Nicaragua

Sitting by the pool, listening to the girls splash and play, surrounded by the beauty of another country we have grown to love, Nicaragua.

We are on a four-day 'vacation' that we, by Costa Rican law, must take every three months, in order to renew our tourist visa.

This time, we have the blessing of Matt's parents beign with us. We crossed the border yesterday in record time, very muddy, but happy to have no problems. Usually it is a dry dusty place at 'La Frontera' or the border town between Costa Rica and Nicaragua, but yesterday it was a sloppy, muddy mess. We rented a car, drove it to the border and dropped it off, then walked across to the Nica side, where we met Carlos, our Nicaraguan friend we met about two years ago, who is a taxi driver from Rivas.

We had all day yesterday to relax from the early morning, ate by the beach, came back and rested and then hooked up with our good friends, Dave and Tamra,who are studying Spanish here in Nicaragua and are staying in the same hotel we are.

As we caught up with them yesteday, I was reminded of God's infinite goodness and grace. And His mercy and blessing on our obedience to Him. Dave and Tamra have shared with us many times about God's amazing work in their lives. I can't imagine them living any other life, but their 'old life' was much different than their 'new life in Christ.' They have been obedient to the Lord in their 'pasos' or steps in their walk and we can see how God has rewarded that obedience.

I shared not too long ago about my sinful selfish moments during the cleaning up after the flood. As I cleaned I became envious of those who had a nicer home than us or lived a different life than us. I shared later about my friend that I met with and studied the Word and we would stand at her balcony overlooking Villareal and I would pray for the city in those moments. That friend was Tamra. She is a wonderful blessing in my life. She is an example to me. She is a gift sent straight from the Lord. She grounds me, encourages me and sharpens me. Her and Dave left a life of 'much', and God called them to a life of 'little' and they have embraced theat life with open arms. In their obedience, God has blessed them abundantly. They lived in the jungle of Guanacste for about 9 months in a small one room bungalow. Everything they own fits into about 8 suitcases! They are able to move in a moments notice as God calls. But as they go, God has blessed them. He has directed them to wonderful homes, even if for a short time in each. God has made the price right, provided adequate furnishings, and quiet spaces to study Spanish.

So, I share this today because I believe strongly that God honors our obedience to Him in wonderful ways that are different for each of us. I want to be careful when I share that my 'covetness' of that evening a few weeks ago, was a in those moments only. I love seeing what God does in our little neighborhood and I love seeing what God does through our friends like Dave and Tamra who truly live out their faith wherever they are. I hope that was clear a few weeks ago.

Tamra took Sue and I out to the market yesterday and while we were out it started pouring. Of course we had no umbrella...we took off in the rain. Tam kicked off her sandals and took off barefoot like any local would do and I followed in amazement as she dodged the holes and effortlessly weaved through the worst rivers of water racing down the cobblestone streets. Sue seemed as if she knew what she was doing and kept right up with Tam. I however, was the only one having trouble as I was slipping and sliding in my flip flops...One day I might get the hang of this life! :)

Anyhow, we are enjoying our time with our parents and will be back in CR Saturday. The founder of Potter's Field Kids will be flying in to CR today and when we get back we'll be able to meet with him- we are super stoked about that! :)

More later...