Laughing is a Good Thing

Well, we have had quite the past 10 days: moving into a new apartment, attending language school orientation, visiting the farmer's market, tasting "authentic" Costa Rico Chinese food, and surviving our first earthquake. Yes, I said earthquake. Of the last 10 days, that was our most memorable experience. It was a 6.2 earthquake and one of the biggest that they have seen in a while. Thankfully, God kept us safe and we were all together (including the kids). We were in the process of having an interview with one of the directors of the school when the walls started shaking. For those who have never experienced an earthquake before, it was quite unsettling. You felt as if you had just gotten off a roller coaster and things were still spinning. Even after it was over, we felt like we were moving up and down.

Kendall was more aware of what was going on and asked, "Did God do that?" It gave us a good opportunity to tell her how God knows all that goes on and helps us through them. When we concluded the meeting, she promptly reminded us that we should pray before we left. The faith of a child is a wonderful thing.

Our orientation classes went well. The kids have been in their classes too this week and have done well. Kendall has enjoyed making new friends and she's already picking up on the Spanish. Just yesterday I heard her playing with her dolls and she said, "Como se llama?" which means "What is your name?" Parker has also started to understand some Spanish. Sometimes he repeats Spanish words better than English.

School is about a 12 minute walk from our apartment. We push Parker in the stroller and Kendall walks. She likes to sing on the way. There's nothing like trying to lay low. We obviously stick out, but this gives us the ability to demonstrate Christ's love to those we meet by being gracious and appreciative for their help. We need a lot of help, so any guidance and assistance with words and the general workings of things is great.

We have had some humorous situations lately. As we fared the farmer's market on Saturday, several vendors laughed at my pronunciation and lack of vocabulary. Thankfully, I was able to laugh with them. Laughing was a piece of advice that our instructors emphasized. It's good to not take yourself too seriously. Plus, this is why we're here--to learn Spanish. We never want to allow our pride to get in the way of our learning and God being able to use us.

Our classes start on Monday morning. Jon and I won't be in any classes together, but we do have the same free period. We will both be taking two grammar classes, phonics, and language (conversation). We start classes at 7:30 and go till 12:05. It will be a long morning, but we will have the afternoon to get things done.

Our work load is going to be challenging and the school does not "sugarcoat" how difficult it is going to be. I can feel myself getting a little anxious already, but the academic director gave us an encouraging word to help us keep things in perspective. She quoted Matthew 24: 14: "This good news will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations. And then the end will come." Our language study is part of Christ's returning. We are here so that through the Holy Spirit we can effectively communicate the gospel. Even though school is going to be challenging, the goal of knowing Spanish so we can be involved in cross-cultural ministry, is more important than getting an A on a test. Our depth of language learning is going to increase our depth of ministry involvement.

Please pray that we would know how to balance all the new things coming at us. Pray also that the kids would continue to do well and we would stay healthy. Give God praise for a relatively easy adjustment and the opportunity to be around like-minded people who are all going through this together.

These pics are from a trip to the Park.