Category Archives: 1000 Words

A Friend in the Bargain

“No photos.  No photos.”  She waved her hand dismissively at Matt, shooing away his Canon.  Up and down the cobblestone street stalls overflowed with colorful Guatemalan bargains.  But here was something new: a lady and her loom, actually making one.  Having more time than quetzales just then, Matt broke out his basic Spanish.  Her name was Manuela.  It wasn’t that she was camera-shy, she just understood the value of the unique scene she made amidst a repetitive market.  In an economy that earned her something like $8 for a 15-hour table runner, sitting fees traveled the other direction.  He watched her weave bright threads and pack them down firmly with a smooth stick, each motion quick and sure from long practice.

“¿Cuantos?” he asked her, smiling, “How much?”  In amiable fashion, the bargaining commenced.  She pointed to her Pepsi bottle, “10.  I need to buy food and drink for my family.”  He pointed to his pocket, “I only have 8.  I would like to show your picture to my wife.  She loves the color blue.”  They chatted more about the topics within reach of his language skills: the number of children they had and how long it took to make her wares.  Eventually she consented, softened by his good nature and the evidence that his wallet was being honest about it’s contents.  For about a dollar and some courtesy, he gained a beautiful picture and made a memory that will outlast everything else we bought that trip– a connection with another culture, a friend made in the bargain.

Manuela's Loom

But it’s Dark and I Can’t Open the Door. . .

Our just-turned-4-year-old is at a stage where pretty much everything he does is adorable.  Even some of his disobedience is sweet enough to cause me to look away for a parent-face reboot.   And as for learning to say his “l’s” and “r’s”. . . well,  I wee-ly yike the way he sounds now.  He doesn’t run, he prances.  He plays with Legos while bridging off of his head.  We count the kisses he gives us at bedtime into the teens and twenties most nights.  Much like me, his whole attitude can do a 180 with the right application of TLC.

During one family exodus from the house, I took his hand and gave the boarding call.  He looked at the unlit stairway down to the garage door and resisted,

“But it’ s dark and I can’t open the door!”

Never mind that we had done the “get in the car” maneuver a thousand times before.  Never mind that I was walking with him, holding his hand.  He was thinking about what he could and couldn’t do, rather than who he was with and how I had always provided what he needed.

And so it is with our launch to serve at-risk children and host mission teams as missionaries at the Home of Life in Costa Rica.  When we look at the to-do lists to accomplish, the amount of physical stuff to be shifted, and the financial support to be raised in the next 6 months, the door knob seems beyond our reach.  Because it is.  Our tiptoes and outstretched fingertips won’t get it done.  But we walk hand-in-hand with a big God who is leading us forward.  We look to Him to open doors and move hearts to join with us.  We trust Him to establish the work of our hands in a new nation.  We climb into His lap for encouragement and rest between His shoulders when the road seems long.  He is able.  And how He must smile at our antics along the way.

040“Put your hope in the Lord.  Travel steadily along his path.  He will honor you by giving you the land.” Psalm 37:34a

“Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him,
for he shields him all day long,
and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.”  Deuteronomy 33:12b

Psst. . . A word to all of you awesome people who follow our journey by email subscription.  I’m so thankful for each of you!  It’s great to have you with us along the way.  I wanted to let you know that the email format of the blog doesn’t include the feature image of the post, which is often the best part.  So if you’d like the cherry on top, click on the big blue post title to hop over to our website for a moment.  Today you’ll see one of my favorite little faces watching planes at the airport.  And if you’d like to have TheGoodNewsFamily delivered fresh and piping hot right to your inbox, scroll down to the bottom of the page, enter your email address in the box next to our family photo, and click “Sign me up!”  No lines, no waiting here, friends.

Where Your Treasure Is

Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.  Matthew 6:21 NLT

In keeping with my last post about setting up our nest of family life in Costa Rica, I wanted to share some pictures of the “treasure” that I have tucked away there.  We are going out as a family of 5 to serve by hosting short term mission teams and helping with the children at the Home of Life.  I can’t tell you the excitement that rises in me when I think about those sweet brown eyes, and the laughter of team members at their cabins as I walk up the path to greet them.   From this end of the plane ticket, however, I find myself being the practical wife and mama, strategizing how to stuff our suitcases with just the right essentials to enable us to hit the ground running (physically and emotionally) upon our arrival.   I’ve seen “bed in a bag” sets at the store, but how to pack “home in a suitcase?”

The Lord, in His kindness, gave us a head start.  Last summer we took down 4 large tote’s worth of sheets, socks, skivvies, books, and other basics to store at the Home for our upcoming launch this August.  Given our family’s fondness for tasty sustenance and my heart for hospitality, outfitting the kitchen has been getting the lion’s share of my attention.  Good food at an inviting table is home in a nutshell to me.

Costa Rica’s tile floors have a knack for shattering glass and pottery, so this plastic tableware above is a gift of grace for our bouncy crew, with a pattern pretty enough to make the endless dish washing more interesting.

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Of all the bags we packed, this one was my favorite.  Tropical kitchens have sparkling critter potential. Grocery stores there sell many items in small individually wrapped packages for protection against the humidity.  These canisters are going to be my go-to for making the most of our cabinet space while keeping our food all safe and cozy.

What’s the significance of all this plastic?  Cinnamon rolls and homemade bread coming out of the oven, beckoning in the neighbors.  Breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks shared over school lessons and silly stories.  Peaceful organization and future grocery hauls.  A bit of worldly treasure marking the spot on the map where the Lord has planted our hearts.  Home.

The Language of Laundry

Laundry with a ViewIn the states, laundry happens in a small (often windowless) room or closet whenever one can spare the moment to flip the load into a machine for washing or drying.  Costa Rica has washing machines  (praise the Lord!) and dryers, too.  Electricity is so expensive, however, that colorfully decked-out clotheslines decorate everyone’s open spaces.  Washing machines are often situated under awnings in open back patios.  This summer I got to pretreat and sort within view of rolling hills and (hopefully) clear skies.   The washing machine emptied its rinse water into the nearby sink and delighted my children by making enormous “sud cakes.”

The language of Laundry is spoken often in Costa Rica because of the warm weather and easy access to dirt, but it is spoken in terms of sunshine and warm breezes, limited only by afternoon rains, line space, and the number of clothespins you own.  In Costa Rica, joy, and laundry, come in the morning.

Introducing “1000 Words” Posts

I’m usually pretty capable of cranking out 1,000 words at any given moment. My husband will verify this, especially at bedtime when he’s drifting off. Whether those slurries of words are of interest to people outside of marriage vows (and sometimes even in them) is another story.  I would like to start a new feature here on TheGoodNewsFamily to make it easier for me to share my heart for our global launch to serve at the Home of Life in Costa Rica.  A picture is said to be worth that much in verbiage, sometimes even more.  Please enjoy a few of my favorites and the (brief) reasons why.

Coming Home to Cabin 5

Our home for 5 weeks this summer.  There is a beauty to doing life in a small house when you are surrounded by glorious weather (I even love the rain) and warm people.  Itty bitty living space, phenomenal cosmic life.

Every morning of our stay, the skyline above was the breathtaking view from the rocking chairs on our front porch.  Cue the symphony of birdsong, crickets, and gecko chirps, pour the coffee, and breathe in the presence of the Lord.  Blessings!