You Know It's a Bad Day in Spanish When . . .

you say something and your tutor doubles over laughing as he reaches for his planner to write it down so he can tell his friends later.

What I meant to say was, "When I was pregnant with my fourth son. . ."

What I said was, "When I was pregnant with my criminal son . . ."

Breakfast at the Feria

Saturday mornings, there is a small farmer's market, called a "feria," about a mile from our house. I usually go early, around 6:30-7:00 am, to get the best selection. We can buy fruits and vegetables cheaper than in the grocery store. Lettuce, yucca, pineapples, peppers, carrots, bananas, plantains, potatoes, onions, garlic, cilantro, etc. are available. At times, there is a lady selling bread and other vendors who sell juices and homemade baked goods. We've bought honey there before in a secondhand bottle, but we haven't seen that vendor lately.

There is a small outdoor restaurant also. When we first arrived in Costa Rica, I would not have dreamed of eating there. Once we all got settled in to life here, a couple of classmates starting having breakfast there, so I decided to join them. Timothy went with me the second time. We had a great time just visiting and enjoying the beautiful Costa Rican weather. You can get a huge pile of gallo pinto ("rice and beans"), two eggs, and sausage for about $2.50. Believe it or not, rice and beans are great for breakfast. My friends are David Miller of Lancaster, Pennsylvania on the left who is going to Chile, and Jacob Folk on the right from Powdersville, SC who is staying in Costa Rica after language school. We tend to think of people here not in terms of where they're from, but where they're going after language school to serve the Lord. In the foreground, there is a typical layout of carrots, potatos, and onions. Timothy is sitting next to Jacob.

Tomato Soup

It is said that necessity is the mother of all inventions. For the last 2 years or so before we came to Costa Rica, we had a tradition of eating tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for Sunday night dinners. In Costa Rica we have had a hard time finding tomato soup. There is only one store that carries it and it is very expensive. We have been able to buy Hunts tomato paste at Pricemart which is owned by Sam's Club and carries some familiar brands. The tomato paste is not cheap but it is reasonably priced. I began to think that surely I could make some tomato soup from the tomato paste. I researched allrecipes.com and kind of made up my own recipe after experimenting a time or two. The amounts are large but remember we are cooking for 9 people. So for good tomato soup that sure beats what is in the can, try this:

Ingredients:

3 six ounce cans of tomato paste
1 tsp of dried onion flakes
1 tsp of paprika
1/2 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp of basil
1 Tbsp of Lawry's seasoning salt
1 Tbsp of regular salt
36 ounces of water
35-50 ounces of milk

Directions:

1. Mix 1 can tomato paste with one can(tomato paste can) of water. Whisk until smooth. I usually put it in a pan on medium heat which makes it smooth easier. Once it is smooth add another can of water and whisk until smooth. This process will make the paste the consistency of tomato sauce. Put aside.
2. Repeat step one for cans 2 and 3 of the tomato paste. It is much easier to get the paste to mix with water if you make one can at a time and then add cans two and three to can one as they are made.
3. Add onion flakes, paprika, garlic, basil, Lawry's Seasoning Salt, table salt to the mixture and stir. Heat on low or put in a crock pot for one to two hours.
4. Ten to fifteen minutes before you are ready to eat, add the milk and stir. For thicker soup add 35 or so ounces of milk. For more volume add up to 50 ounces of milk. Heat to your desired temperature. For extra creamy soup substitute evaporated milk for regular milk. (We added evaporate milk this past Sunday and it was really good).
5. We like to serve the soup with grilled cheese sandwiches and Cheezit crackers. It surely beats what comes in a can and is very quick and easy to make.

Enjoy!!

Introducing Talí y Alba

When we first got here, we quicly realized how difficult our names are to pronounce in Spanish.  Our teachers try very hard to get our names right, but they are just like we are in Spanish, sometimes their mouths can't make the words in English without much effort. And not just the teachers, but we had this problem everywhere we went. Many of the locals think my English name is "Don," which is "Mister" in English. They wondered why I was called "Mister." : )

And Tully. The "u" sound that we say for his name does not exist in Spanish. They would say "Too-ly." The slash over Tully's name is called a "tilde." It is very important as it tells where to put the accent.

So, allow me to introduce our Spanish selves: Alba and Talí. These names work great. One of my maestras gave me the name Alba, because it is the translation for "dawn" in Spanish. Now even some of my English speaking friends call me that. And Talí sounds very close to Tully in rapid Spanish. Our tutor gave him the name and said it's a very old Spanish name.

So it's easy to introduce ourselves now.

