need to be in san jose. therefore, with a history of quick labors in my family, i will go to a house we rented outside of san jose a couple weeks before my due date. during that time, i will meet with the midwives and relax....try to prepare for the new addition (Lord willing) to our family.

yesterday, we drove to Finca Saramandaia where we are going to have the baby. we went to meet the owners and check out the house we will be staying in. it reminds me of our friends property in dominical. very peaceful, very beautiful with a mountain view from the porch. nice and quaint house with kitchen, dishes, and all the supplies we would need. we put a deposit down, which feels good. things are coming together.

sharon, one of the owners, is a retired midwife, and she has a good relationship with my midwife, marie which is also comforting. she said she would trust marie with her life. there have been many babies born on the farm....and only girls! the 2 boys that were born there were transfered to hospitals. there is a private hospital 15 minutes away from the farm. i also found out sharon and her husband have a house in seattle, and knows of bainbridge island, which is where i went to grad school and jared and i were married. pretty cool.

another comforting piece of information she gave us was that with a baby, it is very easy to get residency. she said all we need to do is get the baby's birth certificate and fill out the residency paperwork. other than that...that's it. once we are in process for residency, we don't have to leave every 3 months, which would be awesome. we like leaving, but it is a hassle and expensive.

everything is going well with the pregnancy. right now, i am 29 weeks along and in my 3rd trimester...almost 7 months. time is flying by!!

we appreciate your prayers about this continual process and experience. thank you.

2009-06-02T06:05:00.000-07:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bothrops_asper

our program mascot, a dog, died yesterday. it was cause for both sadness and thankfulness. you see, he was killed by a terciopelo (extremely dangerous and aggressive snake) while he was standing alongside one of our guys who was working. though he died by the snake bite, he took the bite the snake would have given to adrian had the dog not been there.

another fantastic yet nearly tragic story brought to you by the dominical road

2009-05-29T17:45:00.000-07:00

it began yesterday, on a particularly hot early afternoon (particularly hot for costa rica would be hotter than it ever gets in indiana) when the sun was high and the dust was blowing on the road to dominical. for those who aren't familiar with this road (which i realize is the majority of you, but for those who have been on it, you will immediately begin to sympathize, yes, just being on this road is cause for sympathy) i can sum it up briefly for you: dusty when dry/muddy when wet, very rocky, very bumpy, rutted, pitted, potholed, jolting, uncomfortable, painful, jarring, bone-shaking, and jerky, and that's in an suv. now, imagine this road on a 125 cc, non-dirt bike motorcycle.

i was only twenty minutes into the journey, and only ten minutes onto this road when i found myself cruising at a modest 65 kph which is slower than i would typically go (as i would rather indure a shorter, more intense type of pain than a longer, dull, prolonged pain). as i was on this particularly good stretch of dirt and rock (i still have difficulty even considering it a road) the back tire exploded and i began a sort of frantic fishtailing. i am sure that many if not all of you have been in this situation in a car during the wintry months as have i, but let me tell you, that it is a much more serious situation when on a motorcycle. in the instant that i realized that i had lost control (which was the same instant that the tire popped) my only thought was to quickly assess to which side the motorcycle was going to crash, so i could jump off in the opposite direction, or at least jump far enough away so as to not crush my leg. at this speed, and on this road, trying to maintain balance without a back tire was not even a slight consideration. i just wanted to walk away scrapped up all over my body with possible a broken wrist rather than a broken leg; this was my concern. after what seemed like 2 seconds, when in reality, was probably more like 6 seconds, i found myself still on the bike and completely stopped. you see, balance is one of those involuntary things, and while my conscious was occupied with escape routs, my subconscious was working overtime and with great efficiency, to which i am very thankful.

so i found myself on the side of the road, covered in sweat and dust, thinking to myself, here i am, what next. i began to call eileen, who was already down in dominical, to let her know what had happened and that i would be late. just as i was getting off the phone, i saw my friend tim barreling down road in his toyota prado. he slams on the breaks which kicks dust into the air which sticks to my sweaty skin, but i am glad to have this break. after we tried to put the motorcycle in the back seat, we tried to get it on the roof. had we been a little stronger, that may have worked. at this point, i have sweat out the last ounce of liquid in my body.

we flagged down a truck (we stopped a truck) that was barreling down this road at a speed which clearly indicated that they were completely unaware of any of the potholes, rocks, or any other potentially fatal obstructions in the road. after coming to an agreement, though they said they were in a hurry, we threw the motorcycle into the back of this truck. had i know what foreshadowing "we are in a hurry" meant, i would not have gotten into that truck. i assumed that it was a "costa rican hurry" which would be roughly translated as an "american slow roll." i was wrong. there were no ropes to tie the motorcycle down; i stayed in the back with the bike to steady it, manually. the tailgate did not shut properly. there were no noticeable shocks on the truck. upon starting up the truck, they took off with an acceleration that reminded me of the last spring meet i attended at churchill downs. my muscles were immediately put to the test. as the driver was forgetting that there was a untied motorcycle and a human being in the back of the truck, i was straining myself in such a way that i initially estimated that i would be able to keep up this type of energy exertion for one and a half minutes. i was sitting next to the bike: left hand on the handle bar and right hand on the back of the bike. the bike was teetering between crushing my legs, which were under the bike, and flying off the back of the truck. with my head bouncing against the metal bed of the truck, my body was sliding further and further under the bike until i ended up almost laying down under the bike still trying to stabilize it. as my arms were numb but still full of pain, my head was hurting from heat exhaustion and inhalation of massive amounts of dust, i figured that it would be better to let the bike fall of the truck than for it to crush my torso. i relented that at the next major acceleration, turn, or large bump, i would give it a good push and let it fall of the back; these people were not going to stop for anything. thankfully, they began making stops less than two minutes later in order to make the deliveries which were obviously very overdue. After a total of over 15 minutes in the truck, these stops allowed some time for rest. within 5 minutes, we were at a workshop where we left the bike with a promise to pick it up the next day.

the rest of the trip to dominical was uneventful, though there had already been enough events to call the trip generally eventful. we went to dominical to celebrate the hebrew festival: the feast of weeks. this is a whole different story, but basically it can be said that i learned quite a bit and had a very enjoyable time.

we had arranged to get a ride back with a couple that lived in quepos the next day. our plan was for them to drop me off at the shop and for me to ride the bike back to quepos. well, in my previous disheveled state, i had forgotten to mentally mark the location of the bike shop. we passed it (i later found out that the road actually splits into two parallel roads for about 2km; we were on the wrong one). i eventually told them that i would just go back and pick it up later because by the time that i knew for sure that we had passed it, we were a half an hour passed it.

i began to make plans to go back and get it as soon as we got back to our apartment. i was in a hurry because it was just around 1 o'clock and i had just enough time to get down there and back before the inevitable daily downpour came. the bus didn't leave until 3:30 so i was really debating on taking a bus or hitchhiking. if i took the bus, i would arrive in mata palo at 5:00 which would really be too late to avoid the rain and the bandits that come out on that road after dark which is around 5:30. the bus takes an hour and a half and a car can do it in an hour, so i decided to take my chances hitchhiking. this is not really equivalent to hitchhiking in the states. every car in costa rica is a potential taxi. in fact, this is the occupation of some without an official taxi cab. almost every local will offer their car as a taxi before they head off somewhere calling, "taxi a manuel antonio?" when you hitchhike, you are expected to pay just like a taxi. so, i took a taxi out to the airport which is like the beginning of the road to dominical, and i began to walk with my thumb for all to see. also, the thumb in not the signal used in costa rica for hitchhikers, but i used it anyway; i like it. after a little more than an hour of walking (which was very unusual) i finally was picked up by a man and a woman in a truck. just as we had been underway for about a half an hour, PSCHYOUAP! well, i wonder if you guessed correctly in your mind what that sound was. if you guessed a flat tire, you guessed correctly. At that moment, the couple asked what had happened to my bike; they saw the helmet i was carrying: ironic.

i offered my services to change the tire. as i was laying in dirt and rock, i see the bus slowly roll past. that would be the last i saw of the bus as we would not catch up to it as the driver adopted a much, much slower driving technique after the tire incident.

i arrive at the bike shop as the rain begins to come down and the sun begins to set. as i walk in to what would look to any of you as a badly kept junkyard, i'm wondering where my bike is. "that couldn't be the front half of my bike could it, no way, he said it would be done by morning?" i asked myself. out pops the old man from behind some unrecognizable piece of reconstructed metal something or other. you don't have to be able to understand much spanish to know that "tu moto está muy mala" is not what i want to hear at this point. it turns out that yes, the motorcycle is disassembled and what's more, he tells me i have to go buy this part at some shop. so i walk, in the increasingly strong rain, to the other shop and buy the part. when i return, i begin preparing myself mentally for all the unpleasant possible endings to the story which is titled today.

of course prayer is key. also key: the rain suit which i brought. i put it on. lightening. over one inch of rain in less than an hour. watch forest gump's description of a jungle rain in vietnam to get an idea of what i'm talking about here. several answered prayers later, he tells me it's put together, but strongly advises me not to drive back to quepos. if i had any other option, i may have taken his advice; i used the last bit of money to pay for the repairs on the motorcycle.

long ride home in the dark jungle rain. i arrived safely, happily. i thought to myself after all of this: i wouldn't change one detail; i love life, and i love God.

2009-05-19T09:24:00.001-07:00

well, this is a little late, but i am going to take just a moment to recall a very eventful week and also a very traumatic week for my wife.

many of you have probably heard the story of the scorpion/snake combination, but i think it's important for it to be "officially" in our blog.

first came the scorpion. a little background: it must have been the season because we had seen several scorpion in our apartment prior to the attack. i had even removed them from our apartment, some had just crawled back down the shower drain, and some had disappeared in some cracks and crevices. i had gotten a close view of some of them so i had already done some research on them. these scorpions, though they couldn't be identified by their species, could be identified by their genus. and it just so happened that this genus is really the only type of scorpion that really needs to be worried about: the genus that contains the deadly variety. much of the information that i found said that little was known about the particular species that we were encountering but that they should be regarded as dangerous and potentially fatal.

one night while we were sleeping, i felt the tough exoskeleton crawling across my side. i was asleep but still semi-conscious. as i went to brush off the venomous critter, my hand was met by what felt like a baseball bat; that little sucker stung with force. the sting was immediately followed by an acute pain in the whole hand. yes, i screamed. then i jumped out of bed instructing eileen to hit the lights. i knew immediately that this was no bee or wasp; i know what those feel like; this did not feel like that. i immediately assumed that it was a scorpion due to our recent, numerous encounters in our apartment.

after the lights were on and we did...i did a quick search of the room, i couldn't find anything. i had quickly given up interest in the search and conceded to go back to bed. eileen however, was not in agreement and with a persistence to continue the search she told me to check under the pillow. sure enough, there is was. probably a good thing i checked as the next sting may have been in a more vicious spot such as my jugular. so, i killed the scorpion this time not letting it free as i had the others, and we went to the internet in order to do some further research. by this time, the pain had moved up the arm and some twitching of the arm started to worry eileen a little. this was also accompanied by an increased awareness of my own heartbeat with a slight pain accompanying each beat.

from our research, we concluded that there is not enough information to know what the proper course of action should be. as the twitching got worse, we decided to call poison control in the states via skype. the national headquarters in washington d.c. answered and forwarded us to the arizona department which apparently handles lots of scorpion cases. after telling them the symptoms and species, they said that the pain and twitching was normal. she said if i started twitching at the shoulder that i should immediately go to the hospital. so, we thanked the woman and proceeded to go back to sleep. i slept well the rest of the night; eileen did not sleep well for the next month, understandably of course.

the next encounter with a venomous animal occurred just a week later. this encounter was with a much more dangerous variety: a coral snake.

the details of the bite are somewhat embarrassing. i was taking eileen home from a friend's house as she was very tired (she was quite tired a lot during her first trimester), and we saw a very colorful snake on the way up our hill just outside of our apartment. i knew that it was a coral snake. i dropped her off and then proceeded to "check out" the snake. i saw it and it was very beautiful. i took a stick and pinned its head down, then i picked it up (just like i saw on tv tons of times; also, i have picked up several snakes in my life though none were this dangerous). as i held it, i was feeling very good about the situation; then i let it go. as i loosed my grip on it's neck, its first reaction was to turn right around and immediately bite me. this was pain. immediate and profound pain. a pain that eliminated any doubt that this may be the "coral look-alike." i went straight to a friends house, and they took me straight to the hospital.

New World coral snakes possess the second most potent venom of any North American snake, behind some rattlesnake species. Any skin penetration is a medical emergency that requires immediate attention. Coral snakes have a powerful neurotoxin that paralyzes the breathing muscles; mechanical or artificial respiration, along with large doses of antivenom, are often required to save a victim's life. There is usually only mild pain associated with a bite, but breathing difficulties and ptosis can occur within hours.

the rest of the story is quite boring. two bags of coral snake anti-venom, other shots, two ivs, a shot in the butt and probably some other treatments that i'm not remembering at this point. it was very good to know that quepos has quite a variety of anti-venom on hand, and it was also very good to know that we have friends that are willing to drop everything and take me to the hospital and stay for hours. i was released early the next morning with a couple of lessons learned.

in the states

2009-05-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

today marks one week that we have been in the states. so far, it has been a great time visiting with friends and family. we are trying to spend as much time with loved ones as well as balancing it with some rest at the same time. we are truly blessed to be surrounded by the love of our friends and family.

as far as culture shock goes, i think we have been ok. for me, little things shock me or remind me of the differences between the 2 cultures. a few things are: the organization on the roads, organization in general, lack of bugs in houses, convenience, not seeing any walkers or buses on the roads...those are a few things that come to mind.

i have been blessed with 2 great baby showers so far. the first one was with my friends in indy from elementary school to present. it was so great to be with them and share things that God has been doing in my heart as well as our ministry. i am very thankful for all my friends who drove to indy and spent time with me! it was so amazing. the next day, the cantrells had a family gathering/shower for us/me. it was great to have their support and ideas. compared to my family, the cantrell (jared's dads side) and murphy (jared's moms side) families are much larger, so it has, and is, taking me a long time to get the families and names all straight. it was great to spend time with their family and get their advice about parenting.

right now, i am 17 weeks pregnant, 4 months. i am starting to show a lot more (some say i dont look pregnant), which is fun and weird at the same time. jared and i had a meeting with the midwives in san jose area before we flew out to the states. i was praying that jared and i would have a peace about our decision of where to have the baby, and at the end of our 3 hour conversation/getting to know you time, i think jared and i both felt good about the midwives. they really took time to get to know both of us, which i really appreciated.

we also got to hear the heatbeat, which was very cool. i couldnt believe it was inside of me. hearing the beat, 150 BPM, was a reality check that a baby is really growing inside of me. the baby is growing well, and all my measurements and heart rate were healthy. i have been feeling the baby move inside of me and jared was able to feel it moving on sunday, which is pretty cool!

what we're up to these days

2009-04-23T05:55:00.000-07:00

transitions

2009-04-13T18:52:00.000-07:00

we've been here about 9 months now. it seems hard to believe, but as i looked at all our pictures over the past month, it has been long and hard (at least for me). it would be nice to say things have been great and it's paradise living in costa rica, but that is far from the truth. don't get me wrong, i like it here, i know we are called here, and it has been great for jared and i to be here. we fit in well and it hasn't really been that much of an adjustment. we both are very flexible and pretty laid back.

i am coming out of the 6 month transition time here, and i am feeling good. since my time in ecuador, i realized, along with other missionaries, that there are major transitions that you experience within about every 6 months. i remember my first 6 months in ecuador were very hard, and after 6 months, a break through occurred. the same thing happened here. the first six months were a haze. i was not truly myself and it was hard getting accustomed to life, married life, mission work, a small church, a foreign school system, language, pregnancy, etc. I mean geez! i thought my husband was possibly going to die 2 times in 2 weeks!!!

I smile because God is so faithful. after around 6 months, it was time to start a new Beth Moore Study, and we chose to do her study on Psalms, the Psalms of ascent. right when i opened that book and watched the introductory session, i knew God was telling me it was time to move out of my funk and continue up with Him. It's like He was/is telling me that it's ok to learn to love where I am, and where He is calling me. Reading, studying, and rewriting the Psalms of ascent in a personal way was/is a confirmation that during a pilgrimage, you will have distress, you look up to the Hills and realize your help will come from the LORD...that He protects us and nothing else (this was a huge revelation...the sheets will not protect me from the scorpions :)....God will :))

overall, things are going well. im still trucking through the pregnancy, still as tired as ever. i'm about 13 weeks along and starting to show a little bit. jared is starting to notice, so that says something. i am still unsure about the hospital situation, but i am going to contact the midwife and meet with her and see how that goes. i just want to be able to communicate with a doctor/midwife who can answer my questions and tell me more about what's going on, etc.

