La Carpio and an "Only in Costa Rica" moment...

Today was an absolute beautiful day!

We traveled as a team to La Carpio to visit with the family that Mark and Coco, as well as the team on some occasions, have visited. The family consists of one grandmother named Doña Maria and more than 15 children. One of the boys today told me there are around 20 people living in there home. Doña Maria said the same and described her home, which we have been in one time. Granted it is large by La Carpio standards, it is still a tin and sheet metal structure with a dirt floor. In the part of the home I was in there was no bed to be seen. Doña Maria has been receptive to Mark and Coco's visits. Recently, a donation was made to the ministry that permitted our team to treat the whole family lunch and new shoes. This afternoon, Mark and Meg, Mairana and Valeria and Dayan, as well as Jessica, Chelsie, Heather, Cherilynn and Melinda H. (a college student helping out in the ministry for the summer), and our whole family began the adventure. We were blessed to be able to be a part of the day.

After picking up 14 of the kids and Doña Maria, we headed to Plaza Americana for fried chicken. Mark drove his vehicle, Meg drove hers and we drove the third ministry vehicle- all of our cars were full! While driving, we got to know the kids in our car. Maria is 14 and the daughter of Doña Maria. Olympia is 12 and Maria's sister. Evelyn is 10 and the cousin to Maria and Olympia. Carlos is 12 and his brother is Francisco, who is 9. Walter is 12 and the brother to Evelyn and a cousin to the rest of the bunch. I was asking them all kinds of crazy questions just to break the ice. Carlos and Francisco said the craziest thing about their life is their brother (silly boys...) and Maria said she is "tranquila" all the time...then she said, "Well not all the time, sometimes I'm a little crazy!" Olympia just kept smiling at me :) Some of you might remember the picture of Hazel we showed while we were in the states. She is the sister of Maria and the rest...daughter of Doña Maria. How could we have known that God would so closely unite us with her exact family in such a beautiful way? I enjoyed this time today so much. I had tears in my eyes as we dropped them off today. The hugs from them all were precious especially when little Hazel and Virginia (Beer-hen-ia) came running up, plus others whose names I can't remember...I really enjoyed the minutes I had talking with Doña Maria. She is only 43 years old, but wow, how those years have aged her. Yet her smile lights up the room. Oh the conversations my mind is thinking of to have with her...May God bless this day and our time with them in mighty ways. She told Mark today that she is ready to be discipled- her and her whole family- as well as several others- she told Mark there'd be over 20 people- "If that would be ok..." WOW! What a mighty and powerful God we serve!

The whole group

Please pray specifically these next few days or whenever you think about it. The East Hill team from Pensacola, FL arrive tomorrow. Monday through Thursday of next week, their team, our team, Pastor Rogelio, as well as teams from Los Guido including women and youth will be spending the mornings in La Carpio basically walking the streets handing out tracks and sharing the gospel with any willing ear the Lord brings our way. Please pray also for how our family can be involved. My heart aches to be back and to spend time with Doña Maria, specifically, but with Maria, Walter and others, too. At the same time, we have three little ones and it is our responsibility to care and protect them. That being said, we have seen the hand and protection of the Lord every step of the way, and La Carpio is no exception. If we allow the fear of what might be to rule us, the devil has already won. So, please pray for our wisdom as we head into this next week and for God to show us where and when is His timing to serve. Also pray that God might grant me the opportunity to witness and share time with Doña Maria.