Love

I wanted to write some about what God has been showing me in my quiet time. It began as I was studying participles in my grammer class. Dawn mentioned participles in her previous post. Participles are the passive voice in verbs. For example, "The food was eaten by my children." The verb "eaten" is the participle. Participles in English end in -en or -ed. The sentence structure is reverse of normal, hence the term "passive." Normally we would say "the children ate the food." In Spanish, participles are very important. They can function as nouns, verbs, and adjectives. I began thinking about how that applies to the word "love." In addition during our Bible study time with the kids we have been talking about love.

The word "love" can occur as a noun such as "Dawn's love is special." And that statement is true. We hear the word "love" used in this way often. More commonly the word "love" is a verb, such as "I love you." I have tried to tell Dawn this casi todos los días (almost everyday) since we have been married (another participle). The word love can function as an adjective such as "Dawn is a lovely person." The word lovely modifies the noun person and therefore is an adjective. We hear the word used in this way many times for people or for things such as "that was a lovely dessert." Finally, love can be an adverb such as "Dawn acts lovingly towards her family." The word "love" modifies the verb acts, therefore it is an adverb. These are all examples that we are familiar with. Some of these examples are obviously used more than others. But one use of the word I have never heard used in 51 yaers is for someone to say of another person "He/she is love." A very simple sentence but we never hear someone say it about someone else. We usually hear that someone is lovely or loving--both adjectives.

So, what is the point of all this grammer review? The phrase "God is love" does occur in the Bible and it has had a large impact on me. First John ch 4 vs 8 and 16say "...for God is love," and "...God is love..." I have always been taught that if the Bible says something 2 or 3 times we should pay particular attention to it. It struck me that the Bible does not only use "love" as an adjective such as God is loving, though He is, or God is lovely, though He is that also. With God, love is a noun: God is love; pure, simple, and complete. Más luego (more later on).

An Exciting Day

Yesterday, we experienced our first two earthquakes. I was in class, where we were all discussing participles--it was a little loud. My chair began to shake a little, as if someone had their feet on the bottom part and was bouncing their legs. Then it began to shake a little harder, and a little harder . . . I turned around to ask my classmate behind me what she was doing and at the same moment I realized her feet were not touching my desk, a man in our class calmly said, "That's an earthquake." We all went outside to wait it out, and it was over in a few moments. The students were much more excited and animated than the teachers, of course. The teachers are always tranquilos! Not knowing how strong it was nor where it originated, our hearts went out to those closer to the epicenter than we were.

Later in the afternoon, I was talking to a friend on the telephone and saw a book near me begin to shake a little. Then I felt the shake as well and heard my friend's husband (through the telephone) say, "That's an earthquake!" At that point we just thought it was an aftershock of the first one. It was actually another earthquake, and stronger than the first. It was a reminder for all of us how quickly life can change.

Lastly, a group of NFL football players came to the children's school and shared their testimonies with the kids during their chapel hour yesterday. They said they enjoy doing that in the offseason. What an impression it made on the kids, especially the ones who love sports. Our boys were able to get autographs and talk with the players. The kids couldn't believe how huge the players were, and how friendly, and enjoyed being able to talk to them. We are grateful for these men who love Jesus and spent an afternoon encouraging a group of missionary kids. It was a day the children will never forget.

Our Security

I talked to my aunt yesterday, and before we hung up, she asked me if we were safe. She said she worries about that sometimes. Honestly, security is always a concern here.

I remembered then what one of my professors told our class last semester about what it was like to grow up in San Jose, Costa Rica. She is my age and grew up riding her bike in the street, walking to the corner store by herself, all the normal things kids do. It was safe to walk around at night and the neighbors visited back and forth. She didn't remember when it changed. When she and her husband built their first house, she remembered looking at all the bars on the windows and the heavy gate outside and thinking, "This is great. We are so safe." That's when she realized that if there were a fire at the front of the house, they would die.





This is the door going into our house. There are no exterior door knobs, and all the bolts can make two complete revolutions to drive the bolt further into the wall.



Same door, going out of the house




We do not live in fear, but we definitely live with a heightened sense of awareness, of surroundings, of people, of strange cars, or cars or motorcycles speeding, of anything out of the ordinary. It is prudent to live that way, as it would be in any big city in the world.

Before we left last summer, one of Tully's former patients gave us some books written about Psalm 91, God's promise to us of His protection. When we received them, we did not realize how important that chapter of Scripture would become to us on the mission field. We have claimed it numerous times about many situations and have prayed it for our family and over our kids, even as they slept at night. More than any lock or gate could ever be, God is our security.

Psalm 91

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.

Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.

If you make the Most High your dwelling--
even the LORD, who is my refuge--
then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels
concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your
foot against a stone.
You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

"Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation."

