Abundant Life!

Dear Lord, forgive me for any time that I may have rolled my eyes or listened half-heartedly to other Grandma's as they showed pictures and waxed on-and-on about the wonders of their grandchildren. I so completely understand them, now. Thank-you for giving these little people gifts at this point in my life: gifts that add purpose and meaning to existence and gifts that fulfill your promise that we will have life, and have it to the FULL (John 10:10)! My cup runneth over with joy. Surely heaven is filled with precious child-like people, innocent, inquisitive, energetic (well--maybe not that energetic!), sensitive, and loving. Help me to be the SuSu that loves, listens, and gently leads. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

Home again, home again, jiggety-jig ...

With mixed emotions, we arrived in Nashville at 2:30 p.m, glad to see family here--sad to leave new friends in Costa Rica.
The last five weeks seem like a dream, full of experiences we will never forget. Rob and I are truly rested, yet overwhelmed right now. I'm sure we'll be able to put everything into perspective as time goes by. A few lessons we've already learned from this once-in-a-lifetime adventure: we have way too much stuff in USA; we are way too stressed and should not sweat the small stuff; time can be our enemy or our friend--we control it, it does not have to control us, and a 3-mile walk on the beach every morning does a body a world of good!
Lead me, Lord. Lead me in your righteousness. Make your way plain before my face.

La Comida es especial y muy delicioso! The food is special and very delicious!

I know I've blogged about the food here but it bears repeating. Besides loving the rice and beans, beans and rice, and rice and beans, Rob and I disagree on who has the best Nachos and we agree on the best pizza. Most of all, though, we have delighted daily in the fresh--just picked off the trees--fruit. Fresh pineapple is our favorite. Can you believe it costs only $1.30 in the market? We have fresh fruit smoothies every afternoon consisting of just fruit, ice, and water (that is, if we make them but there's usually a little added sugar if we buy them). Yummmmm.

Sunday, we had a real treat. Gabriel, the Hacienda Pinilla tennis pro, invited us to attend a church about 20 miles from here. After traveling down several long dirt roads and fording a small stream, we arrived at La Casa de Sion (The House of Zion). It was open-air (wooden posts supporting a tin roof) with a concrete floor and wooden pews. The time of praise and worship (singing) was led by Latino Christian recording artists on the USB inserted into the boombox. The pastor and his wife, very kind and dedicated people, led worship. Their teen-age daughter, Tanya, encouraged all of us to sing along (with the boombox). There were about 25 people there and two-thirds of them were relatives of the pastor's family. Most importantly, the Spirit of God was there. I was struck by the fact that God hears Spanish prayers, and German prayers, and Fijian prayers, and Zulu prayers ... we are all part of the family of God. What a mighty God we serve!

Love in any language, straight from the heart, pulls all together, never apart.

Fiesta Sabonera!

This coming week is the celebration of the Guanacaste region's independence from Nicaraugra. Many fiestas will light up the nights. Today, we attended our first authentic Costa Rican fiesta sabonera and horse show! The costumes for the ladies (dancers and riders) were magnificent--brightly colored flowing skirts, each one made from boo-koos of yards of fabric. Friesian horses pranced and strutted, proudly carrying their riders. In typical CR fashion (tico time), the event that was advertised to begin at 4:30 p.m. did not begin until 5:00. No complaints here, though. It was a lovely evening, soft breeze and NO RAIN, so Rob and I soaked in the sights, sounds, and smells.

The participants seemed so proud of their heritage and their country. It struck me that they are just as proud of their country, if not more proud, than I am of mine. We've come to love this land and the gentle, kind, peace-loving people of Costa Rica.

This is my song, O God of all the nations,

A song of peace for lands afar and mine.

This is my home, the country where my heart is;

Here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine;

But other hearts in other lands are beating

With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

My country's skies are bluer than the ocean,

And sunlight beams on clover-leaf and pine.

But other lands have sunlight too and clover,

And skies are everywhere as blue as mine.

Oh, hear my song, O God of all the nations

A song of peace for their land and for mine.

Music: "Finlandia" by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)

Words by Lloyd Stone (1912).