On a different...much more humorous note:
As I mentioned, we were driving the black van today...well, Matt was driving and we were riding...Here in Costa Rica, they have these insane crazy traffic circles. They seem to serve the purpose, but "tengo miedo!" they really scare me! So, anyway, after dropping the family off, we were heading back to our house and the one thing we would really have liked to never happen, happened- we were pulled over by the Costa Rican police! So, the guy walks up with all his macho self and starts rattling off jibberish at warp speed that I am assuming was supposed to be Spanish. Matt is nodding his head as if in agreement, while I am sitting there thinking, "What is this guy talking about and what is Matt agreeing to?" He asks for Matt's license and begins to scribble on his little pad. I asked Matt if he understood everything what was being said to which the expression on his face told me everything I needed to know...we were both basically clueless at this point. This is where Meg calls and says, "Is this just a routine traffic stop or do you guys need help?" She had been behind us and saw us being pulled over. Have I said before that she is like the sweetest person in the world? As I am telling her that I have no idea what is going on other than the cop has Matt's license and I know the ticket is costing 5 mil (about $10), the cop walks back and starts talking warp-speed jibberish again. I ask Meg to hold on and ask the cop to explain to me what this is all about. He then explains in much more understandable words that this is a new traffic law just starting today to try to decrease the amount of cars on the main roads (which most have roundabouts) and in downtown San Jose (the capital city) during rush hours. Cars traveling through these areas (all roundabouts as well as San Jose) during the hours of 6-8 am and 4:30-7 pm every day will be fined. Here is the kicker...you will only be fined on one day each week. Today, Thursday, happens to be our lucky day! The license plate on the black van ends in 7 and Thursday is the day that all cars ending in 7 or 8 will be fined, if caught traveling in these areas. The rest of the week we'll be fine BUT just not on Thursdays.


"la placa" the license plate...ending in 7

I have to steal Melinda's line on this one- that only in Costa Rica could something like this happen. They fine people for using the very roads the created to make traffic flow better. So, I preceded to ask how are people supposed to know this if it just started today? To which he responded not so kindly that it was "reported." This whole time Meg is listening on the phone and laughing in disbelief at what this guy is saying and I can hear the girls in her car repeating everything she says - it was really hilarious on my end to hear her end...but I was trying to focus on exactly to say all the things i really wanted to say...Like "Are you serious? Is this for real? Do you realize why we are in this country?" All things that Matt kindly pointed out would probably make no difference to him, but...maybe just maybe...It really didn't matter anyway in the end...before I had the chance to say anything else, he handed the ticket to Matt and his license, jeered at us and walked away! I thought better of getting out of the vehicle and asking him all the questions that I finally had the words to say...and we drove off...laughing at how ridiculously funny life can be living in a foreign country.

Matt with his first ever Costa Rican traffic ticket


We have eight days to pay this ticket...where? I have no idea!!! The officer walked away before we could ask him any of those details!!!

In the grand scheme of the day, it is minuscule what happened. Ten dollars is $10. It could be pretty costly if we were to be out travelling every Thursday during those times. It is something we now have to consider. Later we found out that apparently it was reported on the news last night and there is a list of what days affect different plate numbers. So, it could possibly affect Mark and Meg or Melinda as well, it is falls on a day when they are travelling during those times. Ethan said, "Does that mean we can't go to La Carpio again?" I don't know what it means really, maybe it means we include "traffic tickets" as a line item budget...heeheehee....that is a joke (I think???) but when my 8 year old asks me if something like a traffic ticket means we can't go back to someplace like La Carpio - there is no way I am gonna say no! I will not give the enemy ground over something silly like that...So join us in prayer over scheduling and timing and really that God would find favor to blind the officers of our plates if we do happen to be out during those times. The roundabouts are virtually unavoidable...to our knowledge at this point. Pray we might find an alternative route to bypass them, which will of course add time. Whatever the solution God already has it thought of and planned out...we can be sure of that.

We have since found out that we can go to one of the local banks and pay the ticket if we go in the next three days. If we can do that, it will be much less hassle and hopefully only standing in one line...

Oh- the other thing that was quite humorous about this whole experience was that at the exact moment that the officer pulled us over this reporter and camera guy came running over and stood at the driver's side window, camera running and asked us if they could ask us a few questions about this new traffic law...without waiting for our answer he began spouting off questions with the camera aimed right at Matt...we quickly put up our arms and waved them off...who knows? We could have made the nightly Costa Rican news...