God has been giving jared and i lots of opportunities to open our house to friends and strangers on a weekly basis. I was thinking today that God is really preparing us for something in this area. Last week, we had about 25 people in our apartment/pool for 2 days straight. Jimy and Vanessa's family were in town and they spent a lot of time at our place at the pool. Many times, this was uncomfortable for me, but I knew it was what God was calling us to do. Thank you Jared for your encouragement during these times.

we are off to the states on april 30 and we are looking foward to this time with famiy and friends. please continue to pray for us here, in this foreign land. jared has been preaching at our church on the beach. it has been great.

the hospital decision

2009-03-12T20:13:00.000-07:00

so, i am about 10 weeks pregnant and everything is going just fine. overall, i am very tired most of the time and moody. i feel like i am a different person, not necessarily in a good way. i havent been motivated to do much. but, i am thankful for no morning sickness.

we are having the baby here in costa rica. it is a great and easy way to get residency, which is what we want. so, i have been looking into options for having a baby here even before i was pregnant. here are the options:

1. go to a private clinic in san jose (3.5 hours away) plus, you are reccommended to go 3 weeks prior and rent a place to stay (expensive)

2. get a midwive in san jose, still rent a place. go to san jose for montly check ups with the midwife

3. get a midwife and have the baby in a private hospital in san jose.

4. have the baby here at the public hospital in quepos

5. go to san isidro to a birthing clinic (about 1.5 hours away)

i have talked to a couple midwives, and they were great. the only con is going to san jose and they cannot come here to do the birth.

when you talk to people here, there are usually mixed reviews about the hospital in quepos. however, the majority of the ticos have their babies here, and they say it is a good hospital. i think it's all about perspective.

so with all this talk, i wanted to go and check out a doctor here in quepos and the hospital for myself. for moral and spanish support, laura went with me to the dr. appointment and to check out the hospital. we went to teh doctor just to ask him questions about how things work here, etc. my 1st impression was not good of him. for some reason, i just didnt click with him. during our whole hour conversation, mostly based upon his experiences in the states and cuba, he never asked how i was doing, etc. maybe that's selfish, but it just didnt sit right with me.

today, we went to the hospital, and i was pleasantly surprised. teh building is pretty nice, open, and seemed organized. laura has spent quite a bit of time in the hospital so she showed me around. we had an appointment to meet with an OBGYN in the maternity ward for a tour. it ended up being a long conversation about labor details, etc. which was very helpful. he explained a lot of things, and even asked about me, gave me some advice, etc. during this time, i was feeling a bit light headed talking about labor. i usually get that way when people talk a lot about things happening in the body. not sure why.

so, then we went on a tour. basically, there are 2 maternity ward rooms for teh women to be in before and after labor. oh, by the way, i just learned today that to be in labor, doesnt necessarily mean you are lying on the bed pushing for that entire time. i thougth when people said they were in labor for 24 hours, they were pushing for that long! now, i know you can be walking during labor. :) so, i saw about 5 women in one ward...2 with brand new babies, 1 who had a c-section, and the other who was in labor. the other room had one woman with her new baby and her husband was there too.

the labor area is in a different part with air conditioning-wow~! the other rooms do not have it, and you have to bring your own fan if you want something more than the one ceiling fan. we didnt go inside a delivery room, but there is capacity for 5 labors at once. by this time, i was very light headed and ready to go. the last thing we needed to do was to check out the price for having a baby there. the thing with the public hospitals is, it is all based on social security insurance, which all working ticos have. so the hospital services are free for them. well, i dont have that, so i thought i would have to pay something.

so, we went to the lady to ask her how much, and she said i wouldnt have to pay anything! nothing! she said it may change, but for now, free! so, we went to make an appointment to see a doctor there for my 1st appt. tomorrow. i am going with my tica friend vanessa. it should be interesting.

so as of now, i am thinking to have the baby here in quepos. i have talked to 2 other moms here and they said they would have their next babies at the hospital here. laura also recomends this as well. another thing we want to take into consideration is doing what is culturally "normal." yes, ticos go to san jose, but mostly only those with lots of money. at a private hospital, a birth without insurance would cost around 1,500 dollars. so, here, we would fit in more, and gain a little more respect from ticos.

so, please pray for this decision. i know i still have 7 more months, but....please pray.

p.s. we are not finding out the gender beforehand.

also, we are registered at target.com and babiesrus.com :)

Boxing/Recreation with Program Guys

2009-02-23T09:10:00.000-08:00

honey lately...

2009-02-23T08:56:00.000-08:00

things have been very busy here lately. i myself have enrolled in two theology classes at a local church. my friends brian c and mike b would be proud of me as on class is a pentecostal theology. the other is on some letters in the bible, we've studied james (my favorite) and now first peter. these are all completely in spanish, and i am thankful for these opportunities.

we currently have six guys in the center, and that is our new maximum as we are turning one of our bedrooms into a food storage room. we are doing this because previously, we had all of our tools, all of our food, and all of our office and administrative supplies in one very small room. it helps us to be more in compliance with local agencies and also will provide us more of an office to help counsel and do work ourselves. things are going well, we have two guys in-particular that are doing quite well, both have been there for about six months. rafael and wiston. these are two young guys, 18 and 20 who have their whole life ahead of them. i am thankful for the work the Lord is doing in their life.

in our church we are doing something a little different by breaking up into small groups. i lead an all spanish group, so again, more practice. the language is really coming along and i also listen to podcasts to improve it even more. i hope that in one more year, i will no longer have any problems as listening to spanish all day is still very mentally tiring.

the Lord has been more than faithful in providing for us and we continually thank him for that. we will call on Him all the more now that Eileen is pregnant. EILEEN IS PREGNANT if you didn't already know. We have figured that the word has already spread to most and so have been late in writing it on this blog. I want the child's name to be enoch, which was the son of jared in genesis 5. if it's a girl, we'll probably go with marysol, pronounced mar-ee-sol with an accent on the last syllable. well, we'll be heading back to the states in a little over two months where we hope to see a great deal of you who are reading this blog. keep in touch and we'd love to get together. take care, and thank you for everything.

one year

2009-02-19T07:03:00.000-08:00

yesterday was our one year anniversary, and just like one year ago, the weather was perfect. we wanted to do something special, we just didn't know exactly what on our small budget. early that morning, we got a message from jared's parents saying they put some money in our bank account so we could celebrate! what a blessing!

that morning, i fixed some egg in a holes, and we walked into town together since our motorcycle was getting some work done. jared went to the center and i went to Pali, the Wal Mart of Costa Rica,to pick up some food for lunch, nachos, a favorite meal of ours. being a wal mart, you never know what else will be hiding in the shelves. this time, i found a small cake decorating set with different tips and a nice spatula. at a store closer to home, i also picked up some coke for jared for another little treat.

when i got home, i planned to roll out some cookie dough to bake him some special anniversary cookies. he came back home about 1/2 way through the process, but, it was still a surprise. the decorating tips worked great.

we chopped ingredients for nachos together, which was fun for me. i like cooking with someone else, especially jared. i never was really big on nachos before, but here, all the ingredients are so fresh, it's hard to resist: guacamole, salsa, beans with cheese, and lettuce. we put them all in separate bowls and ate up.

jared made a phone call after lunch to see if he could get off work that afternoon, and he did! we went to pick up the bike, and we rode to manuel antonio. i wanted to go kayaking together, something different. we rented some chairs on the beach for an hour, then went on a 2 person kayak. when we were renting the kayak, the guy mentioned snorkeling would be included. at first, i was a little freaked out since i am mildly afraid of fish...ok, they freak me out. but, i figured i would try it.

we kayaked out to 2 islands called the "twins" and tied our boat up so we could snorkel. it took me 2 tries to really do it and not be too scared. we saw lots of fish, and they were very close to us. it was pretty cool.

we returned back to shore, drove back to quepos and got ready. i had bible study, and we had a meeting afterwards. laura had another meeting at bible study, so i was the translator, which was a good experience for me.

after a church meeting after study, we headed off to dinner at a place called Kapi Kapi. it was very nice and relaxing with great food. it was a late meal for us and we were both very tired.

we have been thinking about how blessed we are to have eachother and how God has blessed our relationship. we are also very thankful for your love and support as well. we realize we couldnt be here without so many friends like yourselves.

there are lots of things happening here, it seems like some changes are around the corner. please keep this ministry God has called us to in your prayers. thank you!

surprises and fun

2009-02-13T07:31:00.000-08:00

whew! what a last few weeks. my grandmas and parents were here the last 2 weeks of january, and it was a great visit. great, and very tiring. my dad fell in love with the country and the people, and on the second to last day of the trip, he got the idea to stay longer. he tried to work it out, etc. but decided it would just be better to go home for a few days before he left for florida to see my brother get his wings in the navy.

jared and i were hanging out in my parent's hotel room in san jose (friday) before the night before they left and we were reseraching how my dad could stay longer, etc. then, we were talking about how jared and i needed to leave CR for our 90 day visa in a week. the next thing we know, my mom is looking at flights to ft. lauderdale and they are about 69$ each way, which is cheaper than a bus ticket to panama! so, we booked the tix, and when we arrived in florida on wednessday, we were going to drive up to jacksonville to meet my dad and brother there on base.

jared and i ended up staying the night in my parent's hotel room on a roll-a-way bed (hilarious! and kind weird to have a sleepover with parents :)) and then drove back to quepos early the next morning. at about noon, we get a text from my dad saying their flight was cancelled to chicago! we put my dad on a flight back to quepos that afternoon. i guess he was meant to stay after all.

so we all left together for ft. lauderdale to see my brother and it was a great trip. my great uncle larry attended the graduation too, and it was good to see him as well. it was great to see where will lives, where he works, the helicopters, etc. it was a nice time. we went to the oldest city in the USA, St. Augustine and also introduced Jared to Dave and Busters, a Clayton family favorite. "I love the ticket games!" I won about 3.000 tickets, an all time high! we had a lot of fun and shared laughs.

after a 6 hour car ride in florida, to a 3 hour plane ride, to a 4 hour bus ride, we finally made it back to quepos at 930pm. wow, what a day.

the next day we had to get right back into routine and start thinking about our responsibilities. i had to get into the school mind set, and jared, back into the center.

after a full last couple months, i am rested, got some family energy, and am ready to go. my students this year are very energetic to have their science class taught in english and i am looking foward to beginning the year with them. i am teaching 1st grade and 2 2nd grade classes this year! I prefer these grades, so i am thankful for that as well. the books finally arrived (except the teacher's addition!) and i teach on mondays and tuesdays.

as jared mentioned before, yes, i found out i am pregnant. probably about 4 weeks along. we will have the baby here, maybe in san jose. i am due sometime in october.

oh yeah! to top it all off, my parents are seriously considering buying land here on our friend's property!! about 4.5 acres in dominical/baru area. wow, God is up to something!

what a holiday season

2009-02-12T05:52:00.000-08:00

well, these have been the busiest past two months: my family visiting, my friend visiting, oscar's mother staying here, christmas, eileen's family visiting, our trip to the states and then finding out that eileen is pregnant.

we are now back to our routine, sort of.

i want to explain a situation in the correct manner, and i don't know exactly how to do it. basically, one of our main leaders at the center turned away and made some very bad decisions, but is now back in the center going through the restoration process. so, now with six guys in the center and only two people to run it, i am being stretched (which is good) to work quite a bit more hours even into the night. more than anything, i am thankful that God has answered our prayers concerning our brother and brought him back into the fold.

i have been learning a little bit about what it takes to run the center as an administrator. i am now also helping take care of some the of financial accounting. i am learning spanish at an increased rate as well, i don't know exactly what it is. i am reading the bible in spanish, and have been listening to podcasts which are really helping a lot. i have about one dream a week in spanish, so i hear that's a good sign.

please continue for the continued restoration of our very close brother down here. thank you. also, please pray for our new child.

summer break

2009-01-20T08:18:00.000-08:00

i know its hard to believe, but we are in summer right now. in fact, i am on summer break from school. we start back up february 9. the weather has been great, and the tourists are here. it is "high season." it's interesting living in a tourist town because you are immediately considered a tourist if you have white skin. at times, i dont like it because you get treated like a tourist: they expect you dont speak any spanish and have lots of money to spend on everything. in our case, we do speak spanish (jared speaks more than i do) and don't have lots of money, so there you go.

when people do hear us speaking spanish, they comment on it and say things like, "where did you learn spanish" or "wow, you speak good spanish." yesterday, i was at the store buying meat. i simply ordered my chicken breasts with bones and ground beef in spanish, and the guy commented that i speak really good...when in actuality, i dont speak great spanish. i guess they just dont expect gringos to speak it, and when they do, its a surprise.

this summer has also provided more beach time. we have been able to go to the beach about 3 times a week, mainly for jared to take the guys from the center, or to get involved in a soccer game or play 2 on 2 beach volleyball. the volleyball games start at 3pm every day, and there is a cult following. it's pretty funny and fun at the same time. beach volleyball is a new sport for jared, so for those who know him, know how much we went. he is getting a lot better and even winning. i am proud of him. we have also met some more people though volleyball too, which has been good.

my bible study group has started the beth moore study, the patriarchs. i love it. i think it is my favorite study of hers so far. it's funny how the studies fall at the perfect times in your life. God is good. Our group has 5 members and 3 are ticas, 2 are new christians. our group time is in spanish, so it is good practice for me.

jared and i have been listening to mark driscoll's sermon series called "peasant princess" on the book of song of solomon. it is a great series on marriage and relationships. if you havent listened to him, i would highly recommend it. he even has stuff on youtube. you can subscribe to the podcast for sermons from his church (Mars Hill) in seattle.

my parents and 2 grandmas are coming to visit us this thursday. they will be here for about 10 days. i am looking forward to this time, it will be a last hurrah before school meetings start up. i am praying for a good attitude about school this year. i have been in a funk about it, and i need to get out of it. i think it is also part of just being in a new country, etc. i remember after my 1st 6 months in ecuador, it was like, "ok, this is real, i am really living here." before that, its kind of like a fog.

the cookie bake tradition

2008-12-31T07:16:00.000-08:00

one christmas tradition that has always stuck with me was our cookie bake. our family would get together with another family and bake cookies, usually sugar cookies. it was fun because the kids would help and ice them too, which always looked crazy. then, each family would always have tons to take home. i remember that we would share them with others as well.

unfortunately, since my parent's move to chicago, we havent been able to cookie bake. i have always wanted to, but no one would help. so, now that im married, i wanted to bring the tradition back. i asked my aunt for her famous sugar cookie recipe (which is my great grandma minnie's) and tried it out. the first batch pretty much failed. the dough was gooey and i had to form it into balls instead of using the shapes to cut it. they tasted good, but not ideal. then, i learned a trick. you have to cut the fat in 1/2 here when baking. so, i tried again...and complete success!! they even tasted the same. i learned where to get food coloring, and i was set. well, the first bake, i did on my own. it was kind of lonely, but...oh well. i shared the cookies for our christmas eve party, and everyone loved them. there is nothing like them here, so they are a real treat.

our friend's kids were in awe that they were eating cookies from "the states." they were asking how to make them, etc. so, i had them over to make some themselves. they loved it and thought it was so much fun. they did a great job and hopefully we can continue the tradition next year with more people.

even baby tiffani was able to enjoy their hard work.

david didnt really understand what all the fuss was about, he just wanted to go swimming in his new gear.

it has been a joy to share our house with friends and family. sometimes we wonder how we ever came upon this place. the rent is a little high, but we have enjoyed sharing the blessing. the kids love the pool, and the parents just like getting away from quepos for a minute. its a nice break for everyone.

so, overall, this christmas was great. i was a little anxious at first because we didnt have anything planned. nothing. we decided the day before that we would go to a christmas eve party, and the rest we just figured out as we went along. jared is good for me in that way, he teaches me to relax and reassures me that it will all work out. me, as a clayton by blood, i am a planner...and many other claytons can relate to that as well. so, marriage is teaching me some things.

my parents are coming on jan 22 with my 2 grandmas, which should be a good time. im looking forward to that.

thank you for your prayers and support. we greatly appreciate it.

2008-12-31T05:38:00.000-08:00

well, we shared our christmas week by having a visitor. this past week we had an 86 year old living with us. oscar, a graduate and current employee of our program had his mother come to visit him for the holidays and we offered to house her for the week. it was a little hectic and at times uncomfortable mainly because it was very difficult to understand her and oscar was very busy with another job that week. but all in all, it was a good opportunity to serve and care for others, for which we are thankful. she was very scared of many things. being from san jose, the capital, she thought she was in the wilderness jungle out here, which she said many times. she had me scare away the lizards, and was also scared of the snakes.

i am lucky to have such a caring wife as i do in eileen.