La Alegria de la Vida-- The Joy of Life

Life is precious. Today, we celebrate Rob's life, exactly one year after his cardiac arrest, and we are thankful for his full recovery.

Yesterday, our big adventure was riding bikes for six miles. That may not sound like much, but I don't think I've been on a bike in--who knows when--so there are certain parts of my anatomy that are screaming today.

This morning, after we walked on the beach with a gorgeous sunrise, we were treated to a full tour of Hacienda Pinilla. Our appreciation and love for this working cattle ranch/5-star resort grew as we learned the history as well as heard the plans for the future. My mother's cousin, HG Pattillo, had the vision 36 years ago when he purchased these 4500 acres and patiently saw his vision begin to be fulfilled in 2002 when the resort portion of Hacienda Pinilla opened. Another very important and endearing quality about Mr. Pattillo is his passion for education and the care of the Costa Rican people in this area. He established a Foundation that has helped 40 schools in this municipality, supported medical clinics, and built eight Habitat for Humanity houses. It is his generosity that allows our family to be here for sabbatical and we are grateful.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God and he that loves is born of God and knows God.

Shell-seekers

Another day, another dollar ... sand dollar, that is. Rob and I spotted five on this morning's sunrise stroll. Just what is it we hope to find hunting for shells on the beach? Color, shape, size. Every year since I was a little girl, I have dragged bags of shells home from the beach. Some shells made it into lamp bases, some were glued onto picture frames, some hung in macrame nets (remember the 70's?). I think that, in a way, we're hoping to capture a precious moment--to memorialize a fabulous time in our lives--to hold onto something that, just maybe, will freeze us in that special event in that special time. Whatever it is, I'm collecting shells again this trip. Don't know what I'll do with them, but will worry about that later.

Yesterday, we did a little beach clean-up. This is an outstanding, beautiful place but we've noticed that, with each high tide, much trash washes up on shore. We took trashbags and picked up junk on a quarter-mile of beach in front of our house. I hate water bottles!

We tried two different restaurants for the first time Monday and Tuesday--local food and very good! Today, we walked about five miles, played in the ocean, and read. Rob is composing a book of our stay in Costa Rica. Can't wait to see the finished product.

Philip and Lana leave in the morning for Brentwood. They will join the church choir on tour to the Gulf. Rob and I stay for one more week. ;-)

I have loved you with an everlasting love. I have called you and you are mine.

Costa Rican Eyes

We learned very early after our arrival in Costa Rica to develop Costa Rican eyes: eyes that soaked in every vista-full of color, shapes, and natural beauty. Along with that, we have developed eyes that look in every corner for bugs, every path for crabs and iguanas, and every road for potholes. Philip has done an incredible job taking pictures of our adventures here but he was almost too engrossed in his photography to see the 8-ft. long BOA constrictor on the dirt road leading to our house! UGH! Again, folks here try to tell us that Boa's aren't that bad-- aren't poisonous, etc., but a snake's a snake a snake to me.

We walked the beach to the lagoon this morning, swam in the pool, boogie-boarded for an hour, then came back and had our own worship service as we overlooked the Pacific ocean. We played a game during our worship--"lightning-round thanksgiving." In five minutes, we took turns naming as many things as we could name that we are thankful for on this trip. The buzzer sounded way too soon-- I think we could have gone on for 30 minutes!

Underneath me, all around me, is the current of God's love...

A visit to the pot farm

Today has been a lazy day, highlighted by a visit to The Pot Farm! This ceramics store is in a barn right outside Hacienda Pinilla. Philip thought the place was hilarious so we stopped to take his picture and to let him buy a T-shirt. :-)

Yesterday, Rob and I rode through the surrounding countryside with Yanith, the head of the Hacienda Pinilla Fundacion. She took us down miles of muddy, bumpy roads to see the renovation projects at two of the forty elementary schools where the Foundation is working. We went so far back in the country that I wasn't sure we would find our way out--back where there were only a few homes and maybe 30 children in the community --but there was a school! Costa Rica is ranked third in the world in literacy. Another treat was seeing the eight Habitat Houses that the Foundation has built. Education, housing, and medical care are the three thrusts of this foundation. Hats off for the marvelous job they are doing in the Santa Cruz area of Costa Rica.

