Dan here:
We are very sorry for our tardiness on getting the week 14 update out to you all. By the time I got around to writing the week 14 update, we only had a few days left in this week so I decided to put them both together. This will be a long update - I will not be offended if you get bored and don't finish. However, there is a prize at the end of the post! So, here we go:
First - some fun stories/events we experienced this week.
Costa Rica is truly a beautiful country, full of natural wonder. Here is a fun cloud formation recently seen in CR:
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| This is called a lenticular cloud and typically happens over a volcano from what I understand. This is one over Arenal Volcano here in CR. |
Recently, we have started the transition from the rainy season to the dry season. You would expect this to mean less and less rain throughout the month of November. Interestingly, there has been more rain in the first two weeks of November than we have had since Karen and I moved down here. The rain, with a combination of crazy Tico drivers led to this during the past week:
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| Too much weight, not enough support in the ground = bridge failure! Gotta find a new route to Arenal... |
This past weekend, Karen and I were invited by one of her students to an Indian festival called Diwali (Festival of lights). Always seeking to expand our cultural understanding, we gratefully accepted. During the evening we met many new friends and ran into a bunch of "old" friends, observed some typical Indian, Hindi, and Sikh cultural dances and music, had a fantastic meal, and nearly died from the closing fireworks display (at least according to some - I thought it was fun!). At the end of the evening, we randomly started talking to a couple as we were walking to the car. They were a local Christian couple who attend a church we visited in the past. It never ceases to amaze me how small this country really is - you will run into people you know in the most random places here.
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| Diwali prayer table |
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| Hindi prayer plate |
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| My inner eye is a bit off-center...seems about right! |
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| Did I mention the dinner was excellent?!?! |
When you break it down, discipleship is really about investing in others. One way Karen and I do that is to have breakfast, lunch, dinner, and game night with our friends, new and old.
During one of these past weeks, Karen and I were blessed to have breakfast with our friends Rocio, Raquel, Raquel's baby-Gianni, and M (Rocio's mom). They cooked a typical Tico breakfast for us (which was fabulous) and we spent the morning talking, laughing, and worshipping God. Its always such a pleasure to spend time with these ladies!
At one point during the breakfast, Karen was holding Gianni and Raquel looks over to him and says, "Mommy, look how tan Gianni has gotten!" Without thinking, I blurted out - "Well, with Karen holding him he can't help but look tan."
We have recently started inviting a new friend of ours, Aaron, to English class. Our English class is on Thursday night. So after serving at the orphanage, Karen and I pick up a few people, have dinner with them, and then drive them to class with us. One Thursday night, we were having dinner with Aaron. He was the only one with us that particular rainy night. The rain ended up being so severe that night that the pastor cancelled class. We took advantage of the extra time to get to know him better. He has both a heart for learning and a heart for God. Its so good to meet more and more of the younger generation, who are sold out for God, here in CR.
Speaking of young people in love with God, we also had a chance to spend an afternoon with our friend Andrea. Andrea is on the worship team at our home church here in Alajuelita and is a local missionary. She and a group of folks from Iglesia Cristiana have traveled to a remote area of Costa Rica a couple of times on missionary journeys. We love Andrea like crazy and cannot wait to be serving with her again in the near future.
One of our favorite families here in Costa are Victor and Cynthia. Victor and I work fairly closely together in 6:8 Ministries handling the finances. Both he and his wife are amazing servant leaders in the kingdom of God. Recently, Victor and Cynthia asked us if we would help their son, Jesus, prepare for his final oral exam for his English class. So, Karen and I went over to their house one evening and spent a couple of hours practicing with Jesus and his cousin (she also had an oral exam). Again, much laughing ensued - but I think it was mostly directed at our Spanish... Both Jesus and his cousin ended up doing great on their final exam. However, Karen and I now have Jesus' speech stuck in our heads - possibly forever: "I am Jesus. I live in San Jose, Costa Rica. My country is very small but very beautiful..." and so on.
Ok - you made it. As promised, here is your prize:
We have a turtle that roams around the two team houses here in Alajuelita. He loves watermelon! Seriously - don't get between him and watermelon!
Prayer needs - please pray for wisdom and guidance for Karen and I as we are starting a new ministry down here. We will have more details in future updates. In fact, please pray for all of the 6:8 staff for wisdom and guidance. We have a couple of teams coming down to close out the year and want to start the new year strong as a ministry.
Please pray for the health of the orphans and nuns. Karen went to volunteer at the orphanage this week and discovered it is closed for at least two weeks due to sickness. While this does give Karen a break, she would rather be loving on the babies at the orphanage.
Also, Karen is starting a women's Bible study for some local ladies. We will be purchasing the materials for the class in the near future. It will cost about $25 per person for the entire course. We are trying to make this class completely free for the women. If you want to sponsor a woman taking the class, you can go to http://68ministries.org/about-68/the-68-staff/ and scroll down to Vigliotti Family and click "One-time Gift". Thank you so much for your willingness to build the kingdom of God around the world!
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