2008-12-26T16:36:00.000-08:00

well, our first christmas together is in the books. it was the best christmas that i have ever had, by far. in costa rica, most of the celebrating happens christmas eve evening. the celebrations are comparable to what we do on new year's eve. many parties, getting together, staying up till midnight.... during the day of christmas eve, we had a party for the guys in the center. also families that are involved one way or another came so we ended up having about thirty people or so at our place. it was great. i cooked hamburgers american style, big. and some hot dogs, but of course we had to also have some rice and beans which it seems you can't even get away from for one meal. here are some pictures of that, even the monkeys wanted some of the action.

the guys really enjoyed it, unfortunately 3 of them left today so we are down to three. it is a difficult time here as the weather is nice and there's lot of partying going on. couple these facts along with all the tourists that bring money in, and not many people interested in changing the destructive lifestyle. when the weather is good, and the money is easy, finish the sentence....but it is normal, in my life or theirs, to wait for some discomfort before changing sinful habits or attitudes.

a few days before that we had a hanukah celebration down in dominical. that was very enjoyable as well. we set off fireworks and watched a puppet show at our friend tim's place.

the rather interesting part of the trip was the fact that we broke half of the spokes on our back tire. one broken spoke, no problem, two broken spokes and you want to fix them; three, and you're in real trouble, nine broken and you survive the road and hills we rode up, and it's a miracle. really, it's unbelievable. you probably cannot imagine these types of roads as i have never seen anything like them in the states, whether it be colorado or alaska, these roads are treacherous. i still cannot believe it as i sit here and write. but, tim drove us back the next day in his truck and it has not been ridden since. i bought the replacement spokes but have yet to work on the bike. the amount of wobble in the bike as we rode was unbelievable, still i didn't know what it was until i reached the top of the hill, without eileen, because two couldn't make it up together, and she told me she saw the back wheel wanting to come off as i drove away. crazy.

it was very nice to celebrate my first christmas with my new wife. it was very memorable and we started some traditions of our own. here are a couple pictures of our christmas tree.

we went out to eat together at our favorite place for christmas dinner and watched the sunset together.

it was today that was not so good as i said earlier that three of our guys left the program today. it can be very disheartening, but we continue pressing forward.

2008-12-08T04:18:00.000-08:00

it was good to have my family here last week, and then for the next two weeks, i will have my good friend bmac here. he is seriously considering coming down here to help out. let's all pray for that.

i'm layin a stiff block on minor, the dude in the orange shirt

from left to right: john paul, wiston, mark antony, bmac, me

yes, i made the catch

touchdown!

do you think bryan (bmac) got tackled in this picture? here's a hint: no

for recreation we tried to play fútbol americano. i say tried because it ended up looking more like rugby than anything else. i had a little experience with the american football spanish vocabulary because i watch the nfl games and the commentators speak spanish, so i picked up a lot of the lingo. regardless, even though it more resembled rugby that football it was fun, we ended up playing tackle and everybody loved that. i think everyone got hurt, but there were no injuries so that was good. above are some pictures of that experience.

i have been preaching these past few weeks and since we go to a calvary chapel church, we go through the bible chapter by chapter. i have preached on the three chapters of 2 thes. it has been a good experience and allowed me to do some deeper study which is good. i will continue with 1 timothy 1 next week.

PRAISE REPORT: we just had a guy in the program graduate last week which is a huge answer to prayer. at any time we only have around 8 guys in the program so when someone completes the 9 month program it's a great sign of a life that is truly changing. thank you for all of your prayers, i know that david and his mother appreciate it. he is now working as a guard, but still living at the center. he is welcome to stay there until he settles himself in. this is sort of like our "re-entry" program, though we don't officially call it that. he and his family are so grateful for the change in his life, and it is such a privilege to see such a dramatic change in someone's life caused by the power of Jesus Christ. thank you all for your prayer and support and for your partnership not only in winning souls for Christ here, but actually making disciples which is time and energy consuming. thank the Lord that he provides the guidance, energy, time, and change. you water, i plant, but he makes it grow. a wonderful truth.

trip to cocal

2008-11-16T16:59:00.000-08:00

we were on our way to cocal, an island which is about a 1-3 minute ferry ride across the pacific ocean, when the boat motor wouldnt start. on top of that, the current was coming in strong, which was pushing our boat under a bridge and into an area that would be very difficult to get out of. fortunately, another boat came to our rescue. it was a pretty funny situation...but kind of scary as well. i had never been in this situation before, and in costa rica, who knows what they mightve had us do. im thankful some friends were with us, vanessa and her mom. they were going to cocal to look for a house.

2008-11-12T04:51:00.000-08:00

as i sat down at the computer this morning, i was prepared to write about our trip to panama. well, eileen has already done that, so i will just highlight a couple points.

it's kind of weird being in a tourist town in the situation that we're in. everybody else thinks we're tourists, so unless i already know them, about all of my interactions or conversations end with "no soy tourista, vivo aqui." or, as you can probably guess, i'm not a tourist, i live here. there are so many tours and adventures to do here, but we never do any of them on our own, we have experienced a little here and there when eileen's mother came, and when alan bobbett visited, we went four-wheeling.

so, after arriving in david (the city in panama where we got off the bus) late, we had another forty-five minute drive to boquete, the mountain town where we decided to stay. we got in really late and stopped at the first place we came upon. after the owner introduced us to the world champion boxer at 124 pounds from panama who was sitting out back with his possy, we were lead to our humble abode. now, i will not mention much about this "humble abode," but just use your imagination. if you know me personally, then you can really start to imagine a room that i would consider a "humble abode" as i have stayed in many a situation and not thought twice.

the next day, after breakfast, we looking for another "affordable" room. that was first on the list; we were carrying everything we took with us for the four day trip, including make-up. we found a jewel next to the river. the loud river. now, we're in the mountains, and mountain rivers aren't like what we're used to in indiana. couple that with the tail end of rainy season, and you've got something worth seeing. as we were looking for things to do, eileen mentioned rafting. i agreed, that if we could get a good price, i would enjoy that as i have never white-water rafted.

after making the right contacts, we were on our way. from boquete, there are fifty-four class 4-5 rapid runs within an hour and a half drive. a kayaker/rafter's dream. once at our launch point, i was helping inflate the raft, and get things situation. then came the instructions. about ten minutes was spent on what the different orders and directions were, and what was expected of us in those situations. then, about twenty minutes was spent on what happens "if" someone falls out. the whole point of me writing this article is to share some of the things that eileen said to me during and after the trip, which i found to be quite funny. so....

"geez, after he kept talking about what to do when falling out of the raft for so long, i was like, i better pay attention." eileen fell out twice.

"he kept screaming, hard forward! hard forward! [which means paddle forward hard], and my paddle couldn't reach the water because my side was in the air, so i just closed my eyes.... the next thing i new, i was in the water.

"he said, hold on, this next part will be really bumpy, but i didn't know what to hold on to, so i just flexed every muscle in my body.... that didn't work.

i'm sure you "had to be there", but i hope you can get the general sense of how we were turning something potentially fatal into something we could laugh about. moms, and grandmas, we're safe and sound, and notice i didn't talk about the time spent in the water becoming good friends with the big river rocks.

journey to and from panama

2008-11-11T17:50:00.000-08:00

we were just in panama, for our 72 hour visa run, in order to be legal in Costa Rica--since we are not residents. the trip was great, and it was definitely a journey. a lot happened on our trip, lots of details God arranged perfectly for us. here are some of the highlights.

We began the journey on Thursday afternoon, after our friend's wedding on the beach. Jared took pictures and took care of the music, and i was there to help the bride get ready. it was a blessing to be part of such a special celebration. after the reception, we crossed the water ferry back to quepos and prepared for our trip to panama.

our trip there was almost put on hold by some trouble by the cops, but a little money helped that situation. after an hour and a half of no rain, on a BUMPY road, we made it to our friend's house, mike and starla, who live in dominical. they just arrived 3 months ago as well and we had met them when i came to visit jared during april. they are from a calvary chapel church and planned to start a church. however, God had different plans before they started services on sunday, and led them to open a coffee shop. right now, they are having thursday night bible studies, which we could attend! i was very thankful for this opportunity.

the bible study was a great time of fellowship and study of God's word with fellow christians who are living in costa rica. a great time.

the next day, we joined mike and starla and their kids on their 45 minute trek to San Isidro, where they go to school....and also the place where we had to hop on our bus to panama. we hung out in san isidro for awhile, at Curtis and Shelly's house. Curtis and jared met before in quepos...and Curtis' mom led some mission trips in Mexico that jared and his brother and sister attended as well! how cool is that? we had a nice time at their house with their 4 girls, all under age 5, and enjoyed the conversation as well. it is not very often we get to connect with christian gringos on the same page.

the bus to panama was uneventful and we arrived to boquete, a small town in the mountains late in the evening. we enjoyed the town and even enjoyed a white water rafting trip on sunday morning. i fell out of the boat 2 times! jared fell out once. the first time, we fell out together. it was kinda scary. we left with a few bruises, but are doing well.

we journeyed back to costa rica and met back up with mike and starla on monday night. they blessed us with a place to stay for the night as well as good company. they are a fun couple, and mike is very similar to jared, which i find really funny. we ate breakfast together, and then our BUMPY ride back was ahead of us. oh man, was i dreading that one. thankfully, we arrived safely and without rain, which is a huge blessing. oh yeah, and we didnt get pulled over.

it feels good to be home. i feel refreshed after our trip. it felt good to forget about school for a little bit, even though i have no idea what my students have been doing the past 4 days while i have been gone.

jared's parents and bro and sis are coming to visit us for thanksgiving, which will be great! we are looking foward to the company. also, one of jared's friends is coming to visit in december for a couple weeks.

tonight, i was reflecting about the different people we met, specifically american christians, in the last 2 weeks. God is up to something big, and he is spreading us out in all parts of Costa Rica. At one point, i was wishing we lived closer to them, but I am thankful God has us spread out. Pray for his will to be done here in this country...and that we listen and obey.

2008-11-01T14:59:00.000-07:00

thank you for all of your prayers, the talk at the manuel antonio expo went really well. it was a great opportunity to get the community aware and involved in the changing of lives through the power of God and the cooperation of His people.

we just attended our first shabat yesterday. it was a good opportunity to get away for a night and learn more about jewish traditions, in this case with messianic jews. our friend tim has a lot of land and some teek that we can cut once we get the wood-mizer down here. this will be a good opportunity to teach the guys in the program while support the program itself.

praise report

2008-10-24T05:57:00.000-07:00

well, we have been here for two months, and besides my language skills, it feels a little more like two years, but in a good way. this week, God has shown a lot of favor upon us...opening doors for new friends, connections within the community, and jobs.

right now, the Manuel Antonio Expo is happening. As I understand it, it is a way to get the top people, agencies, hotels, etc. connected in the tourism world here. people are sharing information and sharing thier vision to help manuel antionio to become more of a tourist destination and to bring this community together. connections, connections. well, somehow Kim got a booth for the association, (for the center) to get donations, get the word out to the community and other agencies. this is a great opportunity.

jared, and others have been working hard to put together a movie to show the progression of the center from day one. (it is a great video). Last night, i went with jared and kim and his wife to a evening of presentations for the expo. one guy basically shared a strategic plan for manuel antionio and the other lady represented an angency helping to stop human trafficing here, especially within the tourist realm. then, kim shared the DVD of the progression of the center and spoke a little about the center. at the end of his brief update about the center, there was a time for questions. there were no questions, just an applause for what Kim has been doing.

being involved in the expo is such a great opportunity...especially so early in our time here. jared has been able to meet the top hotel owners and even begin friendships. he also realized that he has been going to the gym with a lot of the men, and never knew who they were before :)

tonight, jared will be speaking and sharing a little about the center. please pray for that time.

yesterday, i met up with one of my friends for coffee. it was a good time of sharing and laughing. during our time, she asked how long i was planning to be here, and i told her atleast two years. then, she was trying to talk me into living here for long time, like her and her husband.

also, this week at school, there has been a lot of talk about the upcoming school year (the school year ends in december). i had a short meeting with the principal to give him my resume and university degrees. he saw i have a specialty in science and mentioned that the school is planning on teaching some science in english next year...which would be awesome! i also found out that the principal is counting on me for next year...which is also good news.

unfortunately, the school is new and there is A LOT of teacher turnover. however, i hope to stick it out and help to develop the school in whatever areas i can. we are really wanting to build the english program, so please pray for direction in that.

so all this to say, God has been doing more confirming for me, for us. i know we are called to be here, and this all just helps. i wouldve never expected all this to happen so soon. praise God. he is really bringing us into this community and we are fitting in well. thank you for your prayers, they are necessary and very helpful. it is hard being away from friends and family, and your prayers help.

we will post pictures from this weekend and other things soon.

oh yeah! kim found a hosuse for the guys! it is a good price, and will house about 15 men. praise the Lord. hopefully it all works out, it has been a long process to find another house, but all in His timing.

eileen's past week

2008-10-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

last week was my busiest week here so far. it was crazy. i even had to take out my planner to write in stuff, which i havent done since i arrived. one of the main things that kept me busy was tutoring some of my students, becuase last week was EXAM week. at the schools in CR, there are exam weeks where all grades, even kindergarten, have exams all week long. it's a big deal because exams are heavily weighted on their grades and if they fail the final exam, they get held back. also, the teacher's evaluations (so ive heard) are also weighed heavily on student's test performance.

I was able to see this in action when i observed my class taking a science exam, given by another teacher. i was going to leave the classroom, since there was another teacher in the room, but i had to see this. during the test, the teacher would read a question, and then walk around to each student and say whether their choice was right or wrong. i couldnt believe what i was seeing! i mean, what is the point of a test if you are going to tell the students if they are right or wrong during the test? i asked another american teacher if this practice was "normal" and she said yes and referred back to the evaluations based on the student's performance. wow.

how did my tests go? well, let's just say my students will learn a lesson in paying attention....or will pay the consequences next year. oh, but i forgot to tell you that if they fail the last test, they get a second chance to pass.

oh yeah! how could i forget the 2 teacher meetings i attended as well? oh man, was that hard to understand. i understood a word here and there, but it was good for me to be there and to show that i cared, even though i didnt understand. it is hard when they were talking so fast in a big room. i do better one on one :)

i also spent some time with some friends :) i took some time to spend with vanessa and vanessa. one vanessa is jimmy's wife (jimmy works in the center with jared) and the other vanessa is richard's wife (a gringo who moved here about a year ago and lives on cocal). it was fun talking to them. it is cool being able to understand the gist of the conversation and learn about someone who doesent speak your language. i think i learn more. i am also thankful to God that they are patient with me and want to be friends with me as well, that is a blessing.

THIS week, will be nice because i dont have school! yeah! today, i filled my time with studying spanish, preparing for school stuff, and talking with jimmy's vanessa and laura. it is nice to think you are going to leave the house for 20 minutes and end up out talking for about 3 hours. the tico culture is good in that way.

thank you for your prayers and please continue to pray for us. the guys are still looking for a house to move into. they have found a few options, please keep that in your prayers. thank you.

police remove the drug addicts from the cemetery

2008-10-04T08:46:00.000-07:00

i have put together a video of the process that the police used to get all the indigents out of the cemetery. basically local business men paid for this cleanup to happen as it was affecting business in many ways, as you can probably imagine.

change of pace

2008-10-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

this past week has been a bit of a change of pace. i have been given a couple projects for an upcoming expo that will be taking place here in manuel antonio in about 3 weeks. the projects include making a slideshow presentation (which i will try to upload to the blog once it's complete) and a handout including information about the center, in spanish and english. and if i could figure out how to put pdf files on this blog, i could show you the handout as well.

a little while back, i was stung by what i think was a scorpion. i didn't get a real good look at it, just felt something big crawling around in my shorts, and then before i get get it out, ouch. it swelled up really big getting worse for about 4 days. the thing about it was that i was driving the motorcycle when this happened. i felt like something was crawling around, but of course, i dismissed it as the wind blowing in my shorts as drove eileen to work. i am very thankful that even though i was scared and it hurt very badly (worse than any other sting i've ever experienced, including jelly fish) i was able to continue to drive safely with eileen riding behind. as i was using my left hand to remove the unwanted visitor from my shorts, i saw something black and maybe the size of a silver dollar. at first i thought of it as a large wasp or something, as i was driving and didn't get a good look at it, but the texture didn't line up. it seemed to me to have a very durable exoskeleton. anyway, very thankful that everything turned out ok. i was one day away from going to the hospital. if it would've got worse on the fifth day, i was planning on going to the hospital. everything is fine now.

****

for recreation, i take the guys out to play soccer, once or twice a week. here are some pictures of that:

costa rica's independence day

2008-09-28T15:29:00.000-07:00

here are some pictures from the independence day parade....which is a huge deal for the schools who participate. at my school, they prepared more than a month in advance, with 1 1/2 hour practices (at least) every day. it was intense, especially listening to the drumming (LOUD) for that long. it was a learning experience for me. a few days before the parade, i was "told" that i was going to help with the parade. the day of the parade, my job changed as being in charge of 2 girls to provide water for the kids from our school. our location: behind the drummers :) above is a picture of Don Carlos (the principal...who is rarely at the school), Kim Stilwell and me...with a huge rash all over my body. it got progressively worse throught walking in the blazing sun during the parade.
from our school, there were kids doing gymnastics, carrying huge flags, drumming, dancing, playing glockenspiels, riding in a truck....etc. we had it all.

the day of the parade, jared was finishing the final paperwork for us to get this motorcycle. we had always talked about getting one, and now that my school is about 10 minutes away, it made more sense for us to get one sooner than later. it has been great. jared takes and picks me up from school...and he can run errands faster in town while at the center. dont worry, wearing helmets are a law here...we both have one....and, our license plate is coming soon! which is pretty cool :)

i have been enjoying cooking here. its fun to make new things to see how they turn out. right now, i just made flax seed crackers....and they are awesome! i am so excited because they taste just like a flax seed flat bread i bought a few summers ago and wanted to find a recipe for it! you can get most things here in costa rica (for cooking). food is expensive here, almost more expensive than the states. we pretty much just buy the basics: beans, rice, milk, bread, flour, sugar...i have just began to buy chicken breasts and some ground beef, spaghetti, fruits and veggies. thats about it. oh, i also get tuna and nuts for making peanut butter and usually eggs.

we usually eat beans, rice, a steamed vegetable with a slice of avocado and tomato and maybe some chicken on the side. when i get sick of eating that, i make spaghetti, pizza and i just experimented with lasagna, which was a real treat! its fun to cook for jared and he seems to like my cooking.

what do we do in our spare time? well, on sundays....watch TV and frantically check fantasy football stats (jared). me, find new recipes to try with ingredients on hand...and sleep. i usually choose one game to really pay attention to. on weekdays, we like to swim during lunch (if it's nice) and just relax. we usually like to play a game or watch a movie if we have one. its pretty relaxing. i just started another beth moore study with 2 other ladies called, jesus the one and only. i am really enjoying it! oh, its in spanish. but, thankfully, my mominlaw scanned the english version for me. it will be a good learning experience...oh, such is life.

i broke down the other day on the way to school because i didnt want to go. i felt like a little kid begging his mom not to make him go to school. it is challenging....and a HUGE learning experience, which my mom would like. i have to say it is crazy teaching somewhere where i only know about 3 rules. i learn from mistakes. no one really tells you in advance what to do. if you mess up, someone tells you.

ok, well...thanks for reading. thank you for your prayers and support! we could not be here without you. God is taking us through the sanctification process.

lessons from mold and ants...