Last night, we ate at a great little pizza place in the nearby town of Tamarindo, called La Baulas. On the way home, we stopped at the supermercado to stock up on local fresh fruit and great Costa Rican coffee.

Shout to the Lord, all the lands. Come before Him with singing. Give thanks and bless His name.

Hey, Hey, we're the Monkeys

Hey, Hey, we're the monkey's. People say we monkey around ... This song kept running through my head as we ziplined through the rainforest canopy, today. I leaned over to Rob at one point, on a platform 80 feet in the air, and whispered, "Makes you think twice about evolution, huh?" After that swinging adventure at Rincon de Vieja, we swooshed down a quarter-mile water slide, rode horses thru the rainforest for 45 minutes on our way to sweat in a natural steamroom (heated by volcanic springs), bathe in volcanic mud, and soak in volcanic hot springs.

What a day! Rob and I are feeling our age but proud as peacocks that we risked it--and survived.

The Lord is my strength-- and my rest!

A church without walls

Beach Community Church in Brasilito, Costa Rica is a church without walls--theologically and literally! We worshiped there yesterday under a thatched roof with vaulted ceilings held up by huge poles, great casablanca fans, and absolutely NO WALLS. The wonderful BCC congregation, about 100 people in size, is comprised mostly of US ex- patriots. A four-member praise band led us in singing many familiar songs but each with a slight Latino flair. A guest speaker who leads a prison ministry in Florida gave a challenging sermon. It always thrills me to visit other churches and to find God's people worshiping passionately and serving whole-heartedly. In Christ there is no east or west, in Him, no north or south!

Sunday afternoon, Lana and Rob went for massages, Philip took more great pics, and Susan graded online course work. We all hiked three miles along the beach to the lagoon, watched another gorgeous sunset, and then went to bed by 9:00.

Today has been fairly routine-- NOT. Nothing about this trip has been boring or ordinary, there is always something new to explore. With only sixteen days left, I just hope we don't miss anything!

From My Front Porch Lookin' ... Out

To paraphrase Richie McDonald's song, the most beautiful view in the world is our front porch lookin' out! Mango and coconut trees, vivid flowers whose names I do not know, critters including monkeys, iguanas, armadillos, geckos and, of course, the spectacular blue and gray of the Pacific ocean--what a master artist God is.

David and Allison Slade spent this week here, supervising Berry College students and helping them wrap up their seven-week internships in CR. It was a joy to meet them and to spend time with them! They left this morning and, now, it is just us Huckaby's down on the farm (Pequena Finca).

We went to Santa Cruz this morning to visit the Sat. a.m. market--another adventure and opp. to use my Spanish! The drive was beautiful with lush, green pastures and mountains flanking us on two sides. The market teemed with locals selling muchos vegetales y frutas y ropas (vegetables, fruits, and clothes). We discovered a TCBY and gobbled up good ol' frozen yogurt--yeah! I really like this town--modern enough, yet has maintained a quaint Costa Rican atmosphere. After Santa Cruz, we drove to Guaitil. This tiny community is best known as the center of handmade Costa Rican pottery, so of course we bought a couple of pieces. Hope to get them back to TN in one piece.

Came home (Hacienda Pinilla), walked three miles on the beach, watched a gorgeous sunset, ate a homecooked meal of CR chicken and rice, platanos, salad, and papayas, then wrapped up this gift-of-a-day playing Skip Bo. Sweet dreams.

It's a Small World After All

The kindergarten class at Villa Real elementary school (Costa Rica) and the kindergarten class at Brentwood UMC's Center for Children and Families became friends on Wed. Thanks to SKYPE, thousands of miles melted away as 30 giggly, wiggly five-year olds introduced themselves, one at a time. Each class sang a favorite song for the other. The BUMC group hopes to continue the relationship and promised that the children would write letters and send personally drawn pictures. What a treat! It IS true ... kids are pretty much the same everywhere. They are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world.

Thanks to Rob and Chris Yoakum for setting this up.