I do know that there are many Christians who are the victims of crimes and other bad things. These verses, in fact, assure us that there will be times of trouble. There is also a flip side, however, in that we really have no idea how many times throughout our days and nights God saves us and/or protects us from something or someone. I praise Him for His tender care and protection and want to be no place else but under His wings and covered by His feathers, finding refuge.

Goodies from Home

Sometimes it feels as though we're in a time warp here. It's easy to imagine things in the US are as they were when we left them in August and again in early January. We have some friends from Maine who arrived here last April, and they say the same thing. They feel everything in Maine should be the same as it was last April. Living in a different country, it's hard to believe our family and friends have been through seasons changing, children growing, parents aging, jobs working--in general, life lived without us. It's strange.

Yesterday, we got a slip in our post office box that said we had a package to pick up at the post office. Excitement was thick in the air as we waited in anticipation until today when Tully could go pick it up (you have to take your passport and walk to the post office to pick up a package). I was studying during a break when Tully got back to school with the package--we opened it together and oohed and aahed over everything--chocolate chips, Valentine's candy, stickers, and balloons for the kids, magic markers, notebooks (which are really expensive here), and in the bottom were two Greenville News newspapers and a Family Circle magazine--WOW! News from home--it was wonderful to read about all of the happenings in our city firsthand. It's also a good reminder for us that everything there is moving right along without us, as it should, just as things are moving right along here.

In our time here of learning Spanish, one of the biggest encouragements we have experienced is knowing that our journey in missions is shared among the body of Christ. Sometimes that encouragement fits into a box lovingly packed and neatly filled with goodies from home. . .

Pura Vida. . .

There is a saying here in Costa Rica, "Pura Vida." It means "pure life." We've been told it's really only said in Costa Rica, it's sort of a national motto. We've heard it everywhere here--from taxi drivers, locals on the street, venders, and some of our teachers say it. It's usually in a harried moment, when you are asking directions, or feel a little stressed about something, or are thanking someone for something, or you're apologizing for something. You see this huge smile light up their faces and then they say, "Pura Vida." Like all is well, no problem, no worries.

This morning, it hit me that this is what I have. My life in Christ is pura vida. Being a wife to Tully and a mom to seven precious children is pura vida. Our life here and this opportunity to study and learn to share with others the good news of Christ is pura vida. The hilariousness that God would call a couple who are all set with their children and life in America to a foreign country for His Name's sake is pura vida. It's good stuff. I love it!

We need to start our walk to school between 7:00 and 7:15 am.

This morning, 6:35 am--I'm showered, dressed, have done the girls' hair, and am helping Luke, Timothy, and Trey review their espanol for a huge test today and tomorrow (today is oral, tomorrow written). They only have two exams in their Spanish classes, these at midterm, and the final in December.

As they are eating breakfast, I'm picking up dirty clothes and taking them to the laundry room, straightening up, answering questions, taking lunches to the stroller--this is a job because the girls tend to want to go and get stuff out if we put them in the stroller one second too soon. Then we have to go around and look for wherever they left it or replace what got eaten.

Dawn: "Okay, Luke, what is "to sing?" Elijah, did you get your blanket and put it in your backpack?"

Trey: "Cantar."

Dawn to Trey: "Are you Luke? I asked Luke. Luke, what is "to go down?"

Elijah: "Yes, ma'am." (from somewhere way off--it occurs to me that I haven't seen him in the last few minutes to make sure he's dressed and has shoes.)

Dawn: "Elijah, have you dressed and brushed your teeth?"

Luke: "Bejar."

Timothy: "No, that's something else, it's subrir."

Dawn to Timothy: "Are you Luke? Subrir is to go up, BAjar is to go down."

Luke: "Okay, ask me another one."

Dawn: "Okay, count by 10s to 60 for me. Did everyone get their water bottles and umbrellas?

Skip to 6:55--

Dawn: "Tully, should I call for a taxi?" (for Trey to get to school with his hurt knee.) Meanwhile, the girls come in, one with shirt and no pants, the other with pants and no shirt, one with shoes, the other without, but they've had breakfast already. Yay!

I called for the taxi--it was pouring rain, so everyone else in San Jose was ALSO calling for a taxi--no answer there. A few minutes later, thank you, Lord, the rain let up, and Tully started off with Trey, Elijah, and Luke, walking towards school to get a taxi. (One of the boys' friend's mom picked them up before they got very far.)

I got the girls completely dressed and loaded into the stroller, with the rain cover on it, and . . .

7:15 a.m. off we went for another day of language school.

Pura Vida!

Chapel

We have Chapel on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at the school. Different students sign up to speak or preach. They always bring an encouraging word. They are asked not to debate various points of doctrine differentiating denominations since there are so many denominations represented in the school.