2008-09-23T11:16:00.000-07:00

mold and bugs are an issue here in costa rica. luckily, we havent had too many problems with bugs (besides when we saw a 3 inch cockroach on the floor when we moved in)....or so i thought.

we have a spare room where we keep our empty suitcases, books, and some clothes. in a week, there was mold growing already...and i knew i had to do something...but i hoped it would just go away with the use of the dehumidify option on the air conditioner.

the smell and mold came to a halt, and i hoped things were atleast not getting worse. however, i knew that soon i was going to have to wipe the mold off so it would not get worse. i was putting this off because it was going to be a pain....and i didnt want to do it.

i put it off for a month.

so, yesterday i got motivated to start cleaning in the spare room and checked my book bag first. not only was there mold...there were ants!! when i looked closer, there was eggs being nested all over the bag. little white spots just waiting for more ants to come! at first, i thought the white spots were mold, but no! it was gross. i carried the bag outside.

then, i started to look on the other shelves. yep, more ants! all over the bag with the sunscreen/bug sprays! good thing was, they werent in jared's shorts. again, tons of them.

i continued to clean out the ants, then wiped off all the luggage with mold. what job. my reward was swimming in the pool.

as i was cleaning the mold, i was reminded that i needed to do everything without complaining and doing it with joy....even cleaning after tons of ants! as i was walking up the hill to our apartment, i asked God what he was trying to teach me out of this whole mess, and i heard clearly about how i need to deal with sin in my life. if i wait to confess and repent (even when i know it is there) it will get worse... i will allow more sins and habits to form in my life. why do i, we, do this? we choose to ignore our sins and hope they will go away...which is the farthest thing from the truth. we have to deal with our sins right away. we have to humble ourselves before our Lord.

so, before you find an area in your life where mold and ants have started to inhabit, take a close look at your heart and do a deep clean.

"Dark is the stain that we cannot hide;

what can avail to wash it away?

Look! there is a flowing crimson tide--

whiter than snow you may be today.

Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,

Freely bestowed on all who believe!

You that are longing

to see His face,

Will you this moment

His grace receive?"

- julia h. johnston

"let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." hebrews 4:16

praise report

2008-09-19T08:58:00.001-07:00

we got a great deal on a little motorcycle. thank you for your prayers. i take eileen to and from school until she learns to ride it by herself. she had practiced a little, but stays in first gear. she's cute.

IAFA

2008-09-19T08:58:00.000-07:00

we are getting some resistance from a national branch. they are trying to close down the center. so, we are trying to do everything that we can in order to prevent this from happening. we need a lot of prayer as they certainly have the grounds to do so. we don't have the required two bathrooms, and many other faults dealing with the infrastructure. so, in order to fix these problems, we are looking more fervently for a new location for the program.

there is also an issue that we don't have a psychologist on staff along with a certified social worker. the main problem, however, is the one concerning the physical house. jimy told me that he has seen many programs shut down because of the facility, but none shut down because of the staffing (which he has seen many understaffed programs). this organization is not warm to religious based organizations which produces another problem.

there is also a local here in quepos who is very rich and influential who has tried to buy the program several times, and he is now very upset with us as an association who has close friends in IAFA. it's only speculation, but we believe it's strong speculation that he is also involved. all this to say that the odds are stacked against us right now; but in this we rejoice, because if something changes, we know beyond doubt that God's hand is at work in the situation, and it is He that will get the glory.

please pray for this situation.

remembering rigo lion

2008-09-10T18:43:00.000-07:00

here's a video showing the area of the near tragedy.

a couple days after rigo lion quite possibly saved luis' life, rigo left the program and luis was kicked out.

cleaning the cemetery

2008-09-09T20:38:00.001-07:00

we are being paid by the hour to clean the cemetery where the crack addicts live. we are trying to raise money so that we can hire oscar as he is just a few weeks from graduating. it's a very dirty job, human feces everywhere. prior, there have been human fetuses in trash piles in this cemetery. they perform abortions right there in the cemetery if the baby doesn't die first from cocaine overdose.

the first few days...

2008-09-03T12:12:00.000-07:00

ok, so the past few days at my new job teaching english have been crazy. above is a picture of my 4th graders...it was a challenge getting them to sit in this shape :) slowly, i am getting used to the students, but it will take time for them to get used to me and my teaching styles as well. the attention span is very short...even shorter for the high schoolers!

it is a CHALLENGE teaching somewhere not my first language. wow. a few experiences where i have gotten myself in a little trouble. but, how am i supposed to know?! like yesterday, there was practice for the independence day parade...so i didnt have to teach the high schoolers since it was during our class time...but i found that out through a student earlier that morning...and later found out i was in charge of the flag holder group....it was interesting. i can laugh about it now...as well as many things. i am embarrassing myself many times a day. pretty funny.
above are some objects i took from some students during class. one boy accidentally hit me with one of the sticks....and many paper wads are thrown throughout the class. i did teach and do work....its just they are crazy. oh, man. i know God wants to teach me through this...so i am being open. one thing i have to do is loosen up.
a picture of part of the school.
views from the school

kim driving his bus/van full of kids.

well, it has already been a journey. i have 3 books to teach students with, and only 1 teacher's manual. i am thankful for this experience....it is making my mornings interesting...but left with little energy to do things at home, like cooking and cleaning and laundry. we are looking for some transportation, like a scooter for me to get to school, please pray for that...and also that we could get a good deal on the price. the school is about a 10-15 minute drive...and all other modes cost $$.

thank you for your love and support!

praise the lord for rigo lion el salvador

2008-09-02T05:03:00.000-07:00

Rigo Lion (pronounced ree-go-lee-own) el salvador was the name rigo earned yesterday. his name is Rigo and the locals call him Rigo Lion, meaning rigo the lion. he's from quépos so everybody knows him. he is an older man who spent many years fishing the great ocean and drinking only too often.

every morning at the center i clean some part of quépos with a group of guys. this particular day was el malecón y naomi. malecón is a levee, and this particular levee is the one that separates quépos from the pacific ocean. it is quite dirty and in only two hours we get three very large trash bags filled, mostly with small candy wrappers and such. the other part of the morning's work is to be done at naomi. this is an area which used to be a community center with a pool and grill, and little concession stand on a very beautiful little peninsula. this peninsula is high above the ocean, protruding out of the sea by sheer cliffs on all sides.

there is one point, one rock, that people jump off of into the ocean, only during high tide (as we have extreme tides where we are, sometimes as much as 12 ft differentials). it was low tide yesterday morning. sometimes when we're done working, we go for a swim to clean off. this was the case. during high tide the waves aren't as dangerous in this particular spot. there are no beaches around and getting into the water is a tough endeavor. imagine a beach, except without sand, there are large and small rocks with jagged edges that you can barely walk on if you are very careful. now add giant waves, nothing like you see in florida, but something more like australian waves, 6-12 footers. in this situation, you cannot ease your way in. there must be a jump from a certain point into the ocean off of a strategic rock and then a quick swim in between wave sets to get out past the break (past the break is a term meaning that there is a point where the waves are breaking, and out past that, they are not considered waves but rather swells, and there are no white-caps and they are not dangerous, ie. you cannot get crushed by them, and they do not pull you in any sort of direction, at least not vigorously).

so, i jump out after a wave and after a few stokes and out past the break in the open ocean. there is one and only one place that you can safely get out of the ocean, where the waves aren't too strong and where you can basically tread water off of the rock and let the swell bring you up to the rock where you can climb out. this is all common knowledge.

luis jumps out, not far enough and panics right away, trying to swim back to the rock that he jumped from. this is a horrible idea because there is no way to get out by means of this particular rock. i am telling him to swim out past the break, but he wouldn't listen. the next wave set will be upon him very quickly now and i'm trying to get him to swim in the other direction. then the waves came. as he was clinging to the rocks the water went out from under him and he could not support his own full weight with just a couple fingers grasping a small indention of the rock and he fell back in the now tumultuous ocean. picture in your mind, the pacific northwest on a stormy day on one of those large rock coasts, waves crashing the rocks, sending spray 30 feet into the air, well, this is the picture. where he's trying to climb out, it's a sheer cliff and it is impossible while he's being pulled out by the wave recession and then pounded against the rocks by the full force of the waves. i am down at the edge of where he should swim to only about fifteen feet from where he is, but he is panicking. the next thing i know, rigo jumps right in. i'm thinking to myself, oh no, now two of them. of course the first thing that luis does is grab rigo and shove him underwater. during that instant, rigo's foot was shot full of some sort of coral darts as he was shoved to the floor by the frantic luis. (these darts were nothing like i ever saw, i pulled one out of his foot that measured three inches) once rigo realized that he could not help him in his current state, at least not by using physical means, he swam himself out to safety. then luis, now, not trying to make his way to the impossible rock, was swimming after rigo. then when luis reached rigo he relaxed and let rigo swim both of them to safe waters which was only about 10 seconds away. luis was exhausted so we pulled him out of the ocean across the rocks (which gave him a few more scrapes from what he already had).

after getting out luis was laughing about his situation, realizing the he was doing all the wrong things. louis had a busted shoulder and a busted back from being slammed against the rocks, but that was very minor compared to the possibility of him hitting his head. rigo went straight to the hospital to get about 60 darts pulled out of his foot.

this story reminds me of life. that when i'm in the midst of a dilemma, and relying on my own understanding, the way out, or the answer that i believe to be correct may be wrong altogether. that i often need others to point me in the right direction and that when i don't listen to others, and they take the next step to jump in, that i often pull them down first for a variety of reasons. that it usually costs the person doing the helping, at least in the short run. and after looking back, we can, if we take the opportunity, learn from the experience to grow and not repeat some of the same mistakes.

i am very thankful to God for rigo lion, who jumped in, maybe against all recommendations of training, into a very dangerous situation to literally save the life of another.

eileen's new job!

2008-09-01T12:27:00.000-07:00

so this weekend, i talked to an american girl who i talked to before about a possible teaching job at a private school here in quepos. she said the position was still open and that i should check it out on monday...and she also spoke of the possibility of the director hiring me on the spot....which is what happened today!

i arrived at the school with Kim's bus full of kids who attend the school and waited in the office for the principal, Don Carlos. Soon, i was sitting with him in his "office" with Teacher D, the translator. The first thing he asked me for was my resume...which i did not have because i was just coming in to see about the position, not necessarily an interview or anything like that. Next, we were talking about where i was from, etc. Soon, we were talking about the open position....I told him i was interested in the position. Then, he asked how much i would want to be paid...which i had no idea! I told him i was here as a missionary, etc. Last, he asked me when i could start....and i said today!

the next thing i knew, i was visiting my first class of 4th graders. i am the english teacher for 4th grade and for the beginners class of middle schoolers grades 7-9. today, i mostly had the middle schoolers on my own...which will be more of a challenge than the younger ones. i will be traveling to their classrooms, so i wont have my own classroom...which is what all the specialty teachers do.

i cant believe it, really! the bonus was talking to Teacher D while Don Carlos was away for a moment. She was asking me about being a missionary, then come to find out she is a Christian too...which is as really cool and definitely confirmation! i am excited...and nervous....and will give more updates soon!

thank you for your prayers, they are working!!!

hot, humid, and rainy days in quepos

2008-08-31T14:03:00.000-07:00

friday and saturdays are the days for the feria, which is the market. everyone sets up and people buy. jared and a few guys from the center help set up for a couple there, which is great because they give the center some free veggies and jared and i a discount when we buy there. here is jared being a "mule", helping me with the bags full of veggies and fruit...by the way, he was making mule sounds as he was walking up the hill to our apartment.
a few nights ago, we got a tuna fish, and jared filleted it....and we tried to cook it after a few attempts...eventually, it tasted good. all the fisherman training helps with this!
here are some beautiful flowers we noticed as we were leaving for town the other day.
i saw this guy hanging out by the pool.
ok...so, here is jared playing a game called arkham horror. we have had this game set up for about 3 days, and we just play bits at a time. it is a strategy game...
more pictures of the feria...this is the place where jared and the guys from the center help set up. it was raining all night and day, so it was very muddy.

things are continuing to go well. we have almost been here for 2 weeks, and it seems like we have been here for months. tomorrow, i am going to visit a school to try to get a job, if there is an opening, if they will have me, and if God provides and allows it. it would be for a 1/2 day...i will let you know what happens. i am settled in now, where i need some challenge and change.

the chuch we attend is also looking to make some changes in outreach and also to find a building to meet in. right now, we are meeting at kim and laura's house. jared helped with the music this week, which everyone enjoyed...and i will be helping with snacks and organizing potluck meals, which will be hosted at our place...right in time for football season. i also might help with announcements...we will see.

please continue to pray for us as we live in this foreign land. thank you!!

my day

2008-08-25T18:15:00.000-07:00

living in another country is not easy. i had forgotten how many things are so different and that they take time to adjust. i guess that is like most things, but it's challenging when it all hits you at once.

today, i went to visit some private schools that laura stilwell's children attend. the plan was to go to her youngest son's school to talk to his K teacher about how to get connected in the schools. our first stop was to pick up her oldest son from his school who had a fever. it happened to be during recess and we ran into two gringo teachers. we told them i was interested in teaching, and they said we came at the right time because an english teacher just walked out a few days ago. this would be a full time position at a school only a year old.

our second stop was at the youngest son's school, which is pre-k through 6. his teacher is young and energetic and said i could help out in whichever way i wanted for however long i wanted. this would be half day. they also have an english teacher i could help.

both options are good options...but for some reason, i left feeling very overwhelmed. maybe it was too much spanish for an hour, i dont know. it's just difficult thinking about this kind of decision because going into a school that speaks another language with a whole other culture i dont know yet, is big. also, it is hard for me to volunteer somewhere that i may be a teacher's aide...when i have already been through training and taught for 3 years.

on wednesday, some ladies are getting together, gringas, to talk about their ideas they have for their time in costa rica...and i am waiting for that time to discuss more. i really want to get involved in the community here in some way....i just dont know what. please pray for a peace and further direction. :)

tonight, jared brought home 2 tuna fish. after many attempts at cooking them, we got it right...it was good. you have to cook everything from scratch here...except the staple items. this also takes a good amount of time, but i am learning to soak the beans earlier and cook them at the right times. it is all a process, and it is all for God's glory.

-eileen

some more videos

2008-08-24T15:29:00.000-07:00

walking to the center...

monkeys everywhere...

2008-08-22T08:03:00.000-07:00

in manuel antionio...on our housing search
here are some friends of ours who were married yssterday. there was a small cake celebration.

first days in quepos, costa rica

2008-08-22T08:01:00.000-07:00

Aug 20^tha.m....from jared

We had the easiest travel day that I can ever remember. We got an early start leaving Eileen’s parent’s house in Chicago around 4:40 a.m. With a quick stop at the local grocery to pick up a couple of requests of the Kim and Laura who are already down in Costa Rica, we were on our way. As much as Eileen and I had traveled together, we had never flown together. We have taken taxis, buses, trains, and even a tandem together, but we looked forward to this trip together.

This was the first travel day in a long time that I didn’t get delayed, miss a flight, or have something else happen. This dates back a while, so we had a peaceful flight to Houston, a short layover and then another easy flight to San Jose, CR. Once there, we hurried and got our bags and then through immigration. Once we got got outside, we were met immediately by a van from Quepos that Laura had hired for us to come pick us up. No problems, a peaceful 3 hour ride in the pouring rain until we got to Quepos with one coffee break stop in between. We were met with joy when we arrived to Kim’s house where we will stay for the first few days until we find somewhere to move into.

…a day later...

today is my first day at work in the center. I was very, very thankful to see some of the same faces. Oscar, who I wrote about last time I was here, is still here and doing a very good job to help run the house. He is slated to graduate next month. After his graduation, we are trying to find a way to hire him to work there at the center; that way it will be three total working there. Thank you for all your prayers, and I want to let you know that they are being answered; men’s lives are being changed.

now from eileen...
It was a different feel when we arrived in quepos this time. It didn’t seem too long ago that we were here together. The town felt familiar and I recognized all the places we had been to before. Moving somewhere is totally different than taking a short visit. I am looking forward to the relationships that will be made.

