Exploring San Jose

Following the 2 outreaches in Shiroles we spent a week familiarizing ourselves a bit with San Jose and the surrounding area. We spent time with various contacts picking their brains and asking what they would do and where they would do it if they were us. We spent Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday driving around San Jose with people as they showed us the city and introduced us to people ministering with the poor. Tuesday we met with a language school that could be a potential partner in some of our future student programs and is where we will most likely study next summer. Friday we explored a region of the country called Sarapiqui. Sarapiqui is about 2 hours from San Jose and there is a slight possibility that this could be the area we choose to live and minister.

Here are a couple of pictures of areas we visited:

La Carpio

Desamporados

Shiroles #2

Let's back up a little and we'll tell you about our second outreach in Shiroles, Talamanca, CR. We were there with a high school group this time, and they were hard workers. They finished the projects that the first group began, as well as beginning a project to filter spring water and bring it into the community. Here are some pictures that will assist in telling the story of our week.


The kids taking advantage of some front-porch seating--the carseats got cleaned and went outside when the crumbs started attracting ants. . .





Olivia and some new friends. Our house and girls dorm are in
the background.





Jeff is hard at work here loading rock and sand into the cement mixer. This group is pouring floor for a dorm for the seminary and future work teams.





Sawyer and his "novias" (girlfriends). Seriously, these girls were a huge blessing! They loved our kids and entertained them at every opportunity!




Like I said. . .every opportunity.






These guys are fertilizing the experimental community garden. If successful, Shiroleans will be able to sell produce as well as learn methods of maintaining family gardens.




Olivia and Gabriel. This was our last night in Shiroles. They were sitting by the outdoor oven, waiting for homemade pizza!




We love you all! More updates to come!

Happy Birthday Sawyer! (June 25)

Sawyer followed Big Sister's footsteps by having his first birthday outside of the US. We celebrated his number 1 at Pizza Hut on Sunday with those who were left after the outreach that ended that day. Though he was fairly clueless, the staff sang a rousing "Feliz Cumpleanos," and brought him a piece of cake with a candle, and, most importantly, we took pictures. He took his first steps last week as well. Oh yes, and we went to Mc Donald's last night (nothing like soaking in the local culture, is there?), and Sawyer was able to crawl up and down the slide; Mom and Dad are a little frightened by what his next accomplishments might be. :)

Lo Hicimos (We Did It): Week 1 in CR

It feels like we have been in Costa Rica for longer than a week and a half. We have been busy, but in a fairly laid-back way. . .if that makes sense! We spent our first couple of nights at a place called "Elijah's Cave" in Heredia with a ministry called Pura Vida Missions. Then it was off to the rain forest near Shiroles (Caribbean side) with the teams that came. The students worked at various sites, all supporting the work of Curtis and Cathy Sharp who are missionaries there. Some taught English at a school, some went with Cathy to visit women in the community, and others worked on projects around the base like digging a well, constructing new dorms and breaking up land for a community garden. There was also a medical team that helped at a mobile clinic. The students were great and it was exciting to see God work through them. A highlight was a 3 1/2 hour climb up (literally UP) a somewhat muddy mountain to distribute food to Cabecar Indians living in a remote village called San Miguel. Yes, ALL of us Dixons made the climb. Jeff carried Olivia in a back pack carrier the WHOLE way up and down. Sawyer hitched a ride with "Macho" who ran up and down the trail to keep him happy. (He is our new hero.) This climb is the reason for the title of this entry. I, Tracey, had many doubts about going at all (much less with O and S), but with the gentle pushing of my husband, I, too, was able to convince my feet to keep moving until the end, and the kids enjoyed the ride. Next time, though, I think I will train a bit before I go! Anyway, lo hicimos.

Another highlight for me was sharing at a girls Bible Study one afternoon. Many of the women and girls in the area are victims of abuse and other injustices. So I felt led to share with them God's heart for women. We looked at Gal.3:28 and the passage in Luke where Christ heals the hemmorraging woman and raises Jairus' daughter. My prayer is that they will cling to the love God has for them and that the transforming work Jesus wants to do in them and through them will not be inhibited by their position as females.

Jeff, I have to say, did an excellent job at helping facilitate the outreach. He was also able to pitch in with some of the construction of the new dorms. And Olivia and Sawyer had a fun time playing, exploring and working their way into the hearts of everyone they came into contact with.

Pictures will follow soon, as we were not expecting this opportunity to write so are unable to upload pictures at the moment. Tomorrow (Sunday the 17th) we will be going back to Shiroles with a team that arrived last night.

The Adventure of Life

We are beginning to see all aspects of life in terms of adventure. Our big ones right now are the adventures of marriage, of parenting, of work, of service, of following Jesus. Adventure gives excitement, or at least a certain anticipation and purpose, to even the routine areas of our lives. May God give us the perspective to see each stage of our lives as an adventure no matter how seemingly mundane.

On the Road to Costa Rica

We have an amazing opportunity for adventure as a family this summer in Costa Rica. Our trip will have dual purposes. The first will be to help lead two outreaches near a town in the rain forest called Shiroles. We will partner with a missionary and a local church to do what God has called them to do with the Bribri and Cabecar Indians. Students will be assisting with various projects including a water project, community vegetable farm, and teaching ESL classes at a local school.

The second purpose for our adventure in Costa Rica will be to scout out future opportunities for Students International. SI would like to create a more long term ministry presence in CR, including at least one semester program for college students. We have sensed that the time was coming for us to leave Visalia and go somewhere overseas. It seems that God is opening doors widely for us to move to Costa Rica next summer! Please pray with us that our time of scouting will be productive, and that God will continue to make clear paths for us and for SI. Please pray, too, for all of the logistical aspects of traveling (and possibly tenting) with children!

We are also tacking on two weeks in Guatemala at the end of our time in CR. We look forward to reporting to you all that God does during this summer adventure. Our dates of travel are June 7 - July 21.

Olivia and Sawyer

Kids, I think, are experts at finding adventure in ordinary things. Olivia uses her endless imagination and chatter to create daily adventure. She has 3 imaginary friends: Gooka, Jershin, and Bit. She is mostly accident-free in potty training and likes to watch Daddy “move the lawn.” Sawyer, at 10 months, is turning out to be quite an adventurer. He likes to climb and explore (sometimes where he shouldn’t). He’s also become very vocal when Big Sister takes away his toys.