When we sing praise songs, for me, it serves as a great reminder of why we are here. Invariably I am moved to tears each time, sometimes to the point that I can no longer sing. I think part of it is my guilt feelings over not spending as much time in Bible study and prayer as I think I should.

So we were in Chapel yesterday and I was so choked up I once again could not sing. I thought to myself, "I will be glad when I get over this and can sing all the songs like everyone else does." Then I heard a small quiet voice say "No, don't ever get over it". We serve a great and awesome God and I feel so blessed yet unworthy that He has called me to foreign missions.

Posted by Tully Stoudemayer

Ordering Ice Cream and Dowtown San Jose

Trey and Tee with friends



I wish you could have heard this band--the parades were very different. This one was composed of two bands--that's it. They just marched down the street and played their music--it was phenomenal! Their costumes were gorgeous. Parades occurred like that all over. You could see them a couple of blocks ahead and then run and watch for a few minutes. There were a bunch of small parades all over. This band was from Panama.


Anna and Dianne Wilson watching the parade--she and Rick let us borrow their Vonage phone to call home for the first few days before we had internet service




The tent for ambassadors



Carmen had so much fun waving her Costa Rican flag!


Here's Elijah hamming it up. . .




And then the protesters, of course!



The bus trip downtown




The flowers and trees will take your breath away!







Gabriel with his two flags--the red, white, and blue one is Costa Rica's flag and the other is San Jose's.


I never thought that ordering ice cream would make me so happy. . . On the Dia de la Independencia here, we all went into the downtown area--about a 15 minute bus ride. It was quite a day. But I'll never forget the feeling I had when we all sat down to eat our ice cream and I realized that I had ordered everything in Spanish, and we had all gotten exactly what we wanted! : ) Little by little, we're getting it!

In The News . . .

This past Monday, Costa Rica's Independence Day, we went to a celebration downtown to see the president of Costa Rica and many dignataries. The differences in our two cultures continue to fascinate me--well all of us, really.

We left our house at 7:30 am with friends, and met up with still more along the way. After riding the bus and walking to the beautiful park where the celebration was to be held, it was probably around 8:30 when we arrived. Perfect timing for us, we thought. The celebration was supposed to start at 9 am . . . we had time enough to find a good place to watch and visit for a little bit while we waited for everything to begin.

An hour and 15 minutes later, el presidente arrived! : ) Then the celebration started. Ambassadors from other countries were there, schoolchildren with uniforms crisp and clean, and many of the ministers from the president's cabinet. It was very exciting. As with political gatherings in the US, there were some protestors--an elderly lady with a pot and wooden spoon, and a man with a shrill whistle--that just added to the excitement!

Anyway, the North American group made the newspaper the next day! Trey had already written on this paper (identifying himself) to send to his youth group in Greer, and that is Timothy sitting in front of him.

Last Friday Night

We are very thankful to our wonderful big sister, Lynda Gregg, for finding the perfect house for our family, and for Dr. Carlos and his lovely wife Maureen for renting it to us. In fact, I would love it if we could pick the house up and move it to Honduras when we go. I'll take some pictures soon and blog about the house some more. It's open and light and airy with room for a crowd.

Anyway, we had some people over last weekend for pizza and games. The pizza tasted pretty much just like American pizza--AND it came from Domino's. : )

We're Here!!

We arrived safe and sound yesterday, but extremely tired as you can imagine. Our big sister met us at the airport and we were able to get all 35 bags through immigrations and customs (although the customs official did examine the bag with all the chocolate chips! : ) Our house is phenomenal--after being there and getting our stuff unloaded, our big sister, Lynda, took us to PriceSmart (the Sam's Club), where the Lord showed me that He is going to work on my patience (or lack of) while here. We waited in line FOREVER for the application. I was able to buy some fruits and vegetables, diapers, etc.

Last night, we slept GREAT!

Unfortunately, we learned how important good traction is for shoes here this afternoon. Timothy, who turns 13 tomorrow, fell on our tile floor outside the house and broke his wrist this afternoon after we had a rain. He is doing great, and was home pretty quickly after going to the hospital (unlike home, right!), but please pray for him as he recovers. He'll get the cast off in three weeks.

We should get our cable/phone in 8 to 10 days, so it will be much easier for us to be in touch then. The fellow missionaries here have stopped by both yesterday and today to introduce themselves and ask how they can help out. The Ticas (what the locals call themselves) walk by us and gape at our big family! : )

The boys have already met some kids their ages. Trey went and ate pizza tonight with a family with teenagers (from TN).

I can't wait to write more later, but for now that's it!