Right when we arrived, laura (the wife of kim stilwell who stared the center where jared is working) told us about the plans that were already on our schedule J

It seems crazy how easily things have been coming into place. I am very thankful and realize it is nothing but the Lord’s provision. I had no idea that we would be settled into our first home so soon! It was funny how we found the place because we were walking around the streets of quepos with no real leads for housing, but it was like we were just waiting for the perfect place to just pop up. We had heard of this place called Manuel Antionio Estates where an American girl had lived before, so we decided to go check it out since there were no other options yet.

We arrived and walked into the office and asked the owner if there were any spots available. He said there was one apartment available. He gave us the key, and we checked it out….it was a dream come true for the both of us. Jared had a huge smile on his face the whole time we were checking out the apartment. One of the things he said was it had a great table. I thought he said that because of the wood work…then, later I realized he said it because of the size….for GAMES!! Hilarious. But really, that is a blessing as well because I have never seen a table of this size around costa rica. It is on the rare side…especially for an apartment.

I have spoken with laura about possibilities for working in the schools. She gave me the run down of the schools and it sounds like private schools are the best option. She has 4 kids and they are all in school. Her youngest is in kindergarden and she is going to talk to that teacher to see how I could get involved in the schools. There also may be an opportunity for me to get a job as well. Please pray for my direction here in quepos.

We have been accepted with open arms here. Yesterday, we were able to see a lot of the Americans who live here and one couple drove us around town to show us the best places to go…it was nice. Then, we went to the grocery store to get some food, mainly beans and rice and we carried it all back to our place….about a 15 minute walk. We looked pretty funny carrying all our stuff. We were both carrying at least 30-40 lbs each. Jared was carrying a box with a gallon of oil, 3 sets of hangers, beans, hot dogs, etc. and I was carrying a bag with 30 lbs of beans and rice and my purse stuffed with stuff and kitchen utensils hanging out.

We are looking forward to getting connected into the community. I need to practice my Spanish, big time!

Thank you for your prayers and love.

a few more days...

2008-08-14T19:30:00.000-07:00

our days in the states are coming to an end. we are flying out in a little more than 4 days....which seems weird...but it hasnt even hit me yet! the bed is full of things to be packed...and we just moved out of the cabin and that stuff is in the garage. we will wait to organize soon :)

it has been a great summer with friends and family. we have been blessed beyond we have imagined and prayed for, yet we always can have great expectations with God. he knows our needs better than anyone, and that has proved itself over and over. all of our needs have been provided for in one way or another...which is quite amazing because at the beginning of the summer we had few ideas of how we would get a car or make money.

God has really been preparing us this summer for what is ahead for us in costa rica. we have a couple ideas of where we might live or how to buy things etc...but we know God will provide because he has proven himself to be faithful. we are very excited to this continued journey. ever since we got together about a year ago, we both knew we would be involved in missions, and it is finally here. even when i was a missionary in ecuador for 2 years, i "told" God i wasnt coming back to the mission field unless i was married....and here ya go :)

this past year i have been enjoying looking into making homemade things. i was introduced to it while i was in ecuador because we didnt have access to as many food items and pre-prepared items. one thing i have continually made is peanut butter. here is the finished product.

all you need is a small food processor (or any size you have)...well, actually, this is more of a chopper...but it works.
then, you need some kind of oil. i like peanut oil the best.
next, the most important ingredient: peanuts. you can buy shelled or unshelled peanuts. it is faster to buy roasted peanuts as well. all you do is put about 1 cup of peanuts in the food processor to get them chopped as fine as they can get. add about 1 tbsp of oil to mix the peanuts until it becomes smoother...you can add more oil as needed. depending on the way you mix, it might have a crunchier texture. next, you can also add a sugar or honey to the mixture as well. just mix until the texture is to your liking and put it in a jar. yum. it goes really well on banana bread :)
i dont know if i have mentioned this before, but jared has introduced me into a whole knew genre of games. kind of like games with lots of strategy and complexity. below, is one game i bought jared, thinking it would like playing these types of games more if i picked it out, called carcassonne. i wont take time to explain it....but it has been enjoyable. the other day, jared said we needed more complex games. so, he got one and was very patient with me as he taught me the game step by step. we eventually finished it (prob 5 hours) and i did enjoy it.
it has been hard to say some good byes before we leave, but it has been encouraging as well because we have so much love and support. thank you all.

days at the cabin

2008-08-01T11:18:00.000-07:00

here are some pictures of the cabin we have been living in this summer. it has been in the cantrell family for about 20 years. no one has permanantly lived there for that duration, which has brought some plumbing problems that we have dealt with. the plumbers came out on numerous occasions to diagnose the problem....it has been an adventure.

the plumbers discovered that there were roots growing inside the pipes and septic system. now, its fixed...but we have enjoyed "roughing it." here is me doing dishes in a bucket.

oops...i dropped a plate :)

here is my compost bin. i am attempting to do it in this container with holes in the bottom. so far, so good! it was a great joy to see bugs in there when i checked it the second time! i love soil :) jared always makes fun of me for it...
here is the digging the plumbers had to do to find the pipe to see what the problem was.
one of our favorite games we have played is scrabble. this game, i am winning so far...but that usually changes very quickly. i have enjoyed playing games with jared :) that is one of our favorite things to do together. he has introduced me into a whole new genre of games.

married life is great.

now that's a bad dude

2008-07-17T16:09:00.000-07:00

here are some pictures from our time in chicago at the beginning of our summer. chicago is a great city to hang out in during the summer time. lots of cool and free stuff to do.

wedding reception...5 months later

2008-07-17T08:06:00.000-07:00

last weekend we had a party celebrating me and jared's marriage and ministry in costa rica. the party was at jared's parents house/backyard. all week, we were working hard preparing for the party, doing a lot of manual labor. it was the first time i experienced using a pressure washer, and i really enjoyed it. jared and i enjoyed working outside together and working as a team to get the work done. it all paid off. saturday came sooner than expected, and all the preperations got done...30 minutes before the party started, with little time to get ready.

that week, everyone was praying for the weather because all week the forecast predicted a 60% chance of rain in the evening. on the day of the party, it was pouring down rain all morning. it cleared up just in time to start putting things together outside and it was perfect weather during the hours of the celebration from 5-9. at exactly 9pm, it started raining. God is good.

thank you all who came and celebrated with us. we are truly blessed with your love, support, prayers, gifts and friendship. thank you for partnering with us in God's work in quepos, costa rica. please continue to pray for us as we focus on raising monthly support for God's ministry.

below are some pictures from the party:

classic dave pose (eileen's parents) jared's cousin and sister
catering folks...archer's...a pig roast. it was fun to have a pig out for all to see....some were shocked by it, but it just makes since...that's what they do in central/south america!
will and aaron...me and jared's brothers. it is so funny that our families are now connected by marriage because they were always good friends in high school....its cool. it is such a blessing how our families connect in a natural way.
the tent and some guests. i loved putting the tables together with antique table cloths that have been in the families for years as well as vases with flowers from kim's garden.

together

2008-07-02T15:59:00.000-07:00

hello! I'm sorry for the lack of updates. our life has been very full the past 3 months. here is a brief recap: jared moves back to the states, eileen finishes grad school, jared flies to seattle to stay with eileen for 2 weeks, eileen teaches 3 weeks in a row, family flies out to islandwood for graduation, stressful packing of eileen's cabin with parents, we sell the 1985 i was driving for $220, we meet up in chicago to dog sit while parents are in alaska, we drive down to indy with friends, we start moving into the cantrell family cabin in painted hills and start cleaning out and making it more of "our" place for the time we are in the states, eileen is in her cousin's wedding, and we start getting ready to leave for costa rica on august 19th!

wow, it has been a great summer so far and i have enjoyed being around family more often. the cantrell women started a bible study 6 weeks ago, and this has been the first week I was able to attend. while we were joined hands and praying, i was overwhelmed at the blessing of being married into a family of Christians, especially strong christian women who are there to support each other. that was a blessing i was not totally aware about, and i am very thankful.

it just reminds me to keep my eyes opened to all God has for me, which gets me excited for all the "extra" blessings God will have in store for my life. it was enough of a blessing to marry jared, but extra to have such a great new family. i love that God never ceases to teach me more and more about His heart and character. He is full of extravagant love that i do not deserve. I am thankful for his grace, patience, and mercy.

we are excited to be living together on a more permanent basis and would appreciate your prayers as we prepare to leave for costa rica in a couple of months!

03-24-2008

2008-05-24T12:22:00.000-07:00

above, we have a relatively complete view of the center, minus the dorm rooms, but includes the men´s daily Bible reading.

below, we have a hilarious video (at least to me) of Gonzago trying to put on a glove. he was a good sport about it.

rogue wave for my birthday

2008-05-23T12:59:00.000-07:00

i got the coolest birthday present ever...a rogue wave. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_wave

it was absolutely insane. men live on the sea their whole life without seeing one. i myself have spent many a day and night living on the ocean. i have seen waves that struck fear into my core, but this was an awesome phenomenon. it´s just a shame i didn´t catch it on camera. the cause was undoubtedly diffractive focusing. ¨the coast shape or seabed shape directs several small waves to meet in phase. their crest heights combine to create a rogue wave.¨ the swells were very high that day, but this wave was around 10 meters. it was white capped out at sea in calm weather. it formed just after passing our boat and would have capsized us had it formed any sooner. it took less than five seconds for it to form out of nowhere, and then it crashed. the sound was awesome.

we caught many fish that day, and i had a great time doing some fixing up on the boat, splicing line, cleaning fish, tieing knots etc. overall a great birthday; it was one to remember.

and what else needs to be said about the cloud, ocean, and sky?

a week in the field

2008-05-21T16:55:00.000-07:00

banana slug on the field...a dream come true for a student here...their goal is to see one, kiss it or lick it.

taken after an instructor campfire. lauren and i did a skit...."a bandana, not a banana.."
friendship circle songs, the food chain...
teams course...the mohawk walk
down to the harbor?! couldnt get the lock open! so, we hiked around the gate :)
floating classroom, with ducks!
lightning tree...team paint
drumming

lots of fun. lots of memories. lots of love.

03-18-2008

2008-05-18T13:52:00.000-07:00

so, i´m going into my last week here in quépos until i return to the states. i started it off with a bang. kim asked me yesterday afternoon if i would give the message in church today; i agreed. and today i spoke on ephesians 4:16. mainly comparing our relationship to the body of christ and christ himself sort of like john 15 did with the vine and the branches. that if we are seperated from the head of the body, christ, we are useless, and maybe worse. and that a connection with christ, conects us with each other.

i gave it twice, the second time with an interpreter. the guy, oscar, who i have really been spending a lot of time with discipling. after beginning to understand the discipleship process on this end of it, i am seeing that it is addition by multiplication and not addition by addition. that if i was to disiple every person in the center, i would be overwhelmed and burn out. but by focusing on oscar and a few others, they in turn have been able to help and disciple others as well. oscar will actually be taking a group of guys through the operation timothy discipleship process that i have taken him through.

this was very encouraging when i saw one guy in particular who has come a very long way teaching a new guy about how God has been working in his life. the overall tone in the center has changed drastically lately. jimy, the director has wanted change for a while, but has been overworked and very busy as he just had his fourth kid last week. with the extra help here, we have been able to begin to turn the center from a flophouse into a discipleship program where guys also learn useful skills, whether that be english, fishing, painting...etc.

so, in looking back over the past 90 days, i am thankful that i am rewarded with being able to see many changes that the Lord has allowed me to be a part of. thanks again for all your support and prayers that have made all this possible.

eggs

2008-05-16T13:02:00.000-07:00

so, last friday, after i got off of work (345-7am shift) i went to the grocery store to pick up some eggs, fruit, and milk. i walked back to my car, opened the door, put the eggs on top of the car while i put the other bag inside, shut the door, started my car...and started back to islandwood. when i got back to islandwood, i took out my bag and looked for the eggs. i wondered where in the world they were! then, i remembered...oh, no! i fogot to take them off the roof (maybe i had been up too long) and they were on the road somewhere. i was upset...and shocked that i left the eggs on top of the car! then, i remembered that when i was driving, people were looking at my car all crazy. but no one said anything!!!!!!

later that day, my friends said they saw my eggs....on the road, about a mile away from my work!

so, today, a week later....i was on my way home from work again, and i saw a rug fall off of the roof of the car in front of me! i thought about if i should tell them or not, then...i remembered my eggs. i hurried to the intersection, and luckily, we were side by side. i honked, did the roll down the window motion...and told them about the rug. they were shocked, immediately backed up in the intersection...and went to get the rug. they were very thankful.

i was happy that i could help them out....and now i know why the egg catastrophe happened to me :)

faith journey

2008-05-08T10:16:00.001-07:00

i am going to take a moment to be very open and vulnerable in this blog to share what God is working on in my life. Over the past year or so, I have been introduced to Beth Moore, a woman who writes bible studies for women on various topics. The study I am doing now, I called "Believing God." to be honest, i have had this study since november, and just started the 4th week of the homework...

this season here at islandwood has been a year of new things for me, which have come at very quick paces and unexpected times. if you were to ask me in august what this year entailed for me, i probably would have said, "who knows." and thought, "only God knows." through it all, i prayed, trusted, and walked with faith.

my time in ecuador was a time in my life where God really had me on my own. He wanted to take me out of my normal life routines in the states, and get me on my own, where he could get my full attention with very minimal distractions. the first year, i was there on my own with no one my age (except people coming and going) and nothing to do except to read His word and reflect on the previous college years.

now, being back from ecuador not even a year, i was quickly emerged back into the states culture without much time to reflect or integrate my experience. to be honest, people dont really want to hear all the details, which is hard to accept...because you want to share. but at that time, i realized that it was a sweet time with God that only He would truly understand.

Now, i know that the experience He provided me with in Ecuador was used to prepare me for the ministry He has for me and Jared; which i am so thankful for. It is nothing short of a miracle that God led jared and i together and the paths he led us on to prepare us for our life together.

i have recently realized that being away from jared effects me more than i realize. it is very hard, but i have faith it is for a reason. i know that God is, and will always, work in our lives individually so we can be stronger together, rooted in the Lord.

so, back to Beth Moore...today, i listened to the week four message called, "Believing I am who God says I am." I have struggled with this for as long as I can remember. I have always been insecure in my body and appearance. I have searched for acceptance in everyone and everything else, except for God.

This year has been a journey in this acceptance. I knew that when Jared and I got married, I would have to deal with this, and thought I did before we were married...but that was just the tip of the iceberg. Today, God revealed His truths to me through His Word and I am choosing to believe God....that I am blessed, chosen, adopted, accepted, redeemed, and forgiven...all centered in His Love. The word accepted really hit me today. The only way I will become whole is through believing God, His truths, and realizing i have security in Christ, and nothing else.

As I reflect on this year, i realize that i have been going through a sifting season...to prepare me for the future. its like God is saying, "We have a place to go...and that stuff is not going with us." some things have to go. i need to take an inner view of myself, the sin, the selfishness, confess the things of the flesh, so the spirit can move in.

One theme that comes up over and over for me is faith...to walk in faith as my foot says. God has proven this over and over to me....and i need to continue walking....just with a lighter load. to get rid of the sinful baggage that i have been carrying, and get rid of it (just like i have been getting rid of my material stuff). there is no time for games, ya know? it is time for me to take responsibility and live in freedom.

i am thankful that God does not give up on us. that he is continually teaching and training and sifting us to righteousness.

Psalm 32

Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him
and in whose spirit is no deceit.
When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of the summer.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord"--and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him.
You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you....Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him. Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!"

thanks for reading, eileen

eileen's weekend

2008-05-06T15:38:00.000-07:00

on friday night, i took a red eye from seattle to indianapolis to surprise my grandpa for his 75th birthday surprise party. my grandma planned a surprise party (his bday was in april) for all of our family to attend. my brother flew out from pensacola, (he's in the navy and it is hard for him to get away to see family) and i came out too. it was neat because my grandpa did not know about any of this...and all of our family was going to be together (which is a miracle in itself).

my brother surprised my grandpa at breakfast, and i surprised him by showing up to perry middle school, where my cousin emily was playing in the state basketball tournament! it was cool to be back at my middle school....pretty funny.

i bet my grandpa was very curious to know why will and i flew all the way out for emily's games. he had no idea...even though we were there. when we left the game, he asked if we were going to be able to see each other before i left...and i said that i didnt know what my plans were. as far as he knew, he was going to dinner with my parents.

that night, we all showed up at his favorite restaurant and he was surprised! he said it was the most surprised he has been in his life. i thought it was when i called him to ask him to marry me with 3 days notice....maybe he wouldnt used the word "surprised" to describe that :)

here are some pictures from the night...

after the party, i rode back to chicago with my parents. i decided to go to chicago for a few days to organize all my things, clean out my stuff in storage...before jared and i would need to move our stuff. well, i had a lot of stuff to go through! i ended up donating about 5 large plastic tubs of stuff filled with books to dresses from high school dances.

one of my motivations to go through all my stuff was to find old pictures or letters from jared. i found another one of his high school pictures with a note on the back! it said, "thanks for being a friend. have a good year. heart, jaredpaulcantrell." i also found a letter from 2001!! yay!! that was a great find. i wonder why i kept those :) that shows a lot!! :) i am glad i keep some things.

a few more weeks until jared returns to the states. he will be able to spend a couple weeks with me in seattle as i finish up my program there and then i graduate! yay! i am looking forward to my first summer together with my husband....as we prepare our ministry for costa rica. thank you for your prayers!

