Name that Number...

Remember the old tv show, Name that Tune? Two contestants would guess the number of bars that would play before they could guess the tune. Well, today, was Name that Number...of bowls that it takes to "take a shower and wash your hair!" The bowl measure is a 12 ounce plastic bowl, you know the medium size cool whip plastic bowl?

Thursday afternoon we had no water, but no problema - it will come back on in the evening. And that it did. But since we are morning shower people we brushed our teeth and went to bed. Alas, Friday morning - no water. We had enough to brush our teeth and flush the toilet...once. But it was a paseo day, not important to look our best and surely it'll be on when we return and we'll take a shower then. It is not on when we return, but Daisey has enough for us to brush our teeth and flush the toilet. Ok, no problema. Good night. Good morning, Saturday! No water...problema, by now, we stinketh. Finally, it comes on not a whole lot but enough for Daisey to fill every large pot, boiler, and anything large she has. About midday, she tells me she had enough water to take a shower and wash her hair - not much pressure and not much hot water but enough to shower. GREAT! I get my stuff, get in the shower - NADA - NO WATER! But wait, no problem, Daisey has saved pots of water for the day. So now, how many bowls of water does it take to take a shower and wash your hair? Three, only three. I'm being conservative for David to shower and for us to have more water throughout the day. Amazing that so little water can cleanse a body and wash hair! So clean!

Well, now David's turn. He even boiled some water with the little coffee cup water heater he has. (Thanks Bill Hughes, it arrived!) As he gets his hair all lathered, he thought he'd check just to see if by chance the water had returned. It has so he finishes with much water and even hot water, at times. So at least for this time, we don't know how many bowls of water it takes him to shower and wash his hair. No problema...we're both clean and smell good too!

So how many bowls of water would it take you?!

What a NEEDED Break...

Ever had one of those weeks that you just NEEDED a break from everything?! Well, that has been us! With intense tests this week, we needed the diversion that Sarchi provided today.

Sarchi is the artisian town. It is where the traditional ox carts are made, now chiefly for tourism, and the home of the famous Sarchi rocking chairs. We visited the factory where many wooden handicrafts are made, including beautiful wooden jewelry. Then we traveled to the factory where the rocking chairs are made. About 50 years ago, they were still made totally by hand, but now the art has been perfected, though still hand crafted, not hand carved. These chairs are so neat because they fold up and fit in a box which can be shipped anywhere in the world (for a price, mister!) or can be carried on the plane as luggage. We are now the proud owners of one of the chairs which will be carried into Guatemala for us by some friends on their next journey. After a great typical lunch, we saw artisians at work painting sections of the ox carts. Such beautiful work! And we could have been the new proud owners of one of the large carts for use in our home...for the price of only $14.99...whoops...$475.00. We left that for some one else's trip. The only downer of the day...waking up to NO WATER, with no promise of having it until maybe next Monday! So when you take your Saturday night bath, think of us waiting until Monday for ours! Actually, we have friends who do have some so we will go therevisit them for sure!

It has been a different "Fourth of July" celebration but special too. We are so thankful for the freedoms that our country affords us both in the US and in foreign countries. We are blessed from our life in the US. This year is a year of great decision in the US. We are praying that God's people will take their place on their knees praying and then stand tall voting in the election booth. Don't forget to make your vote count. We have already voted in the July primary by absentee ballot and are awaiting our ballots for the November elections. Now, if we can vote from here, don't let anything hinder you!

Thank you for your prayers for us. This week has been intense as we have had several tests over much material. We have hit the midway point and the teachers are "putting on the pressure." In our midterm interviews, we received great reviews from each of our teachers but we know there is much more to learn. And in reality, we are our own worst critics - we demand so much of ourselves. Keep praying for us. Truly our minds are like rice, absorbing the water of the language and softening in the process so that the food we will give out in Spanish can be chewed and digested by those who hear and that much fruit will grow in the process. That is our goal and we must never lose our focus.

Enjoy a slideshow of the day...
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Flowers in Costa Rica...

