July and August 2016

July was summer break so we went to the states. We were there for Grandma Chitty's 90th birthday.  What fun to gather family and friends to help her celebrate her life, recall shared memories and to honor her and thank her for how she has impacted our lives.







Bonnie's oldest daughter Annick had planed to get married in October but changed her wedding date so the Costa Rican part of the family did not have to make another trip to the states. So we planned and prepared for the wedding in two weeks!!! Another wonderful family event with lots of love and laughter.






August is the season for the fruit "mamonies" They look like a  long haired sicamore ball. The inside looks like a grape with a large seed in the middle. You suck the fruit then spit out the seed. They are sweet, delicious and fun to eat.

Costa Rica has a rich family based culture. This is one of the many things we enjoy about being  here. We are included in many different  families activities  from several different families. One of the August activities is making choreatas  They are made from a special corn. Husking the corn is step one.








Many generations are involved so it makes if fun for all. The corn is then removed from the cob. The corn kernels are then put into a blender with an egg. This batter is then fried into a big pancake. They are filling and very taste.




Returning to Costa Rica we stepped back into teaching English and being part of the community. Many of our students participated in a typical dance competition. Many schools from the surrounding area were involved and it was an all day event in the high school gym. We want our students to know we are interested in them and all that they do.  This relationship building process is what makes our outreach have more of an impact than just teaching a class. We are investing in the students  interests and building individual relationships with our students.

June 2016

The end of May we were invited to be judges for the Public night school  English spelling bee. It was a big event with certificates for all who participated. There was a rice and beans dinner for everyone afterwards. It was a honor to be asked to help and confirmation that we are embraced by this community.

There is a family in our community who's dad just died of brain cancer. It was a long process and very hard on the family. The mother has 2 college age kids and two in grade school. The oldest girl is on  a full scholarship at the university so she continues with that. The oldest son quit the university to get a job and support the family. In this culture few think past each day. Taking up an offering gets little response. Asking for helping in putting together a food basket gets no response. But lottery is a big deal. They will take a chance on getting something. All school and church projects offer lottery  for everything. It is how they to things and  many participate.

We had a pair of soccer shoes we bought in the states and secretly donated them to a lottery to help the family.  It will run for 2 weeks and the money will be presented to the family on Fathers Day.  It's the little everyday things that make the biggest impact. Joyfully sharing the love of Jesus with out words or taking credit gives God all the glory and increases faith and hope.

In our school we try to use music whenever we can. Music takes us places. In our minds and in our hearts, music touches us in ways that no other medium can. That’s just one of the reasons that it is such a powerful teaching tool. It  makes teaching fun for both the teacher and the student.  We are really enjoying teaching and praising God for all the hearts and minds that are open to learn.

Cornelio and Mekhi just enjoy hanging out together. Cornelio remains active biking and doing sports. Spending time as a family is so important to us as we build a foundation for the future. 

Contact us: CGCcostarica7@gmail.com 

 

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May

At church this week our pastors challenge was to be Jesus not just a "Christian” and start to let love break down the walls. There is such a Christian / Catholic conflict that often is a wall. Some won’t even go to a funeral of their best friend or neighbor if it is not in the church they attend.

This week Bonnie was walking and two ladies from the Catholic Church that knew her asked if she wanted to buy tamales for their fund raiser. Bonnie asked if it was for the Catholic Church and they said yes. After buying the tamales, Bonnie she said that she wanted to support anything that was for the glory of God. This small act showed we are here to be part of the community and not to divide. We feel welcomed and enjoy being active in the community. Our actions speak much louder than our words!

One of the obstacles to over come is to walk the fine line which is clearly defined in Costa Rica. Are you Catholic or Christian?  We like to say we love Jesus and have Jesus in our heart and love him very much. Do you love Jesus? Most say yes so we start there with unity verse conflict. Knowing this it makes some of the little things we do big in the eyes of the community.

"He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4 NKJ). Someone once asked me why a football never gets deflated in a game. Twenty-two huge, burly men kick it, throw it, pounce on it, fumble it - yet it never gets "squashed" or loses its size to deflation.  The answer is a simple law of physics. It seems that the internal pressure of the ball is much greater than all the pressure 22 men can place upon it externally. This verse says the same thing about the people who  have the power of  Jesus residing in their hearts.   Jesus power within us is greater than all the pressure the external world can place upon us. Learning to remain calm no matter what the situation and drama is around you is a learned process. Satan's strategy is to deflate us.  Jesus gives us the  buoyancy to stay afloat  roll with the punches. It may seem sometimes that you are being tossed around by circumstances, but with the power of Jesus  within, you will always bounce back. Greater is the power within us than the pressure upon us. So hang in there, be a  team player; despite the hard hits, we're winning! Source: The Spirit-Filled Believer's Daily Devotional by Dick Mills paraphrased and some changes made Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THE OBJECT LESSONS WE SHARE AT OUR SCHOOL. IT IS SO NICE TO BE ABLE TO WEAVE GOD INTO LESSONS AND PROMOTE GOOD CHARACTER AND PERSEVERANCE.

     

The impression you leave on others is not by the words you say necessarily, but by how you act and react to a situation.                    .

Bonnie is swimming twice a week with some friends at 5 a.m. in a pool 25 min away.  Great way to start off the day. Exercise and eating healthy helps her have the energy she needs to do all the other activities and outreaches she is involved in.

Bonnie is teaching at the school and is enjoying making educational games to go with the different unites. The school is filled with hands on learning games,  songs  and activities. One of the goals of the school is to make learning fun and keep our expectations high.

April

Cailene, Cornelo, Bonnie and Mekhi

Thank you for your prayers and support



April 2016

Mekhi can now walk! He and Cornelio enjoy going many places together. 


Cornelio is designing and welding a new wood stove for his mom to cook with. It is nice to have the tools to be able to help others out. Cornelio really enjoys the process and discipline of creating new things from scratch. 

For Easter Cailene made “Resurrection Rolls.” The hollow rolls represent an empty tomb and that Jesus is ALIVE!!! Easter is a fantastic time to share family traditions and enjoy friendship. Jesus is the reason why we take time to celebrate Easter. He brings joy to this day and throughout the year! 

Our family tradition that we 

started this year was to all

 make an Easter Resolution 

to improve our personal 

relationship with Jesus. We 

mainly focused on improving 

how we act, think and 

respond to others. We also 

made a decision to  daily live 

with an attitude of 

thanksgiving. 

After the resolution we all took time to really determine what that meant for us personally. Sometimes we need to refocus and realize that our wonderful gift of salvation is just that, a gift. It isn't for us to hold in our hearts and stay there, rather we need to share it with others. We can't be selfish in the blessing of being free in Christ. We need to make a purposeful effort to share what we know so others can experience Jesus personally too!