05-05-2008

2008-05-05T17:27:00.000-07:00

It is true, the Tico culture and American culture is very different. I have been spending the last two months or more trying to figure exactly what these differences are. A real cultural understanding is essential while trying to help those whom I have been sent her to help. One day spent in this country trying to accomplish a task where you need another’s compliance or help will quickly reveal some of the most prominent differences. There is no sense of urgency as far as accomplishing tasks, and many Americans are resented because of their normal, pragmatic, goal-oriented mentality (this is not said to excuse those Americans who are guilty of exploiting this country or the people, but to note that I too can be frustrated not by sinful actions but no more than cultural differences). All that said, the slower pace life often times is a welcome respite from our very fast American culture.

While working with the men, I have had to deal with this in many different aspects. I have had to ask for special discernment regarding the difference between laziness and cultural variances. Over time, I understand more and am able to address these differences. Of course I have been taken advantage of many times under the guise of, “it’s our culture” when it comes to physical labor, and now, am taking a harder stand against some of these falsely labeled differences. If there is one thing that characterizes most people coming out of addiction, it is self-centeredness, which often shows itself in laziness.

I also know that I am extreme by nature, and that this extreme nature shows itself in my work ethic. Therefore, I must also consider this, that I have very high expectations. Jimmy, the director of the program here, has recently been looking to me to set a more obedient tone in the house. I use the word obedient because often the men in the center are the ones that determine when, where or how they work. It just so happens that I am a part of Christ’s body that has been more equipped in the ways of confrontation. Prior, one could easily say, “I don’t feel well today, ask Jose to go clean instead,” and there would be little that was appropriate for me to do; or, “It’s supposed to rain later, and these are the only shoes I have, and I don’t want to get them wet”. Recently, after prayer and communication with Jimmy, we are raising the standards of those living in the house.

The response would be what you expect, some have left immediately after being given the choice between doing what they are asked and leaving the house (revealing that their hearts wanted nothing to do with change, but just wanted a place to get some food and rest so they could continue smoking crack; which was already known but now confronted), some have reluctantly adhered, and some have been glad, knowing that these changes were necessary.
One man in particular, known for his violent and sporadic behavior threatened my life, promising revenge in the streets. This is not the first time I have been threatened, but I usually dismiss these threats as just words spoken by someone with a bad temper. This time is different; others warned me that with this particular man, this could possibly be a potentially serious issue and to watch my back. I pray all the harder, and am all the more alert while walking by myself, especially at night.

These changes have given opportunities for biblical instruction. Religion runs rampant down here. Everyone knows of Christ, in fact most everyone has accepted Christ, at least verbally. Everywhere you look, you see pictures of Jesus or religious sayings. However, what is written in the Bible is not known. This is where sharing specific verses for a specific attitude has been very effective and helpful. That in the end, a love for God and others moves us to a willingness to be obedient, and more than that, a desire to be obedient, not because the law alone tells us to, but that we come to an understanding that the law was written by the creator of ourselves. That the law was fulfilled in Christ, and a true understanding of that grace allows us to be obedient for the right reason, love, and that the Bible is a loving guideline not to keep us from having fun, but quite the opposite, to teach us how to run the human machine properly. That, God knows better than any what will fulfill us and bring us peace and joy, and that all of our own efforts to find those things on our own always come up vain. I have much enjoyed my own spiritual journey since being here, and the lessons and understanding God has taught me in my time here.

I look forward to coming back to the states three weeks from today to visit with friends and family. I also look forward to returning to this place with my wife.

2008-04-29T17:52:00.000-07:00

as some of you may know, i very much enjoy taking pictures. here are a few that i've taken in quepos and manuel antonio.

-jaredpc

2008-04-26T18:38:00.000-07:00

i am amazed at the work god does. it is incredible...and the great thing is, is that his hand is at work everywhere, and people are in awe and glorifying him all over the world. i enjoy talking to people, hearing what is going on in their life, and realizing how present God is in their life. it is a blessing to be a child of god and be around all his miracles.

the main miracle and blessing i am currently overwhelmed with is by jared and i's relationship. i mean, it is a dream to marry someone that i s perfect for me....and it is a bonus to have known him for so long. its funny to think about when we were in high school, and i clearly remember the classes i had with jared. one in particular, junior english, jared and i sat next to eachother (good old alphabetical order! cantrell, clayton). he sat right in front of me, and we sat on the right hand side of the room. i would always be distracted by what he was doing. often, he would be drawing in the style of pointillism. i was always disappointed when he would miss class (which was fairly often at this point in his life). it was like something was missing from my life. throughout high school, we were pretty good friends...and nothing more. we never dated, although we dated each others friends. now, i am thankful that we never dated, because we both agree that we prob wouldnt be where we are today if we did. i always had a lot of respect for him even back then.

jared and i also had another connection, through our brothers' friendship...will and aaron. they were best friends in high school and we saw each other a lot...which enabled us to get close to each others brothers and families as well. in high school, i began going over to the cantrell house once in awhile, mainly with will and we would just hang out...mostly at the kitchen counter. i always remembered that as such a comfortable place for me to be. when our family moved to chicago, my brother and i would make random trips to indy, and i always made an effort to stop by the cantrell house....and if i was lucky, jared would be there.

during college, jared and i still would hang out....but i had a boyfriend at the time. its funny because my old boyfriend always saw jared and his brother as a threat...for real!! now, i know why :) hahahahaha.

the summer before i left for ecuador, my brother and i went bowling with jared and aaron. we had such a fun time. during my first year in ecuador, i didnt hear much from jared...except when i would go home for breaks...he always seemed to call once while i was home...which i always thought was kind of odd because i wondered why he would call. still, i always enjoyed talking to him and we always ended up talking for a long time.

during my second year in ecuador, i would get random emails from kim sharing with me what was going on and shared prayer requests for jared as well. in february, i went for a morning run and specifically thought about jared and prayed for him. when i got back from my run, i got an email from jared (first one ever)! it was short and sweet...which started our relationship. from that email, we caught back up on our lives and i started praying for our future. seriously, i started praying about getting married from that day....and continued to up until we did get married. i always prayed for God's will and perfect timing for our relationship.

that summer, i went over to jared's house for a cook out with some of his friends. at the time, i was with my friends and we were going to stop by for an hour before we went down to bloomington to hang out. however, i didnt want to leave. it was so nice to be back at the cantrell house, and be around jared. the WHOLE time i was looking at him and thinking if i could marry him. he thought i liked someone else who was at the gathering.

basically, two days later, we were on the phone talking about marriage. a day or so after that (i think) he told me he loved me....then, i got the guts to tell him (huge for me)....and...well, lots has happened since then, but i think you get the picture.

i cant say enough how great our time together in costa rica was. such a great learning experience in so many ways. as i said before, God is doing a lot of work in a lot of people's hearts down there, and we are so excited to be part of it.

it is very hard being away from jared during this time, but i am so thankful God has given us this time for jared to be down there, getting to know the culture, people, language and preparing us to live there. i cant imagine how it would be without this time for him to be there. God is providing for us in many ways through jared being there now, and for me being here as well. i know it is a challenge for him, for us in many ways, but all the work and service is for God and his glory and purpose...and we are sustained by his unconditional love, mercy, and grace.

thank you again. i am so excited.

eileen

2008-04-25T18:13:00.000-07:00

04-25-2008

the first week eileen and i were together was really like our honeymoon. the second week was more along the lines of making future plans. we are planning, God willing, to be back here in july or early august, so there is much preparation that is needed. we looked at different living possiblities, everything from trying to buy a cheap property on a little island and then me building a house on it, to renting a house from a friend etc.

we spent time in the appiance stores figuring out what would best be brought down and what would be best bought here. we met several people that are in the environmental field down here. we helped at wold earth day, no that´s not a type-o, that´s how they spelled it on a big, professional banner above their booth on the beach, WOLD EARTH DAY. it was in prepartation for earth day. we handed out information on basic environmental issues. eileen´s mother was visiting for a couple days because she had business in brazil. so we all spent some time cleaning the beach that day. it was good to spend a little time with eileen´s mom mona. i enjoyed sharing this place and the ministry i´m a part of down here with her.

after they left, very sad, i jumped right back into the swing of things. they left on tuesday morning, early. that same day, i cleaned the streets and the entrance to the cemetary with a couple guys. this is a good oportunity to teach basic biblical principles. for example, the previous week while i was cleaning the streets with a couple of guys, one of them found a bag containing 20 or so pieces of crack cocaine. he put them into his pocket and then left the next day. there was another guy in the program working with us that day, and he was aware that the other had found the crack, but didn´t want to "snitch" on the other.

i explained him that he was called to be a watchman for other christians as explained in ezekiel 3 and 33. that love looks out for and goes against feelings sometimes to do the right thing. so, little by little, i am able to teach these guys biblical principles as they come up. this individual was very receptive and realized that the world´s view and God´s view are very different on a wide range of issues.

wednesday i continued to take oscar through the operation timothy discipleship manual. i am glad that we don´t have to focus on drugs here, but on right relationships. loving God, getting to know him better, and loving others will naturally cause drugs to fall off. our focus here is Jesus and the Bible.

thursday we cleaned the beach and i taught an english class. today, friday, i studied spanish for several hours, worked at the feria, taught and english class, worked at the feria or market, and then attended a meeting that included the members of our church. i will now be in charge of praise and worship. at this point it´s only going to be singing with a cd, but one day we hope to have someone play the guitar and i´ll play the keyboard.

tomorrow i´ll be working early in the morning again for earthday, doing community service for quépos. there´s some big event and we´ve been hired to help out. this is good for the program to be such a good influence on the community and in turn receive money for the program.

i have been very tired writing this blog, and look forward to when i have more time to spend writing about more of my experiences here, and more time about some of the things that the Lord has been teaching me through this experience. thank you all for your prayers and support.

back to reality

2008-04-23T18:21:00.000-07:00

i arrived safely back in bainbridge island after a travel duration of over 24 hours. wow. now we are back to reality....working and school.

after jared and i said our good-byes in quepos, my mom and i flew from quepos to san jose, where we spent 3 hours at a local restaurant--chosen by our taxi driver. it was a great spot...the atmosphere, taste, service, great prices...great coffee, etc. afterwards, we went to a market across the street where we found some souvenirs for a large discounted rate versus quepos. then, we were off to the airport in san jose. it was great because we were on the same flight to miami (we didnt originally plan it!)...so it was nice to spend some extra time together, although, i was sleeping most of the way. the next leg of my flight was to LA...where i had a 6 hour overnight layover...which was spent trying to sleep under some pay phones against a carpeted wall. i would not recommend this.

so, i am back...and am having to adjust back into this very different culture. it was almost an easier adjustment in quepos with jared...i guess that feels more natural.

a lot of people are asking me what i will be doing in quepos. the best answer i can give right now, is that the lord knows. i am trusting that he will continue to guide us in his perfect timing, as he has been doing all along. there were many possibilities thrown in my direction while i was there, but nothing that really sparked anything. mainly, i am sparked by community. i would love to start some kind of bible study or small group...with people our age, or even younger girls. overall, God knows where i am needed most, so i will continue to trust...which is even more exciting to me than knowing.

this upcoming month and a few weeks is very important to jared and i. he is finishing up his first main segment of time in quepos, and i will be finishing my time here at islandwood. this time will take focus and perseverance during the hard times apart from each other. it is hard being apart, but God even prepared us for that while we were dating.

as of now, we are planning on moving back to quepos probably sometime in july. we are looking into different types of housing while we are there, please be praying for wisdom for that decision.

we are very excited to be part of what God is doing in Quepos. i see a great need and miracles are already taking place. we spoke with a missionary who lives in san jose (a grad from taylor!) and she said people have been praying for people to move down to Quepos to serve. so...lord willing, we are going. how exciting!

i am very thankful for my trip to costa rica to spend some time with my husband and getting to know Quepos. it was my best spring break ever. we had a blessed time and look forward to the future.

together

2008-04-14T18:36:00.001-07:00

eileen is finally here. look, there´s some evidence. i have had this week off from work other than working with the guys to set up and tear down at the feria friday and saturday. the feria, or market is a place that our guys work and, in return, get some food for the week. we are also hired by a local to clean up after the market and we get paid for that.

the picture above is at manuel antonio national park, which i wrote about a little more in detail the last post. we spent half the day hiking and half the day on the beach. we had great fun in the water.

here´s a little slothy sloth and her baby sloth, just hangin from a tree. below is herms; we named him. eileen was amazed by the number of hermit crabs around. she liked the fact that all their little shells were different. she was scared to touch them.

eileen had her birthday this past wednesday. we went on a sunset sail that afternoon and evening. it was extremely enjoyable. we saw dolphins, birds, and the ocean. eileen wouldn´t go snorkeling because she is my little scaredy cat. the sunset was great. we have made it a habit to watch the sunset every night; we´ve missed only one or two.

it sprinkled for a moment, and then we saw a full, triple rainbow.

this next sunset was spent on cocal. it is a little island just off of quépos. just a short twenty cent or 100€ ferry ride and you´re there, no more than one minute. it is very nice because it is much quieter than quépos. it is also much poorer, but eileen and i feel that it suits us better. there is a very good possiblity that this is where we will live when we move down here together. it is cheap to get land and to build a house. i´ve always wanted to build my own house.

we spent a little time getting dominated by the waves. they are very big in cocal; the beach is very long and steep. eileen was scared, again. she´s right here now, next to me, saying, "yeah, because i was gonna get killed." she´s so cute.

anyway, here´s our sunset picture that we took on cocal. just like the little hermie shells, no two sunsets are ever the same, i guess that´s true with a lot of things in nature.

this next picture was taken at a restaurant. it´s called barba roja, which means red beard. the pirate on the sign has a red beard, so, naturally, i like the place. anyway, it has the best sunset view in town, and at that time of day, the weather is just perfect.

here are a couple other pictures of the sunset. don´t know why, but the sun looks huge sometimes. this was not one of those times.

this next paragraph is written by eileen.

hello :) it has been great to be here. people have asked me if i like it here....well, of course i like it....but i cant really explain it. it just feels right to be here, to be here with jared. its good that both of us feel a peace about being here. we have had a great time together.....and realizing that we are still on our honeymoon really. its called lunamiel here.

i have met all the guys in the program, the stilwell family and some other of jared´s friends/aquaintances. one night, we made dinner for jimy and his wife, who is about to have her 4th child in a week or so. it was fun to cook together. that has been enjoyable for me. i like to cook and it has been fun to do that together....like breakfast, etc. jared is a very good cook. we are good combination in the kitchen. our favorite thing to eat has been avocado sandwiches.

i think i am fitting in well in the community here, considering i have only been here a week. on sunday, there was a baby shower held for jimy´s wife, vanessa at a hotel here. laura and jared began planning it and i helped out as well. it was fun, i like to do that sort of thing. it turned out to be a great party.

my mom is flying here on friday...that should be fun.

we are having a great time together. i am looking foward to finishing school so we can be together physically on a more permenant basis.

and if you are wondering, i love jared´s beard. and no, he didnt make me say that.

thank you very much for your prayers and support. you are helping us greatly in starting our life together.

poetry at islandwood

2008-04-02T20:51:00.000-07:00

during certain weeks at islandwood, there is an artist or musician in residence to work with the kids. this means that someone in the community with some special skill or talent comes out to IW for a week to teach the kids a new skill/to view nature in a new, holistic manner. this week, an artist was here and she worked with poetry. it was very powerful. our group was fortunate enough to get on the schedule to spend some time with her (a little more than an hour). she has a way with poetry that gets kids excited about it and they dive into their inner selves for their material. today, we wrote two poems. the first one was an appreciation poem about our families. we were encouraged to make it like a simile and compare it to something in nature.

My family is like a fire.
My dad is like the spark that lights the fire.
My mom is like the wood that the spark catches onto.
My brother is like the oxygen that fans the spark into flame.
My in-laws are like the wood that gets added to the fire to make it stronger.
My husband is like the person who tends the fire so all the elements burn brightly.
My grandparents are like the people who sit back and enjoy the heat and comfort of the fire.
I am like the coals that shine brightly...the remains of all the other elements...working together.

the second poem, was to personify something in nature. we went outside (it was a beautiful sunny day!) and lied in the grass to write. heres how mine turned out...

The changes in the weather are like my soul.
It is predictable, yet spontaneous.
It has seasonal patterns that provide conditions for certain types of growth.
It can have a positive or negative effect on others...and is always appreciated in various ways.
It can be a good or bad topic in conversation...and is always encouraged to be pleasant for all.
My soul is dynamic...like the changes in weather.
Enjoy the unknown...
Persevere in the rough times...
Hope for the harvest,
The good weather is coming.