I have tried so many times to upload the following pictures and for some reason every time, I have problems. I am SURE it is NOTHING like user issue. Anyway, I will post these pictures and hope you enjoy them. I will keep trying to upload more because the flowers are just so pretty! So take a walk through our garden...

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Just like I said in the last post...last week was No Homework...yeah right. This week is FILLED! Monday, I (Glynis) have an oral dramatization during conversation class on "shopping for clothes or shoes." Then Tuesday, I have tests - HUGE one in grammar and two in conversation, another oral one and a written one. Then I will probably have a test in fonetica Wednesday or Thursday. David has a HUGE fonetica test on Tuesday and probably a HUGE grammer test on Wednesday or Thursday. Glad it is a short week of classes.

Remind the Father of us this week! We ask for abundant memory recall, fluid tongues, and a short distance from our minds to our tongues! We are praying for you all this week as well.

A first for us...

Today was a first for us as we went to the feria to buy fruits and vegetables. We usually don't have to buy them because Rodolfo purchases them for our household and Daisy cooks all the meals. However this next week, we are housesitting while the missionaries will be in Antiguo, Guatemala for Annual Mission Meeting.

It was fun to look at all the fresh vegetables and fruits, some of which we don't know exactly what they are or how to prepare them. It was fun to also think about we will be eating this week as we will doing the cooking. Glad this week is Spiritual Emphasis at school so we won't have homework and we will have more time to prepare our meals. During Spiritual Emphasis week, a special speaker comes and we have special chapels every day and meetings at night as well - like the old-fashioned revival meetings.

The having of no homework is really a understatement as any teacher knows. That really means, "If you know what's good for you, you had better study and review everything that I have given you in the past because when next week comes, we are going to fly and have tests galore!" So next week will be a good review week for us. Though we will miss being with Daisy and Rodolfo, it will be so nice to be in a home all to ourselves. We are coming home to have lunch with her a couple of days next week - for both our sakes. Speaking of homework...this is NOT a homework free weekend so I had better close and begin my work. More later...

Father's Day in Costa Rica

(Alejandro, Roldofo, and David to the right)

What a great Father's Day with our Costa Rican family! We celebrated much like we do in the United States. In our Tico home, we enjoyed a delicious lunch of roast beef in gravy, rice, black beans, guacamole, tossed salad, and tortillas, finished with a plato grande de queque (cake) y helado (ice cream). Then Rudolfo, Alejandro (son-in-law), and I enjoyed opening gifts. What a blessing to live with a family who loves the Lord and each other-- and who shows great love to us each day! The greatest blessing of the day was to talk to Miriam, Stephen, Rebecca, and Deborah. What a privilege to be the Dad of such wonderful children!

While Costa Rican Father's Day is always the third Sunday of June, Mother's Day is on August 15. Like Christmas, it may fall on any day of the week.

Rodolfo and Daisy

Where we spend our time...

Yep, this is where we spend our time when we are not in school... we are at home in the office, studying. Here's David typing notes from grammar class last week. We have also found a free download that allows us to type our own flashcards and study them using the computer. It really does help. We are using all kinds of learning techniques to learn all that we can. This weekend we were talking about how much more we understand and how much more we can say than we could just one month ago. Thanks for praying for us. Keep it up! We are so dependent on your holding us before the Father and reminding Him of our names. A friend reminded us this weekend that the value is in the struggle. And that is where we are - in the middle of the struggle of learning and speaking our new language.

We were blessed to learn this week that one of our nine-year-old friends prays for us every Monday. He calls it "Miller Monday." His mom said she never has to remind him to pray for us on Mondays. What a blessing and encouragement! We regularly hear from some who say they pray for us every day. Whether the Lord prompts you to pray for us once a week or daily, we are thankful for each of your prayers for us.

Yesterday is history; tomorrow is a mystery; today is a gift, that's why they call it the present.

Living in the present - glorifying the Father - struggling in the language - walking the journey of life with Jesus.

A typical day in our fonetica classes...

Every day we spend 50 mintues struggling to retrain our southern tongues to speak the beautiful language of Spanish. Enjoy your week and keep praying that we will adjust both our ears and tongues.