The Final Home Stretch

We have just 8 days of class remaining, so we are all but finished with our Spanish studies here in Costa Rica. Time has really flown by. It seems strange to be preparing to come home. We have some big events coming in the next two weeks, though. We took our ECO exam last Friday, which will tell us which level of oral proficiency we have achieved. We are both a little nervous about it. April also took the 3-hour grammar exam- I'm concerned as she may need see a professional. Then, next weekend Camden makes his Costa Rican stage debut in "Reserve Two For Murder," a play in which he gets killed 2 minutes in and gets dragged around the stage for an hour. And, of course, 4 women showed up at our house last Tuesday. They will appear as "guest bloggers" in the next blog.

During Easter week, we had the privilege of going to Nicaragua for 6 days. We left on Saturday morning at 5:15, got to the border at 10:15, left the border at 3:30 (yes, we spent 5 hours waiting in lines at the border), and arrived in Granada at 5:30. I organized this trip for 33 of my classmates, so it was a little stressful, but it turned out to be a great experience. A few families from Browns, the Carter's and the Kleinhardt's and Jodie Robinson, showed up to get a project started at Pastor Juan Pavon's church. They began to redo the entrance to the church, working with a crew from the church, to make it handicap accessible (there are 2 people in wheelchairs who attend the church) and to make it easier to pull the microbus in. It will look very different when finished. The trip went really well, but we were glad to be back in Costa Rica. We did absolutely nothing Good Friday, Saturday, and Easter Sunday.

Low Expectations

Hey all,

We are finally posting another blog! We have had a very busy week. We had exams in both classes this week and we have been studying a pretty difficult theme in Spanish grammar. Just when we thought we were starting to make some progress, we have to add in subjuntive. Subjuntive basically means when you are talking about emotions or things possible but not real you have to change all of your verbs. Yuck.... It is coming but pretty slowly. I feel like there is a huge ball of string in my head and I have to find the right string at the right moment and pull it out, which means it takes a while to say anything. The one positive is that our comprehension has really taken some huge leaps. We can actually sit through a sermon and understand most of it.

We did learn something pretty interesting about Costa Rican culture last week. We were trying to explain the saying, "don't sweat it." Eugenia, our teacher, told us that it doesn't exist in Spanish because they don't need it! It is us Americans that have to be reminded to relax. (Although, they do say, "tranquillo," which is pretty similar.)

Along the same lines, I read an article about a survey that rated countries according the people's personal happiness. The U.S. was number 15. The surprising thing was that Puerto Rico, Columbia, and Mexico were in the top 10. Crazy isn't it? The survey found that after basic necessities were met, money had very little to do with happiness. Denmark was number 1, because the people there have very low expectations of life. Maybe that is the key!

We leave tomorrow at 5:00 a.m. for Nicaragua. Everyone has Holy Week off and we are taking a group of 33 students to Granada. The Carter's and the Kleinhardt's from Brown's are already there. We can't wait! Also, Maria Pavon, the superintendent's daughter, received an international scholarship to Huntington University. We are so excited! She wants to be a missionary to Africa. She is an amazing young women.

Well, we are off to Nicaragua with very low expectations so I'm sure we'll have a great time!

Love to all,

April

Quakes, Moles, & Sheep

Okay, everyone, it is almost unbearably hot here now. We topped 90 degrees and our fan stopped working. I'm almost ready to return to Michigan. Is it in the 70's there yet? We had a fun week last week. First, we had our biggest quake late last Friday night. Our house shook for about 5 seconds. It was a little unnerving. We had just gone to bed, but afterwards I couldn't fall asleep for more than an hour.

A couple of weeks ago April and I were asked to speak during one of our chapel times. So, we did our presentation on Thursday. It went really well as April did most of the sharing.

April finally went to the plastic surgeon this week. However she only got 5 moles removed. One of them was on her forehead which is why a plastic surgeon was recommended. Botox is next on her agenda, though I'm not sure why. I happen to like wrinkles. They go well with my receding and graying hair.

We (I) haven't said much over the last couple of months about our grades. This is because the race was over after the first test in which April scored a 98 on and I scored a 79. However, we received our mid-term grades and the gap was closer than expected: April- 94, Jeff-90. This is probably the last I will report on them as I am conceding the race. My campaign funds are all used up.

April here: I have been studying the Psalms lately. I learned something pretty funny when I was looking at Psalm 23. I thought that is was interesting that it says that the shepherd makes his sheep lie down to rest. He doesn't just give them a choice. He makes them lie down. So, I thought about that. Are sheep too stupid to know that they need to lie down? I looked on the internet and found a lot of info on sheep. A good shepherd often makes his sheep lie down mid-day to ruminate (chew their cud). Also, sheep will not lie down unless they are free from fear, insects, hunger, and fighting. Interesting isn't it? I think that we as humans won't rest until we are free from fear, irritations, hunger (spiritual and physical), and in-fighting. In every case, it is only the Good Shepherd that can bring that freedom.