04-02-2008

2008-04-02T15:30:00.000-07:00

just found this little picture here, one of eileen and me a few years back on a date. we used to go on dates, of course that´s not what we called them; that´s what i called them when i talked to myself.

this week we had alan bobbett down here along with doug melton. alan is director of the hebron program and doug works with the colts. both are serving in the addiction ministry now; doug runs an overcomers meeting in the sheridan county jail. he is also fluent in spanish. here is a picture of alan (left) and doug (right) in front of the cemetery. this is the cemetery next to the center where the addicts live.

here are the police looking for someone in the cemetery. i still have yet to see any sort of arrest made.

here´s a picture of carlos and me. what i don´t want to tell you is that he caught both these snapper. carlos was in the program back when i was here in december. he still lives there and acts as a leader in the house. he fishes everyday. he sells his catch or gives it to the program men. he´s doing very well, and it´s encouraging to see carlos come so far.

this is oscar. he is also a leader in the house. he speaks very good english and i teach him advanced english one hour a day, four or five days a week. he is the translater at our church. i have just begun taking him through operation timothy (this is a discipleship course). i will begin two others on operation timothy, with the help of oscar. these two other men, fer and david, want to learn english so i will be leading them through the operation timothy in english. we have it in spanish, but they have opted for english. john chorba and i are teaching these two english. we teach them twice a week.

it was john´s birthday this week, so we had a little party for him, cake at kim and laura´s house. he had the next day off and we all went four-wheeling and had a great time. john is left, doug is right, and goobie is kim and laura´s youngest, nice face goob cakes, nice hair cut too (one of his own creation).

first we went to the national park...

there are three beach coves in small manuel antonio national park. i forget what it´s called but there was an island that became attached to the mainland due to sediment, so there are two cove beaches on opposite sides of this land bridge that you can walk from one to the other in about 30 seconds, very cool.

here, alan takes a picture.

i see more of these things than i can count; here´s one for you to look at.

yes, these are different coves...opposite sides of the ismus.

pretty neat to have so many beaches so close together. also to have the rainforest border the ocean is unique. monkeys come all the way down to the shore. just off the sand is jungle.

...then we went four-wheeling...

these next pictures are sights that we saw while four-wheeling. notice, there are no action shots; believe me, we were going way too fast to attept to take any. all these pictures, before and after, are in chronological order.

alan and me...

doug and our very knowledgable guide, franklin. turns out, he lives a few doors down and is jeremiah´s boss at the mangrove tours. jeremiah is kim´s oldest son. quepos is a very small town.

a raptor hawk, i think...

and a man fishing in a remote river.

doug, john, franklin, and piña.

this was a great waterfall, i can´t wait to see it during the rainy season. right now, it is very dry, if you could imagine...

doug and i swimming to get the dirt off of us at a stop during our four-wheeling adventure. this was a little hole that was about 20 feet deep. notice the beard, it´s growing.

just me.

that was the end of our free day together. we had a good time. the other time that we had was spent in fellowship, reflection, and planning for the future down here.

we visited the other sites/donated property/and possible properties that will be expansion locations, prayed over them and dedicated them to the Lord.

i am excited in the way that the program has been progressing since i have been down here. it is very awesome to be allowed to see God work like He has been. it´s good to know that Christ is the solution to our problem called sin, and the the Bible gives us direction to live and overcome the power of sin, and what a blessing it is to have a fulfilling life in Christ. a fulfillment that i tried for so long to fill with so many other things. please pray for oscar as he is really digging in here and is taking more of a leadership role. he is interested in staying around and giving back to those coming out of addiction. we are working on putting together some sort of ministry training program. please pray for this.

i am very excited; my wife will be here with me in four days. this is great, what an exciting time. i can´t wait to share this ministry down here with her. i love you all, thank you for reading. thank you for your prayers most of all.

-jaredpc

more wedding pictures, you say?

2008-03-29T12:28:00.001-07:00

the joys of living at islandwood

2008-03-29T08:45:00.001-07:00

this morning, i woke up and walked over to the commons (where all of us grads live/cook/relax) to make some breakfast. as i was opening the door, i heard the drumming of some woodpeckers. i took a minute to look around to find it...and i spotted a pileated woodpecker. then, one flew about 10 feet away from me on a dead log on the ground and started drumming. i was looking at 2 of them....and i had never seen one before! it was very cool...so i took the chance and went back to my cabin to get my camera. i spent about 20 minutes following them around to get some good pictures. it was very interesting observing their actions. the pictures arent that great, but give you an idea.

above is a picture of our graduate commons. it is a nice place for all of us...the main challenge is keeping it clean all the time. dirty dishes in the sink are the main annoyance.
while i was making some eggs for breakfast, i decided to get some greens from the garden to eat as well. i love that i can just walk out to the garden, and snip some fresh greens. i hope i can do this where jared and i live someday.
i love how i can wake up and i never know what i will spot in a tree or see as i am walking to campus on the trail. it is always something different, and i appreciate that very much. God blesses me with those small moments with creation. He is truly incredible.

3-26-2008

2008-03-26T20:11:00.001-07:00

Well, I have been here for exactly one month today, and I have been married for not too much longer than that. It has been great as I reflect back over this new season in my life. There has been much excitement and fun this past week.

I met two people randomly at a little Soda joint this week. It was a husband and wife from Rhode Island, they’re currently living in New Hampshire. They asked me if we could drink the water here. I told them that they could and then asked them where they were from and how their vacation was going. I quickly found out that they were Christians and that they were traveling around checking out different ministries. I told them that I am working in a rehab center by the cemetery. The next question they asked was a bit surprising, “are you Jared or John?” To which I replied, “Why yes, yes I am, Jared that is.” They had just met with Kim Stilwell, the president of the association that I am affiliated with here. Kim had told them a bit about me, so they knew that my wife was up there, that she is environmentally minded. They too, are environmental, his car runs on vegetable oil and he started a solar panel installing business. Obviously, with much in common (turns out that Tyler was a wrestler and a soccer player, studied physics in college, and had just shaved his beard according to the wishes of his wife, which I am afraid is in my future), we hit it off very well. I showed them around a bit and shared stories and thoughts. They are exactly the same age as Eileen and I, 24, turning 25 this April. They have been surfing for a while, so we made plans to go out the next day. I met them right after my first surfing experience ever. They were a part of my second experience, and it was great to have someone explain to me much of the surfer terminology as well as the physics. He was speaking my language. They actually stayed in my room last night as I had offered it to them because there were reservations already made at the place that they were staying. They are praying about moving down here to fit in somewhere in environmental education/ministry, or something along those lines. There is a huge need for Christians in the green movement, and Tyler used Romans 1 to reference how many have turned from the Creator to worship those things which are created.

To continue on the surfing subject, you have now heard that I had my first surfing experiences this week. I went two days ago, Monday, and got the fever. Anyone who knows me understands what I mean when I say that I got the fever. I went yesterday as well. It is intense, like, totally. My first experience was on smaller waves and a long board. I stood up my very try and found it quite easy…little did I know. It was another story completely yesterday. The waves were much bigger and, at first, I was even having troubles just staying on my board while paddling out. I have some experience with the ocean; I lived on a boat on the most tumultuous sea that I can think of: The Bering Sea. This experience proved to be valuable; standing and keeping balance once on the surfboard seems to be my strong point. It seems that gauging which waves, where on the wave, and when to stand is my difficulty right now. Yesterday I stood up on several smaller waves past the first break, but did not stand on any of the larger waves. It is certainly a challenge to say the least. This challenge along with learning more of the Spanish language, and beginning to teach Operation Timothy (a discipleship class), are offering three positive and balanced focal points of growth: physical, mental, and spiritual (not in order of importance). And yes, I am sore from abdominals, to back, to shoulders, to thighs today; surfing is a workout.

Nature reminded me of the powerful and unforgiving nature of the Ocean. A wave closed out right on top of me; listen, we are talking about a four to five meter wave. The first thing to happen was that my knees were planted into the seabed, deep into the sand. After that, I was bent over backwards and sideways so that I could internally hear the cracking of every vertebrae despite the loud crashing sound of the wave (usually when my back cracks, it happens one vertebrae at a time; not this time). My surfboard was being taken by the wave, pulling me in one direction and the rip tide is pulling me the other way (I was using the rip tide to paddle out very quickly). Realizing that it is very rare not to know what direction is up and down I was thankful that the pain left almost immediately. When I finally surfaced, I heard the yells from Tyler and his wife Maria, “Are you ok?” This struck me as very funny; I do not know why. I did not think that it would have necessarily looked that bad from the outside looking in; apparently, it did.

I still look forward to my wife coming down to visit in 11 days. I love her very much.

3-18-2008

2008-03-19T19:41:00.000-07:00

This week, we had a huge answer to prayer. We had been praying about how we were going to purchase another property for the center so that we could have a place that is set apart from the cemetery where many of the men in our program come from. We also needed room for a wood-mizer (a portable sawmill) that Wood-Mizer has donated for our program.

The first week that I was down here, I we had dinner with a group of men from Florida. One of the men had said that he would like to build us a building down here for us if we ever got somewhere to put it. This building would be a much improved program center. We currently have a house of now 13 men that is no bigger than less than double the average size of an American living room (sorry for the complicated way of saying that the house is very small). This house is separated from the cemetery by a makeshift, tin fence. From here, you can smell the crack cocaine, marijuana, etc. So, we have been praying for another location to start this next phase in the program’s development. We would continue to use the current location as an intake center that men are evaluated in during their first week of sobriety.

We had someone donate us a prime piece of property to us just a couple days ago. This was completely unexpected, and it came at a very good time. There is a representative from Wood-Mizer coming down here at the end of this month. God is amazing; He has not stopped showing signs of His hand in this ministry since I have been here. It is very refreshing and encouraging.

Tuesdays are my day off, so I was planning to learn to surf today from an American that lives down here. He has had a surf school down here, and he has been surfing for 30 years. He called in sick today so I was a little bummed, but I used the day to go check out this non-profit organization called Kids Saving the Rainforest. I only stayed there for a half hour, got some fliers, then left for the local national park that I have not been to yet. Because of semana santa, or Easter week, there was a two-hour wait just to get into the park. I then ran into a friend of Kim and Laura who told me about an American that has started a church and ministry in Dominical (a surfing community south of here). This man is coming to Quepos tonight. He has a desire to unite the churches and missionaries in the area for worship and fellowship. So naturally, I see that the Lord is up to something, and I am planning to meet this American tonight.

I am counting days to when Eileen, my wife, arrives down here. I have shown the men in the program many pictures, and they say that I am counting the hours; truth is… just the days. I am very much looking forward to her coming. I have never waited for anyone to come like this before; I now see a little clearer what our looking forward to Christ’s next coming is supposed to be. I love how the Lord teaches me.

Thank you for all your prayers; they are making a difference.

disabled roommates

2008-03-18T13:04:00.001-07:00

ok. this is crazy! when lauren and i moved in, we laughed that we were the ones moving into the handicapped cabin, but now we know why! first, i had an ongoing injury that put me in one of these stylish boots back in september 07. about a month ago, i had surgery, which put me on another great device...a teal knee scooter. yesterday, when i was talking to jared online....one of my gradmates knocked on my door to get my crutches (which is hilarious). a few minutes later, i hear some people....and they are rolling lauren to our cabin in a luggage cart. she was singing at the campfire for the kids and was doe-si-doeing and fractured her foot. oops! it was great because i had my scooter and crutches to offer her. i was trying to give her crutches lessons in our sink/bathroom area.
today, after her dr. visit, we had matching boots. this is really hard to believe. i mean, 2 out of 23 grads who are injured...who live in the same cabin, which happens to be handicapped accessible....and i have all the equipment and experience to help her out. wow. God is up to something :) the above picture is us in our nicely accessible shower, with a seat and railings.

break and bread

2008-03-17T10:10:00.000-07:00

right now, i am in a quarter break before our new spring classes begin. so, this week i am not teaching and i do not have homework to do...so it is kind of exciting. i can relax and get caught up on life.

last night, i decided to bake some bread. about a month ago, i experimented with making a couple rye loaves with sesame and sunflower seeds mixed in. this time, i just tried a plain white loaf. i also tried out some different shapes of loaves, which turned out really well!

ever since my time in ecuador, i have really been interested in making as many homemade things as possible. i enjoy this for a few reasons: 1)cooking is a great stress reliever for me 2)i like the process 3)i like knowing what is in my food and how it is being made. i am realizing that you can make pretty much about everything from scratch and it is not that hard...if you have the time. i would like to think that i would have time to do this, make homemade things as much as possible..but who knows what God has in store.

it is hard to believe that i only have a little more than 3 months left here at islandwood. wow, my time here has been some of the most eventful times in my life....as well as a good preparation for opportunities in the future. i cant believe it has only been less than a year since i have returned from ecuador...and i am realizing my home is still somewhere south of the states...and will soon be in costa rica. i am looking forward to visiting jared in quepos, costa rica during my spring break...and for my birthday as well! it will be a great time. i cant wait to see and just be with him.

although we are spending 90 days or so apart, the Lord has a purpose for it and is continuing to prepare us for when we do get to live together. we have been very fortunate to be able to communicate through phone calls, about twice a week and emails about every other day. God provides everything in His perfect timing....from phone calls to....great things that are happening at the center....that i will wait for jared to share.

check out some of my ecuadorian adventures at www.eileeninecuador.blogspot.com

Grandpa Bill's Wedding "firsts"

2008-03-11T21:44:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Bill with communion elements

The morning following Eileen and Jared’s wedding, Eileen’s mother asked me what “firsts” I experienced in presiding at their wedding. I came up with about four or five but after further reflection I discovered there were far more than just four or five. After doing hundreds (literally) of weddings and spanning a period of fifty-five years, these are the “firsts” I discovered.

First wedding of a granddaughter or grandson.

First wedding in a bird blind (didn’t even know what one was).

Processional was a drummer but in this unique setting it was most appropriate

and enjoyable.

Recessional was a violinist who also happened to be the groom’s father.

A classical guitarist provided the dinner music at the Wedding Dinner.

Went 2,232 miles via Chicago for a wedding.

First wedding I had on an island.

First wedding with mountains in view and snow capped at that.

First time I went on a wedding shopping spree (downtown Seattle for i.e.

flowers, etc.) the day before the wedding.

First wedding which was complete in every way which was put together

in less than 96 hours even though one would have thought it had taken

months to plan.

First time Jackie and I had dinner with a couple on their honeymoon and at

their request!

First time on the wedding cake table there was a cherry pie provided by the

brides father (his favorite pie and Grandpa Bill’s favorite pie).

First time I performed a wedding without a license but with the license in

process and with the understanding this isn’t all that unusual. Most

most important of all it was performed in the “eyes of God.”

First time the bride walked down the “aisle” on a knee scooter (chariot).

First time I took a ferry to get to the place where the wedding took place.

First time I experienced an “Inward Journey” through a wooded area on the

island as directed so beautifully by two of Eileen’s classmates. Very

touching and was provided personally for each member of the two families.

Aisle cloth purchased at a hardware store for the metal “bridge” over a small

stream over which we walked just before entering the bird blind.

First time I had a complete mental block when it came to pronouncing

the couple by name as husband and wife even though I had their names

written in the book with the Wedding Ritual as I always do. I even wrote the

names of my daughter and son in the book for their weddings.

First time I wore a ball cap (Islandwood) and jacket during a rehearsal.

First time Jackie and I stayed on the 35^th floor of a hotel thanks to the

brides parents as a gift for my presiding at the wedding. The view from

Our window was the Space Needle,

First wedding west of the Mississippi and in the state of Washington.

First wedding dinner put together by a group of graduate student friends and who

did so in such a professional way from the floor arrangement of the Commons to the

way in which the tables with food were so attractively arranged.

First time I saw a moon halo.

03-11-08

2008-03-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

After two weeks here, I’m getting settled in pretty well: figuring out where to get the things I need, finding a cheap place to get on the internet to keep in touch with my wife, getting adjusted to the food (I had horsie for breakfast last week), and my skin is getting toughened to the intense sun. Best of all, I am finding a place to fit into the ministry down here.

I’ve found a schedule that works well at the rehabilitation center, working in the mornings from about 6 am to about 3 in the afternoon, sometimes later, with a nice little lunch break in between (this is when I usually spend time studying Spanish). I work with the guys in the mornings cleaning the house, doing dishes, and then bible study. We did a lot of work at the beach last week cleaning, which was fun; it is so beautiful there. The outside work happens after bible study and before lunch. I teach Oscar who has a good handle on English more advanced lessons one-on-one at one o’clock everyday while everyone else is taking the siesta, or nap.

Monkeys are commonly seen at the nearest bus stop. I am very blessed to have this opportunity to see all of the beauty that is here.

I had a very emotional and rewarding experience this past week. A couple days ago, David’s mother (David is a man in the program who is my age) came up to see him after she had learned that he had enrolled there to seek help for his crack addiction. When he came out to meet here, she busted into tears and could not talk. All she could do was hug her son and cry tears of gladness. I, usually not too emotional, could not hold it together and left just thanking the Lord for the work that he was doing in the Center. I was blessed with the opportunity to see how God works, he changes one person’s life for the better and in turn, changes another, and another, like we are all connected.

C.S. Lewis wrote about the human race. He said that all of humanity is like a tree, all connected in some way. That God exists outside space and time so that when he sees me, he sees the connection that I have with Adam, and that the human race is an organism of life, connected. I felt connected that day, to David, his mother, to those back home who have helped me out, to those who are still lost living in the cemetery. I am thankful that I do not feel disconnected here, that I don’t feel out of place, that I have a peace about where I am, and that God gives me these instances to know that He is in control and that he is changing hearts.

Eileen's past week

2008-03-06T22:40:00.001-08:00

deep breaths. that's what i have to do when i start thinking of all i have to do...and get stressed out...which is pretty much a constant now.

the past week has been crazy crazy with projects for my graduate school. one thing i appreciate our school is that there are no tests, but projects, a view to a more holistic process of assessment and showing your learning.

my winter quarter ends tomorrow...and i still have a project to finish and presentation to make final preparations for...

i know...i shouldnt procrastinate...but i havent!! :) there has been so many things going on (huge things/events!) in my life these last 4 months, i cant believe it! engagement, school, projects, flying to indy to visit jared/preparing myself for jared to leave/marriage!!!!! (yeah!!!), short honemoon, catch up on school......and im here.

i say all this not for a pity party...just sharing a bit with you about how my life has been. jared and i sometimes talk about how different our lifestyles have been and are from each other...even in the 4 or so years when we were apart and not dating or anything...yet, God still brought us together and weaved all of our experiences and is using them, as He will continue to use them for His glory. that brings a smile to my face :)
so...even though i am a stressed out crazy girl....i have been enjoying some of my projects!! one thing about me, is that i love doing experiments and trying new things that are unique in general. so, for my art project, i experimented with natural dyes. i knit a scarf, and boiled up a pot of fresh soil for about 3.5 hours. it turned out well, but not as dark as i imagined. other things i dyed the scarf with were: grass (12 hours), moss (8 hours) and stinging nettle (2 hours). it was very interesting to see what kind of stains each element would leave. each natural element left a favorite part with me...so i cant say which was my favorite..but i want to experiment with more natural dyes such as beets and other produce items.

another project entailed creating a school. we were put into groups and given some guidelines to create our own visionary school. it was a challenging process...but it ended well. as my group was finishing up for our presentation plans, i thought of the idea to make shirts ( i was half way joking...but liked the idea..thinking everyone would reject my idea :)) but my friend and i went with the idea.....and got all of our members shirts (we used previously owned shirts). so we got some sweet images from a book, i wrote the title, "rooted in growth" which was our school name. they turned out really well...and everyone in our class wanted one too!! my friend and i also were inspired from this shirt making project to sell them at a Seattle's farmers market!! which is totally a dream of mine.....:):) which my husband is becoming increasingly more aware of my love for markets of all kinds :)

ok, so...... :) there is a little glimpse into my life.....back to work....or maybe sleep would be better.

3-4-08

2008-03-05T19:21:00.000-08:00

Well, I’ve been here for exactly one week now. I’ve gotten into somewhat of a groove and am fitting in quite nicely. I have several jobs that I am responsible for. I get to the center early in the morning, around 6:00. I eat breakfast with them which consists of rice and beans. After breakfast is bible study. One thing that I told my wife on the phone today was that no matter what language you speak, James 3 is James 3. I am thankful for the intense bible study that I have partaken in over the last two years because it has been a great way to communicate.

Last night we had a three ladies from a church we attend on Sunday nights come and share and conduct a bible study. They all were either addicts or wives of addicts. A friend of mine, Jose, who is in the program told a story during the meeting about how he and I went out to visit his mother, and on the way home, one of his old buddies came along and offered him some drugs. He said that if I had not been there, he would have used. I was able to understand enough Spanish to know that he was telling the story that had happened earlier that day, so I turned to the passage in Ecclesiastes where it talks about two being better than one because they’re stronger together, and I read it to Jose and then he read it to the others (in Spanish). So, I have found that reading the Spanish Bible is one of the best ways to communicate when your language skills are still trying to catch up.

I clean the streets three times a week. This was my first job assignment. I work with the guys, alongside, being an example. I have begun to understand the saying, go out and preach the gospel and only use words when you have to. There are many who are used to the typical American tourists. You should see some of the looks I get when they see me picking up trash on the roads, from ticos and tourists alike.

The guys are extremely kind to me and help me tremendously with my Spanish. It works both ways because it is a great skill for them to know English, so it’s mutually beneficial. I have played soccer with them on two occasions; I thank the Lord for the miracle He has performed on my knee to allow me to run and play soccer once again. It has been many years since I’ve played soccer, and the guys are impressed with my capability; of course I played tico style, without any shoes, ouch.

I am very thankful to my parents who purchased the Rosetta Stone Spanish software for me because it has helped me and is helping me tremendously. Oscar is the man in the program who speaks the best English. I meet with him every day to do a Bible Study/English and Spanish class. We help each other out with the languages, and in turn, he teaches an English class once a week to the men in the program and others in the community who want to learn. John, the guy who came down here with me is helping teach that class on Tuesday nights, my day off.

I am just getting situated, I just made my first phone call today to my wife Eileen, and will talk to her once a week. Internet is very up and down, and there are many of you who have emailed me who I would love to get back to you, but simply can’t right now due to time and internet access constraints. Maybe once I get internet when I come back down here in July or August I’ll be able to keep in better contact. Even these blogs, I’m going to write once a week on a word document and send them to my wife who will post them.

The second night I was here, I got some big encouragement by getting to see a glimpse of what God has in store for this association. There is a group of guys who come two to three times a year to sport fish here (btw, this town is the best place in the world for sail fish, marlin, and all sport fishing), and one of the guys is a general contractor big wig in Florida. He read the book Second Half and decided he wanted to start investing in eternal things. He said that if we got another property, which we’re working on, that he would love to come down and build a building for us. That’s the long story short. It is great to see all the support that this association has in it’s very early stages, it is less than a year old.

This is absolutely the most gorgeous place I have been of its kind. Monkeys in the trees as common as robins, birds of paradise, flowers, lizards, snakes, palms, mountains, beaches; it is a blessing from the Lord. Even the locals, who I thought would be desensitized to the beauty, comment on how beautiful everything is all the time. It is an event that attracts tourists and locals alike: watching the sunset every night.

Our living conditions are very nice, compared to here. I have my own room with a fan; John and I share a bathroom. We have a little kitchenette/living room too which is very nice, but somewhat expensive. Virtually no ticos have air-condition, at least I don’t know of anyone. I am surprised that the ticos continually repeat, “hace calor,” which means, “it’s hot out,” I don’t know, I guess I just thought they would have got used to it by now.

Thanks Chris for the email, I appreciate it, you too Johnny, I’ll continue to pray for you and your family. I’ll see you all in June sometime. Thanks to Wheeler Mission and the Hebron Center for their support and effort in my life.

Another thanks to The Community Church of Murphy’s Landing for their support. Thank you Oak Park Baptist Church, may God bless you. And I really appreciate the support from Eastview Christian Church in Martinsville for the friendships there and the support. Keep those Overcomers meetings going. Thanks to all those who support me with prayers and giving, I couldn’t be here without you.

O yeah! My wife will be coming to visit for a week April 6^th – 14^th. Fantastico!

If you all have any questions, please email me/my wife at jaredandeileen@gmail.com and I’ll try to answer the questions in the next blog post. Because, I’m sure that I’m forgetting some important things that you all would like to know about. Faith, hope and love.

Love, jaredpc

a great goodwill find!

2008-03-03T14:12:00.000-08:00

some of you have been asking how i found my dress....and its funny because back in September, i was shopping at goodwill out here in Washington...and i looked at the wedding dresses just for fun, and one caught my eye, so i figured i would just try it on...it wouldn't hurt! so, i tried it on...and actually liked it! i used my phone to take pictures of the dress to see what my mom and dad thought. my mom didnt love it, but recommended to go ahead and get it since it was 30 dollars,and that wasn't that much money to lose. so, i have had a dress since September...just for an "emergency" wedding, which i always knew was a somewhat high possibility, knowing Jared and i. :) also, my mom brought her veil for me to wear that she wore during her wedding...and it matched perfectly!! the veil had small flowers that complimented the flowers on my dress straps very nicely! that was just another detail that worked out perfectly.

Jared's final support letter

2008-03-01T18:32:00.000-08:00

Dear Family and Friends,

As I step back and take a look at the last year of my life, I see it as a great preparation for the ministry in Costa Rica that I will be departing for at the end of this month. And as I look deeper, I see the past few years as preparation of the ministry training. I see how the hardships and sin in my life that are being overcome are tools in my ministry towards others. This is exactly what I intend to do: show Christ’s love to others in poverty and addiction.

The call in my life to Costa Rica actually came many years ago. I was running the wrong way when the call came, but He who had begun the good work in me has proven faithful over and over again to see it through. The opportunity to go serve there presented itself only after I had told my mother about the specific calling to Costa Rica that was coming in loud and clear.

When I went down last December to Quepos, I got a great chance to see the work that the Lord had already begun down there through Kim Stillwell. Kim had worked at Wheeler Mission for ten years in the youth department. While he went down there intending on working with youth, addiction was the problem that required immediate attention. I will be able to go down there with the specialized addiction ministry training that I’ve been receiving over the past year and a half.

There are currently six men in the program, with many many more needing to get in. I will go down and help with teaching classes, leading work crews, working on the building improvements, and helping with curriculum.

What did I see on my first trip down to Costa Rica? My first big surprise was how far along the ministry was down there. It is an official association recognized by the Costa Rican government. They have a center down there that the men live in, and the rehabilitation program itself has been up and running for about eight months now. The men take care of the center and continue to help restore it. They are currently looking for another property right now to make the current one more of a feeding/"orientation" facility and move the residential program elsewhere. It is growing. The men there work during the day. Kim has many contacts/friends down there so a group of men are working at a hotel doing some renovation/construction; they are paid. About half goes into an account for the men for when they leave the program and half goes to the program itself. They are moving along and growing. The churches are involved locally. Some are in charge of providing food, some prayer, some clothes etc. Kim and his efforts down there have greatly and positively affected the city of Quepos; this has resulted in their being in great standing with the community. In fact, the city has hired some of the men to do clean-up around the city. They are lacking leadership, but do have a full-time counselor there.

One of the things that I had prayed for was that if I indeed was to be down there that there would be an obvious need that could be filled by someone like me coming down there. That was certainly provided. I have certainly felt called there for a long time now, even before I was aware of this opportunity. When I was there I had a sense that I was finally home after being away for a long time. I prayed daily by myself as well as with Kim about this opportunity, and the Lord has spoken to me confirming that this is where he wants me. I have peace and joy despite some of the obvious hardships that will come with living in a third world environment.

The men there caught in addiction in the city of Quepos are almost exclusively addicted to crack cocaine. The addicts live in the town’s cemetery, literally living among the dead and in the tombs. Cocaine is cheap and these men are stuck in a live-style that is impossible for them to get out of on their own. The efforts there are to give the men a way out, much like I was given a way out here in Indiana. I have some graphic videos and pictures that can better give a better picture of the situation down there. I would appreciate any support in any form: prayer, financial, spiritual and emotional support. Thank you very much.

If you are feeling led to support me financially, please make checks payable to Overcomers Ministries, and include a note that your donation is for Jared Cantrell. Overcomers requests that you do not write my name in the memo portion of the check; you may, however, write for Costa Rica. Also, if you desire to have automatic transactions from your bank this is also possible by filling out a simple form.

Thank you so much for being a part of my life, for our relationship; it may be the only thing that we can take to heaven with us.

If you would like to receive email updates from me, contact me at jaredpaulcantrell@gmail.com.

The address for support:

7790 N Fish Rd/Bloomington, IN/47408

Our Wedding (the way Jared remembers it)

2008-03-01T18:29:00.000-08:00

Well, as you all probably know, Eileen and I were planning on getting married on or around June 14^th. This was the case when I was preparing to visit her before I departed for Costa Rica. My plane tickets to and from Seattle was scheduled for Friday, February 16^th through the 20^th. On the Wednesday before my trip to visit Eileen, I sent her a text message with the sole purpose of getting a reaction, “can’t we just get married this weekend?” She replied, “yeah, but should we?” I replied simply, “yes.” That was the end of the conversation for at least a short time.

I was next to my mother and I asked her if she would come out to the Seattle area if we decided to get married that weekend. She said that she probably would. I send Eileen another text, “are you making preparations?” I was still seeking reactions. We talked on the phone and I told her that my mom would come out if we got married. I asked my dad if he would come out and his response was, “Maybe, probably.” So then, still wondering if either one was serious, I began to pray about the situation; the response from the Lord was that He would work things out if we sought Him.

Eileen and my family looked up information about marriage licenses in Washington. Next thing I knew, on Thursday, Eileen’s grandparents Bill and Jackie said that they would come out. Also, Bill agreed to do the ceremony, something that Eileen had always wanted. He was a United Methodist preacher. The way the license works in Washington is that you have to apply for it 3 days prior (at least) to the marriage date; so, I needed to get there before the State Branch closed on Friday so we could continue with the wedding on Monday.

On Friday, my grandmother, parents, and my cousin Quentin had confirmed their flights to Seattle. My flight happened to get delayed by four hours because of a mechanical problem. This was frustrating because we didn’t know why, after all this had come together so seamlessly, that there was this major problem. After some research and also after Bill had talked with his spiritual and church advisor, we found out that obtaining the license after our marriage would be suitable. Later we saw that the delayed flight due to mechanical reasons gave me a free change of return ticket (saving money for a more expensive ticket) so that I could stay with my wife longer after our marriage. Even that worked out perfectly.

When I arrived, Eileen surprised me by being at the airport. We were scheduled to meet at the Ferry terminal on Bainbridge Island. After getting to Bainbridge, Eileen set off for a walk in the woods; we were checking out wedding location possibilities. We walked by this bird blind which was originally not even in Eileen’s head as an option and we both instantly fell in love with it. At that point, our decision was made, easily.

Her parents, her grandparents, and my parents all arrived in Seattle Saturday afternoon. We spent some time getting situated and then we hit the city center of Bainbridge Island to make wedding preparations. I cannot explain how things began to line up and fall into place. In a matter of less than 2 hours, we had our cakes, ice cream and fabrics for the decorations. We all got ready for a nice dinner at a local restaurant. Dave, Eileen’s father, had called this restaurant to request a certain guitarist that he had heard several weeks back when he was in Bainbridge to help Eileen with her foot surgery. The restaurant contacted the guitarist and he played that night in the room in which we ate. He was a phenomenal classical guitarist.

My mother went and asked him if he could play Fly Me to the Moon, which is a song that Frank Catalano had dedicated to us when we were at the Green Mill in Chicago. He didn’t know it, but I went up after and asked him if he would play at our wedding reception. He agreed and we set the plans right there. He said that he would get his wife to watch the store; it turns out that he owned a music store that comes in handy later. He also rescheduled his students around our reception. His fee was extremely low, surprisingly low.

The next day, Sunday, the day before the wedding, Eileen, her family and my mom went out to Seattle to the market to get flowers which were gorgeous. They also got several other odds and ends in the city. During this time, my father and I spent time on the golf course. The weather all weekend stayed sunny and above 50 degrees. The locals couldn’t remember a time during that time of year with that nice of weather 5 days in a row.

After my father and I played 18, we went and picked up the fabric. We were also trying to work out a way that my dad could play the violin while we took communion. I remembered that Alan, the guitarist said he owned a music store. I called him to ask what type of store he owned; when I learned that it was a strings shop, I asked if I could borrow a violin. He said sure, come pick it up. We did. Yet another thing that fell right into place. We made some simple, final preparations and called it a day. My cousin and grandma flew in that night and my parents picked them up at the ferry that night.

I slept like a baby. I woke up excited, jumping. I ran to the store to pick up food for a big breakfast. At the country store, I saw Mona and Dave, her parents. Dave gave me a short pep talk, and then I was off to cook breakfast. After breakfast, we were to meet everyone at Eileen’s graduate commons for a morning activity/hike. After a “getting acquainted with the forest” we set out towards the bird blind for our rehearsal. We had a great rehearsal. The common theme was that we wanted it to be a worship service, glorifying God and what he had done in both of our lives and what He had done in bringing us together. This was easy to see, as all of her friends were continually making comments how this marriage must have been divine appointment because of how everything was coming together. Only a couple of her friends there knew Jesus Christ, and here he was making Himself very apparent.

After that we parted to get ready for the ceremony that was to take place at 3:30. I went to 4 different places to see if I could get a haircut (this was going to be a surprise treat for Eileen J). Apparently, every barber shop on Bainbridge Island is closed on Mondays. No haircut for me. So, I did trim the beard, just a bit. But I got ready and rushed over for the ceremony. One of her friends was going to play the drums so Gina (the drummer), Quentin and I went out to the location early to set up. We lit candles inside the blind and set the table for communion, then waited for everyone else. The rest was really just perfect. All I can say is it was the best wedding that I’d ever been to.

O, by the way, this whole time Eileen is rolling around in a stroller because she had just had foot surgery, so imagine that…it was great. Her friends awaited us at the commons and blew bubbles for us. She had one friend taking pictures, and another as the videographer. Dave, my mom, and many others pitched in to make food. It couldn’t have been catered any better. I was really impressed by the food, it was wonderful. We took pictures, had cake and ice cream, danced, talked, shared, had a fire in an outdoor fireplace, etc. it was beautiful. Eileen and I left early for our short Seattle honeymoon. On the ferry we slept sprawled out still in our wedding attire. We heard many comments as people passed by, but the best one was of a couple of guys who wanted to take a picture, but didn’t want to wake us up. I was keeping my eyes closed just listening to them.

The rest is history.

wedding pictures

2008-03-01T09:33:00.001-08:00