I really feel like the Lord has made Jeff and I lie down to rest here in Costa Rica. It has been so different from life in Michigan. A time to rejuvenate and be challenged again to pursue Him. We are ready to get back home and ready to serve again. Ready to be surrounded by people we love and that love us. Ready to see God move in MI and Nicaragua. Ready to follow the Shepherd.

See you all soon,

Jeff and April

P.S. I found an article in USA Today from 2005. While the shepherds in Turkey were eating breakfast, one sheep walked off a cliff to his death for no apparent reason. 1500 followed him! 450 died and the rest only survived because of the big pile of sheep at the bottom to break the fall. And we are called sheep over and over again in the Bible, hmm.........

Spiritual Emphasis Week

Well, it is Wednesday already! We have just completed Spiritual Emphasis Week at our school. It was a great week in so many ways- no homework, good speakers, and the temperature was pretty mild (75-85) all week. Our speakers, Jack & Mary Anne Voekel, shared many of their experiences from over 40 years serving as missionaries in Latin America, with the life of Moses serving as the starting point for each of the 8 services. Of particular note was Thursday evening's service where we "prayed through" the tabernacle. April and I learned much about ourselves and how much God wants to be with us.

It is hard to believe that we only have 2 weeks until Spring Break! We are ready!

Tomorrow is a busy day for us. First, we are speaking in chapel and then April is going in to have a potentially cancerous mole removed on her forehead. Since it's on her face, she has to have a plastic surgeon do the procedure. She is seriously considering having some more work done, but we are not sure our insurance would cover it!

Spring Break should be a blast as we are taking 28 other people with us to Nicaragua! Many students need to renew their visas, so they decided to take advantage of this trip. We are excited to have them all see such a special place. Sunday evening we will all be attending Juan Pavon's church! Plus, there are 2 families from Brown Corners who will be there to do some destruction and rebuilding of the front wall of the Ebenezer Church property, a much-needed project that will be of great benefit to the church and to anyone who has had to drive the microbus into the property!

That's all for today. Until next time....

Day Off!

It has just been a great day today! It's Friday and we did not have classes today due to a teacher in-service day. It has been a much needed break for me as my brain has not been functioning at a very high level lately (to some of you, that would appear normal for me). We had a grammar test yesterday, which means I am now even farther behind April. She is doing quite well with her language acquisition. I, on the other hand, am just trying to make it through most days, so a day off is just what I needed. There is just so much to learn. I am really looking forward to next week as it is Spiritual Emphasis Week, a week where we have special services every morning and evening. This means we have no homework or tests. Hopefully, this also means that what we have been learning will sink in a little more.

We are getting excited about some things being planned right now! We have a Spring Break trip planned to Nicaragua where our family will meet some folks from Brown Corners to get a project started somewhere near Masaya. I have also been planning a trip from Costa Rica to Nicaragua. 28 students from the Institute will go to Nicaragua during the same week. It's been challenging, but Nicaragua is such a cool country that it will be worth all the work. It will be encouraging to see how our work there changes with our improving ability to communicate. As for this year, we will continue supporting the local church through project work, but we are looking forward to expanding and deepening our work in several other areas. Our main trip this summer will add a new dimension to our work, too, as we will be running day camps for the children surrounding Santa Rita. If there is interest, we will take a different group of people to continue the project that will be started in March. It is exciting to see what God is doing for Nicaragua through our church!

Tonight, we are doing pre-marital counseling with a young couple from our church. It is the second time we've met. One really interesting thing I want to share with you is Juan Pablo's background. He is not from a Christian family. He started his journey to Christ as a 12 year old because someone came on a short-term missions trip. Juan Pablo came to play baseball and was introduced to the Lord. He is now 27 and still following Jesus. It is fun to see the result of short-term missions 15 years later. You just never know the impact you are making.

Well, I am really hot right now- it has been almost unbearably hot and humid for the past few days. Makes me yearn for Michigan....not really. 2 months to go, unless there is still snow on the ground April 28th, then we will be changing our flights.

Fun Times

Every once in a while, something happens in class to make us all laugh. In fact, this happens weekly. But this week was more special than the previous ones. It was Thursday, and on Thursdays we present Bible studies in Spanish. I had chosen Psalm 51 largely because it contains several desires of David which could easily be changed into the sentence structure we are practicing right now. Verse 6 states that God desires truth in our innermost parts. I just happened to translate this into "God desires truth in our intimate parts" which in Spanish specifically means your "special private place." For some reason my Bible study, for all intents and purposes, ended right there- though for David this still might have applied. It was a memorable Thursday.

A couple of weeks ago, April signed up to attend a women's retreat for all the ladies at ILE. Over 30 women attended this Friday-Saturday event. They were supposed to leave on Friday at noon, but the bus had some problems and they had to wait for another bus to arrive. So, April returned home for a few minutes before leaving again. But now she was wearing a name tag with the words "The Love Connection" on it. Nothing like 30-plus mostly married women heading to a hotel to make a "love connection." She returned Saturday night thankful for the time away from the hustle and bustle we find ourselves in daily.

One of my baseball buddies, Juan Pablo, recently asked April and I to give him and his fiance marriage counseling. Thankfully, JP and Natalie both speak English. God continues to give us opportunities to be involved in people's lives. If it goes poorly, perhaps Dave Luther could use a vacation to Costa Rica.

The kids are all doing great. Camden gets dragged around at play practice 2 or 3 times a week (he's playing the part of a dead guy), basketball is going great, and he had his first 4-hit ball game with the team we play for every Sunday. Mason is having fun making and throwing paper "stars", writing new "Stick-Man Ninja" comics, and playing soccer. Karis is still enjoying gymnastics (she can do a cartwheel, something her mother still hasn't mastered). Ellie is in an "accelerated talking phase" where she must get in around 50,000 words every day. Unfortunately for us, Maria just returned to Nicaragua. Now April and I get the brunt of Ellie's constant questioning. I love answering questions like, "Will you still be strong if you're skinny?" "Why do you have to wear rings if you're married?" "Why do boys have hair all over their bodies?" For the past month we've been referring these questions to Maria so she could practice her English.

We miss our family and friends, just not enough to come home just yet. After all, it was a breezy 85 today. Until next time...

Hola! It's been a crazy month for the Dice's in Costa Rica. We had a birthday, a visit from 16 family members, Maria came back for another month, and we have had a ton more school work this tri.

It is a whole new ball game. We now have learned all 14 of the verb tenses, we just don't know how to use them all yet. I am considering taking the 3 hour grammar exam at the end of the tri for college credit. Jeff is considering death by lethal injection. Really no difference, except Jeff's solution is painless and quicker. I have started studying for it already.

The 15th was Karis's birthday. She had a blast. 7 kids came over for brownies and games. (See the pic above.)

On January 24th, the whole Palmer clan arrived for a family vacation. That is Aunt Beth and Uncle Lee and their kids and grand-kids as well as Aunt Jody. For those of you at Brown's that includes Treena and Duane Hall and Todd and Lori Palmer. It was pretty awesome because many of the kids had never flown or been to another country besides Canada. They spent the first day with us exploring around San Jose and then headed for the beach. They enjoyed exploring and snorkeling. The fun was mixed with jelly-fish stings and sunburns!

Aunt Beth was gazing at the moon, tripped, fell, and broke her nose! She was walking with Guillermo, the guide and bus-driver. He says he tried to save her, but she was sure that hand on her back was pushing not pulling! Actually, he felt terrible and Aunt Beth loved to tease him about it. Ellie told Aunt Beth that she had very colorful eyes. I guess that was true since they were black and blue!

After school on Friday, we took the public bus and met the family in Monte Verde. It was a five hour trip. The bus was packed and people stood in the aisles the entire way! Our hotel, the Monte Verde Inn, was at the edge of the jungle. We got to see monkeys, coatis (a type of raccoon), sloths, tarantulas, a porcupine, wolf-spiders, a huge ant mound, and lots of other bugs! It was pretty awesome. We went on a suspension bridge walk high up in the rain forest. It was something right out of Tarzan complete with hanging vines. As David said, "On your wonderful works I will meditate." God is amazing.

Next we took a boat ride to the Volcan Arenal. The drive to the lake was amazing. I am convinced that we just need to move all our family and friends down here. We'll just have to wait for the housing market to come back up! Los Lagos, our hotel, had pools warmed by the volcano!

This was our only trip outside of San Jose and we really enjoyed doing it with the family. We are so blessed to have them. There were a few tears (mostly mine!), but Treena let me borrow her noise-maker (a machine that makes noise so you can sleep), and the next day I was fine and Jeff didn't need to push me off a suspension bridge! It was an amazing experience none-the-less.

I have been really enjoying the experience down here. It has been so different from normal life. I didn't realize the weight I carried around at home. The weight of concern for others in our church and family. A friend told us that God's shoulders are big enough to handle the weight of the world. We can't carry it ourselves. I am convinced I need to pray more and worry less, but I guess that probably isn't news to anyone!

Well, I'm going to leave you all in God's hands. Mine just aren't big enough.

Love to all,

April